Chapter 265: Bargaining
Editor: Atlas Studios
The merchants’ eyes lit up as they asked, “Can you open it for us to see?”
“No problem.” Mu Yangling gave Xiuhong a look, and the latter quickly went forward to untie the rope. Mu Yangling turned around and took out another bundle. She patted it and said, “Our rabbit skin is all of fine quality. I don’t dare to say that it’s the best in the world, but I dare to say that our family’s rabbit skins are the best in Hanzhong Prefecture. If you don’t believe me, feel it. Isn’t it very soft? There’s no dirt on it at all.”
Xiuhong took out a piece of pure white rabbit skin and rubbed it. Smiling, she said, “The tanning craftsmanship has been passed down in my family for generations. This kind of rabbit skin doesn’t need much processing to be made into clothes and scarves.”
The merchants looked at each other and picked up a piece to look at it carefully. “Where’s the other bundle? Young lady, why don’t you take it out and let us take a look?”
Mu Yangling smiled and said, “That last bundle is different from these. The price is also different.”
“Aren’t they all rabbit skins? What’s different?”
Mu Yangling came back to her senses and lifted the felt. When she took out the last bundle, everyone’s eyes were glued to it.
The three bundles consisted of rabbit skins of very pure colors—pure white, pure gray, and pure black, respectively. Contrasting the ones on the cart with mixed colors and don’t at all stand out, these three bundles were clearly much more sophisticated.
Mu Yangling patted the bundle of rabbit skin and said, “My family specially picked out the best. They tanned these skins especially meticulously, too. If you don’t believe me, take a look. Isn’t the skin of this bundle of rabbit skin softer?”
Mu Yangling took out a few pieces for them to examine. The bosses took turns touching them. When they realized that it was indeed the case, one of them pondered and said, “With such a big bundle rolled together, no one knows what the inside pieces look like.”
“Boss, don’t worry. You can buy them piece by piece. When the time comes, you’ll definitely have to open the bundle. If you find a piece that you’re not satisfied with, just take it out. We’ll accept the punishment.” Smiling, Xiuhong said, “Our family never cheats others. Considering our family plans to continue doing business here in the future, we won’t dare to do something that destroys our reputation.”
Mu Yangling realized that Xiuhong was even more eloquent than her, so she slowly let her take the initiative and just stood behind her as her backing.
The few merchants were very satisfied with Mu Yangling’s leather goods. They were all from the same hometown and had come together, so after some discussion, they decided to purchase all of Mu Yangling’s leather goods together.
Even though they saw that there were only two young ladies watching the stall here, they did not dare to underestimate them after this lengthy conversation. Not to mention the eloquent young lady in front, the young lady standing at the back and smiling at them was not to be trifled with either.
Having traveled extensively, they were more accurate in judging people than others. The lady looked at them with a burning gaze, and although Miss Xiuhong was smiling, she was neither servile nor overbearing. Hence, after discussing for a while, everyone said, “Young lady, your leather goods are indeed not bad, so we plan to take them all. Look, since we’re buying all of them from you, you should be able to reduce the price, right?”
Xiuhong looked at Mu Yangling, who nodded encouragingly at her. Xiuhong thought of what her cousin had said. In the future, the rabbit shed’s business would be handed over to her, and even the accounts would be managed by her. Mustering her courage, she clenched the corner of her shirt tightly. “How about this? There are only a few fox skins and wolf skins, so the price can’t be lower. The fox skins are four taels each, and the wolf skins are three taels and 400 copper coins each. I originally planned to sell the rabbit skins for 16 copper coins each. Now, I’ll charge you one copper coin less for each for the ordinary ones. Those specially-tanned ones are 18 copper coins each, and that’s the lowest I can go. What do you think?”
“This is still too expensive. We’re buying in bulk and taking all of them from you all at once. The rabbit skins in the other stalls aren’t sold at such an expensive price. The best ones are only 15 copper coins apiece, and the ordinary ones cost just 12 to 13 copper coins.”
