The oil mill was established…
Thanks to Elder Wei's strong promotion, within twenty days, the streets and alleys of Yanzhou were filled with the aroma of oil, and along with it, large iron pots were also sold.
Speaking of which, Wei Hong was indeed the richest man in Chenliu. His businesses spanned across Yanzhou. His shops, taverns, and pawnshops were located in almost every county and even in many densely populated villages.
The popularization and promotion of the oil and large iron pots were also simple.
Stir-frying… Stir-frying in public. Scrambled eggs with chives, cured meat with chives, stir-fried chicken, stir-fried venison… The saying goes, everything can be stir-fried!
These were naturally not difficult for the chefs at the Wei family tavern. Of course… as the variety of stir-fried dishes increased, they discovered.
It seemed… not just chives and cured meat could be stir-fried. In fact, anything could be stir-fried, as long as it was a vegetable or meat. A quick pass through the hot oil and the rich, intoxicating aroma was simply divine!
In addition to that, there was deep-frying. Initially, it was exclusively fried fish, but later, chefs unleashed their imagination, and meat and vegetables also joined the deep-frying ranks!
The taste of food that had passed through oil compared to that which hadn't was like two completely different worlds. Just a quick fry made everything incredibly fragrant.
Chefs in various counties opened their minds, and in just twenty days, they had developed over fifty types of stir-fried dishes and over twenty types of ingredients that could be deep-fried…
Dipped in sauce, a bite was pure bliss!
Gradually, they even invented more advanced stir-frying techniques, such as… pan-frying then stewing, deep-frying then stewing, deep-frying then stir-frying, and so on. The original soups were enriched with a bit of oil, instantly becoming incredibly fragrant and whetting the appetite!
The key was that the oil and large iron pots were not expensive. After much discussion between Lu Yu and Wei Hong, the iron pots were sold at a reasonable price, ensuring that more people could use them. Of course, this was a trap; once they started using them…
They would be inseparable from the oil!
The saying goes, the seven necessities of life – firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea!
And Wei Hong insisted on setting a higher profit margin for the oil: onefold!
In his view, this would become a hard currency in the future, and with the influence of his partners, monopolizing this business in Yanzhou and Xuzhou would not be difficult.
It looked like oil, but it was actually a gold mine!
Feeling the craze of the clans and common people in the market for the large iron pots and oil, and the constant demand that kept the oil mill and Zhuge Jun working around the clock…
For a fleeting moment, Lu Yu had the illusion that this business might make money even faster than grave robbing!
Finally… it was time to divide the spoils… ah, no, it was time for dividends.
Wei Hong sent four boxes of gold to the Cai mansion, equivalent to millions of Wuzhu coins.
“Young Master Lu, look… this is seventy percent of the profits!” Wei Hong explained. “My thirty percent has already been deducted. This includes your forty percent, Yuan Rang’s ten percent, Zi He’s ten percent, and Wen Ruo’s ten percent!”
The reason Wei Hong explained it this way…
Was because the profit distribution had been agreed upon beforehand. After deducting all operating costs.
For the profits from oil and iron pots, Lu Yu took forty percent, Wei Hong took thirty percent, and Xiahou Dun, Xun Yu, and Cao Chun each took ten percent.
Of course, the accounts were calculated by Wei Hong, and the money was collected by Wei Hong. Whether there was any water in between was hard to say, as merchants were not without their cunning.
However… even so, the four boxes of gold placed before Lu Yu were still dazzling…
Even knowing it was brass, when converted to Wuzhu coins, even ten percent of it was enough to offset the investment of five hundred thousand from Xun Yu, Xiahou Dun, and Cao Chun!
It truly was a thousandfold profit…
At this moment, Lu Yu personally felt how satisfying it was to monopolize a market!
Of course, Lu Yu was not someone who had never seen the world, and he appeared very calm.
“I’ll trouble Elder Wei to help… take out twenty percent from this and send it to General Cao Chun and Sima Xun respectively…” Lu Yu said loudly.
Wei Hong’s eyes flickered. “Didn’t Young Master Lu bring them into this partnership just to gain favor? If so, wouldn’t it be better to deliver it himself?”
