Originally, the pastries sold for two hundred wen per jin, but now they were selling for three hundred wen. However, if you bought one jin, you got half a jin for free.
On one hand, the buy-one-get-one-free gimmick was used, but on the other hand, the original profit margin was maintained.
The benefits were obvious. Some passersby were attracted and bought several packages of pastries before leaving.
The downsides were also very clear. Customers who had bought pastries in the previous few days came in, saw the prices, and walked away in disdain.
It seemed that arbitrary price hikes were still not acceptable.
Zheng Ruqian did not sigh or wail this time. Instead, he recalled Shopkeeper Hao from You Ran Ju.
Because of the sudden drop in summer production, Zheng Ruqian had taken the opportunity to raise the price of sausages and sell them to You Ran Ju.
Although Shopkeeper Hao was helpless, he gritted his teeth and accepted the shipment, raising the prices of sausage dishes at You Ran Ju accordingly.
At that time, Zheng Ruqian did not have the nerve to ask. It was only when he was about to leave An Shui County that he finally worked up the courage to find Shopkeeper Hao and ask the question that had been on his mind, "Sir, how were you able to raise the prices of the sausage dishes without causing any backlash from the customers?"
According to conventional wisdom, customers only become happy when merchants lower prices.
However, after You Ran Ju raised its sausage prices, it did not see a drop in customers. On the contrary, business became even better.
Back then, Shopkeeper Hao had smiled mysteriously and said, "Foolish boy, arbitrary price hikes are of course inappropriate. But I can swap out ingredients, or present them in a different way to make them seem more precious."
In other words, he changed the broth but not the medicine. The dishes were still made with sausages.
But slicing and pan-frying was different from carving floral patterns and pan-frying, and using more expensive ingredients also made the dishes different. Naturally, the costs and the selling prices would differ.
Merchants would never lower prices across the board. To maintain profits amidst fluctuating procurement costs, they would inevitably raise prices.
Raising prices in a way that customers found acceptable was the mark of a truly wise merchant.
After understanding all this, Zheng Ruqian was enlightened.
He asked Auntie Zhang to change the shape of the date cakes, sculpting them if possible, and increasing the date paste content. Finally, he came up with the slogan "Premium Date Cakes".
Auntie Zhang was indeed skilled with her hands. Soon she was sculpting a variety of cute little animals, flowers and plants, which looked very tempting arranged on plates.
However, this greatly slowed down the production of pastries.
After racking his brains, Zheng Ruqian took one of the sculpted date cakes and placed it on top of a square date cake, like a pedestal for the little animal. This way, it did not look ugly, but rather added some majesty.
With two or three little animals accompanying each jin and a half, the production speed would not slow down too much.
Zheng Ruqian also promised, "Just start selling first, Auntie. If business goes well, we can hire more people."
Zhang Xianglian smiled and nodded.
That day, the pastries at Jiuzhen Fang sold out almost completely.
No one could resist the appeal of a buy-one-get-one-free deal, especially in that era when most businesses operated in a standard fashion. This buy-one-get-one-free campaign was like a bolt from the blue, blowing open the entire Tianjie Hub.
The surrounding food stalls were abuzz with discussion and pointing fingers.
But their attitudes were unanimous - Jiuzhen Fang was deliberately creating a gimmick, and would surely cancel the buy-one-get-one-free deal in a couple of days, just like before.
But contrary to their predictions, the buy-one-get-one-free deal became permanent. No matter when customers bought pastries, they enjoyed this discount.
The common folk were delighted, while the other vendors knitted their brows.
There were only so many pastry-loving customers at Tianjie Hub. Those who had bought from Jiuzhen Fang usually would not buy from others.
This was equivalent to having their own business stolen from them. Out of unwillingness and anger, the other vendors would also have to adopt buy-one-get-one-free deals.
But as they said themselves, how long could a buy-one-get-one-free deal that reaped no profits last?
One day, two days, three days later, in order to earn money, the businesses had no choice but to stop the promotion, watching helplessly as Jiuzhen Fang continued with its buy-one-get-half-off.
Zheng Ruqian was not afraid that they would see through Jiuzhen Fang's pricing tricks. That would take some time.
