Chapter One: Perplexity

  After seeing the magical function of soap, Wang Zhuang immediately saw a huge business opportunity from it. He didn't know Gao Huaiyuan, but he had also heard a little about him, knowing that he was the third young master of the Gao family outside the city, and he didn't dare to neglect him. So he hurriedly invited Gao Huaiyuan and Xue Yan to sit down in the back hall.

  Wang the shopkeeper was a well-known businessman in the two lakes and one belt, his business was very extensive, almost everything could be involved, but the foundation of his business was from the incense powder trade, before the most important business was incense powder and other women's products, because he did business honestly, without deceiving anyone, so he had stores in many places, and could be considered a wealthy man.

  In recent years, he has grown older and does not want to continue running around, so he handed over the business to his son to manage, and he returned to Daye's hometown to play with his grandchildren and enjoy a peaceful life. For the past two years, he basically no longer inquires about business matters, but in reality, he still holds the power of the Wang family.

  Early this morning, I suddenly heard someone report that there was a young master with the surname Gao outside the door, accompanied by a guard, requesting to see him and saying he had some business to discuss.

  He was originally unwilling to get involved in these matters again, what kind of business could a young man have to discuss? Even if there were any, it wouldn't be a big deal, and such things would be handed over to his son to take care of. However, he also heard that this young master's father was the vice prefect of Shaoxing Prefecture, thinking that as an official's family's young master came to visit him, he couldn't afford to offend him, and since his own son was currently doing business in Lin'an, it wouldn't be possible to let this young master go to Lin'an to find his son to talk. Therefore, in the end, Gao Huairen was still invited into the mansion, ordered someone to serve tea, and met with Gao Huairen once.

  Gao Huaiyan entered the Wang's house, exchanged some pleasantries, then took a box from Xue Yan and pulled out a yellowish thing, handing it over to Manager Wang.

  Wang didn't know what this thing was, and after taking it, he looked at it and smelled it, feeling very strange. He followed Gao's instructions and had his servants apply some oil and ash to their faces and hands before washing with the substance, resulting in a shocking outcome!

  He then had a concubine take the thing and bathe with it, and the concubine soon passed on the message to him that after washing with this thing, she felt refreshed all over and had a pleasant fragrance. The old man couldn't help himself and personally ran to the back to try it out again, only then did he run back to invite Gao Huaiyuan to the quieter lounge in the back.

  "I wonder where this thing of Master Gao's came from?" Wang Jian asked, holding the mysterious object and eyeing it covetously.

  Gao Huaiyuan could see from the old man's eyes that he had already seen the value of this thing, so he smiled calmly and said: "Don't mention this for now, I just want to ask if Master Wang is still interested in this thing?"

  Wang Jian suddenly became alert, knowing that his previous behavior had revealed his thoughts, which was not good for doing business. He quickly withdrew his gaze, coughed slightly, put down the soap and smiled: "Hmm! It's still okay! This thing is relatively rare, compared to soap beans and soap fruits, it's more convenient!"

  Gao Huaiyuan smiled slightly, took the soap sample and sighed: "It turns out that in Wang's eyes, this thing is nothing more than a similar thing to soap fruit. In that case, I have nothing to say. I thought Wang would be very interested in this thing since he has been in business for so long, but it seems like he thinks it's just an ordinary thing! So I'll have to find another buyer, goodbye!"

  Gao Huaiyuan stood up with a bow and made a gesture of farewell to Wang Zhanggui, pretending to leave.

  Mr. Wang couldn't sit still as soon as he heard it, and hurriedly stood up to intercept him, saying: "Young Master Gao, don't misunderstand, this thing is indeed similar to soap beans and other things, but it's very practical and rare! How could Mr. Wang not be interested in this thing? Young Master Gao, don't worry, Mr. Wang is actually very interested in this thing! Please sit down, please sit down! Have some tea!

  Yaya quickly brought over the tea, and Gao Huaiyuan sat back down in his chair, lifted the teacup to take a small sip, waiting for Wang Zhanggui's next words.

  Wang Jian saw Gao Huaiyuan's calm demeanor and couldn't help but take him more seriously, thinking for a moment before deciding that the old method might not work, so he simply opened up and spoke frankly.

  "Since Young Master Gao has come to find me, Wang Mou, it means that Young Master Gao already has some understanding of Wang Mou. In that case, this old man will speak straightforwardly!"

  Although Wang saw this thing for the first time today, to be honest, he is very interested in it. If this product is launched into the market, it will definitely be sought after by people all over the world and the profit will be considerable!

  But if there's only one or two pieces of this kind, it wouldn't be very interesting. I wonder how many of these items Master Gao has? If he has a lot, then Wang would be willing to buy them at a high price, and the price can be decided by Master Gao himself!"

  "This thing was accidentally obtained by Gao Mou, and the quantity is not much for now, but it will gradually increase in the future. Since Wang Zhuang said so, I won't hide it anymore. Today, I came to find Wang Zhuang because I have long heard that Wang Zhuang values integrity in doing business, and I want to cooperate with Wang Zhuang to sell this thing!"

