Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Pei Mu dropped off the spices someone had ordered the day before at the shop first thing in the morning, then went to set up his stall at the West Market.

The spice stall owners now looked at him with completely different eyes than yesterday. Knowing he'd brought in outside goods to undercut them, now the panic was real.

Since they hadn't come up with a good countermeasure, two shops followed Pei Mu's lead and marked bottom prices, dropping their old one-price-per-customer approach. At a time like this, holding onto the customers they already had was the main thing.

Pei Mu wasn't surprised—he'd seen this trick last year, and way uglier versions of it. He just laid out his goods at yesterday's prices. The others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he hadn't dropped his prices any further. If he kept dropping, they'd have no choice but to grit their teeth and follow, and there'd be no end to it.

But Pei Mu's goal was never to engage in cutthroat price competition. He was in this for the long haul. Besides, bleeding money to drive competitors out of business takes serious capital—he didn't have that kind of money, and he didn't plan to anyway.

At the same price, he figured his goods were better quality and would win out. Besides, he had a walking advertisement.

Pei Mu watched the young man approaching through the crowd under an oil-paper umbrella, and a trace of a smile slowly crept into his eyes.

The customer at his stall had been there yesterday. After buying, his father saw the quality was good and heard the price was even lower than usual, so he'd hurriedly sent his son back to buy more, afraid the seller might come to his senses and raise the price.

Yesterday, this customer had found the new stall owner cold and aloof, not even daring to haggle. But today he noticed the man's expression was much gentler. Could it be he recognized me as a repeat customer?

His heart lifted, and he jumped at the chance: "Boss, you remember me from yesterday? I'm bringing you business like this—could you give me a discount today? I'll introduce more customers to you."

Pei Mu's expression didn't change as he pointed to the "No Haggling" sign. The man was about to push further when he heard a laughing refusal from behind and to the side.

"My husband's prices are already the lowest in this market. Since you came back after buying yesterday, it must be because you like our spices, right? We're selling this quality at this price—any cheaper and we'd be losing money, sir."

The man turned to see a handsome young man approaching. The cold, impersonal stall owner stepped forward to take the food box from him, his tone completely different now—soft and warm: "Why'd you come out in this blazing sun?"

Zhong Yizhu raised the umbrella higher to shade him, his peach-blossom eyes curving with a smile: "I came to keep Boss Pei company at his stall. Am I not welcome?"

Pei Mu took the umbrella and gestured for him to mind his step, a smile tugging at his lips: "How could that be? I couldn't ask for anything more."

Zhong Yizhu followed Pei Mu behind the stall, looked up at the customer, and said with a smile: "Have you picked what you want, sir? Let me weigh it for you."

Only then did the man snap back to reality, realizing why Pei Mu had been so different today. He stopped trying to haggle, pointed at the spices he wanted, and watched the young man scoop up exactly the right amount with practiced ease. He was genuinely impressed—clearly both of them were pros, and honest ones at that. As long as they didn't raise prices or go out of business, he'd keep buying from this shop.

Weighing spices was second nature to Zhong Yizhu. He worked fast, and after seeing off the customer, he freed up a hand to hold the umbrella over Pei Mu so he could eat properly.

"Have you eaten?" Pei Mu asked, looking at the food in the box.

"Already ate. I wanted to bring it over to eat with you, but this box is a bit small to fit everything. Try He Geer's cooking—it's delicious."

Pei Mu took a bite. It really was good.

Zhong Yizhu rested his chin on his hand watching him eat, smiling and greeting customers as they passed. It felt like the old days, selling spices at their stall together.

Though the two didn't do anything intimate—a husband bringing lunch to his wife wasn't unusual—they were far too eye-catching.

The other spice stall owners watched this couple, their hearts full of regret and resentment.

Over the next two days, two more incense shops came to Pei Mu's stall to buy spices from him.

No matter how persuasive the spice stall owners were, the Bamboo Fragrance Shop had good business and a solid reputation. When other merchants in the trade heard their spices came from a different source than the ones from Anchuan Prefecture, they had to buy some to try anyway. Whether they'd switch suppliers later was uncertain, but Pei Mu had genuinely driven the purchase price down a notch.

One thing was certain: because Pei Mu's prices were lower, if they wanted to win back their old customers, they'd have to negotiate even lower prices. Pei Mu's move of cutting off the supply at its source not only seized the initiative but also put all of them on the hot seat. Everyone had underestimated this couple before, and now they were truly at a loss for words.

However, Pei Mu didn't do business with just anyone. He refused to deal with Liu's Fragrance Shop, even though they wanted bigger quantities than anyone else. He said no, and that was that.

An eye for an eye. The spice stall owners watched him and felt a flood of mixed emotions—both joy that such a big customer wouldn't be snatched away, and a sense of having been slapped in the face, leaving them feeling stifled.

