Chapter 46 Turning decay into magic
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned by this question. It suddenly occurred to him that there were more than one merchants involved here.

There were at least dozens or even hundreds of pharmaceutical dealers involved in the account books. Even if one of them was indignant about it, he had ordered the Yiluansi to pay special attention to it, so it was impossible that no news would have reached his ears.

"This shows that they are willing." Deng Qianqiu said: "They are all willing, how can it be considered robbery?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Perhaps, it is because I am afraid of your power."

Deng Qianqiu shook his head: "No, actually it's because they also made a profit."

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally scoffed at this: "They are selling something worth more than a hundred coins to you for fifty coins. Can they still make a profit?"

Deng Qianqiu laughed loudly and said, "Brother, you don't understand this. In fact, there is a thing called turnover rate in business."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yuanzhang began to feel confused at this time. This obviously touched upon Zhu Yuanzhang's cognitive gap.

He believed that he had ruled the world, had commanded millions of soldiers and horses, dispatched countless food and military supplies, and governed countless people. Even if there was knowledge in this world that he did not quite understand, it was impossible for him to be completely ignorant of certain things.

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Brother, let me ask you, why is this 170-cent mint worth 170 cents?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Isn't it the price itself?"

Deng Qianqiu shook his head and said, "A merchant bought mint. In addition to the purchase price, there are also storage and transportation costs. I have investigated this matter. This cost alone accounts for more than 30% of the 170-wen mint. In other words, for a pound of mint worth 170 wen, in fact, more than 50 wen of the expenses are storage and transportation costs."

Deng Qianqiu paused, then continued: "In addition to this, there is also the cost of funds."

"Funds... and costs?"

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "You bought this product with real money. Now the money has become the product and is in your hands. The longer it takes you to sell it, the longer it will take for the money to flow back. This is of course the cost."

Zhu Yuanzhang was still a little puzzled, so he asked: "What is the reason?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "If you have 100 coins, if the profit is good, you can earn 200 coins a year with 100 coins. But if you invest 100 coins in another business, you can earn 1 coin a day. So, which one makes more money, the former or the latter?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "The former one hundred coins will become two hundred coins after one year, while the latter will earn one coin every day. Adding the principal, after one year, you can get 436 coins. Of course, the latter is the best."

Deng Qianqiu smiled: "This is actually the turnover rate. The longer the goods are kept, even if they are sold at a high price, the actual profit is the lowest. If the goods can be turned over quickly, then even if the profit is meager, over time, you can get a huge profit. Not to mention that the longer the goods are kept, not only will there be storage costs, but also increased losses..."

As soon as the word "loss" was uttered, Zhu Yuanzhang's face returned to its rosy color. He understood this.

Deng Qianqiu continued, "The so-called loss is not just the loss of storage. You may not be able to sell all the goods within the shelf life after purchasing them. Some of the goods will inevitably become worthless and be wasted because no one is interested in them."

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be thinking about something. He really couldn't understand why there were so many tricks here. "Go on."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Then, can we draw a conclusion that as long as we solve these capital costs, losses, and storage costs, we can keep the price of goods to the lowest."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

Deng Qianqiu said: "But the King of Jin and I have solved this problem. The solution is very simple. Disinfectant is hot-selling now, and we have set up agents in many counties. These agents need to hire boats and cars to buy disinfectant every few days. So what if we have other relatively cheap medicinal materials besides disinfectant?" Zhu Yuanzhang said: "These agents are engaged in the sale of medicine, so their shops must also sell other medicinal materials?"

"Yes." Deng Qianqiu said, "Besides, they are here to transport goods anyway, so it's a good idea to sell them together. We just need to free up some space to load other medicinal herbs. We can buy all the medicinal herbs in one trip. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"

After a pause, Deng Qianqiu continued with a beaming expression, "In this way, it means that His Royal Highness Prince Jin has cultivated a large market. The shipments of everything from Coptis chinensis to Panax notoginseng, to mint, ginseng, etc. are all astonishing. With this guarantee, brother..."

Deng Qianqiu continued proudly, "Then, we can talk to the herbal medicine merchants and tell them directly how much they have and how much we want. We will buy the herbal medicine from the one who offers the lowest price. For the herbal medicine merchants, they only need to sell the goods as soon as they get them. There is no need to store them or lose them. The turnover rate will also become amazing. So... brother, are they losing or making money?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "You mean, even if they sell it for fifty coins, it will still be profitable?"

Deng Qianqiu said confidently: "Of course! The profit may be only one or two cents, but as long as the goods are sold in large quantities and sold quickly, their income may not be lower than before."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly understood: "The agents not only purchase disinfectant liquid, but also purchase other medicinal materials at the same time, which provides convenience for them. And those drug dealers, because of your large-scale purchases, have reduced a lot of costs and are still profitable. As for you... you can purchase medicinal materials at a very low price and resell them to the agents, making huge profits. Isn't this... everyone is happy?"

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Let's just say that everyone is happy. Brother, may I ask if this is considered robbery?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered. Although Deng Qianqiu's words might still need to be confirmed, if it was really as he thought, then... this was no longer as simple as making huge profits.

He first treated people at a loss, then sold his magic potion, and then distributed it. He used distribution to set up agents in various states and counties, and then used these agents to sell other medicinal materials. Because the sales volume was huge, he was able to reduce the cost of the suppliers.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have witnessed an entire process of turning decay into magic, and what was even more terrifying was that all of this... was completely in line with the laws of things.

That person...really gave birth to a good son!
Deep down in his heart, Zhu Yuanzhang was actually quite envious.

"Brother, brother..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Hmm?"

Deng Qianqiu frowned slightly and said, "But, are there really such rumors outside? Now that you mention it, I feel a little guilty. You know, people's words are scary. It seems that... doing business is also a very dangerous thing. I think... I should stop when I see the good, so as to avoid..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face tensed up, and he shouted: "What kind of words are you afraid of? You are upright and honest, what are you afraid of?"

"Ah..." This time it was Deng Qianqiu's turn to be speechless.

Zhu Yuanzhang was anxious, and the veins on his forehead were exposed under the light: "As a man, the most important thing is to be upright and honest. Since you have not done any petty theft, why should you be afraid of those rumors?"

Deng Qianqiu thought to himself, this old man is really helpful to others, I thank him.

"But..." Deng Qianqiu thought for a moment and said, "I think if this continues, it will always attract a lot of criticism. Besides, I think I've made enough money..."

A thought flashed through Zhu Yuanzhang's mind: "I haven't earned enough money yet, and you want to run away?"

(End of this chapter)