My eunuch godfather

Chapter 53 Tambau Marketing

Li Cheng's private residence in Xique Hutong, Zhengdongfang.

After Li Cheng died suddenly from an illness, Zhang Ye sent people to take back the four-courtyard house that he had given to Li Cheng.

He gave Li Cheng a large sum of money to his adopted son from the family and sent him back to his hometown to live as a wealthy man.

Cheng Wenqing was kicked out of Zhang Ye's house and moved into this courtyard.

The official explanation was that his wife was sent to the city to manage the household and business.

Zhang Kun was secretly delighted, knowing that he wouldn't have to travel all the way to the Niangniang Temple in Nanhaizi for their next tryst.

Cheng Wenqing was furious. While ordering the maids and servants to clean, she complained to Zhang Kun:

"Back in the day, I was the most famous courtesan in Datong. I won the title of the most beautiful courtesan for three consecutive years. I don't know how many good men wanted to marry me."

As a result, she was tricked by that old man and married him, living a life of widowhood!

Datong was not only an important town on the nine borders, but also a center for trade and smuggling between the Ming Dynasty and the 30,000 households of the Right Wing of the Tatars.

Therefore, the "Datong women" were able to be known as the Four Beauties of the World, along with the nuns of Mount Tai, the slender women of Yangzhou, and the boatwomen of West Lake.

Zhang Kun chuckled a few times, unsure of what to say next.

"I'm not promiscuous, so why would I put a blue headscarf on him everywhere?"

Cheng Wenqing pulled out the letter of divorce that Zhang Ye had secretly written and continued to complain to Zhang Kun:

"After serving him for so many years, all I got was a divorce and being abandoned in a separate residence!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He threw the letter of divorce at Zhang Kun and angrily cursed:

"It's all your fault, you little bastard, you scoundrel! You've made me so infatuated, ruining my ladylike virtue!"

Sister, you're ten years older than me. In a few years, you'll be thirty and looking like a wolf. It's because of hormones that you can't stand being alone, okay?

Zhang Kunqian chuckled a few times, folded up the letter of divorce and put it away, then changed the subject to Cheng Wenqing:

"Tell me about the location of the Qingxia flagship store. Where does your sister plan to open it? Is it in the Liulichang area?"

Having finally weathered the storm and saved his tampons business, Zhang Kun wouldn't treat himself unfairly.

Of the 48 slots available for transport companies, Zhang Kun took five.

Liminhao.

In addition to producing various light tobacco products, they also sell a type of dry tobacco called "Gaomoyan".

Like high-grade tea, it uses scraps and offal, and is priced the lowest.

The Golden Dew.

They only produce and sell snuff, named Jinlu San, Yulu San, etc.

It places greater emphasis on medicinal value, distinguishing snuff from cigarettes and dry tobacco.

Tongyang.

They produce and sell various light barley products, with a particular focus on cigars, named after brands such as Fulangji and Luzon.

The official claim is that all raw materials and even products are imported from overseas and are genuine Western goods.

While the world doesn't particularly idolize foreign things, it does appreciate exotic products, and tampoo was originally an imported product.

Zhenjinhao.

They only produce and sell one product: premium gold-thread cigarettes, which are the most expensive.

By using premium gold thread tobacco and high-grade tobacco, the price range of the light barley market is anchored, thus curbing price speculation and low-price competition.

They occasionally release some exorbitantly priced tribute cigarettes to enhance the brand's high-end image.

Finally, there's the Qingxia.

They produce and sell various danba mushroom products, with a focus on the female market, using names such as Qingxia Xiang and Zhi Qiu Jin.

It is lamentable that in this day and age, true male superiority and female inferiority still exist in many middle-class families in major cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, and Suzhou.

Surprisingly, there is still a certain degree of phenomenon where women's daily spending power is greater than men's!

Various clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, snacks, fruits, storybooks, and so on.

I'm shivering and cold, we men... never mind, let's get serious.

In these families, wives, concubines, and unmarried daughters often do not have to work and do not receive much education.

Even if they want to work, there aren't enough decent jobs available for them.

Being stuck at home with nothing to do is incredibly boring and makes one easily fooled by consumerist narratives.

For example, if this is a style that Mrs. So-and-so likes to wear, and you wear it too, you will, in a way, be just as noble as Mrs. So-and-so.

