"This is the snowflake candy we produce. Please take a look, Manager Lin," Zhao Xian said with a smile.
Lin Feng, beaming with joy, unwrapped the oil paper, revealing snowflake candy as white as snow to everyone.
Having run a sugar business for over ten years, this was the first time he had ever seen white sugar. Snowflake sugar was so beautiful, as white as snow. He wondered what it tasted like.
"Can I try it?" Lin Feng asked.
"Of course, please go ahead, Manager Lin," Zhao Xian said with a smile.
Lin Feng found a cup, put in a spoonful of snowflake sugar, then poured in half a cup of hot water and stirred it with a spoon.
The snowflake sugar dissolved quickly, and Lin Feng picked up the cup and began to examine the sugar water.
The sugar water was colorless and free of any impurities, just like a glass of clear water. Lin Feng brought the glass to his lips and began to taste it.
The lukewarm sugar water was very sweet, with no strange smell, and none of the muddy or fishy taste of granulated sugar or brown sugar.
He scooped up some more snowflake candy with a spoon and put it in his mouth. A feeling of happiness spread throughout his body. The snowflake candy was sweet and fresh, a rare delicacy.
Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction. The snowflake candy was indeed of good quality, and given its rarity, it would be highly sought after by high-end consumers once it appeared on the market. If he could secure the exclusive distribution rights, he could make a fortune.
"Mr. Zhao, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. Has the snowflake candy ever been released to the market? And can you sell me all of the snowflake candy you produce?" Lin Feng asked, posing the two questions he was most concerned about.
"After returning from Southeast Asia, we produced our first batch of snowflake sugar. Through an introduction, we learned that Manager Lin was the largest sugar merchant in the county, so we came here."
Our production will be adjusted according to market demand, but no matter how it is adjusted, since we are the only producer in the entire Northern Dynasty, the output will not be too high, which means that snowflake sugar will definitely become a rare commodity in the world.
"If Manager Lin becomes our partner, we can certainly give you all the snowflake candy we produce."
Zhao Xian observed Lin Feng's expression and slowly spoke.
Lin Feng nodded. If he became the sole distributor of snowflake sugar, he could control the sugar market and set the price of the snowflake sugar, thus maximizing his profits.
"If I become the sole distributor of Snowflake Sugar, what price is Mr. Zhao willing to offer me?"
Last time, Qin Shiyu gave a price range of two to five taels of silver. In his opinion, even a price of two taels of silver was outrageously high. He would never have dared to say it if the price were set at five taels of silver.
Now that Lin Feng had asked about the price, he really didn't know how to bring it up, so he looked at Qin Shiyu.
Qin Shiyu smiled and slowly spoke.
"Shopkeeper Lin, have you heard about an incident that happened in the previous dynasty? It happened more than forty years ago. At that time, it was the emperor's fiftieth birthday. Many ministers prepared grand gifts to present to the emperor. One official spent 10,000 taels of silver to buy a luminous pearl in the Western Regions and presented it to the emperor. The emperor was very pleased and rewarded the minister handsomely."
Another official, whose family was so poor that he couldn't afford to buy expensive gifts, had to present the emperor with a bag of white sugar that a friend had brought him from Southeast Asia.
At that time, from the emperor down to the common people, no one in the country had ever seen white sugar, let alone eaten it.
The emperor loved white sugar very much. In his delight, he rewarded the official who presented the sugar with the luminous pearl. In the emperor's eyes, the sugar was more valuable than the pearl.
Zhao Xian didn't expect Qin Shiyu to start with a story. Modern people usually make up a story when doing marketing, and then connect the story with the product to find the product's selling points so that the product can be sold at a good price. He didn't expect that the ancients had already started using this marketing method more than a thousand years ago.
Qin Shiyu continued without waiting for anyone else to speak:
"When my son was in Southeast Asia, he invested three thousand taels of silver to buy the recipe and production process. The raw materials and labor costs invested in producing snowflake sugar were also very high."
After producing the snowflake sugar, we calculated the costs and decided that setting the price at ten taels of silver per catty would be profitable.
However, my young master believes that the main task now is to expand the market and let more people experience snowflake sugar, and ultimately set the price of snowflake sugar at eight taels of silver per catty.
In other words, we will sell all the snowflake sugar we produce to Manager Lin for eight taels of silver per catty.
Qin Shiyu's words surprised Zhao Xian. She had initially set the price between two and five taels of silver, but now she had raised it to eight taels. He wondered how Manager Lin would react.
A pound of snowflake sugar costs eight taels of silver, which is already an astronomical price, but Lin Feng remained calm and was not surprised.
Lin Feng was worldly-wise. The newly launched snowflake candy was a product exclusively for the wealthy and powerful. For ordinary people, even if you reduced the price tenfold to 800 coins per pound, they still couldn't afford it.
But for those wealthy people who spend money like water, even a hundred taels of silver per catty is not too expensive for them.
Merchants are profit-driven; for them, the cheaper the purchase price, the better, as this allows for greater profit margins.
There was still a little sugar water left in the cup, and it had already cooled down. Lin Feng grabbed the cup and drank the sugar water in one gulp.
"Eight taels of silver per catty is too expensive. We don't know the market's acceptance of snowflake sugar yet. Everything still needs to be tested by the market. Business is not good right now. I can only offer six taels of silver per catty."
Zhao Xian was very satisfied with the price, which exceeded his expectations, but he couldn't show it now.
"At eight taels of silver per catty, there's hardly any profit margin left for us. But for Manager Lin, this is an exclusive business, and he knows better than anyone how much profit he can make. I hope he won't miss this great opportunity," Qin Shiyu said calmly.
Good heavens, this is a battle between masters; Zhao Xian is ashamed of his own inferiority.
Manager Lin smiled awkwardly. He looked at Qin Shiyu, realizing he had met his match today.
"Since Mr. Zhao came to our shop first to discuss this business, it shows that he thinks highly of me. How about this, we each compromise and settle for seven taels of silver per catty? What do you think?"
Qin Shiyu looked troubled. She couldn't express her opinion on such a crucial matter, so she looked at Zhao Xian.
Zhao Xian was overjoyed, but he didn't rush to express his opinion. Instead, he calmly said:
"It seems we still need to optimize the snowflake candy production process when we get back, improve efficiency, and reduce production costs. We've already invested a huge amount in the early stages, so we can't do business at a loss. How about this, let's do as Manager Lin said, and settle for seven taels of silver per pound of snowflake candy."
"Alright, Mr. Zhao, that's a good idea. Then it's settled."
Qin Shiyu was also very happy. After her persuasion, she managed to settle on a price of seven taels of silver per catty.
"Mr. Zhao, did you sell any products today?"
"I brought sixty catties with me on the carriage."
"Okay, then give me this batch of goods first. I'll use these sixty catties of snowflake sugar to open up the market. There are only a few days left this month. Starting next month, can you supply me with one hundred catties of goods every day, Mr. Zhao?"
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