Of course, Zhuge Jian had already anticipated that Yang Hao would have questions. Therefore, without waiting for a query, he proactively answered, “Although Dupu District appears ordinary, its residents possess a very peculiar characteristic.”
“All are ordinary residents; how could they have any distinctive features?”
“The families living in Dupu District mostly follow a traditional model, where men go to work to earn money while women manage household chores without pursuing careers,” Zhuge Jian pointed out the issue gently.
Yang Hao frowned. Indeed, this was a unique place. By today’s standards, where most physical labor had been handed over to robots, there was generally no distinction between men and women in terms of work, and the majority of women would not be content staying at home. In Dupu district, however, families still followed traditional practices, with only men working outside while women remained housewives—a relatively rare phenomenon these days.
“But so what? What’s the connection between women not going to work and taking aphrodisiacs?” Yang Hao continued to question.
“It’s indeed not related to taking aphrodisiacs,” Zhuge Jian said with a smile. “But it has a lot to do with the spread of information. Why does Dupu District frequently generate gossip and domestic news? It’s because there are too many women who don’t work and have nothing better to do. These women gather together and chat about this and that, and the slightest rumor or commotion quickly spreads throughout the streets. They are the best communication tool among the grassroots class.”
Yang Hao nodded. The scene of hundreds of women gathering together to chat about daily life was indeed impressive: “But what does that have to do with my love potion?”
“Those gossipy women are our best free promotional tools,” Zhuge Jian already used the word “our”. “As long as we can introduce our aphrodisiac into Dupu District, once the men take it and experience the effects, their wives will gather together to discuss and investigate this topic. Before long, the reputation of our aphrodisiac will spread throughout the entire district, even reaching the commoners across the whole city. By leveraging these women’s tendency to exaggerate and spread word-of-mouth testimonials, we can easily establish ourselves as a renowned brand of aphrodisiac.”
“Wow!!!” Yang Hao’s eyes widened, “That’s incredible! How come I never thought of this move before? I’ve always heard people say that word of mouth is the best advertisement for selling products. Now we can take advantage of women chatting privately and promote the love potion effectively.”
“Exactly!” Zhuge Jian clapped his hands in delight as he saw Yang Hao grasp the point immediately.
“Haha, this old man indeed has some real skills,” Heyuanzi couldn’t help but admire. Although Heyuanzi himself was somewhat skilled in business, his abilities were limited to those of a mere street vendor. Today, after hearing Zhuge Jian’s brilliant analysis in the Longzhong meeting, he was genuinely impressed.
“But…” Yang Hao thought of a new question, “How can we get the men from Dupu Street to try the spring tonic? You know, our medicine smells really bad; people won’t even look at it.”
“Well…” Zhuge Jian lightly coughed, crossed his legs, and actually started to put on airs.
Yang Hao was still eagerly waiting for his guidance, but after waiting for quite some time, Zhuge Jian did not react at all.
“Foolish apprentice, this old fellow is just fishing for compliments. Why don’t you say something nice?” Hun Yuanzi, accustomed to being a master, immediately saw through Zhuge Jian’s scheme.
Yang Hao finally understood and broke into a broad smile. “Mr. Zhuge,” he said, “I’d like to invite you to be the chief consultant for our shop. I hope you’d be willing to accept this position.”
“Chief Advisor, huh…” Zhuge Jian’s heart was singing with joy, but he hesitated to respond, his mouth mumbling slightly. With one hand, he gently rubbed his thumb and index finger together, making the motion of counting banknotes.
Yang Hao looked a bit embarrassed: “The small shop has had no business at all, so when it comes to money…”
“Money isn’t the most important thing!” Zhuge Jian quickly jumped in, his pair of narrow eyes fixed intently on the love potions displayed on the counter.
Yang Hao was naturally clever and quickly regained his composure. He said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Zhuge. As the chief consultant, you can get spring tonic for free anytime—plenty of it, as much as you want, for life!”
“Hahaha, an old man like me doesn’t have many years left to enjoy anyway.” Zhuge Jian was indeed greatly satisfied. The old man was a lecherous devil, spending almost every night in the beds of beautiful women. Therefore, his expenses on aphrodisiacs had been quite substantial. Now, gaining the right to use them for free, of course brought him quite a thrill for a while.
“So, how can my love potion get into Duplex District?” Yang Hao asked promptly.
Zhuge Jian, having received the assignment, no longer held back: “In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary. I have a trick to ensure that, without spending a penny, the entire Dupu District will soon know of your reputation for producing powerful aphrodisiacs.”
Yang Hao was overjoyed and said, “I’ll follow your guidance completely, Master Zhuge.”
“Come closer…” Zhuge Jian stretched out his bony finger, grabbing Yang Hao’s ear and pulling his head near his mouth.
After some grumbling, he noticed Yang Hao’s face gradually darkening, until it turned an ashen gray. With obvious reluctance, Yang Hao finally managed a stiff nod.
Zhuge Jian’s idea was indeed very cunning and ruthless…
Although Raymon is an agricultural planet, its capital city is still quite prosperous. Apart from the imperial palace, most of the other city districts are filled with high-rise buildings, often reaching over a hundred stories tall.
However, the residential buildings in Dupu District were at most just over ten stories high, which was considered the standard of slums in the capital city. Many Raymon citizens who could not afford better housing had no choice but to squeeze into tiny apartments the size of pigeonholes to get by.
It was already deep into the night. The moonlight wasn’t very bright, but it was still possible to make out Yang Hao, dressed entirely in black ninja attire, climbing with both hands and feet onto the windowsill of a building.
“Thinking what? Hurry up and go in!” Hunyuanzi urged impatiently.
“Damn it! He has psychological barriers, okay?” Yang Hao muttered, then sat down directly on someone else’s windowsill, hesitating and spacing out there.
“What’s stopping you now? Didn’t you do the same with Elise last time?” Hun Yuanzi really didn’t care about sparing others’ feelings. “Good apprentice, your wall-climbing skills have been getting better and better lately.”
“It’s not the same, right?” Yang Hao said, scratching his head in frustration. “If I go in now, it’s considered breaking and entering, and I could get arrested at any moment.”
“Be afraid of what, exactly? You can run and fly better than anyone. Who could possibly catch you?” Hunyuanzi remained perfectly calm. “Don’t forget, you’re the senior disciple of our Chun Yao sect’s cultivation school. Would you really fear these ordinary people?”
“That good-for-nothing Zhuge! Of all the ideas he could have come up with, he had to suggest something like this. He’s practically trying to send me straight to jail!” Yang Hao was truly furious.
This morning, Zhuge Jian gave Yang Hao a suggestion on how to penetrate the Dupu Street market. Surprisingly, he wanted Yang Hao to sneak into some residents’ homes on a dark and windy night, and force the men there to consume his aphrodisiac.
According to Zhuge Jian, after men try it once and women feel the effects are really good, they’ll be hooked and come back on their own to buy more.
Of course, it was easy for the old man to talk about it, but Yang Hao felt extremely troubled. Yang Hao had already been through a twist of fate, transforming from a diligent student into the owner of a pharmacy selling love potions. Now, he was also expected to act like a thief, secretly slipping love drugs into people’s mouths—it was practically tempting him to commit a crime.
“Since we’re going to break into someone’s house anyway, we might as well just rob them directly—it’d be faster to get the money that way.” Yang Hao still couldn’t muster up the courage.
“Of course it’s different,” said Hunyuanzi, quite self-righteously. “You’re promoting medicine now—it’s a legitimate business. Don’t think of yourself as a thief; instead, see yourself as a pharmaceutical salesperson. Wouldn’t that make you feel much better?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage