Free Web NovelChapter 413: Chapter 218: Attracting Business
Li Changyu watched Juhua sit quietly to the side without chiming in, yet it seemed the topics they discussed often originated with her. He couldn’t help but get lost in thought. His mind filled with images of her joyful expression while feeding the chickens and the hopeful, yearning gaze in her eyes as she planted willow cuttings. He found her more and more difficult to understand.
’An ordinary village girl? She doesn’t seem like one!’
His eyes glinted as he smiled and asked Juhua, "So, what price do you want to sell this rice thresher for?" As he spoke, he looked over at Qingmu, assuming the device was his creation.
Qingmu, however, was unsure about this, so he looked to his sister.
Juhua chuckled softly. "Let Old Mr. Fang name his own price. We’ll only make this one request."
Li Changyu was taken aback. He asked doubtfully, "Is that a good idea? Old Mr. Fang may be a generous man, but when it comes to business, no one makes concessions lightly."
Juhua countered, "Then what price would you say is appropriate?"
That left Li Changyu speechless.
Juhua gave Qingmu a look and said, "Neither of us knows this business. It’s better to let them decide. What we think is a high price might just be what they consider a low offer."
Qingmu smiled. "It’s not like we were expecting to get rich from this thing. Let him pay what his conscience dictates."
Zhang Huai nodded. "Even though it’s business, I don’t think Old Mr. Fang will quibble with us farmers. He’s a man of great ambition; he won’t disappoint you over this bit of silver. Besides, he still wants to buy the sausage recipe!"
And so, Qingmu went with Li Changyu and Zhang Huai to speak with Manager Song.
Manager Song was quite surprised by this request. If Qingmu had asked for more silver, he could have made the decision himself. But a request to build a workshop in Xiatang Market was something he had to report to the owner. He couldn’t make that call on his own.
So, he returned to Qinghui County and relayed the matter to Fang Jingyu.
Fang Jingyu roared with laughter upon hearing this, remarking on how interesting these country lads were. He agreed to their request without a moment’s hesitation.
His reasoning was simple, just as Zhang Huai had said. He intended to establish workshops to manufacture these rice threshers throughout the areas his business influence covered, and he would do the same for the sausage workshops in the future. Therefore, building a workshop in Xiatang Market was simply a matter of course. Even if they hadn’t made the request, he would have opened a shop in Xiatang Market that year anyway to closely monitor the business trends there.
Manager Song then asked how much silver would be appropriate for the rice thresher blueprints.
Fang Jingyu looked at him with a smile. "Give them two thousand taels of silver."
Manager Song was stunned. "Isn’t that a little much? We haven’t even earned a single cent yet!"
Fang Jingyu replied with certainty, "It is. Anyone else would never offer this price because they couldn’t earn that much back in a short period. But since I’m the one doing this business, with the Fang family’s financial resources, we can build workshops to produce rice threshers all over the country. We can sell them in any region that produces rice. We’ll get a head start. By the time others start to imitate us, we’ll have already established our scale and solidified our market. We won’t be short on profits in the future. To be frank, this price is actually too low. But that’s not how the books are balanced. If they built their own workshops to sell rice threshers, who knows how many years it would take for them to earn this much silver. It could take forever."
He smiled again. "Building a workshop in Xiatang Market isn’t a bad thing. The place is a little poor, but transportation is actually very convenient. It connects up to Qinghui County and down to Linhuzhou, making future logistics easy. Moreover, being close to Little Qing Mountain means materials will surely be cheaper, and labor costs will certainly be lower than in Qinghui."
After hearing this, Manager Song nodded again and again, saying that was indeed the case. The farmers there had no income apart from selling grains like rice and corn. If they could find a job during the farming off-season to earn some money, they would undoubtedly be very happy.
He added, "And if Xiatang Market develops in the future, we’ll only benefit from having established a presence there early."
A shrewd light flashed in Fang Jingyu’s eyes. "This place is bound to develop; it’s just a matter of how soon. It might have been uncertain before, but with the Fang family’s involvement, it’s now a sure thing. Arrange for people to go to Xiatang Market to build the workshop as soon as possible. By the time the summer rice harvest comes, these threshers will be ready to be put to use."
Manager Song hurriedly lowered his hands and agreed. He then added, "I’m afraid we won’t sell many in the first year. The average farmer definitely won’t be able to afford one."
Fang Jingyu said calmly, "Suggest that several households pool their money to buy one. We can also sell on credit when necessary, but make sure to have them sign the proper legal documents. I promised the Lord County Magistrate I would put the farmers’ needs first and strive to popularize this farm tool in the shortest time possible, and I naturally cannot go back on my word. Rest assured, we won’t lose money on this."
