Yun Lei wasn't done with his words yet, however.
"Our shop's primary target will be commoners."
Everyone in the room looked at him in shock. Even Senior Mo hadn't known about this part of the plan.
"We will only prepare a small amount of extremely premium apparel targeted towards the nobles. The rest of our catalogue will be geared towards the commoners."
The reason for this was simple. Getting one noble to buy an outfit worth 50 silver was the same as getting fifty commoners to buy an outfit worth 1 silver each. But there was a vital difference between these two scenarios.
The goal of his first shop was never to turn a profit. Hence, he had chosen to pay the fabric merchants more and even offered to hire the seamstresses permanently. No, there was something that he wanted to earn much more than money.
Reputation.
His apparel shop would be used to earn a reputation for the Thunder Cloud Company as well as earn the goodwill of the common people. The actual profits would come from the other shops that would inevitably follow. This first shop only needed to be self-sufficient.
A small merchant could never even dream of using such a strategy but Yun Lei had the Yun Family behind him. And they would no doubt support him fully. If Thunder Cloud became successful, it would bring a lot of benefits to Yun Meili.
"Are commoners not people?" Yun Lei continued. "Do commoners not have desires? Do commoners not want to have nice things, wear nice clothes? There are enough shops that cater to nobles. We will cater to commoners."
Of course, this was all a part of the strategy. Why did he want to cater so heavily to the commoners? That was because he wanted to establish Thunder Cloud as a company that looked out for the common man. If the commoners thought of it as 'our company' instead of thinking it belonged to some haughty noble, what would happen?
Profit. The people would support any and all business ventures under Yun Lei's umbrella over any of the shops run by the nobles.
His words had thoroughly shaken the hearts of the workers who were born commoners. The way they looked at the handsome young man in front of them was full of respect.
"We will provide affordable yet high-quality apparel and the satisfaction of our customers is our highest priority."
Yun Lei had a bright smile on his face as he looked at the respectful gazes of the workers.
"I hope I will have the support of each and every one of you in this venture."
The seamstresses all nodded, their eyes full of fire. This gentle looking young man had such a noble goal in his mind. He was cutting down his own profits to provide a service to the people, how could they not support him?
Senior Mo watched the whole interaction happen as sweat streamed down the side of his face. Targeting the commoners was something many merchants had tried before; it wasn't a new idea by any means. But the way Yun Lei had gone about it was anything but ordinary.
The next few days would be crucial for the success of Thunder Cloud as a whole. Even before the shop was fully open, word about it had already begun travelling, courtesy to the very passionate employees of the apparel shop. Of course, Senior Mo helped the matters as well.
The raw materials were delivered swiftly and the first batch officially entered production. In about a week, everything was set up. The seamstresses worked tirelessly to create the best clothes they had ever made. They wanted the shop to succeed even more than Yun Lei himself.
Meanwhile, the Young Master had put opening the restaurant on the back burner while he focused on the grand opening. Many invitation cards had been sent from the Yun Manor, even the Governor himself would be present in the ceremony.
Preparing everything took a lot of money but the Yun Family provided all of it. The Governor was hesitant at first but he was helpless in front of his daughter and could only comply with his son-in-law's whims.
It was a bright and sunny morning on the day the Thunder Cloud Apparels would officially open its doors. The hubbub was quite something. Many important people had shown up and naturally, many of the residents of the town had been drawn to the commotion because of that.
A crowd was already beginning to form around the small stage built in front of the shop. Upon it, several guests were seated. Yun Lei recognised a few of them. The Governor as well as the Matriarchs of the Zhiwu Family and the Chong Family. There were a few other nobles he had seen in his wedding before however, he wasn't familiar with any of them.
Yun Meili and Yun Lei got on the stage side by side, both thoroughly dressed up. One was handsome enough to make all the women in the crowd swoon for him, the other's beauty made the hearts of all the men palpate endlessly.
"I thank you all for your presence here today." Yun Lei began speaking. "This shop of ours was opened with a simple goal in mind. Whether it be nobles or commoners, our shop will welcome all customers with open arms. I hope you will give us a visit in the future."
He didn't want to drag out things for too long and kept his speech short and sweet. He quietly gave a signal to his wife who moved towards the shop doors. There was a long piece of ribbon in front of it that was beautifully decorated.
Yun Meili slowly unsheathed her sword and the atmosphere swiftly changed. She took a stance before swinging her sword once in a beautiful and dazzling arc.
The crowd was left with a dumb look on their faces as the ribbon slowly disappeared from existence, as if it was a flower that was wilting away. Everything else stayed just as it had been a moment ago, not even a speck of dust had been disturbed.
