This Life, I'm Raising the Right Man

Zhang Pandi was worried: ”Yaoguang, the shop across the street has stolen all our business. What should we do?”

Although we earned some Silver recently, and saving it could keep us well-fed and clothed for years, abruptly stopping such a good business feels as painful as carving out our heart.

”How could they steal it all?” Su Yaoguang responded, ”They’ve just opened, and customers are drawn by the novelty. It’s normal for them to flock there these days. Once this novelty wears off, discerning customers will recognize our goods are superior, and naturally will spend the money. We must not lower our prices; if we do, what will previous customers think? With fewer customers these days, we might as well take a break and prepare the next batch of goods. By the way, I was thinking of brewing wine myself; I didn’t have the time before, but now I do, so I’ll get this done first.”

”Didn’t you just say only a few are willing to spend more? If we don’t lower the price, the ordinary customers won’t stay, and we’ll only capture a few,” Zhang Yingdi remarked.

”Indeed, only a few are willing to spend, but their spending power is equivalent to dozens or even hundreds of ordinary customers. Our products have already gained a reputation, so first, we mustn’t lower the price and second, we mustn’t lower the quality. We should aim for improvement and never devalue ourselves by engaging in price wars or trying to attract ordinary customers,” Yaoguang explained.

The group remained worried.

Chun E came in carrying large bags, calling out, ”Yaoguang, I bought some things from across the street. They have clothes, shoes, socks — it’s indeed cheap, and customers are flocking there.”

”Sister Chun’e, how do the clothes, socks, and shoes from across the street look?” Su Yaoguang asked.

”Honestly, they look quite good, certainly better than what we have in our shop,” Chun E replied, handing the bought items to others, ”My shop was starting to attract customers, but now it’ll be deserted again.”

”Did you ask where their goods come from?” Zhang Zhaodi inquired.

”I did. That shopkeeper is quite secretive, only urging me to buy, without revealing any crucial information,” Chun E replied, ”Sister, do you have any way to attract our business back?”

”My strategy is to stay put. They can’t take all the customers, some will still prefer the products from our Taoyao Square. As long as we maintain our principles, we’re not afraid of competition,” Su Yaoguang said, ”Take this time to spruce up your shop, and perhaps refurbish your old stock.”

The emergence of Fenghua Pavilion affects not just their business but other shops as well. Whether they can regain customers afterwards depends on their own skills.

Zhou Wangshu returned from the Gambling House, seeing Su Yaoguang busy with those large vats, asked, ”What are you doing?”

”I plan to brew wine myself, cleaning these necessary tools in advance. You’re back late today, did you eat at the academy?”

Zhou Wangshu walked over, producing a pouch, and waved it in front of her.

”What’s this?” Su Yaoguang took it, opened it to see broken silver, eyes filled with surprise, ”Where did this come from?”

”I earned it by transcribing books,” Zhou Wangshu answered, also responding to her previous question, ”I’ve already eaten at the academy. If I come home for dinner, I’ll be back before mealtime. If not, don’t save dinner for me.”

”Wang Shu, this is three taels of silver. How many books do you need to transcribe to earn so much?” Su Yaoguang furrowed her brow, ”Your task now is to study well; our family no longer lacks Silver, so you shouldn’t be distracted.”

”My calligraphy is exquisite, so my transcriptions fetch a higher price,” Zhou Wangshu said, ”Others earn only fifty or sixty cents per book; I earn one hundred cents. If I can add annotations from the books, they sell for two hundred cents. I’m reviewing lessons, so earning by transcribing as I study makes it worthwhile, doesn’t it?”

Su Yaoguang knew Zhou Wangshu’s calligraphy; he wasn’t exaggerating. His beautiful writing justified its value, and with added scholarly annotations, it was even more valuable. At present, no books claimed to have annotations, making his approach unique and hence more coveted.

Su Yaoguang’s heart was stirred once again.

It turns out people are different, and outcomes can be vastly different. In her previous life, Xiao Yanci never appreciated the sacrifices made by her and her mother, and she was blind with affection, not realizing the difference. Now, she sees that someone like Xiao Yanci wasn’t worth her investment. She was foolish in the past, failing to wake up early, leading to such a tragic end.

In her rebirth, she doesn’t want any entanglements with Xiao Yanci. Nor does she seek revenge; after all, it was the past her who pursued him, sowing the seeds of a bad outcome later, and she must bear part of the responsibility. Heaven granted her another chance, not to waste on such a scoundrel, but to cherish those truly important.

Zhou Wangshu noticed her zoning out and waved his hand before her eyes.

”I’ll keep this money,” she said.

”When I returned, I saw a new shop across the street and also Jiang Yihui’s mother and sister. Are they running a Rouge Shop too?” Zhou Wangshu asked.

”More than that! Besides rouge and powder, they’re selling ready-made clothes, shoes and socks, embroidery, and even Xiao Ci’s calligraphy, a lively mix,” Su Yaoguang noted, ”Their purpose is to seize our business, making it hard for our shop to continue. Don’t worry, their goods are average; at first, people are drawn by novelty and low prices, so they’ll patronize them for some time. But in the long run, discerning customers will return to us. Our shop follows a boutique path, so we don’t need to hurry to compete with them for customers.”

At Fenghua Pavilion, Zhong Lanhua and Jiang Yihuan were counting silver and silver notes for the third time, finally verifying the accounts.

Zhong Lanhua rubbed her head, saying, ”I can’t handle this calculation.”

”We should hire an accountant. It’s too much trouble,” Jiang Yihuan suggested, ”It’s only the first day, and if each day requires this much time for clearing accounts, it’s exhausting.”

”Okay, tomorrow we’ll purchase an accountant,” Zhong Lanhua agreed.

”Purchase? Literate servants are costly.”

”It’s reassuring to own one. If not for buying servants earlier, we wouldn’t have stumbled upon such a money-maker. By the way, what’s that lad doing now?” Zhong Lanhua gestured towards the backyard.