Shipin Dalizheng

Chapter 239 New Store Opening

Rong Tang thought silently that time passed so quickly, but he still had a lot of things to do.

"Let's go and take a look at that small workshop."

The small black market workshop was located in a deserted house outside the north city. When they passed by, they heard shouting. After turning a broken wall, they saw half-naked men shouting and beating straw paddles. The flying sweat was filled with the pungent smell of hormones.

Rong Tang wanted to cover his eyes, but then he decided not to do so and asked Rong Zhan to call everyone over.

Gao Zhiyuan was there too. He didn't cover his entire head and face, but he still stubbornly covered his eyes with a piece of cloth and dug two holes to look at people.

He asked the ten or so men under his command to gather together and stand in a row. At first glance, the youngest was no more than eighteen or nineteen, and the oldest was no more than thirty, which was the peak period of a man's life.

Rong Tang looked around the small workshop and found that it was actually a simple paper-making workshop. They dug a few large pits and used lime to ferment the mulberry and mulberry barks. There was a pile of broken cardboard by the wall, which showed that their technology was not yet mature.

Gao Zhiyuan kicked the broken one aside and added, "It can still be recycled."

Rong Tang crossed his arms and toured their residence again. It was just a straw mat spread in a corner. It was okay in the summer, but it was already autumn, and he didn't know how they lived there in previous years.

He originally thought that the black market was mysterious and powerful, and it should be a place with strict security that outsiders could never set foot in.

"You guys came here like this?"

Gao Zhiyuan straightened his neck and said, "Wait for our young master to go north..."

Rong Tang waved his hand. Since Wu Ji was in charge of the Annan Marquis' Mansion in the Southern Dynasty, he would take care of these black market men in the Northern Dynasty.

"Gao Zhiyuan, I'm going to open a new shop and need some manpower. Would you like to hire your men?"

Gao Zhiyuan's eyes lit up, but he hesitated again, "Let's make it clear first, when our young master goes north..."

"I understand. I'll return you to her when your young master goes north."

He immediately reached an agreement with Gao Zhiyuan and brought ten people back to Beijing, while the remaining four continued to make paper pieces.

Butler Tao was already waiting in the shop. He had cleaned up the two store rooms downstairs, divided the four rooms upstairs into eight small rooms, and cleaned up the third floor, waiting for instructions.

After seeing the initial sorting results, Rong Tang was quite satisfied. Then, together with the ten new people, Rong Tang temporarily gave them code names, from Rong Yi to Rong Shi, and held a meeting.

The new shop he wanted to open would sell playing cards, not just digital playing cards, but also various brain-burning games, including traditional leaf cards, mahjong cards, mahjong cards, Three Kingdoms Kill, etc. There are eight categories and hundreds of ways to play, which can make people brainstorm just by hearing about them.

Of course, selling playing cards is just the ground floor operation; the second and third floors are service rooms. Customers can choose to buy cards and play at home, or they can choose to organize a game in the shop. The shop provides refreshments, fruit plates, technical guidance, and personal safety.

Rong Yi to Rong Shi's daily jobs are waiters and security guards. They are responsible for serving customers and fighting against troublemakers.

As for the wages, it is a fixed amount of 500 coins, which includes food, accommodation, medical care, and burial.

Rong Zhan spoke from his own experience, "Let's do it. There's no better place to be than following my master. We both feel very happy. We signed a contract for a long time."

“How many years are you signing?”

Rong Zhan said, "I will live for five hundred years, and my other brother Rong Wanli will live for a thousand years."

Rong Yi to Rong Shi were all stunned after hearing this, with pure stupidity in their eyes.

However, these men were usually hungry, so after being assured of being fed, they did not care about the wages and signed the employment contracts under Rong Zhan's encouragement.

After unpacking the newly made playing cards, Rong Tang discovered that Rong Qianqi was really obsessed with engraving the layout. Taking the playing cards as an example, there are not only the simple four colors of hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs, but also plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, spring, summer, autumn and winter, flowers, birds, fish and insects, and various versions. The gameplay is the same, but the colors are colorful, and customers can buy according to their preferences.

