Whether Fan Xian was willing or not, people came in droves to congratulate him. Perhaps it was because they had found a rare opportunity to get closer to Assistant Minister Fan, or perhaps it was because they knew that the Emperor had already made Fan Xian a functionary of Taichang Temple, and that his marriage to someone in the palace was imminent. All the officials gave him face and sent their subordinates to congratulate him. Even the manors of the princes and dukes sent people to deliver gifts. On Dongchuan Road, there was an endless stream of sedan chairs, and the sound of greetings could be heard everywhere. Gift boxes almost filled the entire meeting room.
The onlookers on the street clicked their tongues in wonder. It was just a bookstore, and yet it had caused such a commotion. This Master Fan, who excelled in both the pen and the sword, was no ordinary person. The biggest benefit of the opening scene was that from now on, Danbo Bookstore would no longer have to worry about being harassed by the people of the underworld, and there would be very few official problems.
Fan Xian calmly looked at the scene, and cupped his hands in greeting to the guests. He knew that most of them had come for his father's sake. Fortunately, the bookstore was too small, and the guests were not important people. They only chatted for a bit, and after explaining which family they were from, they took their leave. After these people left, they were still a bit suspicious. Why was a member of the Fan family doing business? It should be noted that being a merchant was not a very honorable job.
At that moment, Crown Prince Jing, Li Hongcheng, finally arrived. The people on the street who knew who he was all bowed to him, and he returned their greetings with a warm expression, without a trace of the arrogance of a member of the royal family. His face was like a spring breeze, and he was very scholarly. Seeing him enter the store, some passersby asked curiously, "This Danbo Bookstore has quite a bit of face."
"King Jing and the Fan family have always had a good relationship, don't you know?"
...
...
Fan Xian saw that he had arrived, and his heart trembled. Such a gentle person like the spring breeze was willing to rush forward for the sake of the second prince. What kind of person was the second prince? He smiled and shook his head, driving all these thoughts out of his mind. He walked out of the store — he still wanted to have a simpler relationship with Li Hongcheng.
The two of them entered a quiet room in the back. Li Hongcheng looked around at the decorations and sighed. "Looks like you really did invest a lot of money."
"I only took 1,700 taels of silver." Fan Xian poured him a cup of tea. "Small business, not worthy of the Crown Prince's attention."
Li Hongcheng accepted the tea and shook his head. "You people of the Fan family are the best at making money. This is something all the officials know. But Count Sinan earns money for the court, while you earn it for yourself. It's not the same."
Fan Xian smiled. "When you earn money, you have to pay taxes to the court. Even if you earn some for yourself, you can't keep it in your hands and let it rust. If you take it out and use it, you'll be helping other people's businesses. If other people's businesses are doing well, the court will pay more taxes. Therefore, no matter where you do business, as long as you can make money, the money will eventually go to the imperial court, and in the end, it will be used on the people. "
Li Hongcheng was a little confused, but he seemed to understand a little. He clapped his hands and sighed in admiration. "Just a few words, but they seem to make a lot of sense. The court has always respected agriculture and restrained commerce. I was wondering why you chose to make a living like this, and whether you had no intention of becoming an official. So that's how it is."
Fan Xian felt very embarrassed. In his previous life, when he wasn't sick, he could only score from the bottom in political economy. It was just idle chatter. How did it become sense? He quickly stopped and changed the subject. "All right, all right. What career? I only wrote two crooked poems. I'm going to be a deserter in next year's competition."
Li Hongcheng, who had been troubled by Fan Xian's strength of character for a long time, finally used his fan again in front of him. He incessantly fanned his neck and laughed. "If you write a crooked poem, how are you going to let those people in the Imperial College live? Look, there were so many students outside who wanted to pay their respects to the great poet Fan. If it weren't for your servants blocking the way, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so peaceful. "
Fan Xian's face was full of worry. "Those students of the Imperial College, some of them old enough to be my grandfather, still call me a student. I can't take it anymore."
Li Hongcheng laughed and pointed his fan at him. "Your face is full of worry, but your words are so mischievous. You, you, you really are an interesting person."
Fan Xian rolled his eyes. What was so interesting about him? He asked, "I troubled you to write these words. When will you take me to your manor to pay my respects to the old man?" Li Hongcheng was startled. He remembered that the young man in front of him didn't even know that his father had met him before. He smiled and didn't point it out. He was ready to laugh at the young man of the Fan family in the future. "Whenever you want to go, go. There's no need to say anything to me."
Crown Prince Jing, Li Hongcheng, had always felt that Fan Xian was far more mature than he had been at 16 or 17. He wasn't impervious to praise or humiliation, but at least he was unusually calm. He had always wanted to see through Fan Xian's calmness. Suddenly, he clapped his hands. "Right, I forgot to congratulate you, Brother Fan."
