Chapter 280 Business
Dohena Speed from Tengxi Star is well-known. She is the vice president of the Outdoor Decoration Crafts Guild of Tatahe Town and a true craftsman. She has transformed her aesthetics far beyond ordinary people into exquisite skills, and then turned them into rolling wealth. There is an endless stream of guests looking for her, and it is often necessary to make multiple appointments to get a short opportunity to talk with her.
Yan An and Principal Wu were on their way to visit Dohena Speed. In order to save money, they did not choose to take public transportation. The transportation of the Vizsla people is a square iron box with tracks and gears, just like this race, dull and regular.
They spent most of the day on the road. Dohena's residence was located in the wealthy area of Tata River Town, on the top floor of a building that towered into the sky. Fortunately, they didn't have to climb from the first floor to the top floor. There was a pipeline elevator in the building, which was also driven up and down by precise mechanical gears.
Dohena Speed is a glittering gearman, with hundreds of shiny silver gears on her body that have a mirror-like cleanliness. But unlike the neat coils on the surface of most Weizra people, the coils between her gears are arranged in a very disordered manner, with wild wildness. The brightness of her own gears and the disorder of the coils form a kind of jumping beauty, a kind of artist-like uniqueness.
"I've heard of you, the foreign Homo sapiens from an alien planet." Dohena said, a light-colored gelatinous substance flowing slowly behind the exposed gear gaps on its head. Its eyes (if they could be called eyes) were staring at Yan An, and then at Principal Wu's shiny head.
"Hello, Master Dohena. Since we came to the town on this planet, I have been hearing the locals praising you. You are the vice president of the Outdoor Decoration Crafts Guild, and your aesthetics and skills are unmatched."
Dohena seemed impatient. "I don't think you two should come here to talk about this." It asked, "I have an appointment next. Tell me, what do you want to see me for?"
Yan An carefully took out a box and opened it. Inside was a small windmill.
Dohena let out a mocking laugh. "It's a crude product that's totally not worth mentioning. Because it's mixed with alien metaphysics that I've never heard of, a bunch of idiots are buying it recently."
"In fact, my partner and I are planning to open a Pachi Pachi oil spa," Yan An said. "We are planning to make a conspicuous and aesthetic billboard outside the shop."
"You mean, make a windmill."
"It's to make a neon sign in the shape of a windmill."
"Yes." Yan An said respectfully, "I think under your design and construction, it will definitely become the most eye-catching advertising neon light in this town."
"That's not difficult." Duo He Na said, "You two have heard of my reputation, and you know that my price is not cheap." Its eyes shifted to Yan An, "But I heard that you two will have to rely on relief food to survive after you arrive here."
Yan An said seriously: "We didn't know your place at that time, but now we are ready to start a business here. And we need your help to achieve this business."
"My design fee starts at 20,000 Yibi coins," Duo Hena said coldly, "and this does not include the actual material and production costs. Can you afford it?"
Yan An said ashamedly: "In fact, all the money we earned before has been invested in this Pachi Pachi Oil Bath, and we don't have the spare money to pay you at the moment."
The gears made a harsh clicking sound. Dohena said in disbelief, "What are you talking about? Is there something wrong with my sonar system?"
"Although we don't have the money to pay you at the moment, our Pachi Pachi oil bath will be free for you for life."
Duo He Na stared at Yan An, and the sound of the gears became a little sharp. "I think you two are really strangers. You don't know me at all."
“We know you’re one of the best designers in this area.”
"No one else. I am the best." Dohena said coldly, "And I never accept any bad checks. Put away your freeloading theory. I, Dohena Speed, always take the money first and then do the work. You two can go now."
"Think about it, Master Dohena." Yan An still refused to give up. "Think about it. An oil bath run by two humans from the mysterious Earth, plus the gorgeous neon lights designed by you, will be the most amazing place in this town. Don't you want to leave your work in this memorable Pachi Pachi shop..."
Duo Hena completely ignored Yan An's impassioned speech. She called the security guard and drove Yan An and Principal Wu out of the mansion.
