Ch. 396..400: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 396-400
Chapter 396: Chapter 396 Fire Bull Formation(1)_1
"Prince, Miss Lin." Everyone stood up and courteously greeted them.
"Sit." Chu Suifeng spoke coldly and then took Lin Ziyin to the head of the table.
"Is the lady feeling better?" Master Mo asked with concern, and Chu Suifeng swept a glare at him.
Master Mo’s heart fluttered, he had merely politely inquired after Lin Ziyin’s health, why did the prince glare at him so fiercely, as if he had committed an unforgivable sin?
The rest did not notice Chu Suifeng’s gnashing look and echoed Master Mo in asking about Lin Ziyin’s condition.
"Thank you all for your concern, I only had heatstroke yesterday, but I’m fine today." Lin Ziyin graciously thanked everyone.
Due to Chu Suifeng’s excessive concern for Lin Ziyin yesterday, when everyone saw Lin Ziyin again, no one dared to show any disrespect. They were all afraid of angering the prince and henceforth being banned from setting foot in the Northern Land.
Everyone laughed and sat back down, patiently waiting for Lin Ziyin to announce the supply matters.
"I know you’re all eager to know the result, but before that, please wash your hands and taste our local special food from the Northern Land. We’ll finalize things after that. Of course, I’m not just whetting your appetites. The food that you’ll taste will also be one of the products exported from the Northern Land." Lin Ziyin explained with a smile.
Product evaluation? Everyone perked up at the sound of it, their impatience vanished.
Handmaids such as Qiaoqiao and Duoduo lined up and brought in several basins of water. The merchants, not paying attention to formalities, prepared to wash their hands.
"Wait a moment, this type of fruit soap is a new product soon to be launched by our Lin Family. It has strong cleaning power, long-term use will not harm the skin. Moreover, it makes the skin smoother and whiter, and its moisturizing effect is also good. Of course, the function of different fruit soaps varies. They can be categorized into anti-wrinkle, whitening, moisturizing, acne removal, and blackhead removal types. There are also corresponding cleansers, moisturizing water, moisturizing cream, hand cream, eye cream, and essential oils. All beauty products were jointly developed by Master Hui Zhen of the Ding’an Temple and the Xu Family, thereby, the products are pollution-free and have no side effects. Everyone can use them with confidence." Lin Ziyin introduced the functionality of the product briefly.
The fruit soap was invented by her modern-day friend, and the rest of the beauty products were developed under her guidance. With a method for distillation and purification, Xu Bo, Xu Yue, and Jue Yuan, amongst others, were very interested in this new research method. She believed that new types of perfume would emerge soon.
Lin Ziyin, having been baptized by modern civilization, although she was not proficient in the production process of cosmetics, she had done some research on everyday products. Even the bit of common sense she had in her brain had provided some insights for Jue Yuan and the others. The ancients were not foolish, contrary to belief. On the contrary, in certain technical aspects, compared to modern assembly line production, their products might outperform in terms of safety and effectiveness.
"Good stuff." After use, the eyes of the merchants were not merely red, they practically turned green. If asked whose money was easiest to earn in the world, everyone would without hesitation answer that women’s money was the easiest to earn.
The Capital City never lacked rich women. The legal wives wanted to stand out, the concubines wanted favoritism, and the ladies at the Flower Building needed to do business - none of them could do without the use of blush and powder.
Clearly, Lin Family’s blush and powder were different from the ones available in the market. This business venture, could be summed up in one word - lucrative!
"Please now try the second of the Lin Family’s key products we plan to launch." Lin Ziyin clapped her hands.
Chapter 397: Chapter 397 Fire Bull Formation(2)_1
Qiaoqiao and others carried away the water used for washing, and Hong Ying and Lun Luo came in carrying tea trays. Within the teacups on the tray, steam was rising vigorously, the tea in each cup did not resemble plain water, the air was filled with a strong scent of beans.
Also, there were recognizable coarse objects within some cups, carrying a milky fragrance.
"Please have a taste," Lin Ziyin gestured invitingly. The merchants did not hesitate and each picked up two different cups and placed them before their eyes. Yu Shao’en and others immediately brought in some light refreshments.
"This cup contains soy milk powder. The main ingredient is the famous soybeans from our Northern Land. It is supplemented with sugar, water, and milk. The advantage of ancient times is that there were no complicated additives. All foods carried a natural aroma."
The strong smell of beans quickly won over everyone present.
"The second one is oatmeal. However, it’s a bit embarrassing to mention that due to the limited production of oats, we might have a rather limited supply for now. Apart from soy milk and oatmeal, we will also gradually provide black sesame paste and walnut powder in the future. I hope we can all prosper together." Lin Ziyin looked at the merchants with a cunning smile.
