Chapter 142 Business Booms

Chapter 142: Booming Business

Chen Hu asked in surprise, "Princess, didn’t you prepare five hundred bottles in total? Why only promote three hundred?"

"If the customers know we have five hundred bottles of facial cleanser and acne cream in the shop, won’t more people come to buy?"

Ji Yuntang pursed her lips. "This is called hunger marketing. We do have five hundred bottles of acne cream and facial cleanser, but if we put them all out for sale on the first day, customers will feel that these products are easy to come by, and it won’t matter whether they grab them or not."

"On the contrary, releasing a smaller quantity each time plays on customers’ desire for things that are hard to get. When we have new stock later, they’ll come back again."

Ji Yuntang explained briefly. Chen Hu seemed to understand—wasn’t this just what they called whetting one’s appetite?

Still, he believed that his princess must have her reasons for such an arrangement, and that was enough.

Seeing Chen Hu’s simple expression, Ji Yuntang added, "By the way, remember to have someone make the signboard as well."

Chen Hu agreed, "Yes, Princess."

From afar, Ji Yuntang saw Tao Zhi helping Wang Sheng change his bandages in the courtyard.

Wang Sheng was blushing all over.

Half of his body was exposed, with a pale blue garment draped over him, and his voice sounded a bit unnatural.

"Miss Tao Zhi, in the future, I can have Brother Chen Hu help me change the bandages. I won’t trouble you."

Tao Zhi was also flushed, but Wang Sheng’s position was exactly facing away from her, so he couldn’t see her expression.

"It’s no trouble. A rough man like Chen Hu isn’t suited for such delicate work. Helping you with the bandages is no trouble for me, Brother Wang Sheng. You don’t have to be polite with me."

Ji Yuntang stood at the entrance of the West Courtyard, her gaze shifting between the two.

In this situation, should she go in or not?

If she went in, she would definitely disturb them.

But if she didn’t, she kind of missed Luo Junhe.

Just then, a little black dog ran out happily from the courtyard, spinning around Ji Yuntang’s legs and rubbing its furry head against her.

The ticklish feeling made Ji Yuntang laugh despite herself.

Hearing the noise, Wang Sheng and Tao Zhi looked toward the entrance and noticed her.

Both were embarrassed. Wang Sheng quickly put on his clothes, wondering when the princess had returned and how much she had seen.

Tao Zhi bit her lip nervously and asked, "Princess, you’re back?"

"Mm, just arrived."

"I'll go check on His Highness."

Afraid they’d be uncomfortable, Ji Yuntang picked up Ji Baiyi and went straight back to the room.

Luo Junhe knew she was back and immediately asked, "A Tang, you’re back. How was the shop?"

"Pretty good. It's ready to open tomorrow. Yao Niang’s body hasn’t recovered yet, so I plan to have Wang Sheng take charge over there first."

Ji Yuntang wasn’t comfortable trusting others, and since Wang Sheng had worked as a shop assistant in a fabric store for a few years and was skilled at accounting, making him manager shouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, Wang Sheng’s face had been healed by the facial cleanser and acne cream, so his presence would serve as a living advertisement for the Late Adornment Pavilion.

"Mm, if you’re short on staff, just hire a few more helpers. Don’t overwork yourself, or I’ll worry."

Luo Junhe’s heart softened. He couldn’t do much to help, but he had great confidence in Ji Yuntang’s products.

If they could heal his face, what else couldn’t she do?

The next morning, Ji Yuntang took Wang Sheng to the Late Adornment Pavilion.

Hearing that Princess Ye’s beauty shop was opening today, the entrance was crowded early with people eager to buy acne cream and facial cleanser.

The last time Ji Yuntang had sold one hundred bottles, some young ladies in the capital found the products very effective and began to spread the word.

Thus, within just ten days, the reputation of these two products had spread quickly.

When Ji Yuntang arrived, Chen Hu was still maintaining order, standing like a small mountain by the door, not letting anyone in.

Only when he saw Ji Yuntang did he smile and go over to meet her.

"Princess, you’re here. I was waiting for you to cut the ribbon and officially open the shop."

Ji Yuntang smiled, her red lips curving, walked over, picked up the scissors, and cut through the red silk in the middle. The crackling of firecrackers followed.

She looked at the crowd and said calmly, "Today marks the grand opening of the Late Adornment Pavilion. I’m launching a special promotion: for customers who get a membership card at this shop, spending three hundred taels of silver earns an extra ten taels; five hundred taels earns thirty taels; one thousand taels earns one hundred taels; and so on. The more you spend, the bigger the discount. Loyalty points can also be redeemed for gifts in this shop."

"Members get first priority to buy and free home delivery. Deposit amounts are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Please decide carefully before you commit."

As soon as she finished, a woman excitedly shouted, "I'll deposit a thousand taels! I bought Princess Ye’s acne cream last time, and it worked wonderfully. From now on, I'll be a regular at the Late Adornment Pavilion. When new products launch, I want first dibs on new products!"

"I want to deposit too! The facial cleanser Princess Ye sold cured my acne. I believe the later products will only get better. I can’t miss this promotion!"

"Me too! I came to line up at the Late Adornment Pavilion even before dawn. Princess Ye is the pride of us women of Dongchen. I want to support her business!"

"..."

The women’s chatter filled the air. Ji Yuntang said gently, "Everyone, please don’t rush. Line up properly and go to Manager Wang to get your membership card."

Wang Sheng handled card registration, while Chen Hu kept order to prevent theft, and Ji Yuntang sold the products herself.

Her personal service made the young ladies liked her even more. The customers felt even more that Ji Yuntang was approachable and had no airs of a princess.

At least, in their experience, no other princess had ever personally served others.

What they didn’t know was that Ji Yuntang had to do it because the shop was too busy and they were short-handed, forcing her to do it herself.

She had thought that having Wang Sheng and Chen Hu in the shop would be enough, but the crowd was far larger than she expected.

"Ah, we urgently need to hire more people!"

The business at the Late Adornment Pavilion was surprisingly good. What she didn’t notice was a man in black in the crowd staring at her and Wang Sheng with a sinister look, before disappearing into the crowd.

In less than an hour, all three hundred bottles each of facial cleanser and acne cream were sold out.

The women who arrived late looked crestfallen and kept asking Ji Yuntang when there would be more stock.

Ji Yuntang smiled and said, "New stock will be available tomorrow. You can come back then."

By the end of the day, she fully understood how popular these products were. Ji Yuntang thought about adding two more items to her product lineup tomorrow.

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