Chapter Thirty-Five: Business is Booming

  Liu Ze chose Qinglou as the trial point for two reasons. Firstly, Qinglou's business was bleak in winter, and using coal stoves to warm up could bring back many customers. As long as business was booming, the madam wouldn't care about a few pieces of charcoal money. Secondly, most of the patrons of Qinglou were princes, wealthy merchants, or nobles, who would naturally appreciate the benefits of the coal stove, which would be greatly beneficial for the next step of promotion.

  Soon after, Liu Ze opened up the sales market for coal in Luoyang with modern business thinking. High-ranking officials, wealthy merchants and even the imperial palace used coal for heating. As a result, the amount of coal extracted increased greatly, and coal entered the homes of ordinary people, gradually replacing firewood as the first choice for heating. It was widely used in iron foundries, brick factories, kilns and various handicraft industries, and thus gave birth to early steam engines, paving the way for industrialization.

  The academic community has listed the discovery of coal as one of the four major discoveries, but its initial application in ancient China was met with criticism. It is believed that a discovery that changed an era should be great, but its origin was actually for keeping warm after taking off pants, which makes people feel somewhat ashamed.

  Liu Ze came out of the Yihong Building and thought that he hadn't had breakfast yet, so he and Guan Zhang casually found a wine shop to have a meal. Seeing that there were few guests in the wine shop, Liu Ze made a suggestion to the owner to provide free firewood and coal, as usual. The owner of the wine shop hastily agreed to this good thing that was almost like manna from heaven.

  Back in the city, Liu Ze immediately changed the price tag to double that of charcoal, which was four times the original price. As soon as he raised the price, he was met with a burst of ridicule from the surrounding charcoal sellers, who had not sold a single catty at the original low price and were now raising it, leading everyone to laugh that Liu Ze's brain must have been kicked by a donkey.

  Liu Ze was unmoved, and on that day not even a single catty of coal was sold, but his price remained unchanged. By the third day, all the brothels on Zhangtai Street, including Mingyu Fang and Lichun Yuan, sent people to purchase stoves and coal. It turned out that after Yihong Lou started using coal for heating, its customer base increased greatly, and business was booming like in spring and summer, which made other brothels jealous. They inquired about it from all sides and found out that there was coal on sale in the market, so they bought it at a high price.

  In the following days, restaurants and inns came to buy, and later, officials, merchants, and wealthy households also joined the ranks of buyers. For a time, the streets were crowded with people, and the name of coal spread throughout Luoyang. Although the price had risen to four or five times that of charcoal, it was still hard to resist people's enthusiasm for buying. The dozens of iron stoves brought by Liu Ze were sold out first.

  However, Liu Ze was not in a hurry. There were many iron foundries in Luoyang City, and it was easy to make an iron furnace. After the iron foundry used coal as fuel, the efficiency was greatly improved, and many bosses were grateful to Liu Ze. Naturally, they attached great importance to making iron furnaces for Liu Ze. Later, other businesses also made more than a hundred iron furnaces for Liu Ze first, which were finely crafted and far superior to those made in Quyang.

  Liu Ze was very satisfied, the craftsmanship of Luoyang artisans was indeed higher than that of other places, and he only needed to exchange coal for it, without needing cash, which was very convenient. However, this time he only brought 100 carts of coal, and after selling for over a dozen days, his inventory was already not much, so he had to start transporting more from Yangquan immediately.

  Guan Yu volunteered to go to Yangquan to transport coal and stones. Liu Ze thought that the journey was long, if it wasn't for a capable person, he wouldn't dare entrust this important task. Seeing Guan Yu ask for orders, he was overjoyed and arranged vehicles, purchased a large amount of daily necessities, brought 10,000 taels of gold, and instructed Guan Yu to first go to Fenghuang Valley to hand over the gold and goods to Guan Hai before heading straight to Yangquan. Guan Yu agreed and led his troops to set off immediately.

  The acquisition of Shu brocade on the other side is also nearing its end. Due to the large-scale acquisition, the price of originally unsold Shu brocade has risen slightly. However, since there is a large inventory of Shu brocade in the Luoyang market and many merchants are not optimistic about its prospects, the rise in price is not too great. In more than half a month, nearly 50,000 pieces of Shu brocade have been stored. Liu Ze ordered that the Shu brocade be secretly stored in four warehouses on the outskirts of the city, with only incoming and no outgoing goods allowed. Later, news of the rebellion by the Yi State, Ba County, and Board Shield Barbarians reached the capital, causing public opinion to be in an uproar, and the price of Shu brocade naturally soared.

  Everyone admired Liu Ze's incredible prediction, asking him how he had such accurate forecasting abilities. Liu Ze just smiled and remained silent, only instructing that no matter what the market price was, not a single piece of Shu brocade should be sold. He knew that the Persian merchants had not yet returned to Luoyang, and once they did, they would purchase large quantities of Shu brocade, causing its price to rise many times over. Jian Yun and others were already deeply convinced, executing Liu Ze's arrangements without any hesitation.