"What about the milk? How come there’s no goat-like smell?" Someone curiously examined the cup in his hand. "It seems like there’s a milky scent in the pastries as well?"
"Yes, along with these drinks for export, we will also provide accompanying meals such as milky bread rolls, egg yolk pies, and various types of cookies. These are the golden combinations for soy milk." Lin Ziyin spoke in a teasing tone, which immediately lightened the atmosphere in the room.
"Do these foods also require grain mortgages?" A bearded man asked in worry.
"Yes, it’s needed for the first two years. But not afterward." Lin Ziyin responded.
Chu Suifeng’s eyes brightened after hearing this. No need after two years, that’s very confident. Thinking about the fruitful crops in the fields, Chu Suifeng did not believe that Lin Ziyin was bluffing.
"Have you all decided on how many states you will be doing this business in?" Lin Ziyin asked the main question.
"We, the Mo Family, have taken the Jiangnan region." The Mo Family was indeed wealthy and extravagant, as the Jiangnan region had numerous states, and they wanted all of it without hesitation. For each state, a franchise fee was required. The Mo family would have to pay a considerable amount of silver for just the franchise fee.
"Okay, Hong Ying, make a note of this and then prepare the agreement." Lin Ziyin commanded.
Jue Ming and Yu Shao’en had already been standing by ready to take notes. When they heard her command, they immediately took out their brushes and found a place to sit down.
The rest of the merchants swiftly reported their territories, as these were pre-discussed matters. Lin Ziyin believed in the market and did not fear these people causing trouble by purposefully underreporting states. She had a clear concept of the sales pathways for the products. After all, those chosen by Chu Suifeng would not be narrow-minded, only focused on small profits.
After all, with Chu Suifeng’s capacity, if he intended to find out the truth, no one could escape. It’s better to honestly report than to risk losing a good business opportunity.
The agreement quickly took effect after signatures and seals of approval were placed by each party. Everyone was overjoyed.
"I would like to invite everyone to stay for lunch." Lin Ziyin invited with a smile.
"Thank you for your generous invitation, Miss Lin, and Prince." Everyone agreed while laughing, they all had experiences with corporate social events, and besides, they had been looking forward to getting closer to the Prince.
During lunch, the Lin family house was bustling with excitement. The villagers, seeing all the guests at Lin’s house and hearing that they were out-of-town merchants, were overjoyed. The roads they walked on seemed to spring wind beneath their feet.
Chapter 398: Chapter 398 Fire Bull Formation(3)_1
Bao Family’s wife looked towards the direction of the Lin Family, her eyes filled with malevolence. Her husband was still uncontactable, leaving her with two children to look after. The livelihood of the three-person family all depended on her, a woman expected to conform to traditional gender roles. To make things worse, she couldn’t even get work at the money-making workshop run by the Lin Family. Thinking of the heartlessness of the main house, she felt discontented with everyone she saw, feeling as if they all owed her something.
Mrs. Yan felt as if the sky was falling. Her highly valued second son unexpectedly failed the examination, which she couldn’t accept, and now, unimaginably, the head of the household, her husband Ma Dalang, was also let go by his employer the day before. These past few years, Mrs. Yan lived comfortably. On what did she rely? It was all thanks to Ma Dalang serving as one of the store managers in the city. Now that Ma Dalang had been dismissed, how could she lead a good life? Mrs. Yan was at a loss!
"You were doing so well, why were you fired?" She relentlessly pursued Ma Dalang for an answer.
Ma Dalang looked deflated. He was already upset, and seeing Mrs. Yan’s incessant questioning made him even more irritated. "How was I fired? How would I know, I don’t own the shop."
"How could you not know? Were you fired because you did not work diligently?" Mrs. Yan, feeling upset, angrily pointed and interrogated him. "I didn’t work diligently?" Ma Dalang was most annoyed when others mentioned his losing the store manager’s job. Mrs. Yan’s ceaseless prattling had completely turned him off. "I practically gave my all to the shop year-round. The boss ruined the business due to incompetence, why are you blaming me?"
Truth be told, Ma Dalang being dismissed was not due to his shortcomings. A large family depended on his earnings for survival, and he knew too well how crucial his job was. However, his efforts were futile. Not only was there a higher-ranking store manager over him, but also a boss behind the scenes.
Unfortunately, the old boss passed away not long ago, the careless young boss gambled so much that he squandered the shop’s assets in just a few months.
