Qin Sang praised with a smile, "Clever. The wealthy like to browse shops. So let's think: mosquito coils are for repelling mosquitoes. There are fewer mosquitoes during the day and more at night. What kind of shops would still have wealthy people at night?"
This completely stumped Tian Sijin, and she shook her head awkwardly.
"Mother, don't the wealthy go home at night?"
Qin Sang shook her head slightly and explained:
"There are many types of wealthy people. Local ones are usually Officials and Squires; they have residences and naturally go home at night. However, they sometimes have social engagements in the evening, usually at restaurants or taverns. As for wealthy people from out of town, they mostly pass through, so they usually stay in small inns or larger inns."
Tian Sijin suddenly realized and said:
"Then we'll go to the restaurants and inns to sell the mosquito coils."
"Correct."
Da Zhuang felt that after his Mother's analysis, their mosquito coils would definitely sell.
Qin Sang took Si Jin to a roadside grocery store to buy some things, and along the way, she learned quite a bit about the restaurants and inns in town.
When they arrived at Tongfu Inn, a waiter greeted them warmly, "Are you two staying the night?"
Qin Sang shook her head. "No, we're looking for the manager."
The waiter showed no sign of impatience. He gestured for them to enter and shouted toward the counter inside:
"Third Uncle, someone's looking for you."
The manager was a plump, bearded middle-aged man who looked easygoing, but his eyes glinted with shrewdness. Seeing Qin Sang and the others entering with wooden buckets, he looked them up and down and smiled slightly.
"My shop is small, and the vegetables I grow myself are enough. If you want to sell vegetables, you can try asking at the restaurants."
Qin Sang knew he had misunderstood and explained with a smile:
"Manager, I'm not here to sell vegetables. I've come to talk business with you."
The manager stroked his beard as he watched Qin Sang take a bamboo tube out of the bucket. She removed the lid and pulled out a black object. It was coiled in circles, something he had never seen before...
The manager stared intently at the mosquito coil. After looking for a while without figuring it out, he felt a bit dizzy. He rubbed his temples, looked up, and asked:
"Young Sister-in-law, are you trying to sell this to me?"
Qin Sang nodded and explained calmly:
"Manager, this is a mosquito coil made with my family's secret recipe, requiring much time and effort. In summer and autumn, mosquitoes are at their worst, especially at night, often biting people so they can't sleep. But with my mosquito coil, you just need to light it like this, and it will keep you undisturbed by mosquitoes all night long."
After the introduction, Qin Sang used a fire striker to light a mosquito coil. When she made the bamboo tubes yesterday, she also made matching coil plates. The stand for the coil was made of bamboo strips holding broken ceramic pieces; for this, five ceramic bowls had been sacrificed at home.
As the mosquito coil was lit, a rich scent of mugwort wafted out. The manager fanned some of the smell toward him and sniffed:
"Made of mugwort leaves?"
Qin Sang didn't hide it and nodded. "There is indeed mugwort in the recipe."
The manager wasn't trying to fish for the secret recipe; rather, knowing it contained mugwort, he knew the woman's claim about repelling mosquitoes was true.
After observing for a while and seeing the rate at which the mosquito coil burned, the manager estimated that her claim of it lasting all night was likely true as well.
The manager straightened up and looked at Qin Sang, his gaze much more serious than at the beginning.
"I wonder, Young Sister-in-law, how do you intend to sell these mosquito coils?"
Qin Sang maintained her faint smile:
"There are twenty coils in one bamboo tube. Five hundred wen per tube."
At these words, Da Zhuang, who was holding the shoulder pole nearby, subconsciously held his breath, his fingers tightening.
Tian Sijin also opened her mouth slightly, but seeing her Mother's confident gaze, she suppressed her internal surprise.
The manager was clearly surprised as well:
"Young Sister-in-law, isn't your price a bit too high? I'm asking in good faith."
Qin Sang's smile became even friendlier. Since the manager complained about the price, he genuinely wanted it. She wasn't afraid of him finding it expensive; she only feared him telling her to get out immediately.
"Manager, I am also offering a price in good faith. Currently, I have only come to your inn. This means that in the future, yours will be the only inn in all of Songbai Town to use these mosquito coils. Think about it: once a guest has stayed at your place, would they be able to stand staying at another inn where mosquitoes are flying everywhere?"
"If you find this price too high, that's fine. Four hundred wen per tube, but I will then promote them to other inns in town at the same price. That price isn't expensive, is it?"
The manager's pupils constricted. He had never expected that the seller cutting her own price wouldn't make him happy.
Seeing him still hesitating, Qin Sang smiled again:
"Additionally, I can also entrust the sales rights of the mosquito coils to your shop. Think about it, Manager: the guests staying here are all wealthy and prominent merchants. If they stay here comfortably, won't they ask you what this mosquito-repelling incense is?"
"Manager, couldn't you then mention in passing that these mosquito coils are homemade and not available elsewhere? If a guest truly wants some, you could sell them a tube."
"Manager, guess whether those merchants who travel frequently and sometimes have to sleep in the open would buy a few tubes?"
"You can sell them for whatever price you like; I will supply them to your shop for five hundred wen."
The more Qin Sang spoke, the brighter the manager's eyes became. By the time she finished, he was so excited he nearly pulled out his beard.
"Fine, five hundred wen it is! But it must be as you said: only my place in all of Songbai Town will have them, and no one else is allowed to sell them. How many do you have?"
Da Zhuang's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg. Was it all sold just like that?
Tian Sijin was also incredibly shocked. Her Mother was amazing! A tube of mosquito coils used at most two or three catties of mugwort leaves. For a wild weed found all over the mountains, her Mother had sold it for over a hundred wen per catty.
"I only brought ten tubes today. If you need more, Manager, we can deliver them every three days, twenty tubes at a time. And don't worry, even if these coils get a bit damp, they just need to be aired out; it won't affect their efficacy. They can be stored for up to a year, so there's absolutely no problem for the summer and autumn seasons."
The manager thought for a moment and then nodded:
"Alright, but we must draw up a contract to guarantee that these mosquito coils are only sold here. As for the quantity of stock, that will be determined by my sales. Of course, if I no longer want them, I will notify you in advance."
This clause essentially only benefited him, but Qin Sang wasn't angry. Businesspeople always had to consider themselves first.
"I can agree to your terms, Manager, but the contract will only be valid for six months. How about that?"
The manager hadn't expected the woman to be so sharp; she wasn't at all blinded by the huge profit of five hundred wen per tube.
A six-month validity meant it was uncertain whether he could secure exclusive selling rights again at this time next year.
"However, I should make the profit in front of me first."
"Fine, I'll write up the contract right now."