He Zhiran looked at Peng Wang.
"Brother Peng, anyway these skins won't spoil until winter comes, so we might as well sell them when winter arrives."
Peng Wang was very cooperative in his reply: "Alright, whatever my younger sister says."
As he spoke, he gestured at the clerks to leave with him.
Seeing that the deal was about to slip away, the shopkeeper immediately put on a smiling face to block their way.
"Gentlemen, don't rush to leave. Let's discuss this further."
"There's nothing more to discuss. We worked hard to get so many wolf skins, of course we'll wait to sell them when prices are highest."
As Peng Wang saw the shopkeeper come to obstruct them, he was gleeful inside but still pretended that he wanted to leave.
The anxious shopkeeper directly shouted: "How about this - I'll pay an extra 100 wen per skin. That's very high already!"
He Zhiran turned her head and held out a palm to the shopkeeper.
"Pay an extra 500 wen and you have a deal."
"500 wen is too much. Even in winter, wolf fur isn't worth that much," the shopkeeper was nearly in tears. With an extra 500 wen, his profits would be halved.
"Then forget it. We're going to the capital in a few days anyway, and can definitely get a good price for them there," He Zhiran said, and prepared to leave.
Now the shopkeeper was truly anxious.
"Fine, one and a half taels of silver per skin. I'll buy all the wolf fur."
Although his profit margin had decreased, it was still better than making no profit.
Peng Wang was impressed that He Zhiran had negotiated an extra 25 taels worth of silver with just a few sentences.
He secretly gave her a thumbs up.
The wolf skins were quickly unloaded from the wooden cart, revealing dried wolf meat packed in several large iron pots.
Curious, the shopkeeper asked: "Brothers, what is this?"
Having earned extra money, Peng Wang was in a good mood and generously handed him a piece of dried meat.
"Boss, have a taste. This is dried wolf meat."
"Dried wolf meat?" The shopkeeper had been in business for many years, but this was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
He took the dried meat from Peng Wang and cautiously bit off a piece.
And he simply could not stop eating after that first bite.
"Delicious, chewy, and more fragrant the more you chew..."
On the way here, He Zhiran had suggested that with so much dried meat, it would be impossible for them to retail it bit by bit at the marketplace. It would be best to find a teahouse or restaurant and negotiate for them to purchase the whole batch.
Therefore, even as the shopkeeper of the fur shop continuously praised how tasty it was, they had no intention of selling him some. Seeing how much he liked it, Peng Wang generously gave him a few more pieces.
After receiving the silver, Peng Wang was about to leave with his men, but as soon as he turned around, the shopkeeper chased him out.
"Gentlemen, please wait!"
Peng Wang looked back: "Something else?"
The shopkeeper came up to them, grinning from ear to ear.
"Brothers, might this dried wolf meat be for sale?"
"Of course it's for sale, but we won't be selling it in small amounts," Peng Wang replied.
He had just finished speaking when a man looking about thirty years old, wearing silk brocade robes, walked out of the shop.
The man was waving a fan, believing himself to have elegant demeanor as he approached them.
"Cui is my unworthy name. In three days I will be hosting a poetry gathering, where scholarly gentlemen from the surrounding counties will be in attendance. I noticed this dried wolf meat and thought it would make for a fine snack. If possible, I would like to purchase some."
Peng Wang instinctively looked to He Zhiran upon this prospect of business.
He Zhiran already knew dried wolf meat would be in demand.
"Master Cui, we don't sell our meat in small amounts. If you would purchase the whole batch, then we can discuss pricing," she said.
Master Cui first glanced at the amount of dried meat on the cart before replying, "No problem."
Hearing this, He Zhiran did not hesitate either and directly named her price: "For all of this dried meat, 300 wen per jin."
"300 wen per jin? Young lady, you're practically robbing us!" The shopkeeper felt the price was unbelievable.
Not just the shopkeeper, even Peng Wang was somewhat shocked upon hearing this quote.
If not for the meat being so tasty, even if they had properly prepared this wolf meat and brought it to market, they probably couldn't have gotten much money for it.
This girl had directly opened with 300 wen.
He Zhiran's price did contain some room for negotiation - naturally this would not be a fixed price sale, and the other party would certainly bargain.
But she absolutely would not take the initiative to make concessions.
"It takes five jin of wolf meat to make one jin of dried meat. These wolves were hunted by my family risking their lives, and go through many processing steps. I feel this price is very reasonable," she said.
"Even if it's five jin of wolf meat for one jin of dried meat, it's still not worth 300 wen per jin!" the shopkeeper retorted.
Master Cui echoed in agreement: "Indeed, 300 wen per jin is too expensive."
Seeing both of them think the price was too high, Peng Wang guessed this deal was likely going south.
In a moment of anxiety, he secretly nudged He Zhiran, hinting with his eyes for her to lower the price.
But He Zhiran ignored Peng Wang and instead addressed the shopkeeper and Master Cui:
"I presume both of you tried the meat and found the flavor satisfactory, which is why you want to buy some."
Seeing as neither party rebutted, He Zhiran continued,
"The method of making dried meat is secret recipe passed down in our family. I believe you simply cannot buy meat this delicious anywhere else.
Master Cui, since you are hosting a poetry gathering, I'm certain the attendees will be prominent and influential people.
When you serve them this unique dried meat at the event, I assure you it will have an unanticipated effect."
He Zhiran's words had indeed struck Master Cui's heart.
After hesitating a number of times, he finally said, "200 wen per jin. I'll take the whole batch."
In He Zhiran's estimation, the lowest acceptable price for the meat was 150 wen per jin. Hearing the offer of 200 wen, she was already elated internally.
However, so as not to betray her delight, He Zhiran hesitated briefly, seemingly conflicted.
Seeing her uncertainty, Master Cui spoke again,
"I'll add another 20 wen per jin, but I can't go higher."
He Zhiran put on a look of indecision, turning to face Peng Wang as if unable to make up her mind.
"Big brother Peng, can we agree to this price?"
Peng Wang played along very cooperatively, making a pained expression as he said, "220 wen per jin it is then! If this sells our dried meat, we can return home that much sooner."
Only then did He Zhiran reluctantly look to Master Cui.
"Since my elder brother has agreed, I've got no say. It's a deal for 220 wen per jin."
The shopkeeper called over helpers to weigh the meat.
There was a total of 168 jin of dried wolf meat, priced at 36 taels and 980 wen.
Master Cui directly gave He Zhiran 40 taels of silver.
To Peng Wang, being able to sell these unwanted wolf parts for 40 taels was like finding free money on the ground.
