So Squandering Money Is This Fun

Hearing that Yuan Shu was going to spend money to let them drink for free, everyone present found it hard to believe. 

Yuan Shu was known for squandering money, but no matter how he spent it, it was always for his own enjoyment. 

Had he suddenly grown a conscience today? 

The wine launched by Wanshan Tavern was called "Immortal Wine," and its advertisement claimed, "This wine should only exist in heaven; it is rarely found in the human world." 

This claim had piqued everyone's curiosity. Combined with excellent early marketing, it naturally made Luoyang's wine expensive, drawing the masses to it. 

With the current price of one jar of Immortal Wine at 1,000 coins, if Yuan Shu let everyone here drink as much as they wanted, wouldn't he go bankrupt? 

"Young Master Yuan, are you serious about this?" 

"Yeah, Young Master Yuan, are you really treating us to drinks?" 

"Everyone here is watching—you can't go back on your word!" 

Those who had come to line up were all interested in Wanshan Tavern's Immortal Wine. 

Though the price of 1,000 coins per jar was high, they were willing to grit their teeth and pay for it. 

Now that a fool was offering free drinks, of course, they were happy. 

At this moment, Yuan An, one of Yuan Shu's lackeys, stepped forward and shouted to the crowd: 

"Everyone, my young master may act recklessly at times, but have you ever heard of him going back on his word?" 

Hearing Yuan An's words, the crowd thought for a moment and realized he was right. 

Although Yuan Shu was a notorious spendthrift, he always kept his word. 

After all, if he made a promise and didn't fulfill it, as Luoyang's number one playboy, he wouldn't be able to bear the shame. 

Though it sounded outrageous, the crowd decided to trust Yuan Shu for now. 

Due to the commotion outside, Shen Wansan also came out of the tavern to see what was happening. 

When he saw that it was his own lord gathering a crowd, he became curious. 

His lord had never played by the rules—what was he up to this time? 

Yuan Shu thought to himself, "I just want to squander money—why don't these people understand?" 

He took a deep breath and shouted to the crowd: 

"Now, let me explain the rules. You must line up to get your wine, and you must finish it on the spot—you cannot take it away. 

For every jar you finish, my steward will pay for it. But if you can't finish, you'll have to pay for it yourself. Do you all understand?!" 

Hearing Yuan Shu's words, Shen Wansan, standing beside the tavern, pondered for a moment and suddenly had a realization. 

"My lord is brilliant!" 

"What an excellent marketing strategy! Why didn't I think of this?" 

"I always prided myself on being a business genius, but compared to my lord, my talents are insignificant." 

At this moment, another lackey, Zhang Cheng, stepped forward and shouted: 

"Everyone, since my young master is spending money to treat you to drinks, isn't it only fair that you say a few words of blessing when receiving your wine?" 

"That's not unreasonable at all! We should all be grateful for his generosity." 

"Exactly! Young Master Yuan is already the number one young master in Luoyang, someone we all admire. What's the harm in saying a few words of blessing?" 

The crowd had no objections to Zhang Cheng's suggestion. 

Since Yuan Shu was already spending the money, why should they hesitate to say a few nice words? 

So, everyone began lining up in an orderly fashion to receive their wine. Each person who got a jar would step forward and offer Yuan Shu a blessing. 

As Yuan Shu watched his spending skyrocket while being flattered by those around him, he couldn't have felt more satisfied. 

Cai Wenji stood beside him, watching everything with a puzzled expression. 

"So this is what Senior Brother meant by squandering money?" 

"Why is everyone so happy? Why are they all smiling while blessing him?" 

"So squandering money is actually this fun? No wonder Senior Brother enjoys it so much." 

The little girl's previously gloomy expression brightened up, and she stood proudly beside Yuan Shu, accepting the blessings with confidence. 

Zou Rong also stood next to Yuan Shu, occasionally helping the steward pay the bills, looking very virtuous. 

Seeing the two beauties—one young and one mature—standing beside Yuan Shu, the young men in the crowd felt both envious and jealous. 

All they could do was sigh and lament that Yuan Shu had been born into the right family.

Most of the people who received the Immortal Wine underestimated its potency. 

