"Fifty taels?" Wei Tingyu, upon hearing Dou Zhao's answer, stroked his chin and pondered carefully, confirming that he was fairly satisfied with the number.
After all, as a time-traveler, he had no experience living in this era. He wasn't certain what price point perfume, a woman's product, should have among the nobles of this world.
In contrast, Dou Zhao, being a small-time business expert, had invested in various industries over the years, including two rouge shops under her name!
Thus, the price she set seemed fairly reasonable, taking all factors into account. Wei Tingyu decided to accept Dou Zhao's pricing on this matter.
Moreover, when Wei Tingyu exchanged the perfume from the system mall, the cost per bottle was 10 taels of silver. Selling it for 50 taels would yield a net profit of 40 taels per bottle!
With 100 bottles sold a day, that would amount to 4,000 taels daily! The monthly profit could exceed 100,000 taels!
Dou Zhao was quietly calculating this in her heart. While she didn't know the exact production cost of the perfume, based on her experience, she knew that the retail price of goods was typically about one-third of the production cost, one-third for shipping and storage, and the last third was profit.
By this calculation, just the perfume alone could generate a pure profit of 30,000 to 40,000 taels per month for Wei Tingyu!
No, that's not right! Wei Tingyu didn't even have a large factory, and the sales would all be within the capital! Dou Zhao could be certain that once the perfume was launched, it would quickly become popular in the noble circles of the capital, eliminating storage costs!
This meant that Wei Tingyu's monthly profits would definitely be no less than 60,000 to 70,000 taels!
Furthermore, once it became popular in the noble circles of the capital, it would quickly spread to surrounding prefectures, and the price per bottle might even rise several times!
Especially in Jiangnan, among the rich and powerful families, they wouldn't hesitate to spend money on such things!
The only person who might hesitate is Wei Tingyu himself. Perhaps he would be counting silver until his hands grew sore!
Indeed, the more she thought about it, the more Dou Zhao realized just how much profit was at stake here. No wonder Wei Tingyu had been so indifferent to her proposal earlier—he was sitting on such a golden opportunity!
"Lord Hou, how much profit can I get if I sell it?" Dou Zhao, caught up in her excitement, grabbed Wei Tingyu's arm without thinking, her face full of hope.
In her mind, no matter how she had planned things before, now that they were married, they were one!
"Since we are one, naturally I won't let you suffer!" Wei Tingyu chuckled at Dou Zhao's greedy expression and then wrapped his arm around her slim waist.
Surprisingly, Dou Zhao didn't resist this intimate gesture at all! Instead, she gazed at him eagerly, wondering how much he would be willing to share with her!
"I'll give you one-tenth! How about that?" Wei Tingyu, seeing her eager gaze, extended one finger and spoke with a smile.
"One... one-tenth?!" Dou Zhao was stunned upon hearing this.
What?! I eagerly asked how much I could get, and you're only offering me one-tenth?! You were just saying "we are one," but now, it's all talk!
"What's wrong? Don't want it?" Wei Tingyu, seeing Dou Zhao's disappointed face, couldn't help but tease.
"Lord Hou, didn't you say we are one? How come..." Dou Zhao naturally wasn't happy. She would have been fine with three or four tenths! But now, Wei Tingyu had only offered her one-tenth! Though she had prepared for some small share, she had never expected such a measly portion!
"Yes, we are one!" Wei Tingyu nodded in agreement. "That's why I'm including you in this business."
"But... the profit..." Dou Zhao was even more unwilling now, ready to argue further. However, before she could continue, she suddenly realized something wasn't quite right.
Especially the look in Wei Tingyu's eyes, which seemed to carry a hint of mockery. Was he scheming something?
Dou Zhao suddenly had an epiphany. She remembered what she had just said to Wei Tingyu earlier!
Even married couples had to make clear financial arrangements!
Wei Tingyu had said that he wouldn't touch her dowry or the money she made from her business. Therefore, they had to split the perfume business fairly, so it seemed that their partnership was strictly a business arrangement.
Dou Zhao couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth, feeling an overwhelming desire to slap herself across the face!
Was Wei Tingyu waiting for her to fall into his trap?
They had just settled their finances, but now she wanted to ask for a bigger share of the profits based on their "married" status... She couldn't say that!
"Not happy with one-tenth? Then I'll find someone else to partner with. I wonder if there are any other merchants in the city willing to work with me?" Wei Tingyu, seeing Dou Zhao's helpless yet aggrieved expression, laughed even more and even reached out to gently tap her nose.
"Fine, fine! One-tenth of the profit! I'll help you sell the perfume!" Dou Zhao, realizing that Wei Tingyu might find another partner, quickly gave in.
There was no way a merchant who saw the perfume in person would pass up the chance to partner with Wei Tingyu. Dou Zhao was no different.
Though one-tenth sounded small, the actual profits were much more significant!
At 50 taels per bottle, that meant she would get 5 taels per bottle. Selling 100 bottles a day would mean 500 taels. In a month, that was 15,000 taels!
Though Dou Zhao owned quite a few businesses, none of them could compare to the perfume business.
There was no use regretting it now. What mattered was grabbing the opportunity in front of her!
With that, Dou Zhao wrapped herself in a blanket, got out of bed, and went to the desk. She wrote up two formal contracts, signed them, and stamped them with her seal, then handed them over to Wei Tingyu.
Seeing Dou Zhao act so formally, Wei Tingyu, naturally, wouldn't refuse. He signed the contracts as well, and thus, the two of them finalized their business deal on their first day of marriage!