On-Site Service

Three days—Duke had recruited all the employees in just three days.

The two new Card Masters, Murav and Simmons, had both been introduced by Dilanke. Duke had personally visited them to recruit them, offering them a fairly high share—slightly higher than the share at Best's Card Repair Shop.

Basically, the three Card Masters now took away the lion's share of all the money earned from card repairs.

It was a move born of necessity.

Duke himself did not care much. As long as he kept the customers, he could make the money back in other ways later. Besides, if this move could squeeze Best's Card Repair Shop out of business, everything would return to normal.

For the counter clerk, he chose a widow in her thirties named Sally.

Sally lived nearby with her two children. Duke had asked around about her reputation, and there were no rumors of improper conduct. She had attended the town's literacy classes and was quite proficient at arithmetic. She was also tall and sturdy, making her suitable for receiving customers and unlikely to be harassed.

For the kitchen, he hired a middle-aged woman named Abby. Abby had previously worked as a servant in a wealthy household, but when the rich family moved to Chen Jiao City, she lost her job.

Duke had her cook a meal and found that her skills were passable.

Of the two new apprentices, Sifis was Simmons's nephew, while Ditet was a young man who had applied on his own.

The two deliverymen, Dutlan and Steve, had also applied on their own.

"Boss Little Duke, are you sure this can keep the Card Repair Shop running?" Dilanke was utterly baffled when he saw Duke hire so many people at once. "The monthly wages alone will eat up all the profits from repairing cards, and you're providing meals too."

Dilanke did not eat at the shop. The food there was too meager.

But everyone else, including the apprentices, applauded the fact that the shop provided meals.

"Teacher Dilanke, please trust me."

"Well, it's your shop. Of course I trust you." Dilanke shrugged, though he was not very convinced by Duke's confidence.

Duke did not explain further.

He called over the two deliverymen, Dutlan and Steve. "Come with me. I'll take you to the tailor's to have a set of clothes made, then we'll buy two secondhand bicycles."

"Whoa, Boss, are the benefits here really this good?" Dutlan asked excitedly.

"Your benefits are tied to your work." Duke was young, but he carried himself like a proper boss. "From now on, the two of you will be responsible for canvassing the streets. Every week, you must set aside two days to ask every household in the nearby alleys."

The model Duke wanted to implement was simple. Besides delivering goods, they would also provide on-site service.

Many households had damaged spirit cards but might not have time to come over and get them repaired. At times like that, Little Sam's Card Shop would offer on-site service, collect the damaged spirit cards for free, repair them, and deliver them back. He believed most households would not refuse.

They were busy all morning.

Dutlan and Steve both changed into work clothes embroidered with the words "Little Sam's Card Shop," and each was given a secondhand bicycle.

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

Duke brought along Little Sam's Card Shop's business card. It was a spirit card similar to a business license; without it, no one was allowed to open a shop and conduct business.

Dutlan rode the bicycle, carrying Duke north along Second Vertical Street.

After passing the first alley, the two of them knocked on the door of the first household.

"Good day, ma'am. I'm Duke, the new owner of Little Sam's Card Shop. Old Sam has transferred the shop to me. This is my business card." Duke took out the business card and handed it over for her inspection. "My shop now offers on-site service and a purchasing service. From now on, this deliveryman, Dutlan, will visit once a week. If you have any spirit cards that need repairs, you can hand them over to him for free service..."

"Oh, I heard that Old Sam had transferred the shop. To you, then?" The middle-aged woman was delighted. "As it happens, I have a damaged Spirit Storage Card at home. Can I give it to you for repairs right now?"

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

"Sure." Dutlan pulled out a notebook and wrote down the house number and the serial number on the spirit card.

Duke added from the side, "Once the repair is finished, we'll issue you a repair-fee settlement slip. You can pay when we deliver it back."

The middle-aged woman asked, "That's wonderful. When can you deliver it back?"

"In two or three days."

"Good."

"Please confirm this one more time. Our shop's deliveryman is Dutlan. From now on, Dutlan will be the only deliveryman who comes to your home. This is to prevent someone from impersonating him and tricking you out of your household's spirit cards."

"I'll remember this young man." The middle-aged woman was very pleased by Duke's thoughtfulness. "Our family has had spirit cards repaired at Old Sam's Card Shop for more than ten years, and we've always trusted your shop... By the way, young man, what are you to Old Sam?"

"Old Sam was my teacher. He transferred the shop to me and specifically stated that if I ran it poorly or damaged the shop's reputation, he would take it back." Duke answered with a smile, borrowing and making use of the reputation Old Sam had built over many years.

"Old Sam is a good man. Young man, work hard, and don't ruin Old Sam's signboard."

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

Going from house to house, Duke made himself familiar to everyone who was home. For those who were not, he noted down their house numbers and planned to return another day to make their acquaintance.

Because of Old Sam's Card Shop's reputation, built over more than twenty years, everything went smoothly. Everyone was willing to trust them and was pleased with the on-site service and purchasing service Duke had introduced.

"If only you could repair spirit devices at people's homes too. The water heater and sewing machine at my house are both broken, but taking them to a spirit-device repair shop is such a hassle." An elderly man sighed.

Duke smiled faintly. "Little Sam's Card Shop is only responsible for repairing spirit cards for now. But perhaps we'll expand our business later."

"Then expand sooner. Repairing cards can make money, and repairing spirit devices can make money too, can't it?"

"You're right."

"Boss Little Duke, if you do both of these businesses well, you'll definitely make a fortune."

"I'll take your good wishes."

On the way back, Dutlan asked, "Boss, are you planning to open a spirit-device repair shop too?"

"We'll talk about the future when it gets here." Duke answered casually. At this stage, he only wanted to stabilize the Card Repair Shop and secure a steady stream of income, ensuring a supply of resources for his spirit-sea cultivation. He did not want to divide his attention too much.

After all,

in the supernatural world, strength was the foundation.

No matter how good the weak were at making money, they could not protect their wealth. Once one's own strength became powerful, there was no need to work too hard for money—others would send it over themselves.

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

Seeing this, Dilanke said with a smile, "Boss Little Duke, you had quite a haul canvassing the streets today."

Earlier, he had still been worried that Duke's reckless management would drive the Card Repair Shop into bankruptcy, forcing him to find another job. But after seeing so many spirit cards brought in through the on-site service, he no longer doubted Duke's ability.

"Haha, Boss Little Duke really has what it takes." The Card Master Simmons chimed in. "This one sweep of the streets probably brought in all the spirit cards that would have come in over the next ten days or half a month. I imagine that newly opened Best's Card Repair Shop will have nothing to do for half a month."

The other Card Master, Murav, was a distant relative of the Black Snake Family and somewhat haughty by nature. Hearing this, he said blandly, "This move is indeed quite good."

Simmons immediately agreed. "In business, you have to strike hard. Best showed no restraint, so Boss Little Duke naturally had to answer in kind."

Duke smiled. "It's not about answering in kind. I'm just stabilizing the customer base, so Little Sam's Card Shop's reputation of more than twenty years doesn't get smashed in my hands."