Chapter 459: The Cropped-Hairs' Business Acumen

At this, Zhang Yu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Whenever the Cropped-Hair Bandits ran a business themselves, no one else could compete. They didn’t use underhanded tactics or official connections; they could crush their opponents with price and quality alone. Take a few years ago, when Proprietor Guo began to distribute all kinds of coarse Australian paper. In and out of the city, the papermakers and paper sellers, except for those in the stationery business, were almost all wiped out, as the Australians didn’t produce those items. Most went bankrupt. Those who barely survived could only make a living by distributing “Australian paper.”

That was one thing. Because the shops selling paper didn’t produce it themselves, when Australian paper flooded the market, it was the paper-making workshops and wholesale paper firms that went under. The small retail shops could still survive, and even make a better profit than before. The problem was that things like walnut pastries were self-produced and self-sold. If the Australians’ pastry shop also sold walnut pastries, and at a lower price, small shops like theirs would have to close down in an instant.

“Mother, don’t worry,” Zhang Yu forced himself to suppress his panic. “We’re a century-old shop. Everyone recognizes our brand. What can they do, even if their price is lower?”

“Yu’er, you don’t know,” his mother frowned. “In terms of retail, they won’t take away much business. I’m afraid of the teahouse business…”

Teahouses were a major outlet for the Zhang family’s walnut pastries. Their pastries were somewhat famous in the area, and most of the nearby teahouses used their products. Although it didn’t bring in big money, it was a steady income, crucial for the survival of their small shop.

The teahouse business was essentially wholesale. Distance didn’t matter much. As long as the price was “low and the quality good,” the Australians could take over this business. If that happened, their own shop would not be able to survive!

Now that it was laid bare, Zhang Yu also became anxious. This was truly cutting the ground from under their feet!

The Cropped-Hair Bandits are truly hateful! He couldn’t help but clench his fists, but he also felt very lost. What could be done? The Cropped-Hair Bandits naturally wouldn’t care about his family’s small shop; they probably didn’t even know such a shop existed in Guangzhou. Why on earth were they opening a pastry shop? Could it be to sell “Australian pastries”? At this thought, an idea flashed through his mind. That’s right, Australian pastries and Ming pastries must be different. His father had long said that culinary styles differed every hundred li. Australia was thousands of li overseas; it was unlikely they would make walnut pastries exactly like his family’s.

At this thought, he calmed down a little and comforted his mother, “Mother, don’t worry. I have a senior student who is very familiar with the Australians’ affairs. I’ll go and ask him. I’ll see if there really is an Australian pastry shop and what it sells.”

He changed into his outdoor clothes and ran out. Opposite his house was a tofu shop. The owner’s daughter was a year older than him, fair-skinned and pretty. She often helped sell tofu at the shop, and the two would often exchange glances. Being young and in the bloom of youth, it was inevitable that they would flirt with their eyes. Every time his family needed to buy tofu, Zhang Yu would rush to do it. When the girl handed him the tofu, her hand would linger in his for a moment.

The girl saw him come out of the shop and was looking at him with affectionate eyes, but she saw him run past as if his pants were on fire, without even a glance in her direction. She couldn’t help but spit on the ground in annoyance.

He ran straight to the community school. As expected, Wu Ming was still there, sitting on the veranda and talking animatedly with a few other senior students. Seeing this student who had slipped away before noon run back, winking at him incessantly, he knew something urgent was up. He said, “I’ll be right back,” and slowly strolled over.

Before Zhang Yu could open his mouth, Wu Ming’s fan had already tapped him on the head with a thwack.

“You little rascal, skipping school all the time! Just you wait till the teacher comes back and spanks you,” Wu Ming said with a grin. Although they had a teacher-student relationship, they were usually like classmates, without much of the “dignity of a teacher” between them.

Zhang Yu was in no mood for jokes. He grabbed his wrist and pulled him aside, saying urgently, “I have something important!”

“Oh? You’re usually not this anxious even when you get a bad grade…” Wu Ming straightened his sleeve. “Go on, what is it?”

“Senior, I know you’ve always been well-versed in Cropped-Hair studies. Do the Cropped-Hair Bandits have pastry shops? Do they sell walnut pastries?”

Wu Ming was momentarily confused and said vaguely, “Probably.”

“Is it a yes or a no?” Zhang Yu’s eyes were red with anxiety.

Wu Ming didn’t know why this junior was suddenly so interested in Cropped-Hair pastries. Seeing him so anxious, he comforted him, “Take your time. Why are you asking this?”

He then recounted the news he had heard from his mother.

“…Whenever the Cropped-Hair Bandits get involved in a business, no one else can survive,” he said nervously. “What should we do? My family relies on this one shop to make a living.”

This stumped Wu Ming. The Yuyuan Society specialized in Cropped-Hair studies, but they had never studied the Cropped-Hairs’ “pastries.” However, one thing was certain: if the Cropped-Hairs also opened a pastry shop, the price would inevitably be cheaper than his junior’s family’s. Moreover, the Australians’ pastry shop, like the Ziji establishments, would only pay normal taxes and would not pay a single cash of the various “donations” and unofficial fees. This alone gave them an advantage over his junior’s family’s shop.

