Ji Xinhe shook her head: "Shopkeeper Wu, you’re making it difficult for me."
Shopkeeper Wu complained: "Girl, adding one cash per catty would be equivalent to me taking them at eight cash for sour bamboo shoots and ten cash for fermented tofu, which you sell for five cash and seven cash!"
"How can it be the same? Shopkeeper Wu, this is a partnership with my business. When I sell them individually, those are just my regular customers. Your restaurant has some small reputation. Just now, I took a look at your menu prices - a plate of vegetables is about one silver, so when my sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu reach your hands, they should at least be sold for half a silver. Without any effort or worry on your part, you make half a silver while only giving me eight or ten cash?"
Ji Xinhe laughed coldly, as a plate of pickled sour bamboo shoots or fermented tofu would only weigh about one catty. She would not be the one to suffer such an injustice, having to pay fifty cash for them at GuiLin Inn but only receiving ten cash from her.
Shopkeeper Wu paused, not expecting that this girl had in fact investigated the menu prices of his establishment upon entering.
"So, what do you propose?"
Ji Xinhe straightened her sitting position before saying seriously, "I want half."
Shopkeeper Wu almost coughed up old blood, his chest filled with surging anger: "Don’t be greedy with a Lion’s Big Mouth demand!"
Ji Xinhe raised an eyebrow, the corner of her lips curling into a smirk: "I am providing the ideas and the effort, Shopkeeper Wu, you’re just responsible for selling. I am only asking for half, and you say I am being greedy? Is Shopkeeper Wu trying to cheat me?"
"You······"
Ji Xinhe leisurely took a sip from the tea cup beside her before saying, "In any case, my conditions are laid out here. If Shopkeeper Wu is unwilling, I’m sure there are other restaurants willing to comply. Tomorrow, I’ll go elsewhere to inquire if they want this dish. After all, it doesn’t matter whom I do business with."
As she spoke, Ji Xinhe prepared to get up.
Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly stopped her: "Let’s talk this out properly. There’s no need to rush, right? We’re still in the midst of negotiations after all!"
Ji Xinhe then sat back down, smiling: "Shall we continue the discussion?"
Shopkeeper Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded: "Yes, yes, we must continue!"
He thought he had met an easy target in this naive girl from the countryside, but who would have known that she was so cunning and had him completely in her grasp?
"Actually, Shopkeeper Wu, if you think about it clearly, the money I’m asking for half doesn’t amount to much. You sell these items in large quantities here - are you really worried you can’t make back the money? You should know that GuiLin Inn is the only exclusive restaurant with these items on their menu and that the business will only get better in the future," Ji Xinhe started her mind manipulation.
Now, Shopkeeper Wu only felt a pain in his chest, as if in a daze. He hadn’t even considered it but found her words quite reasonable and nodded along.
Seeing Wu Zhanggui like this, Ji Xinhe knew the hook was likely set, so she amplified her attack: "This great opportunity, if Shopkeeper Wu isn’t interested, I can simply find another place. After all, who wouldn’t want the advantage of a free gift?"
Shopkeeper Wu gritted his teeth and smacked the table: "Fine! Half it is! I’ll buy the sour bamboo shoots at twenty-five cash per catty and fermented tofu at thirty cash per catty! How about that?"
Ji Xinhe’s eyes lit up – thirty cash!
This was ten times her selling price!
"Shopkeeper Wu is indeed a straightforward person! It’s settled then!" Ji Xinhe, too, excitedly smacked the table in agreement.
To avoid any possible regrets, Shopkeeper Wu hastily had a servant bring paper and ink, then drafted and signed a contract with Ji Xinhe.
Upon confirming that there were no issues with the contract, Ji Xinhe signed and stamped it, thus activating the deal right away.
By providing thirty catties of fermented tofu and thirty catties of sour bamboo shoots to GuiLin Inn daily, at a rate of thirty cash per catty for fermented tofu and twenty-five cash per catty for sour bamboo shoots, Ji Xinhe could earn more than one and a half silver a day from Shopkeeper Wu’s hands!
What an incredible deal!
Xiao Bei watched the roller coaster of events unfold, unable to fully process what had just happened.
It wasn’t until Shopkeeper Wu had seen Ji Xinhe and her group out and Xiao Bei had climbed onto their bullock cart that he sluggishly asked, "Sister, did our deal really happen?"
Ji Xinhe waved the contract in her hand, smiling, "Of course! It’s all in black and white; no one can refute this!"
Xiao Bei, unable to contain his excitement, said: "Are we going to make a fortune?"
"Indeed!"
Xiao Bei excitedly exclaimed, "Sister, you’re so amazing! You actually managed to negotiate a deal with Shopkeeper Wu for ten times the price! I thought I was dreaming!"
Marquis Mu smirked, "Your sister’s swindling abilities are incredible - she’s a real moneymaker."
By now, he already had a better understanding of this woman. While she may seem innocent, she was cunning like a fox deep down.
Ji Xinhe shot him an annoyed glance, then turned back to Xiao Bei, rubbing his head affectionately with a smile: "Don’t listen to his nonsense, your sister is making an honest fortune."
"Yes, yes! Sister is the best!" Xiao Bei looked up at her in admiration, stars in his eyes!
"But sister, what you said does make sense. Shopkeeper Wu also benefits from this by simply selling our goods and making a profit of half the proceeds. His restaurant’s reputation will rise as well," Xiao Bei thought about it, and suddenly felt like he was the one at a disadvantage.
Seeing Xiao Bei’s innocent look, Ji Xinhe laughed: "Of course, this is a win-win deal. GuiLin Inn is sure not to lose any business, but in terms of who earns the most, that would be us. You should know that GuiLin Inn has a reputation in town. With our sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu on their menu, the quality has stepped up a notch. Ordinary people who can’t afford fancy restaurants will be able to enjoy the cheap dishes we offer, so won’t our business thrive?"
By relying on GuiLin Inn’s reputation, they had undoubtedly legitimized their own pickled products.
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