Cai Bida first took out the tea leaves from the First Teahouse and placed them in the tea bowls to brew. Cai Bida then took out the tea leaves from the World's Number One Tea and brewed them as well.
The two types of tea leaves were soon brewed.
Soon after, Cai Bida poured out the two teas and brought them in front of Li Jiancheng and Wei Zheng, asking Wei Zheng and Li Jiancheng to comment.
Cai Bida had an expectant look on his face. "Your Highness, Wei Xima, please!"
Li Jiancheng picked up the tea from the First Teahouse and took a sip. The tea rolled in his throat and entered his stomach. The aroma of the tea spread through his taste buds. It was delicious.
Li Jiancheng nodded slightly.
He had tasted the tea leaves from the World's Number One Tea before and knew its taste. The World's Number One Tea tasted better overall, but not by much.
Li Jiancheng then took another sip of the tea from the World's Number One Tea.
Li Jiancheng compared the two types of tea and savored them again. The World's Number One Tea's tea leaves still had a slight advantage, but in fact, if one did not taste it carefully, one would not be able to tell the difference between the tea leaves. After all, the difference was negligible.
Wei Zheng gave his evaluation as well.
After all, Wei Zheng was a tea lover. He tasted it carefully and nodded slightly. Everyone knew that the World's Number One Tea was famous. The tea leaves from the First Teahouse were still a distance away from the World's Number One Tea.
In fact, the difference was not that big.
Cai Bida was confident in his tea. After Li Jiancheng and Wei Zheng tasted the tea, he took the initiative to ask, "Your Highness, what do you think of the tea from the First Teahouse?"
Li Jiancheng said, "The tea leaves from the First Teahouse are not bad. Although it's still a little bit inferior to the World's Number One Tea, it's hard to tell the difference without careful tasting. But Shopkeeper Cai, if it's a little bit inferior, it's still inferior. Since you're a tea maker, you should continue to work hard and try to catch up to Du Qi's tea leaves. "
Wei Zheng said, "Your Highness, you're right."
Cai Bida's heart was completely at ease. He said, "Your Highness, Wei Xima, the tea leaves were invented by Du Qi after all. Therefore, it is very likely that Du Qi has the secret recipe in his hands."
"As a result, no matter how much we study the tea leaves of the First Teahouse, we are still lacking a little bit."
"But rest assured, Your Highness. Our people have been researching the production of tea leaves. The entire First Tea House will strive to produce a tea that can replace Du Qi's tea leaves. "
"It's just that I haven't succeeded yet. Even so, the price of our tea leaves is lower than Du Qi's World's Number One Tea, but in terms of quality, there's not much difference. "
Cai Bida was very confident.
Li Jiancheng said, "That's true."
After a pause, Li Jiancheng continued, "Then, what is the second matter?"
Cai Bida said seriously, "The success of the tea leaves depends on the taste of the tea leaves. That is the foundation. On the other hand, it relied on the promotion of the tea leaves. Therefore, the second matter is that I plan to hold a large-scale promotion this month to increase the sales of the tea leaves. "
Li Jiancheng was a little confused. He asked, "What do you mean by a large-scale promotion?"
Wei Zheng also had a puzzled look on his face.
A promotion.
He had never heard of such a term before. He felt that he didn't quite understand it.
Cai Bida explained, "Your Highness, the term 'promotion' came from Du Qi's mouth. This term means that the tea leaves in the teahouse will be sold at a discount. "
"For example, the original price of a box of tea leaves is ten strings of cash. During the promotion period, if you buy ten boxes of tea leaves, you can sell them at ninety percent of the price, or eighty-seven percent of the price."
"In short, there will be a discount."
Cai Bida said, "The advantage of a discount is that the more you buy, the greater the discount. This was the so-called promotional activity. It is also a way to increase sales. "
Wei Zheng frowned and said, "The tea leaves can't possibly be ten strings of cash per box."
Ten strings of cash was already a considerable amount.
Li Jiancheng nodded in agreement.
After hearing this, Cai Bida shook his head and chuckled in his heart. He patiently explained, "Wei Xima, when I said ten strings of cash for tea leaves, it was just an example. The specific price will be based on the price of the tea leaves in the shop. In short, this promotion will make countless people buy tea leaves on a large scale. This is the so-called promotional activity. "
Li Jiancheng understood and nodded. "Interesting. This promotion is quite interesting."
He was very approving of it now.
Wei Zheng also smiled and said, "Not bad. This method of yours is really good. Sigh, Du Qi is really hateful. Yet, his mind is full of wonderful ideas. "
Cai Bida continued, "Since we are going to do a promotion, in fact, the greater the influence during the promotion period, the more it will help the shop. Therefore, I hope that Your Highness will personally visit the shop during the promotion period to promote our shop. "
After saying that, Cai Bida looked at Li Jiancheng.
For a businessman like Cai Bida, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was an existence that he could only look up to.
If Li Jiancheng personally visited the First Teahouse, it would certainly be a great success. One must know that Du Qi's teahouse was originally popular because Li Shimin brought all the officials from the Duke of Qin's residence.
Li Jiancheng was thinking.
Weighing the pros and cons.
Wei Zheng said in a low voice, "Your Highness, this humble servant believes that this is feasible. Your Highness is not going to scheme anything. You just feel that the tea leaves of the First Teahouse taste good, so you are going to promote it. You must know that the Duke of Qin also went to Du Qi's teahouse when it opened. "
Li Jiancheng heard Wei Zheng's persuasion and said, "But now, I still can't leave the Eastern Palace."
This was Li Yuan's confinement order.
