Chapter 6: Li Ke's Request

  In the morning, Li Rou washed up and finished, ran around the Wang Fu, his body was the capital of revolution, he had long been cultivating the habit of morning exercise.

  Li Yu ran halfway around and passed by the servants' living quarters of the Wang Mansion. At this time, the servants had also gotten up, some washing their faces, others fetching water, and when they saw Li Yu coming over, each one respectfully greeted him.

  Li Yu waved and continued running, turned around and "bang" collided with someone, Li Yu was dizzy and only felt like he had hit a wooden stake, and sat down on the ground with a thud.

  "Your Highness!" Jin Dajian's voice was filled with alarm as he hastily ran over to help Li You up, scolding the person who had blocked Li You's path: "You numbskull, how can you be so careless!"

  Li Hui came to his senses and saw clearly the "object" he had bumped into, which turned out to be a robust man with a thick beard, one of the servants in the Wang mansion. Li Hui had never seen this person before, so he couldn't help but look at Jin Dajian with questioning eyes.

  "King, two days ago you didn't ask me to post a notice to recruit some guards? The notice was indeed posted, but not many people were willing to come. Look, this morning when I opened the door, this guy said he came to the palace to apply for the job. I thought he looked sturdy, so I let him in. If you're not satisfied, I'll immediately ask him to leave."

  Li Yu stood up and walked around the Great Han, clicking his tongue in amazement. This fellow was not only sturdy but also had a height of about 1.9 meters, looking truly intimidating.

  "What's your name?" A few days ago, Lü Boyan led his family guards to break through the siege of the Wangfu attendants and rushed in. He thought it was necessary to add some military strength to the Liangwang Mansion, so he let Jin Dajian recruit people.

  "Down with Sima Yi!" The loud voice was like a bell, as if metal and stone were striking each other, stunning the hearts of men.

  Li Yu's station was a bit far from this guy, and his ears were somewhat painful. "The Liang Wang Fu is not something that anyone can recruit for, what skills do you have?"

  Simatai didn't make a sound, glanced at the two stone lions in front of the Wangfu gate, took big strides and walked over, lifting one of the stone lions above his head as if it were an infant.

  The Wang Fu's jaw dropped immediately, this stone lion weighed at least 700 or 800 catties, but Sima Tu lifted it up like a toy.

  Li Yu's eyes widened in surprise, if this guy were in the 21st century, would the world weightlifting champion still have a chance?

  "Indeed, the strong man is quite skilled!" Li Yu secretly thought he had found a treasure and asked, "How many months' salary does the strong man want?"

  Simatao patted the dust off his hands and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. "As long as you're full, that's all that matters!"

  "Enough!" Li Yu and Jin Dajian exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. This requirement was too low, wasn't it? Were Tang Dynasty talents not worth anything? Li Yu thought to himself.

  After receiving Sima Tu, Li Yu's mood was great, and he hummed a tune as he walked towards the back palace. These past two days, Li Yu had also purchased another batch of shampoo to have the servants in the Wang Fu bottle up, but he didn't know what the current progress was like.

  The matter of bottling was managed by Gao Zhai Fang. When Li Rou arrived at the back palace, Gao Zhai Fang immediately came to greet him, "Your Highness!"

  "How's it going?" Li Yu looked at the five people who were busy.

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, we have now packed around 2,000 boxes or so, and it was still a few people working through the night in shifts to rush them out!"

  Li Yu nodded: "Not bad, everyone has worked hard. After this batch of goods is loaded, each person will be rewarded with 500 coins!"

  "Thank you, Your Excellency!" The 500 coins were almost equivalent to their monthly salary, and the five family guards who had been somewhat listless immediately became spirited and refreshed, as if they had applied Indian god oil, their combat effectiveness soaring.

  Shampoo is now famous in Chang'an, with orders pouring in from the imperial palace. Four hundred boxes are far from enough, and Empress Chongson has already put shampoo on the list of palace purchases. As for this, Li Yu is naturally delighted to see it.

  The imperial palace was a good market, but Li Yu understood that the real money-making market was outside the imperial city. This could be seen from the various merchants waiting for Li Yu to meet them outside the Wangfu, and their sense of smell for money was not inferior to Li Yu's.

  Li Yu was thinking, when a bright and clear voice came from outside the door, "Sixth Brother, what are you busy with?" As soon as he spoke, he entered the hall.

  "Third Brother? How did you get here." Li Yu was very familiar with this voice, it was the first one he heard after his resurrection.

  Li Ke opened his fan and fanned himself a few times, "What? Not welcome?"

  "How dare you, I'm not even happy yet, who is this?" Li Ke's side stood a fat man dressed as a merchant traveler. This guy had been sizing up the shampoo on the floor with wolf-like eyes since he entered, which made Li Yan very displeased.

  "I pay homage to Your Highness, I am Tong Nian, a merchant from Chang'an City!" The man began introducing himself before Li Ke could even speak.

  Li Hui returned a courtesy, and roughly understood the intention of Li Ke's visit this time. Sure enough, after chatting with Li You and Hu Kanhai for a while, Li Ke got to the point:

  "Lao Liu, your shampoos are now famous far and wide, with countless people seeking to buy them. Don't you plan on selling them outside the palace?"

