Chapter 88: An Era-Defining Shopping Experience
Chen Bai spent some time making preparations. First, the greenery had to be put in place. Otherwise, with only bare cement roads everywhere, he always felt a little uncomfortable.
Then there was the matter of attracting merchants to settle in. This made use of Qi Zheng’s status, allowing him to come into contact with many famous major merchants in Shangjing.
Of course, in the eyes of these merchants, the fact that the dignified crown prince had sent people to contact them was already the blessing of their ancestors. In Great Qian, the status of merchants really was not high.
Chen Bai did not use Qi Zheng’s identity to force them to move in. Matters like using money to buy connections had to be eliminated.
So Chen Bai proposed the concept of trial operation. That was, he would allow them to bring their goods into the mall and operate there for free for three days. After three days, the choice would still be returned to these merchants.
But Chen Bai believed that with the emergence of a new logistics and people-flow center, as long as these merchants had even the slightest business sense, they should not be able to refuse. At the very least, no one would, and no one dared to, be absent from the three-day trial operation invited by the crown prince’s residence.
After that came training. Aside from providing a good environment, a shopping mall also needed comfortable and attentive service. Chen Bai understood this deeply. This was absolutely necessary to raise the class of the mall.
After busying himself for several days, the crowds outside who came to watch the excitement and novelty grew larger day by day. It had probably reached the point where they could no longer avoid opening it.
Thus, Chen Bai chose a bright and sunny day and officially announced that the Greatest City Under Heaven was open to the public.
The people of Shangjing, who had long been waiting eagerly, along with nobles and officials, even put down the matters in their hands and headed toward this newly built town that had already become famous throughout Shangjing before construction was even complete.
Early in the morning, Chen Bai pulled Qi Zheng over to watch this grand scene. There were really quite a lot of people. “Your Highness, don’t you think this looks like a prosperous age?”
Tsk, tsk. It was even livelier than the opening of a large modern amusement park. “Your Highness should just send more guards to patrol, in case anyone causes trouble.”
The corners of Qi Zheng’s lips rose coldly. “Let’s see who dares.”
This was his fief. With such an unprecedented grand occasion, no one could even think of ruining it.
Chen Bai looked at the sky. “Your Highness, it is about time.”
Qi Zheng nodded and looked at the surrounding crowd. “From today onward, the Greatest City Under Heaven will be open free of charge. All people of Great Qian may come and visit. This place will become part of the daily life, leisure, entertainment, and shopping of the people of Great Qian. It will also be the normal life that the people of Great Qian ought to have…”
These were the opening lines Chen Bai had designed for him. Even as he spoke them, he felt his blood heat up, and he did not feel at all that he was boasting.
As for the listeners—this place would become part of their daily life? Just thinking about it made their hearts thump wildly.
The guards who had been blocking the entrance also began to withdraw.
Chen Xiaobu and the others, who had long been prepared, wore red armbands with the words “On Duty” written on them and hurried forward to welcome the people.
“Carriages, please keep to the right. Do not cross the white line in the middle. Please do not stop for too long along the way. There is a dedicated parking lot up ahead, and someone there will guide you. Please follow the instructions. Those turning around, please do so at the dotted line…”
“Pedestrians, please use the dedicated walkway. Yes, yes, the slightly raised paths on both sides. Do not block the main road where the carriages pass…”
“Please throw your trash into the trash cans. You ask me what a trash can is?”
Chen Xiaobu: “…”
Chen Bai smiled when he saw this. For Chen Xiaobu and the others, today’s task would be arduous, as one could imagine. People who were adapting to the rules here for the first time could not possibly follow them so easily. These guides had to constantly lead and correct them.
But Chen Bai believed that a civilized city would, through everyone’s efforts, quickly form the rules and appearance it ought to have. As for the benefits, they would naturally experience them themselves. In the future, whoever destroyed such rules would be destroying this kind of life. By then, even without guides like Chen Xiaobu, kind citizens would correct them.
Chen Bai and Qi Zheng also got into their carriage and began moving inside. The carriage’s speed was not fast. First, because there had been too many people gathered just now, so even if they wanted to go fast, they could not. Second, this could also be considered their first official entrance into this place, so they had to properly experience it.
The carriage was steadier than it had ever been before. This was something even Shangjing City could not achieve.
Although Qi Zheng had already expected this result, when he truly felt this unbelievable smoothness, he still could not help but be a little surprised.
This cement road was truly good.
He slightly lifted the carriage curtain. Because it was daytime, the streetlights outside actually looked more like beautiful decorations, concealing the wonder they had at night. Even so, they still gave people a refreshing feeling, making them stare without blinking.
Then there was the neat row of ginkgo trees along the roadside. These were all the ginkgo trees Chen Bai could gather.
