Xu Guang and Cha Yuan entered the store and were immediately attracted by the decoration and environment, as if they had entered a colorful world.
Especially the store is different from ordinary stores. It seems that the light in the room is very abundant. If you think about it carefully, it turns out that the windows of the store are made of glass. How much does it cost?
No wonder this shop was opened by the prince, but someone else would be unwilling to spend a lot of money on an unattractive window!
Although the counter inside is made of wood, the display racks behind it are inlaid with large pieces of glass. The exhibits inside are so diverse that it is dizzying to see.
"Hey? What is this? How can it be so exquisite and clear?"
A young customer pointed to the jars of colorful beads on the display shelf and asked. He had never seen this before, and he didn't know how to use it.
"Sir, the name of this object is a glass ball. One coin of silver is in a box, containing ten coins! One tael of silver is in a jar, containing one hundred and ten coins. This object is imitated from the fairy world and is used for gambling. That's all. But for the hot-selling products, there are instructions on how to play it, and once you play it, you won’t be able to put it down!”
The lady in charge of sales first introduced the price of the glass ball, and then flicked it with her finger on the wooden counter. Although the glass ball did not roll far, it still achieved the display effect.
For every box of glass balls sold, the young lady can get a commission of ten cents, and for every jar of glass balls sold, she can get a commission of fifty cents.
For these maids who used to work in the palace, this is a huge job. If the prince had not shown mercy, they would have been trapped in the rear mansion for the rest of their lives.
Not only were they released to work this time, it was much easier than in the back mansion, but they could also get corresponding commissions from the sales of goods, which made everyone grateful.
After receiving the most basic pre-job training and mastering certain sales skills, he was assigned to Qianqi Department Store as a waiter, which is also a shopping guide in name.
Because many products are only sold by one store, it is a seller's market, so for ordinary waiters, the sales pressure shared by everyone is not great.
But in order to make more money, many people work very hard and devote themselves to it, so that they can have a fortune in the future and not have to look at their husband's family after they get married.
"Yeah~! It's interesting! Let's buy a can and play with it!"
If this young man can get in, it's naturally because he has a VIP card. Even if he doesn't, he was brought in by someone who has a VIP card. In addition to the cardholder, he can also bring two people in.
The people who came in were all rich or noble, and they were not short of money at all. A mere tael of silver might not be a small sum for ordinary people, but it could be enough for them to eat for a day.
"Give me a can too!"
"And I!"
"Don't squeeze in the back!"
"Me! I want it too!"
"Only one tael of silver?"
"yes!"
"Bring me ten cans!"
"What?"
“What should I do if I can’t buy it anymore?”
"Yes! Then give me five cans! No, I want ten cans too!"
Hearing that it was a brand new gambling game, everyone behind the guest couldn't hold it any longer and asked to buy glass balls. After hearing some people's concerns, everyone expressed their willingness to purchase more in large quantities.
"Don't be impatient. Those who have silver coins and copper coins can enjoy the right of first refusal!"
The waitress calmly explained to everyone that this kind of scene would be a bit tricky if you encountered it the first day, but today is the third day of official business, so it is already a common occurrence.
"What? A silver dollar or a copper dollar? Our silver is not called money?"
The male customers were immediately unhappy. They had never heard of "silver dollar" or "copper dollar", and they had never encountered a merchant who was unwilling to accept any money.
"Sir, this is it. The loose silver needs to be weighed immediately, which will delay your precious shopping time. If you find it inconvenient, you can go to the exchange point opposite to exchange for silver coins and copper coins!"
The young lady talked about the disadvantages of buying goods with silver, and then directed a group of customers to exchange for new currency at the counter opposite, so as to facilitate shopping.
"What the hell are these silver and copper coins?"
A group of wealthy male customers were all told something strange. It sounded very novel, but they didn't know what it actually was.
"This is the currency created by the prince. It is used to buy and sell items. It is similar to the Western Yi silver dollar that is popular in the market. One tael of silver can be exchanged for one and a half silver dollars, or fifteen copper dollars. There are few in circulation at the moment, and there will be more in the future. Gradually, the number increased. This item is easy to carry and trade, and there is no need to bite to identify the authenticity."
Pre-job training naturally includes this aspect. When introducing this knowledge to customers, you don't need to be precise every word, just explain the general meaning.
"Oh oh oh! That's it, I'll go take a look first!"
"I'll go too!"
"Wait... don't sell out!"
"Remember! I have already ordered ten cans!"
