Chapter 22
After dealing with the Caokou Daiwang matter, Liu Danchen and I boarded the high-speed train north. Liu Danchen got off in Xinshi, as he had a lot of other things to do, so I took the train to Shishi.
I returned to Fuyuantang and asked Xiaorong how business was going these days. Xiaorong was obviously a boss now. She reported the performance to me and said that Xinjie came to see me every day these days.
I'd already seen the text message he'd sent me on my phone. He hadn't come to visit me this time to pester me, but rather to announce that he and He Man had finalized a deal. Of course, this wasn't his own decision; Rui had negotiated with He Man. He'd contacted me to get me to attend their opening ceremony, but I hadn't checked my phone because I was busy with Kusakuchi Dai-no-Ou. I only found out on the way home.
The date was set for the sixth day of this month, which is the day after tomorrow, and I agreed to him.
When the day arrived, Xin Jie came to pick me up. When we arrived, He Manzheng and Rui Jie were waiting for me. This jewelry store is located in Xinhai Plaza, in the heart of Shijiazhuang, and is bustling with people. Capital is provided by Xinhai Bank, and He's Jewelry supplies the goods, making it a formidable combination.
I couldn't come empty-handed. The day before yesterday, I commissioned a plaque with the inscription "Prosperity and Prosperity." It was finished last night. I carved cloud patterns into it and imbued it with ghostly spirits, making it a major magical artifact. Entering the shop, I scanned the layout, taking note of any inappropriateness. After today, I'll tell Sister Rui about the layout. After all, she'll still be overseeing this shop. As for Xin Jie, he can't be the owner.
After helping out in the jewelry store for a day, I went straight to bed when I got home.
I was woken by a phone call. I looked at my phone and saw it was already noon the next day. It seemed like these past few days had really worn me out. Ever since I got back, I've been busy with that plaque, without a single moment's rest.
The call was from He Man. She invited me to go to Thailand to investigate the market. Now that her cooperation with Xin's has been completed, all that remains is for her to sell ritual objects with me in Thailand.
This matter had indeed been delayed for a long time, so I agreed to her proposal immediately. This was my first time going abroad in my life, and although it was to Thailand, I was still a little excited.
On the plane, He Man told me a lot about Thailand, saying it had a strong religious atmosphere and was a great place to sell Buddhist instruments. We got off the plane in Chiang Mai and were greeted by many people, most of whom were security guards.
The public security in Thailand is not as good as in China. There are people missing or kidnapped every year, so security is very important.
I looked around and saw a Buddha statue every three steps and a temple every five steps. It seemed that religion was very developed in Thailand. When we arrived at the Xien Hotel, He Man and I were the only ones left in the room.
I couldn't help but think of the Kumantong, so I asked He Man about it.
She knows more details, and I also learned from her that many people in China are raising Kumantongs now, and not just one, but many.
"Then why don't you do the Kumantong business? I heard that thing is very effective." I asked.
"The production of Kumantong requires the bones of deceased children, which is something I cannot accept. Whether it is Luang Pu Kumantong or Ajahn Kumantong, I think they are both harmful to nature. Moreover, the orthodox ritual instruments are even better than Kumantong. We in the He family have no worries about customers. This time I came to Thailand just to open up the market with ritual instruments." He Man said confidently.
If we use magic tools to enter the Thai market, it will inevitably have an impact on the traditional Kumantong. However, these are business wars. I only need to make good magic tools, and the rest will naturally be handled by He Man's team.
Seeing is believing, I wanted to see what the real Luang Pu Kumantong was like. The one I met last time was Ajahn Kumantong, not a Kumantong blessed by an orthodox temple, but a folk evil method.
He Man took me to a temple selling authentic Luang Phor Kumantong amulets. As soon as I entered, I felt a genuine sense of peace. He Man explained that the Kumantong amulets originated as a comfort for mothers whose babies died prematurely, but later evolved into objects that attract wealth and ward off evil. These authentic Kumantong amulets require good intentions and, after a wish is fulfilled, children's toys must be bought for them, otherwise misfortune will befall them.
Children are fickle-minded. In my opinion, doing this is like walking on a tightrope. If you are not careful, you will be crushed to pieces.
From this perspective, it is indeed not as good as a magical weapon, at least it will not kill you. Of course, unless someone does something bad, but who can guarantee that this Kumantong will not be harmed by someone?
"Are you sure?" He Man asked me on the way back.
"In terms of effectiveness, I can guarantee that the magic weapon I make is definitely stronger than their Kumantong," I said.
"That's fine, leave the rest to me. If we can take over the Thai market, we will definitely make a lot of money," she said.
We discussed a few details, one of which was that we would have to engrave a unique symbol on the instruments, which would be like a trademark and would actually be used to prevent counterfeiting. This business in Thailand, after all, is about volume, unlike what I was doing at Fuyuantang.
Creating brand power while simultaneously preventing counterfeiting is a real challenge. Building brand power isn't difficult, but preventing counterfeiting is. Only I can identify my ghost spirits, as this is a unique ability of our ghost clan, completely undetectable by others.
Eh? Why don't I ask Uncle Gui Qing if I can find some people from the tribe to help He Man run the business? Nowadays, not all ghosts gather in our tribe. Many of them have jobs outside.
"I'll make a call, Sister Man," I said.
He Man nodded, knowing that I must have a solution.
After calling Uncle Gui Qing, I told him my idea. The Ghost Clan needs money to operate. If we can take over this industry, it will be enough to make up for the Ghost Clan's losses. And this is just Thailand. If He Man expands into the mainland market in the future, we might not even have enough people in the Ghost Clan!
After hearing this, Uncle Gui Qing said he would report it to the clan immediately and asked me to wait for a call.
My phone rang soon, and unexpectedly it was the high priest calling.
He told me on the phone that we, the ghost people, are unwilling to do business in a foreign country because it is too far away from home.
Hearing this news, He Man hurriedly said, "Is Hong Kong okay?"
The high priest thought for a while and said that one person could be sent from Hong Kong, but he must be able to return in time during festivals or when something happens to our ghost tribe.
He Man agreed to the high priest without thinking.
There was another silence on the other end. Just when I thought no one from Thailand would come, the high priest suddenly spoke up, "Xiaoqing told me about your last encounter with the Soul Devourer in Stone City. That was quite good. Now you've gotten us another advantage. How about this? I can send your parents to Thailand. If anyone from our tribe is willing to contact us later, we can have them come back. If not, they can help run our business there. What do you say?"
I didn't catch the phone in time and it almost fell to the ground.
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