Chapter 36: Cooperation with Rivals
The Han family has been operating in Songjiang City for two generations and is well-informed. It's not that they don't know that Gu Youan is in contact with the herbalist Han. He has seen that the Gu family has no foundation. No matter how smart Gu Youan is, she is just a maid. No matter how hard she tries, she won't be able to achieve anything.
"I never thought you would actually be able to buy the ginseng from my Han family, and your parents would be willing to spend their family's money on a little girl like you."
Manager Han was furious, feeling both angry and unwilling to accept the situation.
Gu Youan didn't take Manager Han's words of disparagement to heart. She just smiled and said, "What do you mean by 'your Han family's ginseng'? Did you spend money? Did they sell it to you?"
Shopkeeper Han stared at Gu Youan and sneered again, "Don't be so complacent. When I return, if the Han family gives the go-ahead, I guarantee you won't be able to buy even a single piece of astragalus in Songjiang City, let alone ginseng."
Gu Youan's lips curled slightly as he tried to persuade Shopkeeper Han not to get angry. "Besides your Han family, there are over a dozen reputable businesses in Songjiang City that sell medicinal herbs. Why are you targeting my family?"
"Oh, they know the limits when doing business. They know what they can touch and what they shouldn't touch."
Gu Youan asked, "Manager Han, do you really have to quarrel with me in the street?"
This place is not far from Xinglin Street, and there is a chance that someone he knows will see him. Manager Han has been in a mess recently and has made a lot of jokes. He doesn't want his acquaintances to see him arguing with this girl and become a topic of conversation among others.
The two went to a private room in a nearby teahouse. Han Jiang, the shopkeeper's servant, and Guo Su, Gu Youan's bodyguard, were guarding the door.
Han Jiang knew Guo Su; he knew she was from the Ping An Escort Agency and that she was a capable fighter. He glanced at the door, unsure if the quarrel had broken out again.
There was no quarrel, as the tension had passed. Both people in the room were very calm.
After finishing a cup of tea, Shopkeeper Han lowered his eyelids and said slowly, "You're new here, but you don't know how powerful the medicine shops in Luoyang are. I'm considered an old hand in this business. This time, I wasn't careful enough and something went wrong. Not only did I spend all the money I earned on bribery and connections, but I also offended your master."
Shopkeeper Han hadn't finished his words yet. If I'm not careful, I'll suffer a great loss. How can a green hand like you compare with me?
Shopkeeper Han glanced at Gu Youan and said, "You took advantage of a loophole this time when you went to Dr. Zhang's house to sell ginseng. You were lucky that no one bothered you at this critical moment. You won't be so lucky next time."
Gu Youan personally poured tea for Manager Han and said, "What you said makes sense. I'm just going back to do business. Without anyone to guide me, I acted recklessly. I won't do that again in the future."
Shopkeeper Han snorted. It would be strange if he believed what this girl said!
Even though she knew that Manager Han said these words to make her give up and not compete with the Han family for the medicinal materials business in Songjiang City, Gu Youan still appreciated it in the end.
Gu Youan's tone softened. She said, "Manager Han also knows that my uncle's family is from Yizhou Prefecture and they are engaged in the Sichuan medicine business. They have never been involved in Luoyang."
"You know my Uncle Du, too. He ran a medicine shop in Luoyang for over a decade. Aside from Sichuan medicine, he sourced all other herbs from local Luoyang pharmacies."
Shopkeeper Han sneered, "You think your family knows the rules?"
"In fact, our family has always been very disciplined."
Gu Youan admitted it immediately, which made Manager Han so angry that he was speechless. This girl was so shameless.
"Look, I didn't sell all the herbs to Luoyang openly. I only sold ginseng through the Zhang family. Next time I come, I will definitely only sell ginseng. I won't send other herbs to the city."
"Why don't you send it into the city and wait for the pharmacy to come out of the city and buy it from you?" Shopkeeper Han laughed at her naiveté. "Those gentlemen in Luoyang City are all about drinking blood and eating flesh. If you dare to beat around the bush and play dumb and refuse to pay tribute, you'll offend them and end up dying in the wilderness somewhere."
"Let's go to Jiangnan. Luoyang is such a valuable place that we, the small families, can't afford to step into."
Shopkeeper Han was choked again. The Jiangnan area...we were only talking about those from other places. The drug dealers in the southwest of Bashu had the most connections in Jiangnan. The people in charge of the drug stores there were mainly from the south, so the drug dealers from Bashu also had a say.
Gu Youan soothed him, "I can easily name a dozen great drug dealers in the south, but how many are there in the north? So, you should run your pharmacy well and set an example for the northern drug dealers. A younger generation like me should follow suit."
Do I still need to learn from him? This little girl borrowed the power of the Du family and Bashu Pharmacy, and now she wants to win him over?
