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Further ahead was Youzhou.
They were currently stationed on the outskirts of a small town bordering Youzhou. The town was about forty li from Youzhou.
They had been busy in Jizhou for half a month. They had entered from Handan, passed through Xingtai, Julu, Xuceng, Wucheng, and then directly entered the jurisdiction of Youzhou.
Now, Lu Songli intended to sell most of the medicinal herbs gradually. She had already discussed with Qin Heng and asked him to send someone to the main city of Youzhou to inquire about buyers who could handle their batch of goods.
They went with medicinal herb samples, and soon, the people who went to inquire about information returned, bringing back not only the approximate prices of the medicinal herbs they had, but also a list of potential buyers.
Hearing that the price they inquired about was three times their purchase price, everyone was shocked. This meant that they had made a profit of two times their investment on this trip?
Some people were secretly counting on their fingers, calculating how much silver they would get this time.
Their capital was the wealth they had seized from Qinglong Mountain. After calculation, it was about 30,000 taels of silver.
Of that amount, 20,000 taels were from the private treasury of the bandit leader, Qiu Hai, and 10,000 taels were from the main warehouse of Qinglong Mountain. Zhang Xian, the magistrate of Tonghua County, had taken away goods worth 20,000 taels. Of the 10,000 taels, 1,000 taels were various grains, which were added to the caravan’s supplies.
Qiu Hai’s private treasury was discovered by Qin Sheng and his men, so they were directly given 8,000 taels as a reward. Qin Sheng received 4,000 taels individually, and the rest of the reconnaissance team shared the remaining 4,000 taels equally.
The total amount of silver that they, over 50 people, could share was 22,000 taels. This meant that if they successfully sold this batch of medicinal herbs today, they could return with 66,000 taels?
“So much money!”
“So, being a merchant is so profitable? Is this how fast money is made?” someone murmured.
A lot? Lu Songli didn’t think so. She quickly calculated that she would personally get about 5,000 taels. She personally felt that this earning speed was still too slow. Back then, when she sold the painkiller to Zhao Bin, she earned 15,000 taels in less than half a month. But there was no way to find such a fat sheep. For now, they would make do with what they could, every little bit helps, even a mosquito’s leg is still meat.
Lu Songli said, “Don’t think this profit is too high.”
Almost everyone looked at her, including the three Qin brothers, Xu Zheng, and Yang Wei. Doubling their investment in half a month, wasn’t that considered a high profit?
Lu Songli sighed inwardly. These honest children.
“Think about it, being a merchant is risky. When we’re out on the road, we’re bound to encounter all sorts of disasters and accidents, natural disasters or man-made disasters, such as bandits and robbers. If we’re not careful, we could lose everything, and if we’re unlucky, we could even lose our lives. So, we need to factor in these risks as part of our costs. Just for this risk value, increasing the cost by 50% is not unreasonable, right?”
Everyone’s eyes widened. No, nothing happened along the way, and you still want to factor in the risk value of this journey?
Most people just thought about it in their hearts, but Lu Mingzhi blurted out his thoughts, “No, Second Sister, isn’t that a bit excessive?” We were completely safe along the way.
Everyone turned to look at Lu Mingzhi, their eyes filled with admiration. In terms of boldness, you’re the best, Little Brother Lu.
Qin Sheng secretly tugged at Lu Mingzhi’s sleeve.
Lu Mingzhi turned his head to look at his second brother-in-law.
Qin Sheng gave him a look, saying, “Don’t speak, let your sister say it.”
Lu Mingzhi: ???
“Little brother, do you think I’ve marked up the cost too much?” Lu Songli smiled lovingly at his stupid younger brother, “We’ve made it safely this far all thanks to everyone’s efforts, and also thanks to your brother-in-law.”
Lu Mingzhi muttered to himself again: Everyone’s efforts are everyone’s efforts, why single out the brother-in-law for praise?
Qin Sheng stood up straight, unconsciously straightening his back.
Qin Heng took over the conversation, “Little sister is right, in fact, there are many bandits and robbers in the Jizhou area. Our group consists of forty to fifty people, with thirty to forty able-bodied men, exuding a strong aura that makes them look very difficult to provoke, which has helped us avoid a lot of trouble.”