During that time, he caught on and wanted to embezzle some funds from the business to bring home. However, the store manager was obstinate and had a tight grip on the business, not giving him any opportunity to make his move.
Now, the shop had been sold by the young boss, leaving him and the store manager jobless and returning home empty-handed. Losing his job, Ma Dalang felt unbearably miserable. His unsympathetic wife at home didn’t comfort him at all, but instead complained about him incessantly.
Ma Dalang really wanted to give Mrs. Yan a slap to wake her up.
"It’s gone under?" Upon hearing this, Mrs. Yan was stupefied. She had seen the shop, customers were always coming and going; how could it fail suddenly? She didn’t quite believe it, but seeing the look of defeat on Ma Dalang, she felt that her husband wouldn’t lie to her. "Knowing that it was going under, why didn’t you embezzle more money?"
"You want me to go to prison, don’t you?" No longer wanting to hear Mrs. Yan’s grumbling, Ma Dalang stood up and walked out.
"If you dare, don’t come back." Hearing a thud from the front door, Mrs. Yan stood in the yard yelling angrily, all alone.
After Ma Zhicai returned home from failing the exam, he had been lying in bed for several days. All meals were brought to him by Mrs. Yan.
He couldn’t accept it! Ma Zhicai truly couldn’t bear it. Several individuals with lower grades than him at the academy became scholars. How could he have failed? What was even more vexing was that children younger than him in the village also passed. It was too unfair.
No, it’s the Lin Family that’s despicable! Reflecting on the backing that the Lin Family had, Ma Zhicai firmly believed that his failure must be due to the Lin Family’s scheming. The Lin Family? Whenever he thought of Lin Ziyin and Lin Zige, Ma Zhicai tightly clenched his fists.
Chapter 399: Chapter 399 Fire Bull Formation(4)_1
Ma Dàláng strolled about the village with his hands behind his back to take his mind off things. He did a roundabout the village but couldn’t find many idle people.
"Go and ask if the Lin Family needs any day laborers for the wheat harvest?" He heard a voice from a distance while walking down the village’s main path. Ma Dàláng looked up and saw Xiao Pangshi and Zhou Dasheng standing not far away. It was Xiao Pangshi who had spoken. "Most people in the village have work to do, and only our entire family is idle. It’d be nice if we could earn some extra silver by taking advantage of the wheat harvest."
"The Lins don’t like me. Even if I go, they won’t agree. If you want to go, you ask." Zhou Dasheng’s leg had finally healed, and finding work at the market during the summer was not easy. Seeing people from the village earning good wages without leaving their homes, the couple felt envious but could do nothing about it. After all, they had been harsh on the Lin Family previously.
The Lin Family was not the easy target it once was. They were no longer willing to be manipulated or taken advantage of.
Having no other choice, the couple was trying to please Lin Ziyin. Upon hearing the news of Lin Ziyin’s heatstroke yesterday, Xiao Pangshi hurriedly gathered a few of her privately kept eggs in a basket this morning, planning to pay a visit to the Lin Family. Such a rare opportunity to visit was not to be missed by Xiao Pangshi.
"The Lin family is now headed by Lin Ziyin, a woman. You are also a woman, and can easily communicate with her." Lying in bed with a broken leg, Zhou Dasheng’s character had become slightly smoother. "If we can find some temporary work, by the time autumn comes, we can start harvesting nuts earlier. Then we won’t have to worry about getting by."
"It’s agreed. From now on, we’re not allowed to climb up and kick the pines." The thought of her husband lying in bed for nearly half a year made Xiao Pangshi feel afraid inside.
"Alright, we’ll just harvest from the lower parts." Zhou Dasheng agreed with his heart still filled with fear.
As their backs were to Ma Dàláng, they didn’t discover that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.
The Lin Family? Ma Dàláng peered ahead and saw the Lin Family’s large courtyard filled with carriage vehicles of various kinds. These carriages were nothing like the workhorses he usually saw at the village entrance. Each one was so luxurious that just by looking at them, you could tell they were used by important people.
The Lin family had undergone such a huge change in less than two years. Indeed, fortunes do change over time! Ma Dàláng glanced in the direction of the Lin family’s house with regret. If his family hadn’t broken off the marriage, with his shrewdness, Ma Ji would have been a prominent figure in Shili Village under the Lin Family’s patronage regardless.
If only he could turn back time!
"Make way." Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from behind; Ma Dàláng quickly moved aside. As soon as he stepped off the road, a few large horses galloped past him.
The sound of galloping hooves striking the slab stones was very loud, and they didn’t even slow down when they saw people. Ma Dàláng watched the backs of the few men on horseback, feeling annoyed but not daring to vent his anger.
