Linxia

Chapter 147, Case

What he saw and heard at the Fan family opened Fang Lin's eyes. However, that kind of extravagance was like floating clouds in the sky. It was not until he went back and saw Master Ou teaching Madam Ou to read, Sha Xiaoyun and Xin Yaer feeding chickens, and Granny Qiu and Old Man Qiu out for some fresh air...

When I returned home and saw Fang's mother and Tian Xuan busy in the kitchen, and saw the sumptuous but not extravagant meal, my heart seemed to settle down and return to reality.

During the meal, Fang's mother, as usual, talked about interesting things in the neighborhood: "A circus, I don't know how they knew about Xin's Yaer, three people came today, asked for directions along the way and found Xin's house, saying they wanted to see Yaer, Xiaoyun locked Yaer in the house and didn't let them see it.

The three bought a lot of things and said a lot of nice things before Xiaoyun let them see Yaer. They liked her very much and said that they liked her because she was small and rare, so they wanted to take her away and offered 100 taels of silver..."

"Mom, the Xin family didn't give it away, right?" Tian Xuan couldn't bear to hear that. Even though she knew the character of the Xin family, she couldn't help but ask hurriedly.

Fang Lin also put down his chopsticks and looked at Fang's mother.

"No." Fang's mother shook her head and continued, "Xiao Yun said, 'Even if you bring a mountain of gold and silver, I won't sell it to you.' The people in the circus also said a lot of good things, saying that Yaer would eat well, wear good clothes, and live well, and that she wouldn't have to work, just be watched by people, and it wouldn't hurt or tire her, how great.

Xiaoyun said, "No matter how much you say, I won't listen. I don't want my daughter to be treated like a monkey. I want to keep her with me." She kept urging the three people to leave. Xin Laoguan and Xin You also listened to Xiaoyun and almost beat them away. "

"What parent in the world doesn't love their own children?" Mr. Fang sighed after hearing this.

"Yes!" Fang Lin's heart softened when he heard this. In this age of materialism and decadence, there are always some things that can touch people's hearts. Let's talk about what he saw and heard in the Fan Mansion today.

When Mr. Fang, Mrs. Fang, and Tian Xuan heard about Fan Qingzeng's wardrobe, a cabinet full of fine tea, extravagant meals, luxurious toilets... they all showed the same expression as Granny Liu when she entered the Grand View Garden. They were so shocked that they were speechless. These were things they could never have imagined in their dreams.

"After the feces business, I thought our family was rich, but when I heard about the 'Bishan Lantern' worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, I felt it was nothing; when Linzi opened the bookstore and our family bought a house, and two days ago he gave me two thousand taels of silver to save, I felt that our family was rich again, but after hearing about it today, I feel that we are not rich after all!" said Fang's mother.

"As for having money, it depends on who you compare with. I think our family is doing well now. If they really waste it like the Fan family, I won't like it either." Father Fang shook his head.

"The toilet in the Fan family is actually... really, really..." Tian Xuan blushed slightly, too embarrassed to comment.

The shock eventually passed, and the family felt no envy. As they talked, the peaceful time slowly passed.

……

Another three or five days passed.

Fang Lin sold the Fan family a castrated version of the secret recipe for the fragrant dew, but the Fan family did not find any problems. After all, Fang Lin had already said in advance that it was "hastily made in ten days" and "he has not fully mastered the skills, so the quality is extremely unstable", which greatly lowered the other party's expectations.

The Fan family also conducted an investigation and found that Mrs. Ou was indeed ill. Fang Lin was busy with the bookstore business before and he indeed only started making the perfumed lotion recently. People always believe in what they have investigated and analyzed.

In this case, the fragrance is unstable and the cost is high, so it's hard to say anything. They rushed out the secret recipe in ten days or half a month, so what else do you expect?
However, the Fan family still made some improvements. However, the core problem of the secret recipe, the high-purity alcohol with an alcohol content of about 90 degrees, was not solved. Other aspects were done to the extreme and the quality was improved, but the cost was so high that it made the Fan family a little bit jealous.

Fortunately, in their impression, perfume is a high-end product, aimed at the top luxury market of this era. The cost is passed on to the customers, and publicity is gradually started.

Shi Wenjun and Gu Yuyan heard that the Fan family bought the secret recipe of fragrant dew from Fang Lin, so they hurried over that day.

They are extremely smart and have personal experience, so they know how promising the perfume dew business is. But now Fang Lin is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs by selling the secret recipe, so they may have done something bad with good intentions.

