Zhang Fangyuan heard the sound of firecrackers that lasted for a quarter of an hour. Even though he had no intention of going out to watch the fun, he was still shaken up by the crackling sound.
When he arrived at the shop door, he found that the firecrackers were not set off by someone else, but by the shop diagonally opposite. No wonder the noise was so loud.
"There are no vacant shops across the street that can be rented out. Even if the old shop has changed its owner, I haven't heard any news about it."
"Boss Zhang, are you still here guarding the shop? Haven't you gone over to take a look?" The owner of the restaurant next door, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Zhang Fangyuan and muttered with a smile: "Boss Xue's Quilt Shop across the street has new goods, and he set off firecrackers to celebrate."
Zhang Fangyuan looked at the man who seemed to be looking forward to the fun and said, "Why would a grown man like me join in the fun of seeing a cloth shop selling new goods? But Boss Xue is really generous. He has put together a lot of new goods, just like a new shop is opening."
The weather was fine, and passers-by who heard the sound of firecrackers also liked to go and watch the fun. They all poured into Xue's cloth shop. His shop had the most prosperous business today.
"Others may not need to join in the fun, but Boss Zhang should go and take a look."
The restaurant owner did not say anything explicitly. He just raised his hands which were tucked into the hand warmers, feeling as if he was watching a fight between clowns, and turned around and went back into the building happily.
Zhang Fangyuan showed a strange look on his face. All the neighbors around the shop had tempers, and each one was more arrogant than the other. Many of them were not in harmony with each other and were adding fuel to the fire.
His shop was small, and usually few people were willing to pay attention to him, so naturally there were people who would pick a fight with him. Seeing the implicit words spoken today, he felt that something was wrong, so he strode to the cloth shop across the street.
If I hadn't come here this morning, I would have never known that the cloth shop had actually carved out a large area to display toothbrushes and tooth powder, and the price was five to ten cents cheaper than what they had in their shop.
Although the people who come in and out of this shop are all from wealthy families, who doesn't like to take advantage of a bargain? For a while, the cloth shop was crowded with people, and many people were comparing the toothbrushes of the two shops.
Really, someone finally couldn't hold back and took action. However, Zhang Fangyuan did not expect that it would be the cloth business across from his shop, and that it was done so quietly and secretly. This sudden move was meant to catch him off guard.
This is clearly a slap in his face!
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Zhang? You are in such a good mood to come to the cloth shop today. Do you want to choose two pieces of cloth or a toothbrush?"
Xue De, the owner of Qinheng Cloth Shop, looked at the tall figure standing at the door. Instead of feeling embarrassed, he greeted him with a smile: "Oh, I really am getting old and confused. Boss Zhang also has this toothbrush. You want to choose the cloth?"
He was not afraid of people making a fuss. Once a fuss broke out, strong warriors would rush over. Not only would the comrades not gain any benefit, but people would not go to Zhang's shop again afterwards. He actually hoped that Zhang Fangyuan would make a fuss, so that people from the county government would come to detain him and close his shop.
For this reason, he was even more unscrupulous: "Boss Zhang, I'm going to do more business here. I hope you won't be offended by selling some tooth powder."
Zhang Fangyuan clenched his fists, as if to hit the cunning smiling face in front of him, but then he thought of his wife and children and endured it again: "Of course, business is something that everyone can do. Seeing how lively it is, I came over to take a look. Boss Xue, please don't mind it."
"Why would I mind? We're all doing business on the same street, so we come and go all the time. Boss Zhang is welcome to come by anytime."
Zhang Fangyuan lowered his voice and said, "I wish Mr. Xue a prosperous business. I'm busy at my end, so I won't bother you any more."
"Busy?" Xue seemed a little unconvinced, and stretched his neck to look at the other end of Linglong Shop: "Ah, there are not many people over there. It's not easy for Boss Zhang to be idle. Why don't you have a cup of tea here before leaving?"