Although Manager Han is tough in words, he is a person who cares most about interests. Gu Youan's words were nice, so Manager Han didn't bother with her and his words became reasonable.
"To be honest, my Han family alone can't monopolize the entire medicinal materials business in Luoyang. If you want to expand this business, I'll take you to meet the leaders of several Luoyang medicine stores to prevent you from accidentally offending anyone."
"Let's talk about it later. You know, I'm a girl, not young anymore. I don't know if I'll get married next year or the year after. I'm not sure if this business will last long."
Gu Youan was trying to advance by retreating, and his words were half true and half false, but Manager Han believed it immediately because what the girl said was true and there was no way the young lady would not get married.
Knowing that this girl wouldn't be in the job for long, Manager Han wanted to do her a favor even more. After all, the Gu family was now in power, so having more acquaintances meant having more options.
Shopkeeper Han asked, "Besides ginseng, did you bring any other herbs?"
Shopkeeper Han showed that he wanted to help, and Gu Youan smiled and thanked him, but he didn't need it: "We still have to go to Suzhou Prefecture to buy some cloth, and it's a side job for us to take some medicinal herbs with us."
"You don't have to go to Suzhou Prefecture to buy cloth. I have an acquaintance of a cloth merchant from Suzhou. He sent a batch of cloth to Luoyang half a month ago and is looking for a buyer."
That batch of cloth was originally wanted by Manager Han, but unfortunately he had spent all his money and could not afford the cloth.
In fact, if he could come again in the second half of the year, he could buy on credit and come back in two or three months to pay for the cloth. But he was only going once this year and would not go south until next year, so he felt it was not right to hold up the payment for a year.
After Shopkeeper Han said this, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it would be appropriate to introduce these cloths to Gu Youan. This would not only help Gu Youan but also help the other side clear out the cloth, which would be a win-win for both sides.
Gu Youan refused again and again: "How can you give me the cloth you ordered? Suzhou is not far away, it won't be a big deal for us to go there."
Shopkeeper Han insisted that she take the cloth, saying, "Let's be frank. I, Han Jiangnan, have always been open and honest in my work. Introducing this business to you actually saves me a lot of trouble."
The Han family has not yet split up. If he sells this batch of cloth on credit back to Songjiang City, the money earned can be divided among the brothers. When the payment is due next year, it is possible that he will be the only one who will bear the consequences.
After a lot of pushing and shoving, Gu Youan finally accepted Manager Han's kindness.
"Manager Han has helped me so much, let me pay for today's tea. Manager Han, please don't argue with me."
Shopkeeper Han smiled and said, "Then I'll listen to Shopkeeper Gu."
The door opened, and the two of them, one big and one small, made way for each other to go out. Manager Han had clearly been calling her "little girl" before entering, but now he was calling Manager Gu the same. It was rather odd.
Guo Suduo glanced at Manager Han. What did he say to An An just now?
Gu Youan winked at Guo Su, and Guo Su hurried downstairs to pay for the tea.
Gu Youan was afraid that the night would drag on and that before Manager Gu changed his mind, he took the Du family members to see Manager Han that afternoon, and Manager Han introduced the cloth merchant to Gu Youan.
Gu Youan and the Du family quickly sold the medicinal herbs in their hands and exchanged the silver they earned for cloth. They could finish these things within two days and go back the day after tomorrow.
Uncle Du said happily, "I didn't expect to be going back so soon. We'll be returning the day after tomorrow, and we estimate we'll be back in Songjiang City by mid-August. If we hurry up on the way, maybe we can still celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Songjiang City."
Guo Su smiled as she ate a flower cake and said, "I originally wanted to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Luoyang, but since it can't be celebrated, it's just the same if I go back home."
Tian Erlang was curious and had been hanging around Gu Youan all day. "I heard from Guo Su that you ran into Shopkeeper Han on the street yesterday and you two almost got into a fight. Why did Shopkeeper Han suddenly change his ways?"
"This is my unique secret, I will definitely not tell you."
"Tsk, stop pretending to be profound. If you have the guts, tell it to everyone. Not everything can be called a secret."
Gu Youan would not be fooled by such a simple provocation. While he still had time today, he wanted to purchase some goods and bring them back to Songjiang City for sale.
Gu Youan had the most ginseng, and she made a lot of money by selling it at a high price through the Zhang family's high-end route.
Before going out, Gu Youan took out two wooden boxes, one box contained a first-grade ginseng, and the other box contained a top-grade ginseng.
"Send the smaller one to the Zhang family as a token of my gratitude for their help. Send the larger one to Shopkeeper Han and say... just say it's my thanks."
Although she and the Zhang family had a mutually beneficial relationship, she had gained a lot. Before leaving, she thanked the Zhang family with a ginseng. The Zhang family would definitely be happy, and she could ask for help from the Zhang family next time.