"Mr. Fang sold the secret recipe of the fragrant dew to the Fan family? But the Fan family used their power to bully others? This matter was caused by us, and we have some connections. Although we cannot seek justice and cause serious damage to the Fan family, we can still shake the reputation of the Fan family and make their life difficult."

"Yes, this matter...we really should discuss it with Master Fang first."

Seeing that the two girls were sincere and had said something that was beyond their reach, Fang Lin waved his hand and said, "But the price offered by the Fan family is fair for a simple secret recipe that I just made up. The two girls must not do anything stupid. There is no need to apologize. I don't take it to heart. But next time, it's better to discuss this with me."

In this matter, to say that the two girls meant well but did something bad, and brought about a crisis, is not really the case. Crisis, danger, and opportunity, in this case the opportunities actually far outweigh the dangers.

If Fan Qingzeng comes, there will be no danger as long as he doesn't lose his mind and shout "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west" and confront the other party head-on.

——Of course, it is indeed satisfying to be steadfast in refusing to bend, to speak harshly, to invite suppression from the Fan family, and then to become furious and to contact various connections such as Mr. Ou, Prefect Pu, and Dong Zugao to have a fight with the Fan family. However, without the halo of the protagonist, it is difficult to do as in the plots of the old vernacular novels, to turn danger into safety, to pretend to be cool and get slapped in the face, to win the heart of a beautiful woman... most of the time, both sides will suffer.

As long as you don't lose your mind and conduct normal transactions, and the product you made in ten days or half a month is a castrated version, and you sell it for three thousand taels of silver, it can't really be said to be a big loss, and you don't need the sympathy of ordinary people.

Not to mention, there is actually a better choice, which is to be patient and restrained, maintain a good relationship with the Fan family, and rely on each other.

However, the other party threatened himself and his family, which touched Fang Lin’s bottom line, so he did not make this choice.

'I don't choose the best strategy in terms of benefits. Another point is that the Fan family's Shanxi merchants have a thousand connections with the Liaodong Tartars. In the long run, we really can't get too close to them, so as not to get involved. There are also some emotional factors. In another time and space, the Tartars usurped the artifact, the ten days of Yangzhou, the three massacres of Jiading, the eighty-one days of Jiangyin... It was shocking and bloody. I really don't want to get involved with the Tartars' running dogs.'

At this moment, Fang Lin had a lot of thoughts.

The two girls could feel that Fang Lin was sincere and did not blame him. While they were impressed by Fang Lin's broad-mindedness, they apologized again.

"I'm really sorry this time. Anyway, it was because of our recklessness that we caused losses to Mr. Fang."

"Yes, I feel bad. If there is anything we can do to help, Master Fang, please tell us. It will make me feel better if we do something." Gu Yuyan stuck out her tongue coquettishly. "It just so happens that I really need your help." Fang Lin said, "You two are both excellent at playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. I would like you to color the illustrations of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and make it a painted version. I would also like you to draw some character cards, such as Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc..."

He was just worrying about where to find a top painter, and then the two girls came to his door. It would be a waste to not use them. This was not exploiting the two girls, but helping them relieve their guilt. In fact, it was a good thing!
"A colored version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? I heard that there was a colored version of "Water Margin", but the printing cost is extremely high and the market is small, so it is not easy to sell." Shi Wenjun reminded.

"Character cards, I understand this kind of thing, but how does Mr. Fang sell it?"

“The painted version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is expensive and difficult to sell, so we just won’t sell it. Customers who spend a certain amount in the store can participate in a free lottery, and the painted version and character cards will be put into the prize pool. The two complement each other. If customers have a good acceptance of the character cards, we can sell card packs later…” Fang Lin said his plan with a smile.

Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun had never seen such a routine before. It seemed wild and imaginative, but when they thought about it carefully, they found it quite ingenious and very feasible.

"I remember now, Mr. Fang's previous methods: signed books, random exquisite gifts, discounts on purchases over a certain amount... This move is similar in nature." Shi Wenjun looked at him with her beautiful eyes, with a sparkling look in her eyes.

"Yes, some people like to collect them. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is widely circulated in the city and accepted by the public. With the support of Mr. Fang's reputation, I can foresee that character cards will sell well." Gu Yuyan has a good eye and can see the prospects of character cards. She is amazed at Fang Lin who came up with this idea and stared at him, as if she wanted to see what's in his head.

……

Out of guilt, Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun turned down all other customers after accepting the job and focused on coloring the illustrations for Romance of the Three Kingdoms and drawing character cards. They worked day and night and delivered an extremely stunning product in just two days.

After confirming it, Fang Lin immediately went to find Feng Qingji to prepare to print a batch first.

