Liu Ren found himself playing with the knife in his hand, unable to suppress a sigh. The size of the knife bothered him; if only it were a bit smaller. Its unwieldy nature made it inconvenient to carry around. Suddenly, a thought struck him. Recalling the unlimited nature of previous items in the shop, he wondered if this exceptional knife shared the same unlimited availability.
Swinging the knife toward Lin Shen, he inquired, "Boss, how much for this knife?"
Lin Shen, seemingly unfazed, glanced up and replied casually, "Oh, that knife? Five taels of silver each."
The weight of the price left Liu Ren breathless, a discomfort settling in his chest. His personal weapon had cost him a substantial amount – three hundred guan or three hundred taels of silver. He could buy sixty of these wide knives with that money. Despite being no better than his own weapon, the boss's generosity surprised him.
"Is this knife also unlimited?" Liu Ren gritted his teeth as he asked.
Lin Shen nodded affirmatively, "Yes."
Concerned about the potential consequences, Liu Ren continued, "A bold sale of weapons like this, aren't you afraid of an investigation by the Ministry of Works?"
Lin Shen, puzzled, replied, "This knife is for cutting vegetables and meat, just a common household item. How can it be considered a weapon?"
Liu Ren, struggling with emotions, raised his eyebrows, "Haha, is this knife only for cooking?"
Lin Shen, nodding, explained, "You must not have cooked before; the kitchen knives at home look like this. If it were a weapon, using this kind of knife would be seeking death."
Frustrated, Liu Ren breathed deeply and placed the knife back on the shelf. "Poor imagination limited by poverty!" This was the only sentence in his mind. To him, such good steel should be used to make weapons. However, in the eyes of the boss, these were just kitchen knives?
His gaze shifted to the last item on the shelf – a small box with a metallic cylindrical object beside it. Intrigued, Liu Ren couldn't help but ask, "Boss, what's the last thing on your shelf? Some kind of hidden weapon?"
Lin Shen, amused by Liu Ren's imaginative thinking, explained, "That's not a hidden weapon; it's something called lipstick. You can understand it as rouge, used by women."
Disappointed that it wasn't a hidden weapon, Liu Ren, a straightforward man, failed to grasp the allure of lipstick for women. Following orders to bring back everything, he inquired about the price of the item.
"So, how much for this thing?" Liu Ren asked.
With a smirk, Lin Shen replied, "This is the most valuable item in my shop. One hundred taels of silver each."
Shocked, Liu Ren exclaimed, "Boss, why is this lipstick so expensive? I've never heard of rouge being sold at such a high price!"
With a cold smile, Lin Shen responded, "Can my product be compared to ordinary rouge? One hundred taels of silver – I'm practically giving it away cheap."
This answer left Liu Ren in disbelief. One hundred taels of silver, and it's considered cheap? Falling into silence, he felt a tremendous impact on his worldview.
Sighing, Lin Shen gestured, "Come here."
Approaching the counter, Liu Ren looked puzzled. Lin Shen spoke softly, "I know you definitely don't have a hundred taels of silver on you. Let me apply a bit on you. Show it to your master when you return. All women understand the charm of this."
Liu Ren adamantly refused, unwilling to let rouge tarnish his steel straight-manly body. Seeing his reluctance, Lin Shen sighed again, giving up on the idea.
Liu Ren purchased one soap and one knife, placing seven taels of silver on the counter. As he was about to leave, he turned around and asked, "By the way, I've come twice, and I forgot to ask Boss for your name."
Lounging in his wicker chair, Lin Shen leisurely said, "My surname is Lin, Lin Shen. Just call me Boss Lin."
Liu Ren, casually asking about Lin Shen's origin, unintentionally sparked Lin Shen's curiosity. Lin Shen smiled lightly, "Don't inquire about unnecessary things. My presence is beneficial and harmless to the Great Tang."
Lin Shen shared future plans for his supermarket, mentioning a membership card. Liu Ren, still perplexed, expressed gratitude and left with the items. Outside, a group of noble ladies passing by noticed Liu Ren, wives of prominent figures in Chang'an.
"Hey, isn't that one of the Thousand Bull Guards behind His Majesty? Why would he be here buying things for His Majesty?"
"Look, he seems to have something in his arms, probably buying things for His Majesty?"
"Sister, I think he just came out of this shop; shall we go in and take a look?"
Following the woman's finger, Sun Shi saw the appearance of Ruyi Supermarket. Her eyes lit up, nodding, "Let's go in and have a look." The group of women flocked towards the supermarket.