This era did not yet have any awareness of plant protection. Chen Bai had collected them from all over Great Qian, sparing them from being chopped into firewood or turned into beams on someone’s roof.
This season happened to be when the ginkgo leaves were turning yellow. The small fan-like leaves drifted down, floating before people’s eyes and landing by their feet, spreading a shallow layer over the ground. It was like poetry and painting, beautiful to the extreme.
Whether one was driving a carriage slowly forward or strolling amid the drifting ginkgo leaves, it could only be described as breathtakingly beautiful.
Especially the scholars. They valued artistic mood. As soon as they entered this place, that kind of spiritual refinement instantly occupied their minds.
Even Chen Bai, looking at this broad avenue without roaring cars and without much pollution, was somewhat entranced.
Only after a long while did he say, “How about calling it Ginkgo Avenue?”
Qi Zheng naturally nodded. Just the entrance road alone already made people feel that this place was different from any other town.
Did other towns have such a road that was so profound in mood and so intoxicating?
Under the ginkgo trees was a green lawn, trimmed neatly and properly.
No one had probably ever seen someone maintain a lawn so beautifully. Then, within the lawn, small flowers were arranged neatly at intervals.
Chen Bai had indeed put a great deal of effort into landscaping. He understood very clearly how cold a modern city would look without these things. That was not the town he wanted.
At the time, when manpower was spent on these things, Qi Zheng had thought this was simply looking for trouble for no reason. Although according to Chen Bai, this could create job opportunities for the people, Qi Zheng felt that his purse would probably never earn enough money or feel secure again.
But now, seeing these beautiful lawns and small flowerbeds by the road, he more or less understood why Chen Bai had insisted on having these things. Perhaps it was not only to create jobs for the people, but more because they truly added color and brilliance to this city, filling it with incredible vitality and a shocking visual impact.
One should not underestimate how shocking these things were to people who had never seen them before. Even modern people, when they arrived somewhere with excellent urban greenery, could not help stopping to admire it. For example, in the modern city where Chen Bai had lived, there was also a ginkgo avenue. Every time this season came, countless people with free time would go there for a walk and take photos. It was a famous internet-famous check-in spot.
Through the carriage curtain, Chen Bai looked at the indescribable expressions on the faces of the pedestrians by the road and knew roughly what they were feeling at this moment.
Actually, these were only the beginning.
Today would definitely be a day they would never forget in their lives. Just like how, to Chen Bai, every corner of the ancient-flavored Shangjing City was worth savoring carefully, in the eyes of these ancient people, this place should be even more so than Shangjing was to Chen Bai.
As the crowd moved forward, they reached the magical artificial fountain.
A group of people actually started running.
Their eyes were filled with excitement and disbelief. “This, this, this… why is the water flying into the sky…”
“Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. How is this done?”
The beautiful spray reflected in their eyes, reflecting their current happiness, excitement, and disbelief.
“Look!”
At that moment, someone suddenly cried out in alarm. That voice sounded completely involuntary, and it had even cracked slightly.
“It’s a rainbow. A rainbow within reach…”
When Chen Bai and Qi Zheng got off the carriage and arrived, the artificial fountain was already surrounded by people. The students who had been arranged in advance were already hopping happily along one section of the musical fountain’s water path, dodging like startled little beasts whenever the fountain suddenly sprayed up after they ran over it. The joy on their faces would not disappear no matter how many times they played.
They had learned the guqin before, and although Great Qian was not skilled in music, there were still widely circulated folk songs.
When these students ran out familiar melodies, the expressions of divine astonishment on the faces of the people around them were simply like they were dreaming.
“A water passage that can produce beautiful music…”
Unbelievable, yet beautiful to the extreme.
“Our Great Qian is probably about to have a world-famous miracle.”
Listening to these words, the corners of Chen Bai’s mouth rose. In truth, which thing here was not a miracle?
Although many people could not understand it, they could still feel beautiful things, such as now.
It was not as if ancient people would immediately label everything they saw as demons or ghosts. Although the unknown was the source of fear, that also depended on whether the unknown thing had something frightening about it.
For example, if someone saw a beautiful little bird they did not recognize, their first reaction would certainly not be fear, but to run over and admire it. Of course, if that little bird were replaced by a moving skeleton, that would definitely be a different scene. That was the principle.
Do not imagine ancient people as if they could not accept any new thing. They could also calmly accept beauty, instead of rejecting everything immediately just because they did not understand it. They were not so ignorant.
There were even bold people who had already started playing, especially curious children. They had already watched the group of students playing so happily. How could they possibly hold back?
Chen Bai shook his head. “Looks like in the future, if anyone wants to play here even once, they will have to line up. It will be completely occupied by these children.”
