At 6 o'clock in the evening, the Potion Grocery Store put up a [closed] sign, ending its business for the day.
On the first day of opening, the store's total revenue was 126 gold pounds. In addition to the eldest prince Charles and the second prince Shukri, several customers came to the door one after another, but none of them purchased goods.
Without business, Ma Wei is not anxious at all. Every emerging industry has to go through such a process. He can use marketing methods to promote himself, but...
Not necessary at the moment.
The audience for potions is the middle and upper class, that is, those who have some spare money. After they know that there is a potion grocery store in Flower Street, they will definitely come to join in the fun. Ma Wei estimates that it will only happen in the past two or three days. The fact that the eldest prince and the second prince came to buy magic potions today will soon be publicized. Will you still worry about having no customers by then?
The first and second princes are the best marketing tools, just like inviting Buffett to lunch.
The day after tomorrow is New Year. Tonight, the famous theater actress Helena Sheffield will perform Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Covent Royal Opera House in central London. This will also be her last performance of the year. For her There were countless guests in attendance, and it was hard to get a ticket.
"It's too expensive! The private room on the second floor costs a full 35 gold pounds! They might as well grab it!"
Levin came back from the black market cursing and feeling very unhappy.
For tonight's show, the normal ticket price on the first floor is 12 shillings/ticket. The higher the seat, the higher the price, but it will not exceed 1 gold pound. The price of the private rooms on the second floor for distinguished guests is only 10 gold pounds/room. , now in the hands of scalpers, it has more than tripled!
If Ma Wei hadn't insisted on going to support Miss Helena tonight, Levin would never have spent such unnecessary money. 35 gold pounds is equivalent to a year's salary of an ordinary worker!
"Okay, what's there to complain about?"
On the way to the Covent Royal Opera House in a four-wheeled carriage, Ma Wei said disapprovingly: "Behind those scalpers are the owners of the Opera House. The ticket prices on the surface are false, but the prices in the hands of the scalpers are real." Yes, the money went round and round and ended up in the pocket of the opera house owner."
"It's still hateful!" Levin said indignantly, "They deserve to die for engaging in such dishonest means to make money!"
"Do you know who is behind Covent Royal Opera House?"
"....I don't know, who is it?"
"The Marquis of Bracken."
"so what?"
"The Marquess of Bracon is a member of the camp of the Grand Prince Charles. He has many properties under his name, and his shadow is found in all walks of life. He is the purse strings of the Grand Prince Charles, and half of the shares of the Covent Royal Opera House have been transferred. It was given to Helena Sheffield." Ma Wei said calmly: "You only know that Helena Sheffield is the lover of the eldest prince Charles, but you don't know that Helena is the eldest prince's favor and spends a lot of money to buy tickets. The gentry and nobles who went to see Helena perform were all trying to curry favor with the eldest prince, and the tickets in the hands of scalpers were just a stepping stone."
Mavey has roughly estimated that given the size of the Covent Royal Opera House, the hall can accommodate 500 people and the private rooms on the second floor can accommodate 50 people. In other words, from just one performance, the eldest prince Charles can earn nearly 3,000 gold. pound.
You know, the income of the lowest middle class is only 300 gold pounds a year.
The eldest prince Charles has many other hidden incomes, as do several other princes. These people's ability to make money is extraordinary. Their shadows are behind the leaders of all walks of life.
Ma Wei knew who the leading boss of each industry was and who the supporters were. Before coming to the Kingdom of Windsor, Dino gave him a noble list he had collected, which was filled with information about the nobles of the Kingdom of Windsor. Things, including which lovers they had, the names of their illegitimate children, and the transaction records with the Pluto Chamber of Commerce.
Once this form is leaked, a major earthquake will occur throughout London. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a hot potato.
Of course, Ma Wei will definitely not make this form public, at least not in the short term. He also wants to use this information to get into London's core social circle...
four wheels
The carriage slowly stopped beside the stone street. The coachman opened the door diligently and said in a respectful tone: "Gentlemen, we have arrived at Covent Garden."
