Chapter 45

“The job we did this morning is being a salesman. We promote our sausages and duck products to new shops. However, the salesman’s payment is different from that of regular hired labor.

Salesmen do not receive a fixed wage; they only earn money when they successfully promote the products to a shop and sign a contract with them.

The payment depends on how many years the salesman can secure in the contract with the shop.

The longer the contract and the larger the order, the higher the payment.

For example, if a one-year contract is signed with a daily order of 30 catty, there will be a reward of 500 copper coins and a monthly bonus of 500 coins. The bonus continues until the one-year contract ends.”

Wang Ren was so stunned that his eyes widened.

For him, this was a business where he could make a huge profit without any upfront investment.

He didn’t have to provide anything—everything was supplied by Zhou Jing.

All he had to do was talk. If it works, he will receive 500 coins as a reward and a monthly bonus of 500 coins.

If he could secure a larger order or a longer contract, the reward would double, and the bonus would increase.

Where else could he find such a good deal? It was practically giving money away.

If he hadn’t known Zhou Jing well, he would have thought this person was out of his mind to make such a foolish offer.

“Really?” Wang Ren asked.

“Yes.” Zhou Jing nodded then continued: “It’s not limited to our town either; neighboring towns are fine too, just not too far away.”

Wang Ren immediately said, “Then I’ll be your salesman.”

“Alright, tomorrow you and I will go our separate ways to promote our products. Of course, if you know a trustworthy person who also wants to do this, you can introduce them to me.

But there’s one thing that must be made clear upfront: for however many catty of sausages or duck products they take, they must leave a deposit based on the market price.

Additionally, these salesmen are not allowed to offer trial selling. If they manage to convince a major restaurant, we can make exceptions, but they must inform me first. I’ll personally go and inspect the place, and only if it passes the inspection can we provide trial selling.”

This is to prevent some salesmen from abusing their position. If salesmen were allowed to offer trial selling, even though a shop might only need 10 catty for sampling, they could take 10 catty, but come back claiming they left 15 catty or more.

The extra amount could be secretly sold at a lower price or used as gifts, which is highly possible. After all, sausages and duck products are considered valuable food in the village.

Not just for regular visits, but also for gifting during holidays, they are seen as prestigious.

Moreover, with more salesmen, Zhou Jing wouldn’t have the time to follow each one of them around every day.

It’s better to simply cancel the option for trial selling. Since there’s no base salary and the sales performance is directly tied to sales volume, he doesn’t have to worry that the salesmen won’t be motivated.

As for Wang Ren being allowed to offer trial selling to shops, it’s because Zhou Jing trusts him.

Now that he’s engaged to Shen Lin, they will soon become family, and naturally, there should be some special privileges for family members.

Wang Ren is diligent and clever, knowing when to act appropriately.

When Zhou Jing invited him to stay for dinner, and since he had no other place to eat, so he stayed.

However, he didn’t just take advantage of Zhou Family’s hospitality. Instead, he helped Shen Lin with cooking.

When he saw Shen Lin pouring oil into the pan, ladle after ladle, as if it cost nothing, he was both astonished and reminded of how much responsibility lay ahead of him.

With his future wife’s family living in such good conditions, he certainly felt the pressure.

There were three dishes: braised pork with preserved vegetables, eggs cooked in soy sauce, and stir-fried oyster mushrooms with oilseed lettuce. The rice was a mix of polished rice and millet.

Although millet is considered a coarse grain, it was actually a luxury at the time because millet production was low, with yields sometimes even less than rice.

Moreover, the millet that Zhou Jing’s family had bought was of high quality—each grain was perfectly cleaned, with no husks or stones, and the grains were full and plump.

So even though the rice was mixed with coarse grains, the flavor was so good that Wang Ren found it irresistible.

He could have easily eaten three bowls of just the rice alone, even without any side dishes.

After dinner, Wang Ren and Shen Lin washed the dishes. Zhou Jing then said, “Since you have nowhere to go tonight, stay and sleep at my place.”

Wang Ren shook his head and refused, saying, “No need. Yesterday I was preoccupied and just wanted some time alone, so I stayed outside. Today, it’s different. I can stay at my aunt’s or any other relative’s place. If I need to stay longer, I can just give them a few dozen copper coins, and they’d be more than happy to have me.”