Another group consists of prostitutes in brothels who have some spare money and often exhibit consumerist tendencies, prioritizing immediate gratification.

If the female market can be successfully developed, it might be much more profitable than the male market!

After all, men today are more responsible for supporting their families, buying houses and land, and acquiring property.

The spare money left in one's hands may very well be less than that of one's wives, concubines, and daughters.

"How can we open a shop in Liulichang?"

Cheng Wenqing also had many insights into the business of the Qingxia, but Zhang Kun changed the subject and continued:

"There are usually a few women who go to places like Liulichang to stroll around."

To do business with women, you need to go to places with the most temples and monasteries, because women usually go to temples and monasteries to burn incense when they go out.

"Perfect timing. You oversee many temples and monasteries in Xuanbei Ward. Help me choose one."

"Hmm... there are many temples and monasteries near Xixin Sinan Factory."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Kun suggested to Cheng Wenqing:

"However, the Xixin Division and the West Factory are the most bustling places, and the City God Temple is nearby. What do you think, sister?"

The temple fair at the City God Temple is the ancestor of many temple fairs in the capital, and it is also the largest and most prosperous temple fair.

"The land price is too high, let's settle on Xixin Sinan Factory for now."

Cheng Wenqing shook his head and asked Zhang Kun with a smile:

"Have you considered asking temples and monasteries to help sell the tampons?"

Zhang Kun hadn't expected this, because tampoo was later included in the precepts, and monks and Taoists who observed the precepts would not smoke it.

The problem is that in this day and age, tampak has not been introduced for long and has not yet been widely included in the precepts!

Not to mention that monks and Taoists can help with sales, they themselves also have a certain purchasing power, especially those in the capital.

Moreover, Zhang Kun, who had been into handscrolls, vaguely remembered that many monks and Taoists in the Ming and Qing dynasties had proposed banning smoking.

Instead of doing that, we should take the initiative!

Moreover, it is not necessary for monks and Taoists to accept the use of tampons; anyone who accepts tampons, such as snuff or incense, will do.

"Great idea, thank you so much, sister!"

Taking advantage of the maid and servant's absence, Zhang Kun grabbed Cheng Wenqing's delicate hand and thanked her:

"I'll think about it carefully, find some books and write a few articles, and get them published in the tabloid first."

"Get out of the way!"

Cheng Wenqing broke free from Zhang Kun, turned and took a few steps, then turned back and asked, "Are you having dinner here tonight?"

......

Most merchants today have little concept of marketing.

To Zhang Kun's surprise, many merchants in the capital operated on a "passive business" model.

As the name suggests, they sit in their own shops and wait for customers to come in and buy their goods!

There are others who promote their products, but no one can spend thousands of taels of silver on marketing like Zhang Kun!

Zhang Kun not only employed a large number of storytellers, opera singers, and peddlers to promote his products and services in the streets and alleys.

They sent people to brothels in the capital to give money to the owners, madams, and top courtesans, and directly promoted the drug during banquets, even teaching you how to smoke it.

They also established Guangwenhao, printing a small newspaper called Guangwenbao, which mainly contained news, stories, and jokes, and distributed it for free everywhere.

After offering the first three installments for free, we set a low price of one qian (a unit of currency) per installment, which was barely enough to cover costs.

In the earlier issues, we included a few articles introducing overseas products, with a focus on tamphampa.

Furthermore, it repeatedly emphasizes that turmeric is a medicinal herb, and is said to have certain effects.

Then he wrote an article, claiming to be a southerner, saying that people in the south were already growing and consuming danbagu (a type of wild rice), and that it was indeed very effective.

They never mention the name of Jin Yun Hao, since Jin Yun Hao is currently the only company in the capital that sells dried mushrooms.

Now he has started writing articles again, actively responding to some of the memorials from the Censorate and the Six Ministries proposing a ban on smoking.

Various refutations were made, only acknowledging that "all medicines have some degree of toxicity," so the daily dosage should not exceed three qian (approximately 15 grams).

They even invited officials who were willing to publish articles in the Guangwen Daily to engage in debates.

Guangwen Daily has now become the top-circulation tabloid in the capital, selling three to four thousand copies per issue!