A group of people hurriedly rushed to the exchange counter like a tide, only to find that the place was already overcrowded. The people who took the large silver ingots were okay, but some guys who threw out a bunch of 23 taels of broken silver were really wasting everyone's precious time.
Just inspecting and weighing the goods will take a while. I don’t know how such a poor guy got in. Anyone who takes out silver that is not in the shape of a spindle will be criticized by everyone, regardless of gender. Unanimously despised.
"...This object is really fun!"
"Interesting! A rare thing!"
Xu Guang and Cha Yuan, who had just entered the door, saw that a counter suddenly "ebbed", so they hurriedly went over and saw the crystal clear glass ball for the first time, but they liked it very much.
Not only the two of them, but also a dozen people came over in unison. They were all guys who entered the door one after another like them. When they looked at each other, they looked familiar. They turned out to be a group of East Palace Guards. .
"Come! I'll buy a can!"
"You're so petty!"
"Let's buy two cans! Three silver coins, right?"
"...Virtue! Give me five cans!"
"Why did you buy so many?"
"Do I want you to take care of it?"
However, since the exchange ratio between silver and silver dollars is not an integer, everyone has to buy an even number of boxes or jars to facilitate payment.
After some discussion, those who had no money bought two boxes, and those who had money bought two cans. Although this thing is not suitable for eating or drinking, you can show it off when you go back and you will gain face.
Xu Guang is twenty-two this year. He has a fifteen-year-old younger brother at home. For the time being, his parents have no plans to let both brothers join the army, otherwise they will die on the battlefield. If the mother does not intend to continue to give birth to boys, then the family will be exterminated.
Although there are still two younger sisters, one seventeen and one twelve, in the eyes of ordinary people, when a girl grows up, she will eventually get married, and when she gives birth to a child, she must take her husband's surname, even if it is in her natal family. Too many to count.
Cha Yuan is twenty years old this year. He has an eldest brother who is five years older than him, a younger brother who is four years younger than him, and a younger sister who is six years younger than him. He is the second eldest child in the family.
Fortunately, the eldest brother is already married and has a family. He usually takes his younger brother to the construction site to do odd jobs. His father has passed away due to illness, and only his mother is still alive.
We have five acres of land at home, which has been contracted out. If there is another severe drought this year, we will still have no harvest in the autumn. Whether we plant or not, it is the same thing.
In the area around Jifu, there are many other families in a similar situation to theirs. These poor brothers are all blessed by the Crown Prince and are lucky enough to join the East Palace Guards as errands. Otherwise, they would not be able to farm the land and would have to find work. , work hard.
There were many orphans in the East Palace Guards at first, but later they were transferred to other places. Since it was a military secret, everyone did not dare to ask more questions, and there was no benefit in asking around.
The people who stayed behind were all from their families, because they could provide sufficient guarantee certificates. Everyone guessed that the purpose of doing this was to fear that they would defect on the battlefield.
As long as you have a family as a guarantee and you are not a bachelor, you will not be afraid of taking refuge with the Tatars. Before joining the army, the superiors had warned in advance that if anyone dared to defect to the Tatars, once the situation was verified, the whole family would be sent to Shandong to mine.
The Crown Prince is very kind to you and treats you as human beings. If you still eat the inside and outside like those people, leave good people alone and work as slaves for the Tatars, then don’t blame the Crown Prince for being rude. .
No one has ever been a slave, but according to officers who escaped from Liaodong, the so-called "slaves" are actually Tatar slaves. They have nothing, not to mention money, and even their lives belong to the Tatars.
The Tatars asked their minions to fill the trenches. No matter how fierce the artillery fire from the Ming army was, the minions would rush over and rush up one after another. They didn't treat you as a human being at all.
Any slave who dares to disobey will be stripped naked, doused with water, and left to freeze in the ice and snow. Who can bear this? So no one dares to disobey orders. To the coated slaves, they are worse than the dogs raised by the Tatars.
It is understandable for the prince to do this, because many soldiers and horses in Liaodong have defected to the Tatars, and this is the case for the so-called "three kings and one prince".
Considering their own families, the East Palace Guards will not easily defect to the Tatars. Once they do, they will be used as pieces by the Tatars, and their families will be sent to mine by the prince. That would be too much. loss.
If you die for your country on the battlefield, you will still have at least two hundred taels of silver, which is a pension of three hundred silver dollars, but if you get there, you won't even have a ball left...
In comparison, the prince is still kind to these poor brothers. He gets bonuses for winning, pensions for those who die in battle, injuries that prevent him from going into battle, and other errand arrangements. For them, everything is not a loss.
