Lu Liu sat beside them flipping through a book. When he heard that Hong Chu was also going to the provincial capital, his eyes filled with unmistakable envy.
“Wow… Brother Chu is really amazing. His business has even reached the provincial capital…”
The news encouraged them greatly.
After Lai Zhen left, the two brothers huddled together, whispering back and forth.
People always said the beginning was the hardest. Once they had capital in hand and their trading firm was established, everything else would gradually fall into place.
They were holding silver now. They could continue expanding their business.
Lu Yang had long said he wanted to purchase a storefront in the prefectural city and move the firm into town. Some time ago, he had already sent word to the brokerage, asking them to keep an eye out.
The prefectural city had a large population and business was easier to conduct there. Opportunity and risk coexisted. Countless people made fortunes; countless others mismanaged and failed. Some fell into gambling—no matter how large their family estate, it was never enough to cover the losses. As for buying or renting a shop, patience was key. Sooner or later, the right place would appear. Sometimes even an unexpectedly excellent storefront could be found.
Whenever Li Feng had spare time, he would visit the brokerage to show their determination to secure a shop. Many brokers had already shared drinks with him. He had even invited the manager of the brokerage out for a banquet, presented several generous gifts, and was now simply waiting for news of a good location.
Although they had just completed a large transaction, most of the silver now in their hands was deposit money.
Lu Yang had consulted Wu Pingzhi about it. This sum, Wu Pingzhi advised, should not be touched until more than half the goods had been delivered. Their firm had been established only recently. They lacked foundation and had no wealthy family estate to cushion risks. They could not afford recklessness.
Wu Pingzhi told Lu Yang a story about commercial squeeze tactics between merchants.
Merchant Firm A would place a large and expensive order with Merchant Firm B. At the same time, they would collude with itinerant traders to create the illusion that the goods were selling briskly in other regions, encouraging those traders to place additional orders as well.
After receiving these orders, Merchant Firm B would invest heavily in purchasing more raw materials.
To meet deadlines, they would contract numerous workshops and workers to take on the production.
Then, just as the goods were about to be completed, the deposits would be withdrawn.
On paper, Merchant Firm B’s accounts would be emptied.
If at that moment a money house were willing to extend a loan, they could endure six months to a year until the goods were sold, repay the loan with interest, and still retain some profit. It would not be fatal.
But immediately afterward, Merchant Firm A would pull strings—through pressure or inducement—so that money houses dared not lend to Merchant Firm B. At the same time, they would flood the market with similar goods of slightly higher quality, selling them at suppressed prices. Customers and traders alike would flock to Merchant Firm A.
Merchant Firm B would have no cash on hand, no loans available, goods that could not be converted into silver, workers to pay, and suppliers awaiting settlement. Workshops and laborers required wages, or else the raw materials would rot in their hands.
At that point, Merchant Firm A would send intermediaries to negotiate purchase prices—once, twice, repeatedly lowering the offer—until Merchant Firm B, seeing no hope of selling their goods, would offload raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished products at half price or even less. Only then would the squeeze end.
Merchant Firm A would thus obtain vast quantities of goods at extremely low prices, dominate the market, restore prices to normal, and enjoy increased supply. Traders would have no choice but to purchase from them.
If Merchant Firm B lacked foundation, they could be ruined entirely. If they were well established, they might barely survive.
“Our firm relies on the mountains for its goods,” Lu Yang concluded. “We could afford to sit on inventory. But we do not have deep roots. After discussing it several times, we decided not to rush into securing a storefront. We will wait until the payments are settled before choosing slowly.”
Lu Yang’s own thought was that they could first lease a small shop and sell food.
After the Beginning of Autumn, temperatures would drop quickly. Selling breakfast in summer was manageable—not unbearably hot. But selling breakfast in winter? That was truly cold.
“Brother Liu,” Lu Yang said, “your idea of setting up a stall is very good. With this one matter accomplished, everyone in the family has work to do and can earn money. They feel secure, their backs straighten. We are not doing this to earn great wealth. Having a shop does not mean profits will multiply tenfold or a hundredfold. After deducting rent and costs, if we follow your original plan and can cover vegetable expenses, eat good rice and proper meals, and have a bit of meat in every meal—that is enough.”
