Uncle and Nephew Debate, A Change in Attitude

"Silver tongue, utter nonsense!"

Inside Spirit Beast Hall, faced with Zhou Chun's impassioned speech, Zhou Jiasheng merely sneered and uttered those eight words.

With a cold smile on his face, he looked at Zhou Chun and said icily, "You say the cultivators in the market are all discussing our clearly marked prices. That is indeed true. But even without this matter of clearly marked prices, would they not have discussed our Spirit Beast Hall anyway?"

"Fine wine needs no bush. From our name to the goods we specialize in, Spirit Beast Hall is one of a kind in all of Red Cliff Market. There is no need to worry that no one will know of us in the future!"

"So isn't your use of clearly marked prices as a gimmick to draw people in simply superfluous?"

"And aside from harming the shop's interests and reducing its income, I fail to see any other benefit in doing something so superfluous!"

It was not hard to see from these words that Zhou Jiasheng did have some ability. At the very least, he clearly understood the appeal a shop's distinctive features held for people.

But his vision was undoubtedly still confined to old-fashioned business practices. He only saw the tiny profits gained from fluctuating prices and had no idea how great a role advertising could play in increasing market share.

Thus, faced with his challenge, Zhou Chun felt it necessary to enlighten him.

He immediately said, "Sixteenth Uncle, don't forget that another family also possesses the secret formulas our Zhou Family controls. In fact, some of their formulas are things even we do not have!"

Of course, Zhou Jiasheng knew whom he meant.

His expression changed at once.

But he quickly steadied himself and said in a deep voice, "So what? They have not opened a shop in the market yet. At least for now, we are the only ones here selling those things!"

"Yes, but Sixteenth Uncle, given their influence and strength, after seeing both the Li Family and our Zhou Family open shops in Red Cliff Market one after another, how much longer do you think they will delay in this matter?"

Having said this, Zhou Chun did not even look at Zhou Jiasheng's shifting expression. He continued directly, "Precisely because they are a potential competitor, before they establish themselves in the market, we must let all cultivators in Misty Prefecture know that when buying pills for spirit beasts, beast repellent medicine, or insect repellent medicine, Spirit Beast Hall is the place to go!"

"Sixteenth Uncle, you said fine wine needs no bush. You were not wrong. We need to build a reputation, so that whenever anyone mentions Spirit Beast Hall, they will have nothing but praise for us. They must believe that Spirit Beast Hall's goods are the most practical and the most authentic!"

At this point, he spoke with stirring conviction. "Clearly marked prices may not be the only choice for achieving that, but they are certainly the quickest way to help us do so."

"Under such circumstances, for the sake of long-term benefits, what does it matter if we sacrifice that tiny bit of profit from fluctuating prices now?"

When reasoning things out, it was not necessarily the person who spoke the most who had the better argument.

But someone capable of laying out a long and detailed case would certainly make the other party ponder their words.

That was, provided the other party was willing to reason things out and was a reasonable person.

At Zhou Jiasheng's age, he was not someone who refused to listen to reason.

So he began carefully considering Zhou Chun's argument, trying to find some flaw within it.

Yet Zhou Chun's words contained no obvious loopholes. How could he find any error so quickly?

But neither did he wish to admit defeat to a junior.

He could only stiffen his neck and say, "Your so-called clearly marked prices are merely using lower prices to attract customers. But what if, after they move into the market, they use even lower prices to draw people in?"

Hearing this, Zhou Chun could not help shaking his head. "If they use even lower prices to attract customers, do they not need to make money?"

Then he looked at Zhou Jiasheng and asked in return, "Besides, if they continue attracting people with low prices, would that not prove that our current clearly marked prices are more honest?"

Finally, he looked deeply at Zhou Jiasheng and said, "We are running a shop, not setting up a street stall for a one-shot deal. A shop's most important assets are its credibility and reputation."

"Now that we are selling at this clearly marked price, even if buyers later learn that the other side is cheaper, they cannot accuse us of deceiving them or curse us as profiteers. But the reverse may not be so easy to say!"

There was no way Zhou Jiasheng could fail to understand the deeper meaning behind those final words.

His expression immediately turned extremely ugly.

Because Zhou Chun's words were practically the same as pointing at his nose and calling him a profiteer!

