Chapter 69 Buying Books
Erdong quickly found out the news: "The person who reported you is the owner of a bookstore named Sun Cai."
Hu Xiner did not go out to the stall because her mood was disturbed today. She sat at home with Erdong and Mu Qing, each with a cup of tea, and discussed.
"Why did he report me?" Hu Xin'er had never heard of this bookstore.
"Sun Cai is the nephew of Daoyuan Sun. He has absolute power over the bookstores in the town. Almost all picture books are wholesaled from his bookstores." Erdong took a sip of tea. These things were not a secret in the town.
Hu Xin'er understood immediately: "You mean, my sketchbook business is so good that it's affecting his business, so he's targeting me?"
Erdong nodded.
"It's so despicable. Normal business competition is based on product quality. He has used such despicable means and has destroyed countless new stores. No wonder the quality of picture books in this town is so bad!" Hu Xiner slammed the table.
Erdong saw her hatred for evil and agreed with her: "What do you want to do? I'll support you!"
Hu Xin'er really couldn't swallow this insult: "I've decided to open a new picture book shop, right across from Sun Cai's bookshop, and the name is Mu Xin!"
Opening a shop requires preliminary preparations. Hu Xiner took Erdong and Mu Qing to buy books from booksellers.
Sun Cai relied on his connections to thrive in the town. In fact, the books in his bookstore were all purchased from booksellers, but he had no business acumen and only bought the cheapest and lowest quality books.
Erdong was looking for another bookseller, Lao Liu.
The small room was filled with books. Old Liu was dozing off when he suddenly heard a very pleasant voice: "How much is this book?"
"The price depends on what book you want." Old Liu looked up and was immediately stunned. He had never seen such a handsome man in all these years.
Mu Qing smiled slightly and told the types of books he wanted: "...I want 20 of each of these, 200 wen each. Are you willing to sell them?"
Books from this era were very precious. Except for the first time Hu Xin'er sold comics, she always sold them for 400 wen each.
200 Wen is really too low.
"200 wen is impossible!" Old Liu immediately put away the amazement in his eyes. "Besides, the quantity you bought is so small. If you buy another hundred books, I can sell them to you at 400 wen each."
"So expensive?" Mu Qing was surprised. "But I only want these, and this is the only price I can afford. Can't it be cheaper?"
"Just because she's not good-looking doesn't mean you can bargain for the price." Old Liu waved his hand.
"Okay." Mu Qing left disappointed.
A quarter of an hour later, a woman came out of the alley, apparently wanting to enjoy the cool air, and saw this hidden shop.
Old Liu ignored her. The woman spent a long while picking and choosing in the shop and asked, "Boss, these 20 books each, how much are they in total?"
"If you buy them together, each book will cost 600 wen." Old Liu said calmly.
Hu Xiner was a little speechless. Why was it that when Mu Qing asked, each book was 400 wen, but when she asked, each book was 600 wen?
Didn’t they say that appearance can’t be used to bargain for price?
"This is too expensive!" She put the book back. "I'll give you 100 wen each."
"You're sending away beggars?" Old Liu waved his hands repeatedly. "Why would a woman buy so many books?"
"The retail price at the Sun family's shop is only 100 wen per copy." Hu Xin'er looked suspicious. "Are you a profiteer?"
Old Liu glared and said, "How can you slander someone with empty words?"
He felt a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have sold it to the handsome young man just now. At least he really knew the value of it.
Hu Xiner left angrily.
Old Liu silently said to himself that he couldn't get angry with the young woman, and as time passed, his eyes half-closed.
Just when I was about to fall asleep, my vision suddenly went dark.
Erdong smiled brightly at him: "Old Liu, do you want to do business?"
"It's you." Old Liu also knew this "legged boy".
"Since we know each other, let's give you a price we're acquainted with." Erdong held out his hand, rubbing his index finger and thumb together. "50 wen a copy, how's that?"
"You're collecting waste paper?" Old Liu roared, "Even the ones I collect cost more than 50 wen!"
"We are all knowledgeable people. Other booksellers have books for 30 wen a copy." Erdong smiled disdainfully, "I want a large quantity."
"No matter how much you buy, you still can't buy my book at 30 cents a copy!" Old Liu said angrily. He is also a book lover, otherwise he would not insist on selling good books when bad money drives out good money in the market.
The cheap books sold by other book vendors were of extremely low quality and thin, with burrs on the paper. The painting and calligraphy were even more atrocious.
He grabbed the book and showed it to Erdong. Erdong waved his hands helplessly: "No matter how good your book is, others sell it cheaper. I won't be able to sell it even if I buy it."
Old Liu stopped talking and put the book away carefully: "When you collect books from me in the future, don't ever come to my place again."
He turned around and refused to talk to Erdong. Erdong took out 300 coins from his pocket, took a book and left: "No offense."
Erdong's figure disappeared at the end of the alley. Old Liu was very sad. Among all the people he met this afternoon, the young man who appeared at the beginning was the most sincere.
In fact, at 200 wen per copy, he still makes a profit.
But it was no use regretting it. As he was about to close the stall, he sighed, and suddenly a clear female voice came from behind him.
"Hey! Boss!" Hu Xin'er came over, clutching a wrinkled wallet. "I bought a lot of books. Can you give me a discount?"
In the end, she received a large number of high-quality books at an average price of 300 wen per book, and asked Lao Liu to deliver the books to her door.
Erdong was a little puzzled: "You want us to act out a play just to buy a book? It has delayed almost a whole day."
"Go take a look at those books." Hu Xiner opened one at random.
Erdong was surprised. "The paper quality of this book is excellent, and the writing and painting are both top-notch. Even if it's just the price, it should be more than 300 wen. It's just that there are so few copies, and I don't know how Hu Xin'er picked them out."
Hu Xin'er began to explain the ins and outs of the matter. "If I were to buy a good book like this directly, I would definitely ask for a high price. But after all the twists and turns, his emotions are unstable, so he thinks 300 wen is not a bad price."
"You are simply a business genius!" Erdong exclaimed.
Mu Qing looked very proud that such a powerful woman was his wife!
After the renovations were completed, the shop opened quickly. Hu Xin'er held a major promotion, offering 20% off everything in the store, along with a special offer section. She even displayed a large, elaborate flyer at the entrance, which was quite eye-catching.
Almost all the customers were attracted over there, and Sun Daoyuan's nephew was so angry that his teeth were itching!
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