Wu Ming opened his fan, waved it a few times, and then suddenly smiled, “What are you afraid of? Walnut pastries are cheap things. Your family’s shop is in the city, and the Great World is outside the city. Who would run so far just for a piece of walnut pastry? No matter how cheap they sell it, the travel cost is still money. Besides, your family is a century-old shop. Good wine needs no bush. The Australians’ shop doesn’t have that reputation.”

“Senior, you’re right. But I’m afraid they’ll take away the teahouse business. That’s all wholesale. As long as they lower the price a little, the teahouses will all go there for their supplies. Without the wholesale business, my family’s shop won’t be able to survive!”

“I see!” Wu Ming slapped his thigh with his fan and said excitedly, “This way of economics is truly interesting! The Australians did not deceive me!”

A look of disappointment appeared on Zhang Yu’s face. He didn’t understand this “way of economics,” but he could see that Senior Wu had no brilliant solution for this either.

Just as he was feeling dejected, Wu Ming suddenly said, “I have an idea. Isn’t the Great World recruiting merchants? Why don’t you just move your shop to the Great World? Since it’s the Australians’ territory, you won’t have to pay those miscellaneous fees and donations. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!”

Zhang Yu was at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. “Senior, you just said it yourself: who would run all the way outside the city just for a piece of walnut pastry? A small shop like ours relies on the business of the neighbors on a few streets. If we move to the Great World, all our old business will be gone…” Seeing this, he knew that Wu Ming couldn’t come up with any good ideas either, and said dejectedly, “I’ll ask around some more.”

“Don’t be anxious,” Wu Ming said. “As it happens, I have a friend who just arrived from Lingao not long ago. Why don’t I take you to see him? He has lived in Lingao for a long time and knows the Australians’ situation best.”

“That would be wonderful!” Zhang Yu bowed deeply. “Please take me there at once, senior.”

Wu Ming was a warm-hearted person. He immediately asked for leave from the school and led Zhang Yu to Huang Binkun’s lodging.

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After hearing Zhang Yu’s words, Huang Binkun let out a long sigh and said, “As expected! The demonic claws of the Cropped-Hair Bandits have reached Guangzhou Prefecture!”

This phrase “the demonic claws of so-and-so” was a common rhetoric of the Australians, which Huang Binkun had picked up from hearing it so often.

“Brother Huang…” Wu Ming began, giving him a look: This little brother is anxious. Don’t you start with your long sighs.

“As for pastry shops, there are some in Lingao,” Huang Binkun said. “But I’ve never seen walnut pastries.” He paused. “But I’ve never been fond of them, so maybe they have them and I just haven’t seen them…”

Zhang Yu was on the verge of tears. What kind of answer was that?

Huang Binkun hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually, this little brother doesn’t need to be so anxious. The Cropped-Hair Bandits have always been ‘those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish.’ As long as you follow them, they will always leave you some room. I think it will be the same this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I’ve seen and heard, the Cropped-Hair Bandits despise small workshop businesses. They want everything to be concentrated in large factories. So if they are going to open a pastry shop this time, they will inevitably open a large pastry factory…”

Zhang Yu’s face turned pale. He couldn’t imagine what a large pastry factory would look like, but if the market were suddenly flooded with a huge amount of walnut pastries, the price war would be bloody—his family couldn’t afford it.

“…But they have always left a way for the common people to survive. At that time, they will probably set up some kind of ‘cooperative,’ ask you to join a ‘joint venture,’ give you a few small shares, and have you work in the factory. If nothing else, it should be enough to support a family.”

“This is a takeover!” Zhang Yu cried out. “My family has a century-old shop, a golden signboard! How can we join some ‘joint venture’?”

Huang Binkun looked at Zhang Yu and shook his head sadly. “Little brother, you don’t know how ruthless the Cropped-Hair Bandits’ methods are. Although I’ve never eaten your family’s walnut pastries, if the Cropped-Hair Bandits want to make them, they will definitely not be worse than yours—they will probably be much better, and the price will be the same at most. What can you do?”

“So, we can only wait for death with our heads bowed?” Zhang Yu’s face was ashen. He was already thinking of his former classmate who was now selling himself in a brothel.

Seeing his dejected look, Wu Ming knew this matter was of great importance to him. He thought that instead of offering a few empty words of comfort, it would be better to offer a more direct solution. He said:

“Don’t be anxious. Since the Australians are recruiting merchants now, why don’t we go to the Great World tomorrow and have a look? We can ask them face to face if they have a pastry shop and if they make walnut pastries. Isn’t that better than worrying yourself sick for no reason?”

Zhang Yu thought this was the only way. He said dejectedly, “That’s a good idea.”

Huang Binkun felt very sorry for him and said, “At least the Cropped-Hair Bandits have some conscience and won’t completely wipe people out. How about this, I’ll go with you tomorrow. We’ll see if there are any real Cropped-Hairs. I can also speak a few words of their language, so we can ask them clearly in person.”