Whether it was sour bamboo shoots or fermented tofu, at this time neither were known to exist. If she really agreed to Wu Zhanggui’s business proposal, it would mean selling him the patent rights. It might be convenient in the short term, but what about the long term?
From a long-term perspective, if she did the pickles business herself, it would be a bit more difficult, but today she had a stall, and tomorrow there would be a Storefront. Tomorrow when she opened the Storefront, there would be hope of relying on it to build an industrial chain in the future.
Now, if she were to indulge in short-term comfort and ease by directly sending the prepared sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu to Guilin Residence, her future would indeed come to a standstill.
For this reason alone, Ji Xinhe could not casually agree to this business deal.
Wu Zhanggui’s face changed slightly, and then he asked, "So what do you mean ..."
Ji Xinhe smiled and said, "My meaning, too, is very simple. We can do business between us, but it should not affect my own business. The pickles I make every day cannot all be sold to Wu Zhanggui. I have to keep a part for myself to sell."
The meaning of this was that she would not accept Guilin Residence’s exclusive monopoly.
Wu Zhanggui laughed awkwardly, "Little girl, you probably didn’t do business before, so you didn’t know. It’s better for only one party to sell such exclusive items. Otherwise, if both parties were to sell it, it would not be rare anymore!"
Ji Xinhe smiled coldly, "Thank you for your reminder, but I should not give this business to Wu Zhanggui, lest my products become less appealing."
Wu Zhanggui hurriedly said, "That’s not what I meant!"
"So, what does Wu Zhanggui mean? I can either sell these sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu in my own store, or I can sell them to you. Why should I give this opportunity to Guilin Residence for free? Wu Zhanggui, don’t be too overbearing in business. After all, I didn’t beg for your business today."
Ji Xinhe had to put up her frame.
Her identity as a village girl made it easy for people to underestimate her. Wu Zhanggui thought he could fool her easily.
First, she needed to make Wu Zhanggui understand their relationship. He was asking her for a favor, while she could choose to agree or not.
Even if she took into account that both of them could sell sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu, and it would make the customers feel that they were not as rare as before, she could still sell them herself, and it wasn’t necessary to sell them to Guilin Residence.
The choices she laid out before Wu Zhanggui were only two: either sell together with her, or she would do the business alone and leave him out.
Wu Zhanggui was stunned for a while, only to discover that this girl was not easy to deceive and did not have the guile typical of village girls. He had originally wanted to lure her into signing a contract and sell all the sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu to him, so he could make a huge profit.
Unexpectedly, this girl was incredibly sharp-minded, and she not only saw through his intentions but now stood her ground and bargained with him.
Wu Zhanggui felt a little suffocated in his heart, but he still couldn’t bear to let go of such a good business. For a moment, he was in a dilemma.
Ji Xinhe also noticed Wu Zhanggui’s suffocation and hesitation. After all, his facial expressions were changing rapidly, so much so that Xiao Bei shrank back in fear behind her.
Ji Xinhe continued, "In fact, if Wu Zhanggui thought about it, it wouldn’t be a loss. Although I do business with Wu Zhanggui, Guilin Residence is a restaurant business, and I specialize in pickles, which are two completely unrelated industries. People who want to cook at home naturally come to me, while those who want to eat at a restaurant naturally have to buy from Guilin Residence. The conflict between the two is not significant. We can achieve a win-win situation. Must we insist on one person monopolizing the profits?"
Ji Xinhe’s words moved Wu Zhanggui a little.
"How about this? I will personally increase the production, and from now on, I will provide Guilin Residence with thirty pounds of sour bamboo shoots and thirty pounds of fermented tofu every day. As for how much I sell on my own, Wu Zhanggui doesn’t need to worry about that. After all, our businesses don’t intersect," Ji Xinhe said with a smile.
Wu Zhanggui finally nodded, "That makes sense."
Marquis Mu Houchu’s lips curved, almost undetectably. This woman had reversed the situation with just a few words. At first, it was Wu Zhanggui who intended to swindle Ji Xinhe and make her fall into his trap, but now Ji Xinhe not only escaped it but also swindled Wu Zhanggui into her trap.
Ji Xinhe smiled, "Since Wu Zhanggui is so reasonable, I can feel relieved. However ..."
Wu Zhanggui heard her say "however" and his heart skipped a beat. He looked at her with apprehension, "What’s the matter?"
"What Wu Zhanggui means is that I can’t sell these sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu in large quantities to any other restaurants besides Guilin Residence, right?"
Wu Zhanggui immediately nodded, "Of course!"
Ji Xinhe appeared troubled. "This is difficult. Wu Zhanggui must know that my sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu, not to mention the entire city, are unique in the whole country. There is no one else who knows this skill. This inheritable skill has been passed down through the generations. I’ve given Wu Zhanggui a share of it, which is already quite good. However, Wu Zhanggui still wants to prevent me from doing business with other restaurants. That’s a bit unreasonable."
Wu Zhanggui began to grind his teeth. This girl was really cunning, like a fox. She had just proposed the conditions for selling together, but now she was using these words as a point of leverage.
It was not that she was unwilling to make a loss at all.
This was clearly a must-make profit!
Wu Zhanggui, grinding his teeth, asked, "What do you want then?"
Ji Xinhe smiled innocently, "Why is Wu Zhanggui so tense? Since I’m here today, I’m sincere in wanting to do business with Guilin Residence. Business should always be discussed properly, shouldn’t it?" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Wu Zhanggui finally understood what she meant when she said "discuss properly" earlier.
In any case, it meant bargaining until she suffered no loss and even turned a profit.
Ji Xinhe then continued, "Actually, my demand is not much, and Wu Zhanggui knows it. Since I shared the only opportunity with Wu Zhanggui, it’s because of our fate. Wu Zhanggui asks that I don’t sell these sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu in large quantities to any other restaurant in the future, but there should be some sincerity, right?"
Wu Zhanggui finally grasped her meaning: she wanted more money.
Wu Zhanggui gritted his teeth and finally said, "I’ll increase the purchase price by one cash per pound!"
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