After being kicked out of the mansion, Principal Wu said to Yan An: "Brother Yan, your lobbying seems to be useless. All our money has been invested in the oil bath, and we can't afford to hire this self-righteous gear master."
"We need its popularity." Yan An said with a smile, "Principal Wu, let's wait for two more days."
Since Yan An and Principal Wu arrived on this planet, seeing that the Eye of Supervision had not come to pick them up, they decided to first find a way to collect information resources locally to find a way back to Earth. To achieve this goal, Yan An believed that they should first make money and gain a firm foothold.
After Yan An and Principal Wu made their first fortune with the windmill, they invested in other products and saved some money in a short period of time. They now use all the money they have saved to buy an oil bath called "Silk Run". This shop is located in the southwest of the town. Not far away is the largest Pachi Pachi oil bath in the city, "Liang Jie Shi". Since most of the customers were taken away by "Liang Jie Shi", "Silk Run" has been operating poorly and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The owner of this shop was originally worried, and he welcomed Yan An and Principal Wu to take over and sold it to them at a preferential low price.
In the next two days, a rumor spread in Tata River Town: the "Liangjieshi" oil bath would invite the country's most famous craftsman, Buck Automatic, to redesign its outdoor advertising decoration. The news quickly spread like wildfire.
On the third day, Yan An met Duohena Sulu again.
"I heard your store is near Liangjieshi?"
"Exactly."
"Then give me your windmill."
"Master Duohena, I don't understand why you changed your mind." Yan An said, "As we said when we first met, we currently have no money to pay..."
"I just can't tolerate Buck's shitty design jumping around in my city." Duo Hena interrupted Yan An, "I'll give you the drawings in a day, and it will be completed in two to three days."
"Thank you, Master!" Yan An shouted.
"I'm not doing charity either." Duo Hena put forward her conditions. She asked for 10% of the profits of "Silun" every month. Yan An readily agreed.
Three days later, a nine-story-high neon sign in the shape of a windmill stood in front of the "Silky" Pachi Pachi Oil Bath. Dohena is indeed an outstanding local designer. This large neon sign is simple and eye-catching. It rotates back and forth, constantly changing bright colors. When the speed reaches a certain speed, the word "Silky" will appear in the center of the neon sign. Even from thousands of meters away, you can see this conspicuous sign at a glance.
This is a neon advertisement designed and made by Do Hena, the most famous local craftsman. In addition, the windmill at the door is now a popular mascot that is rumored to bring good luck. Therefore, on the first day of its opening, the "Silky" Pachi Pachi Oil Bath was packed with people.
Principal Wu was busy all night counting money. When he finally had some free time, he asked Yan An, "How did Master Duo He Na think of making neon lights for us for free? Does this have anything to do with you?"
Yan An pushed a local magazine to him. Principal Wu curiously flipped through it and found that it was about the competition between the master craftsmen Dohena Speed and Buck Automatic. At that time, Dohena and Buck had an extremely fierce technical battle in the capital. Both sides often used all their tricks to compete for a customer. In the end, Dohena lost the long-lasting competition and withdrew from the capital's craftsman circle.
"I have been making inquiries for a long time. I think Dohena would be very upset when she heard the name of her old enemy Buck."
Principal Wu said, “I see, so you spread the rumor.”
"As a great writer once said, words are like the wind. Those who are attentive will be blown away." Yan An said, "We are just getting started now."
…
…
The business of "Silk Run" has been crowded since the beginning. The large windmill neon light at the door, made by the famous craftsman Do Hena, attracted the attention of the whole town. The metaphysical effect of the windmill is also a big plus. I don't know when it started, "There is a lucky windmill in front of this store, so going to Pachi Pachi will have a chance to reduce the frequency of gear failure" has become a hot topic in the town.
In fact, the services of Pachi Pachi shops are basically the same. Guests can either soak in the oil bath comfortably or enjoy the oil mist in the dry cleaning room. Pachi Pachi oil bath is a necessary place for them to relax and socialize after work. Yan An and Principal Wu put more effort into the details. For example, all guests can choose local best-selling drinks for free after bathing, and all guests can also enjoy free gear maintenance consultation services.
