Chapter 449 - 405: Major Sale (Part 2)

Chapter 449: Chapter 405: Major Sale (Part 2)

Gu Dezhao put away the Spirit Pearl and said, somewhat apologetically.

"I believe in Elder Gu’s judgment."

Zhao Lin said nonchalantly. He thought for a moment, then asked, "Are these Spirit Pearls easy to trade?"

Gu Dezhao smiled. "Of course. Spirit Pearls are easy to carry and absorb Spiritual Qi quickly. You can also trade them for money when you’re down on your luck, so they’re a hot commodity."

"I offered a price higher than the market rate in the hopes that person would come back and sell more Spirit Pearls to us. But from the looks of it, that’s not very likely."

He then added with some regret, "During our last meeting, we discussed how our shop lacks a signature product, a real showstopper. Spirit Pearls are exactly that!"

Hearing this, Zhao Lin thought to himself, ’There aren’t many places that produce Spirit Pearls. Most of them come from Red Tail Island.’

’If only I could get Chu Hongtian’s support and bring Red Tail Island’s Spirit Pearls here to sell in the shop.’

’Unfortunately, a minor Qi Refining Realm cultivator like me has no standing to negotiate with the Island Master. Even if someone were to approach him, it would have to be Lu Yuanxiu.’

’Maybe when the time is right, I can see if it’s possible to persuade Lu Yuanxiu to work something out.’

...

「In the blink of an eye, it was September.」

Early one morning, Gu Dezhao left the shop and headed to the administration office on an errand.

The lease on their notice boards was expiring in a month. Zhao Lin had mentioned it the day before, so Gu Dezhao decided to renew it early to prevent other shops from snatching the spots.

When Zhao Lin first rented six notice boards at once, Gu Dezhao had felt a painful pinch. He was so upset he nearly wrote a letter to Zhou Hongfang denouncing such wasteful behavior.

Now, however, it was clear that renting those notice boards had been well worth the cost!

It was a small investment for a huge return; many customers had come specifically because they’d seen the notices.

And once customers entered the shop, they were dazzled by the array of promotions like "discounts," "free gifts with purchase," "spend-and-save," "add-on purchases," and "discounts on discounts." Almost no one left empty-handed.

’That young man!’

Gu Dezhao smiled involuntarily at the thought of Zhao Lin.

’I don’t know how his brain is wired,’ he thought, ’to come up with so many novel ideas.’

’To be honest, when Zhou Hongfang first asked me, a shopkeeper with decades of experience, to assist a wet-behind-the-ears youngster, I felt a bit resistant.’

’But what could I do? The man has a talent for cultivation and is highly regarded by the Headmaster.’

But after working together, he discovered that Zhao Lin wasn’t just a formidable cultivator—his mind was even more impressive.

What was even more remarkable was that Zhao Lin was unassuming and never pulled rank as the Chief Shopkeeper unless it was absolutely necessary.

To this day, many people—from customers to most of our peers in the market—still assumed that he, Gu Dezhao, was the Chief Shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper Gu, here to renew the lease for the notice boards, are you?"

Steward Liu asked with a broad smile as Gu Dezhao walked into the administration office.

"That’s right. I didn’t realize Steward Liu had a talent for predicting the future."

"Not at all, not at all. So, Shopkeeper Gu, how long are you planning to rent for this time...?"

A quarter of an hour later, Gu Dezhao walked out of the administration office. He had taken the plunge and rented two additional notice boards, bringing their total to eight. He leased them for a full year, at a cost of nearly five thousand Spirit Coins.

’It’s a bit pricey,’ he thought, ’but the money is well spent. It’ll earn us back ten, even dozens of times the cost in profit.’

He returned to Golden Core Hall a short while later.

Gu Dezhao went to the counter to log the expense, but he found Li Sancai handling the books. The accountant, Wan Jingsheng, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s Old Wan? Why isn’t he at his post?"

Gu Dezhao asked with a frown.

’Even though Wan Jingsheng is over seventy,’ Gu Dezhao thought, ’he’s always been hale and hearty. He takes plenty of body-nourishing pills, too. How could he just abandon his post?’

’Is he trying to pull the seniority card just because his son is a Foundation Establishment cultivator?’

Gu Dezhao grew displeased, and his expression darkened.

"Shopkeeper Zhao asked Elder Wan to write some posters. He’s in the inner hall," Li Sancai replied.

"Writing what posters?"

Gu Dezhao asked, puzzled, as he strode toward the inner hall.

"Elder Wan, I’ll dictate, you write. ’Store closing! Everything must go! Clearance sale, three days only!’"

"Then, ’Two days left,’ ’One day left,’ ’Final morning,’ ’Final afternoon’... Then, ’Back by popular demand! Three more days! Two more days...’"

"Also write: ’Grand Re-Opening of a Classic Shop! More Surprises Inside!’"