Qi Zheng said, “Didn’t you say sound is produced by vibration? Why can’t I see where anything is vibrating?”
Chen Bai: “…”
This damned straight man. Faced with such pleasant sounds, he was discussing this?
He sighed and muttered, “Some people probably won’t understand what romance is for their entire lives. Who knows who will be unlucky enough to be favored by Your Highness in the future.”
“A man should understand a little romance too.”
Qi Zheng frowned. “What?”
Chen Bai did not answer. Instead, he secretly said, “Your Highness, you really should read that book I gave you. This is sincere advice from the bottom of my heart. If you keep going on like this, whoever falls for you will truly have eight lifetimes of bad luck…”
He did not dare say the last sentence aloud.
“Haha, actually, it is not that serious. Sometimes Your Highness is still quite… quite charming.” Seeing Qi Zheng’s expression, Chen Bai immediately backed down. “For example, when Your Highness takes out your purse without the slightest hesitation, you shine especially brightly. In my eyes, you are practically glowing…”
Qi Zheng: “…”
What did Chen Zixiu mean by that? Was this a one-sided slander against him?
Stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, Qi Zheng said, “Perhaps I also have moments when I am even more serious than Ruohong.”
Chen Bai glanced at Qi Zheng. Forget it. With that dead-straight personality of yours?
He really was boasting without even drafting it first.
Chen Bai carefully controlled his tone and said, “Your Highness is right. When Your Highness meets such a person, please tell me. I would like to see whether Your Highness can be more serious than Ruohong. After all, Ruohong is…”
His face was full of envy.
Qi Zheng snorted. “Is this all the ambition the dignified Grand Scholar of Zhaoxue has? I think you have read too many of those messy books. What are you thinking about all day?”
Were those intangible things more important than reality?
“Who doesn’t know how to say sweet words? Superficial. Chen Zixiu, why do I feel that you will be deceived by someone in the future?”
After saying that, he walked toward the mall, because quite a few people were already surging in that direction.
Chen Bai curled his lips. What would an emotionless ice-block face understand? Who would not want a love that remained unchanged until death? Although Chen Bai himself could not be sure such feelings existed, since he had never experienced them, recently, after seeing Ruohong and Lan Ruoyun, he felt that true love really did exist in this world.
Chen Bai licked his lips. “Can’t I even be a little envious? If someone could do for me even one-tenth of what Ruohong did, I would throw myself at them outright.”
Qi Zheng, walking ahead, immediately said, “Shameless.”
When Chen Zixiu asked him for money, he did not even blink. Such trust was still not even one-tenth of Ruohong’s? He really wanted Chen Zixiu to try asking someone else for money and see how many coins they would give him.
Chen Bai: “…”
This Qi Zheng was really infuriating.
In front of the mall’s lawn stood a huge stone. Who knew where it had been found? It looked extraordinarily imposing.
Written on it were several large characters: “Great Qian Comprehensive Mall.”
The meaning was not very clear at first glance, but the smaller words underneath were somewhat understandable.
“Honesty as the foundation. Clearly marked prices. Tenfold compensation for fakes. Fair dealing with old and young alike.”
Students were already explaining there. “What you are seeing now is the largest single building in Great Qian, the trendiest shopping center in Great Qian…”
“What we can promise here is honest operation. Any deceptive conduct may be reported. In serious cases, the merchant will be directly expelled from the mall and lose their right to operate here…”
“All goods here have clearly marked prices, and all goods may be personally chosen by you…”
“Inside the mall, fair scales have also been set up. If there is any shortage in weight, it will be resolved for you immediately…”
The crowd listened in a daze. “Merchants can be honest too?”
Merchants pursued profit. They had indeed left many bad impressions on people.
The student smiled. “They have no choice but to be honest, because the mall’s rules will force them to provide honest service. Otherwise, at least in this mall, there will be no place for them. Please do not doubt whether the mall has this ability. This place is the crown prince’s fief…”
A thousand explanations were not as good as personally entering the mall and experiencing it.
The building before their eyes, completely covered in glass, was indeed far too attractive.
And the common people, the moment they stepped into the mall, were stunned by everything before their eyes.
It was spacious and bright to the extreme, completely unlike the dim indoor spaces they had imagined.
Then there was the pure white, smooth floor beneath their feet. Was this really meant for people to step on? Should it not be treasured and stored away like a precious object?
If the cement road outside had already left people awestruck, then what was this?
Even the jeweled palaces of the heavenly realm could be no more than this.
They were so stunned and intoxicated that they almost did not dare step on it.
Then there were the dazzling arrays of goods and counters before them.
The first floor sold fruits and vegetables. Aside from Qi Zheng’s fruits and vegetables and those grown by the students, there were also many goods brought in by merchants for the three-day trial operation.
