Chapter 92: Who Says Opening A Shop Means Selling Goods?
“Is the White Feather Gang’s influence really that great?” Lin Qi was a little surprised when he heard this.
Enterprises and companies in the suburbs are not something just anyone can open. They are usually opened by the children of big figures who live in the city proper, or by martial artists themselves.
For the children of big figures living in the City of Light Chasing’s city proper, let alone a seventeenth-ranked wilderness gang like the White Feather Gang, even the wilderness gang ranked first would not earn a glance from them, as if they were afraid their eyes would be polluted.
As for martial artists, there is even less to say. The two sides are not on the same level at all. If the White Feather Gang dared to threaten a martial artist, that would absolutely be courting death.
“Xiao Lin, are you maybe underestimating how much weight the top twenty wilderness gangs carry?” Luo Qi said helplessly. “Maybe you think those suburban enterprises and companies belong to those big figures, so how would a wilderness gang dare. But you probably don’t know this: those big figures never actually manage those enterprises and companies. They simply collect bits every month. Everything is handled and managed by the employees.”
“On the surface, those employees seem to have decent status in the eyes of vagrants and residents in the suburbs, but in reality they are just the servants of those big figures. Those big figures do not care about anything else, only about how many bits they get each month. If it is less, they can fire them at any moment.”
“The major wilderness gangs all understand this very well. I have often heard my friends who got into enterprises and companies complain about it.”
“When it comes to commissioning transport, it is usually people from the major companies and enterprises who beg those big wilderness gangs. Some small enterprises and small companies even have dedicated departments just to maintain good relations with the senior officials in charge of transport in those big wilderness gangs.”
“Otherwise, if those big wilderness gangs get unhappy, the commissions from these small enterprises and small companies will be delayed.”
“Don’t those suburban companies and enterprises report this to those big figures?” Lin Qi asked in shock.
In his original understanding, wilderness gangs were definitely the lowest-level factions, specifically doing dirty and exhausting work, and taking the least profit.
Now after hearing Luo Qi, this sounded incredibly promising.
“You think people from those companies and enterprises never tried?” Luo Qi did not care at all and said with a bitter smile, “Back then I was in a pretty good suburban enterprise and I quietly reported this to the big boss. What do you think happened?”
“Promotion and a raise?” Lin Qi was curious.
“If I had gotten a promotion and a raise, how could I be working as an ordinary employee at the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop?” Luo Qi rolled her eyes and said irritably, “The next day I was fired. On the third day, I got caught up in a battle between several Limit Apprentices in the suburbs, was severely injured and hospitalized, and I lost an arm at that time.”
“If it is really like you say, would those big figures behind the companies and enterprises be willing to let these wilderness gangs run wild like this?” Lin Qi was even more confused.
For big figures capable of opening companies and gangs in the suburbs, once they found out, normally they would not tolerate it. After all, in their eyes wilderness gangs are just useful dogs. There is no way they would allow wilderness gangs to affect the operation of their own companies and enterprises.
“I didn’t understand at first either, but later I figured it out,” Luo Qi said slowly. “If those big figures don’t give way a little, would they personally go do the dirty and exhausting work? That is obviously impossible. Maybe they can get rid of one wilderness gang, but once the other wilderness gangs find out, who would still dare take that company’s commissions? And there are plenty of companies and enterprises in the suburbs. Taking on those companies’ commissions is not mandatory. So it is normal for those big figures to give up a small part of their profit. Everyone just tacitly accepts it.”
“And I was the idiot back then. I made the boss feel he lost face, and that gang saw me as a threat. That led to what happened.”
“So in that case, the White Feather Gang’s influence is really not small,” Lin Qi nodded, understanding the workings behind it.
It had to be said the White Feather Gang played it ruthlessly. Although they wanted to deal with the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, they did not act openly. Instead they privately had people go and notify those in charge of transport in the companies and enterprises. Those in charge of transport naturally understood what to do.
As a top-twenty wilderness gang, the White Feather Gang certainly had enough strength in the wilderness to guarantee the transport of goods. In contrast, the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was only ranked around fiftieth. Anyone who inquired a little would know that its overall strength was nowhere near the top fifty.
So the final choice went without saying.
“I have already rented the shop. We are just waiting for the goods to arrive, then we can open,” Luo Qi said helplessly. “I am fine on my side, but if the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall does not have any good goods, opening this shop will be pure loss.”
Personally, as shop owner, she would earn a base salary plus commission. She did not have to count on the commission, since the base salary offered by the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was not low at all, a full fifteen thousand bits per month. This income was about the same as a senior mechanic at the Azure Crystal Weapon Shop, and she would be even more free than a mechanic there.
“When do you expect to open?” Lin Qi did not answer but asked instead.
“We have already hired two employees. We can basically get the shop cleaned up today. At the earliest, we can open within the next two days,” Luo Qi quickly gave a timeframe, though she did not understand why Lin Qi was asking.
“Two days is enough,” Lin Qi said with a smile. “Then just follow your plan and open on time.”
“Open? What am I supposed to sell?” Luo Qi could not help asking. “It is important when a new store opens. If customers who come find that what the shop sells is very ordinary, they probably will not come back in the future.”
Luo Qi knew very well that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall currently had almost nothing to sell. At most they could sell some Blood Essence Rice, but that costs the same everywhere. Customers from the bustling city proper had no reason to come all the way here to buy it.
“Who said our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall opened a store to sell goods?” Lin Qi could not help but laugh.
As for doing business with a shop in the suburbs, he had already thought it through. Otherwise he would not have built a transit market in the wilderness, such a move that seemed like cutting himself off from the City of Light Chasing’s suburbs.
After he learned that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could open a shop in the suburbs, he was very clear that the hall fundamentally had no goods that could serve as a foundation for survival there.
If there was anything at all, it would probably be Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat Meat.
But that was not something that could be casually sold. One misstep and the entire Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could be wiped out. It could only be sold privately to Xia Ling.
Without Gold-Devouring Unicorn Rat Meat, the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had no goods worth selling, so the right to trade in the suburbs was not that important.
After a period of thought, Lin Qi suddenly realized something important.
He was running a martial arts hall.
For someone running a martial arts hall, what goods would they sell? Was their main job not to teach martial arts?
So he had already decided to recruit temporary disciples for the hall in the City of Light Chasing. This would be a truly big business and big trade in the suburbs. After all, this was a high martial arts world where martial strength was respected. Any business connected to martial arts had never lacked customers.
“So what are you planning to sell?” Luo Qi was even more confused.
“We are the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, of course we teach people martial arts,” Lin Qi said with a smile. “After we open, your task is to bring newcomers to our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts.”
“Teach martial arts?” Luo Qi froze, thinking she had misheard, and asked again, “Lin, are you serious?”