This time Zhang Fangyuan did not answer, but turned away. The veins on his arms were bulging. He was afraid that if he heard the old pickled chicken say a few more words, he would beat the man into pieces.
He thought that someone would steal his business, but he didn't expect that someone would do it in such an ugly way. After the door slammed several times with heavy, muffled sounds, Zhang Fangyuan retracted his fists and feet, took a serious look at the shop, and immediately walked out.
"Just spread the news for me and have them come to my shop to find me."
"This Xue is really too much of a bully. It would be better if he rented a shop next door and cut the price to steal the business." An Saner scolded Xue and cursed his ancestors before saying, "Should we find some people to beat him up?"
Zhang Fangyuan lowered his eyes and looked at An Saner: "What's the difference between hiring someone to beat him up and me beating him up in person? Don't they all know it was me who did it? When you open a business, you should be careful about everything. Just do what I told you to do."
An Saner put on a smile and said, "Can I also take some and sell it myself? It will definitely not be a problem for Brother Zhang."
Zhang Fangyuan raised his lips: "Of course."
"Okay, I'll leave the matter to me."
An Saner asked for quick results and quickly completed what Zhang Fangyuan asked for. Someone even came to see Zhang Fangyuan in the afternoon, without waiting until the next day.
"Pig bristles for toothbrushes are thirty cents a bunch, horse hair is fifty. Tooth powder is thirty cents lower on the market, you can sell it all for whatever price you want. We are all businessmen, and we can sell it according to our market."
"Boss Zhang, since you are sincere in doing business, the price should be more fair."
Zhang Fangyuan smiled with his eyes closed: "This is already the lowest price. If you feel it is not suitable, then you can do as you please."
"The purchase price is also so high, so I can just find someone to supply the goods myself."
"Of course, but you have to run around to hire carpenters, look for cottages, or find individual traders... Once the price is agreed upon, not to mention that the cost can be a few cents lower than here, it will take time and energy. By the time the goods are put on the market, it will probably be next spring at the earliest. By then, those who bought the goods from me early will have made their money. How much can you earn if you come late?"
Zhang Fangyuan said, "Everyone knows this is a popular business. I did a lot of running around to prepare for the opening. It took at least three to five months of preparation. Now I have a stable supply of goods after the opening. I won't force you. Whether it can be successful depends on your individual situation. If the business fails, we can still be friends when we meet in Siyang in the future."
The merchants who came to discuss business originally just wanted to lower the price a little bit so that they could make more money, and they were willing to get the goods.
If he had not come for the goods and had really wanted to find ways to supply the goods himself as he said, he would not have rushed over when he heard the news that Linglong Shop's goods were available for external supply.
Seeing that this boss was difficult to deal with, he immediately softened his attitude.
"Boss Zhang's words are full of wisdom. So... I will work closely with Boss Zhang."
Within a few days, Zhang Fangyuan negotiated several business deals. Even a peddler came to the shop. People were coming in and out for a few days. Outsiders didn't know that they were here to negotiate business. They just thought they were ordinary people coming to buy things.
"He is so calm and hasn't come to our house to cause any trouble. I heard he was a hoodlum in the West City area before, but he doesn't look like a hoodlum."
"Maybe he's changed his ways by doing business. Master, should we let go of those thugs hired by the martial arts school? They just sit there doing nothing and get paid for nothing."
"The money I spent on hiring someone is a waste." Xue De shook his head, put his hands behind his back, squinted his eyes, and stared at the shop across the street downstairs: "But I always feel something is wrong. This guy looks like a fool. Maybe he is hiding some trick to mess with me."
"Master, don't worry too much. Maybe that kid has no foundation and knows that he will get nothing good from fighting with you, so he has to be humble. Look at his shop, isn't it still doing business? It's not completely out of money."
We have started selling toothbrushes and tooth powder these days, and the price is cheaper than that of the store opposite, so we have received wide acclaim.
