Chapter 95 New Store Opening

Chapter 95: New Store Opening

After informing the staff at the Gathering of Talents Pavilion about his destination and instructing that anyone looking for him should head to the shop in the southern district, Wang Hao settled the spiritual power account and led his clan members toward the new premises.

"Wow, this shop has a great location," Wang Wenmei and the others exclaimed upon seeing the store, offering words of praise.

"It really is good. I initially thought Wenhao spending ten thousand Spirit Stones on the lease was a bit high, but looking at the location and size, ten thousand is quite a bargain!" Wang Yanfeng was also very satisfied.

"The spiritual energy here is so dense, even stronger than at our Wang Family's mountaintop. Cultivating here, I'll reach Qi Refining perfection very soon!"

"Alright, let's hurry inside. This place hasn't been occupied for a long time and needs everyone to spend some time cleaning it thoroughly, especially those shelves in the shop. We're opening in a few days!"

Wang Hao turned to Li Derong. "Fairy Li, I've decided to open in three days. What do you think?"

Although there were two distinct storefronts, they were under the same building and connected internally. It would be best to open them together to better attract customers.

"No problem," Li Derong replied. "However, we haven't brought many spirit talismans with us, so we won't be able to support sales for very long."

She thought for a moment and asked, "When do you plan to go hunt demon beasts?"

Wang Hao replied, "We can put up signs to purchase alchemy and talisman-making materials and have our clan members step up production. Also, we can each leave two clan members to look after the shop. Once we've gathered information about the demon beasts, the rest can set out to hunt them!"

He paused, outlining his strategy.

"My idea is this: it's best to have one Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed at the shop permanently. Our two families can take turns. Let my Eighth Uncle stay first; he's an alchemist and has rich management experience. We can rotate every two years. What does Fairy think?"

"I agree. After hunting demon beasts, I hope the obtained hides and blood can be given to my Li Family for talisman making. Of course, the price won't shortchange the Wang Family!" Li Derong added.

Wang Hao smiled. "Naturally, no problem. Similarly, I hope that any spirit herbs obtained by Li Family members can be sold preferentially to our Wang Family!"

"Agreed!" Li Derong nodded.

The group energetically rushed into the shop and began cleaning. For cultivators, such tasks were quite simple. The exterior could be rinsed clean with a single Rain Summoning Technique, and Clean Talismans could be used inside. Only some nooks and crannies required manual scrubbing.

They already had daily necessities with them, so there was no need to go out and buy more. After a simple arrangement, they settled in to rest.

Since it was already somewhat late on the first day, Wang Hao didn't assign any other tasks.

The next day, he sent them out again to visit various shops, large and small, to inquire about specific pill prices. They also bought bottles of inexpensive pills to check their quality, allowing Wang Hao to set his prices competitively.

Wang Yanfeng and the other alchemists stayed behind, using the spirit herbs on hand to intensify pill refining. They worked on first-grade pills while Wang Hao focused on refining second-grade ones.

By the third day, everything was ready.

After consulting Li Derong, Wang Hao announced the opening. The shop's name was simple: Pill & Talisman Pavilion. The Wang Family's storefront bore a large character for "Pill," while the Li Family's displayed one for "Talisman."

The shelves were already stocked: over a dozen types of first-grade pills and five or six types of second-grade ones.

The marked prices were twenty percent lower than those in Qingyuan Market. For example, Qi Gathering Pills cost three hundred Spirit Stones in Qingyuan Market but only two hundred forty here. Correspondingly, the purchase prices for spirit herbs were also much lower. Previously, hundred-year spirit herbs required several hundred Spirit Stones to acquire; now their prices had dropped by twenty to thirty percent.

Despite the initial commotion of opening, not many customers came in to inquire.

Wang Hao had set a promotion: Buy one bottle of pills, get one extra pill free. However, without customers, nothing could be sold.

This was typical for new store openings. Hunting teams had their established shops for selling loot and purchasing supplies; they wouldn't change habits easily. Therefore, sales wouldn't be high in the short term.