Yet at this moment, he could not very well use his usual argument that everything was for the family's sake to rebut Zhou Chun.

After all, he had been the one to first assume that a competitor would use low prices to compete against Spirit Beast Hall.

If that assumption held true, then the goods previously sold at high prices under opaque pricing would inevitably ruin Spirit Beast Hall's reputation in those customers' eyes, causing them to stop coming here in the future.

Seeing Zhou Jiasheng fall silent, Zhou Chun knew that the man had nothing left to say.

He immediately gave him a way out, saying calmly, "In any case, clearly marked prices were my suggestion to the clan chief. If this causes the shop's profits to fall short of expectations and the clan chief wishes to assign blame, he will surely blame me. Sixteenth Uncle, why not simply wait and see?"

"Fine. Then I shall see whether you truly possess talent and wisdom, or whether you can only talk tactics on paper!"

Zhou Jiasheng cast Zhou Chun a cold look, then turned and left the counter.

According to the market's rules, each shop could have one or more permanently stationed clerks, depending on its scale.

A shop like the Zhou Family's Spirit Beast Hall had three slots in total, including the shopkeeper.

Those three people belonging to the shop could remain permanently within the market, cultivate at any time in their own shop's rear courtyard, and enter or leave the market freely. They did not need to pay any additional fees, nor did they need to accept any tasks assigned by the market.

Thus, Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Chun usually took turns watching over the shop.

However, since the shop had only just opened, Zhou Jiasheng, as its shopkeeper, was far too concerned with its revenue. He would rather delay his cultivation for the month than leave the shop unwatched each day.

Zhou Chun was quite happy to see this and did not mind in the least.

And just as Zhou Chun had said, over the next half month or so, large numbers of cultivators who had heard of Spirit Beast Hall came by to take a look after entering the market.

Even if most of them merely looked around, so long as one or two out of every ten bought something, the accumulated sales still made for considerable revenue.

Especially after half a month had passed, the cultivators who had initially purchased Secret Formula Beast Repellent Medicine and insect repellent medicine discovered that both medicines were genuinely effective. They came back in droves to buy more, while also prompting many who had previously been waiting and watching to make purchases.

As a result, sales during the latter half of the month rose sharply instead.

When the grand opening had been underway for a full month, Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Chun tallied the month's sales and discovered that total sales had reached 2,637 spirit coins—far exceeding the pre-opening estimate of 2,000 spirit coins.

This left Zhou Jiasheng with nothing more to say about clearly marked prices.

He might have been somewhat stubborn, self-righteous, and prone to flaunting his seniority.

But he was not foolish.

Faced with such tangible profits, how could he still cling stubbornly to his old rules and restrictions?

He simply could not bring himself to apologize to Zhou Chun.

Of course, Zhou Chun did not need an apology from him. It was enough that he accepted it.

Moreover, Zhou Jiasheng truly was highly capable. Over the past month, he had personally appraised and purchased all manner of spiritual items without a single misjudgment, and Zhou Chun had learned much from him as well.

"Not bad, not bad. I never expected the shop to be doing so well after only one month of business. Even back in the family, we've heard those Rogue Cultivators talking about Spirit Beast Hall. One could say its reputation has spread far and wide!"

Inside Spirit Beast Hall, the Zhou Family Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, had arrived from the family a month later to restock the shop and procure goods. After reviewing the account books and the spirit coins handed over to him, surprise appeared on his face as well. He was quite astonished by the results.

In response to Zhou Daoquan's praise, Zhou Jiasheng merely said calmly, "The business has done so well mainly because the family's secret medicine is so effective. We dare not claim any credit."

Hearing this, Zhou Daoquan gave a chuckle. "Heh, whether you have merit or not is for the Patriarch to judge. That is not for this old man to decide."

After speaking, he shook his head. "In any case, I've brought all the goods the Patriarch asked me to bring, and I've taken away the items you purchased here. Keep up the good work."

Then, without saying anything further, he left the market.

After seeing Zhou Daoquan off, Zhou Jiasheng glanced at Zhou Chun, who had remained silent throughout, and suddenly said, "From now on, whenever someone comes to sell spiritual items, you will appraise them and set the price first. If you cannot judge them accurately, then report to this old man for a decision."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately smiled and bowed in thanks. "Thank you for your guidance, Sixteenth Uncle. Your nephew will certainly strive to learn from you."