The allure of lipstick is truly irresistible.
"Even if this person doesn't give good attitude to my husband, I won't choose to turn hostile."
"Since he refuses to come and collect the money, I'll have to go back and get it myself first."
Lady Du nodded as well, "Please, boss, keep this lipstick in lotus color for me. I am Lady Du, the wife of Du Ruhui. I'll send someone to bring the money this afternoon."
Lin Shen nodded with a smile, "No problem!"
Sun Shi and Lady Du spoke up.
The rest of the women, one after another, also spoke up, each requesting a bottle of lipstick.
Five hundred taels of silver in hand!
Lin Shen grinned happily.
Indeed, lipstick was a profitable business. With just five customers, he had earned enough for half of an intermediate prize draw.
He carefully noted down the names of these women and made a pre-order list.
These women were satisfied and ready to go home to get the money.
But Lin Shen wasn't about to let them leave.
They came into his shop without intending to make a purchase and now wanted to leave just like that?
That's not how things worked.
Pre-ordering?
Pre-ordering didn't count as a purchase. It wasn't considered a sale until he had the money in his hands.
Lin Shen said softly, "Ladies, don't be in such a hurry. I have a few items here that are perfect for you. Would you like to take a look?"
Upon hearing this, they decided to stay a while.
Lin Shen introduced them to solar night lights, soap, and fish tofu.
It had to be said.
These three items had a huge appeal to women.
Each person bought at least a month's worth.
Everyone also bought at least one bar of soap.
For someone like Sun Shi, who wasn't short of money, she bought ten bars in one go.
They didn't overlook fish tofu either.
Each person bought at least ten bags.
After these women left, Lin Shen counted the silver on the table with a smile.
One hundred and twenty-eight taels.
This was the silver these women had contributed to him without any prior preparation.
From ancient times to the present, some things never changed.
Such as...
A woman's money is always easier to earn than a man's.
Women from prestigious families are efficient.
They made an appointment in the morning, and in the afternoon, they sent the money over. The five lipsticks were eagerly taken home by them.
Lin Shen didn't choose the beginner's prize draw.
After experiencing the sweetness of the intermediate prize draw...
Lin Shen had already made up his mind. As long as he didn't turn into an African, he would always adhere to the principle of aiming for the highest prize draw available—intermediate or advanced!
That afternoon.
Li Shimin couldn't calm his mind.
Looking at the two items on the table.
He was utterly perplexed.
Soap, kitchen knife.
Both gave him a strong sense of unfamiliarity.
A strange material that felt somewhat like grease, but after washing with water, it left an extremely dry feeling, completely unlike the greasy sensation of oil...
This was a material he had never seen before.
The kitchen knife was the same.
There were no traces of forging visible, as if it were born that way.
Both were excellent items.
The Ministry of Works couldn't find a single craftsman who could produce similar items.
Li Shimin sighed and murmured, "Have we still not found out anything about the background of the shopkeeper of that store?"
The owner of Ruyi Supermarket was surnamed Lin.
This was the information Liu Ren had found out.
But there were no prominent families surnamed Lin in the Tang Dynasty...
Li Shimin vaguely remembered that there was a Lin surname in the Sui Dynasty, a Right Minister, but that Lin was of low status, just a small family in Xinghua.
They couldn't produce such exquisite items.
Liu Ren shook his head, "I'm incompetent. I still haven't figured it out. I've sent the Thousand Bull Guard to Xinghua. It will take two months round trip to find out if this person really comes from the Lin family of Xinghua."
Li Shimin couldn't help but sigh, "You've worked hard..."
He reached out and picked up the kitchen knife, examining it for a long time. "Is he really saying this knife is for kitchen use?"
Liu Ren's expression was strange as he nodded.
Li Shimin asked again, "Did he really say that this knife is also unlimited in supply?"
Liu Ren nodded again, "Boss Lin said so. Given his style, he shouldn't be lying."
Li Shimin fell silent.
He was still the Prince of Qin when he was helping his father build the empire. He hadn't realized that there were so many things in this world that he didn't understand.
Only after ascending to the throne...
Did he realize how unfamiliar the world truly was.
"Arrange for a group of people to watch that shop day and night. If there's any movement, report to me immediately," Li Shimin ordered.
Liu Ren nodded, "Understood."
Li Shimin turned his head, picked up the kitchen knife, and studied it intently. The reflection of his troubled face could be seen on the blade. There was a deep sense of weariness in his voice, "I truly hope that you, as you said, are beneficial and harmless to our Great Tang..."
Beside Li Shimin, the group of women who had bought lipstick couldn't calm their minds either.
After the lipstick arrived home, Sun Shi invited a few colleagues' wives to host a tea party.
Sun Shi was the last to arrive, assisted by her maidservant, as she walked into the pavilion.
As soon as she sat down...
The wife of Zhangsun Wuji frowned and asked, "Sister Sun seems a little different today."
"Yes, Sister Sun seems to have more feminine charm..." the wife of Yu Chigong exclaimed in surprise.
The wife of Fang Xuanling was also amazed, "I even felt a slight sense of admiration, as if Sister Sun, you've done something to make me, a woman, feel a bit moved. How did you do it?"
Sun Shi didn't say anything.
But soon, they discovered the source of this strange charm.
It came from Sun Shi's lips.
The natural, faintly reddened color enhanced Sun Shi's charm, elevating her attractiveness.
"Sister, did you use a new lip rouge?" the wife of Fang Xuanling looked at Sun Shi, hesitatingly asking.
Sun Shi nodded, her face filled with pride.
Her tiny bit of vanity had already been boosted by the astonished and envious gazes of these women.
"Of course, the color of this lip rouge should be quite good." Sun Shi pretended to be modest.
The wife of Zhangsun Wuji nodded, "More than good, it makes Sister Sun look like a celestial being descended to earth..."
Sun Shi covered her mouth and chuckled, "That's too exaggerated."
"And where did you buy this lip rouge in such a color?" the wife of Fang Xuanling asked a crucial question.
Sun Shi waved her hand, "I bought it from a shop called Ruyi Supermarket in Taipingfang. This lipstick isn't expensive either, only a hundred taels of
silver."
A hundred taels of silver?
This price truly surprised them.
Even the most expensive rouge shop in Chang'an, the most precious box of rouge, cost only ten taels of silver.
But this lipstick was ten times the price.
The other women were so surprised by the price that they didn't notice Sun Shi's slip of the tongue.
But all their attention was focused on the lipstick, which was brought over by the maid.
With its shiny shell and the lipstick tip, resembling a lotus petal peeking out, it immediately drew the attention of the other women.
"Is this lipstick?" the wife of Fang Xuanling's voice trembled.
It was different from the rouge she had imagined.
It looked even better.
Sun Shi nodded, "The original price was three hundred taels of silver, but... the boss gave face to my husband and only charged a hundred taels of silver..."
She originally wanted to say "discount."
But that seemed a bit embarrassing, so she stiffly changed her words halfway through.
However, the other women were all focused on the lipstick and didn't notice her slip of the tongue.