The consultants working at "Silk Run" are several local students invited by Principal Wu. They are studying gear maintenance and have not yet graduated. Principal Wu posted a notice at the school gate and recruited them with a reward of free daily paqipaqi. He arranged for them to take turns on duty and give some maintenance suggestions to customers in need. He recruited several students and actually arranged for them to work for a short time every day, making their part-time job easy and enjoyable.
With rumors of lucky mysticism, meticulous and caring service, and the same charges as other Pachi Pachi shops, "Silk Run" has been flocking to customers.
In the following week, Yan An and Principal Wu happily counted money every night.
"At this rate, it won't be long before we can earn back our principal," said Principal Wu.
Yan An had a new plan at this time, "I want to mortgage this store."
"What?" Principal Wu asked in surprise.
"I need more funds." Yan An said, his eyes cast on the largest Pachi Pachi store "Liang Jie Shi" in the town across the street, "We are going to buy it in the future."
The next day, Yan An used "Silk Run" as collateral to borrow a sum of money. However, this amount of money was not enough to buy the largest "Liang Jie Shi", so he turned to acquire two Pachi Pachi stores three streets away from "Silk Run". The business of these two stores was neither good nor bad. Recently, due to the popularity of "Silk Run", the revenue dropped sharply, so Yan An's acquisition did not encounter any major obstacles.
After that, Yan An and Principal Wu owned three Pachi Pachi stores. Yan An made another decision, and he arranged a limited-time service for customers to enjoy a free dinner after taking a bath in the last two Pachi Pachi stores.
"That would be a loss," said Principal Wu.
"We'll use this service to stabilize our customer base for now," Yan An said. "We'll make a loss for a while, but I hope we can hold on."
The dinner service of these two Patch Patch restaurants immediately won the praise of the local Weizlan people. Patch Patch Oil Baths is a social occasion, and offering free dinner is of course a good way to attract customers.
After the customer flow of these two stores quickly recovered, Yan An mortgaged the two Pachi Pachi stores again. The borrowed funds were used to upgrade the first "Silk Run" and improve its hardware facilities, and then a new Pachi Pachi oil bath was acquired.
After several repeated operations, Yan An and Principal Wu already owned five Pachi Pachi oil baths.
At this time, he stopped acquiring other Pachi Pachi oil baths and officially started a price war with Liangjieshi.
After that, no matter how much Liangjieshi set its price, the prices of the five nearby Pachi Pachi stores would be lower, intentionally or unintentionally. The hardware and service quality of Liangjieshi itself was not much better than the most popular "Silk Run". With more favorable prices, its customer flow continued to decrease and its business gradually dried up.
Principal Wu originally thought that Yan An was going to take the opportunity to acquire Liangjieshi, but Yan An just found an opportunity to meet with the boss of Liangjieshi, provided him with some business advice, and at the same time supported part of the capital investment, successfully gaining his friendship.
"I thought you were suppressing Liangjieshi this time in order to take the opportunity to buy it." said Principal Wu.
“We’re not going to keep buying up oil baths in this town.”
"Oh?" Principal Wu said with a smile, "Brother Yan, aren't you going to buy all the oil baths here?"
Yan An shook his head. "If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If an industry wants to thrive, there must be competition from different voices."
"I feel a little suspicious when I hear such words from you."
"If we continue to suppress other competitors or even buy out all the Pachi Pachi oil baths, the aliens here are not fools. They will band together to fight back. As outsiders, we will face rejection and backlash from the locals. The current situation is just right."
As Yan An said, he stopped the acquisition business and turned to improving the services of the five existing Pachi Pachi stores. When business was booming, he did not forget to provide assistance to other Pachi Pachi stores that were in trouble.
Soon after, Yan An was elected as the president of the local Pachi Pachi United Guild.
At this meeting, Yan An proposed that everyone raise prices by 10%, which received enthusiastic support from the delegates.
