"Fine, you've shown some consideration."
Through the original body's memories, Ding Yun was well aware of the Zhou royal family's current predicament. Stripped of their nominal status as co-lord, which no one respected anymore, her son's actual assets and power, even his land holdings, were far inferior to those of a favored prince in a later unified dynasty.
How could she demand too much from someone so poor and weak?
If she asked for more, Ding Yun feared he might burst into tears.
"Thank you, Mother, for your understanding."
Hearing this, King Jing of Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then had the mood to inquire about Ding Yun's health. Ding Yun, playing along, exchanged pleasantries with him for a while and preemptively informed him that she would build a few workshops near Luoyang to produce and sell goods.
Then, she cited fatigue as an excuse.
She dismissed her son and the Three Dukes.
For the time being, Ding Yun hadn't quite figured out how to expand her influence. Her immediate goal was to make money and improve her quality of life, because the Zhou royal family was truly impoverished. They were only slightly better off when compared to ordinary commoners and minor nobles.
They couldn't compare to the powerful families of some vassal states, let alone the rulers of those states.
Moreover, the Zhou state had little land, making it almost impossible to profit from farming. The grain produced from their small plots was barely enough to feed themselves. Salt and iron were also out of the question. They had no coastline, no salt mines, nor salt lakes, and no iron ore. A clever cook cannot cook without ingredients.
Therefore, in reality,
she had no choice but to engage in commodity economics.
Although Ding Yun currently had no ambitions for hegemony or unification, making money and cultivating her own power were necessities. Money was to improve her life, and cultivating power was primarily to protect her earnings from being stolen and to ensure her personal safety.
She couldn't entrust her safety to others' adherence to propriety.
The constraints of morality and ritual were weakening, and in the future, there would inevitably be more shameless people.
She had to be on guard!
With a clear small goal, Ding Yun immediately summoned the original body's confidantes and instructed them to recruit people on her land and build various workshops.
She also took out the original body's savings.
And sent people to purchase raw materials.
Of course, these were all pretexts, mainly to cover up Ding Yun's subsequent introduction of superior products and to allow her to claim that soap, glass, and other items she bought from the "Myriad Realms Delivery App" were her own production.
Although Ding Yun had the capability to build workshops for mass production of soap and glass, climbing the technological ladder from scratch was time-consuming and the quality of the final products was difficult to guarantee.
Most importantly, the Zhou royal family truly lacked everything. Most raw materials had to be purchased from outside.
To say nothing of other things, the issue of oil for soap alone
would have troubled Ding Yun for a long time.
Therefore, to save time and make money quickly, Ding Yun could only first build some shell workshops. She would use the items purchased from the "Myriad Realms Delivery App" to pretend they were her own production and earn some money. Once she had funds, she would gradually fill these shell workshops and equip them with actual production capabilities.
This way, her gold could be legitimately converted into money without disrupting the existing financial system.
And by the guise of developing workshops, she could foster her own power.
The following month was primarily spent with Ding Yun building shell workshops on a large scale and her son reluctantly parting with funds to accommodate some Song refugees.
However, Ding Yun's efficiency was generally higher. After all, she was building workshops near Luoyang, and she was willing to spend money, so the construction was rapid. Within a month, it was basically completed.
Many of the items she purchased from the "Myriad Realms Delivery App" had already been smoothly brought into the royal palace for use under the pretense of trial production.
Meanwhile, her son King Jing of Zhou's efforts to accept Song refugees and grant them a village or two of land for restoration were just beginning. It couldn't be helped; communication and transportation were poor at that time, and the Zhou royal family's capabilities were weak. Furthermore, they didn't dare openly announce their intention to help restore Song. They could only secretly accept Song refugees, and the speed of dispatching people into Song territory to search for descendants of King Xiang of Song was even slower.
So, there was no rushing, only waiting.
Ding Yun, obviously, could not wait for the restoration of Song to make money. After her preparations were largely complete, she officially opened shops in Luoyang to sell her products.
She opened a total of four shops.
One sold refined salt, MSG, and other seasonings. Another sold various glass products, including but not limited to glass jewelry, tableware, and decorative ornaments.
A third sold various soaps, as well as skincare products like lipstick made with glycerin as a base.
The last one sold the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper) and toilet paper and tissues.
However, even though the shops were open, sales were still poor. Firstly, there was a lack of publicity, and secondly, there were too few wealthy people in Luoyang who could casually spend a fortune at these four shops.
To make money, she had to sell her goods externally.
However, Ding Yun had not yet established a complete external sales channel or organization. She wasn't even sure if she could safely transport a box of goods to a neighboring country, let alone to more distant places.
Therefore, Ding Yun had to attract others to sell for her first.
Her strategy was to use the upcoming Moon Offering Festival as an excuse to invite all the nobles in Luoyang to the royal palace for a feast. These nobles included those from the Zhou state itself, as well as minor nobles from other vassal states residing in Luoyang, who might be referred to as diplomats, primarily responsible for conveying information.
But regardless of who they were, as long as they were nobles, and even some wealthy merchants, they all received Ding Yun's invitation.
At the Moon Offering Ceremony, Ding Yun prepared food cooked with refined salt, white sugar, MSG, and other seasonings for everyone. The wine cups were also made of glass, along with napkins for wiping mouths and small rose-shaped soaps for washing hands.
In short, her most distinctive products
were all showcased at the banquet.
As the banquet neared its end, King Jing of Zhou, who had long received Ding Yun's instructions, shed all pretense of royal dignity and became a live sales presenter. He, along with Ding Yun and a few other informed officials, put on a show, praising the elegance of the banquet while introducing the various products.
It was almost as if they were directly urging everyone to buy these wonderful goods, stating that if these items were transported out of Luoyang and sold in any vassal state, they would make a fortune.
Finally, King Jing of Zhou even personally bestowed samples of each item upon the envoys from other vassal states present in Luoyang, so they could take them back to their rulers.
Although the Zhou royal family had declined, they were still the nominal co-lord, and most vassal states still paid annual tribute. The Zhou royal family was also qualified to present gifts to other vassal states as if they were bestowing favors.