Chapter 775: What the Eye Can See, the Heart Desires

"This aroma is lovely. It would be very popular for aromatherapy," Qian Fanji said. He was highly sensitive to smells. The fragrance was light and fresh, not at all overpowering. If you simply smelled it without taking a bite, the scent was subtle, almost ephemeral—perfectly balanced.

"I own a few high-end cosmetics shops. I could have them try to extract the fruit’s essence and add it to powders and rouges for women," Gu Shuo said, an idea already forming in his mind.

The scent was delightfully refreshing. If added to women’s cosmetics, it would be elegant yet undeniably luxurious.

Hearing this, Ye Qianning’s eyes filled with admiration. "Father Gu, you truly have a mind for business."

The moment he heard about aromatherapy, his mind immediately jumped to such applications. He was a natural-born merchant, his mind always working quickly.

"It’s far easier to earn money from women than from men. They need exquisite jewelry and unique cosmetics. The rarer the item, the more they’re willing to pay."

For women of wealth and influence, clothing, jewelry, and cosmetics are essential status symbols.

Ye Qianning couldn’t agree more. Throughout the Four Kingdoms, wherever there were nobles, there were banquets. And those banquets were where the young ladies of every prominent family went to flaunt their assets.

As long as the cosmetics and jewelry were unique enough, they would spend lavishly without a second thought.

"Mr. Qian, Father Gu, how well do you think Xiangyi would sell if we marketed it across the Four Kingdoms?"

Qian Fanji replied, "Rarity creates value. In terms of color, taste, and texture, no other fruit can currently compare to it."

Gu Shuo added, "It would absolutely become the most expensive fruit in the Four Kingdoms. It would outperform the currently popular Nanyuan sand fruit and winter grapes several times over."

Ye Qianning nodded, calmly watching the men over on the docks who were furiously smashing the port. "Actually, Nanyuan’s soil and climate are completely unsuitable for growing fruit. It’s a feat in itself that they can grow anything to make a living and improve their lives. Why can’t they be satisfied with that?"

"The heart covets what the eye can see," Qian Fanji said quietly.

"Exactly. No matter how much you give them, as long as they perceive you as powerful, they’ll never be satisfied. ’The heart covets...’ Well then, let them keep coveting." Ye Qianning rested her chin in her palm. "I hope they get their wish."

Qian Fanji gazed calmly at the scene. ’For the insatiably greedy, there is no such thing as having one’s wish granted.’

’They climb one mountain only to covet the next. It’s a desire without end.’

Standing nearby, Da Cheng was about to go mad with anxiety. But his boss couldn’t even be bothered to glance over, acting as if it had nothing to do with him.

The port was already collapsing in several places. If they kept smashing it like this, the entire dock would be destroyed.

The onlookers were also baffled. A port this large wasn’t easy to build, but with several hundred people smashing it at once, its destruction was happening in the blink of an eye.

’So many fishing boats are waiting to dock and load their cargo. All those crates of seafood are falling into the ocean. That’s a huge financial loss!’

’Boss Gu is here, so why isn’t he doing anything to stop them?’

’He’s just sitting there casually eating fruit, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world...?’

Gu Shuo genuinely didn’t seem to care one bit about the port being smashed to pieces. Instead, he had become quite interested in the Xiangyi fruit. He had just finished one, and its fragrant aftertaste was still lingering pleasantly on his palate.

"Qian Ning, do you have any more of that fruit?"

"I do. I have as many as you want, Father Gu."

"The Xiangyi’s fragrance is captivating. I think extracting its essence to make powders and rouges would be more profitable."

"Do you have a reliable perfumer, Father Gu?"

"Your Second Aunt and Seventh Aunt have been managing the cosmetics shops for years. These days, one of them formulates many of the rouges herself," Gu Shuo said.

Ye Qianning’s eyes lit up. "My aunts are in business now?"

"You could say that."

"So my aunts even learned how to formulate fragrances! Are they in Nanyuan?" Ye Qianning realized she missed them terribly.