Finest Servant

Chapter 19 Raising the Price (2)

After a long and tiring day, Lin Wanrong went straight to bed when he got home. In this era, the sky was a brilliant blue, the water was a clear green, the air was fresh, and the vegetables were all free from toxins. In such a rare and pleasant environment, it was only natural that sleeping was comfortable.

As for the lustful thoughts that often accompany satiation, it wasn't that Lin Wanrong didn't have them, it was just that he hadn't decided who he wanted to share them with yet.

The next morning, Lin Wanrong woke up early and rushed to join the first wave of people on the street. He had two oil cakes and a bowl of freshly made tofu pudding for breakfast. Green food was truly the best. Feeling invigorated, he made his way confidently to Old Dong's house.

When he arrived, Old Dong was eating porridge and had only taken a bite of his freshly steamed white bun.

"Big Brother Lin, have you had breakfast yet? Try some of my freshly steamed white buns," Dong Qiaoqiao offered Lin Wanrong a bowl of porridge and handed him two of the biggest white buns.

Since learning that Lin Wanrong was an orphan and didn't seem like a gentleman at dinner the night before, Dong Qiaoqiao had directly downgraded him from 'Young Master' to 'Big Brother Lin.' She even warmly invited him to come eat all three meals at their house every day.

Lin Wanrong felt a bit embarrassed. How could he accept such a generous offer? He was a shy person and could only eat ten meals in five days.

Looking at the two white buns in front of him, he suddenly remembered a joke he had heard before.

A man in love had touched his girlfriend's breasts for the first time and exclaimed, "Wow, they feel like buns!"

The girl shyly replied, "No, they don't. How can they compare to buns?"

The man said, "I mean Wang Zai (a brand of mini buns) mini buns."

Unfortunately, if Lin Wanrong were to tell this joke to Old Dong and his daughter, he would probably be chased out with a broom.

The white buns aroused Lin Wanrong's appetite, and since he was naturally shameless, he yelled out, "Perfect timing, Qiaoqiao. I'm still hungry. Thank you!"

Old Dong's eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had stayed up all night. While Lin Wanrong slept soundly, he had disrespected the old man. Lin Wanrong felt a bit ashamed, but doing his job well was still his duty.

"Uncle Dong, how did the printing turn out?" Lin Wanrong asked quickly, seeing Old Dong only focused on eating porridge.

Old Dong wiped his mouth and pointed behind him. "Hey, there are 500 copies back there, all neatly stacked and still smelling of oil."

Lin Wanrong jumped up, half a white steamed bun swallowed into his stomach. He turned around and saw that indeed, 500 small booklets were neatly stacked, with the portrait of Miss Xiao clear and visible. This girl probably had never heard of the concept of portrait rights. I've made a fortune from this. Anyway, I'll soon be serving her, so I'll consider it compensation.

Looking at the 500 booklets, Lin Wanrong felt secretly pleased. As the owner of a third page tabloid, this feeling was really quite nice.

"Young Master Lin, how much should we price these booklets at?" Since learning of Lin Wanrong's identity as a half-hearted talent, Old Dong's respect for him had not changed one bit. However, when he called him Young Master, it didn't quite feel right anymore to Lin Wanrong.

"Five taels of silver each," Lin Wanrong said, caressing the booklet in his hand, unwilling to let it go, without even turning his head.

"Click." The half-steamed bun in Dong Uncle's mouth fell straight down.

Lin Wanrong turned around and saw the father and daughter still in disbelief. Feeling amused, he said, "What, don't you believe it?"

Dong Qiaoqiao hesitated for a moment and said, "Big Brother Lin, are you really selling them for five taels of silver each? Isn't that too expensive?" Five taels of silver was half a year's living expenses for an ordinary family, and this price was indeed not cheap. It was no wonder that the father and daughter were tongue-tied.

"Don't doubt it. Five taels of silver without bargaining. Do you know the phrase 'Rare goods can fetch a high price'?" Lin Wanrong smiled mysteriously and unabashedly said.

Although Lin Wanrong couldn't see his own expression now, he knew that his current look must be very much like that of a complete villain, and the most shameless kind at that. Shamelessness was his nature, and he didn't need to hide it.

"You have to grasp the psychology of those talents. The people who are willing to pay for these booklets don't care whether it's one tael or ten taels per booklet. What they want is information, first-hand information. To them, one or ten taels is no different. Their principle is not to seek the best, but to seek the most expensive. It's a wonderful psychology."

Lin Wanrong's words left Dong Qiaoqiao and her father stunned. Obviously, their understanding of human nature was not deep enough, and they still needed Lin Wanrong's continued guidance.

"Think about it, as long as one person buys it, who wants to fall behind others? Who doesn't want to get first-hand information about Miss Xiao? This is the bandwagon effect, just like dominoes. Once one falls, the rest will collapse." Lin Wanrong slipped and mentioned dominoes, quickly explaining, "In short, no one should have the mentality of letting others be more beautiful than themselves, which will cause our little booklet to sell well. You see, once it rises to the top, like a phoenix, what is this little money worth?"

Dong Qiaoqiao was quick-witted and immediately saw the problem: "But even if Miss Xiao chooses a husband, she can only choose one. And we have four or five hundred booklets."

Lin Wanrong chuckled, "Only one person can become the top scorer in the imperial examinations, but aren't The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Songs, The Tao Te Ching, and The Mencius just as popular? Until the results come out, anything is possible."

Dong Qiaoqiao was obviously a kind-hearted girl who cared for Miss Xiao's well-being. "But I heard that talented scholars often come from poor families. They can't afford our little booklets. Wouldn't that delay Miss Xiao's beautiful marriage?"

Lin Wanrong was immediately dumbfounded. This girl really thought they were the most important people in Miss Xiao's life. If a booklet could affect Miss Xiao's marriage, then the Xiao family was just a bunch of fools.

Faced with Dong Qiaoqiao's eager gaze, Lin Wanrong reluctantly played the role of a teacher again. He coldly laughed, "If talented scholars from humble backgrounds come, they should be prepared. If they really have the ability, they should marry Miss Xiao based on their own merits. What does buying our little booklets have to do with it? If they want to climb the social ladder, I can only feel sorry for them. There is a cost to attaching themselves to the dragon and phoenix, and that is the price they must pay. So, they must consider carefully. I am not forcing them to buy; they have a guilty conscience. Real talented scholars will never buy our books, but how many of these so-called noble and righteous scholars are there in the world? We are businessmen who value profit. We sell to whoever pays. As for the marriage matter, that is something Miss Xiao should consider. We cannot influence it."

Dong Qiaoqiao secretly nodded in agreement with Lin Wanrong's theory. Although she still had doubts about the high price he set, she had clearly begun to accept it.