Shen Lin understood the man’s sense of pride in this situation and didn’t insist.

“This is for you—today’s wages.”

Wang Ren didn’t want to accept it, so Zhou Jing explained, “This is what you’ve earned. Since you’ve signed a contract with me to work as a salesman, we’ll follow the rules.

Salesmen are only responsible for sales, not for doing odd jobs. If you do odd jobs for my family, I won’t let you work for free. I’ll pay you 750 coins per month.

I know you don’t have much money right now, so consider this an advance for this month. But starting next month, that won’t be an option.”

Since Zhou Jing had put it that way, Wang Ren didn’t decline further and accepted the money.

—o—o—o—

The next day, Wang Ren brought along two men from his aunt’s and his youngest aunt’s family.

One of the men was shorter than most of the men in the village—about the same height as Shen Mo and Shen Lin, the two gers.

Wang Ren was worried that Zhou Jing might misunderstand, so he quickly explained, “Brother-in-law, don’t be fooled by my cousin’s height. He’s sharp, hardworking, and thick-skinned.

If he gets a hard time from a shopkeeper while promoting sausages and duck products, he won’t take it to heart and definitely won’t argue with them. His temperament is perfect for sales.”

The man himself hurriedly added: “Brother Jing, don’t worry. I’ll definitely do a good job.”

Zhou Jing said, “If you’re willing to do it, you can give it a try. Your cousin should have explained things clearly: there’s no base salary for sales. If you make successful recommendations, you’ll earn money. If not, then I won’t give you any salary or bonus.”

“I understand,” the man nodded in agreement, and then cautiously asked, “So, can I, like my cousin, work in sales during the day and come help at your place in the mornings and evenings?”

“Yes.” Zhou Jing replied succinctly.

Zhou Jing knew what the man was afraid of.

This man was short, about the same height as a ger, and it seemed he had probably faced some gossip in the village.

After all, being of such height put him at a disadvantage in terms of strength; he might not be as strong as ordinary men, and would likely face discrimination wherever he went for work.

However, the Zhou family’s business was different; it was busy and tiring but did not require strenuous labor, and even ger or girls could manage it completely.

The short man was very excited, repeatedly thanking Zhou Jing—clearly having faced discrimination often because of his height.

The tall man was named Zhao Youxin, and he was Wang Ren’s cousin, while the short man was called Cheng Yu, Wang Ren’s older cousin.

During a break, while moving goods onto the mule cart, Wang Ren secretly pulled Zhou Jing aside when Cheng Yu wasn’t around.

Wang Ren said: “Brother-in-law, thank you for taking Cheng Yu willingly as your worker. My cousin has faced a lot of discrimination because he’s been short since he was a child; even in town, no one wants to hire him to carry a sack, thinking that he was not strong enough. Moreover, because of his height, his two younger brothers have both gotten married before him, leaving him, the oldest, behind.

My cousin used to think about finding a wife, but later when there were a few introductions in the village, it wasn’t just the girls; the ger would ask for four or five silver coins right off the bat, and they were all from very poor families.

Under such conditions, it’s clear they weren’t marrying off their ger for love but were looking for a helper for their son.

Once someone gets involved with that kind of family, they’re in for a lifetime of hardship.

My cousin didn’t want to spend his life serving others like an ox or a horse, so he turned them down. And now, at 27, he dares not even think about marriage. He just plans to save some retirement money so that when he gets old, he won’t end up without someone to take care of him.”

“I understand. You tell him to work hard; here, height is not an issue. We don’t have to do heavy labor; as long as he’s willing to learn and is a bit quick-witted, saving some retirement money won’t be a problem.”

“Okay, I got it. I’ll talk to him properly; he won’t dare to be lazy or cut corners.”

The group of five arrived in town earlier than usual, the same time as when you were brewing a cup of tea.

This time, Zhou Jing didn’t follow Shen Lin and Shen Mo to sell at the morning market; instead, he delivered the sausages and duck products needed by the families with whom he had signed long-term contracts over the past few days—going from house to house.

