In the evening, the mirror lantern was ready. A lot of people had gathered around the lantern. Many people felt that the lantern was very unique, so they wanted to take a few more glances at it.
As the sky gradually darkened, the inner light of the lantern was turned on. In this way, the lantern became even more beautiful. In order to make the lantern more dazzling, Ang Lee had already ordered people to turn off the street lights around the lantern. In this way, the lantern's light was more prominent. People could see the lantern from far away.
As a result, more and more people came. If it weren't for the sturdy base at the bottom of the lantern, it was estimated that this weak lantern would have been crushed by the crowd.
"Look, this lantern is so strange! It's two people facing each other, and there's a big circle in the middle. It's really interesting. "
"What do you know? It's not two people, it's one person. The circle in the middle is not a circle, but a mirror. Haha!"
"Oh, it's true. Only a mirror can make people look exactly the same. It's really a mirror."
"The woman above is looking at the mirror. The old man and the child below are also looking at the mirror. This family is all looking at the mirror!"
"What's the point of putting a lantern like this here? Are they trying to tell us that we have to look at the mirror every day? "
"They're trying to tell us that there's no mirror at home. Hurry up and go to the store to buy one. Let's go and buy a mirror."
"Let's go and buy a mirror. It's almost the New Year. It's time to prepare a gift for the little girl. What gift can be more suitable than this small mirror for the little girl? Let's buy it."
The crowd suddenly became lively, and it obviously attracted the attention of the onlooking businessmen.
"Wow, the effect is good! They just took a look at the lantern and immediately went to buy a mirror. This effect is better than advertising in the Tang dynasty newspaper! "
"Yes! Yes! There are more and more advertisements in the Tang dynasty newspaper, and the price is also high. Even if there's a small advertisement, no one will see it. The effect of this lantern is much better than that of the Tang dynasty newspaper. "
"Don't always look at others advertising with lanterns! Let's make one too! We can also advertise the goods we want to sell. Isn't this a good idea? "
"Can the lantern we make be placed on the street casually?"
The merchants began to quarrel with each other.
"Dong dong dong … Quiet, everyone quiet down."
When a large number of people had gathered around, the official in charge of the lantern show showed up. This was also what Ang Lee had told him. After hearing Ang Lee's words, this Level 7 official was so happy that he almost jumped up. Because Ang Lee's suggestion was so constructive that it could completely solve the huge problem that he was currently facing.
"Everyone, listen to me. This lantern is a mirror lantern used for advertising. When people see this lantern, they will think of buying a mirror. Other goods can also be made into lanterns. From now on, there are only a few days before the New Year. All businessmen who are willing to make lanterns can place them on the streets for free advertising. However, they also need to be reviewed. If they are too bad, they can't do it. Lanterns of different sizes will be placed in different exhibition areas. The better and bigger the lantern, the more conspicuous it can be placed in, and the better the advertising effect will be. The details are written on the notice. There are a total of fifty copies. Take your time to read them. Don't worry, don't worry."
Don't worry, don't worry. "After finishing this call, the Level 7 official felt much better. This was originally his task, but as long as the merchants joined in, his pressure would be greatly reduced. The lantern show could be very special. After all, these officials' brains were limited. In order to make their products better remembered by the people, the merchants would be creative and create very new lanterns. When a large group of very unique lanterns appeared on the market, the lantern show would naturally become incomparably exciting. It would be much more exciting than previous years. As for the cost, whoever made the advertisement lantern would naturally pay for it. They also had to pay for the venue, lighting, garbage removal and so on.
Of course, these were small sums of money. Compared with the effect of advertising, these costs were really a piece of cake. The merchants would definitely be moved.
Fifty notices with specific details had been posted on the nearby walls. The reason why so many notices were posted in one breath was naturally because there would be a lot of people reading the notices. If only a few notices were posted, it would be impossible to read them in detail. If the crowd was divided into fifty groups and read them slowly, it would be very good to avoid the situation where the merchants couldn't see the contents of the notices.
Sure enough, as soon as the notices were posted, a large group of merchants ran over to read the notices. In order to let them see it clearly, the surrounding street lights were turned on again. In addition, it didn't matter even if they couldn't see it. The notice would be posted in a conspicuous place of the Tang dynasty newspaper early in the morning tomorrow. It must be seen by all the merchants. Then, many of them would choose to make a lantern. In this way, the problem that troubled the officials of the lantern show would be easily solved. If there were too many lanterns and exceeded the capacity of the streets, the part that the imperial court was responsible for could be reduced correspondingly. Thus, it could also save a sum of money for the imperial court. At least it was killing three birds with one stone. The imperial court could spend less money, the merchants could advertise, the people could see more and more lanterns, and the officials in charge of the lantern show could perform better and would not be reprimanded anymore.
"Assistant Minister Li, the matter you asked has been done. Many merchants have begun to sign up."
"Assistant Minister Li's small proposal has really helped us a lot. With the participation of these merchants, we don't have to worry about the insufficient number of lanterns. We also don't have to reach out to the imperial court to ask for funds. What we have now is enough. It's enough."
"I really don't know how to thank Assistant Minister Li!"
Several officials in charge of the lantern show said very gratefully.
Li An said faintly, "I don't need your gratitude. Just do your best to get this done. It definitely can't be like last year, where you trampled people to death during the New Year. Fortunately, they were all ordinary people. If any of the nobles were hurt, your heads wouldn't be enough to chop off."
"Yes, yes, yes. We understand. We will do our best to do this well."
Several officials hurriedly said.