“Next time… I’m quite busy recently,” Lu Yu waved his hand. “This time, I’ll only personally deliver it to General Xiahou.”
There would be plenty of opportunities…
The reason he chose only Xiahou Dun to deliver this time was threefold. First, Xiahou Dun was the strongest backer among the three. If there was an opportunity, he should get closer to him;
Secondly, Xiahou Dun still owed Lu Yu fifty thousand locusts!
Of course, it wasn't spring yet, and they were scarce and difficult to catch, but… Lu Yu had to remind General Xiahou!
According to Lu Yu’s idea, if he wanted to popularize the knowledge that locusts were edible among the common people and soldiers, these fifty thousand locusts were crucial!
Besides that, the third reason was that Lu Yu had not yet received Xiahou Dun's investment money. Under such circumstances, distributing dividends to him first, wasn’t that a generous act? Xiahou Dun was, after all, a man of integrity. Wouldn’t he be deeply moved?
After all… what Lu Yu wanted was favor and rapport, and being moved was very important.
“Delivering money is a good deed, and since Young Master Lu is letting me be the good person, I won’t refuse…”
Wei Hong waved his hand. “Coincidentally, there will be happy news at Yuan Rang’s house soon. He has always been frugal and is in dire need of money for his son’s wedding. Your trip is timely!”
Hey… his son’s wedding?
He almost forgot about that. Cao Mu was getting married!
However… speaking of which, she hadn’t really restrained herself lately!
Every day, she still came to the Cai mansion early in the morning and left in the evening, always staying at the furnace area… her body wet.
Lu Yu pondered, would Xiahou Dun mind her coming to his place so often?
Would he think that Lu Yu was the neighbor’s cuckold?
…
…
Xiahou Mansion, dusk had fallen.
Normally, at this time, people would be going to bed, and he shouldn’t have bothered them, but… Lu Yu thought he was delivering money, so he decided to give Xiahou Dun a surprise in the evening.
Alighting from the carriage, Lu Yu ordered his men to carry half a box of gold inside.
A normal mansion would have a gatekeeper to report to the master, but Xiahou Dun’s family was too poor, they didn’t even have a doorman. How could this look like a son about to get married, welcoming Cao Cao’s daughter?
It was a bit chilling…
If it weren’t for repeated confirmation, Lu Yu would have suspected he had arrived at the home of a humble family.
It seemed that Xiahou Dun’s frugality recorded in history was true, primarily because he distributed all his money to his subordinates. Lu Yu greatly admired this spirit of being detached from low-level interests.
However, he mused that he would never be able to do this in his lifetime.
Lu Yu, along with his servants, entered in a procession…
“Young Master Lu…” a voice called out to him…
Lu Yu turned around and saw Xiahou Lian…
Lu Yu had met Xiahou Lian once during the incident where Xiahou Dun was kidnapped in Puyang City. He was Xiahou Dun’s younger brother. It seemed he lived here as well. Indeed… the Xiahou family was truly poor, the two brothers lived together.
“General Xiahou, long time no see…” Lu Yu waved to Xiahou Lian, offering a greeting.
Xiahou Lian smiled and replied, “I don’t know why Young Master Lu is visiting so late, is there anything important!”
“Where is your elder brother?” Lu Yu pointed to the box behind him. “Today, I, Young Master, have come to give him a box of surprises…”
Xiahou Lian peeked over. The box was closed, and he couldn’t see what was hidden inside…
He was immediately a little disappointed.
“Young Master Lu, oh dear… what bad timing.” Xiahou Lian pointed to the room behind him. “My elder brother has just entered his concubine’s room, just now… almost at the same time as Young Master Lu entered the mansion.”
Xiahou Lian particularly emphasized the words “concubine” and “just now,” and he turned aside, his meaning obvious.
His elder brother Xiahou Dun was about to do some “shameful” things with his concubine, and it would be difficult to see him tonight…
“Oh…” Lu Yu looked up at the pavilion with interest, muttering to himself, it really was bad timing… But to be a concubine in such a humble residence, she must truly love him, right?