  This product is extremely complicated to produce, and the current quantity will not be too large. Therefore, it can only temporarily take the high-end route, and only a small number of wealthy people can afford this thing. I can give Wang Zhanggui the agency rights for Jinghu Road and Liangzhe Road. If Wang Zhanggui can sell this product well and keep his promise, then we can discuss the sales rights for other places! However, if Wang Zhanggui's side does not sell well, then I can invite someone else who is more capable!

  "As for the pricing, I think Wang Zhuangui is experienced and knowledgeable, so let him set the price. However, I must get 60% of it, and he can take the remaining 40%. What does Wang Zhuangui think?" After seeing Wang Zhuangui speak his mind, Gao Huaichuan also made his demands clear.

  Wang Jian looked at Gao Huaiyuan again, seeing how skilled he was in discussing business, and couldn't help but feel that Gao Huaiyuan didn't seem like a 13 or 14-year-old. He felt quite surprised in his heart, but thinking about the benefits of taking on this project, Wang's family business would rely solely on this, and the advantages gained would be enormous. Not to mention how much money could be made from this thing, just having it on the market now would make Wang's store famous throughout the land, bringing benefits that were far more than that.

  Although it's a bit less than 40%, and transportation, sales, etc. are all his responsibilities, but thinking about the benefits that come with it, Wang Boss immediately agreed: "No problem! This matter will be handled according to Mr. Gao's words! Wang has absolute confidence that he can make this thing popular in the market, and the price will be guaranteed fair! He just hopes that Mr. Gao will let Wang's family take all of this business, and Wang is willing to give Mr. Gao 70%!"

  Gao Huaiyuan was delighted in his heart, and he said that the agency rights of Jinghu Road and Zhejiang Road could be handed over to Wang Jian. He wanted to make him nervous about this matter. As a big businessman, he would definitely know the benefits of exclusive sales. Now, as expected, Wang Jian himself proposed to increase the price, which was exactly what Gao Huaiyuan had hoped for!

  "Hmm! This... Since Boss Wang has said so, it would be somewhat petty for me to say anything else. In that case, I'll just go along with what Boss Wang says. However, I hope Boss Wang can keep this a secret for me and not let anyone know it was my doing. Otherwise, if they all come after me, I'll have no choice but to offend many people! It's really frustrating!" After pretending to deliberate for a moment, Gao Huaiyuan finally agreed and found a good excuse for Wang Jian to keep his secret.

  This was exactly what Wang Jian had hoped for, and the two sides quickly came to an agreement. They signed a contract on the spot, finalizing the deal. The Wang family publicly announced that the Chinese soap was their own product, while Gao Huairen only needed to secretly supply the goods!

  Gao Huaiyuan also pretended to be generous and left the first batch of soap he made in Wang's house, without taking a single penny, just letting Wang's family use it for promotion, then he took Xue Yan and left.

  After seeing off Gao Huaiyuan, Wang Jian immediately called a servant, had him wrap up the soap and handed it to him, saying: "Hurry to Lin'an and give this to Young Master. Tell him to find a way to get these things into the palace no matter what, best if Empress Yang can try them out personally! Go quickly!"

  The servant took these things and carefully collected them. He immediately went out, arrived at the Yangtze River, and boarded a boat that sailed downstream towards Lin'an.

  Gao Huaiyuan and Xue Yan walked side by side, laughing. This matter was going so smoothly, with this soap, he had a double insurance, and his wealth would naturally come pouring in, it's hard not to get rich!

  After arranging the sales route for the soap, Gao Huaiyuan finally felt at ease. Now he can say that he has money when he needs it and people when he needs them. If he still can't accomplish anything with this, then he would really be unworthy of his two lifetimes as a human being!

  At this time, Gao Huaiyuan suddenly heard someone bring news that the Jin and Western Xia had started fighting! He couldn't help but feel a little stunned. Now the Jin was being beaten by Genghis Khan's Mongolian army, even losing their capital city and fleeing to Bianliang, how could they still have the energy to attack Western Xia?

  Actually, Gao Huaiyuan was not very familiar with this piece of history. After inquiring about it, he finally understood that the story behind it was quite long-winded. To put it simply, when Western Xia was attacked by the Mongols at first, they asked Jin Dynasty for help, but Jin Xizong adopted a wait-and-see attitude, which made the people of Western Xia resentful. Recently, Jin Dynasty was defeated by Genghis Khan's army, and the Western Xia ruler became even more short-sighted, turning to help the Mongols attack Jin Dynasty. Now that Jin Dynasty had a chance, they sought revenge against Western Xia.

  In this way, the three countries in the north are considered to be fighting fiercely. Gao Huaiyuan shook his head and sighed, ridiculing Western Xia and Jin as two fools. With Mongolian knives already at their throats, they still continued to fight each other, which was simply seeking death!