  As the end of the lunar year approaches, the weather is cold and icy, with water freezing into ice. The coal supply in the market has been cut off, and people gather around the market every day, lingering and asking when the coal will arrive. Among them is Pinger, the madam of the House of Joy, who personally runs to the market to beg Liu Ze to sell her some coal. With a month's trial period over, the House of Joy has no customers coming in due to lack of heating, and Feng'er's mother is so anxious that she would kowtow to Liu Ze if she could.

  Liu Ze was also anxious, Guan Yu had been gone for some days and should have returned by now.

  Zhang Fei couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Second brother, isn't it that you've been tempted by wealth and secretly kept the 10,000 taels of gold for yourself, returning to your old home in Hebei?"

  Others may not believe it, but Liu Ze has no doubt about Guan Yu's loyalty. Upon hearing Zhang Fei's words, he rebuked him: "Third brother, do not speak nonsense! Although I have known Yunchang for a short time, his righteousness is as vast as the sky and he will never betray our trust."

  Zhang Fei also felt embarrassed and said, "Big brother is right, I know that second brother is a loyal and righteous person. Just now I was just making random guesses and speaking nonsense. When second brother comes back, big brother you must not mention this matter."

  Liu Ze laughed and scolded him: "You..."

  As they were speaking, someone came to report that Lord Guan had returned. Liu Bei and Zhang Fei hastily went out to greet him. When he saw Liu Bei, Guan Yu first paid his respects. Seeing that he was dusty and worn out, and his body thinner than before, Liu Bei's heart was deeply moved. He quickly grasped both of Guan Yu's hands and said: "Second brother, you've had a hard time!"

  "Hebei Province had a big snowfall, which delayed me on the road for quite some time and worried my brother."

  "It's a small matter to be delayed, and some goods are even more external things. As long as Yun Chang returns safely, I will also be at peace."

  Guan Yu saw Liu Ze's sincere intention overflowing from his words, and he felt grateful in his heart. He said: "Brother is lucky not to shame the order, although the road is treacherous and difficult to travel, three hundred carts of coal and stone are not missing one, please big brother inspect."

  "Other matters will be put aside for now, Big Brother has already ordered a banquet at Yue Lai Wine House to welcome you and wash away the dust." He then instructed his assistants to unload the coal stones in the market for sale, while he himself accompanied Zhang Fei to escort Guan Yu to drink at Yue Lai Wine House.

  Guan Yu said to Liu Ze: "Big brother, Guan Zi has something in front of him that he wants me to hand over to you personally."

  Liu Ze was taken aback and said, "What is it? Could it be..." Before he could finish speaking, Guan Yu had already ordered someone to bring in an object. Liu Ze's eyes widened with joy as he saw that it was the very same armchair he had asked Guan Huai to make for him. A month later, Guan Huai had indeed made one according to the design. The armchair made by Guan Huai for Liu Ze used high-quality Huang Hua Li wood and was crafted with great care, every detail meticulously polished and coated with a clear lacquer, revealing the wood grain clearly. The chair was upholstered with a whole piece of golden leopard skin, which, according to Guan Yu, was hunted by Guan Huai himself in the deep mountains. Liu Ze sat down on the chair and felt an unspeakable sense of comfort and relaxation, something he had never experienced since coming to the Han Dynasty, where he had been forced to kneel on mats all day, a truly torturous existence.

  Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at Liu Ze leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes, humming a tune, indulging in the pleasure. They had never seen this thing before, were utterly bewildered, and couldn't figure out what was so great about it.

  Liu Ze smiled and said: "Two younger brothers, you also come up and enjoy yourselves."

  Guan Yu shook his head and said, "This way of sitting is somewhat lacking in propriety."

  Zhang Fei, without being polite, sat down with a thud and burst out laughing: "The craftsmanship of the previous owner is not bad, it's quite sturdy. This leopard skin is great, soft and warm."

  Liu Ze said to Guan Yu, "Sitting is supposed to be a way of resting. Kneeling on the mat can only be called suffering. This has nothing to do with etiquette. Second brother, come and sit down, it's absolutely enjoyable."

  "This chair was specially made for Big Brother by Zǐ Qián before. This time, Zǐ Qián brought four chairs and a table."

  "Great, four chairs, just right for the three of us and Jianyong to have one each. That table must be an eight-immortals table, great, great, we'll use it for meetings and meals from now on."

  Afterwards, the coal sales were still very hot, and Liu Ze made a fortune this winter. Before he knew it, the end of the year was approaching.

  At that time, there were no firecrackers or fireworks, but it didn't stop people from having a lively and festive Chinese New Year. Inside and outside the city of Luoyang, lanterns and streamers were hung everywhere to welcome the arrival of the new spring. On New Year's Eve, Liu Ze ordered his employees to close up shop early and had prepared a sumptuous feast in the main hall.

  The table in front is an eight-immortal table made of Huanghuali wood, with four Huanghuali wood taishi chairs. Except for the first one covered with leopard skin, the other three are covered with wolf skin. The eight tables below were newly made by carpenters from Beijing invited by Liu Ze a few days ago, using ordinary willow wood. Each table has a long bench placed on its side, also newly made. The tables are piled high with delicacies and fine wines.