Lu Songli added, “The most important thing is that we all worked together to take down the Qinglong Bandits. The news of the Qinglong Bandits being wiped out has spread throughout Yanzhou and radiated to Jizhou. The bandits in the Jizhou area should have heard about it.”
It’s important to note that those in the bandit and robber business have their own circles, and it’s essential for them to communicate with each other, especially since Yanzhou and Jizhou are adjacent, making information more readily available.
Without this premise, even if Yanzhou and Jizhou are adjacent, it wouldn’t be easy for other medicinal merchants to safely transport these herbs from Jizhou. It was their strength that deterred these bandits, making them think twice before acting recklessly.
Lu Songli guessed right, the news of the Qinglong Bandits being wiped out had spread, and their team had also become famous. The bandits in Jizhou really avoided them like the plague. They were the only ones traveling for business in the dead of winter, making them easily recognizable.
Therefore, with the commotion caused by their caravan in Jizhou, the leaders of the bandit strongholds in Jizhou remained quiet, like chickens.
Even though it was obvious that they were like a fat sheep, the bandit leaders could only secretly salivate, convincing themselves that this must be a trap set by the enemy, too cunning! They mustn’t act rashly, they mustn’t, or they would fall into the trap! Can’t see it—can’t see it—
They deluded themselves, pretending to be blind, turning a blind eye to Lu Songli their group, a fat sheep prancing around on their territory.
The Qinglong Bandits served as a cautionary tale. More than two hundred strong young men from the Qinglong Bandits were wiped out just like that.
At first, the people from the Yang Wei Escort Agency didn’t realize it, but later on, they noticed that the journey seemed unusually quiet. There wasn’t a single place in Jizhou where they could showcase their business capabilities.
“So, our safe journey was achieved through our abilities, but it doesn’t mean there’s no risk. Increasing the cost by fifty percent is necessary.”
Everyone: Alright, do as you say, you have a point.
Lu Songli continued, “We also need to consider the losses we’ve incurred along the way, so let’s increase the cost by another fifty percent.”
The brothers: Unscrupulous merchant! Even if they didn’t purchase herbs along the way, they still had to travel this road to Pingzhou. Wasn’t there any loss? She’s treating these losses as costs and adding them to the cost of the herbs?
“Given this calculation, do you still think we’re making a lot of profit?” Lu Songli asked.
The group shook their heads, with your calculations, no one dares to say they’re making too much profit.
Lu Songli nodded in satisfaction, “Making double the profit is what we deserve, and everyone can accept it with a clear conscience.”
Lu Songli didn’t feel that the other party was being too generous with the price. Middlemen make a profit from the price difference, and they had actually eliminated quite a few middlemen. One middleman may not make much profit, but what about two, three, or four? With each layer adding up, the price naturally increased. They bought the herbs cheaply, but that was also their skill.
“Master, I think the quality of our herbs is good, and the price can be raised further,” said Xiao Wu.
When Xiao Wu said this, many people gasped. Unscrupulous, making double the profit and still not satisfied? So, were they still too conscientious?
Others looked at him with sidelong glances.
Lu Songli encouraged him with a smile, “How much more do you think we can raise the price?” Xiao Wu was one of the apprentices she had recently taken under her wing, and she found this young man very clever, quick to learn anything, and she was very willing to give him opportunities to grow and develop.
“I think, increasing the purchase price at the source by fifty percent is acceptable, but I suggest raising it by thirty percent or twenty percent, which would be more beneficial for our sales,” Qin Sheng said.
“Wu Ren has a good point, let’s go with his suggestion!” Lu Songli made the final decision, “The price is set, everyone get busy now. Let’s work hard for the next two days and try to sell off all these medicinal materials.”
Everyone dispersed, but Qin Sheng stayed behind, unaffected by others’ attempts to pull him away.
Qin Sheng went straight to the point, “You seem different when it comes to Wu Ren.”
“Do I?” Whenever she heard that name, she couldn’t help but smile.
Qin Sheng looked at her with a puzzled expression, not understanding why she was so happy whenever Wu Ren was mentioned. Wu Ren wasn’t as tall as him, didn’t have as good-looking face, and definitely didn’t have his touch!
Lu Songli sighed, realizing that her baby was upset. She knew that her child was just reminded of the future Wu Ren mooncakes! She took the opportunity to take him to a nearby grove to comfort him.