Covent Garden, London's most prestigious old theater, is located in a prime location in the heart of London. It was once the garden of a convent hundreds of years ago, and later became an entertainment center. Being able to perform here is the best place for all dramas. A dream for actors and art practitioners.
Although it is in the center of London, this is an old street, grand and resplendent. The Royal Opera House has six huge white jade pillars like the Roman temples. In the light mist, cars are engraved with the emblems of noble families. A luxurious carriage was parked on the street, and men in formal suits slowly walked into the theater with their beautifully made-up female companions in their arms. The atmosphere of gold and luxury hit their faces, and it seemed like a different world from East London.
"Did you buy the roses?"
"I bought it," Levine said, "I bought ninety-nine roses from the flower shop. The card was also written by me. After the performance, the bouquet will be sent backstage."
It is no longer a secret that Helena Sheffield is the lover of the eldest prince Charles... Originally this was indeed a secret, not many people knew about it, but a year ago a certain "damn" "The Rose Phantom Thief" directly disclosed this matter, which caused quite a stir at the time. Later, it was ignored and the storm subsided.
From then on, Helena, who received more than a dozen love letters every day, suddenly became unavailable. Everyone still supported her, but no one continued to send her flowers and love letters - except for the eldest prince Charles.
Helena Sheffield can still stay in London, which is incredible to Mavey, because the wife of the eldest prince Charles, Rosanna Crawley, comes from the ducal family...
That's right, it's the Duke Crowley family where Turay Crowley was born, Mavey's old friend when he was serving in the Royal Navy.
The Crowley family is a century-old duke, a typical old aristocrat. The family is huge and has far-reaching influence. Rosanna is the second daughter of Duke Crowley. Mavey has met her several times and is a very capable and powerful woman. .
Such a woman, after learning that her husband was having an affair with Helena, actually acquiesced. This was a development that Marvey never expected, and it also meant that the Crowley family had high hopes for the eldest prince, Charles.
Today, Helena once again welcomed her admirer - Felix von Manstein.
How does it feel to poach Prince Charles in front of everyone?
Ma Wei has never tried it and wants to give it a try.
"Brother, look!"
After paying the fare, Ma Wei was about to enter the theater when sharp-eyed Daniel suddenly saw a royal carriage approaching from a short distance away. There was no olive wreath on the badge. The person coming was not the Grand Prince or King Rhodes IV...
Who could it be?
Second prince or third prince?
Or maybe another member of the royal family?
Curious, Ma Wei stopped and wanted to see who was sitting in the carriage.
As curious as Ma Wei were other gentry and nobles. They all stopped and cast their gazes at the carriage.
The royal carriage slowly stopped, and from the opened door, a shiny leather shoe was first poked out, and then...
Golden hair that stood out in the darkness appeared.
The fourth prince——Arthur!
Mawei watched silently as he stepped down from the carriage, turned around and took Gulhana's hand. Arthur was as elegant as a gentleman. He did not come forward to talk to him, but withdrew his gaze: "Let's go, the show is about to begin. , go buy some snacks for Yunia first."
When the Mawei people turned to leave, Arthur seemed to notice something. He turned to look at the place where the Mawei people had just stood. There was no one there.
"What's wrong?" Gulhana asked, "Is there anything?"
"It's okay..." Arthur shook his head and asked with a smile: "Why are you suddenly interested in coming to the theater tonight? You also specifically wanted to see Miss Helena's performance..."
"You were able to return to London because the eldest prince gave you a few kind words, wasn't it? He also
He takes good care of you. He will definitely know about our compliments to Miss Helena. "
Looking at Gulihana, Arthur suddenly asked: "Are you hiding something from me?"
"No, what can I hide from you? If you want to have more power, you must choose a camp. Didn't Bishop Fowler also say that? He asked Archbishop Ubley...Pope Ubry Hello, I have entrusted Pope Ubli to mediate the conflict between you and the eldest prince, so we should show our kindness to the eldest prince!"
"So that's it..."
Arthur nodded slowly and smiled again:
"I was overthinking it, sorry."