"Young Lady Yun only gets better every time I see her." One of the nobles spoke to the Governor, who let out a laugh, full of pride.
"Of course, of course. She has a lot left to learn still." The Governor humbly added.
Several servants brought out cups and poured Yun Family's delicious wine in them. Yun Lei picked up a cup before raising it in the air. The nobles followed suit.
"To the good health of all the residents of Ether Cloud." He said with a smile. Traditionally, the toast would be to the success of the newly opened shop but Yun Lei had his own way of doing things, as usual.
"To good health!" Everyone gulped down their wine.
With that, the ceremonies were completed. The nobles were the first to leave and the shop opened its doors.
At first, it was just a few members of the crowd who were slightly curious but when they entered the shop and asked for the prices, they were left astonished. They even invited their friends and family, as if to confirm whether or not their ears were working.
Of course, all the shopkeepers were extremely polite and treated every single customer with grace. Even if they couldn't afford anything and simply entered to take a look, they were treated with the same attitude.
Yun Lei watched all this happen with a satisfied smile. The crowd, instead of dying down was only getting bigger.
"What do you think, Senior Mo?" He asked the old man standing beside him.
"Young Master is truly capable." Was all he could say. Indeed, that was his honest thoughts.
Yun Lei smiled after hearing that answer. Of course, rather than him being capable, it was the people around him who had made all of it possible. He was merely a catalyst. However, it was true that without him, none of this would have happened.
While watching the shop was very satisfying, the noise was starting to get to him. He had played his part, now all he had to do was let things run their course. Yun Lei just wanted to go back home and rest.
Seeing the fatigue on his face, Yun Meili immediately ordered for a carriage to be prepared.
"Senior Mo, allow me to be impolite." Yun Lei said, leaning against his wife atop the carriage seat.
"Please speak, Young Master."
"How long have you been a scholar at the Yun Family?"
"Twenty-three years."
"Are you satisfied with being just that for the rest of your life?" Yun Lei's soft voice drifted into Senior Mo's ears. The old man couldn't help but take a look towards Yun Meili, who was as expressionless as always.
He then looked at the young man who was gently smiling at him.
"Senior Mo, you see, I have this ability to smell people's hearts." He spoke with a mysterious smile on his face.
Yun Lei had gone through many changes after being in that poison induced coma. A lot of which, he speculated, had something to do with how much his soul strength had increased.
The way he could suppress cultivators with his aura, the way his perception was way too good for a mortal, and even the way he could almost tell what someone was thinking just by looking at them.
It was a hazy and unclear feeling. Like looking through a cloudy glass that was so fragile that it could break with a single touch. That glass became clearer the less the person was guarded.
"Do you know what I smelled on you, Senior Mo?"
Senior Mo looked a bit taken aback but he couldn't help but be curious. How could he not be curious about what the brilliant young man thought of him?
"What did you smell, Young Master?" He couldn't hold himself back.
"Ambition, Senior Mo. You are a very capable man yet you have no place to display your talents. There is dissatisfaction deep in your heart."
Senior Mo was the youngest of the scholars of the Yun Family and he was most knowledgeable when it came to the matters of money. However, the Yun Family mostly focused on military matters and didn't even own any businesses of their own. Of course, his talents came in handy when it came to managing funds but that was all.
He was a dragon stuck in a small pool.
"Senior Mo, do you wish to remain one of the scholars of the Yun Family or do you want to be the one and only spearhead of the Thunder Cloud Empire? That is up to you to decide."
Senior Mo's eyes drifted towards Yun Meili once more and she still hadn't reacted. Her husband was openly poaching a capable administrator from the Yun Family yet she didn't even look fazed.
"You seem confused, Senior Mo. Thunder Cloud will become one of the pillars that will support the Yun Family in the future. Naturally, my wife will have no problem with it."
Yun Lei was still leaning against Yun Meili, who was gently stroking his hair. She knew how hard he had worked to make sure everything had gone to plan. He deserved to rest.
"Iā" Senior Mo began speaking but couldn't continue.
"Take your time and think about it."
Yun Lei had always envisioned Thunder Cloud as a self-expanding empire. An empire that would expand with or without his presence. He had already established a strong foundation with the apparel shop but they couldn't stop at just that. Someone needed to take the helm to push the company to new heights.
Senior Mo was already familiar with how Yun Lei did things and had played a vital role in the establishment of the foundation the company would stand on. Who better to take helm than him?
The carriage continued moving towards the Yun Manor, undisturbed by the atmosphere atop it.