As for Shopkeeper Han, she said a lot of true and false things. No matter what Shopkeeper Han thought, she had taken advantage of him a lot. She gave him a first-class ginseng. It was very good for Shopkeeper Han to give it to a noble person. This ginseng must have touched his heart.
Guo Su said with a smile, "Ginseng prices have been driving up so much these days. If you were to sell these two stalks of ginseng, you'd definitely be able to fetch two thousand taels of silver."
"Don't be stingy. These are all necessary expenses. You will understand later on that spending little money to accomplish great things is a better deal than any other."
Although she spoke frankly, Gu Youan was thinking in her heart that she had enough money and she felt that she had become generous.
As Gu Youan expected, Imperial Physician Zhang and Shopkeeper Han were very happy to receive the ginseng sent by Guo Su.
Imperial Physician Zhang did not keep the ginseng after receiving it. Like Shopkeeper Han, he took advantage of the time when ginseng was at its most valuable and waited until dark to personally deliver the ginseng to a wealthy family.
As for Manager Han, with the help of a top-grade ginseng given by Gu Youan, he was able to put this matter to rest and completely put his worries to rest.
After the work was done, Manager Han's pockets were almost empty and he couldn't buy any goods. It would be a waste to send his carriage back empty. Gu Youan discussed with Manager Han and asked him to lend her his carriage, and Manager Han agreed.
Shopkeeper Han knew that Gu Youan had caught a good time this time and must have made a lot of money, but when he saw that the cloth and other goods purchased by Gu Youan filled nearly one hundred carts of the Han family, Shopkeeper Han suddenly felt depressed.
Jealousy! Still jealous!
This money should have been earned by him!
Shopkeeper Han thought out of sight, out of mind, and on the way back he was not afraid of the heat and stayed in the carriage all day without getting out.
On the way back, with nothing to do, Shopkeeper Han naturally began to think about splitting up the family. He had previously considered not splitting up the family, but the events in Luoyang had made him determined to do so.
The eldest brother no longer trusts him. If the family is not divided, and when he goes out to do business in the future, his eldest brother will put two ignorant idiots in charge, the Han family will be completely finished, and so will he.
Everyone was waiting to go home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, so they traveled fast on the road. With the addition of the Du and Han families, the group totaled more than 300 people and more than 100 trucks. They looked like they were not to be trifled with. They passed through the customs smoothly and returned to Songjiang City on August 14.
When they entered the city, the Han family's carriage went to the Ping'an Escort Agency in the west of the city. The people from the Ping'an Escort Agency came out to help unload the goods and were busy.
Gu Wenqing and Tian Erlang were both out, and Master Guo was free and had been staying at the Gu family in the neighboring mountain village these days. When he heard the news that Gu Youan and the others had returned, Master Guo was very surprised when he rushed back to Songjiang City.
"Yuanchun and the others left first, and you left half a month later. The caravan Yuanchun was escorting hasn't returned yet, so why are you back now?"
"The escort leader and his men must have gone south, but we didn't. We sold and purchased goods in Luoyang, and are now back."
Guo Su ran up to Master Guo and said with a smile, "Godfather, we have to go on a business trip at the end of the month."
"Another trip at the end of the month? It'll surely be snowing when you get back."
"That's all right. We can all take the horses with us and then swap them out for horses to carry the goods. We won't have to worry about the snow being too thick to keep us going."
As boxes of goods were delivered to the vacant room of the escort agency, Gu Youan personally came to thank Master Guo: "This year has been so busy. If I hadn't borrowed the space from Ping An Escort Agency, I wouldn't have anywhere to store my goods."
Master Guo smiled and said, "It's not like you haven't spent money to borrow our escort agency's space to store your goods, so you're welcome. But you're also right. When your business grows, you'll need your own place to store your goods. You can have someone inspect it every day, and you'll have peace of mind."
Before Gu Youan decided to go into business, she was short of money, staff, and connections. Now that money is not so tight for business, and she has some connections, what she lacks most is her own staff.
After this trip, Uncle Du and the Du family members will return to Yizhou Prefecture after going south. Without their help to take care of things, she will have a lot of things to worry about on the way back.
"An An, the goods are all put away, let's go home."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Gu Youan followed his elder brother and Tian Jilang back to the neighboring mountain village to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and put his worries aside.
Gu Wenqing called Uncle Du and the Du family members, and they went to Zhang's pharmacy on East Street. Zhang Shinan locked the door and prepared to go home.
Zhang Yinshan joked, "Manager Gu is so arrogant. I heard he made a lot of money."
"Small money, all the money earned is small."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Du Qing smiled and pointed at Gu Youan, saying, "A tiger father has a good son. He is not arrogant and is a patient person."
Uncle Du and the Du family members also praised Gu Youan a lot and nodded in agreement with Du Qing's words.
The Gu family is getting better and better.
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