Chapter 218 People from the Army

Chapter 218 People from the Army

Opening a store to do business is different. In addition to having the widest range of goods, the best quality, and the lowest prices, you also need to make sure that your attitude conveys just the right amount of politeness, sincerity, and enthusiasm. And you also need to use some "little tricks" from time to time.

Leaving aside the myriad of modern promotional tactics, the most common one—offering customers certain benefits—has existed everywhere from ancient times to the present.

Of course, this also depends on whether the person in charge of procurement at each medical clinic has this need.

In some clinics, the person in charge of purchasing is the clinic owner. If you give them a kickback, they might think you have a serious illness.

However, in some medical clinics, the person in charge of purchasing is not the owner himself, but a trusted son, nephew, or disciple. In such cases, some people will choose to take kickbacks.

Xie Wanniang's "offering benefits" was specifically aimed at these self-serving purchasing staff.

She explained to the shopkeeper and his staff how to detect someone's desire for kickbacks through their verbal cues, and how to control the extent to which they take kickbacks through negotiation.

After all, her original intention was to follow the strategy of offering high-quality products at low prices and selling in large quantities with low profit margins. Her profit margin simply did not allow her to give too many kickbacks to those in charge of purchasing.

If she encounters someone who is greedy and insatiable, she would rather not do business with them than let her shop lose money to gain publicity, or go along with those people's wishes and substitute inferior goods for superior ones when packing the goods.

She repeatedly emphasized to her subordinates that medicinal herbs are used to relieve people's pain and even save lives, and there must be no flaws in their quality.

The group listened to her explain in detail for an entire afternoon, and then, under her guidance, they memorized the rules of conduct she had prepared in advance.

In addition, Xie Wanniang taught them some etiquette for entertaining guests and gave each of them two sets of work clothes.

The pharmacy staff, who had made preparations in advance and were eager to make a big splash, never expected that they would face the embarrassing situation of having few customers on their first day of business.

They waited anxiously for almost an hour before customers finally started arriving at the shop.

The guests all carried the distinctive smell of Chinese medicine, clearly indicating that they were people who genuinely needed medicinal herbs.

Besides those who come to inquire about prices and examine the medicines, there are also people carrying baskets on their backs who come to sell medicinal herbs.

Following the code of conduct and rules for grading medicinal herbs established by Xie Wanniang, the shopkeeper was very polite and patient in accepting the medicinal herbs that the herb gatherers brought to sell.

Unlike other pharmacy owners, he showed no disdain for these simply dressed, even ragged, mountain people. Instead, when assessing the grade of medicinal herbs, he would concisely explain to them why he made that assessment and what they needed to do to improve the grade of the herbs.

The herb gatherers dealt with various pharmacies and clinics in the city year-round, and they had never met a doctor or shopkeeper like him before. He spoke kindly, his arguments were reasonable and well-founded, and he was even willing to teach them some basic knowledge about processing medicinal materials.

The doctors, shopkeepers, and even the shop assistants they had dealt with before were either arrogant and disdainful, showing no regard for them whatsoever, or they were perfunctory and indifferent, not only failing to examine the medicinal herbs they delivered with any care, but also offering prices that depended entirely on their mood at the time.

After receiving more money for medicinal herbs than ever before, the herb gatherers looked at the shopkeeper with shining eyes.

They have decided that from now on, not only will they sell their own medicinal herbs at this shop, but they will also help promote the shop among their relatives and friends so that they can earn more money as well.

The acquisition of the medicine progressed smoothly, but the sale of the medicine was fraught with difficulties and delays.

Of the group of people who came to look at the medicinal herbs, only three purchased a small amount on the spot. The others either tried to get them to lower the price further or asked around but ended up buying nothing.

Xie Wanniang could tell that they were all very interested in the medicinal herbs from her shop and would likely consider her shop when purchasing herbs in the future, but the others couldn't see it, so they were very anxious.

If they hadn't received prior training, they would definitely be wearing long faces right now.

As Xie Wanniang remained remarkably calm, while the others appeared calm on the surface but were inwardly anxious, time slowly passed until afternoon.

As the sun began to set, the pharmacy's earnings were still meager, and the morale of everyone in the shop was low.

However, just as they were about to lose their professional smiles, a large group of people suddenly poured into their pharmacy.

Although the leader was not wearing armor, he was followed by a large group of people in bright armor and fully armed.

"Miss Xie, it's been a long time!" Stepping into the shop, the leader's eyes lit up as he caught sight of Xie Wan Niang sitting behind the counter, leisurely writing something. He quickened his pace and walked towards Xie Wan Niang.

Xie Wanniang looked up, and a smile immediately appeared on her face. "It's Doctor Jiang. What brings you to Yi County?"

Doctor Jiang stroked his goatee and said, "I've come to buy medicinal herbs."

He smiled and looked around. "I heard from Lord Jiang that Miss Xie is planning to open a pharmacy. Our young master immediately informed his brothers in advance, telling us to buy all our medicinal herbs from your shop from now on."

Xie Wanniang was overjoyed, and the others in the shop were ecstatic. Judging from the attire of the group of people behind Doctor Jiang, they were undoubtedly border soldiers.

If all the border troops—well, all the border troops of Zijing Pass—bought their medicinal herbs from Xie Wanniang's shop, then even if Xie Wanniang didn't do business with other clinics, doctors, female doctors, Taoist priests, and other customer groups, her shop would definitely make a fortune.

"My goodness, the young master and everyone have been so kind to me." Xie Wanniang wiped her eyes. "No, I have to live up to everyone's kindness no matter what."

She beckoned to the pharmacy owner, who was already ecstatic, and said, "From now on, for all the medicinal herbs that Zijingguan gets from our shop, you must give them an additional 10% discount on top of the shop's existing preferential policies. Remember that?"

The pharmacy owner nodded vigorously, "I've got it."

After listening to their conversation, Doctor Jiang felt even more admiration for Xie Wanniang. He thought to himself, "Look at her, look at her. No wonder the young master and the lady of the house both have such high regard for her."

As he was thinking, he heard Xie Wanniang call over another waiter and ask him to go to her restaurant to reserve food for Doctor Jiang and the others.