Chapter 9: Advisor Recommends Himself

Shangguan Yong stepped on a stool with one foot, “Brother, you must be surprised to see the three of us. Haha, you’ve been holed up in that workshop for almost four months. I was wondering if you really got hit so hard that your brain got damaged, deciding to learn those menial trades!”

“Yeah, yeah, brother, you’ve really worried me,” said Yuan Zhao, who had a bit of a boyish look, patting Li Xian on the shoulder like a little adult. “Because I was so worried about your brain, I brought you some Dragon Blood that’ll get your blood pumping. Drink it, and I guarantee it’ll fire you up. How does that feel? Moved, right?”

I swear, I’m so moved I want to punch someone!

Finally, Zhang Quan, the smarter one, squinted his eyes and spoke, “Brother, it looks like you’ve finally come to your senses, which really surprises me. You don’t know this, but the lantern business is booming. Neighboring states like the Cai Kingdom, the Chen Kingdom, and the Qi Kingdom, big and small, are all starting to buy our lanterns at high prices.

“Haha, the lanterns that cost only 10 taels of silver here are selling for 10 taels of gold in other countries, and even at that price, they’re in short supply. My orders are already booked until next year.

“Especially the mirrors, it’s practically one tael of silver for one tael of gold. You should see the trading scene—there’s no haggling. They just hang a scale, put a mirror on one side and gold on the other, and the deal is made once it balances.

“Wow, I’ve been in business for years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a trade like this!”

Hearing this, Li Xian suddenly frowned, “Did you raise the price by ten times?”

Shangguan Yong shouted, “What, brother, you think that’s too little? You’re right, such fine goods shouldn’t only go up by ten times. But we have to take it slow, the price will go up eventually.”

“Exactly, exactly, brother, don’t worry, we’ll raise it to a hundred times soon!” Yuan Zhao had ambitious goals.

Only Zhang Quan noticed something was wrong. “What’s the matter, brother, did we price it too high?”

Li Xian sighed, “Could you guys stop calling me brother?”

The three of them spoke in unison: “No way!”

Li Xian’s mouth twitched. He had lost count of how many times this had happened, and no matter how many times he tried, his efforts always ended in failure.

After some more playful banter, Zhang Quan kept asking for the reason. Li Xian finally spoke, “If I just tell you, you won’t get it. Let’s go to the outer city, and I’ll explain as we walk. Then you’ll understand.”

“Sounds good.” The four of them finally exited through the main gate. As they left, Li Xian noticed several cultivators using spells to repair the walls, which quickly restored them to their original state. Seeing this, Li Xian sighed inwardly once again. Trying to develop technology in a world of cultivation seemed a bit challenging. With just a simple spell, concrete would be utterly obsolete.

As they walked down the main street, Li Xian was still worrying about the future of concrete technology.

“Wow, a beauty!” Zhang Quan shouted exaggeratedly.

Li Xian felt a primal desire erupt from deep within him. Before his mind could react, his body had already looked up. Sure enough, it was a woman, but she was only average at best.

Seeing Li Xian’s reaction, the three of them laughed triumphantly.

Li Xian didn’t laugh. Instead, for the first time, he realized that the original consciousness of his body might not have completely disappeared. He’d have to be careful in the future to avoid doing anything he’d regret. But he couldn’t tell anyone about this, so he’d have to figure it out on his own.

Thanks to Zhang Quan’s “reminder,” Li Xian knew he couldn’t stay too silent. He began telling jokes, making the three of them laugh out loud.

“Chang’e brought the rabbit to the moon because she needed carrots? Man, brother, you’re really talented. But you better stop with this topic, or the gods in heaven might shove some carrots down your throat.”

“Oh, so kissing a princess breaks the curse not because it’s the right method, but because it’s such a shameless method that it made the princess so furious that she broke the curse herself? Hahaha, that’s a good one.”

“The greatest tragedies in the world: ascending to immortality in broad daylight—only to find your enemy there, meeting an old friend in a foreign land—only to realize he’s your creditor, after a long drought, a drop of rain, on your wedding night—the bride is next door.”