Even if they figured it out and tried to imitate Jiuzhen Fang by marking up prices before offering buy-one-get-one-free deals, they still had to see if the people of Fengjing would take the bait.
By the time they realized they had to use new products to mark up prices before offering buy-one-get-one-free deals, Jiuzhen Fang would have already established itself at Tianjie Hub, and no one could shake its position.
Before long, all the vendors settled down and went back to doing business as usual.
Jiuzhen Fang went from being deserted to packed. The initial customers were drawn in by the discount, but eventually surrendered to the delicious flavors. Some of the wealthy households were attracted by the unique shapes and specifically sent servants to buy pastries.
Zheng Ruqian had originally estimated that the stock of Zheng Xinhong dates would last half a year, but halfway through the month, more than half had been used up already. He was delighted but also had to prepare to travel afar again.
Apart from making money, Jiuzhen Fang's main purpose was to achieve self-supply and self-sales, so as not to rely on You Ran Ju.
Now that the date cakes were selling well and the red dates were being consumed quickly, he had to go to Henan County for more red dates.
The consumption of hawthorn was even faster than red dates. Zheng Ruqian decided to take Gao Dawan and Gao Yan with him, arranging for them to specialize in sourcing red dates, hawthorn, and other goods from Henan County.
He would also bring half a carriage of chestnuts.
Zheng Ruqian muttered to himself about what to buy as he walked to the courtyard door with his butt stuck out, preparing to climb onto the shaft.
Jiang Sheng followed behind him. Her expression was pitiful, as if she was about to cry. "Second brother, it's almost New Year. Do you really have to go out again? It's so far away. When will you come back?"
"Very soon," Zheng Ruqian answered perfunctorily and insincerely.
Not until his head was whacked by Xu Mo did he come to his senses. He patted his chest and swore, "Don't worry, little Jiang Sheng. I'll definitely be back before New Year."
But second brother's promises did not hold much weight for Jiang Sheng. She still remembered how two years ago, they had chased him all the way from Xieyang County to Anshui County just to have a reunion dinner together.
With Fang Heng's absence this year, they could not have Zheng Ruqian absent as well.
"Second brother, remember your promise to Jiang Sheng. Come back early." The little girl exhorted pitifully.
Zheng Ruqian scratched his head. "Don't forget to help me keep an eye on the business at Jiuzhen Fang. Have Auntie Zhang introduce at least two new types of pastries every month."
Jiang Sheng nodded vigorously as she watched the carriage carrying the three men travel farther and farther away.
These children were growing up after all.
Just like how Zheng Ruqian wanted to open a shop, travel afar, earn money, and build up his own transportation empire.
And Xu Mo wanted to attend school, take the exams, and join the ranks of impoverished scholars.
At Chang Yan's reminder, he had started revealing in the Imperial College that his family was poor and he needed money. He deliberately showcased his talents, and even wore a jacket patched up in two places, the one that had been scraped earlier.
Zhao Yuan and Qi Huai were a little surprised. Zhao Yuan grabbed him and asked, "Brother Xu lacks money? Tell me how much you need, you can't say that here. This place despises poverty and admires wealth. Not having money will make people look down on you."
Xu Mo gave a wry smile. Zhao Yuan was straightforward. Some things were hard to explain explicitly. He could only say euphemistically, "Xu only wishes to rely on himself."
Zhao Yuan tried to persuade him to no avail. He could only leave in a huff.
Compared to Zhao Yuan's simplicity and directness, Qi Huai's gaze was more complex. "Let's not mention anything else. Your younger brother's pastry shop can be described as making money hand over fist. How is it that you, his elder brother, are as poor as a church mouse? Could it be..."
Were the brothers on bad terms?
Xu Mo smiled and shook his head. "Although we address each other as brothers, we are not related by blood. Xu is already fifteen this year. How could I ask my younger brother who is even younger to provide for me?"
His words were full of the proud integrity of a scholar. They made Qi Huai admire him even more, and his eyes shone even brighter.
Before long, Xu Mo had spent over half a month at the Imperial College wearing his patched jacket.
Just as he was beginning to wonder if this tactic would work, someone he did not expect came looking for him.