Meanwhile, Liu's Fragrance Shop, furious and humiliated, began demanding price cuts from them too. The new manager put out word that they'd buy from whoever was cheapest. Originally, all the stall owners had agreed not to undercut each other's bottom prices or break the rules, which would make business difficult for everyone. But now with Pei Mu as a new variable, everyone was terrified of losing this opportunity and having no business at all. Who cared about agreements anymore? They all started privately contacting Liu's Fragrance Shop's new manager, each one more shameless than the last.

The spice stall owners scrambled frantically over Liu's Fragrance Shop's business, and the spice market in Songyun County descended into chaos for no apparent reason.

Pei Mu watched coldly and simply did his own thing. He calculated the remaining spice inventory—he needed to set aside one month's supply for the Bamboo Fragrance Shop—and after selling the rest, it would be time for him to go to Quzhou Prefecture to stock up.

Around the beginning of next month, he should start preparing to leave.

Zhong Yizhu naturally couldn't go this time. He had to be at the shop, and Pei Mu could handle Quzhou Prefecture on his own. He'd gone along last time to see the world, and that was enough. Going again would just add unnecessary costs.

Fortunately, he'd traveled that road with Pei Mu before, so he had some sense of what to expect. He knew Pei Mu was capable enough to handle it, and he wouldn't be consumed by worry and anxiety.

This time, Pei Mu planned to organize his own team. Using the escort agency's carts for the round trip would be too expensive. He'd already memorized the route, had martial skills, and was confident in leading the team himself.

When the Pei family announced they were hiring again, another wave of heated discussion swept through the village.

This time they needed households with ox carts or donkey carts, and able-bodied young men to accompany him on trading trips. The requirement for ox carts or donkey carts immediately filtered out most people—most villagers could only watch from the sidelines. Only a few households remained. Everyone said the roads were dangerous, but Pei Mu had brought Zhong Yizhu, a young man, back safe and sound before, which made people think it wasn't so scary after all. After asking about the wages, two households sent people to say they wanted to go.

Especially after hearing that Liu Mingfeng, the village head's son, was also going along, those two households felt even more confident, and even a third household came to sign up.

Pei Mu gathered everyone together. The three households were the Li family, the Zhang family, and the Liu family from the village. All three families came, packing the Pei family's main hall to the brim. Over a dozen pairs of eyes looked at Pei Mu with eager anticipation.

But Pei Mu's first words were: "The road for trading is long, and it's not without danger. Those who come with me must have the ability to protect themselves. I'll do my best to keep everyone safe, but I can't predict unexpected situations, so I can't guarantee that everyone will return unharmed."

Liu Mingfeng was also in the room. Since Pei Mu had discussed things with him beforehand, he'd already made his decision—no one from his family was coming.

The eager expressions on the three families' faces froze, and the three men who'd said they wanted to go all changed color.

Someone immediately had second thoughts. A young man with a baby face looked at his parents and said, "Mother, I'm scared." Before the woman could say anything, his father glared at him: "Scared of what? Even Zhu Ge'er, a young man, isn't scared. How did I raise such a coward?"

The young man looked at Zhong Yizhu, who was sitting quietly to the side, and wanted to cry.

Another household sending someone was a married man. He was burly, but he too showed signs of hesitation. His husband looked at Pei Mu with a worried expression and pleaded earnestly: "Hunter Pei, you've been on the battlefield, so you must be skilled. My husband has never been out before. Could you look after him a bit more?"

His parents quickly chimed in: "That's right. Our Amao is our only son—nothing can go wrong with him. We trust you, Hunter Pei. You must bring Amao back safely."

The husband's plea was one thing, but the parents clearly wanted the wages without wanting to bear any risk. They reminded Pei Mu of Wang Dou Po. Looking at the man's evasive gaze, Pei Mu refused bluntly: "I can't do that. Please see yourselves out."

One household remained—the Liu family, same surname as the village, naturally with some kinship ties to Liu Youzong's family. This family's son looked eager and ready to go, though his elder brother, sister-in-law, and parents all seemed uneasy. Seeing Liu Mingfeng taking it so calmly, they were bursting with questions.

Pei Mu didn't make them decide immediately, saying only: "This concerns your lives. Think it over carefully before giving me your answer. When you've decided, I'll teach everyone some self-defense techniques. But once you've confirmed you're going, you'll sign a contract with me. You can't back out at the last minute, or you'll have to compensate me for my losses."

Both families agreed. Though they hadn't decided whether to go, they all felt that Pei Mu was a different person from them now—he spoke and acted with structure and decisiveness, and his words inspired confidence. This was what came of having seen the world.

The Zhang family had already decided not to go, and Pei Mu wouldn't have wanted them anyway. As they left with the other two families, they kept hinting that Pei Mu was being cold-hearted, trying to stir up the other two families to back out as well.

But no one was stupid. Pei Mu was being responsible by laying things out clearly in advance. If they were afraid of risk, they could simply not go—what did that have to do with Pei Mu? They'd have to be out of their minds to make an enemy of someone over something like that.