Fan Xian was startled. He didn't know what to congratulate him about.
Li Hongcheng stood up. "Congratulations on receiving the position of Functionary of Taichang Temple. The birds at the gate are chirping. You must drink with them."
Fan Xian laughed. "So that's what it is. You should have known about it a long time ago."
"In the past, it was only a rumor in the palace. It didn't come to pass, so of course it doesn't count." Li Hongcheng seemed to be thinking of something, and his brows suddenly furrowed. He suddenly thought of something. The second prince and he had always thought that even if the Fan family didn't side with him, they wouldn't stand on the side of the crown prince. But they seemed to have overlooked a very important issue. After Fan Xian got married, his wife was the illegitimate daughter of the prime minister. It was hard to say that she wouldn't... slowly lean towards that side.
So he suddenly lowered his voice. "Si Lili is going to be escorted back to the capital. Perhaps we'll be able to find out who is colluding with Northern Qi."
Fan Xian had no idea that in the blink of an eye, Li Hongcheng had thought of so many things. He was slightly startled, and then smiled bitterly. "I'm just an ant. I just hope that the nobles in the court don't care about me."
Li Hongcheng looked at him. He knew that Fan Xian wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't point it out. He smiled. "In short, it's the same as when you beat up Guo Baokun. If you need me to do anything, don't be shy."
"Of course," Fan Xian replied. Then he changed his mind and said something else. "I plan to open a tofu shop in the south of the city. Are you interested in buying a share?"
Li Hongcheng was drinking tea and almost swallowed it. He tidied up his clothes in a fluster. "A tofu shop doesn't make much money," he said. "At least a bookstore makes money from books. That's sour money."
Fan Xian chuckled and ignored him. He thought that he would wait until the time came to deliver the freshly squeezed soy milk to the prince's manor. When he was in Danzhou, he had eaten a lot of tofu, but because of the different eating habits of the seaside, he rarely drank soy milk. After coming to the capital, he had drunk it a few times, but he always felt that there was too much residue. He didn't know if it was a problem with the process, so he decided to improve it.
— — —
At dusk, after school, Fan Sizhe finally sneaked in through the back door. After being taught a lesson by Fan Xian last time, he had also taught a lesson to his schoolmate. He felt good, so going to school didn't feel like a chore. But today was the opening of the bookstore. From choosing the location to choosing the paper, from hiring the shopkeeper to setting the price, everything had been handled by him. He couldn't help but be nervous, so he came early.
As soon as he entered the bookstore, he sighed for not being able to see the grand scene of the day. Then he dove into the accounts room. Fan Xian drank tea and waited for him. After a while, Fan Sizhe walked out, his face full of confusion and innocence.
Fan Xian was shocked. "What happened?" he asked.
Fan Sizhe mumbled for a long time. Finally, he caught his breath and scolded, "We earned a lot more than we thought!"
"Huh? Is that so? " Fan Xian had thought that it would be good to have some business on the first day of the store's opening. He hadn't expected this. He took the account book from his brother and looked at the figures. His heart couldn't help but tremble. Not to mention the fact that the detailed edition of Story of the Stone had sold more than 80 copies, even the collection of classics and histories that Wansong Hall had asked to be printed on their behalf had been bought by many scholars.
Fan Xian counted on his fingers. He felt that doing business was really something that gave him a sense of accomplishment.
"Today is the opening. Many people who are friends with our family have come to support us. Naturally, there won't be such a good thing in the future." Fan Xian looked at Fan Sizhe, whose eyes had become like copper coins, and carefully reminded him.
Fan Sizhe swallowed and looked at his brother enviously. "Big brother, I know. But you can sit in the bookstore every day, and I can only hide. I really envy you. "
Fan Xian laughed. "Do you like being a businessman that much? Father's title is still waiting for you to inherit. Study hard, and in the future, you may be in charge of all the money in the court. "
"Then I'll have to be the Minister of Revenue." Fan Sizhe's face was gloomy. "Father was a third-ranked official, but he's still just an assistant minister. That old minister has been bedridden for years, and the court hasn't let him take his place. I... at most, I can donate some scholarly honors. I'm afraid that's not going to happen. "
Fan Xian looked at his brother with some surprise. Although this kid was stubborn and unbearably bad, he was unexpectedly shrewd when it came to looking at things. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you want to do business, then do it. I'll talk to father."
Fan Sizhe was overjoyed, but he suddenly frowned. "But what about mother?"
Fan Xian's heart skipped a beat. He thought of Lady Liu, whom he hadn't thought about for a long time. Fan Manor in the capital seemed to be happy and harmonious, but who knew how long this seemingly wonderful situation would last?
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