"vulgar!"
"Oops!"
"Incomprehensible!"
A group of gentry and dandies who had finished exchanging the new currency saw that the counter they had previously occupied was suddenly filled with a group of strong men in shabby clothes, and they immediately became unwilling.
But when they saw that there were many people on the other side, they didn't dare to take the initiative to provoke each other. They could only stand back and make sarcastic comments, not knowing that they had been like this before.
Although you can't get close to this counter, there are other counters where you can have a look, especially a nearby counter that is displaying several moving objects, which looks very surprising.
“Just a few twists and the thing is ready to move!”
After that, the shopping guide gave a demonstration to everyone. The thing that looked like a little mouse ran very fast on the counter, causing everyone to exclaim.
"Interesting! Interesting!"
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"I wonder how much this thing costs?"
"Everyone, the small size of this item is only priced at five copper coins, the medium size is priced at one silver coin, and the large size is priced at two silver coins!"
There are many similar small animals on the display rack, not only mice, but also rabbits, frogs, puppies, kittens and other objects, which should be similar to the small object just displayed.
For customers, this kind of object is not very beautiful, but it is better than having never seen it before, it can walk automatically, and the price is within an acceptable range.
"Mom~! I want the biggest one! And that one! Yeah! And that one and that one!"
The child won't leave when he sees this thing. He holds his mother's hand and begins to beg. If he doesn't buy a few to take home today, he plans to stay here and not leave.
"Okay, okay~! That's it, Niangyi!"
The beautiful woman dressed very noble also loves her child very much. Even if the toy is not cheap, she still wants to buy it for her child.
Originally, the woman followed her husband into the store for shopping, but the child refused to leave after seeing the toys, so the woman had no choice but to stay with him.
However, this toy was invented by the prince, and it is indeed somewhat interesting. Not only will children fall in love with it, but even adults will be very curious about it.
In the opinion of a certain prince, among a bunch of simple toys, the most high-tech is the "iron mouse". The rest are similar to military flags, beast fighting chess, card games of official hunting and catching thieves, as well as spinning tops, hoop rolling, and jigsaw puzzles. The processes are very simple.
Luban building block toys have too high workmanship requirements and are not suitable for mass production, so they will not be considered for the time being. The stacking height, which is similar in appearance to mahjong, can be mass-produced.
Just these, there are no less than twenty kinds of toys, they are all toys that have never been seen before in the great dynasty, or even in ancient and modern times, at home and abroad. They are enough to attract the attention of young and old men.
Each toy comes in a set, which includes a series. The appearance and packaging are exquisite, very high-end, grand, and high-grade. It is also very suitable for giving away.
The "Iron Skin" series of sets alone, including a large set of all models and types, costs as much as twenty-five silver coins. Only a small set of a certain category can be purchased for three and a half silver coins.
For ordinary people with a monthly income of less than ten taels of silver, the price is not cheap, but expensive in its own right. In the eyes of the rich gentry, especially the children of the rich family, this is tailor-made for them. Customized toys.
To be precise, most of the things in the store are not sold to the poor. These days, if the poor can have enough to eat and not starve to death or freeze to death, it is a matter of high incense.
A certain prince didn't even bother to collect taxes, so naturally he didn't intend to make money from the poor.
Whoever has money will earn it.
Sometimes, you can use both soft and hard tactics.
It was inconvenient for the little friends from wealthy families to go upstairs, so a certain prince had already thought of it for them.
Ever since, the toy counter was opened on the first floor...
For their parents, this move is undoubtedly disastrous.
Qianqi Department Store has four floors. The first floor has a toy counter and a currency exchange office. There is only one exhibit on the second floor, and that is food. It is not the dishes sold in ordinary restaurants, but various things that are not sold outside.
For example, cream cakes, sandwich biscuits, pizzas, etc., most of which are desserts. Snowflake candy is currently a certain prince's unique secret. It is unwise to just sell candy, so you can introduce various desserts, which can be regarded as the abolition of the future. The employees of the hotel are looking for something to do.
The third floor is used to sell clothing, stationery, and daily necessities. Because pencils, white paper, toothbrushes, soap and other gadgets can improve the quality of life, there are countless buyers.
The fourth floor is the office area and is not open to customers. Managers can look down from the top and monitor the current situation.
It is said that the Crown Prince is not satisfied with such a building and wants to build a more majestic one as the new location of Qianqi Department Store...
