Too Shrewd
Zhao Ruxi sat down next to Xu Xue and asked the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, what price are you willing to offer?"
Once Zhao Ruxi got involved, the shopkeeper gave up on trying to fool Xu Xue and said, according to the price he had quoted to Qingfeng, "Because the book isn't thick, our selling price can't be too high. So, for a storybook of this thickness, our usual purchase price is five taels of silver."
Hearing that her words had been sold and that she would receive five taels of silver, Xu Xue was overjoyed.
This was more money than her family could save in a year before. At the very least, she could earn her tuition at the academy herself. And this was just one book. If she could sell one, she could sell two or three. In a year, she might even earn several dozen taels of silver.
However, having witnessed Zhao Ruxi selling jewelry pictures, she knew she couldn't let anyone see her emotions.
She quickly suppressed her excitement, put on a calm demeanor, and even took a sip of tea, giving Zhao Ruxi the chance to speak.
"You said it yourself, it's just average," Zhao Ruxi said with a smile. "I've read quite a few of your storybooks, and my sister's story has a fresh theme, completely different from those old-fashioned tales of talented scholars and beautiful ladies on the market. Moreover, it's quite well-written. I think that if you market it properly, it can create a sensation, especially among literate ladies."
"And..." she glanced at the shopkeeper, "The shopkeeper's profits from selling this storybook don't just come from this one book, do they?"
From just a few words, the shopkeeper could tell that although this young girl wasn't much older than Xu Xue, she was quite a formidable character. He figured he couldn't possibly get this storybook at a low price.
Seeing that she had stopped speaking, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean by that, young lady? I'd like to hear the details."
"If this storybook sells well, it will attract some readers to your bookstore. When they come here, they will not only buy the storybook, but they may also buy some writing brushes, ink, paper, and other books. Just from this, your bookstore can make a profit. Moreover, if you treat my sister well, she can continue to cooperate with you in the future, and may even become your exclusive distributor. This kind of customer flow is long-term. Just think about how much you can earn from these aspects."
She smiled and said, "On the contrary, if we sell the storybooks to your competitors, this flow of customers will shift to other bookstores. People who usually buy books and stationery at your bookstore will go to theirs, and your store will see less foot traffic."
She smiled and said, "With this in and out, you're a shrewd person, shopkeeper. You can figure it out without me having to tell you, right?"
Hearing this, the shopkeeper chuckled, "Are you so sure your sister's storybook will be a hit and bring me a huge influx of readers? I've collected quite a few storybooks before, written by seasoned scholars or even those who passed the imperial examinations, and none of them have achieved what you're describing."
He glanced at Xu Xue: "She's just a young girl, and she's only just started writing stories, so there are some things I don't want to say, lest she cry. This young lady's story, while the subject matter is novel, her writing is immature and awkward, and the character portrayals are mediocre. And it's precisely because it's novel that I have to take the risk. After all, it's not the most popular subject matter on the market; whether anyone will buy it is still unknown. So, what you're saying, I can only say, is merely your wishful thinking."
After saying this, without waiting for Zhao Ruxi to speak, he said directly, "Well then, since you two are students of the Women's Academy, and this young lady has some talent for writing storybooks, I'm willing to support her. If the young lady can agree to sell all the storybooks she writes to me instead of to others, I'll add another tael of silver to the purchase price."
Qingfeng had already told Zhao Ruxi and Xu Xue the prices that the various bookstores could offer while they were in the carriage. So when Xu Xue heard that they could add an extra tael, she felt that it was perfectly acceptable.
But Zhao Ruxi knew that Qingfeng was referring to the general purchase price, without mentioning the content. Storytelling, however, is all about the content. A good story, well-written, naturally commands a higher price.
"I won't ask the shopkeeper for a higher price. This storybook, you can have it for twenty taels of silver," she said.
"No, no. In all my years of business, I've never bought a storybook for twenty taels of silver. Unless you're a famous author, or your storybook is so thick that you can sell it as four or five separate books." The shopkeeper shook his head immediately upon hearing this.
"Six taels of silver is the highest price I can offer. Your storybook is too thin, so I can't set a high price. If it's sold at a higher price, I don't know how many copies I'd have to sell to break even, and I wouldn't make any money at all."
Zhao Ruxi wasn't in a hurry and smiled, "If twenty taels isn't enough, I have another way to cooperate: profit sharing. For every storybook you sell, my sister will get twenty coins. How about that? If the storybooks don't sell well, you won't lose money; if they sell well, you'll earn more. This is actually the most advantageous for you."
The shopkeeper was taken aback and pondered for a moment.
They usually sell these thin storybooks for two hundred coins. After deducting costs, he can make about sixty coins per book. At a purchase price of six taels of silver, he needs to sell one hundred books to break even. Only after that can he make a pure profit.
However, if it were a profit-sharing arrangement, the young girl would only receive two taels of silver for every hundred books sold. He, on the other hand, would earn a profit of four taels of silver. Most importantly, there was no risk involved. Even if the girl sold more, she could still only earn a little more, not twenty taels of silver. And the more books he sold, the more he would earn.
Thinking about it this way, he realized that the girl in purple in front of him, though seemingly shrewd, was actually foolish and was trying to ruin her classmate or sister.
He turned to Xu Xue and asked, "Miss, do you also agree with her idea of giving each book twenty coins?"
Xu Xue nodded without hesitation. "Agreed."
Her sister's idea was definitely right. This solution was far more cost-effective than spending six taels of silver; she trusted Zhao Ruxi.
"Alright, let's do it that way." The shopkeeper tapped the table lightly and placed the order.
As the shopkeeper asked the assistant to grind ink to prepare the contract, Xu Xue whispered to Zhao Ruxi, "Sister, how do we know how many copies of the storybooks they sold?"
The Xu Xue could think of this shows that she has considered the issue very comprehensively.
Zhao Ruxi gave her an approving look, then turned to the shopkeeper and said, "We have no way of monitoring how many stories are sold in the bookstore. Let's use the number printed in the contract between your bookstore and the printing workshop as the total, then subtract the bookstore's inventory to get the number sold. How about that? We must write that in the contract."
The shopkeeper, who operated with integrity and had no intention of concealing the number of sales, naturally agreed.
He immediately praised, "Young lady, your consideration is extremely thorough. It's truly ingenious to think of using the printing workshop's contract as the total amount."