Only after Xue De got into the business did he realize that a tiny piece of wood for a hairpin could bring so much profit. He regretted that he had not acted earlier. Now the cloth shop's business is booming. Not only are toothbrushes selling well, but there are also many customers coming to look at cloth, which is selling even more easily. He doesn't want to get into any trouble.
"But I think the people who have been coming in and out of the shop opposite look familiar. I must not be careless. I should go out and ask around and keep an eye on them."
"yes."
Xu He had been busy taking care of the hatching ducklings recently, and most of her attention was diverted to her husband. But seeing that her husband came home later and later, she would run to Carpenter He's house even when he returned to the village.
Even though he didn't say anything, watching people busying around, he vaguely guessed that something had happened in the shop.
"It's not a big deal, just some merchants who are following suit." Zhang Fangyuan didn't intend to hide his family affairs from Xu He, and spoke to him lightly.
Xu He's eyebrows furrowed in anger: "It's this kind of person again!"
Zhang Fangyuan rubbed Xu He's hair and said, "Don't get angry or you'll hurt the fetus."
Xu He lowered his eyes and said, "I was attacked by people like this when I opened a stall before. I still have to endure this kind of filth even after I have a shop."
"After all, this is not a business that is dictated by one party. It is not like the salt and iron business managed by the imperial court. There is no way to dictate who can and cannot do something." Zhang Fangyuan comforted him, "As long as we make the money, we won't lose anything."
"Just stay at home and take good care of the baby and the little things in the yard. I've already taken care of it. If he wants to make some unethical money by disgusting me, I won't let him get away with it."
Xu He didn't know how people arranged it, so he said worriedly: "I'd better go to the city with you to take a look."
Zhang Fangyuan thought about it and felt that it would be more reassuring if he had him accompany her rather than have her worry at home, so he did not refuse and went together to watch Xue jumping up and down.
The next day, Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He slowly arrived in the city together, bringing with them several boxes of goods.
The two of them did not hide anything and just walked past the Quhengbu Shop in a swaggering manner.
"What are they pulling? Could it be cargo?"
"Business has been bad lately, how can I still have the energy to purchase goods?"
"Go tell the boss."
The two shop assistants were discussing about going in at the door, but they saw the boss's men hurriedly entered the shop before them.
"Master, Master!"
"What are you talking about?"
The man was panting, but he didn't care about etiquette, and he shouted anxiously: "There are suddenly a lot of toothbrush shops in our city, and the nearest one is at the entrance of Tianjie!"
"Those shameless people actually copied our shop and started a business that included toothbrushes, rouge shops and grocery stores."
"What!" Xue De was sorting out the account books of the past few days. His smile had not yet fully unfolded when he heard the voice and it fell back.
"Where did they get the goods? How could they make it so quickly?"
You have to know that it took him three or two months to prepare for the supply. He was confident that his company was the first to imitate Linglong Shop, but how could other companies be so fast?
Like an apprentice, one needs time to observe whether a business has prospects. The shop opposite his was in a unique position, so he kept an eye on the business day by day before taking action.
It would have been fine if there were just two people with a keen sense of smell who discovered the profitability early on, but how come so many businesses suddenly popped up, with people doing it all over the city, from east to west, from south to north.
Even the bamboo shoots that spring up after the rain don’t pop up as quickly.
Xue De quickly dropped his things and ran to the window, leaning on the railing to look out. He saw several people with numb hands and feet coming over from Linglong Shop and were moving things out.
"It's him! He found someone to supply goods to other merchants!"
The servant was confused: "If there are toothbrushes everywhere in the city, won't the competition be even greater? Isn't this destroying our own career?"
"Stupid! Do you think he doesn't make money supplying others? The money comes much faster than the bulk goods. Toothbrushes are sold everywhere in the city these days, so our shop can't take advantage of any advantage or opportunity."
Xue De punched the window with his fist. "Hey! This kid is going to burn his boats! Why didn't I get the news in advance?"
"Quick, go find out how much he paid for the goods, and we will spread the news and supply the goods. After all, we are better than other companies and we have the source of goods."
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