This also gave the shop some buffer time. If business were too good right away, they might not be able to keep up with supply. It would take time to build up operations gradually. With an accumulated reputation, things would naturally improve.

Just then, a middle-aged rogue cultivator appeared at the entrance.

His name was Feng Ji. Born in Wanxiang City, both his parents were rogue cultivators, but unfortunately, they lacked significant skills. His own path of cultivation hadn't been smooth either.

His aptitude wasn't sufficient for major sects, while minor sects offered poor benefits—joining meant doing menial work with little future prospect. He felt it was better to remain a rogue cultivator, free and unfettered.

Now in his forties and at Qi Refining Layer 8, with some effort, he might have a shot at Foundation Establishment. He occasionally hunted demon beasts with others, and combined with his parents' legacy, he could still scrape together enough Spirit Stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

He was currently anxious; reaching Qi Refining perfection before sixty wasn't an easy task. Today, he suddenly felt his bottleneck loosening slightly and decided to buy a bottle of pills to leverage their medicinal power and break through to Qi Refining Layer 9 in one go.

This was based on hard lessons from his past: whenever his bottleneck loosened before, he had tried to save Spirit Stones by not buying pills, only to achieve half the result with double the effort. So he knew when not to skimp.

He entered the Pill & Talisman Pavilion because he saw it was newly opened. Based on his experience, new shops usually offered higher-quality pills to attract customers—he had come precisely to take advantage of this.

The shop wasn't large: only one shopkeeper and two attendants greeting customers.

Wang Wenyan saw a customer enter and hurried forward.

"Fellow Daoist! Our new store has just opened! The shelves are stocked with fine pills—both first-grade and second-grade! What might you need?"

He gestured to the shelves enthusiastically. "Additionally! Our shop has a special offer: buy one bottle, get one pill free! The more you buy, the more you get!"

Feng Ji's eyes lit up. Today really is my lucky day!

He feigned calmness. "What kind of pills do you have? Introduce some suitable for Qi Refining Layer 8."

Wang Wenyan smiled. "For late-stage Qi Refining? Naturally, it's Yellow Dragon Pills! Their medicinal power is potent yet gentle! An excellent choice for breaking through bottlenecks! Right now, each bottle is only sixty Spirit Stones! Plus an extra free pill!"

"Let me see one bottle. If it's good, I'll take it!" Feng Ji pointed at the Yellow Dragon Pill bottles.

Wang Wenyan took a bottle down and handed it over.

Feng Ji poured out one pill, holding it carefully between two fingers. He examined it closely, then sniffed.

The pill was round and smooth, its color vibrant, emitting a refreshing medicinal fragrance. With years of experience, Feng Ji naturally recognized quality.

He nodded, smiling. "Good! Fine Yellow Dragon Pills indeed! I want two bottles, Shopkeeper! Will you give two extra Yellow Dragon Pills?"

"Of course!" Wang Wenyan replied. "I'll fetch them right away, Fellow Daoist!"

He fetched another bottle plus two extra loose pills, handing them over politely.

"Total is one hundred twenty Spirit Stones, Fellow Daoist! If you find the pills satisfactory, please recommend us to others! Naturally, we won't let Fellow Daoist work for nothing—for every two bottles bought by customers you bring, our shop gives Fellow Daoist one pill. Or we can convert it into Spirit Stones. Using Yellow Dragon Pills as an example—for each bottle sold through Fellow Daoist, you receive three low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"Is that true?" Feng Ji was immediately tempted. He knew many hunting team members needing large quantities of pills—if he brought them all here, he could earn quite a bit!

"Naturally true! In business, how dare we deceive customers?"

Wang Wenyan handed over a token. "When Fellow Daoist brings people later, show this token to our staff. Whether I'm here or not, others seeing the token will settle the commission accordingly!"

This method was borrowed by Wang Hao from the brokers at Green Ox Market—developing his own network of brokers and giving benefits to boost sales was very cost-effective.