“It seems I’ve really come at an inconvenient time!” Lu Yu spread his hands, feigning helplessness.
Delivering money was a good thing…
But disturbing Xiahou Dun’s intimate moment would be bad. If it caused some lingering ailment… then things would be hard to explain.
“Yes… but if Young Master Lu can wait a moment… there might still be a chance to see my elder brother when he comes out…”
Xiahou Lian reminded him, “My elder brother has a habit of sleeping alone since he was young. Coming to the concubine’s room is just… hehe, Young Master Lu is old enough, you naturally understand! After he’s done, he’ll naturally come out.”
So that’s how it is…
Lu Yu’s eyes darted around, muttering to himself, he didn’t expect Xiahou Dun to have such a habit.
Sleeping alone, then this concubine’s room was equivalent to a brothel, where one could come and go as they pleased, only here it was free of charge…!
“Cough cough…” He coughed lightly, the fanciful thoughts were too easily misleading… Lu Yu sighed, “It’s a pity General Xiahou just went in… I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a long time!”
Lu Yu muttered to himself, Xiahou Dun was so fierce on the battlefield, pulling out and swallowing his own eye when it was shot, his physique must be very good, and he would probably take a long time?
When would he have to wait until? Should he… leave first?
Just as he was contemplating…
“Creak”
Right before Lu Yu’s eyes, the door of the room opened, and Xiahou Dun walked out with a triumphant expression, looking radiant with a hint of depth in his eyes, perfectly resembling a man’s “wise moment.”
Lu Yu was initially delighted, it wasn't a wasted trip, he had arrived in time.
But then he thought… something was wrong! Where was something wrong!
Wait… Xiahou Lian said that when Lu Yu entered the mansion… Xiahou Dun had just entered the concubine’s room. And Lu Yu walked over here for only about a hundred breaths, meaning… the time Xiahou Dun spent from entering the concubine’s room to exiting it was less than two minutes?
Uh… two minutes?
“Gulp,” Lu Yu swallowed his saliva. Two minutes? No, no, no… to be precise, it was one minute and forty seconds. If you added the time to undress, chat for a bit, and get dressed…
… Then… Xiahou Dun’s remaining time was only a dozen seconds?
Or… a five-second man?
Good heavens…
Lu Yu felt he had opened a new world of understanding about Xiahou Dun. What a stark contrast! The mighty Xiahou Dun on the battlefield was actually a five-second man? This…
Of course, at this moment… besides Lu Yu’s surprised expression, Xiahou Lian also looked surprised. Clearly… he didn’t often guard the door of his elder brother’s concubine’s room, and this was just a coincidence.
It was just that he was also surprised, his elder brother this time… no, his elder brother had been so fast lately!
“Ah, why has Officer Lu come…” Xiahou Dun noticed Lu Yu and walked directly towards him.
Ah… ah…
Suddenly Lu Yu felt a bit awkward. A five-second man was not scary, what was scary was that Lu Yu had seen it! This was a bit embarrassing! Wouldn’t he be silenced?
At this moment, Lu Yu’s mind was racing. He recalled that in history, Xiahou Dun had quite a few sons, but they were all born early.
It seemed that after taking control of Yanzhou, Xiahou Dun’s functions had somehow stagnated.
During this period, his paternal cousins and brothers, Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and others, were constantly having children…
But Xiahou Dun suddenly stopped. Perhaps it was due to overuse in the early stages, having too many children affecting his later performance, or perhaps… Xiahou Dun had some male ailment – kidney deficiency! Premature ejaculation!
Whichever it was, Lu Yu felt a great contrast…
“General Xiahou, perhaps… we could speak privately?” Lu Yu said…
Hmm, Xiahou Dun paused. “No matter, we are all family. If you have something to say, just say it directly…”
Uh… Lu Yu hesitated before speaking, “General Xiahou, I have a folk remedy here, you might want to try it…”
“Prepare 10 grams of Polygonatum, 20 grams of goji berries, 20 grams of mulberries, 10 grams of longan pulp… uh, preferably with 20 grams of red dates, and a slice or two of American ginseng, and steep them in water as tea!”
