Recently, a few new trending topics appeared on Longcheng's hot search list.
Between shifts and after work, people were busy asking around for details, then excitedly speculating about what would happen next.
For instance: the son of Chief Warden Li had been left with a scarred face and was soon to be betrothed to the woman who did it. Was Li's son being forced into this? Was the woman ugly? Would the couple actually get along after the wedding?
The little emperor of the Northern Barbarians was on his way and would be settling in Longcheng. Had the North surrendered? Had the Second Young Master lured the little emperor here? Or had the Northern Empress Dowager been so smitten with the Second Young Master that she'd given up her entire kingdom for him?
Longcheng-brand watches were selling like mad, and at no small price — and so on and so forth.
Given Cui Yingying's status, being chosen as the Crown Princess would hardly have been reaching above her station even in the past, let alone now.
Li Xuanji held the post of Chief Warden, and the position carried real weight — mainly because Longcheng had an extraordinary number of prisons, and people were dragged off the streets and locked up on a daily basis. So while his power was considerable, his official rank was not particularly high. In Longcheng terms, he was one of perhaps several dozen men at or near the apex — but if that circle were to shrink any further, he'd almost certainly be the first one pushed out.
Still, not bad at all. He was, after all, a man of consequence.
The head of the Cui clan, however, might not see it that way.
The Cui family had survived this long precisely because they were supremely pragmatic. An emperor who had lost the better part of his domain and could only huddle in Longcheng scraping by — how much was he really worth? Had he not already become a complete puppet of Longcheng?
And so Cui Yingying had staged the whole affair herself, though she hadn't tipped off Liu Mama directly — instead she'd pulled the strings through one of the other maids. She worried that if she spelled it out plainly for Liu Mama and asked her to do it, the old woman might lose her nerve. At the very least, she'd never dare claw the face of a future son-in-law.
That, incidentally, was something even Cui Yingying hadn't anticipated — that Liu Mama would actually go through with scratching his face, and that Li Chengqian wouldn't even dodge out of the way.
As far as Cui Yingying was concerned, it made no difference who she was married off to. The choice had been hers to make, and whatever face sat across from her, she'd be looking at it for the rest of her life.
—
On Taoyuan Street, Qingxiu Street, and every other major thoroughfare, at least one new shop had opened its doors.
Above each entrance, three large characters: Clock and Watch Shop.
A well-dressed man stepped inside. A smiling salesgirl came forward to greet him.
"Sir, are you interested in a wristwatch or a clock?"
"Just browsing. Those clocks you sell here — are they the same as the ones on the big buildings along the street?"
"Same principle — they're all timekeeping instruments. These are just considerably smaller."
Many of Longcheng's taller buildings had large clocks mounted in prominent positions. Some were modest, a meter or two in diameter; others were massive, stretching five or six meters across. They had gradually worked their way into the public consciousness, and offered a genuine convenience — step outside, glance up at any moment, and you could see the exact time. To the minute.
"Sir, please come this way and look around at your leisure."
"Over here are our mantel clocks. These square-shaped ones are meant for the home — sit one on a table, and telling the time couldn't be easier."
"Just two to three hundred yuan apiece." Two or three silver taels per unit — not cheap for the average Longcheng resident, but well within reach. It all came down to whether one felt it was worth it.
"Mm, not unreasonable."
"And here, in this display case, are our signature product — the Longcheng-brand wristwatch."
"Fitting such complex mechanisms into a face this small is no small achievement, especially while maintaining accuracy."
"So these are priced a bit higher."
"Generally between two thousand and four thousand yuan. These classic models along this side run from eight thousand to ten thousand."
A single watch, in other words, could cost a first-tier civil servant two or three years' salary.
This was simply a matter of the technology being new. As craftsmanship improved over time, prices would gradually come down. Someday, perhaps, a few days' wages might be enough for an ordinary person to buy one just to tell the time.
The man stood fixed before the classic-model display, unable to tear his eyes away — much to the salesgirl's quiet delight. If she closed a sale on one of those, it would be worth a whole month's income.
"Sir, let me take one out for you to have a closer look."
She pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves, carefully unlocked the case, and retrieved the watch the man had been staring at longest. Set into its bright case were several small, glittering gemstones.
"May I — try it on? Would that be all right?"
"Of course, sir. Even if you decide it's not for you in the end, that's perfectly fine — we just handle it gently. It's not going to break from being worn."
The man cautiously extended his arm and let the salesgirl fasten the watch around his wrist. It snapped shut with a soft click.
"It looks wonderful..." — though truth be told, it was slightly too big.
"Sir, this piece suits you beautifully!"
A pleased smile spread across the man's face. The moment it was on his wrist, he had no desire to take it off.
"I'll take this one, then, shall I?"
He reached into his jacket, opened his wallet, and drew out a single large, darkly mysterious black banknote.
Oh my god — a ten-thousand-yuan note! The legendary Black Dragon note! She was actually seeing one with her own eyes today!
It was the first time the salesgirl had ever laid eyes on a banknote of such enormous value. And when her peripheral vision had swept over the wallet a moment ago, there appeared to be several more inside.
Staggeringly wealthy.
To her, someone walking around with tens of thousands of yuan — a few hundred silver taels' worth — in their pocket was already the very definition of rich.
"Sir, one moment please — let me fetch the manager."
She cast a glance at the black Dragon note, didn't dare delay, and hurried off.
In truth, she could have handled the paperwork and completed the transaction herself, but she'd never seen money in this denomination and was terrified of accidentally accepting a counterfeit. Ten thousand yuan — if she made a mistake with that, it was ten years' wages for an ordinary person. She'd be working it off in this shop for the rest of her life.
The manager came over, exchanged a few pleasantries with the customer, accepted the ten-thousand-yuan note, and counted out fifteen crisp purplish-red hundred-yuan bills in change. Along with the change, she passed over an exquisitely crafted wooden presentation box.
"Sir, we'll adjust this watch for you — it's just a touch too big, not quite the right fit."
"While you wait, you might like to have a look at some of the others. This piece here, for instance — it's perfect for a young woman. If your wife or a lady friend received this, I'm sure she'd be absolutely delighted."
Adjusting the watch band took only a few minutes. In those few minutes of pleasant conversation, the manager had sold a second watch — eight thousand yuan, suited to a woman's wrist.
After the customer left, the manager called the salesgirl over. "I'll put that second sale under your name too. Just remember to treat the other girls to dinner tonight."
"R-really, Manager? You mean it?"
"Keep at it. The longer you work here, the higher your income will go. Now get back to it."
"Thank you, thank you so much! I'm treating tonight — tonight for sure!"
The eight-thousand-plus-yuan watch sold — two percent commission on that alone was over a hundred, and between the two watches she'd earned three hundred! Taking the girls out for a meal wouldn't cost more than ten yuan even if they stuffed themselves — she was making an absolute killing!
Every watch the shop sold earned the manager a commission too — slightly lower than the salesgirls' rate, but still nothing to complain about.
Among the ordinary people of Longcheng, this manager was firmly in the high-earning bracket. Before coming here, she'd been pulling in a few hundred yuan a month at other shops, with the occasional big sale pushing it to one or two thousand. This time, she'd spotted the potential in this new product and put in a transfer request herself to come manage this location.
If she performed well, there was a real chance to move up — regional manager, overseeing an entire cluster of stores. That would put her squarely in middle management.
And the guiding philosophy of Jinxiu was this: one exceptional individual can only achieve so much, but an exceptional team has limitless potential.
Accordingly, the performance reviews placed particular weight on a person's ability to develop subordinates and build strong teams.