The tall man carefully examined the charcoal in the brazier; what else could it be but black charcoal!
"If black charcoal is this good, then your white charcoal must be the best you can get!" the tall man exclaimed.
The tall man's reaction startled Lu Qiqi. She withdrew her hand and warmed her cold ears with her hot hands. She still needed to make herself some earmuffs, otherwise her ears would freeze off.
Li Shoucai greeted the customer, "Brother, are you looking to buy this white charcoal?"
"How much is your black charcoal?" The tall man was clearly not interested in the white charcoal; his eyes were fixed on the firelight in the charcoal brazier.
Just as Lu Dahai was about to speak, Lu Qiqi interrupted him, "How much charcoal do you want, sir? There's a discount for the largest quantity."
The tall man was surprised that among a group of grown men, it was actually a young girl who made the decision. However, he would not look down on women. There are many women who hold up half the sky. For example, his own shopkeeper is also a woman. Who doesn't admire her and respect her?
The tall man said, "If I could take all of your charcoal, what price would you offer me?"
Lu Qiqi smiled brightly and said, "How about 1,500 wen per cart, with 500 jin per cart?"
“Young lady, 1,500 cash per cart isn’t even a discounted price,” the tall man said with a smile after a moment of surprise upon hearing Lu Qiqi’s quote.
The short, stout man opposite him hadn't expected that Lu Qiqi would dare to ask for such an exorbitant price of 1,500 coins for a cart of charcoal.
Anyone who buys this charcoal is a sucker!
Lu Qiqi blinked and smiled faintly, "My charcoal is good. It burns completely without leaving any residue or smoke."
"The fact that there is no charcoal smoke alone would make the gentleman interested in buying it."
The tall man agreed with what Lu Qiqi said. Buying white charcoal would cost more than this much, but the price had increased significantly, so he would have to think it over before making a decision.
Lu Dahai was surprised when he heard Lu Qiqi's price; he had only sold a cart of charcoal for four hundred coins yesterday.
Lu Qiqi demanded a price that more than doubled!
Seeing that the tall man was hesitant to speak, Lu Dahai was afraid that the deal would fall through. He was about to tug at Lu Qiqi's sleeve, hoping she would lower the price and sell the charcoal.
Then the tall man said, "Fine, I'll take all of your charcoal. Take it to Zuixianju for me."
Upon hearing this, the short, fat man was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped. He never expected that there would actually be such a sucker!
For a moment, she didn't know whether to envy Lu Qiqi's good luck or laugh at the tall man for being foolish and rich!
"May I ask your name, sir?" Lu Qiqi asked.
“My surname is Dai, and I am the manager of Zuixianju,” Manager Dai said. “If your charcoal catches our manager’s eye, she will take as much as you have.”
Lu Qiqi naturally had great faith in the purchasing power of a large restaurant. The charcoal supplied to guests in winter would be at least two hundred catties a day, let alone a large restaurant in Luzhou Prefecture.
After Manager Dai finalized the order for the charcoal, he took Li Shoucai and Lu Dahai to Zuixianju, leaving Li Changlong and Lu Qiqi to guard the remaining white charcoal.
Feeling bored and with the people opposite her no longer daring to cause trouble, Lu Qiqi said to Li Changlong, "Second Brother, I'm going out for a walk. You stay and watch this stall."
Li Changlong assumed that Lu Qiqi was just a young girl with aspirations and curiosity about Luzhou Prefecture, so he didn't stop her. "Go and have fun without worry, but be careful of beggars."
His second sister is incredibly beautiful; if she were to be targeted by a child trafficker, he would be in deep trouble.
Lu Qiqi said with a laugh, "When you run into a beggar, I don't know whether he or I will suffer."
That's true. Li Changlong had actually forgotten how formidable Lu Qiqi was. He smiled sheepishly.
...
Lu Qiqi didn't go out to play as Li Changlong suggested; she was still thinking about the charcoal cakes.
So, Lu Qiqi went to the perfume shop next to the largest clothing shop in Luzhou Prefecture. She remembered that the female shopkeeper inside was very easy to talk to.
Upon entering the perfume shop, a fragrant aroma wafted towards her. Lu Qiqi gently rubbed her nose and stepped through the shop's door.
The pretty female shopkeeper greeted Lu Qiqi with a handkerchief in hand, "What would you like to buy, young lady? I've just received a new batch of face powder, the kind that all the noble ladies in the capital use."
Lu Qiqi smiled and asked, "Do you sell charcoal cakes here?"
"You mean incense charcoal balls, right? We have all kinds of incense you want," the shopkeeper said with a smile.
Lu Qiqi said, "I'd like to discuss a charcoal business deal with you, shopkeeper. Would you be interested in hearing about it?"
Feng Yi was surprised that Lu Qiqi was there to do business. She smiled and said, "Looking at your pretty face, why shouldn't I listen?"
Lu Qiqi then told Feng Yi that she had a batch of good charcoal and that she could take Feng Yi's order to make charcoal cakes.
The face powder was purchased from Feng Yi, while Lu Qiqi was responsible for the labor, charcoal, and other supplies.
"Of the silver from the sale, you get three and I get seven."
This was the first time Fengyi had ever seen such a young girl do business, and she was able to explain her entire plan in an orderly manner without showing any fear.
“I’m not losing out on this deal at all,” Fengyi said. “What if the customers aren’t satisfied with the charcoal cakes you make?”
Lu Qiqi smiled confidently, "Impossible! If the customer is not satisfied, I can process a full return, and I will cover all losses."
Seeing how bold and decisive Lu Qiqi was in her speech and actions, Feng Yi thought that if she didn't even have this much courage, she wouldn't need to run a perfume shop here.
Feng Yi immediately replied, "Okay, I'll have someone bring you the order right away. You have to deliver the goods to me on time, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to you."
“I, Fengyi, value integrity the most in business. You can’t let me ruin my reputation.”
"Thank you for your trust, Manager Feng. I, Lu Qiqi, will certainly live up to your expectations!" Lu Qiqi said with a determined look.
Feng Yi handed the list and the perfume powder to Lu Qiqi. Lu Qiqi paid for the perfume powder and then went out. She walked to the corner and put all the perfume powder into her spatial storage.
Then she went to a clothing store and bought a lot of cloaks. She didn't feel it when she went out this morning, but now she feels like she's freezing to death.
Lu Qiqi chose a red cloak to put on, which made her small face look even whiter and prettier.
Lu Qiqi asked the clothing store owner to deliver the cloak she bought to Li Changlong in the alley.
She went to the blacksmith's shop and bought a lot of copper wire. The blacksmith's shop had only a little copper wire left, which Lu Qiqi bought to make earmuffs.
Not content with just buying copper wire, Lu Qiqi also took out a blueprint and showed it to the blacksmith.
"Master craftsman, take a look at this. Can you make it?"
The old blacksmith stared at the diagram drawn by Lu Qiqi, which was marked in various places. Some of these places were places he had never seen in his half-life of blacksmithing, and he was momentarily stunned.
"Can you do it?" Lu Qiqi asked again.
The old blacksmith was quite excited. He said, "Young lady, can I try making this? I've never seen anything like it before. If I can't make it well, I won't take a single penny!"
Lu Qiqi said, "Of course, no problem, as long as you keep it a secret and don't leak the blueprints."
"Of course, I know the rules, you can rest assured," the old blacksmith said solemnly.
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