Chapter 873: Taking Over the Shop
Since the medicines he sold fetched a price far exceeding his expectations, Yang Haoran did not offer all the medicines he possessed for sale, only taking out a portion.
If it wasn't enough, it wouldn't be too late to take out more medicines for sale then. If it proved sufficient, he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to sell all the medicines outright.
The reason was simple: the other party acquired his medicines to undoubtedly turn a profit when reselling them; why else would they buy them?
Therefore, Yang Haoran felt that rather than letting the other party pocket the price difference, he might as well keep it himself. That way, he wouldn't lose out.
According to his initial plan, he intended to open a sundry shop in the Underworld, selling various odds and ends. Anything valuable could be put up for sale, and as for the price, he would try to keep it as low as possible, as long as he could make a profit.
As for the source of goods, he would definitely have to acquire them through some illicit means. He already had a plan in mind for how to do it.
However, when he discovered that the medicines concocted by Feng Xiao were even more expensive than he had imagined, he changed his plan. He decisively abandoned the idea of a worthless sundry shop. He decided to open an apothecary—an apothecary that would only sell various finished medicines and acquire all sorts of spiritual herbs and materials!
Whether in the Underworld or the mortal realm, a shop's location determines its rent; this much is undeniable. Initially, when Yang Haoran planned to open a sundry shop, he had certain requirements for the location.
Overly remote streets were certainly out, because he planned to sell miscellaneous items, which intrinsically lacked any special characteristics. If the location was also poor, the business would almost certainly fail to take off. He wouldn't earn any money, and might even lose his underwear. Such examples were countless, both in the mortal realm and the Underworld.
However, even an average location for a shop in the Underworld was not easy to obtain. Besides the enormous capital expenditure, one also had to find ways to cultivate connections and handle many cumbersome procedures, all of which cost money. All in all, it was quite troublesome.
If he changed the sundry shop to an apothecary, many of these troubles would be saved. The reason was simple: since the medicines concocted by Feng Xiao could fetch high prices in the Underworld, it meant there was a significant market for them.
For items with a strong market, even if the area was a bit remote, customers would still come. It was normal for business to be slow initially, but over time, once his reputation spread, customers would undoubtedly seek him out. So, even choosing a remote area would absolutely not result in a lack of business.
Of course, a good location would certainly yield much better results than a poor one, but Yang Haoran lacked the resources, so he could only settle for the next best thing.
He first searched for suitable shops on some remote streets in the Underworld. To save more money, his primary targets were shops on the verge of bankruptcy and slated for transfer, because these shops were already complete. Once acquired, they could be opened for business with minimal effort, saving a lot of trouble and quite a bit of money.
However, finding such a shop that also suited his preferences required a certain amount of luck. If he was lucky, he might find one that very day; if not, he might wait a long time without a suitable shop becoming available for transfer.
Yang Haoran initially didn't find a shop to his liking, until he came here and met Underworld Official Zeng Bingwen.
Zeng Bingwen’s shop was located on one of the most remote streets in the entire Underworld. Foot traffic here was sparse, and business was difficult to conduct. But precisely because of this, the shops here were not only large but also had extremely cheap rent.
When Zeng Bingwen decided to open a shop in the Underworld back then, he also expended considerable financial resources and energy. He valued this location because the shop was quite spacious and cheap, and he lacked the means to compete with others for prime locations, so he chose this particular shop.
At the time, Zeng Bingwen was full of enthusiasm. He believed that even though his shop's location was terrible, and it would undoubtedly be greatly affected, as long as he managed it properly, he could still make a fortune.
Once he became wealthy, he would then choose a prime location in the Underworld and open an even larger shop. This way, the snowballing wealth would increase more and more, and Zeng Bingwen would become increasingly rich, thereby reaching the pinnacle of his life.
But contrary to expectations, Zeng Bingwen's shop faced bankruptcy not long after opening. Not only was business pitifully scarce, but he also had to pay employees, and the rent was an even bigger headache.
During the period he ran the shop, he didn't earn a single Soul Pill. Instead, he had to inject many Soul Pills each month to sustain the shop's operations. He was originally quite well-off among Undertakers, but in just a few short months, he was bankrupted, even racking up a mountain of debt. With no other option, he could only choose to transfer the shop.
Yang Haoran felt quite good about Zeng Bingwen's shop. At the time, Zeng Bingwen hadn't yet left the Underworld, so Yang Haoran sought him out to discuss the matter in detail.
One was eager to transfer the shop, not wanting to lose more money on it. The other favored this shop and was eager to open for business. Thus, their conversation proceeded smoothly.
Zeng Bingwen was desperate to transfer the shop, and combined with the fact that his shop was indeed overly remote, his asking price was very low. It wasn't that Zeng Bingwen didn't want a higher price, but he was worried that Yang Haoran would refuse if the price was too high. If Yang Haoran gave up in frustration then, it would be hard to say when he would successfully transfer the shop, as few people would be willing to come here to choose a shop.
The transfer price was very low, he himself favored the shop greatly, and the rent was also cheap. Of course, Yang Haoran wouldn't refuse, and so the matter was settled.
Although both parties agreed to the matter, some procedures still needed to be followed, and some formalities still needed to be completed; it wasn't enough for just the two of them to agree.
And today was the day Yang Haoran took over the shop. According to their previous agreement, Zeng Bingwen needed to take away all the existing goods from his shop. His so-called transfer was actually just a transfer of the renovations and the remaining rent.
Zeng Bingwen naturally wanted to transfer the goods in the shop to Yang Haoran as well. That way, he could obtain some more Soul Pills and lose a little less. Yang Haoran, however, did not agree.
At this moment, he approached Yang Haoran with a smile and spoke, his main purpose very simple: he hoped Yang Haoran would change his mind and take these goods.
"Divine Emissary Zeng, to be honest, your asking price for these goods is indeed very low, and this junior is quite tempted. But my purse is thin; taking over this shop is a huge burden for me. I almost had to sell my blood and simply can't produce any more Soul Pills. It's truly a pity."
Yang Haoran forced a wry smile, an expression of regret on his face.
His words were half-truths, half-lies. His inability to produce Soul Pills was false; his temptation was real. But considering the adage "not revealing one's wealth," he still chose to refuse.
Zeng Bingwen's shop was originally a sundry shop, which actually aligned with Yang Haoran's previous idea. However, the items Zeng Bingwen sold were even more miscellaneous than he had imagined: there were skins, ancient texts, Demon Weapons, magic artifacts, Demon Pills, and even Demon Arts.
Among these sundries, some were useless to Yang Haoran, but others were useful to him, and equally useful to those around him. Coupled with the fact that Zeng Bingwen’s prices were indeed very low, how could he not be tempted?
Zeng Bingwen did not give up hope because of Yang Haoran's words. He pondered for a moment, then, with a smile, continued to persuade Yang Haoran.
"Unless one has a bottomless fortune, anyone who opens a shop in the Underworld will strain their muscles and bones; I've experienced that firsthand, so I fully understand Divine Emissary Yang's current difficulties. However, if you're willing to take all the goods in my shop in one go, I can make another concession and lower the price even further. What do you say?"
Zeng Bingwen's words made Yang Haoran's expression freeze. He truly hadn't expected that Zeng Bingwen would be willing to actively lower the price just to get rid of all these goods.
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