Last year, because the locations of the lantern festival were too concentrated, and the people hoped to see beautiful lanterns during the New Year. Therefore, they all rushed to the streets with lanterns. As a result, there were too many people, which greatly exceeded the capacity of the streets where the lantern festival was located. In addition, the officials in charge of security were not prepared, which led to a very serious trampling accident. Many people were injured because of the trampling accident, and some were not rescued and lost their lives. This turned what was originally a joyous event into a tragedy.
Although the people who died were ordinary people, so this event did not have much impact, it was always a tragedy. This time it was ordinary people who died. Who could guarantee that the next one who was trampled to death would not be nobles? If such a thing happened, the officials in charge of the lantern festival would not be simply reprimanded. If things went wrong, they might be dismissed or even exiled. It was their fault for not doing their job well.
This was the case in the Tang dynasty. Compared with the lives of the nobles, the lives of ordinary people were much lower. It did not seem to matter much if a few ordinary people died, but if a few nobles died, it would be a big deal. Although it was unfair, no one could change this. Even Ang Lee could not change it, because it was easy to change people's minds, especially those who had vested interests. How could they let ordinary people be in the same position as them? This was absolutely intolerable.
Li An had no intention of changing these. It was enough as long as the commoners could live comfortably. There was no need for them to be on equal footing with the aristocrats. After all, even the egalitarian society of the future was only on the surface. In reality, it was still very unequal. The officials were still a cut above the rest, and the commoners were still living at the bottom. It was getting harder and harder for them to change their fates.
Standing on the three-story building beside the street and looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, Ang Lee was filled with emotions. So many people came to Chang 'an for better living conditions. Businessmen could expand their market here, and ordinary people could find suitable jobs more easily. There were also a lot of officials, so the number of nobles supported by the imperial court was huge. There were even more idlers.
The announcement was made in the evening. In the evening, many businessmen had already started to act. They hurriedly scrambled for craftsmen who could make lanterns and took them to their shops. They asked the craftsmen to make the lanterns quickly and asked the shop assistants in the shops to help them.
As for those merchants who were a step slower, because they couldn't find a craftsman who could make the lanterns, they were so anxious that they stomped their feet. Some even planned to make the lanterns themselves. Although the lanterns didn't have any skills, they couldn't be made by ordinary people. They had to have a professional craftsman. This was something that couldn't be passed. Otherwise, if a random person were to make the lanterns, the lanterns made would be terrible to look at. There were many details that couldn't be shown at all, and a crude lantern wouldn't be able to pass the inspection of the relevant officials. Even if it passed the inspection, it would only be placed in the lowest position, and the advertising effect would be greatly reduced.
The businessmen were particularly anxious. However, this made the craftsmen who could make lanterns happy. They were coolies and didn't earn much money. They were poor people. However, in the days before the New Year, because the businessmen were anxious to make lanterns, these craftsmen could ask for sky-high prices. Moreover, they had to pay in advance. If they didn't pay, they wouldn't work. The price was also three to five times higher than usual. Otherwise, they wouldn't work. For the sake of their own advertising effect, the merchants could only reluctantly agree. After all, even if their wages were increased by three to five times, it was just a small amount of money for them.
Because the grade and size of the lantern had a lot to do with the advertising effect, many bigger businessmen spared no expense to let the craftsmen design bigger and more distinctive lanterns. As for the cost, they didn't consider it at all. There was no need to consider it. As long as they could make lanterns that satisfied the businessmen, it was done.
In addition, in order to compete with their competitors, some businessmen didn't hesitate to send spies to secretly observe the production site of their competitors' lanterns. They memorized the grade and size of the other party's lanterns so that they could make bigger and higher-grade lanterns.
However, there were also some merchants who were careful. They asked the craftsmen to only make small lanterns in the backyard of the shop, while the main lanterns were made in a secluded courtyard outside the city. When the time came, they would suddenly launch the lanterns, which would definitely shine brightly and catch their competitors off guard.
Although it was just a small lantern, it had already made the businessmen of the Tang dynasty fight with wits and courage. No businessman was willing to miss such a good opportunity to become famous.
However, not all businessmen liked to fight with each other. Some businessmen thought that harmony was the only way to make money, so they contacted each other and created an interest group similar to the Chamber of Commerce. In this group, everyone had to do business according to the agreed rules. They couldn't lower the price at will, and they couldn't do anything that hurt their peers. Wasn't it good for everyone to make money together in harmony?
However, such a Chamber of Commerce only existed in a small area. The purpose of its establishment was to suppress the businesses in other areas and bring more practical benefits to itself.
For example, there were 20 or 30 restaurants in this area, but Chang 'an City was so big that there were also many restaurants in other areas, more than thousands in total. However, the scattered and vicious competition areas were very stressful. Although they could defeat their competitors by constantly lowering the price and make themselves the only restaurant in the area, such an area would become less prosperous with the departure of a large number of restaurants. Customers would gradually leave, and the final winner would become a complete loser.
If the 20 or 30 restaurants in a certain area united, they would advance and retreat together, maintain the same price and service, and communicate with each other when they encountered problems. In this way, these 20 or 30 restaurants could survive well. When there were more restaurants in a place, customers would feel that this place was lively and would be more willing to come here to spend money. This would bring a huge flow of traffic to this area, and then all the 20 or 30 restaurants would benefit.
At this moment, when it came to advertising the lanterns, all the members of this small group naturally sat together to discuss how to make the lanterns. Since they were a group, they had to work together for their common interests. No one could do it alone, otherwise they would violate the rules and be suppressed by the other members.
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