Zhou Jing operated a daily settlement system with these shops; after delivering the goods, they would count and inspect them before paying him in silver.

After delivering to more than a dozen shops, Zhou Jing began to promote their products shop by shop.

Because the two men were unfamiliar with the work and didn’t know how to proceed, they weren’t given the sausages and duck products; instead, they followed Zhou Jing to learn.

Wang Ren had followed Zhou Jing for a day, and since he had a talent for this kind of work, he asked Zhou Jing for 30 catty of sausages to sell.

Cheng Yu was indeed quick-witted, as Wang Ren had said, so he could handle the sales.

However, Zhao Youxin was different; he couldn’t speak well and was afraid to talk. He could work diligently but fell short when it came to communication.

“You brat, why are you ignoring me? Can’t you give me a discount on your sausages? I can sell 30 catty a day; think about how much that is in a month! You won’t give me a discount on that?”

A restaurant that had tried selling the sausages a few days ago, after learning they couldn’t continue the trial sales, was keen on signing a long-term contract.

Unfortunately, the shopkeeper, perhaps thinking Zhao Youxin was honest and easy to push around, specifically wanted to negotiate a price reduction with him.

Zhao Youxin was at a loss for words in front of strangers, he stuttered for a long time without managing to say anything—his face turning bright red.

Seeing him like this, the shopkeeper directly stated, “Alright, I’ll give you 15 copper coins per catty. Here’s 450 copper coins for 330 catty; take it.”

As he spoke, he stuffed the money into Zhao Youxin’s hands, and to Zhou Jing’s surprise, Zhao Youxin actually reached out to accept it.

It was Zhou Jing who stepped in, pulling Zhao Youxin’s hand back and causing the shopkeeper to miss the opportunity.

Zhou Jing said, “Shopkeeper, that’s really not acceptable. We have our own costs to cover, and giving you 18 copper coins per catty is already a big discount. If you only pay 15 copper coins, to be honest, with so many of us busy with this, and having to hire a helper, you’re just giving us back our costs. We’re not working just to break even for others.”

Zhou Jin continued: “You know the price of sausages. Even the better ones at Yun Ji Restaurant sell for 30 copper coins per catty, while the stalls at my home market are selling for 25 copper coins per catty.

The shop is directly promoting a discount of 7 copper coins, just to give each other some leeway so that everyone can make a profit—small profits and quick turnover. If you don’t believe it, you can ask the other shops; they all have the same price.”

The shopkeeper also realized that Zhao Youxin’s words didn’t count, and Zhou Jing was the real owner, so he nodded and handed over 360 copper coins.

At this moment, Cheng Yu took out the contract that Zhou Jing had written in advance and handed it to them.

“Shopkeeper, let’s sign a long-term contract. It will provide protection for both sides.”

The shopkeeper didn’t really want to sign a contract and said, “I’m not short on your money. You come, and I’ll pay you in silver. It will all be settled at that moment; I can’t default on it. What’s the use of signing this contract?”

Cheng Yu hadn’t been educated and didn’t really understand what a contract was for. He knew that once a contract was signed, the restaurant would have to take his family’s goods, regardless of whether the restaurant sold it or not, which wouldn’t be their concern.

So, in his view, the contract was something that only protected the interests of the other party. He didn’t know how to persuade the shopkeeper to sign it by explaining its benefits.

In the end, it was Zhou Jing who took over the conversation and said, “As a businessman, the shopkeeper should understand that contracts protect not just one party’s interests but both. For example, if you order 30 catties of sausages today and I deliver them to you tomorrow, but then you suddenly decide you don’t want them, without a contract, I would have no recourse and would just have to take them back and handle them myself.

If you were the only one returning 30 catties, that would be fine. But I have over a dozen clients, and if two or three of them return their orders, that becomes unmanageable. The losses from a single day could take several days to recover.”

“Of course, this protects my interests, but it also protects yours. For example, if my sausages are selling well and more people come to buy them, I can guarantee that it won’t just be the sausages and duck products that sell well; other items will sell well too.

This stimulates consumption. If we don’t have the protection of a contract, if I occasionally run out of stock for a couple of days, then the regular customers who come to your place might not be able to buy anything if they happen to come on those days. The next time, they might choose not to come back and would rather go to someone else farther away.

