As soon as Meng Zhao finished speaking, Manager Li couldn't wait to stand up and applaud in agreement, "Brilliant! These noble gentlemen love to compete. If rare items that they can't buy normally are put in front of them, won't they fight tooth and nail for them? In that case, we can enhance our reputation and get a good price. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
His joy stemmed from the fact that Li's Pharmacy specialized in rare and precious medicinal herbs. In his view, when it came to competing on the availability of rare herbs, apart from Qiao Yanhe's Yanshan Hall, no other pharmacy could rival Li's. Once they were in the limelight, business would naturally boom.
Seeing his confident demeanor, the other managers around him had different expressions. Manager Yan snorted coldly, "Judging from Manager Li's posture, it seems like he has already won the battle?"
"That's right, do you really think we don't have any hidden treasures?" someone else chimed in.
Manager Li then realized that he had been too complacent. He thought to himself: if the other pharmacies didn't participate and he was the only one performing, he wouldn't even get any recognition even if he won.
So he quickly sat back down with an embarrassed smile and apologized, "You two have misunderstood. I just think Manager Meng's idea is really brilliant. When the time comes, we will all show our best skills. Winning or losing will only bring glory to the medicine business."
As he spoke, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Meng Zhao: "I hope Manager Meng will put in the effort to ensure that everyone participates. This medicine-making competition is naturally better the more lively it is."
Meng Zhao took in the subtle power struggles among them and chuckled to herself. Whenever a competition was involved, it would stir up the competitive spirit deep in people's hearts. So she continued, "Please let me finish. This 'Medicine Competition' is just the beginning. We have many more tricks up our sleeve."
For example, there would be a "Medicinal Herb Competition," where each family would bring out their best recipes to compare their effectiveness against common ailments. Or there would be a "Medicinal Cuisine Contest," to see whose medicinal herbs complemented their dishes best. There would also be a "Blindly Identifying Herbs" competition to test each family's ability to identify and distinguish medicinal herbs. Finally, there could be a "Flying Flower Order," where talented men and women from the city would be invited to compose poems and couplets based on the names of medicinal herbs.
In addition, special benefit events can be set up, offering affordable and readily available common medicinal herbs, such as plasters for treating bruises and sprains, herbal tea bags for clearing heat and reducing inflammation, and insect repellent sachets for repelling snakes, insects, and rodents. Those who come to join the fun will inevitably take some home with them.
With a new twist every few days for a month, how could you not attract customers or build a reputation?
Everyone listened with great excitement, as if they could already see the bustling scene at the herbal medicine shop. Seeing that the time was ripe, Meng Zhao immediately cut to the chase and swiftly moved to the other two blackboards.
"Please take a look, everyone. This is the layout of the various counters in the shop. The location is different, and the price and requirements are naturally different as well. The most expensive location has a monthly rent of three hundred taels of silver, while the cheapest is only a few dozen taels of silver. You can choose a suitable location according to your own business characteristics. First come, first served. You can sign a contract and settle the contract today."
Qiao Yanhe leaned forward slightly, a shrewd glint in her eyes: "What exactly did Manager Meng mean by the 'requirement' he just mentioned?"
"President Qiao has a good question. Since we have rented a good location, there should be corresponding output. I will set different sales targets based on the location's advantages and disadvantages. If the targets are not met, the position will be replaced next year."
The shopkeepers looked at each other, surprised that Shopkeeper Meng would have to consider these things even after renting out her counter. However, the prospect of the medicinal herb business that she had just described was indeed tempting. In an instant, everyone stood up and began to choose their favorite spot.
"I want the one on the second floor, east side, by the window!"
"I'll take the one closest to the door!"
"Slow down, slow down, don't push."
The private room immediately became lively, but Meng Zhao deliberately left the best seat empty, which was reserved for Qiao Yanhe. After all, as the initiator of the herbal medicine business and the manager of Yanshan Hall, he naturally had to give her face. Moreover, given Qiao Yanhe's status, the other pharmacy owners couldn't say anything against her.
Meng Zhao had already spoken with Qiao Yanhe, and the two quietly left the private room. Reaching the corridor, Qiao Yanhe leaned against the railing and asked with a half-smile, "Seeing how much you've worked for the herbal medicine business, I thought you'd ask for a cut."
"The herbal medicine shop hasn't opened yet, and its success is still unknown. It's too early to talk about commissions." However, she naturally wouldn't just shout for nothing, and she naturally thought of a method just as good as commissions.
After the banquet, most of the shops in the herbal medicine store were sold, all in prime locations. Meng Zhao wasn't in a hurry for the remaining two or three slightly out-of-the-way counters; he would simply wait for the right customers to come.
That evening, after returning home, Meng Zhao did not go straight home, but instead went to the Shen family. When the Shen family servants saw that it was her visiting, they bowed and said, "Madam Meng, the old lady went out to a banquet today and has not returned yet. Lord Shen also went out just now, saying that he would be back soon."
Meng Zhao nodded slightly: "It's alright, I'll go inside and wait for a while."
She walked through the corridor with practiced ease and arrived at the front hall. The hall was quiet, and Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a boy of about seven or eight years old was writing something on a wooden table.
Hearing footsteps, the child looked up, revealing a delicate, beautiful face. When he saw Meng Zhao enter, he put down his brush, slid off the chair, and stood respectfully to the side.
Seeing that the child was handsome and adorable, Meng Zhao squatted down to look him in the eye and asked in a low voice, "Little friend, whose child are you? What were you writing just now?"
The child stared with his big, dark eyes and didn't say a word. Meng Zhao thought to herself that he was probably disciplined at home and not allowed to talk to strangers. So she softened her voice and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person. I won't hurt you."
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