“I may not be the most carefree, I may not be the wisest, I may not be the strongest. Hi, everyone, I’m Wei Bihui.”

Even Li Xian couldn’t stop laughing at his own jokes, let alone the three “country bumpkins” who had never been exposed to the internet.

“Haha, I’m dying of laughter, I can’t breathe, let me catch my breath,” Yuan Zhao said, laughing so hard he collapsed like a shrimp against the wall.

Shangguan Yong, speaking without thinking, said, “Man, why isn’t my surname Wei? I’d take any version of ‘Wei’—whether it’s Wei for a guard, Wei for position, Wei for fear, Wei for commander, or the Wei of the Wei Que palace gate.”

Zhang Quan let out a sinister laugh, “Shangguan Yong, do you dare say that in front of your father?”

“Uh… hehe…” Shangguan Yong laughed sheepishly. There was no way he’d say that in front of his father; he’d end up getting beaten to a pulp.

Li Xian quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “Alright, alright, let’s move on. I’m going to talk about the pricing and sales strategy. Listen carefully. I’m only going to say this once.

“Zhang Quan, you have the most business experience. Let me ask you this: If we divide people into six wealth categories—extreme poverty, barely getting by, middle class, wealthy, extremely wealthy, and the unfathomably rich—who do you think buys luxury goods?”

Zhang Quan answered without hesitation, “Anyone middle class and above would buy them.”

“Then let me ask you, which category has the greatest purchasing power?”

“Of course, the unfathomably rich.”

“Wrong!” Li Xian immediately corrected him, “It’s the middle class and the wealthy that have the greatest purchasing power.”

“Hmm?” Zhang Quan frowned as he thought about it, then suddenly praised him, “You’re right, brother, that’s spot on.”

Their conversation left Shangguan Yong and Yuan Zhao completely confused.

Li Xian didn’t bother explaining. He just continued, “I have a new sales method called brand marketing. Upper-class merchants sell brands; lower-class merchants sell products.

“What is a brand? To put it simply, it’s reputation. And reputation is primarily about—credibility.

“More specifically, credibility includes quality. I must guarantee that our product quality is flawless. Do you understand?”

Shangguan Yong replied boldly, “Hey, brother, are you treating us like fools? Of course we understand that.”

Zhang Quan, however, was more serious. “Brother, aside from quality, what else?”

“There are two more points. The first is pricing. We must have clear, consistent pricing. Whether it’s in the north or south of the Great Xia Kingdom, the east or west, or even internationally, the same product must be marked with the same price everywhere. We must be honest and fair to all customers.

“Of course, if there are additional costs due to transportation, we must also inform the customers about the shipping price.

“The third point is service. All our lanterns will have a one-year warranty. If there is a quality issue within a year, even if it breaks on the 364th day, we must replace it with a new one. Our customers are not ordinary people; they are wealthy, and what they care about most is their reputation.

“Naturally, if someone intentionally breaks the product, we will take swift and decisive action.

“How does that sound?”

“Brother, you’re amazing!” Zhang Quan was astonished.

Li Xian sighed, “You three, the jade lamps don’t have much technical complexity. It won’t be long before knockoffs appear…”

“Whoever dares to copy it, I’ll bring my soldiers to take care of them!” Shangguan Yong roared in anger.

“And what if it’s from another country?” Li Xian’s simple question left Shangguan Yong speechless.

After a pause, Li Xian continued, “To ensure our business thrives long-term, we can’t just sell products. We need to build a brand and establish our own reputation.

“My idea is to set up chain stores, with the same name, same decoration, same colors, and staff wearing the same uniforms, offering the same customer service. The prices must also be uniform, with no haggling, and consistent service.

“We must clearly inform customers of any transportation costs.

“Additionally, any extra profits we’ve made must be refunded. If the customers want the product, they should be able to choose for themselves.”

Clap clap clap—Suddenly, the sound of clapping came from behind.

The four turned to see a man in his thirties approaching with a smile. “Apologies, I overheard your conversation. It was absolutely brilliant.

“My name is Xu Ren, a strategist, and I would like to pledge my service to you, young master.”

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