He recognized the rider in the middle, a handsome young man dressed in white. Despite his gentle smile, he was a killer deep down - feared by all in Feng City - known as the smiling tiger, His Third Highness.
Seeing His Third Highness, Ma Dàláng knew without guessing that the Prince of the Tomb had to be inside the Lin Family’s courtyard. Looking at the line of carriages in front of the Lin Family’s courtyard, he started to have thoughts. After all, he was one of the few people in the village who could read and count. The Lin Family had a lot of business to handle. If he could manage any of their shops, it would be better than being a secondary shopkeeper in the city.
Firstly, the Lin Family paid well. Even their workers’ monthly wages, overtime pay, bonuses, dividends, and benefits were higher than what he earned as a former deputy shopkeeper in the city. Secondly, the Lin Family business had the Prince of the Tomb and His Third Highness as backers. Their goal was to run a long-term business which was definitely not going to be closed casually. Thirdly, as long as he performed well, he was sure to be in high demand in the village.
Chapter 400: Chapter 400 Fire Bull Formation(5)_1
To Ma Dalang, although there had been some unpleasantness between his family and the Lin Family before, he didn’t think it amounted to much. There were rules in the village: as long as one family bowed its head after a dispute, no one was allowed to hold a grudge. After all, hadn’t the Ma family attended Lin Zige’s wedding? If the Lin Family carried on dwelling on past grievances, they would be the ones to lose face in the eyes of the villagers.
The more Ma Dalang thought about it, the better it seemed. Even losing his job in Feng City might have been a blessing in disguise. Now he just needed to find the right opportunity to ask Lin Ziyin what kind of work she could arrange for him—perhaps Lin Ziyin might value his abilities, and he could even become the manager of the Lin Family.
Si Jinhan dismounted his horse and walked into the Lin Family home, unsurprised to see they were hosting various business guests. "Miss, when there’s a good deal going on, can’t you include me as well?"
"Third Young Master, it seems like you have quite profited from the roast duck business this year." Lin Ziyin replied indifferently.
"Miss Lin, my name is Luo Yan. It’s our first meeting, but I hope you won’t regard me as a stranger." A man dressed in blue was smiling faintly as he looked at Lin Ziyin.
Lin Ziyin noticed his regular features, his clear, sparkling eyes and his resemblance to a gentle, courteous scholar, which made her feel kindly disposed towards him. One could tell he was an upright man at a glance.
"Master Luo, you are too polite." Lin Ziyin had previously met Luo Heng, the elder son of the Luo Family and found that the brothers didn’t look much alike. The elder had a certain roughness, which was common among men from the North, while the younger one resembled a graceful, noble son from Jiangnan. "Since Master Luo is a friend of Third Young Master, naturally he is my friend as well."
Upon hearing this, a slight smile tugged at Chu Suifeng’s lips. What a crafty little girl!
Si Jinhan, on the other hand, chuckled more like a fox watching the scene. Even though Lin Ziyin was closer to the King of Ling, she used him as a cover, afraid that others might misunderstand her relationship with Chu Suifeng, thus blocking any closer contact from Luo Heng. It was clear that she remained cautious towards every man except for herself and the king. The realization that he still had a place in her heart made Si Jinhan secretly happy.
"Miss Lin is indeed as straightforward as people say." Luo Yan caught the chasm in her words, but maintained a light smile on his face, seemingly oblivious to the undertone of her words.
The merchants sitting around the round table all stood up to greet Si Jinhan and Luo Heng when they entered. Even those who did not know them personally had heard that these two masters were Chu Suifeng’s reliable aides since childhood.
To do business in the Northern Land, it was necessary to have a good relationship with these two masters.
In no time, spurred by this shared sentiment, the merchants lifted their cups and began toasting to Si Jinhan and Luo Heng in turns.
Si Jinhan, generally hard to approach, and Luo Heng, known for scheming, were usually not the type businessman sought to associate with. Watching these merchants’ niceties, Si Jinhan and Luo Heng glanced at Chu Suifeng before politely drinking with everyone in the room.
"We still have official business this afternoon, cannot drink too much." Chu Suifeng instructed indifferently.
Upon hearing this, the merchants promptly sat back in their original positions. Lin Ziyin, fearing that they might be intimidated by Chu Suifeng, quickly resumed chatting about business with a forced smile.
The atmosphere once again became lively.
Looking at Lin Ziyin who was chatting happily with the merchants, Si Jinhan whispered to Luo Heng, "Don’t be deceived by her smile, she is a sly fox with a dark heart."
Luo Heng simply smiled silently in response, while Chu Suifeng cast a cold glance over them.