The back of the cards has a uniform grid pattern, and the front is covered with a layer of white paper with beautiful patterns and numbers printed on them. It is a hundred times more beautiful than the original crude hand-painted version and is fully qualified for circulation in the market.

After looking through several decks, Rong Zhan remembered something. "Master, Shopkeeper Gao doesn't sell paper anymore. A lot of people have been asking for it lately. If they can't find it, they're using other substitutes. Oh, that's the kind you had your subordinates make in Jingzhao Prefecture Prison. I heard they sold quite a few of them. Now that shop is hand-painting their own playing cards, and a deck costs fifty wen. Those cards feel terrible, and they break after a while. A lot of people complain about it, but they still want to play with it."

Rong Tang paused while checking the quality of the cards. It turned out that during the ten days he was away, someone had realized what was going on.

"Give two decks of these cards to the heir of the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion, and give them to the He, Wang, Zheng, and Xie families as well. Once they get their hands on cards of this quality, they won't be interested in anything else. Also, spread the word that we hold a card skills competition on the last three days of every month, and the winners will each receive ten taels of silver."

Rong Zhan was stunned for a moment. If he won, he would get a reward of ten taels of silver, so he wanted to participate in the competition.

"Then our new shop must have a name, right?"

Of course, Rong Tang had already thought of a name, which was called Smart Entertainment Center.

"Rong Zhan, I've been thinking about this for a long time. A place like this needs a skilled martial artist to look after it. Do you think you should come or..."

Rong Zhan's scalp tingled. He was not fit to be a shopkeeper. When he thought about how Rong Shen had been tied up in a long gown and unable to move since he became the shopkeeper of the town's shop, he wanted to beg his master to let him go.

He gathered his wits and betrayed his brother, "I can't do it, Rong Qianqi will do it, he likes to carve things, and he has time to think about new patterns while watching the shop here."

Rong Qianqi, like Rong Shen, was a quiet and steady person. Even if he was unwilling, he would be able to keep the job with peace of mind. On second thought, Rong Zhan knew the most of my secrets and was the most convenient, so it was better for him to stay by my side.

Rong Wanli was a lively and unstable person, so he continued to run errands everywhere. In this way, Rong Qianqi's fate was determined.

Taking advantage of Rong Qiannian's absence, Rong Zhan finalized the matter. After delivering the cards, he made another special trip to tell Rong Qianqi the "good news."

The next day, the entertainment center opened, and several of his old friends reunited. Thanks to their promotion and influence, many young officials had sensed its charm, and many followed suit.

Compared to taking cards home to play, the young masters prefer to stay in the store to play. The store not only provides fruit teas that cannot be bought elsewhere, but also a variety of fruit wines. The box fee for a day is ten taels of silver. Including food and drinks, three or four people can play for a whole day and spend less than twenty taels of silver, which is quite comfortable.

When they counted the accounts in the evening, they earned more than 30 taels from selling playing cards and 120 taels from the room fee. It didn't seem like a large amount, but they all knew that the profit was astonishing.

Steward Tao, while helping with the abacus, exclaimed, "Prince, if this continues, this shop will earn at least one or two thousand taels a month, which is more than the rent collected in the past year."

Rong Tang asked while drinking tea, "How much rent could these shops in the Bo Mansion collect in a year?"

Steward Tao sighed, "Master is in charge of everything. He collects the rent, but I've heard that the Liang family, relying on Prince Rui's influence, would be lucky to get only 10% or 20% of the rent out of 100%. Master will consider the shortfall as financial support for Prince Rui."

As the master and servant were talking, there was a noise on the street. It was a group of fully armed soldiers heading in one direction.

Rong Tang took a look and asked Rong Yi and Rong Er to close the shop, while he, Rong Zhan, and Butler Tao returned to the Bo Mansion.