The Wealthy Eldest Sister Rules Supreme - Chapter 562
Chapter 562: Chapter 549: Weaving Workshop
“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten all about this. These mosquito repellent herbs are really good! Every year I get bitten by mosquitoes and my arms are scratched raw. Ever since I started using the mosquito repellent packets from your shop, life’s been much better! It’s just that every time, you barely have enough stock. This time, can you please hold more for me?”
“Rest assured, I will keep them for you,”
Zhuang Yutian laughed, swiftly tore the cloth apart, calculated the price, and tied it into a packet before handing it to the customer.
Having paid, the customer exchanged a few words and then left the shop.
Zhuang Yutian rushed to attend to the next customer.
Mrs. Meng was equally busy.
Zhuang Qingning watched the scene and couldn’t help but smile to herself.
Zhuang Yutian and Mrs. Meng really knew how to do business. With them in charge, the cloth would definitely sell well, but she hadn’t expected it to sell this well.
“Miss Qingning, you came?” Mrs. Meng looked up to see Zhuang Qingning standing outside the door, she quickly asked the shop assistant to attend to the customers, then she rushed out to invite her inside and then led her to the backyard. She quickly served her a hot cup of tea, “Come in and warm up, although it’s spring, it’s still cold outside. Take care not to catch a chill.”
“Looking at how well your business was going, I thought I’d wait a while before going in.” Zhuang Qingning accompanied her into the shop and carefully checked the remaining stock on the shelves. She began to smile, “Half of these fabrics seem to have been sold already.”
“The business is going well only because of you. If it weren’t for your help, this wouldn’t have been possible,” Mrs. Meng spoke in an excited tone, “People have heard about the cheap cloth we sell and they are coming here in droves.”
“In these last few days, your Uncle Yutian has been making inquiries and he has identified a possible source for our merchandise. Although buying goods indirectly from the south means the cost increases by 10%, it’s basically just a matter of making a bit less profit. Once this batch is gone, and when we have the time, we can look at sourcing from other vendors.”
It’s safe to say that this difficult situation is basically over.
“Now that your store has found a solution, I bet Manager Cao at Cao’s Cloth Store is extremely upset,” Zhuang Qingning said with a cunning smile.
Hearing Zhuang Qingning mention this, Mrs. Meng’s face blossomed into a huge grin, “Just stomping his feet would probably not be enough to express his frustration.”
“I heard from Uncle Yutian last night that Cao Jiande was extremely pissed. He’s blabbing nonsense outside, accusing us of selling cloth that’s been in storage for years and conducting bad business practices. He said not to be afraid of being struck by lightning and damned. He also claimed that anyone who buys these fabrics is blind.”
“But no matter what he says, people are still coming to our store. It hasn’t affected our business – in fact, it’s increased. Because many more people found out about the cheap cloth we sell due to his blabbering.”
“There’s also a group of people who are unhappy with him. They argue that the cloth in our store isn’t old warehouse fabric misrepresented as new, and we do not hide the fact that it’s low-cost fabric. Everything is clearly marked, and customers get what they pay for. We are running a reputable business…”
Zhuang Qingning restrained herself from raising an eyebrow as she listened to this.
This Cao Jiande really isn’t clever.
Brought up as an issue, initially, some people might misunderstand, but this misunderstanding would not last long. The people who have purchased the cloth would likely rebuke him.
Not only did they say the cloth was subpar, Cao Jiande also accused the buyers of being blind. No one would tolerate such accusations, they would refute him and probably they would never step into Cao’s Cloth Shop ever again.
“Cao Jiande wanted to cut off the supply to this cloth shop, hoping that when our business is affected, his would thrive. I have looked over his store, and he has stocked up quite a bit of inventory. He probably plans to sell his goods at a profit when ours are in short supply.”
Continuing, Mrs. Meng said, “However, now all the customers who used to buy his cloth have flocked to our shop for cheaper options. His cloth would most likely pile up unsold, and in the future, he would have to offer great discounts.”
“Indeed, if the cloth can’t be sold, it can only be sold cheaply – it’s common practice,”
Zhuang Qingning nodded, “But if that happens, when Cao Jiande starts a price war, I’m afraid it will attract a large number of customers. People will tend to go for cheaper options. Even if our inventory remains stable, it could still affect our business.”
“If Cao Jiande finds out that the merchandise here is 10% pricier than his, and he slashes his prices by 5% below ours, he wouldn’t lose out, but under those circumstances, we would probably have to sell at a loss.”
Mrs Meng’s smile vanished almost entirely at these words, she fell silent, pondering for a moment, let out a sigh and said, “Yes, if that happens, it would be difficult to do business. We’d only be able to continue if we found cheaper merchandise.”
“Given the market conditions, finding cheaper products is near impossible. If push comes to shove, we may have to send your Uncle Yutian to try and obtain goods at lower prices…”
“Auntie,” Zhuang Qingning interrupted, “What if Cao’s Shop also finds cheaper merchandise?”
“This…” Mrs. Meng was momentarily at a loss for words.
There are only so many manufacturers of cloth, and their prices are similar. Additionally, there are the logistics costs that come with transporting goods, so it is quite unlikely to find any substantially cheaper products.
If Cao Jiande is truly planning to engage them in a price war, given their circumstances, they won’t be able to compete.
Even if they were to sell at a loss, they wouldn’t be able to outlast Cao Jiande’s resources. Cao Jiande’s family was richer, after all.
Seeing the light in Mrs. Meng’s eyes dim, Zhuang Qingning knew that she also didn’t have a guarantee in her heart, and said, “Auntie, have you ever considered spinning your own yarn and weaving your own cloth? Open a weaving workshop, our area is rich in cotton fields. Buying low-priced cotton and paying the wages, you will be able to produce cloth, it’s much cheaper than buying cloth from the south.”
“In this case, we would make a lot more money by selling cloth. If something happens, then no matter how many like Cao Jiande shows up, we won’t be afraid.”
Listening to Zhuang Qingning, Mrs. Meng laughed, “Miss Qingning, you might not be aware since you aren’t in the cloth business. The cloth we produce here has a rough texture, and the spinning machines and weavers here do not match up to those around Hubei-Hunan and Jiangsu-Zhejiang regions. The same cotton only accounts for 70% of the output.”
“If we spun our own yarn and weaved our own cloth, not only would it not be cheaper compared to buying, but it might even cost more. It wouldn’t be worth it.”
“What if I have a spinning machine that can yield a lot and a loom that weaves superior cloth?” Zhuang Qingning said with a mischievous smile.
