GBP Chapter 93 is all yours!
Chapter 93 is all yours!
Shen Xiaotang pouted and said, "Uncle Li, aren't all pig trotters in our county the same price? People usually get discounts the more they buy, so why are you trying to raise the price?"
Butcher Li's smile froze, and he suddenly became somewhat displeased.
Why is a little girl like her interrupting when the adults are talking?
"Go away, you little kid, what do you know? I'll only talk to your father!"
They clearly look down on her because she's young.
Before Shen Xiaotang could retort, Shen Qingchuan hurriedly said, "Brother Li, everyone knows that pig's trotters have a lot of hair and thick skin, not much meat, and little oil. Most people wouldn't buy them. You're just leaving them piled up here anyway, and they won't be fresh if they stay too long. You might as well let me take them away. We already agreed on the price before, so how can you raise the price just because I've come here more often?"
Logically, if he consistently buys from him, Butcher Li should be overjoyed.
Unexpectedly, he took the opportunity to discuss raising prices.
Some people are not honest!
Butcher Li gave a forced smile, but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Oh dear, you don't know, I've already taken good care of you when you came before. I've been selling at a loss. We're all familiar with each other now, so I'll just tell you the truth: these pig trotters are ten coins each. If I sell them any cheaper, I can't cover my costs!"
What do you mean by "can't hide the truth"? It's clearly just an excuse.
A pig can sell for ten taels of silver. Based on the prices of fatty meat, lean meat, and pork belly, even if you remove the bones and only sell the meat, not the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and ears, these butcher shops won't lose money!
Moreover, while the other butcher shops offered them a fixed price, one shop offered them a large quantity, and the others charged them eight or eight and a half coins. This particular shop, however, took the opportunity to raise its price, clearly because it saw that they bought from them every day and guessed that they had a big use for the meat.
Seeing that Butcher Li was unwilling to back down, Shen Qingchuan's expression immediately became serious.
Today Butcher Li raises prices, tomorrow Butcher Zhao, and the day after tomorrow someone else. If they all raise prices, their costs will increase, and they won't be able to make much money.
These pig trotters are nothing but skin and meat; you can't even get two ounces of oil out of a pot. If it weren't for my daughter's clever idea, they wouldn't be able to sell these pig trotters so quickly.
Either they piled up for too long and couldn't be sold, or they were taken home and eaten by themselves.
If Manager Su hadn't doubled his order, he wouldn't have wanted to buy Butcher Li's pig trotters today.
Let him pile up and not sell, let him panic!
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qingchuan said, "Brother Li, we're all acquaintances, so you shouldn't raise the price. If you do, we won't be able to buy it anymore."
Butcher Li's face showed a hint of impatience, and he said with some dissatisfaction, "Brother, what you're saying isn't very pleasant to hear. What do you mean by 'can't sell anymore'? I can't cover my costs, how am I supposed to sell?"
Shen Qingchuan wanted to say something more, but his daughter tugged at his sleeve and gestured for him to be quiet.
Alright, my daughter is articulate and definitely speaks better than him.
Shen Xiaotang coughed lightly and said, "Dad, since he thinks it's not worth selling and wants to raise the price, let's go look at other stores. There must be some that don't raise the price."
Shen Qingchuan: "..."
His daughter hinted to him to be quiet, saying that she wanted to talk to him personally, so why was she leaving?
They've already bought up all the pig trotters from other vendors, leaving only this one and Butcher Zhou's. They're still short about twenty trotters, and even buying from Butcher Zhou isn't enough!
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "But...Tang'er..."
"Dad, no buts. There are other stores in our county that sell it. If it weren't for Uncle Li being so polite and nice, we wouldn't always buy from him. People say you should compare prices from three different stores, and that's really true."
She blinked hard at her father, trying to signal him.
Who knew her father was so stubborn, it took him a while to finally understand.
“Oh, right, Tang’er is right. We should compare prices from different vendors. Also, Uncle Li’s attitude is different from before. It seems that we have sold too much and he doesn’t want to sell to us anymore. Let him wait a bit. Other customers will come to buy.”
As Butcher Li listened to the conversation between the father and daughter, his expression grew increasingly grim, and he could no longer bear to listen.
He had been running a butcher shop in this county for many years, but this was the first time he had ever seen customers like the Shen father and daughter, who would come back every time to buy pig's trotters, no matter how many there were, they would buy them all.
Other customers who come to buy pig's trotters may only come once a day, and they either buy one or two.
We wanted to sell them to those customers, but they weren't selling!
They simply won't sell!
If they really don't want it and buy it elsewhere, what will he do if he can't sell all these pig trotters?
Shen Xiaotang tugged at her father's sleeve and slowly walked to the road, pretending to climb onto the mule cart.
When Butcher Li saw this, he immediately became anxious.
"and many more!"
He immediately called out to Shen Qingchuan and his daughter Shen Xiaotang.
"Oh dear, I only said we couldn't cover our costs, I didn't say how much the price would increase. Why are you all in such a hurry to leave? We can discuss the price slowly."
Shen Xiaotang pouted and said, "Didn't Uncle Li say that he can't cover the cost and can't sell it? So how are we supposed to negotiate a price?"
Butcher Li chuckled awkwardly, thinking to himself, "This little girl is young, but she's quick-witted."
"Sigh, I was just saying it casually, don't take it seriously. I'll give you back 8.5 coins a piece, take as many as you want."
Upon seeing that Butcher Li was no longer raising prices, Shen Qingchuan immediately agreed.
"Okay, we'll get right there..."
Shen Xiaotang quickly pulled her father aside and whispered, "Dad, don't say anything, watch me."
She looked at Butcher Li and said, "Uncle Li, other vendors give us eight coins for these pig trotters. My father and I only keep buying from you because we know you. If you can't give us eight coins a trotter, we won't come anymore. We're just running a small business. We come all this way and don't even make a single copper coin. It's impossible to do business like this. You know, nobody likes to eat pig trotters. They're covered in hair, and there's more skin than meat. They're hard to sell."
Butcher Li knew that these pig trotters wouldn't sell well!
However, he failed to raise prices and instead had to lower them, which he didn't want to do.
“Girl, look, we’ve always charged eight and a half coins, why are you…”
“Uncle Li, business is tough, everyone is struggling to make money. You guys are doing big business and making a lot of money, while we only make a few copper coins. If we really can’t make any money, we’ll have to go back home and farm.”
They don't do business; they go home and farm.
That won't work!
Nobody buys his pig's trotters, so they just pile up. It's okay in the fall, but by the summer they're already stinking.
He gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, "Fine, eight coins it is, but it's agreed that whenever you come to buy pig's trotters, you must come to my place first."
Absolutely!
In a county, there are only a few dozen pig trotters produced each day. If you don't buy from him, it's not even enough!
We're buying up all the pig's trotters from the pork shop!
"Okay, as long as you have pig's trotters, we'll come to your place first when we come to the county. But let's make it clear first, you can't mention raising prices again."
Butcher Li's gloom vanished, and he said with a smile, "Let's not talk about it, let's keep doing this business for a long time."
After paying, Shen Qingchuan and his daughter led the mule to the next house.
Once they had bought all the pig trotters in the county and enough seasonings, they immediately headed to the Su residence in town.
Fortunately, the Su family's kitchen was large enough, with four pots inside. In addition to the large pot they brought over, they could braise the food in several pots at once, and finish it in two batches.
One month later!
Mr. Shen's sons and eldest grandson all failed the latest round of provincial examinations!