The happy little days of the Ye family

The father and son went to the bookstores near the academy yesterday. The items sold in the two large bookstores were of relatively good quality, but the prices were also high.

The smaller bookstores at the end of the street sell similar items to the study supplies sold in grocery stores, mostly inexpensive and affordable.

Although the positioning of his own bookstore and the bookstore at the end of the street was similar, Father Ye noticed that the two larger bookstores seemed to have better business.

Moreover, the higher the price, the higher the profit.

The father and son had no idea about the specific circumstances of the students nearby, so they planned to bring back items of several different grades to see which price range was more popular.

The two of them had already discussed it yesterday and planned to cast a wide net and prepare more complete items. They would then make slight adjustments based on which items sold well.

There are not many shops selling study tools on West Street, so the father and son first went to a shop they were familiar with.

This is an inconspicuous little shop at the end of the street. You can smell the scent of ink as soon as you enter.

The shop is not big, but it is filled with all kinds of study supplies. The shopkeeper is a very kind and friendly old man.

Although the quality of the things here is average, they are cheap. The pens, ink, paper and inkstones sold in grocery stores are all purchased from here.

There are three kinds of rice paper here. The better ones are 75 wen each, the average ones are 60 wen each, and the ones that are poorly cut are 50 wen each.

(There are 100 sheets of rice paper in a piece of paper. Brush writing is relatively large, and usually only a few words can be written on a piece of paper.)

The prices that Ye Donglin sold them at the grocery store were: 100 wen per knife, 80 wen per knife, and 65 wen per knife.

The profit is between 20% and 30%, which is a relatively cheap price in the town.

The money earned may not seem like much, but the shop is my own and I haven’t hired any help before, so the money I earn is basically profit.

The father and son murmured for a while and thought that their bookstore was not far from West Street and could be reached in 25 minutes by donkey cart, so they didn't need to take too many things.

So I asked for 30 dollars for each type of rice paper, a total of 5 taels and 550 coins.

As for the price at the bookstore, the two of them will discuss it in detail after returning.

There are also three kinds of brushes in the shop, namely 60 wen, 80 wen and 100 wen.

The current prices in grocery stores are 80 wen, 100 wen and 130 wen respectively.

Just like the rice paper, the father and son ordered 30 of each type of brush, which cost a total of 7 taels and 2 cents.

Although West Street is close, it is not possible to come here to purchase goods every few days. How can we do business then?

Since it was cheap, the father and son planned to take more.

Compared with rice paper and brushes, ink sticks and inkstones are much more expensive.

There are 4 kinds of ink sticks, the cheaper ones are 180 wen and 250 wen.

Ye Donglin has used both of these. The smell is not very pleasant and they easily spread when writing.

Overall, it's not very useful, but it's cheap and sells well in grocery stores.

There are two kinds of ink sticks with better quality. One is 350. Although it still smells bad, it will not spread when writing. This is the kind used for copying books in grocery stores.

The most expensive one costs 600 Wen, and apart from being a little expensive, it has no disadvantages.

However, 600 wen is too expensive, and usually only the teachers in the academy and a few students from well-off families can afford it.

Ye Donglin usually doesn’t even want to use it himself.

Ink sticks are quite durable. If you use them sparingly, one stick can last for several months.

而且墨条的价格不便宜，父子俩商量了一下，180文和250文的各要15根，350文和600文的各要10根。

The total amount is 15 taels and 950 wen.

There are three types of inkstones: 200 wen, 300 wen and 500 wen.

This thing is more expensive, but also durable, one can be used for several years. I ordered 200 of the 300 and 10 wen, and only 500 of the 8 wen.

The 25 inkstones cost a total of 9 taels of silver, and all the items added up to a total of 37 taels and 7 cents.

The father and son wanted a lot of things, and after a long period of bargaining, the shopkeeper finally gave them a 33% profit, for a total of 930 taels, wen.

Then the two of them went to a large shop on the street. It was decorated very elegantly, with many study items placed on the desk.

The things here are obviously good stuff, of course the prices are much more expensive than the small shop just now.

The father and son had already picked up some ordinary and slightly inferior pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and now they wanted to pick up some of slightly better quality ones.

Father Ye chose a kind of bamboo rice paper that cost 120 wen per piece. He had seen this in two large bookstores, where it cost 200 wen per piece.

The profit inside is quite high, and Ye's father silently cursed the businessman as a profiteer in his heart.

Ye Donglin chatted with the shrewd-looking shopkeeper at the counter for a while, and under his strong recommendation, he chose two types of drawing paper at different prices.

Drawing paper is larger than ordinary rice paper. The better ones cost 600 wen each, while the ordinary ones cost 400 wen each.

Although the price is a bit high, people usually buy them by the piece, so Ye Donglin took one for each.

Father Ye chose two kinds of brushes, one made of rabbit hair, 150 wen each, and one made of wolf hair, 300 wen each.

Good ink sticks are too expensive, so the father and son gritted their teeth and chose a high-quality ink stick that cost 800 wen.

Although it's not the best in the store, the quality is pretty good.

I didn't choose the best inkstone, I just ordered one that looked pretty good for 700 wen.

After selecting the items, the father and son talked in whispers for a long time before finally deciding on the quantity they wanted.

Ye's father, who also looked shrewd, walked up to the shopkeeper and said straight to the point:

"Shopkeeper, I want 15 dollars for rice paper, one dollar for drawing paper, 12 rabbit hair brushes, 10 wolf hair brushes, 5 ink sticks and 5 inkstones. There are a lot of things. Can you give me a discount?"

Upon hearing the amount reported by Ye's father, the shopkeeper at the counter smiled and said on the spot that he would give Ye's father a 10% profit.

However, when the father and son bargained with him again, the shopkeeper refused to give in at all and insisted that he would only give a 10% discount at most.

Seeing that the father and son were silent, the shopkeeper smiled and started fiddling with the abacus quickly.

"Xuan paper costs 108 wen per cut, 15 cuts total 1 liang, 620 wen."

"One kind of drawing paper is 540 wen, and the other is 360 wen. One cut of each is 900 wen."

“兔毛毛笔135文一根，12根是1两620文。狼毛毛笔270文一根，10根2两7钱，总共是4两320文。”

“墨条720文，砚台540文，各要5个就是6两3钱。”

"Boss, the total is 13 taels and 140 wen."

Father Ye reluctantly opened his purse which had become much smaller.

The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic and gave the father and son five pieces of broken rice paper and two rabbit hair brushes.

Although the two of them didn't buy much, the shopkeeper noticed that it was their first time here, so if he left a good impression on them, maybe they could become a big customer in the future.

买笔墨纸砚又花了47两70文，加上买书的99两260文，今天父子俩总共花了146两330文。

Nearly 150 taels were spent in one day, which made the two of them very distressed.

Fortunately, I have basically bought everything. I can copy the novels and travel notes from the grocery store and open the bookstore.