Chapter 89
“Find time to visit the shop first.” Li Heng instructed.
If the goods had arrived, he still needed to devise transportation methods to deliver them to trustworthy generals.
Miss Shen’s return didn’t necessarily mean the shop had opened for business. He needed confirmation before making arrangements.
“Yes.” Liu Zheng responded.
After receiving orders, he immediately left the residence, boarded a carriage, and headed straight to Bluestone Alley.
*
Shen You had just finished receiving the second batch of goods: five thousand down-filled inner garments, including one thousand pieces made from higher-quality fabric filled with the finest down.
The border garrison supplies were uniformly dirt-resistant black with button closures.
Her retail inventory featured more diverse colors. Fortunately, the warehouse management system had been upgraded, otherwise handling such a massive quantity alone would have required countless hours of inventory checking.
Currently, the warehouse contained six thousand down-filled inner garments, four thousand sleeping bags, eight thousand sets of thermal underwear, plus over ten additional pieces for replacing any defective items.
One thousand high-quality down-filled inner garments.
Another delivery truck was scheduled for evening.
The warehouse faced capacity crisis, but fortunately Liu Zheng arrived just in time.
She had just closed the modern shop’s main door and opened the Great Qi shop when Liu Zheng and Zhong Jing entered together.
“Shopkeeper Shen, it’s been many days. I trust you’ve been well.” Liu Zheng said with a broad smile and cupped hands.
Shen You nodded with a smile and led them to view the goods temporarily stored in the garage.
“Some of the items you ordered have arrived. The remainder should be ready within seven days.”
“Excellent! We received word the day before yesterday that snow has already fallen at the border. They urgently need cold-weather supplies.” Zhong Jing looked at the items and breathed deeply with relief, his expression showing comfort.
Shopkeeper Shen had mentioned thousands more pieces inside. From outside, the shop didn’t appear large enough for such space.
However, they had grown accustomed to this and naturally wouldn’t question Shopkeeper Shen’s words.
“His Highness will personally bring the balance payment later.” Liu Zheng added.
Shen You nodded. As long as payment was made, it didn’t matter who delivered it.
“Warehouse capacity is limited. Within two days, you should transport the first batch, so I can conveniently receive subsequent shipments.”
“Alright. I’ll report to His Highness immediately and arrange things quickly.” Liu Zheng agreed.
After discussing the Crown Prince’s order, they turned to the matter of their shop collaboration.
“Previously, Shopkeeper Shen mentioned abundant inventory. I calculated that our former single shop would definitely be insufficient, so I acquired another location. One side will sell items for nobles, the other for ordinary goods.”
Shops along the capital’s streets, no matter how inexpensive, still cost considerable amounts. He was partnering with Shopkeeper Shen because only after selling goods would he have money for acquisitions.
Liu Zheng described both shops’ basic situations. The one serving ordinary customers had a smaller storefront with inferior interior decoration.
However, both were located on the same street.
Seeing Liu Zheng’s hesitant expression, Shen You spoke up. “If there are other concerns, you can speak directly.”
“These down jackets will have different prices in the two shops, yet their styles don’t appear significantly different.”
She understood now. He was worried that the distinction between expensive and cheap versions wasn’t obvious enough.
She turned and retrieved several pieces for comparison, different from what she had purchased online for samples last time.
Previously, everything she had bought for sample garments featured button closures.
This time, considering that broken zippers couldn’t be repaired or replaced in ancient times, and that zipper designs would definitely be considered rare and ingenious in that era, they were perfect for people with money to spare.
“Look at the differences between these pieces.” Shen You displayed the zippers.
“How does this fasten?” Liu Zheng and Zhong Jing stared blankly, having never seen such clothing before.
“It’s simple.” Shen You demonstrated how zippers worked.
Liu Zheng watched with growing delight. “This is better than last time!”
Shen You remained silent for a few seconds. Actually, the branded button-style garments she had sent them last time were more expensive.
“The expensive down jackets also come in button styles.” She told them, retrieving another piece.
The color was pale purple, quite rare in ancient times and typically unworn by common people.
She had ordered only five hundred zippered pieces among the three thousand expensive down jackets, with the remainder still primarily featuring button closures.
She explained: “The surface materials are different, and the cut and warming effects are superior. You’ll understand once you try them.”
“Additionally, these pieces were specially selected using the finest filling materials. These thermal underwear sets are also all cashmere. You can present them to the palace.”
These undergarments all looked similar in style, offering little variety in design, so she could only distinguish them through material quality.
Items dedicated to the emperor’s use definitely needed unique characteristics, superior to anything available for public purchase.
Liu Zheng nodded. “Shopkeeper Shen thinks of everything.”
Regarding the cold-weather clothing they had received last time, they had only dared wear them secretly without revealing anything to outsiders.
If they had been discovered wearing superior items unavailable even in the palace, the consequences would have been severe.
Now things were different. They could sell publicly while presenting several fine pieces to the palace, allowing them to wear such clothing openly.
“This thousand taels represents income from the previous batch of facial cleanser and goose egg powder.” Liu Zheng said, producing a wooden box and opening it to reveal the silver inside. “Many people are asking when new stocks of goose egg powder and snow cream will arrive.”
Snow cream wasn’t used only by women. Young men from prominent families also praised its effectiveness. It could be applied to both face and hands, and its subtle fragrance was extremely popular.
The Great Qi had its own fragrant balms, but their scents weren’t as lasting or pleasant, nor did they provide the same moisturizing texture.
This item had become a fashionable accessory in the capital. Anyone who acquired a box would inevitably carry it everywhere, mentioning within a few sentences that they had snow cream.
There were also goose egg powder and facial cleanser, plus moisturizing water. Some had been sent to the palace, and the consorts who received them reportedly used them daily without fail.
After rewarding two items to prince residences, the princess consorts also cherished them immensely.
With endorsements from such distinguished individuals, Western Region skincare products gained immediate reputation.
His mother had already been invited to two banquets where people inquired about purchasing options. Everyone was willing to pay premium prices if they could obtain these items.
Liu Zheng held noble rank but maintained a leisurely official position. All of the capital knew that the Liu family was poor. When he had traveled to Yunzhou and befriended Western Region merchants, only then had his shop business flourished.
From certain perspectives, this wasn’t entirely false information.
He understood that excessive attention wasn’t beneficial, so regarding the skincare products Shopkeeper Shen had provided for small-scale testing, he had arranged for someone to pose as a merchant and sold some to the capital’s largest cosmetics shop.
That establishment had already wanted to find sourcing channels for Western Region products, so they purchased everything happily.
They even began selling one day earlier than the Liu family shop.
Sharing some profit from his dividends cost Liu Zheng small money for major results. It was a worthwhile exchange!
“About six or seven days.” Shen You considered before answering. “Goose egg powder is also very popular where we are, so there might not be large quantities available.”
A single box of goose egg powder could last several years, and it was already expensive at over two hundred yuan, so she had set high prices for Great Qi sales as well.
These products came from traditional established brands whose original packaging already featured antique styling, requiring no redesign.
Only the facial cleanser needed new glass containers.
Shen You accessed the official store on her phone. Stock was currently available. “I’ll try to prepare more.”
However, she wouldn’t order too much, because when items became abundant, they lost their value.