Chapter 43: Prime Minister Song punishes profiteers
Perhaps because her tone was a little frivolous, the lantern shop owner laughed out loud: "Sir, playing this game is all about luck and skill. If you have the ability to get a few more, just take them all. Today is such a good day. I opened the shop not to make a lot of money, but to let everyone have fun."
Seeing the calculation in the other party's smile, Song Yunchu raised his eyebrows slightly, "Well, let's do ten circles."
The business is not opened for making money, how dare you say such hypocritical words.
The boss quickly took out ten rings and handed them to Song Yunchu. The moment Song Yunchu took the rings, he understood why the boss dared to say that - if you have the ability to get a few more, just take them all.
The circle feels very smooth, and the positions of the lanterns high up that can be hung by the circle seem to be carefully designed, such as rabbit ears, butterfly antennae, and peony leaves. These parts are made small and round, and some are hung at an angle. Even if the circle is barely put on, it is very likely to slip off.
The rules of the game are that the circle must be firmly hung on the lantern to be considered successful.
If you can get one of the five circles right, you won't lose money. However, according to the rules designed by the lantern owner, there are many people who spend money but go home empty-handed. The cost spent by the guests is far higher than the value of the lantern itself.
What a profiteer.
"Please, sir." The lantern shop owner took two steps back and pointed to the spot where he had just stood. "Please stand in the grid I drew. Don't lean too far forward. If you step out of this area, it won't count even if you're put on."
Song Yunchu stepped in according to the rules, looked up at the rabbit lantern she wanted, and threw the ring in her hand up into the air casually.
Finally it was firmly hung on the rabbit's ear.
The smile on the lantern shop owner's lips paused slightly, but the guests around him cheered continuously.
"Amazing! I got it right in one go!"
"This rabbit lantern is the most beautiful. It's a great deal to get it right in one circle. It seems like this is a master."
"It could also be luck, let's see."
Song Yunchu threw out the second circle and caught the tentacles of the butterfly lantern next to the rabbit lantern.
The third circle caught the tail of the carp lantern again.
The fourth circle caught the tail of the monkey lantern.
When Song Yunchu's fifth ring caught another flower lantern, the lantern owner could no longer hold back his anxiety and walked up to ask, "Did you tamper with my ring?"
"You gave me all these rings. There are so many eyes watching me. What can I do?"
Song Yunchu found it a little funny, "If you think I cheated, just check it yourself."
The lantern shop owner snatched the hoop from her hand and rubbed it carefully, and indeed there was no trace of glue.
Song Yunchu noticed his impatience and said slowly, "You just said that I would take as many as I could catch. You set up the stall not to make money, but to make the customers happy. Have you checked it? If you have, continue catching it."
She has learned to use Song Xiang's muscle memory flexibly. As a master, hitting the target every time is the most basic operation.
Hoop tossing is easier than archery. She doesn't have to rely on luck like most customers, but only on skill.
In addition to accuracy, strength is also crucial. She has to make sure that the hoop will not sway left and right when it is hung up. The strength must be appropriate. If the strength is not well controlled, the hoop may fall off while swaying.
"Okay, okay, the five you just put on are yours. You don't need to put on these five circles. I'll return your money to you."
The initial smile on the boss's face had disappeared, and he had no intention of letting Song Yunchu continue playing.
"How can that be?" Song Yunchu narrowed his eyes. "At first I said I only wanted one circle, but you insisted on persuading me to buy more. I bought more for you, but you can't afford it. You have to be trustworthy when you do business. You are allowed to make money, but the customers are not allowed to benefit?"
The lantern shop owner's face turned pale after hearing what he said.
Too many customers had returned disappointed before, making him earn a lot of money, so he felt that the gameplay he designed was really clever, but he never expected that he would hit a wall.
The man in front of him did not rely on luck or cheating, but on real ability. He controlled the position and strength of the throwing circle very accurately.
If he had known this would happen, he should not have persuaded Song Yunchu to buy more circles, which has led to his current embarrassing situation.
Seeing that Song Yunchu and the boss were in a stalemate, the guests around them began to talk about it.
"This gentleman is right. You have made so much money before, so what's wrong with letting others make a few lanterns? Many people before you couldn't catch one of your lanterns with more than ten circles. Now that you see a master coming, you don't want to do business with him. How can this be justified in the world?"
"That's right. They got it by their own ability. They didn't cheat you. Why shouldn't you let them continue?"
"Your way of playing is to gamble on luck. You set the rules yourself. You have to accept whether you win or lose. How can you not afford to play like this?"
Rumors are scary. The lantern owner bit his lip and finally decided to admit defeat. He took a deep breath and said to Song Yunchu, "I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have looked down on you. I'm just a small business. I can't afford to lose money when I meet a master like you."
"Sir, how about this? I don't want the money you paid for the rings anymore. You can just take the ones you just caught. Please be kind and let me go."
Seeing that he had a good attitude, Song Yunchu did not intend to embarrass him. He crossed his arms and said, "I don't need to use the remaining circles, and you don't have to return the money for the circles. I just want to ask, do you really think there is no problem with the rules you set?"
What Song Yunchu didn't know was that there were two pairs of eyes in the crowd behind her who were intently watching her every move.
The lantern owner listened to her and looked away guiltily.
He was indeed being cunning. Before setting up the stall, he had asked his family members to try it out. If they were lucky, they could catch a lantern with seven or eight loops. If they were unlucky, they might fail even after dozens of loops.
He was not worried about meeting lucky customers, because most people had to try many times before they won. He would be helpless when he met someone like him who always won.
"Have you ever thought that people might come to your store for your novelty at first, but if you let most people go home disappointed, you will go bankrupt in a few days. Customers are not fools. If they spend a lot of money but can't buy a little happiness, will they be willing to come again? Even if you make more beautiful lanterns later, no one will buy them."
The lantern owner was stunned.
His business has only been open for three days. He makes a lot of profit every day, but he really doesn't have any repeat customers.
"Customers buy circles because they like your lanterns. How can you not give them a little sweet taste? Some people buy thirty or fifty circles, but can't put any on. They may get annoyed when they see you in the future. You know how difficult it is to put on your lanterns. If you want to plan for the long term, you should come up with a minimum rule."
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