Ji Xinhe was taken aback: "You want all of them?"
The middle-aged man smiled and nodded: "Yes, I want as much as you have!"
Ji Xinhe ventured to ask: "Why do you need so much? Are you running a restaurant?"
The man’s cover was blown by Ji Xinhe’s question. He paused, then could only nod: "Indeed, I do run a restaurant. If you have the stock, I can buy all of it, every day. Wouldn’t that save you the trouble of selling?"
Xiao Bei’s eyes sparkled at these words: "Really?"
However, Ji Xinhe laughed and shook her head: "No, that can’t be. I have quite a few clients who come to me daily to buy my food. If I sold it all to you, I would be untrustworthy to my other customers. Instead, how about I sell you half of my stock?"
The man paused for a moment: "If you sell your goods to me, then naturally they will know to come to our restaurant to eat, this shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
Ji Xinhe looked at him with a wry smile: "Doesn’t that mean that I become the person who exclusively provides sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu to your restaurant? You buy from me at a low price and sell high?"
The middle-aged man’s face reddened. He was embarrassed to see that his cunning plan had been seen through by the young girl.
"That... doesn’t affect you guys does it?" he awkwardly laughed.
Ji Xinhe blinked: "Of course, it does affect us. If we sell our own goods and maintain our base of customers, they recognize it’s our shop selling the food. But if we sell it to you, we cannot earn a single more cent, but the client base we’ve worked hard to build is freely given to you and allows you to profit significantly. Wouldn’t I be at a huge loss?"
The middle-aged man was taken aback. He hadn’t expected this country girl to grasp the pros and cons so quickly. Originally, he thought that being a country girl, she would lack foresight and have a simplistic mindset. Hence, he had deliberately spoken as such. His real intention was to spend less and earn more.
But which businessman would be stupid?
"Uncle, I can’t take this deal. If you don’t have anything else, please step aside and stop blocking my customers," Ji Xinhe said, making a shooing motion.
The middle-aged man quickly leaned in again and said: "I was indeed negligent and didn’t consider everything. Miss, how about we re-negotiate? Let’s do it this way, I’ll buy your stuff at a higher price, adding two extra coins per pound! How about it? You’ll be able to profit this way, right?"
Ji Xinhe raised an eyebrow. This man sure did think quickly. The moment he saw that his ruse had been exposed, he immediately tried to cover it up. He claimed it was negligence, but it was clear that his scheme had been discovered.
However, since this man was so perceptive and had lowered his stance to negotiate with her, Ji Xinhe was interested in hearing him out.
Ji Xinhe stood up and finally said: "Since you want to discuss business seriously, I can’t just brush you off. Now is the morning market rush and I won’t have time to talk properly once the crowd starts to gather. So, let’s do this: once I have sold my goods, I will come to you personally. We can discuss things in detail then."
Discuss in detail?
What else did she want to say?
The middle-aged man was a bit flustered, but he quickly agreed: "Of course, we wouldn’t want to disturb Miss’s business. I am the shopkeeper at Gui Lin Residence. Once you have finished your business, come directly to Gui Lin Residence to find me. My surname is Wu."
Gui Lin Residence?
That was a fairly well-known restaurant in town.
It seemed like she had just landed a big deal. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Ji Xinhe’s eyes sparkled, revealing her pearly whites with a smile: "Okay."
The shopkeeper looked at Ji Xinhe and felt a strange sense of unease.
"Well, I should be going then?"
"Safe travels." Ji Xinhe smiled warmly and watched him leave.
Xiao Bei couldn’t help but ask: "Sis, are you really going to take this deal?"
"Why wouldn’t I take it? This is like seeing money right in front of you and not wanting to pick it up." Ji Xinhe affectionately ruffled Xiao Bei’s head, then sat back down on the ground, opened the jar of sour bamboo shoots, and scooped out a small bowl for customers to sample, prepared to sell it.
"But didn’t you say you didn’t want to do it first? Then he added two coins and you agreed?"
"You think it’s that simple? Business opportunities come knocking at the door and you can’t just pass them up. But you also can’t be careless. We need to maximize our profits!" Ji Xinhe exclaimed enthusiastically.
Xiao Bei was a bit perplexed, but he obediently nodded anyway. After all, whatever his sister said was right!
The sale today went pretty smoothly. By the end of the morning, almost all sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu were sold out, leaving only a small amount left.
Ji Xinhe first counted and packed away the day’s earnings safely into her little bag, then she asked Mu Houchu to drive the bullock cart directly to Gui Lin Residence.
At Gui Lin Residence, Shopkeeper Wu was eagerly waiting, having additionally stationed a servant at the entrance to keep an eye out.
Mu Houchu stopped the cart at the entrance, and the servant cautiously approached: "Are you Miss Ji?"
Ji Xinhe nodded: "Yes, I am. I’m here to discuss business with your shopkeeper."
The servant immediately said: "Our shopkeeper has been waiting for you. Please come inside. I’ll take care of your cart and park it in our stable, so you won’t lose it."
Ji Xinhe smiled: "Thank you."
She then held Xiao Bei’s hand and walked in, followed by Mu Houchu.
As Xiao Bei entered, he was immediately impressed and couldn’t help exclaiming: "Sis, this place is so grand! I’ve never been to such a fine place."
This restaurant was quite renowned in Lian’an Town with its elegant decor and setup, giving off a completely different vibe than those regular, small diner.
Ji Xinhe chuckled: "If you like it, I’ll bring you here for meals in the future."
Xiao Bei nodded in agreement. Now, he believed that there was nothing his sister couldn’t do!
There were quite a few customers in Gui Lin Residence at this time. Shopkeeper Wu spotted them and quickly ushered them to a quiet corner to sit down.
"Miss Ji is finally here. I’ve been waiting eagerly, staring at the door like watching for stars and moons!" While pouring tea for them, Shopkeeper Wu laughed: "Now that you’re here, can we talk about the sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu?"
Ji Xinhe laughed and nodded: "Now that I’m here, of course I’ve come with the intention to discuss business with Shopkeeper Wu."
"So, how about selling everything to me for an extra two coins per pound as I suggested?" Shopkeeper Wu hastily asked.
However, Ji Xinhe hesitated and shook her head: "Selling everything is impossible. After all, this is our family’s heirloom craft. I still want to expand my pickle business and let more people enjoy them. If I sell everything to you, patrons would only associate the delicious pickles with Gui Lin Residence and not realise that the pickles are made using the Ji family’s recipe. So, that won’t work."
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