Having finished speaking, Li Shimin, Wei Zheng, Fang Du, and the others were all stunned.
After a moment of stunned silence, Fang Xuanling bowed deeply to Fang Er: "Fang's righteousness is beyond my reach!"
"I dare not accept such a bow from Duke Fang!" Fang Er quickly helped him up.
It was fine to joke around normally, but it was still somewhat improper for these elders to bow to him.
"Later, have someone send the acquisition invoices to the Ministry of Revenue. It's not appropriate for you to pay this money; let the Ministry of Revenue cover it."
Li Shimin gently patted Fang Er's shoulders, instructing him meaningfully.
"Hahaha, don't worry, your subject would never engage in a losing business. I've kept the account books all along."
Fang Er replied with a smile.
The latter part of the conversation was deliberately lowered in volume, so the shopkeeper only heard Fang Er's words about competition fostering progress and couldn't hear the rest.
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, he also happily began to talk about the changes in Bishacheng. For a merchant, good salesmanship was always inseparable from conversation.
"What this young master says is absolutely right!"
"Taking Bishacheng alone as an example, since the fishermen started making money from the sea, more and more young people have entered the industry."
"When our establishment first came here to do business two years ago, the dock was so deserted it was unimaginable. You could hardly see a few boats setting out to sea on a normal day."
"But now, from dawn till dusk, there's almost a constant stream of fishing boats."
"I heard that the boat-making workshops in the west of the city have more than doubled their scale in the past few months. They're constantly hiring and buying slaves; there's always work to be done, never a moment of idleness!"
"I'll take a barrel of this. Anzhi, you pay. Let's go check out other places!"
Li Shimin listened as the shopkeeper praised Fang Er, yet didn't mention the emperor's contribution at all, which made him feel a little sour. He picked up a barrel of lollipops from the shelf and walked away.
Changle, who had been exceptionally well-behaved from start to finish, tugged at his sleeve and followed closely behind.
Fang Er looked at the departing figure of Old Li, utterly confused. "What's going on? We were having such a good chat, why is he leaving so abruptly?"
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a knowing glance and then burst into laughter, following Li Shimin out of the shop.
Li Xiaogong also figured out what was happening and leaned in to Fang Er's ear, chuckling softly, "Your father-in-law is jealous!"
Fang Er: "..."
"This is ridiculous!"
"No need to look for it!"
He casually tossed a piece of silver to the shopkeeper and followed them out of the shop.
"Please wait, honored customer!"
After receiving the silver, the shopkeeper weighed it and quickly called out to him.
Fang Er turned back, looking at him blankly: "Is there something else?"
The shopkeeper smiled sheepishly and then pointed to the lollipops on the shelf: "One can contains a hundred pieces, costing five strings of cash, or five taels of silver. What you gave is a bit short."
Fang Er's forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat. "This is so awkward!"
He quickly took out another silver ingot and threw it over: "Sorry, is this enough now?"
"Heh heh, enough, enough! Please wait a moment, honored customer. I'll get the scales and scissors." The old shopkeeper grinned apologetically and turned towards the counter.
"No need for change!"
Fang Er just wanted to leave quickly. As for the two or three corners of silver, it didn't matter; he considered it a tip for the shopkeeper's sweet talk earlier.
But before he could leave the shop, the shopkeeper called out to him again: "Honored customer, please wait~~"
Fang Er turned to him with an expression of speechlessness: "What is it now? I said no need for change."
"Heh heh heh heh, no change, no change! Not at all!" The shopkeeper leaned in mysteriously towards Fang Er. "The customer is generous, and I must also be discerning, shouldn't I?"
"I see that your group doesn't look like locals, nor like regular merchants. Perhaps you're here for some amusement?"
"To be honest with you, Bishacheng has recently established a 'Japanese Style Street.' You could try going there; I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
This actually piqued Fang Er's interest. He looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "Come, tell me about this 'Japanese Style Street.' As far as I know, the land of Japan is so poor that even dogs scorn it. It seems they have nothing worth showing off, right?"
The shopkeeper, however, said with a sly smile: "You'll know once you go and see, honored customer. Go out of our shop, turn right, then left at the second intersection, and walk about a hundred paces."
Seeing that he was unwilling to elaborate, Fang Er stopped pressing and, after leaving the shop, caught up with Li Shimin and the others, intentionally and subtly leading them toward the so-called 'Japanese Style Street'.
Originally, the group had no specific destination; they were just wandering around, so they followed him as he walked ahead.
Just after they passed the first intersection, Fang Er suddenly remembered something and quietly said to Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, the shopkeeper just mentioned a mysterious place, seemingly set up by Japanese people. I fear Changle might see something she shouldn't if she goes along, so perhaps you could have Xuance and the others take Changle to wait aside for now?"
Li Shimin, hearing him speak so mysteriously, immediately put aside his earlier jealousy. After all, he was his son-in-law now; why would he still be jealous?
He beckoned Wang Xuance, who was nearby, then crouched down and said to Changle, "You go back to the ship with them first. Father will be back soon."
Changle nodded obediently, smiled sweetly at Li Shimin and Fang Er, and said, "Father, brother-in-law, come back soon and eat lollipops with Changle."
After saying that, she hugged the can of lollipops and walked towards the dock with Wang Xuance and the others.
With the little tagalong gone, the group headed straight for the 'Japanese Style Street'.
Following the route described by the shopkeeper, they soon saw a牌坊 (archway).
The牌坊 was inscribed with the seven large characters "Japanese Style Street."
"Let's go in and have a look~"
Li Shimin led the way, with the others following.
Not long after entering, they were attracted by a cacophony of noise.
"I've said it before, on this street, only Japanese goods are allowed to be sold. You dare to disregard my words? Guards! Smash this shop for me!"
"My lord, spare me! Don't smash it! I won't dare again, I certainly won't dare again next time!"
"Still thinking about a next time? You won't get one! Smash it for me!"
Immediately after, they heard this fierce voice say again: "I'll tell you all one more time, my lords!"
"If you want to do business on this street, you can only sell Japanese goods! Anyone who dares to bring out any of that miscellaneous stuff will not see the sun tomorrow!"
"Remember this, on this street, I call the shots!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Er instantly became angry. He quickly strode past Li Shimin, parted the crowd of onlookers, and went in.
In the crowd, a man with an extremely lewd appearance was standing with his foot on another person. From the shops nearby came the sounds of clanging and crashing. Looking inside the shops, a group of people dressed as servants were smashing the goods within.
Fine cotton cloth and silk were all cut open with knives and thrown on the ground.
The shelves and counters were also pushed over, leaving the interiors in a state of disarray.
Thug: "Quickly search for 'Persimmons are poisonous' on Douyin, or I'll kill him!"