"Today was the first day the perfume went on sale!"
"Indeed, quite a few official daughters came to inquire, but not everyone actually paid to buy."
"For the first three days, the Marquis gave me one hundred bottles of perfume each day."
"After giving some away at the banquet, there are still 264 bottles left for sale at the Rouge Pavilion!"
"Today, a total of 116 bottles were sold, earning a total of 5,800 taels of silver!"
"According to the sales profit-sharing contract with the Marquis, 580 taels belong to me, and 5,220 taels belong to the Marquis!"
"All the money is currently in the Rouge Pavilion's treasury, and the accounts will be settled at the end of the month!"
…Dou Zhao spoke rapidly while holding the list, directly explaining the perfume sales and profit sharing of the day at the Rouge Pavilion.
The figures shocked Miao Ansu and Zhao Zhangru so much that they stared in disbelief!
Wow! The Marquis made over five thousand taels in just one day?! No wonder he didn't care about that seventy to eighty thousand taels of debt… At this rate, the debt could be paid off in about half a month!
Thinking this, Miao Ansu felt a little inferior. She had thought that with her substantial dowry, she would surely be favored and valued by the Marquis and become a good helper for Dou Zhao in the inner court.
But now, seeing her dowry, though seemingly considerable, it couldn't compare at all with the profits from perfume sales.
"Marquis!" Zhao Zhangru blinked her big round eyes and said, "At this rate, in no more than three to five years, you'll become the richest man in the world! Maybe even the imperial court will have to borrow money from you!"
If that really happened… that would be troublesome!
Upon hearing Zhao Zhangru's words, Wei Tingyu was not at all happy because she did not realize the huge crisis hidden within!
As the saying goes, "an innocent man with a treasure invites trouble." Although he now had the ability to accumulate huge wealth, with only eighteen Silver Shadow Guards, he probably did not yet have the strength to fully protect the Marquis' mansion!
Of course, this crisis was not imminent!
Wei Tingyu estimated he had about a year or so at best, after which hiding weaknesses would be impossible…
"But right now, there is still one crisis!" At this moment, Dou Zhao also thought of another problem.
"How many noble families and wealthy merchants are there in Jingdong?"
"One bottle of this perfume can last a woman for half a year!"
"I'm afraid that the current situation of selling more than 100 bottles a day won't last long. After all, our price is quite high!"
"When the market in the capital saturates, selling even ten or twenty bottles a day would be considered good!"
Dou Zhao frowned as he voiced his worries, and both Zhao Zhangru and Miao Ansu silently nodded in agreement.
After all, they had been engaged in business for years with Dou Zhao and understood the concept of market saturation.
"So, we must expand the market outward!" Wei Tingyu smiled slightly and then looked at Miao Ansu, saying, "At that time, we will need Su Su's family to help!"
"My family?" Miao Ansu was surprised and then asked, "My family just runs a shipping business… How could we help the Marquis… Ah! Marquis, do you mean… transport the perfume southward?"
Wei Tingyu nodded and said, "From then on, only ten bottles will be sold daily in the capital! Forty bottles will be sent via official routes to various prefectures in the Central Plains! Fifty bottles will be shipped by waterway to Jiangnan! In this way, each prefecture will only receive a few bottles per month, which can naturally be consumed by the local nobles and merchants!"
"Marquis, you think long-term!" Hearing Wei Tingyu's words, Dou Zhao's eyes widened with admiration, then he deeply bowed.
Who says this Marquis is only good at arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and literature? He's clearly a business magnate!
With this business mind, he's definitely much better than himself!
"Rest assured, Marquis!" Miao Ansu was excited. After all, she knew she was finally useful and quickly pledged loyalty, "Our Miao family will never disappoint the Marquis!"
The Miao family was in shipping, so the route for delivering perfume to Jiangnan would certainly be monopolized by the Miao family! As the Marquis earned big money, her family would get a share too, which excited Miao Ansu.
Because this also meant her parents' status in the whole family would rise dramatically!
"Ah? Su Su can also help the Marquis make money and do business?" However, Zhao Zhangru looked a little depressed.
Compared to Dou Zhao and Miao Ansu, she now felt useless.
Her dowry was the smallest, and she wasn't as gentle, and now even in terms of making money, she wasn't like Dou Zhao and Miao Ansu, who could both do the accounting and actively participate in selling and transporting.
Thinking it over, the only valuable thing from her family was her father, an upright official!
If one day he stubbornly scolded the Marquis in court, it would already be considered showing face to her; she couldn't expect him to help the Marquis' household!
"Looks like I'm the most useless one!" Zhao Zhangru blinked and then pouted coquettishly.
"Who says?" Miao Ansu laughed and teased Zhao Zhangru, "In the future… you can give the Marquis a son!"
"Is that all I'm good for?" Zhao Zhangru immediately frowned, "Besides, you two can do that too! It's not like only I can! Just because you help the Marquis with business doesn't mean I can't…"
"All right, all right, this is getting awkward!" Dou Zhao couldn't help blushing hearing the two women's conversation. Did these concubines become so open-minded immediately after entering the mansion?
At the same time, he looked at Wei Tingyu with a clear message in his eyes: as the head of the family, shouldn't you say something now?
But Wei Tingyu hadn't yet spoken when the sound of the nightly watch bell rang outside.
Everyone suddenly realized they had been so absorbed in counting profits and discussing business that they didn't notice how late it had gotten.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became delicate because today was the good day when the Marquis had newly taken two concubines.
But who would stay in his room tonight to attend him?
The three women looked at Wei Tingyu at the same time, making him feel a little embarrassed.
Wow! He had never had such a joyous scene even in his dreams!
Three beauties with different looks stood right in front of him, letting him choose freely — a scene that would make any man excited deep inside!