Li Jiancheng was ordered to face the wall and reflect on his mistakes for half a month. During this time, Li Jiancheng dared not leave the Eastern Palace. Therefore, Li Jiancheng could only obediently stay in the residence during this period.
Wei Zheng looked at Cai Bida and said seriously, "Shopkeeper Cai, His Highness is busy now. In particular, His Majesty has ordered His Highness to seize the time to deal with the administrative affairs of detention. His Highness can't take the time out in the short term, but he should be free in early July. Therefore, you must wait until early July to carry out the promotional activities. Only then will His Highness have enough time. "
Cai Bida heard this and became excited. He said joyfully, "No problem!"
Everything he did was based on Li Jiancheng's time. As long as Li Jiancheng arranged the time, he could arrange it directly.
Li Jiancheng also nodded in approval.
Wei Zheng's words were correct. He avoided the embarrassment of being ordered to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion, but he also agreed to Cai Bida's request.
Cai Bida continued, "The third thing is to ask His Highness to arrange for someone to take me to visit the heads of the various government offices in Chang 'an. Your Highness, when I was at the First Teahouse, I was in charge of tea sales. "
"Therefore, I know that apart from the big merchants, the government uses a lot of tea. Especially in the palace, they also use a lot of tea. "
"If Your Highness can arrange for someone to take me to visit them one by one and promote the tea of the First Teahouse, then our tea will definitely be promoted."
"At least in terms of the government, Du Qi can't monopolize it. Before, Du Qi monopolized the government's tea. Now, as long as Your Highness intervenes, we can take over this business. "
Cai Bida made another suggestion.
Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up. This was an opportunity!
Wei Zheng heard Cai Bida's words and saw Li Jiancheng's expression. He frowned and waved his hand. "Shopkeeper Cai, please leave us for a moment. I have something to discuss with His Highness. After that, we'll talk about the matter you mentioned. "
"Yes!"
Cai Bida heard this and respectfully retreated.
However, when he turned to leave, there was a puzzled look on his face. Just now, he only mentioned that the Crown Prince should arrange for someone to come forward. He didn't say anything else. Why did Wei Zheng look so serious?
The situation didn't look good.
Cai Bida shook his head. He didn't understand, so he could only wait outside. In the end, only Li Jiancheng and Wei Zheng were left in the room.
Li Jiancheng was also puzzled. He asked, "What do you have to say, Xuancheng?"
Wei Zheng said, "Your Highness, you heard Cai Bida's third point. What do you think?"
Li Jiancheng had an excited look on his face as he said, "Xuancheng, according to Cai Bida, this arrangement is actually an excellent opportunity to make money."
"As Cai Bida said, as long as the people from the Eastern Palace show up, the officials under my faction will naturally go to the First Teahouse to buy tea. As for the other three provinces and six ministries, and even the other officials, when they know about the First Teahouse, they will bring Cai Bida to visit. In the end, we will be able to snatch countless orders. "
"If we proceed with this plan, the government alone will be a fat piece of meat."
Li Jiancheng looked expectant. "If we can get this fat piece of meat from the government, we will be able to make a lot of money. When that happens, the Eastern Palace will be under a lot of pressure to spend."
Wei Zheng shook his head. "Your Highness, I have the opposite opinion. I don't agree with the third point. It is because of this that I asked Cai Bida to leave and wait outside. "
Li Jiancheng frowned. "Xuancheng, if you don't agree, then what do you mean?"
Wei Zheng explained, "Your Highness, if you think about what Cai Bida said just now, it is true that it can help us gain a lot of benefits. There will be countless officials who will go to the First Teahouse to buy tea.
"The problem is that the officials from the Eastern Palace will personally bring Cai Bida to visit. This is equivalent to Your Highness asking them to do so. In other words, Your Highness is asking the officials of the various ministries to buy tea from the First Teahouse.
"Although Your Highness didn't say it personally, this method is suspected of secretly asking for bribes.
"Once this matter is known by others, especially the remonstrants in the imperial court, it is very likely that they will advise against it. This matter may be brought up to His Majesty. For Your Highness, it is very likely that His Majesty will severely reprimand you."
Wei Zheng said worriedly, "This is my concern. Your Highness, please reconsider."
Li Jiancheng thought for a moment, then continued, "Xuancheng, we are now in urgent need of money to win over the imperial court. In fact, my status as the crown prince is not enough to gain the loyalty of countless people. No one can deny that the king of Qin has made great contributions on the battlefield. If we want to operate in the imperial court, we need money. "
Wei Zheng frowned when he heard this.
This matter was indeed difficult to handle.
After a moment of consideration, Wei Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered you to reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors. In the meantime, I think we need to make money, but that is not the most important thing. The most important thing now is to regain His Majesty's trust. This is the only way we can stand firmly in the imperial court. I suggest that we do not accept Cai Bida's third suggestion for the time being. "
"No!"
Li Jiancheng stubbornly shook his head.
He was looking forward to making money.
Therefore, Li Jiancheng said, "Choose the lesser of two evils. Even if we arrange for officials to lead the way, there may be remonstrants. However, as long as we arrange it in advance, nothing will happen. Moreover, with the king of Qin as an example, even if the remonstrants find out, what can they say? Xuancheng, I am prepared to accept Cai Bida's suggestion. "
"Sigh …"
Wei Zheng sighed when he heard this.
He hoped that Li Jiancheng would think more before doing things and be more far-sighted. However, Li Jiancheng had lost his cool when he saw the benefits. He was no longer as calm as before. The benefits in front of him had made him dizzy.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
