"If it were anyone else, not me, how could the business be so successful? I'm a genius. Those old fogies were too annoying. They only taught me the basics of accounting. I'm naturally talented, and I found them annoying, so I drove them all away."
Wan Fugui was indeed a genius, but his biggest flaw was his blind self-confidence.
An Yuan'er took a big gulp of water and said, "Yes, the profits have indeed more than doubled compared to last month, but look at the prices of your products. They are twice as high as my original prices. Especially the rice, which is five times more expensive. Is your rice made of gold? Why are you selling it at such a high price?"
Wan Fugui didn't care: "What's the big deal! As long as we can make money, that's all that matters. You don't know what's been going on this past month. The largest grain and oil store in Shengjing on Dongcheng Street has been advertising its high-quality rice everywhere since the beginning of this month. They say that eating their rice can not only prolong life and cure diseases, but they even exaggeratedly claim that eating their rice has aphrodisiac effects. There are so many rich and stupid people in Shengjing who have been immersed in sensual pleasures for many years and have long since lost their bodies. As soon as they hear that rice has such effects, they are desperate and will buy it to try it out."
This is what is meant by "foolish and rich."
The grain and oil store on Dongcheng Street has always been a bellwether for grain prices in Shengjing. If the store raises its prices, other stores will follow suit.
Wan Fugui saw the potential for huge profits and, having come from humble beginnings, understood the ways of survival and business. While his shop on Dongcheng Street could only operate within wealthy circles, Wan Fugui directly bribed every beggar in Shengjing to work for him.
The beggars began to sing a folk song: "Liyuan rice is so good, men who eat it are as strong as tigers, women who eat it are as beautiful as ever, the elderly who eat it live longer, and children who eat it are like prodigies..."
He boasted about it to an incredible degree, and his audience ranged from the elderly to children, men and women alike.
Rice from Liyuan was being snapped up; it was sold out as soon as it was put out to market every morning. People have a strange psychology: the harder something is to buy, the more precious it seems. This is why Wan Fugui kept driving up the price of rice.
Such a decision would be unthinkable and impossible for an ordinary person. Wan Fugui, who was a year younger than An Yuan'er, had such courage and boldness.
An Yuan'er felt that if such a person wasn't restrained, he would only get closer and closer to becoming a dishonest businessman. He could make a lot of money, but it wasn't necessarily all money earned with a clear conscience.
An Yuan'er wasn't joking. Instead, she said earnestly, "Yes. I admit that you have indeed made a lot of money and your business is getting better and better. However, everything has its basic laws. Food is food, something that people need to eat every day. You can't treat it like gold."
"Have you thought about this? What if one day those fools wake up and realize that this rice doesn't have those effects and is just ordinary rice? How will you explain your past deception to everyone? Of course, you can choose not to explain, since they all bought it voluntarily. But when you start thinking about running the shop properly, you'll find that the most important thing in running a shop has been lost: integrity."
“Wan Fugui, although I am competing with An Piao’er, the profits from these three months are also very important to me. However, I want to develop my business in the long term, not just for three months.”
In Wan Fugui's original mindset, as long as he made money, he didn't care about anything else. However, after listening to An Yuan'er say so much, he felt that what she said made some sense.
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