Haggling over prices

  "Qian Zhanggui, you are well-informed and experienced, a renowned businessman in Yangzhou. I wonder what price you plan to offer for the purchase?" Liu Yuanshen knew that whoever spoke first would lose the initiative, so he cleverly let Qian Zhanggui speak first.

  This is also a way to probe the other's bottom line.

  Qian Zhanggui hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his right hand and said: "This wine is not bad, Qian Mou is willing to pay a high price of 50 taels to buy the young master's brewing secret recipe."

  Fifty taels is not a small amount, now it's a peaceful and prosperous world, with abundant goods and rich people, everything is very cheap. One dou of rice (30 jin) costs only two or three coins, this is the price of refined rice, calculated, five or six copper coins can buy one jin of good rice. The cost of brewing wine is not high either, taking Tianfu Wine House's ten taels fragrance as an example, ten coins can buy a small pot to slowly savor.

  One or two silver coins can buy a hundred jars of wine. If you spend fifty taels on buying wine, one person will not be able to finish drinking it in their lifetime.

  But Liu Yuan was not moved at all.

  "Qian Zhanggui, what I heard is that you want the technique for brewing my wine. You think you can buy the technique for brewing this top-grade fine wine with just 50 taels? Do you take me for a child to be easily deceived?" Liu Yuan shook his head and said expressionlessly.

  "No, no, no, the small man is very sincere. In fact, our ten-liang fragrance is only sold for ten cents a pot, and the golden moon wine house's signboard beautiful wine Tianxian drunk, in fact, it's just selling nine cents a pot, fifty liang, really not many." To increase his own credibility, Qian Zhanggui continued to say:

  "I have to admit, this wine is quite good and has a kick, but that's just the first impression. However, the taste of this wine is slightly bitter, which is a major drawback. Moreover, I don't know how much grain was used to make this wine, but I'm sure it's more than my Shili Xiang. Actually, spending so much money on this is quite reckless."

  He is indeed a veteran in the food and drink industry. After just one bowl of wine, he immediately pointed out the characteristics of distilled liquor.

  When it was just steamed out, the taste wasn't very good. It's best to bury it underground for a period of time and let the wine volatilize, so that the mouthfeel and softness will be greatly improved. However, Liu Yuan really couldn't wait because he had to raise 500 taels of silver within seven days.

  Liu Yuan also did not deny, and after a moment of praise, he said: "Boss Qian is really incredible, just a few words and he has already pointed out the shortcomings of this wine. As for this issue, I won't hide it either. In fact, this wine is made with my family's secret recipe. After brewing, it is buried underground, and the longer it is buried, the more mellow and smooth it becomes. Half a year, just half a year of being buried underground, not only will it maintain its current flavor, but it will also become even more fragrant and mellow. The mouthfeel is absolutely no worse than that of Ten Li Xiang. As for the grain used, it's roughly three to four times more than what's used in ordinary brewing."

  "Really?" Boss Qian's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Liu Yuan.

  "Actually, I can verify it in person."

  "Is the craftsmanship complicated? Does it require a lot of manpower?" Manager Qian asked carefully.

  Liu Yuanru told the truth: "It's not complicated at all, and the requirements for human resources are not high."

  "Can I take a look?"

  "That won't do, if you take a look, my secret formula will be exposed."

  Qian Guanju looked at Liu Yuan, then looked at the wine on the table, gritted his teeth and said: "Then I'll add thirty more taels, eighty taels."

  "I don't like it when you charge exorbitant prices and then lower them later. Shopkeeper, give me a honest price."

  "One hundred and twenty, is this price satisfactory?"

  "Sister, let's go." Liu Yuan picked up the wine jar and pretended to leave, pulling Xiaoniang along.

  "Wait, wait, wait!" Qian Zhanggu hurriedly held onto Liu Yuan's arm and said: "Young master, it was my fault, it was my fault. We can discuss the price, if it's not suitable we can talk until it is."

  Liu Yuan said with an unhappy face: "I heard that Boss Qian is a kind person, I have good things to show you first, and there's no one who can offer a higher price than me. You're treating me like a child, what else is there to say?"

  "Yes, yes, I was wrong. I shouldn't have underestimated the young master. Otherwise, young master, give a suitable price and let's see how far apart we are."

  "Five hundred taels!" Liu said resolutely: "Not a single copper coin can be less."

  "What? Five hundred taels?" Manager Qian exclaimed in distress: "Young master, five hundred taels! Who ever heard of adding ten times more just because of a small addition? You can't even pay back the money, this is too much!"

  The little girl next to her had just heard about the fifty taels and was a bit disappointed because it was far from enough to pay off the debt. When it rose to one hundred taels, her heart beat a little faster. One hundred taels! In seven days, she earned one hundred taels, even if her own father were alive, he wouldn't be able to earn that much. She thought Liu Yuan would agree, but unexpectedly Liu Yuan wanted to take her away. Now that they had finally negotiated the price again, Liu Yuan's brother Zhang opened his mouth and said five hundred taels.

  Liu's mood had been messed up by his own emotions.

  Seeing Qian Zhang's anxiety, Liu Yuan didn't get angry, but instead said confidently: "Qian Zhang, I think you've overlooked two problems."

  "Oh, is that so? Then please enlighten me, young master." Unbeknownst to him, Qian Zhanggui was also infected by Liu Yuan's confident smile and didn't mind asking.

  Sometimes, an idea, a brainwave, can turn stones into gold in business.

