Chapter 133.3 – Royal Banquet
“How is the production of mahjong going right now?”
An Zi Ran looked at Su Zi and Ge Qian An. The person who answered was Ge Qian An. Although Su Zi was the one in charge in this area, he didn’t have much contact with the small farms in the suburbs. This matter concerned caustic soda, so they must not be careless or sloppy in any way.
“Replying to wangfei, the production amount for mahjong is low…”
Mahjong required relatively high craftsmanship, and the manufacturing cost was proportionally higher, making them much more expensive to produce than playing cards. Therefore, the number of mahjong tiles currently produced was much smaller than that of playing cards. Even with a dozens of craftsmen working together, they could only produce roughly a hundred sets of mahjong tiles in a month.
The upper-class ladies of Jun Zi City loved mahjong more than playing cards. When they had nothing better to do, they would gather a few other upper-class ladies and play mahjong together to pass the time.
That’s why, no matter how expensive the price of mahjong was, there would still be many people who want it.
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Some people even came all the way to Tian Long Gambling House just to ask for a custom-made set of mahjong. However, because the number was limited, the competition was very fierce. Some people would even bid more than a hundred taels, just to be able to grab a set of mahjong tiles first, and then show off to others.
“Mahjong tiles are in short supply. Should we expand production?” Ge Qian An asked.
An Zi Ran shook his head, “Not right now. Other gambling houses are inquiring into caustic soda. Rushing to expand production will only increase the chance of exposure. Moreover, at the current price of mahjong tiles, there isn’t that many people who can afford it. The more rare something is, the greater its value. So on the contrary, keeping supplies low will keep their interest hooked. Let’s wait a little longer.”
Ge Qian An nodded and did not say any more.
Standing on the side, Su Zi immediately handed An Zi Ran the account book of the carving workshop during this period. “Young Master, these are the accounts during the months you were gone from Jun Zi City.”
The ledger for the carving workshop was not limited to just mahjong. In addition to making mahjong tiles, the beef bones could also be carved into various small ornaments. The craftsmen were skillful, and the carved ornaments were very popular with girls. This side venture also brought in more income for An Zi Ran.
An Zi Ran casually skimmed over the accounts. He had faith in Su Zi’s work.
“By the way, while I was away, was there any movement from the fourth concubine?”
This question was directed at Su Zi.
Su Zi was a servant of the An family. He lived within the An Manor. Although he was busy with work, he would still bump into Wang Qing Lan whenever he entered or exited the manor.
Su Zi immediately responded: “Replying to Young Master, Concubine Wang often goes out these days. I heard that she was going to a gathering of upper-class ladies. I also don’t know when she made connections with those people.”
An Zi Ran frowned, “Leave her alone for the time being, and just keep monitoring her.”
After a period of observation, the more he analyzed the situation, the more he felt that Wang Qing Lan was not the murderer who had killed the original owner of this body. The main reason was that she didn’t have the motive to kill the original host. But this kind of intuition still needed facts to back it up.
After Su Zi finished reporting, he left.
But An Zi Ran kept Ge Qian An behind.
“Does wangfei have anymore commands?”
An Zi Ran said: “There is a matter that I need to trouble you with. The An family restaurant is going to open another restaurant in Jun Zi City. Help me look around and see if there is a suitable place to run a restaurant.”
“How big do you need the place to be?”
“I want to have a space big enough for development.”
Ge Qian An immediately nodded in understanding. When he left, Fu Wu Tian had just returned from the palace. He was now an idle wangye, so he didn’t need ot go to morning court, but this time it was the empress dowager who had summoned him into the palace. It had nothing to do with Emperor Chong Ming.
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An Zi Ran did not ask him why he went into the palace. He just thought Fu Wu Tian went to chat with the empress dowager about domestic trivia. It wasn’t until they were at the dinner table that Fu Wu Tian told him some unexpected news.
“The imperial palace is going to hold a royal banquet? Fu wangfu also needs to attend?”
As far as An Zi Ran knew, Emperor Chong Ming had always wanted to isolate them. When Fu Wu Tian got married, he didn’t let anyone fomr the imperial family come to attend. So why was he suddenly inviting them to this royal banquet?
You couldn’t blame An Zi Ran for coming up with conspiracy theories.
Emperor Chong Ming was muddleheaded and incompetent, but he still insisted on holding onto power with his own hands. He always targeted the Fu wangfu for their military prowess. But he never considered how he would keep the power once he got a hold of it.
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