Having said this, Lu Yu paused. He lowered his voice, almost only for Xiahou Dun to hear.
“If you drink this, within fifteen to thirty days, General Xiahou’s kidneys… ah, his body will see significant improvement, both in duration and physical weakness, it will greatly improve…”
Having said this… Lu Yu was about to continue, but Xiahou Dun frowned, and the next moment… he put his arm around Lu Yu’s shoulder.
With such clear hints, even Xiahou Dun’s slow intellect could understand that Lu Yu was giving him medicine to cure his kidney deficiency and premature ejaculation!
And this… was indeed Xiahou Dun’s eternal pain!
He didn’t know why, but after entering Yanzhou, Xiahou Dun had felt very weak, especially at night in bed, where he felt exceptionally weak. And each time he engaged in marital relations, the duration was shorter than the last. Xiahou Dun was speechless.
However… given his status as a general, he was embarrassed to ask for advice…
He also didn’t want to be gossiped about, that such a mighty general was a man with kidney deficiency!
Therefore… after his wife died, Xiahou Dun did not remarry, only took a concubine. And during the day… he forbade the concubine from leaving the house, which was actually… him wanting to hide the fact of his “kidney deficiency”!
Being subtly pointed out by Lu Yu this time, Xiahou Dun directly pulled Lu Yu to a corner. “Officer Lu, let’s speak privately…”
Heh heh…
Lu Yu chuckled!
Who just said they were all family and it didn’t matter?
So, realizing that Lu Yu was skilled in men’s health, it turned into speaking privately?
“General… slow down, slow down! You’re hurting my arm!”
Lu Yu was almost dragged by Xiahou Dun to a quiet place…
He didn’t even have the mood to ask Lu Yu about the purpose of his visit, because… Xiahou Dun was extremely impatient at the moment. “Officer Lu, what was that you said about 10 grams of Polygonatum, 20 grams of goji berries, 20 grams of mulberries, 10 grams of longan pulp, 20 grams of red dates, and a slice or two of American ginseng, steeped in water as tea for?”
Even though there was no one around, Xiahou Dun’s voice was very small, as he wanted to confirm again.
It was hard to imagine that a general, who was so boisterous and irritable on the battlefield, was now talking to Lu Yu in such a soft, whispery voice.
“Cough cough…” Lu Yu coughed lightly. “This prescription of mine is specifically for treating kidney deficiency, impotence, and premature ejaculation… It seems, judging by General Xiahou’s expression, you have all three!”
Uh… Xiahou Dun was stunned, feeling a bit awkward…
But at the same time, he realized this was an opportunity. Since Lu Yu already knew and understood these things, why not ask for advice properly?
“Officer Lu, is this folk remedy you mentioned truly effective?” Xiahou Dun continued to ask…
Lu Yu had almost forgotten that his purpose for coming here was to deliver money…
And now, he looked like an old Chinese doctor, specializing in men’s health!
“Effective, I guarantee it’s effective… General Xiahou, you might as well try it. These medicinal ingredients are all great for tonifying yang energy. However… one ingredient, ‘American ginseng,’ is quite precious. You can also replace it with Codonopsis, and add some licorice to neutralize the medicinal properties. Drink this daily, and within a month, General Xiahou will surely be full of vigor and regain his manliness!”
Lu Yu wasn’t just talking nonsense. In his previous life, he had a friend who suffered from kidney deficiency, impotence, and premature ejaculation.
Uh… it was really a friend! Don’t overthink it!
To help this friend, Lu Yu had sought out famous doctors, and finally… an old Chinese doctor provided a prescription. The medicine was mild and took effect very quickly…
Lu Yu’s friend used this prescription… to drink as tea, and within a month, he had truly regained his manliness.
To be precise, Lu Yu’s friend could barely carry a bag of rice up five floors, and his physique was far inferior to Xiahou Dun’s.
Therefore… Lu Yu was certain that with this steeped-in-water prescription, Xiahou Dun would also regain his former manliness!
…
…
ps:
(The prescription is real and effective. Readers can record it. Female readers can help their boyfriends record it… personally tested, it takes effect very quickly.)