Chapter 2384: Chapter 2359: Doing Business
Zhou Wulang immediately decided to take a batch of vegetables and meat to Director Xiao tomorrow. He handed over the counter to Bai Shan and Bai Erlang and rushed to the back kitchen to select items.
Many things in the restaurant were delivered from Yongzhou, as it was cheaper than buying them outside since they were produced by their own farm.
This included eggs and a few chickens. However, Zhao Liulang told him, "All the chickens have been slaughtered and are almost ready to cook. If more chicken dishes are ordered later, there won’t be any left. But there are still some eggs. Why do you need them?"
Zhou Wulang replied, "For gifting."
He glanced at the eggs in the basket and finally found a small basket. He transferred the eggs into it, so it looked like the basket was overflowing, making it appear much more generous compared to the larger, half-empty basket.
Director Xiao was momentarily taken aback upon receiving a basket of eggs and a basket of vegetables early in the morning but soon realized and laughed, assigning a Xiaos to guide Zhou Wulang to the manager at the royal estate.
Director Xiao glanced at the eggs in the basket, picked one up, and asked, "How does Master Zhou plan to sell these eggs?"
Zhou Wulang, having discussed this with Bai Shan beforehand, immediately replied, "Two wen for each egg, regardless of size. For every thousand eggs, we give an extra ten."
He smiled sheepishly, "We’re a small business. Currently, our farm only has eight or nine hundred eggs in total. It might take another ten days to gather a thousand eggs."
Therefore, they didn’t have many eggs, and they could easily sell out by selling them in small quantities.
Director Xiao smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He nodded and said, "The price is reasonable."
Seeing the pumpkins and winter melons in his vegetable basket, he straightforwardly asked for the price as well.
Knowing their large volume, Zhou Wulang gave them a per-hundred-jin price, which was slightly lower than the market price.
Director Xiao’s gaze turned colder, but he still smiled and had someone lead Zhou Wulang to the royal estate while he needed to go to the palace first.
As soon as he got on the carriage, his smile vanished. As the carriage started moving, he pursed his lips tightly but couldn’t hold back his anger and swept things off the table onto the carriage floor.
The driver outside was startled and couldn’t help but call out, "Sir?"
Director Xiao said with a stern face, "Nothing, continue to the palace."
Once at the Imperial Hospital, every Imperial Doctor they encountered stopped smiling, lowered their heads to greet Director Xiao and then stepped aside. Only after he had passed did they start moving again.
Imperial Doctor Liu, being older and a light sleeper, was at the palace even earlier. At this moment, he was sipping a freshly brewed cup of hot tea. Upon seeing Director Xiao enter, he set down his cup to greet him. After Xiao waved him off, Liu picked up his cup again to warm his hands and followed him into his office, jokingly asking, "Who made the Director angry early in the morning?"
Director Xiao snorted, "The procurement at the royal estate is too excessive."
Imperial Doctor Liu was puzzled, "Wasn’t the bill checked? Isn’t the purchase price close to the palace’s?"
Director Xiao grew silent after a momentary pause.
It took some time before Imperial Doctor Liu realized, "Could it be like what Zhou Man said... they do withhold some money, but it shouldn’t be much, right?"
Director Xiao sneered, "Not much, just double."
Imperial Doctor Liu fell silent.
Director Xiao took a deep breath, "The prices are about the same as those purchased for the palace. If this issue surfaces, it won’t just offend one or two people. Ultimately, we at the Imperial Hospital will suffer."
Imperial Doctor Liu took a slow sip of tea, thankful that he was no longer the acting director. Indeed, being the head official is short-lived.
After feeling the warmth spread to his stomach, he asked, "So what is the Director’s plan?"
Director Xiao closed his eyes for a moment before answering, "I don’t have any plans. Let’s muddle through this. Otherwise, what can we do? Should the Imperial Hospital get involved in palace procurement issues? I don’t wish to become an enemy of the entire inner court."
"Moreover, the expenses of the medical office are enormous. The Ministry of Revenue only covers part of the cost. Most of it is funded by the Emperor, and you know our Emperor. If expenses are too high, and the internal treasury runs out, he’ll definitely push it onto the Ministry. Getting money from them is like climbing to heaven," Director Xiao said, "Therefore, we lack the capital for such large expenditures. I plan to hand over most of the procurement matters to Zhou Yu."
Imperial Doctor Liu: "Zhou Man’s fifth brother?"
Director Xiao nodded, "I’ve already had someone lead him to the royal estate. Let’s see how the manager there reacts. If he knows how to behave, then everyone will benefit, otherwise..."
Director Xiao sneered, "The Imperial Hospital is not easy to bully either."
Imperial Doctor Liu took another sip of tea. After a while, he said, "I was on duty last night. There were no summons from the Emperor, and it’s reported that he’s doing much better."
Director Xiao took a few deep breaths, forcing a smile onto his face, and said warmly, "I see. Today is a minor court meeting. The Emperor should be finishing up soon. I’ll go take his pulse."
With a gentle smile, Director Xiao stood up and went with his medical assistant to attend to the Emperor.
Meanwhile, Zhou Wulang had just started talking to the procurement manager at the royal estate. Zhou Wulang, having been reminded by Bai Shan yesterday, was prepared for difficulties today. After all, the eggs he was procuring cost him five or even six wen each, which effectively cut off someone else’s income.
However, to have his own income, he had to cut off someone else’s, especially since this wasn’t a particularly legitimate income stream to begin with.
Contrary to Zhou Wulang’s expectations, the other party was quite friendly. However, after looking at the eggs, they didn’t ask for his price but directly set theirs: "I find your eggs to be average, so I can only offer you five wen each, how does that sound?"
Zhou Wulang’s smile froze in disbelief, "Five wen each, not five wen for three?"
The manager gave him a deep look before smiling amiably, "Certainly not. Look, we’ve even drafted the contract. You can take a look."
Zhou Wulang took it and saw that it detailed the procurement of eggs from him. He was to provide them with three hundred eggs each day at five wen per egg...
After a moment of silence, Zhou Wulang forced a smile, "I appreciate the manager’s kindness. To show my sincerity, I’m willing to lower the price a bit, selling to the Imperial Hospital at two wen each."
The manager’s smile faded slightly, his expression an ambiguous smile, "Master Zhou is indeed generous, but we are a government office and cannot let the people suffer. Let’s stick with five wen each as stated. The contract is already drafted; making another is cumbersome. Just sign this one."
He glanced at the other basket of vegetables, smiled, and said, "These vegetables are good too. We’ll take them all. Deliver a hundred jin daily. For pumpkins, how about we count one hundred jin as two hundred wen? These can all be contracted."
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