The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 10: When competing with peers, avoid competing on price

"Each tea is priced a few cents higher, and all the mid- and low-quality teas are sold out."

"Where did the Shi family find this brilliant idea?" Shang Mingshu clapped her hands, her face full of praise.

Shang Wenshu shook her head helplessly. Her younger sister was a carefree person, and she had never seen Shang Mingshu worried. "I heard that Shi Qingyu suggested that they sell the Wang family's surplus grain at a very low price. Even with the premium on tea, it would offset the grain purchase. This season, the profits will definitely increase significantly."

"How could Shi Houqiong actually listen to Shi Qingyu's words?" Shang Mingshu was surprised.

Shi Houqiong and Shang Jinliang were both well-educated and had passed the imperial examination. Yu Jinxue and the others both stopped there, but their personalities were completely different.

Shang Jinliang often said that it would be nice to have a son, but he never took his anger out on his wives and concubines. He taught his three daughters carefully and did not stop them from interfering in the family business. Even if there were many complaints from his family, he would take them on.

Shi Houqiong has two sons and one daughter. Her two sons often make Shang Mingshu suspect that their biological mother is cheating!

Shi Houqiong is shrewd, ruthless, decisive and vicious.

His eldest son is a playboy who indulges in drinking, gambling and whoring, while his youngest son is an arrogant and stupid nerd. Only Shi Qingyu's personality is most like Shi Houqiong's, but Shi Houqiong never lets Shi Qingyu get involved in Shi family affairs.

What impressed her most was that Shi Qingyu was forced to bind her feet by Shi Houqiong at the age of six. At that time, they were separated by a wall, and Shi Qingyu's crying and begging penetrated the white wall and reached the ears of the three sisters, making the three sisters hug each other and tremble.

Xiao Yu stood in front of the three sisters and sternly addressed Shang Jinliang, "If you dare to have someone tie up their feet, I will divorce you. I won't care about Wenshu and Zishu, but I'm going to take Mingshu with me."

Shang Wenshu and Shang Zishu both grabbed Xiao Yu and wanted to go with them, but Shang Jinliang was a soft-hearted person and finally gave up.

A few days later, Xiao Yu invited a martial arts master to teach them martial arts. Shang Wenshu and Shang Zishu persisted for a while, but they couldn't stand the hardship anymore and gave up. Finally, they found other things they were passionate about.

Shang Mingshu gritted her teeth and persevered, but when the martial artist left, he only said that he would teach Shang Mingshu some physical fitness techniques. Shang Jinliang also traveled around in those years, and until now he still thought that Shang Mingshu only knew some fake tricks.

"Uncle Shi always tells everyone that this was Shi Guangchao's idea." Shang Wenshu shook her head, not knowing what Shi Qingyu felt. Fortunately, she was born in Shang family.

Shi Qingyu's grandfather was still alive, so he called Shi Houqiong "Uncle Shi".

"Shi Houqiong is so determined to help Shi Qingyu climb up the social ladder, how could she let anyone know that Shi Qingyu is an expert in business?" Shang Mingshu scoffed, "Sooner or later, Shi Guangchao and his brother will be hated by Shi Qingyu and something terrible will happen."

"It's none of your or my business to worry about other people's affairs. Instead of wasting time on this, why not think about how to sell more of our own tea?" Shang Wenshu is like Shang Jinliang, a gentleman who doesn't criticize others.

"Sister, why don't you check the origin of these old grains?" Shang Mingshu had an idea.

Buying tea and giving away grain for free can take away 20% of their profits. You can imagine how huge the amount of grain is. Even if there were three consecutive years of bumper harvests in the south of the Yangtze River, there would not be so much old grain piled up. The Wang family would make huge profits by going through some trouble to transport it to distant places and sell it.

If you don't want to go through all the trouble, it's better to find a ship merchant who will give you a discount than to sell it to the Shi family.