During this period, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was very popular in the market. Fang Lin naturally made a lot of money. And Feng Qingji, the owner of the cooperating printing shop, received big orders one after another, so he made a lot of money.

Speaking of Feng Qingji, as I said before, he is a very qualified businessman. As long as he can bring benefits, you can call him dad. In the absence of greater interests, he is still trustworthy.

So, when Fang Lin came this time, Feng Qingji was extremely enthusiastic and treated him like the God of Wealth. After Fang Lin explained his purpose, Feng Qingji promised to speed up the printing and said that all anti-counterfeiting measures would be used.

——In this era, there are many anti-counterfeiting methods, such as silver bills, paper money, etc.

"We use the best anti-counterfeiting methods available today to increase costs and raise the threshold. We have the largest shipment volume in the city, and the cost makes the other party despair... And the character cards cannot be printed in equal quantities. Some cards need to be printed more, and these rare cards need to be printed less..." Fang Lin explained one by one.

"I've remembered that." Feng Qingji was also a businessman. After thinking about it, he realized the cleverness of these practices. He realized that the other party was flattering and fawning on him.

……

After two days, Fang Lin got the goods from the printing house and prepared to start the three stores simultaneously. That day he came to Guangfu Street, the branch where Liu Hongru was the manager.

He greeted Fang Chuanhui and asked him if he was adapting to life in the city, etc. He then invited him to his home for dinner in the evening, and then started chatting with Liu Hongru.

"Brother Fang, how is the writing of the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms going?" As expected, Liu Hongru urged him to submit the manuscript again.

"It's almost done. A little bit of it has been completed. However, it may have to wait until next year for it to be released. This is to wait for the pirated copy of the first part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms to spread, so as to facilitate the distribution of the second part. The first part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is almost entirely pirated outside our city, which is really a big loss." Fang Lin felt a little embarrassed after being urged to submit the manuscript again and again, and this time he finally handed in some results.

"Never mind. Slow work brings out the best. There are books to read right now."

Liu Hongru said: "Yingtian Prefecture published a good book - "Bao Longtu Judges Hundreds of Cases". The narrative is similar to the historical novel. The story of Bao Longtu has been widely circulated among the people, and there are related vernacular novels and dramas. The author of this book combined and retold them. Although some stories have nothing to do with Bao Longtu, they are also named after Bao Gong. A total of 100 chapters of the novel, including the introduction, were compiled. Once it was released, it caused a craze... I also found the original copy, which can satisfy my craving."

"The rise of crime-solving novels? Yes, after "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", many writers have set their sights on popular novels. A large number of works have appeared, and even though there are good and bad works, some masterpieces can still be produced." Fang Lin thought to himself.

"Since the publication of Bao Longtu's Judgement of Hundreds of Public Cases, there have been many imitators, and public case novels have become very popular. There is also a book called The Integrity and Strange Judgement of Public Cases by the Various Officials of the Song Dynasty, which I think is also good."

Liu Hongru said, and sighed again: "Unlike Brother Fang's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", public case novels are very easy to imitate. I see that some literati in the city have been rushing to make and imitate them recently. Many inferior literati have participated in the creation. Needless to say, the quality is mixed. What's more serious is that many authors do not necessarily understand public cases, and it is difficult to cope with compiling stories. They can only piece together and plagiarize. I also read a public case novel with a different name these days. The whole book has a total of fifty chapters. Eighteen chapters were copied from "Bao Longtu's Judgment of Hundreds of Public Cases" and six chapters were copied from "The Cases of the Imperial Song Dynasty". Half of the book was copied from other people's works. Brother Fang, you said this matter... Alas!"

"Plagiarism is rampant and originality is scarce. Such vicious incidents are also a mockery of readers. When the craze for detective novels subsides, the whole thing may be a mess." Fang Lin asserted.

"Yes, read it and cherish it! When it comes to popular novels, you have to read Brother Fang. If Brother Fang doesn't publish, what can the readers do!" Liu Hongru said, and looked straight at Fang Lin again.

"Ahem, Brother Liu, don't flatter me. I won't talk about this this time. I came here with some ideas, which may help the business of the store."

Fang Lin expressed his idea that if the consumption in the store reaches a certain amount, there will be a lottery to win a painted version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", character cards, etc., as well as the subsequent release of card packs.

Liu Hongru naturally agreed.

……

Afterwards, Fang Lin went to Yandaixie Street again to visit Fang He, saying that he would go there for dinner in the evening and told him about Dai Zongqi's matters.

……

(End of this chapter)