Door-to-Door Service

In just three days, Duke managed to recruit all the staff he needed.

The two new Card Masters, Murav and Simmons, were introduced by Dilanke. Duke personally visited them and offered a very high profit-sharing rate, even slightly higher than Best's Card Repair Shop.

Essentially, the profit-sharing for the three Card Masters now took the lion's share of the income from card repairs.

This was a necessary evil.

Duke didn't seem too bothered. As long as he could keep the customers, he could find other ways to earn money later. Moreover, if this move could drive Best's Card Repair Shop out of business, everything would eventually return to normal.

For the counter staff, he hired Sally, a widow in her thirties.

Sally lived alone with her two children. Her home was nearby, and Duke had inquired about her reputation; there were no rumors of impropriety. She had attended the town's literacy classes and was quite proficient in arithmetic. She was also sturdy and imposing, suitable for dealing with customers and less likely to be harassed.

For the kitchen, he hired an auntie named Abby. Abby had previously worked as a maid for a wealthy family, but when they moved to Chen Jiao City, she lost her job.

Duke had her cook a meal and found her culinary skills to be decent.

The two new apprentices were Sifis, Simmons' nephew, and Ditet, a young man who applied on his own.

The two deliverymen, Dutlan and Steve, both applied on their own initiative.

"Little Boss Duke, are you sure this shop can be sustained like this?" Dilanke asked, puzzled by Duke's sudden hiring of so many people. "Just the monthly salary expenses alone will eat up all the profits from card repairs, and you're even providing meals."

Dilanke didn't eat at the shop; the food was too simple.

However, everyone else, including the apprentices, praised the shop for providing meals.

"Teacher Dilanke, please trust me."

"Well, it's your shop, so of course, I believe you." Dilanke shrugged, not entirely convinced by Duke's confidence.

Duke didn't offer much explanation.

He called over the two deliverymen, Dutlan and Steve. "You two, come with me. I'll take you to the tailor to get some uniforms made and buy two second-hand bicycles."

"Wow, Boss, is the shop's treatment this good?" Dutlan asked excitedly.

"The treatment is tied to your work," Duke said. Although young, he carried himself with the authority of a boss. "From now on, you two will be responsible for canvassing the area. You'll need to spend two days each week visiting every household in the nearby alleys."

Duke's operational model was simple: besides delivering goods, they would also offer door-to-door service.

Many families might have broken spirit cards but not have the time to bring them in for repair. In such cases, Little Sam's Card Shop would offer to pick up the broken spirit cards for repair and deliver them back once fixed. Duke believed most families wouldn't refuse this.

After a busy morning.

Dutlan and Steve had both changed into work uniforms embroidered with "Little Sam's Card Shop," and each was assigned a second-hand bicycle.

"Steve, help out at the shop first. Dutlan, you're with me."

Duke took the Little Sam's Card Shop's business card, a spirit card similar to a business license. Without it, opening a shop and doing business was prohibited.

Dutlan rode a bicycle, carrying Duke as they headed north along Second Vertical Street.

Passing the first alley, they knocked on the door of the first house.

"Hello, Madam. I am Duke, the new owner of Little Sam's Card Shop. Old Sam has transferred the shop to me. Here is my business card," Duke said, handing the card over for her inspection. "My shop offers door-to-door and purchasing services. From now on, this deliveryman, Dutlan, will visit once a week. If you have any spirit cards that need repair, you can hand them to him for free service..."

"Oh, I heard Old Sam sold the shop. So it was to you," the middle-aged woman said happily. "My family has a spirit storage card that's broken. Can you take it now?"

"Of course," Duke nodded. "Dutlan, make a note."

"Okay," Dutlan replied, pulling out a notebook to record the house number and the serial number on the spirit card.

Duke added, "Once it's repaired, we will issue you a settlement form for the repair costs. You can pay when we deliver it back."

The middle-aged woman asked, "That's really good. When can it be returned?"

"In two or three days."

"Alright."

"Please confirm again, our deliveryman, Dutlan, will be the only one visiting your home from now on to prevent anyone from impersonating our staff and stealing your spirit card."

"I'll remember this young man," the middle-aged woman said, very pleased with Duke's carefulness. "We've been repairing spirit cards at Old Sam's Card Repair Shop for over a decade, and we've always trusted your shop... By the way, young man, what relation are you to Old Sam?"

"Old Sam is my teacher. When he transferred the shop to me, he specifically noted that if I couldn't manage it well or damaged the shop's reputation, he would take it back," Duke replied with a smile, leveraging the reputation Old Sam had built over many years.

"Old Sam is a good person. Young man, work hard and don't tarnish Old Sam's name."

"Don't worry, I won't."

Going door-to-door, Duke made sure to get acquainted with everyone who was home. For those who weren't, he noted their house numbers to visit again another day.

Thanks to the twenty-year reputation of Old Sam's Card Repair Shop, everything went smoothly. People were willing to trust them and expressed satisfaction with the door-to-door and purchasing services Duke had introduced.

"It would be great if you could also repair spirit tools at home. My water heater and sewing machine are broken, and it's too much trouble to take them to a spirit tool repair shop," an elderly man said with a sigh.

Duke smiled slightly. "Little Sam's Card Shop currently only handles spirit card repairs, but perhaps we will expand our business scope later."

"Then expand quickly. Repairing cards is profitable, and repairing spirit tools can be profitable too."

"You're right."

"Little Boss Duke, if you do well in these two businesses, you'll surely get rich."

"Thank you for your kind words."

On the way back, Terant asked, "Boss, are you still planning to open a Spirit Tool repair shop?"

"We'll talk about future matters in the future," Duke said casually. For now, he just wanted to stabilize the card repair shop, secure a steady income, and ensure the resource supply for his Spirit Sea cultivation. He didn't want to spread himself too thin.

After all.

In the extraordinary world, strength is fundamental.

The weak, no matter how much money they make, cannot hold onto it. But once one's strength is great, money will come to them without them needing to pursue it.

When they returned to the shop, Dutlan brought in a small stack of damaged spirit cards.

Seeing this, Dilanke chuckled and said, "Little Boss Duke, you had quite a haul from sweeping the streets today."

Previously, he had worried that Duke's haphazard management would lead to the card repair shop's closure, forcing him to find a new job. But seeing so many spirit cards brought in from house calls, he no longer doubted Duke's abilities.

"Haha, Little Boss Duke certainly has skills," Simmons the Card Master added. "This street sweep probably collected all the spirit cards for the next ten days to half a month. I imagine that newly opened Best's Card Repair Shop will be quiet for at least half a month."

Another Card Master, Murav, a distant relative of the Black Snake Family, was somewhat aloof. He remarked lightly, "This move is indeed quite good."

Simmons immediately chimed in, "In business, you have to be ruthless. That Best fellow is playing dirty, so naturally, Little Boss Duke has to retaliate."

Duke smiled. "It's not about retaliation, just about solidifying my customer base. I don't want the twenty-year reputation of Little Sam's Card Shop to be ruined in my hands."