Xiuhong insisted, “But our quality is far better than others. If you don’t believe me, you can compare. The other sellers’ best rabbit skins that cost 15 copper coins definitely can’t compare with the ones on our cart. It’s already not bad that I can lower the price to 15 copper coins.”
“No, no, it’s too expensive. How about this? If you’re willing, we’ll take all the ones on the cart for 13 copper coins apiece. Then, for the special ones, 15 copper coins each. How about that?”
“That’s right, young lady. We’re in it together. If you’re willing, we’ll take them all. If not, we wouldn’t want any of it.”
Xiuhong’s face was a little red, and her grip on the corner of her shirt gradually tightened. Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “Bosses, we’ll suffer a loss if we consent to the price you offer. If we sell it separately, many people will still come to buy it for 16 copper coins apiece. This temple fair will stay lively for five days. You’ve suddenly lowered the price so ruthlessly. Considering we have more than 2,400 rabbit skins and we’ll lose three copper coins per piece, how much of a loss do you think we’ll suffer?”
Xiuhong nodded repeatedly. “That’s right, that’s right. At most, Cousin and I will work hard for a few more days. That’s more than seven taels of silver. That’s pretty much the income of a farming family for an entire year.”
Mu Yangling hurriedly smiled and said, “Everyone, it’s embarrassing, but my family doesn’t have much land. After deducting taxes, I really only earn this much from a year’s harvesting. However, it’s different for business owners. From your accents, I can tell that you’re from Lin’an Prefecture. I’m fairly certain if you transport these things back and sell them, you should be able to earn a rather handsome profit, right? I heard that two years ago, a mixed-colored fur rabbit skin from Lin’an Prefecture could be sold for 50 copper coins. At present, with the quality of my leather goods, it can be sold for at least 60 copper coins apiece, right? Not to mention that I still have 632 specially-made and pure-colored rabbit skins here.”
The merchants raised their eyebrows and asked in surprise, “Young lady, you’ve been to Lin’an Prefecture?” This was a complete joke. How old was Mu Yangling? How could she have been to Lin’an Prefecture? Even if she said it, the merchants wouldn’t believe her.
Of course, Mu Yangling wouldn’t say that she had been there. She only said, “I’ve never been there, but I know two friends from Lin’an Prefecture who recently visited here. They said that the wild animals here are cheap, and leather goods are even cheaper. For example, this fox skin can be sold for at most four to five taels here, but it can be sold for 20 taels in Lin’an Prefecture. If it’s of a superior color, even 40 to 50 taels won’t be a problem.”
The few merchants laughed and said, “That’s right. These leather goods in Lin’an Prefecture are indeed expensive, but the cost of living there is also high. Young lady, don’t feel bad just because these things are sold for a high price there. You have to know that we have to take quite a lot of risks to transport these from north to south.”
“I know. I heard that there are many bandits along the way, as well as checkpoints set up by the government. Coupled with the money paid to the escort agency, there are indeed many risks.”
Seeing that Mu Yangling actually understood, the few merchants had a better impression of her and took the opportunity to complain. Unexpectedly, Mu Yangling continued, “But even though the risks you take are huge, the profits are also huge. You won’t have to worry about money for three years after this trip. On the other hand, we have to take a lot of risks when hunting in the mountains. Many hunters won’t be able to come out after entering the mountains. We also risked our lives to get these leather goods. Coupled with the medicinal herbs and other materials needed to tan these leathers, our price is already very low.”
Only then did the few merchants realize that Mu Yangling wasn’t done negotiating. Hence, a new round of bargaining continued. In the end, the two sides reached an agreement. An ordinary rabbit skin sold for 14.5 copper coins, while a special rabbit skin sold for 17 copper coins. They did not negotiate prices for the fox skin and wolf skin. Although the price Mu Yangling offered was slightly more expensive than others, her leather goods were well-tanned and the fur was complete, which made it worth this price.
The few merchants started calculating together. Mu Yangling and Xiuhong both knew how to do mental calculations. Mu Yangling was multitasking, and Xiuhong kept an eye on the remaining merchant. She was not afraid that they would deliberately miscalculate the total.