This was probably the largest number of fruits and vegetables they had ever seen in their lives.
Shangjing also had fruit and vegetable shops, but compared to this quantity, the difference was simply heaven and earth. They were not even on the same level.
Most importantly, each fruit was neatly arranged on shelves. The shelves had a very slight incline, allowing all the fruits to be displayed before people’s eyes.
The vegetables were the same. There was not a single rotten leaf. Each one was also properly and neatly placed on the shelves.
Fruits and vegetables could be sold like this?
Today truly broadened their horizons.
Goods displayed in this way immediately stirred up endless desire to purchase. Even the most ordinary vegetables seemed beautiful enough to feel unreal.
At this moment, the students led by Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou came forward to welcome the common people, who still did not quite dare enter.
“Please come this way. If you wish to make purchases, you may take a basket here.”
“After entering the mall, you may freely choose the goods you want. Around each shelf, there are workers responsible for weighing the items. They will weigh and calculate the price for you.”
“When you have finished shopping and finished strolling through the mall, please take all the items you purchased to the front counter to settle the bill together.”
“If you have any doubts about the weight of the goods in your hands, you may go to the fair scale beside the front counter to have them weighed again. The mall guarantees there will never be any shortage in weight…”
The group did not even know how they entered in such a dazed state.
Chen Bai looked at the common people holding baskets in their hands, like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, and only smiled. The first time was indeed like this. They would be fine once they got used to it.
Qi Zheng also looked at the goods before him. Most of them were supplied by him.
They truly aroused a desire to buy. They looked far too good, completely overturning his understanding of how vegetables and fruits should be sold.
Chen Bai added from the side, “Buying and selling have never been only about the goods themselves. They are also about packaging and service.”
It was an inexplicable statement, but Qi Zheng seemed to understand a little.
In truth, the common people were somewhat worried, because they felt that such a good environment, and fruits and vegetables that looked so good, must certainly be expensive.
They were a little afraid to buy.
But after the “shopping guides” led them to the shelves, they finally understood what clearly marked prices meant.
“All goods have been marked with their prices in advance. They will not be more expensive by even half a copper coin, nor will they be cheaper by half a copper coin. There is no room for bargaining. Of course, the benefit is that price fraud will not exist either. There will be no selling the same item at two prices or raising prices depending on the buyer.”
“You only need to choose the goods you think are reasonably priced and buy them.”
Everyone: “…”
Although they could no longer bargain, there was also no room for deception. In a certain sense, this did indeed enforce honesty.
Someone pointed at a shelf of grapes and said, “Is this really the price? I think it is about the same as buying them outside.”
To them, this was somewhat unbelievable. These grapes had clearly been carefully selected. Even their sizes were similar. Arranged in a row, they were truly beautiful. Add such an environment, and they were really the same price as those sold outside?
In their eyes, such a place should have been somewhere noble lords came to spend money, not somewhere flat-headed commoners like them bought fruit and vegetables.
The “shopping guide” smiled and only said, “Clearly marked prices. Fair dealing with old and young alike.”
Everyone: “…”
They could not help swallowing. With so many choices, reasonable prices, and this environment, where else would they go to buy things in the future? They had heard that many more public carriages from Shangjing to this place had already been added. Even if they did not take the public carriage, Shangjing was not far from here. They could walk here too. Compared with going to the eastern and western markets as before, it was not much farther.
Someone already smiled and placed a bunch of grapes into their basket.
No one laughed at them for buying more or less. They really only needed to choose what they needed.
“Fruits and vegetables need to be weighed. Please go to the side to have them weighed first…”
When a small slip of paper was stuck onto the goods they had purchased, everyone was surprised again. “You are not taking money?”
The “shopping guide” began explaining again. “Payment is collected uniformly at the front counter, so you may shop with peace of mind and pay after you have finished buying everything.”
Everyone: “…”
It really was a strange way to buy things.
In truth, there was no helping it. The rent for the stalls was collected based on sales revenue. Only by doing this could these merchants be prevented from playing tricks.
It was just that there would be far too many small accounts like this in a single day. The accountants settling accounts every day would probably be exhausted to death.
However, the accountants were all arranged by Qi Zheng’s residence, so Chen Bai was not worried.
Besides, Qi Zheng, that Huang Shiren, that capitalist, would probably be delighted in his heart when he saw so many accounts that they could barely be counted.
The people roughly understood the most basic rules for buying things here, and only then did they truly begin strolling around.
But just when they thought they had grasped all the techniques, they froze again upon seeing the escalator that automatically moved upward in a cycle.
“Good heavens, this… what kind of magical mechanism is this?”
The “escalator attendant’s” warm voice also rang out. “Would you like to go to the second floor to buy meat?”
“Please hold the handrail and mind your safety!”