  Liu Yuan said confidently: "This wine is priced high, Tenli Xiang sells for ten cents a pot, Tianshen Zui sells for nine cents a pot, the value is almost the same. However, my Great Tang country is rich and strong, everyone's pockets are bulging, it's not that they can't afford to consume. I think this wine should be priced at least five times higher than Tenli Xiang, so the money will come back quickly."

  "Moreover, such good wine is always in demand wherever you go. My great Tang Dynasty has a vast territory and a large population; there's no place without a market. Once your brand becomes famous, you'll make a fortune selling wine."

  Qian Zhanggui's heart was racing upon hearing this. Five hundred taels were a trivial matter, and he could afford to take it out, but the risk was a bit too great.

  Don't look at the Tianfu Wine House's business being so good, after deducting labor costs, lamp oil and wax, taxes, and officials' and hooligans' extortion, what finally enters one's own pocket is only three to five hundred taels a year. If luck is bad, this is almost an annual income that can't be exceeded.

  "Ah, young master," said Qian Zhanggui, rubbing his hands together, looking a bit embarrassed: "I do like wine, but can't the price be lowered a bit?"

  "Are you afraid of taking risks?"

  "It's okay, I guess."

  Liu Yuan smiled lightly and lowered his voice, saying: "How about this, Boss Qian? You're afraid of the risk, so we'll sign a contract. If you can't make back your investment within a year, I'll buy it back at double the price. However, if you do make back your investment within a year, then from now on, apart from the wine used by Tianfu Wine House, for every bottle of wine you sell and make a profit on, you'll give me 10% of the profit, or one-tenth of it. What do you say?"

  "Boss Qian, you think about it first, no rush. I'll go take a look around elsewhere." Liu Yuan didn't urge him either, figuring that good goods won't be hard to sell, if the eastern house doesn't buy it, the western house will.

  "Alright, I'll take the 500 taels. I, Qian, agree to it!" With these words, Qian made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.

  In his opinion, this wine is absolutely good, and he has personally tasted it. It's not a competitor of his own, and the Golden Lady of the Golden Moon Pavilion can also afford to pay for it. At that time, it won't just be a matter of wine, I estimate that those customers will all be snatched away by her. This little guy said that he wouldn't make a profit within a year, but he would buy back twice as much, and he wouldn't lose out himself.

  When the time comes, how much I sell is what I say goes. When it's enough for a year, I'll tell him it's not enough and have him spend 1,000 taels to buy it back. Not only will he get a free recipe, but he'll also make a profit of 500 taels - what a great deal! The abacus in Manager Qian's mind is clicking away rapidly.

  Unfortunately, Qian Zhanggui thought he had looked far enough, but didn't expect that later on, a large sum of silver would flow into Liu Yuan's hands, slapping his thigh and shouting in regret, almost as if he wanted to slap himself.

  "Great!" Liu Yuan said with a smile: "Deal!"

  "Right, young master, this secret recipe of yours, if you sell it to me, you can't sell it to anyone else. A person must have credibility." Just as the two were about to sign, Qian Zhanggui woke up to the matter of the exclusive secret recipe.

  "Alright, then add three hundred taels."

  "Three hundred taels?"

  Liu Yuan nodded and said, "Of course, if I sell it a few more times, the profit will increase. But you only want to monopolize this unique formula by yourself, so you must pay more."

  "Can I haggle?" said Qian Zhanggui with a wry smile.

  "No!"

  "That's right, add three hundred to make it three hundred, five hundred have been paid out, and don't care about the other three hundred taels either." Qian Zhanggui gritted his teeth and still agreed.

  The two men agreed and soon signed a contract, with everything written clearly in black and white. They even shook hands to seal the deal, and that was that.

  "Alright, Master Liu, where is your secret recipe?" After signing and stamping his handprint, Manager Qian finally learned from the contract that this young gentleman was actually a Liu, so he stopped calling him "young gentleman" and started calling him "Master Liu".

  Liu Yuanda waved his hand: "Some things are more troublesome to say, you'd better come with me now and take a look. I live on Jinshui Street, and after that, you'll understand."

  "That's great, that's great." said Qian Zhanggui with delight.

  What one hears is often false, what one sees is true. He didn't know if this Liu gentleman in front of him would intentionally cause trouble, but it's better to test the waters and see how things turn out.

  "But this wine..."

  Liu Yuan knew that someone like Qian Zhanggui, a drunkard, would not be able to resist drinking his own wine. After drinking, he would still want more. Never mind, anyway, there was still some left for himself.

  "Let Old Moneybags savor it for himself."

  "That's great, that's great, thank you, young Master Liu." Mr. Qian repeatedly expressed his gratitude, and at the very least, he could now freely indulge in a night of drinking.

  Just as Qian Zhanggui was holding that jar of wine and getting ready to go with Liu Yuan to learn the secret recipe for brewing wine, Liu Yuan suddenly shouted: "Wait!"

  Seeing Qian Zhang's misunderstanding, Liu Yuan explained awkwardly: "That, this jar I have to keep, because I promised my junior sister that when I return, this jar will be filled with silver."

  "Big brother~~~~" The little girl who had been watching with wide eyes and an open mouth, heard Liu say this and her pretty face immediately turned red.

  "Haha, haha!" Qian Zhanggu laughed loudly and said with a smile: "Interesting, interesting! This is just a small problem. Let's do it as Mr. Zhang said. If 800 taels of silver are not enough to fill the container, I'll make up for it, but I'll use copper coins to make up for it."

  Liu Yuan and Qian Zhanggu looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

  ;