29: Sales channels

The last sliver of the setting sun was swallowed by the western mountains, and the sky swiftly shifted from orange-red to indigo.

The silhouette of Qingshi Town blurred behind them, with only a few scattered lights resembling beans accidentally spilled by a distant household.

The dirt road leading back to the village was rough and uneven, and the ruts pressed by ox carts during the day looked like deep scars in the twilight.

Zhao Rui held the hibiscus cake, which was packaged in an exquisite paper box, walking somewhat awkwardly.

The box had sharp edges, unlike the rough cloth bundle Su Ming carried, which could be casually slung over a shoulder. He tucked it under his arm, then held it in his arms, unable to find a comfortable position, looking quite flustered.

"Su Ming." He finally couldn't help but speak, his voice sounding abrupt in the quiet wilderness.

"Hm?" Su Ming replied, turning his head to look at him.

"You... you spent so much money on those things." Zhao Rui's tone was complicated as he looked at the bulging cloth bag on Su Ming's shoulder. "Why didn't you buy something for yourself? Even a skewer of candied hawthorn would have been fine."

In his simple understanding, going out on a trip meant one should always bring back some token for oneself.

"What belongs to my family belongs to me." Su Ming's answer was simple, almost blurted out.

Lin Yu let out a soft snort in Su Ming's mind, his internal monologue rich enough to stage a grand play: "Oh, not bad, apprentice, your awareness is quite high! The way you said that, it's full of collectivist spirit! You've captured the essence of my 'The Way of Cautious Survival' regarding 'shared risks and shared benefits'! By tying your family to your chariot, your safety coefficient rises exponentially!"

Zhao Rui was choked by these words.

Holding the hibiscus cake, the exquisite fragrance of the pastry seemed to become dull and uninteresting.

He thought of his own father, the Village Head who always wore a stern face. If he brought back this box of the most expensive pastries from town, what would his father say? Most likely, he would frown and say, "What a waste of money," and that would be the end of it.

What belongs to my family belongs to me?

Zhao Rui chewed on these words, feeling as if something was blocking his heart, making him feel stifled.

"Apprentice, ignore him." Lin Yu's voice sounded lazily. "This kid is going through a period of restructuring his worldview; his brain is a mess, and he won't listen to anything you say. Let him ponder it himself; let's talk about serious business."

"What serious business?" Su Ming asked, slowing his pace to wait for Zhao Rui, who had fallen behind.

"Paper making." Lin Yu's tone turned serious. "You don't think that 'getting the whole village rich' pie I promised you can be achieved just by shouting slogans, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Very good. For a plan to succeed, there are three key points: technology, production, and sales. Technology, you have me, no problem. Production, involve the whole village, and there will be enough hands. Now, the most critical link arrives—sales."

Lin Yu guided him patiently: "Our paper is made, so who do we sell it to?"

Su Ming thought for a moment and said, "The bookstore in town? Or the general store?"

"Stupid!" Lin Yu criticized unceremoniously. "That's like throwing a newly hatched chick directly into a weasel's den! You, a poor kid from the village, taking a brand new, low-cost product to find those cutthroat merchants? What would they do?"

In Su Ming's mind, the faces of the Waiters in the town shops, either shrewd or arrogant, immediately appeared.

"They would drive our prices down to the lowest, interrogate us about our papermaking formula, and maybe... even hire people to rob us!" Su Ming quickly realized the crux of the matter.

"You are teachable!" Lin Yu praised. "Exactly! Before you have enough strength to protect your own interests, rashly contacting those big channels is just looking for death! This violates the fundamental principle of our 'The Way of Cautious Survival'—safety first!"

Lin Yu's internal monologue became even more active: "Just kidding, if I let you fight those old foxes, and you get tricked into revealing information or get kidnapped, where would I find such a useful host again? Do I still want to sleep my peaceful sleep of five hundred years!"

"Then... what should we do?" Su Ming was a bit worried.