"’Grand Opening Sale! Three days! Two days...’ And then, ’In Honor of the Sect’s Grand Celebration, A Sale for All!’"

Gu Dezhao froze. ’Why does this sound so... devious?’ he thought. The whole thing reeked of a scheme.

He walked into the inner hall and saw a stack of red paper spread across the tea table.

Zhao Lin and Wan Jingsheng were sitting opposite each other. Zhao Lin dictated while Wan Jingsheng’s brush flew across the paper.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, what new idea have you cooked up now?"

Gu Dezhao walked over and picked up the red papers, looking them over one by one. After reading them, he felt completely numb. ’This is just too shameless,’ he thought.

Zhao Lin looked up. "The first day of the tenth month is the sect’s grand celebration, and it’s almost the end of the year. I want to run a big promotion to move more product. What do you think, Elder Gu?"

The corner of Gu Dezhao’s mouth twitched. "It’s a good idea, but if we put these up, won’t the other shops be hopping mad?"

"Why would they be mad? As long as our prices are low, the customers won’t care about the details. As for our competitors, let them be mad if they want."

Zhao Lin smiled and pulled Gu Dezhao down to sit. Then, his expression grew serious. "Elder Gu, I need to discuss something with you."

Gu Dezhao wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Lin took a sheet of paper from his robes. "I’ve drafted a list for Brother Tang to use for another supply run. Elder Gu, see if there’s anything you want to add."

"Didn’t we just get a shipment?" Gu Dezhao asked in surprise. "We still have plenty of stock."

Zhao Lin pointed to the red papers on the table. "Once these go up, we’ll sell out within half a month. We need to stock up more to push our sales numbers before the year’s end."

"Push our sales numbers?"

Gu Dezhao was taken aback for a moment, but he understood. He took the list, scanned it, and nodded. "In that case, let’s add more Spirit Tea and Spiritual Honey. And a few more cultivator’s robes..."

The two of them discussed it for a while and quickly finalized the list.

Zhao Lin called over their transporter, Tang Zhengquan. "Brother Tang, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip back to the prefecture and bring the items on this list."

Tang Zhengquan took the list and carefully tucked it into his storage pouch. "Don’t worry, Shopkeeper. I’ll head back to the prefecture right away and should return within five days."

Gu Dezhao chimed in, "There’s no need to rush. Take your time. This is a valuable shipment; we can’t afford any mishaps."

...

One day in mid-September, the sound of firecrackers erupted in front of Golden Core Hall.

Firecrackers in the Cultivation Realm weren’t like those in the mortal world, which involved either roasting bamboo over a fire or using gunpowder. Instead, they used special Firecracker Talismans.

A Firecracker Talisman was similar to a warning talisman, but it produced a sound just like firecrackers and lasted much longer.

The moment the popping began, nearby cultivators swarmed over to see what was happening.

"Which shop is having its grand opening?"

Liu Chaoyuan stepped out of his own shop, surprised to see the firecrackers were coming from the neighboring Golden Core Hall. A crowd of cultivators had already gathered at its entrance.

He pushed through the crowd and saw a large, red poster on the shop’s door. It read: ’STORE CLOSING! EVERYTHING MUST GO! THREE-DAY CLEARANCE SALE! PRICES STARTING AT 50% OFF!’

Liu Chaoyuan’s eyes lit up. He turned to the clerk beside him and gloated, "See? I told you. Trying to attract customers with low prices is an unsustainable business model."

"They didn’t listen to their elders, and now they’re paying the price. Serves them right for going bankrupt!"

He glanced into the shop and saw Zhao Lin and several clerks busy with customers, so he decided to go inside.

"My young friend, what’s all this? Wasn’t the shop doing well? Why are you closing down?"

Liu Chaoyuan was dripping with sarcasm right from the start, his form of address even changing from ’Shopkeeper Zhao’ to ’my young friend.’

Zhao Lin sighed dramatically. "Our business has been poorly managed. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Shopkeeper Liu."

Liu Chaoyuan stroked his beard and chuckled. "The path of business is long. Only those with a firm foundation can walk it steadily. Relying on cheap tricks won’t get you very far."

"You are right to lecture me, Elder Liu," Zhao Lin replied. "This junior will take your words to heart."

This pleased Liu Chaoyuan immensely. He glanced around the shop. "By the way, since the shop is closing, have you thought about what you’ll do next?"

Zhao Lin shook his head. "I haven’t really thought about it yet. Do you have any leads, Shopkeeper Liu?"

"I wouldn’t call them leads," Liu Chaoyuan said, "but if you’re not too proud, you could come work as a clerk in my shop. You may not know how to run a business, but you’re capable enough to greet customers and serve tea, right?"

Zhao Lin put on a troubled expression. "I must first return to report on my duties. Perhaps we can discuss this later? But I thank you for the offer."

"Well, take your time thinking it over."

Liu Chaoyuan waved a dismissive hand and left Golden Core Hall.