Chapter 499 — The Cost Is So Low
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
One hundred and ninety-nine? In truth, Wei Zhao still thought it a trifle dear, but he knew nothing of what it cost to run a company, and seeing how visibly it pained Fatty Lai, he merely nodded. "Fine."
Only then did Fatty Lai breathe a sigh of relief. He had feared Wei Zhao would slice another hundred off the top, down to ninety-nine, and the profit would shrink alarmingly.
"Then I'll draw up a plan — the next time our products go under the hammer, we announce the retail price along with them." Fatty Lai nodded. "As for the painkiller, Boss — what do you think would be a suitable price?"
"Each dose costs about fifty cents to make; at scale, naturally, it comes down a bit. Set the price as you see fit," Wei Zhao said.
"Right — then a box of five doses, also at one hundred and ninety-nine?" Fatty Lai asked tentatively.
"Make it ninety-nine," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought.
"Done — whatever the Boss says!" In truth, bracing himself against any haggling from Wei Zhao, Fatty Lai had deliberately quoted high, leaving himself room to be cut down.
With the prices of both medicines settled, Fatty Lai's heart settled too. What mattered even more was that he now knew their costs, and that pleased him all the further — it showed Wei Zhao had begun to take him for one of his own, and was gradually letting him in on the core secrets.
Passing a rather large apothecary, the three of them went in. Wei Zhao didn't bother with a prescription; he simply rattled off a handful of herbs and had the shop assistant weigh them out.
Of course, though Wei Zhao had come to trust Fatty Lai in part, he still did not trust him outright. When the medicines were being weighed, he deliberately slipped in a number of useless ones and scrambled the dosages besides. Several principal herbs he never mentioned at all, naming instead a few uncommon ones, at which the shop assistant shook his head — none in stock.
"No matter. There's no shortage of pharmacies in Yanjing City; let's try another one," Fatty Lai said hastily when he heard they were out. "If it comes to that, I'll have someone drive out and fetch them."
"No need for that yet. Let's look around first." Wei Zhao smiled.
Once the buying was done, Fatty Lai rushed forward to settle the bill — which was not much in any case, only a few hundred yuan.
Guan Xuemin said nothing, nor did he make any effort to note down exactly which medicines Wei Zhao had bought. It was plain to see that he was an upright man: unless Wei Zhao showed him the prescription of his own accord, Guan Xuemin would never pry into another man's formula.
Not long after the three left the pharmacy, a young man called Xiaokun watched the receding backs of Wei Zhao and Fatty Lai, hesitated a moment, then slipped into the shop where Wei Zhao had just bought his medicines.
The street ran straight and was, in effect, a pedestrian thoroughfare, with no turnings on either side — which was the only reason Xiaokun dared duck into the pharmacy; otherwise he would never have risked losing them.
"Excuse me," Xiaokun asked amiably of the assistant inside the shop, "those three who just came in — what did they buy?"
There was only one assistant in the shop at that hour, for it was the night shift and one man was more than enough to handle the work. This, as it happened, spared Xiaokun the trouble of having to ask more than once.
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