Zheng Ruqian said quietly, "Although the roast duck that costs two taels of silver each was proposed by him, the price is still too high, greatly compressing the profit of You Ran Inn."
Merchants care most about profits. Hao, the shop owner, should have calculated it from the beginning that raising his own ducks and inviting a master chef to roast them would cost less and ensure the taste is fresh and authentic.
The only complaint is that he didn't say it out loud, leading to Zheng Ruqian blindly investing in ice and the annex.
But in business, investing money is common, and failure is not uncommon either. If you want to blame someone, blame my former self for having such shallow vision, trying to shear a sheep all at once, and thinking it could last long.
"Only after I went to Hebei Commandery did I know that to do sustainable business, it must be either irreplaceable or low margin high volume. " Zheng Ruqian put down his teacup and said in a daze, "If it's not unique, then it has to be affordable enough to stand firmly."
The roast duck business is a typical example. It was very profitable but anyone could run it. Even if Hao didn't terminate the cooperation, sooner or later someone else would snatch it away.
Come to think of it, we did make quite a lot in the past half year.
"But..." Wang Xiaosong still felt a little unwilling. "What about our ice and annex?"
This time Zheng Ruqian didn't speak, but glanced at his little sister.
With hands on hips, Jiang Sheng said loudly, "Brother Xiaosong, you dummy! Not to mention the ice and annex can transport other things, even if they don't, we can sell them as they are without losing money."
The ice and annex are not bubbles that disappear with a puff of wind or melt on contact with water.
Wang Xiaosong knocked on his own head and finally resigned to his fate, "The family head makes sense. The family head is wise while I was the dumb one."
The ancestors were right. To gain knowledge, one must read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles.
Growth takes not just time, but also experience.
Seeing her second brother becoming more and more steady, Jiang Sheng happily squeezed to the front. "Second brother, I know what you mean. The dried broad beans my brother Xiaosong transported from Anshui Prefecture, I made a deal with You Ran Inn for two hundred wen per jin. I didn't charge an exorbitant price."
She raised her round little face, obviously waiting for praise.
Zheng Ruqian couldn't help reaching out to pinch her face, and casually pulled it outwards, then lifted it up.
The well-behaved little girl instantly bared her teeth with saliva dripping out.
Aunt Zhang was exasperated seeing this behind them while the brothers were enthusiastically enjoying the scene.
"Ear scraper, so annoying!" Jiang Sheng yelled.
Only then did Zheng Ruqian let go of his little sister's delicate face, smiling as he praised, "Very good. At this price, You Ran Inn will come to us to buy dried broad beans."
There is quite some subtlety here.
Broad beans themselves are not expensive, and drying broad beans does not require much technique either. When You Ran Inn urgently needs them, they can sell at a high price, but certainly won't buy them a second time. They might even start growing and selling broad beans by themselves.
If the price is too cheap, it won't cover the transportation costs from Anshui Prefecture, so they might as well sell locally.
The price of two hundred wen is just right in between—cheaper than You Ran Inn growing broad beans themselves, yet far more profitable than selling in Anshui Prefecture. It's a win-win cooperation where both sides profit.
"Does the family head mean we should also grow broad beans and dry them in Fengjing?" Wang Xiaosong, who just embarrassed himself earlier, came up, preparing to improve his image in front of the family head.
Zheng Ruqian shook his head. How could they grow broad beans in Fengjing? Land in Fengjing costs over ten taels of silver per mu, and labor wages are forty to fifty wen per day. Though dried broad beans can sell for two hundred wen per jin to make a profit after growing them, You Ran Inn would definitely grow them themselves.
"Then are we going back to Anshui Prefecture to transport the goods?" Wang Xiaosong wasn't dumb yet. "But round trip would take over a month just for this cart of dried beans?"
Zheng Ruqian knocked on his head and said, "In Anshui Prefecture, the dried broad beans that sell for fifty taels of silver, when transported to Fengjing can sell for one hundred taels. I'll give you five taels for your labor. Are you up for it or not?"
Running around for a month, he gets five taels of silver.
Wang Xiaosong almost jumped to the ceiling. "I'll do it, I'll do it! I must do it!"
There we go.
In recent years Zheng Ruqian had traveled all over, going as south as Yuhang Prefecture and as north as Hebei Commandery. His experience might not be extremely abundant but he was no longer that naive boy.
In the past he only had a vague concept of "transportation". But now he had discovered the importance of it.
Dayu Dynasty has a vast land with diverse products. Many fine goods were only enjoyed by locals and were unheard of in other places.
Some traveling merchants might have tasted them and missed them, but were unable to transport large quantities back home.
Or places like Anshui Prefecture had low labor costs and raw material prices so goods transported to Fengjing could double in price. Even after transportation costs, the profit margin was still so attractive.
Transportation enables goods to move across cities, allowing people all over Dayu Dynasty to taste novel flavors while also earning profits from price differences.
Dried broad beans were just one example. Anshui Prefecture's ice and annex were just one hub. In the future, his footprint would be all over Dayu Dynasty with ice houses and ample ice supplies established in every city, transporting anything from south to north and east to west.
Standing at the door with bright sunlight shining in, Zheng Ruqian's shadow was projected onto the floor.
Despite having the height of a half-grown boy and not regaining a stocky figure yet, at this moment he still made everyone feel his grandeur, giving off an air as if holding the world in his palm.
Everyone inside was also infected by the tranquility.
After quite a while, Aunt Zhang smiled and asked, "So how about our partnership with You Ran Inn?"
"Of course we'll partner with them." Zheng Ruqian turned around. Same as always, cunningness spread across his bony cheeks. "Since they want exquisite desserts, Aunt Zhang will provide them exquisite ones. Having You Ran Inn as the high-end benchmark, Jiuzhen Store's affordable desserts will become even more popular."
He intended to earn both the money of the rich and the poor.
Aunt Zhang smiled with some worry at the same time, "I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it alone."
"Aunt Zhang just focuses on expanding the workforce." Zheng Ruqian waved generously. "I won't get involved in hiring. Go ahead without worries, Aunt Zhang. When Jiuzhen Store grows big and strong in the future, we may even open another chain back in Anshui Prefecture."
Just like You Ran Inn, open branches all over Dayu Dynasty.
Brightness glistened in Aunt Zhang's eyes, seemingly from both the freedom of hiring more helping hands as well as the ambitious prospects of Jiuzhen Store.
Now only one question remained.
Zheng Ruqian lowered his head, smiling at his sister. "Weren't you going to ask me, since Henan Prefecture has chestnuts, why did I still bring back small chestnuts from Hebei Commandery?"
"Why?" Jiang Sheng covered her mouth and asked.
Zheng Ruqian turned sideways proudly, "Because I discovered a new way of eating chestnuts in Hebei Commandery."
A method of stir-frying and heating chestnuts with pebbles until the chestnuts cooked through and split open. It was prevalent in Hebei Commandery and a couple other prefectures, a must-eat winter delicacy for the locals there.