"Mingshu, do you suspect there's something wrong with this batch of old grain?" Shang Wenshu had learned all sorts of honest business practices from Shang Jinliang. Neither she nor Shang Jinliang had ever suspected there was anything wrong with this batch of old grain. This was something they were about to eat! "It might not be as I thought. Sister, please check the source of the old grain first. Can we intercept this batch of 'old grain'?" Shang Mingshu covered her lips with a round fan, her eyebrows curved, "We'll find another way to sell it."

"Do you have any idea? We are on good terms with Mr. Lin. They give us food and we give us cloth?" Shang Wenshu racked her brains these days but couldn't come up with a proper solution.

Shang Mingshu shook her head. "When competing with the same industry, avoid competing on price. A price war will only hurt each other's vitality, harming others and not benefiting yourself, and ultimately both sides will suffer."

"I know that too," Shang Wenshu said, a little annoyed at the bad idea she had just blurted out, "but I really can't think of a way to deal with it."

"The Shi family is profiting from mid- and low-quality tea, so we should start with high-quality tea." Shang Mingshu pondered for a moment and said, "What Eldest Sister just said about using cloth is also possible. We can ask Uncle Lin to purchase some scarce and expensive silk cloth. Eldest Sister, you can contact Uncle Wu and Uncle Wang..."

The two families Shang Mingshu mentioned were the Wu family, a porcelain merchant, and the Wang family, who ran a bookshop. "You go to their homes in person and negotiate a deal. Have Uncle Wu make a porcelain teapot suitable for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Uncle Wang make a pen. Place the three items in a specially made wooden box, cover it with the Lin family's silk cloth, and arrange it beautifully. Display it before the Mid-Autumn Festival..."

Shang Wenshu's brows relaxed after hearing this. The two parties cooperated and set a price, and then they would split the profits based on the sales volume.

In this way, not only can they gain favors, but the Shi family will also be reluctant to do anything bad, otherwise it will not only damage the interests of their business family. They should try it in Huizhou Prefecture first, and then promote it if it is feasible.

This is a long-term business, and we can change it in the future.

"You can share more of the profits with Uncle Wang. After we finish, we'll have to sell it in his bookstores. Brushes, inkstones, paper, and inkstones are elegant items, and our tea should be sold along with them. I'll also have Mr. Meng from the orphanage compose a children's rhyme and have the children there sing it along the streets."

Shang Mingshu never kept idlers, whether in the workhouse or the orphanage. The workhouse would take on jobs they were capable of doing, and the orphanage children would hire teachers to teach them how to read and write, and those with talent would be sent to charity schools. In addition to learning to read and write, they would also be asked to do some errands.

"Great!" Shang Wenshu's heart surged, and she stood up immediately, "Third sister, there's no need to trouble Mr. Meng with the task of composing nursery rhymes. Wen Sanlang can do it."

Shang Mingshu raised her eyebrows slightly: "Has the elder sister made up her mind?"

Shang Wenshu's face flushed slightly, and her eyes avoided because of embarrassment.

Waving her round fan from time to time, Shang Mingshu asked again, "Wen Sanlang, are you willing to marry into my family?"

"I told him a long time ago that I only want a son-in-law." Shang Wenshu spoke in a very low voice, unconsciously tightening her sleeves. "He expressed his feelings to me a few days ago..."

"I heard that he is a good student and is expected to take the exam again this year. If he passes, he will be promoted from then on. He is only in his early twenties and has a prime time in his life. If he marries into our family, his career will be ruined..." Shang Mingshu's fingertips slid slowly along the edges of the round fan.

"He said he would give it another try this year. If he fails, he would not be able to continue to accept our business support. From now on, he will change his mind and follow his father to learn the business way." Shang Wenshu smiled when she mentioned the person she liked.

"What if he passes the imperial examination this year?" Shang Mingshu said in a flat tone.

Shang Wenshu's face tightened, she tugged at her sleeves, and smiled bitterly: "I wish you a smooth career."

(End of this chapter)