The strength of this finely brewed liquor was far beyond the cloudy wines of the present era. 

As a result, although many people collected the wine, half of them couldn't drink much, so Yuan Shu only paid for half of it. 

In the end, even though Yuan Shu threw out a huge sum of money, not only did he not lose money, but he actually made a profit. 

If influencers existed in this era, Yuan Shu would undoubtedly be the top one—he could rightfully claim to be the number one sales promoter in Luoyang. 

Watching the skyrocketing sales of Immortal Wine, Shen Wansan was completely in awe. 

He thought to himself that he was lucky Yuan Shu was his lord—if he were a competitor, he would have crushed him completely. 

Zhou Yi had been observing Yuan Shu's actions and felt that although this senior brother of his acted recklessly, there was deep meaning behind everything he did. 

The free wine giveaway increased the goodwill of Luoyang's citizens toward him while also making a fortune for his own winery—this was definitely not something a simple wastrel could have accomplished. 

After leading the crowd in bustling activity for a day, Yuan Shu accumulated a "wastrel quota" of two million before finally escorting Cai Wenji back to the Cai residence. 

Perhaps exhausted from the day's events, the little girl fell asleep on Yuan Shu's shoulder on the way back. 

Upon returning home, Yuan Shu arranged for his trusted general Ju Yi to stay in his own courtyard, right next to Shi A's room. 

As the two strolled through the courtyard, Yuan Shu said to Ju Yi: 

"Gongyi (Ju Yi's courtesy name), I want to form a personal guard army, and I intend for you to lead it. Can you train an elite force for me?" 

Hearing that he would be responsible for military training, Ju Yi immediately became interested. He clasped his fists and said: 

"My lord, not to boast, but I have studied military texts since childhood and have a deep passion for training soldiers. 

In my hometown of Wuwei, the Qiang tribes frequently raided us, and the people are fierce and warlike. I once formed a militia to resist them. 

Under my training, that militia became highly disciplined and formidable in battle, able to stand toe-to-toe with the Qiang." 

Hearing this, Yuan Shu secretly nodded. The militia Ju Yi trained was likely the prototype of the future "First Assault Dead Soldiers" unit. 

Yuan Shu had complete confidence in Ju Yi's ability to train soldiers—this main storyline mission seemed tailor-made for him. 

Yuan Shu said to Ju Yi: 

"Gongyi, I will entrust you with military training. What do you need to get started?" 

Ju Yi replied seriously: 

"My lord, the requirements depend on what kind of troops you wish to train." 

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Yuan Shu asked curiously. 

Ju Yi thought for a moment before answering: 

"My lord, if you want to train ordinary soldiers, all you need is military provisions and a standard general to lead them. 

If you want to train elite troops, then in addition to provisions, you need high salaries and skilled commanders. 

If you want to forge the finest warriors in the land, you must carefully select the best soldiers, amass vast amounts of resources, and equip them with superior weaponry—none of these can be lacking." 

Yuan Shu continued smiling as he asked: 

"Gongyi, if I were to give you everything you needed to build the strongest force possible, what resources would you require?" 

"I would need the finest soldiers selected from among a hundred, an astronomical amount of resources, and the most advanced equipment available. 

Apart from that, I would also need my lord's unwavering dedication." Ju Yi answered without hesitation. 

[Author's Note]: 

Ju Yi's courtesy name is not recorded in history, just like Gao Shun's. Both were famous generals whose details were lost over time. 

However, during the Three Kingdoms period, courtesy names were given based on established conventions. 

One method was deriving the name from the given name, such as: 

Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang (羽 "Yu" allows one to soar through the clouds "云") 

Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide (有 "Yi" means possessing, "翼" means wings—one can only fly with wings) 

Zhao Yun, courtesy name Zilong (云 "Yun" corresponds to the saying: "Clouds follow dragons, winds follow tigers") 

Another method was based on family hierarchy, using the order of siblings: 

Sima Lang, courtesy name Bodao (伯仲叔季—"Bo" indicates the eldest) 

Sima Yi, courtesy name Zhongda (伯仲叔季—"Zhong" indicates the second eldest) 

In this novel, Ju Yi's courtesy name, Gongyi, follows the first naming method, deriving it from his given name.