Chen San and his gang's promotional efforts surpassed Lin Shen's expectations by far.
Nothing was more impactful than a group of ruffians suddenly being able to afford treasures that even the noble families couldn't.
People inevitably had a sense of comparison.
If these ruffians could afford such good things, why couldn't they, who worked hard and diligently?
Whether it was glass cups, kitchen knives, soap, or even lipstick priced at one hundred silver coins per bottle, they opened up a new, vast world for the simple people of the Tang Dynasty.
Chen San and his group also promoted vigorously.
Every time they saw envy and admiration in others' eyes, it filled them with a pride that was difficult to express in words.
The business of the supermarket kept getting better and better.
Busy every day, when it was time to rest.
Looking at the increasing revenue, Lin Shen always wore a satisfied smile.
In just half a month.
Lin Shen had already saved up one hundred thousand taels of silver.
Including today's revenue, there were a total of one hundred and eleven thousand three hundred and twenty-seven taels of silver.
After bathing and changing clothes.
And even lit incense.
With the most devout heart.
Lin Shen pressed the "Special Draw" button on the system page.
A unique and luxurious-looking roulette wheel, filled with extremely powerful items, appeared before him.
Each grid contained something extremely formidable.
A spear surrounded by precious light.
A group of heroic souls clad in black armor...
A white tiger roaring to the sky...
Incomprehensible.
They all looked extremely good.
No matter which one he drew, Lin Shen felt it would satisfy him.
Clack clack—
The roulette wheel spun, and Lin Shen's heart began to beat rapidly as the pointer moved.
After a moment.
The pointer finally stopped.
Landing on the spear surrounded by precious light.
The system made a prompt: "Ding, congratulations to the host for drawing a special-class item: Purple Smoke Snake Spear."
Immediately, a heavy spear fell into his hands.
A wave of information also flooded into Lin Shen's mind.
A huge surprise instantly overwhelmed Lin Shen's heart.
This weapon was extraordinary.
It was the legendary weapon of Nezha, one of the Twenty-Four Generals of Taiyi: the Purple Smoke Snake Spear.
But Lin Shen wondered why he drew this item.
Was it trying to suggest that he should tie his hair into double buns and cosplay as Nezha?
Lin Shen looked at the weapon in his hand with satisfaction.
The spear was eight feet long, about 1.5 times Lin Shen's height, but it could change freely to fit Lin Shen's height and arm span.
Lin Shen held the weapon and thought.
The spear instantly split in two.
One spearhead was like flames, faintly flickering like flames, while the other was a snake-shaped spear blade.
Lin Shen casually performed a few spear flowers, and a sharp whistling sound followed.
The more he played with this thing, the more Lin Shen loved it.
Legend had it that the Purple Smoke Spear was bestowed upon Nezha by the Grandmaster of the Three Altars, Taiyi. The spear tip could spew flames and contained infinite power. It was a divine weapon for slaying demons and exterminating enemies, and its power was even comparable to that of the Xuanyuan Sword.
But Lin Shen wondered...
Whether this divine weapon still possessed mythical power in his hands.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Shen didn't dare to try it in the house.
What if, as the legend said, it could spew flames and accidentally burn down his house? That would be a huge loss.
Lin Shen slipped out of the back door and found a place near water where no one was around.
He swung the Purple Smoke Spear in his hand.
Whoosh—
A scorching flame spewed out from the spear tip, like a fierce dragon, burning fiercely, causing a thick white steam to rise from the water's surface.
It could really spew fire!
Lin Shen was extremely surprised.
This was too surprising!
In the future, if he were to face someone in a duel, and the opponent felt safe from a distance, he could suddenly unleash flames like this!
How unexpected.
After trying to spew flames several times, the water in front of him visibly lowered. Lin Shen felt satisfied and thought.
The Purple Smoke Spear was then put away into the system space.
Lin Shen walked back.
At the same time, in a luxurious mansion in Chang'an.
The Duke of Lu.
This was the mansion of Hou Junji, one of the Twenty-Four Generals.
In the study.
Having just finished his daily official duties and returned from the Ministry of War, Hou Junji looked at the items on the table, his eyes gleaming.
Ruyi Supermarket.
For the noble class like them, it was not an unfamiliar name.
Soap, kitchen knives, lipstick...
These were all laid out on Hou Junji's table.
There was also a plate of exquisitely arranged fish tofu beside them.
Hou Junji had a particular fondness for this delicacy.
He had to eat at least a dozen bags every day to satisfy his cravings.
Hou Junji picked up a piece of fish tofu with his chopsticks, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed it down. Then, he asked softly, "Have you found out who is behind the Ruyi Supermarket?"
"Reporting to Your Grace..." The reporting person showed a hesitant expression, as if the words were stuck in their throat and couldn't be said.
Hou Junji frowned. "Speak up. Could it be that there are people behind that shop that even I can't afford to offend?"
In the entire Tang Dynasty.
Hou Junji considered himself someone who couldn't be offended by anyone.
Even Li
Shimin, that brat Wei Zheng dared to curse in front of the entire court, and he could do the same.
After all, the credit for conquering the world together with Li Shimin was something he could boast about.
Although he was not very popular with the civil and military officials.
But he believed that it was just envy and resentment from those who had no merit. After all, the Xuanwu Gate Incident was something he personally promoted...
The reporting person continued to speak softly, "Your Grace, we have been investigating for so long, but we have not found anyone behind it..."
Hou Junji was somewhat surprised. "Oh, so that shop doesn't have the support of the nobles behind it?"
The reporting person nodded, "Yes, apart from Your Grace investigating them, we found that Duke Lu, Duke Xing, Duke Cai, and other nobles are also investigating that shop."
"Moreover... we have also found traces of the Imperial Guards."
Hou Junji raised an eyebrow.
Duke Lu was Cheng Yaojin, Duke Cai was Du Ruhui, and Duke Xing was Fang Xuanling.
As for the Imperial Guards, they belonged to His Majesty.
In other words... this Ruyi Supermarket had no relationship with the noble class in Chang'an at all.
The reporting person continued, "We also found out that His Majesty seems to have sent someone to Xinghua. It seems that this shop is owned by a small nobleman named Lin from Xinghua."
Hou Junji sneered, "Who did I think it was? It turns out to be just a lowly small nobleman."
"Daring to open such a shop without making a sound in Chang'an, it really takes guts."
"It's a pity to leave such good things in their hands. Just a few people need to be sent to inform them that from now on, this shop belongs to me."