Lin Wan'er was taken aback: "You, a dignified county magistrate, are actually personally selling white sugar?"
Not to mention that Daqing has laws prohibiting officials from engaging in business!
Even if he could, he shouldn't be so undignified.
Tang Huan looked surprised: "Why can't I sell white sugar?"
"Is that even a question?" Lin Wan'er's eyes widened. "All professions are inferior, and merchants are the worst of the worst. You studied hard for years and became a county magistrate, yet you do such a lowly thing. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Tang Huan hissed, "Are you insulting me, or your young lady? What about your master?"
He pointed at Wu Lanxi.
"She's not a businesswoman? Her father isn't a businessman? Are you implying she's low-class?"
Lin Wan'er was shocked: "What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly scold Miss!"
"alright."
Wu Lanxi stopped the two from arguing in time.
"Wan'er is young and impulsive, please don't take offense, Lord Tang. Your white sugar is indeed of good quality. I have never seen it in the capital before. May I ask how much it costs?"
Tang Huan smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. It's the third anniversary of the invention of white sugar, so there are many special offers and activities. This white sugar usually costs thirty taels of silver, but now it's half price."
Lin Wan'er was stunned: "Half price? Fifteen taels of silver per catty?"
"One tael."
Lin Wan'er was dumbfounded. "Fifteen taels of silver can only buy one tael of white sugar?"
You could have just robbed them like a bandit, but you insisted on giving them a piece of sugar instead!
Even Wu Lanxi was taken aback: "Lord Tang, is this the price in your area?"
Unlike Lin Wan'er, she wasn't easily fooled and quickly realized something was wrong.
If it were really that expensive, the innkeeper wouldn't have given it to her so easily.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Tang Huan immediately chuckled and said, "Things in our Qihuai County are two completely different things, one for internal use and one for external use."
"Locally... it only costs one hundred coins."
Lin Wan'er was so angry upon hearing this that she felt like her lungs were about to explode, and she poked his nose with her finger.
"You guys are really outrageous! Fifteen taels of silver for outsiders, but only one hundred coins for insiders? What do you take outsiders for!"
Tang Huan grasped her fingers and chuckled, "I'm telling the truth, I never intended to lie to you."
"Doing business is all about mutual consent. If you're not willing, it's fine not to do business with you."
Actually, there's one more thing he didn't mention.
Internally, they consume only refined sugar.
This coarse white sugar is so bad that nobody wants it even if it's given away for free!
"you!"
"Wan'er, stop arguing."
Wu Lanxi looked at Tang Huan: "Even if this white sugar is a rare item, fifteen taels is too expensive and it won't sell."
"How could they not sell?"
To clear out the inventory, Tang Huan simply started sharing his business acumen.
"Let me tell you, the two types of goods that sell best are cheap goods, because everyone wants to get a bargain, it's human nature."
"The other type is rare and valuable commodities! Like this white sugar, as long as you get the positioning right and find the right target market, you can easily earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a day."
Lin Wan'er was shocked: "Earning tens of thousands of taels of silver a day? Do you think we're fools?!"
Even at the height of the previous dynasty, the national treasury only held a little over seven million taels of silver a year.
According to him, selling only white sugar could earn the equivalent of a national treasury's revenue in just two years?
Pure nonsense!
Tang Huan waved her hand, signaling her to calm down.
"You think it's expensive, but rich people don't. I ask you, what do rich people want when they buy things?"
Lin Wan'er frowned: "Of course, it's because the items are good!"
"Wrong!" Tang Huan immediately denied. "Do rich people lack good things? Do they need you to sell them to them? What they lack is emotional value."
Lin Wan'er was stunned. Emotional value?
What is it?
"On the surface, you're selling white sugar, but in reality, you're selling vanity, the symbol that getting white sugar makes him a superior person!"
Tang Huan shook the small jar in her hand.
"See this jar? It's made of bamboo, so it doesn't look valuable. Now take a look at this one."
As he spoke, he pulled a jade jar out of his sleeve.
"What if you put white sugar in here? Do you think it's worth fifteen taels of silver per tael?"
Lin Wan'er picked up the jade jar in surprise: "But this thing is very expensive, isn't it?"
"Not expensive at all!"
Tang Huan waved his hand.
"This thing isn't real jade; it's made by dyeing agate and resin. It just looks expensive."
Is this actually fake jade?
You can't tell at all.
Wu Lanxi couldn't help but say, "Even if what you said is true, jade is such a fragile thing, I can't bring it back to the capital."
"Don't worry about that. We not only provide jade, but also gift boxes."
As he spoke, he took out a huge box from behind him.
When you open it, you'll find not only a silk lining but also gold-stamped embroidery, which looks very high-end.
In the middle, three recessed grooves hold three identical jade jars.
"I'll only sell you this gift set for two taels of silver. After you take it home, put the white sugar into a jar. Each jar contains three taels of white sugar, and the cost price is forty-seven taels of silver. You can easily sell it for one hundred taels of silver."
"With so many powerful and wealthy people in the capital, selling two hundred units a day shouldn't be difficult, right? Selling ten thousand units a year shouldn't be difficult either, right? You can earn at least ten thousand a day and at least five hundred thousand a year!"
Wu Lanxi was speechless.
Lin Wan'er was completely dumbfounded.
If they can make so much money just by selling sugar, why worry about military spending? Why fear an empty treasury?
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