However, Su Qingluan did not have much patience to accompany Xie Deshun in acting out a sad drama with tears and snot. She looked at him with a half-smile as he complained, which made him unable to pretend anymore and he shut up awkwardly.
She raised an eyebrow: "Why don't you continue to talk about your difficulties?"
Xie Deshun was a little embarrassed: "This... isn't it because I'm afraid that Madam Su will dislike me, a grown man, wiping tears and being annoying?"
Su Qingluan rolled her eyes inwardly, but pretended to understand something. "So this is all the intention of the Xie family's patriarch, that Mr. Xie? I'll have to talk to him about it when I get a chance. Business is about the long term. How can you maliciously manipulate prices just for a small profit?"
Hearing Su Qingluan say this, Xie Deshun was shocked: It is true that there was an order from above to increase profits as much as possible, but it was indeed his own decision to maliciously speculate and drive up prices.
Although this can be considered as relieving his master's worries, if Xie Xuanfan turns against him and sacrifices his pawns to save his chariot, he will be in a difficult situation!
Thinking of this, Xie Deshun was so frightened that a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. Now he looked really sad. "Hey, Madam Su, please calm down. We can discuss anything, right? We can discuss it."
Because he was not sure who was behind Su Qingluan, Xie Deshun didn't know whether she really had the ability to confront Xie Xuanfan.
The key point was that Xie Deshun couldn't afford to take the risk, so he simply confessed the malicious price manipulation.
Although Su Qingluan had guessed it long ago, she still looked very shocked: "Manager Xie, it's not very decent of you to do this, is it?"
Now that the matter has been exposed, Manager Xie has nothing to hide. However, he also admitted that this malicious hype to push up the price of jam is entirely because Su Qingluan will not be able to produce new jam in the next six months. He is also worried that "Su Ji" will be imitated by others during this period.
Xie Deshun's words were not completely false. Even though this concern was not the only reason for the price speculation, it still accounted for a considerable proportion.
Su Qingluan could tell he wasn't lying, so she smiled and said, "It's hard to say that Su Ji won't be replaced, but it's also easy. I'm naturally confident that the jam recipe won't be copied easily, but compared to Manager Xie's dry words, you don't have much confidence in me, do you?"
It was a blunt remark, but it was also the truth. Su Qing then said to Butler Xie meaningfully, "An item is irreplaceable not only because of its inherent quality, but also because of its emotional appeal. Many street vendors, even after a winter of inactivity, still have regular customers yearning for it the following year. That's the same logic."
To put it bluntly, in addition to the good taste of the jam itself that makes people miss it, it can also be made "unforgettable" in other ways - of course, this is the job of Butler Xie.
Su Qingluan believed that with a smart person like Xie Deshun, he would definitely be able to do a good job in things like "managing and shaping brand culture" - after all, she had already given him some hints, right?
in addition……
"Remember to let our guests know that our Suji fruits are carefully selected from the pure natural mountains and wilds. The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, and the fruits absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Naturally, the taste is different from other places."
Manager Xie originally believed in the idea that "the quality of raw materials is very important for delicious food". Later, he tasted wild berries produced in other places and found that they tasted different from those in Huaxi Village. Therefore, he became more convinced of what Su Qingluan said.
However, few people know that the reason why the fruit jam prepared by Su Qingluan is so sweet and sour is not only because of the taste of the fruit itself, but also because she put a lot of effort into the "seasoning" in the later stage.
Of course, Su Qingluan would not tell Xie Deshun the details, but Xie Deshun understood what Su Qingluan wanted to express: even if there are people who want to imitate, through proper operation, they can become "Dong Shi Xiou Pin".
In the end, Su Qingluan signed another temporary contract with the Xie family. Since the price of the jam had already been driven up, there was naturally no question of suddenly cutting off the retreat and lowering the price. However, this malicious price increase was certainly not in line with the profit-sharing rules that Su Qingluan had mentioned at the beginning. Therefore, for this year's batch of high-priced jams, Su Qingluan would get another one or two gold coins for each jar.
Next spring, as a new batch of fruits grow, Su Qingluan can continue to expand the scale of production. In addition, it is the new year, so there will be plenty of reasons to "readjust prices" at that time.
On the way back, Su Qingluan naturally still rode in the Xie Mansion's carriage. She even asked Steward Xie for a hand warmer that could hold hot charcoal.
Of course, Su Qingluan was not so shameless as to ask for it directly. At first, she planned to borrow it for use, so she put it in the carriage and asked the servant to bring it back.
Finally, Xie Deshun said, "Since this little thing has won the favor of Madam Su, I might as well give it to Su Qingzi to warm her hands."
Su Qingluan was not polite and accepted it with a smile. Holding it in her hand, it indeed warmed up her frozen hands.
Su Qingluan wasn't particularly happy about the extra few hundred gold coins she'd earned from her trip. It wasn't that she'd suddenly become aloof and indifferent to money, but rather that her attention was now focused on another matter: why was Xie Deshun so anxious and maliciously driving up the price of "Su Ji" jam?
Although Su Qingluan did not take all of Xie Deshun's words as nonsense, she did believe only part of them.
Manager Xie might have acted on his own initiative, but Xie Xuanfan would never believe that he was completely unaware of his every move.
It is rather surprising that the Xie family is so "stingy" and uses the method of plucking feathers from passing geese to make money. In her opinion, neither Manager Xie nor Xie Xuanfan himself should be so short-sighted for such a small amount of money.
That’s right, it’s “this little bit of money”.
From ten taels of gold per jar to twenty taels of gold, the total amount can be increased by about three to four thousand gold.
For ordinary people, these three or four thousand gold coins may be a huge fortune that they cannot squander in ten lifetimes. However, for a wealthy family like the Xie family, which owns fiefdoms and court salaries, and even has many shops and fertile lands of their own, a few thousand gold coins is not a small amount, but it does not reach the level of "astronomical figures".
However, even such a small amount of money could make the master and servant of the Xie family behave so shamelessly - after all, malicious hype may be effective in the short term, but it will definitely be discovered over time.
This was also when Su Qingluan told Xie Deshun when signing the temporary contract that this "overpriced" situation could only last until this year at most. When a new batch of fruits came out in the spring of next year, she would definitely lower the price slowly.
After all, the cooperation with the Xie family can be terminated at any time, but she wants to manage the "Su Ji" brand well and doesn't want to ruin the brand just after starting.
But... Su Qingluan frowned slightly: She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that the Xie family's posture seemed to be raising money for some urgent matter.
Before she could figure it out, the rumbling sound of her stomach disrupted her thoughts.
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