He felt like he was guarding a mountain of gold but couldn't find a safe path to dig it out and sell it.

"That's why I say your vision is still too narrow." Lin Yu's tone carried a hint of triumph as if he had everything under control. "Who says you must find merchants to sell things? What we need to find are 'end users'! And the kind of end users who need us the most and won't pose a threat to us."

"End users?" Su Ming felt unfamiliar with this term.

"It means the people who actually use the paper!" Lin Yu explained. "Think about it, who did we meet in town today?"

In Su Ming's mind, a thin and stubborn figure flashed instantly.

"Xu Qing!"

"Bingo!" Lin Yu seemed to snap his fingers. "That's him! Think about his situation. He copies books, and his classmates at the County School also copy books. What do they need the most?"

"Paper!" Su Ming's eyes lit up.

"Exactly! A large amount of cheap paper!" Lin Yu's voice was filled with excitement. "The paper from Literary Treasure Studio is expensive as hell. These poor students have to split a single copper coin in two. The rough paper we make, even if it's coarse, is a hundred times better than the waste paper they use now, which is repeatedly washed and soaked until the ink blurs into a blob! For them, our paper is like sending charcoal in snowy weather!"

Su Ming's heart began to race.

He seemed to see a clear path unfolding before him.

"We sell the paper to Xu Qing, and the price can be set much lower than the market rate. He can use it himself and also help us sell it to other poor students at the County School. This way, we will have a stable and safe sales channel!"

"Most importantly," Lin Yu added, "this person Xu Qing has a spine and high aspirations. Doing business with him is an interaction between scholars, so there's no need to worry about being cheated or double-crossed. Behind him lies a massive group of poor students. This group is our perfect 'seed users'!"

"What is this called? This is called 'precision marketing'! Selling the most suitable product through the safest channel to the people who need it most! You make money, gain favor, and don't attract the covetous eyes of wolves. Three birds with one stone, perfect!"

Su Ming was completely ignited by the blueprint painted by his Master; he couldn't wait to run home and start cutting bamboo to make paper immediately.

However, Lin Yu's voice was like a basin of cold water, poured over his head.

"However..." his tone shifted. "Don't be too happy too soon."

"What's wrong, Master?"

"Think about it, Xu Qing and his peers are, after all, a group of poor students." Lin Yu's tone became calm and objective. "How much money can they have? Even if our paper is cheap, how much can they afford to buy? Relying on them might let your family earn some pocket money, but if you want to support a papermaking workshop for the whole village and let everyone have meat soup, that purchasing power is just a drop in the bucket."

The flame that had just ignited was instantly suppressed by more than half.

Su Ming fell silent.

Yes, Xu Qing hesitated even when buying a book, and those classmates at the County School had to rely on copying books to subsidize their living expenses; how could they have spare money to buy paper?

"Then... then we went through all this trouble to drag the whole village into this, isn't it..."

"Silly boy, you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time." Lin Yu said irritably. "The Xu Qing line is not our only sales channel, but it is our best 'stepping stone' and 'safe haven'!"

"Stepping stone?"

"Yes! Think about it, once our paper spreads among the poor students at the County School through Xu Qing, its reputation will be established. By then, real big buyers will naturally smell the scent and come knocking. At that time, we will have mature technology, stable production, and the word-of-mouth of the first batch of users. We will have the confidence to negotiate prices and conditions with them!"

Lin Yu's voice became deep: "Remember, apprentice. 'Hiding' is not about doing nothing, but about taking every step steadily and minimizing all foreseeable risks. Finding Xu Qing first is the first step in our grand plan. This move is not for profit, but for stability!"

Su Ming exhaled a long breath, and the fog in his heart was completely blown away.

He understood.

Every step of his Master's planning placed "safety" first. Seek stability first, then seek victory.

Just then, Zhao Rui, who had been silent, suddenly spoke: "Su Ming."