Lu Liu nodded. “Yes. This shop is just so we have something to do. It cannot be all about silver. Otherwise it would not be a blessing—just exhausting and stressful.”
Seeing he could follow the reasoning, Lu Yang guided him further. “Then what will your shop focus on selling?”
Lu Liu had thought about it while running the stall and continued pondering at home. When asked, he smiled.
“I have been thinking about it every day, looking at the shop banners, imagining what kind of place I want. There are many restaurants in the prefectural city. If we compete in proper dine-in meals, we cannot win. That would trap people in the kitchen washing vegetables and dishes all day. It would exhaust us. If we lease a shop, I still want one near the academy, close to home so we can manage it easily. We will still sell breakfast—we are all diligent and not afraid of opening early. For the rest, I want to sell soups. All kinds of soups.”
Wild mushroom soup and fish soup must be included; both were popular.
He also wanted to simmer other soups: chicken soup, pork rib soup, old duck soup, pork stomach and trotter soup, and so on.
Not every scholar at the academy rented housing with family members to care for them. Many studied away from home and lived in dormitories—like Xie Yan last year.
In most restaurants, soups were either vegetable broths or quick dishes like meatball or fish soup. Long-simmered broths required advance orders. Buying one portion alone was too much for one person; sharing could lead to uneven portions.
“I will make large clay-pot soups for big portions,” Lu Liu explained confidently. “And small clay-pot soups for individual servings. For example, a whole chicken in the large pot, half a chicken in the small. We can even make pigeon soup—very small, perfect for one person. Pork rib soup can be sold by the bowl. Ribs are easy to count and similar in size, so customers will not complain that one portion has more or less.”
Lu Yang applauded encouragingly and urged him to continue.
Grinning, Lu Liu went on, “We only need to earn a little money. So we do not have to make too much soup at once. Build up regular customers and focus on repeat business. We will be living here a long time. Later we also want to start teaching Xiaomai and Zhuangzhuang. So prices do not need to be high—just fair. Earn a good reputation among scholars. Wild mushroom soup can be available daily since the mushrooms are ours and inexpensive. For the other soups, I will assign one to each of Father, Mother, and Aunt to prepare. Once the small shop opens, Shun Ge’er can help. The two of us will adjust as needed. If there are many regulars, we make more. If not, we prepare less.”
As Lu Yang conversed with him further, he realized this encompassed all of Lu Liu’s current thoughts. So he said, “Brother Liu, actually, since coming to the prefectural city, the greatest change we need is to be willing to hire workers. Think more about that.”
Lu Liu more or less understood. He had gained experience. For example, his brother and the two fathers had hired He Fulang to wash clothes.
This was different from the drying grounds back in the mountain stronghold. There, all the mountain gatherers were suppliers, and those working in the yard were hired by family connections. Even additional workers from the stronghold were related by kinship.
The prefectural city was different. Here, workers were outsiders.
Lu Liu had seen that many laborers in the city and county were hired employees without familial ties to the shop owners. After a moment’s thought, he said, “I will hire a kitchen helper to slaughter chickens and ducks. We will not have too much work each day. He can also wash dishes.”
Lu Yang nodded. “Give him a place to stay. He can watch the shop at night.”
Lu Liu laughed foolishly. “Brother, do you not have any other opinions?”
“No,” Lu Yang replied. “Your ideas are excellent. You have considered what business to run, where to run it, the main products, division of labor, costs, pricing, and how to meet different customer needs. What more can I say? I can only wish you prosperous business, Boss Lu.”
Lu Liu’s grin grew even wider.
Boss Lu.
He could be Boss Lu now.
In the future, when he went out, he would be just like his brother. They would both be Boss Lu.
He was still basking in excitement when Li Feng returned that evening. During dinner, he brought up the matter again, asking for Li Feng’s opinion as well.