  As soon as Li Ke's words fell, Tong Nian immediately perked up his ears and waited for Li Rou's answer, showing that he was very concerned about this matter.

  "Of course not!" Li Yu glanced at Tong Nian and didn't say another word.

  Li Ke understood, smiled and said: "Tong Lao, you wait for me outside, I have something to say to Sixth Brother."

  "Yes, Your Highness!" Tong Nian reluctantly bid farewell and left the room.

  Tong Nian left, Li Yu said: "Third brother, how did you get mixed up with these businessmen?"

  Li Ke frowned and said, "Old Six, you know I like to socialize with famous and wealthy people, which also means a lot of expenses. My monthly salary is not enough, but who would have thought that Tong Nian found out about it and every year he sends a large sum of silver to the Wang Mansion as a tribute? Recently, I don't know where he heard about the shampoo business, but he's been begging me to bring him here to gather some information. I took his money, so I'm not in a position to refuse!"

  Before the Zhenguan era, merchants had a low social status. Although Emperor Taizong of Tang elevated their status after his ascension to the throne, old ideas could not be changed overnight. To avoid being extorted and cheated, many merchants began to fawn on officials and nobles in order to find a patron. These things were very common in Chang'an and were tacitly acknowledged by everyone; otherwise, how could they have so much money to indulge in pleasure?

  Li Ke is after all his own brother, and recently he also plans to start selling externally. He only wants to be a pure wholesaler, too lazy to organize a merchant team to sell, so he has to rely on these businessmen. Taking advantage of the situation to sell Li Ke's favor is not bad either.

  "After some thought, Li Yu said: 'I understand what you mean, I'll give him a quota then!'"

  "Sixth brother, thank you so much!" Li Ke wiped away a bead of sweat. The previous Li Ye wouldn't buy anyone's account, and he had been worried about it before coming, but unexpectedly Li Ye agreed so readily.

  After seeing Li Ke off, Li Kai went back to change his clothes. To be honest, he had never been to Chang'an City before. Now that everything in the palace was going smoothly, he finally had the leisure and pleasure to do so.

  Jin Dajian had a carriage prepared by the servants of the Wang estate, and Li Yu refused the suggestion to have several house guards accompany him as he headed towards the central district of Chang'an.

  During the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an was the most luxurious international metropolis in the world at that time. Apart from the native residents of the Great Tang, there were numerous merchants from Western countries, and many countries also sent students to study in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, it is not a strange thing to encounter a blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigner on the streets of Chang'an.

  Historical records show that at this time, the surrounding area of Chang'an City was over 70 miles, and the imperial palace where the emperor's concubines lived, the imperial city where officials worked outside, was the largest outer city. The outer city had a total of 108 wards, with temples, government offices, and residential houses scattered throughout. On both sides were the East Market and West Market, each about 1 kilometer long and wide, with warehouses and shops densely packed, making it the most prosperous and bustling area in Chang'an City.

  Li Yu is now in the eastern city of the two cities, and the scene before him is shocking. The people of the eastern city are crowded together, shoulder to shoulder, with merchants shouting and actors showing off their talents, one after another.

  Li Yu followed the crowd and walked forward, the dazzling array of goods made him dizzy, fruits, melon seeds, fabrics, dried meat, everything was available, the complex categories also made him slightly surprised.

  A loud shout, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted from the crowd, and then the flow of people changed direction. Li Yu was swept along with the crowd to a certain place. When the flow of people stopped again, he found himself in front of an exquisitely styled building on the edge of the street.

  Upstairs, a woman wrapped in red gauze was lightly twisting her waist like a water snake and dancing, constantly casting flirtatious glances at the pedestrians passing by downstairs, and several dashing young men cheered loudly, then followed their servants into the building.

  "Lichun Institute is really something, they've even resorted to using this method to attract customers. The dancer on the second floor is said to be a princess from a Huren tribe, and she's as beautiful as a celestial being."

  "Isn't that right? I heard that lecherous Lv Boyan failed to pursue the first flower and then set his sights on her, how shameless."

  "At least others have the capital to pursue their goals, while we can only take advantage of this opportunity to satisfy our cravings!"

  "This brother seems to be quite familiar with the inside story, looks like he's also a frequent visitor to the flower path, and actually knows about Lü Boyan's affairs." Someone joked.

  "Cough cough, keep your voice down, my wife is shopping ahead!"

  “……”

  Among the whispers of the people around him, Li Yu looked up at the signboard in front of the small building, and indeed, it was written with the three words "Lichun Institute".

  The dancer's performance was like a fleeting flower, and as the sighs faded away, the crowd gathered in front of Lichun Courtyard dispersed. Li Yu took a step forward to leave when suddenly a commotion broke out, and dozens of guards rushed to block the entrance of Lichun Courtyard. A middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing armor and holding two axes, charged into Lichun Courtyard without saying a word. Immediately, countless screams erupted from inside the building. Then, a disheveled young man who bore some resemblance to the middle-aged man ran out of Lichun Courtyard, with the middle-aged man hot on his heels, swinging his axe with ferocity, as if intent on chopping the youth into pieces.

  A look of urgency, the young master looked left and right as if searching for an escape route. When he saw Li Yu standing at the door watching the commotion, the young master was like a drowning man grasping at a straw, "Sixth Prince, save me..."