Over time, this not only delays your earnings but also affects your shop’s reputation. It could even lead to original customers refusing to come because they feel that your stock is never complete, and what they want is always unavailable.

Isn’t that equivalent to driving customers away? But you won’t be able to ask me for compensation for these losses because we didn’t sign a contract. However, once we sign a contract, all these issues will be resolved. If I fail to deliver or am late, I will have to compensate you.”

Upon hearing Zhou Jing’s reasoning, the shopkeeper agreed to sign a long-term contract.

Afterward, Zhou Jing, along with Cheng Yu and Zhao Youxin, visited several more shops and successfully sold all the sausages and duck products from their baskets before returning to the market stall to meet with Shen Mo and Shen Lin.

—o—o—o—

Five or six days later, Wang Ren finally achieved some results.

He secured two deals: one for sausages at 10 catties per day and duck products at 20 catties per day, for a term of 1 year. The other deal was for sausages at 30 catties per day and duck products at 50 catties per day, also for a term of 1 year.

“For the order of 30 catties of sausages per day and 50 catties of duck products per day for a year, I will give you a total reward of 900 copper coins.

Additionally, each month, you will receive a bonus of 700 copper coins. This will be given at the end of the month.

For the order of 10 catties of sausages per day and 20 catties of duck products per day for a year, I will give you a reward of 300 copper coins, along with a monthly bonus of 150 copper coins.”

Although this has been agreed upon beforehand, when Wang Ren got the 1200 copper coins, not only did Wang Ren’s eyes light up, but so did those of his two cousins.

Cheng Yu couldn’t quite believe it even if he saw it with two eyes.

Cheng Yu said: “Boss, just these two pieces of thin paper can be exchanged for so much money! 1200 copper coins is not a small amount.

I can carry a sack in town all day and earn a maximum of 30 copper coins. In a month, that amounts to only 900 copper coins, and that’s assuming I’m working every day.

If the boss is unhappy or it rains, I might not even get that 900 copper coins; usually, I end up with just over 700 copper coins in hand.

But with our sales, two ordinary orders can earn us more than a couple of silver coins, and that’s not all. There will also be bonuses every month. Even if we don’t sign another contract, the bonuses will still come in without any reduction.”

Zhou Jing smiled and said: “That’s right.”

“Boss, don’t worry. I will definitely do well and won’t let you down.” Cheng Yu immediately declared his determination.

That night, Cheng Yu returned home and told his mother about the situation.

She actually accused him of lying and refused to believe him.

She could only call Wang Ren over and when she saw her nephew, who had been penniless just a few days ago, pulled out a 1 silver coin and several hundred copper coins, she couldn’t help but believe what her son had said.

Cheng Yu’s mother said in astonishment, “Oh my, this isn’t just making money; it’s like receiving money! Could it be that Zhou Jing is a benevolent spirit from heaven, specifically here to give us poor people some money?”

Wang Ren said with a laugh: “Aunt, Zhou Jing isn’t some benevolent immortal from heaven; he’s the brother-in-law of my fiancé. Just let my cousin work hard for the Zhou family and don’t let him have any strange ideas. Don’t worry, he won’t lose out; who knows, by the time this is over, he might even be able to talk about marrying a wife.”

Cheng Yu forced a smile and said, “I can’t dare to think about having a wife, but I do want to save up some retirement money. Maybe I can use it to adopt a child to take care of me in my old age.”

Hearing this, Cheng Yu’s mother’s eyes filled with tears.

Seeing that he had upset her, Cheng Yu quickly comforted her, saying, “Mother, don’t think so much. Everyone has their own fate. Look at me; I’m doing well. With these two orders, I can earn over a couple of silvers. If I can sign four more orders in a month, that would be amazing!

Moreover, this isn’t all; the monthly bonuses are the real gain. Who in the village can manage to get money every month without spending or working? If I sign a few orders, I could be making money every month without doing anything at home—just counting money! Isn’t that what a wealthy landlord does?”

Cheng Yu’s mother was amused by his words, but then, for some reason, she suddenly fell into deep thought.