CHAPTER 837: CHAPTER 222: I, SHEN WANSAN, ADMIT DEFEAT_6

And this is also Chen Jie’s second purpose for seeing Shen Wansan today, which is to find a distributor for his high-quality cotton fabric.

It’s important to note that cotton fabric is a valuable commodity; during this era, it’s even considered hard currency. Besides gold and silver, fabric could circulate as money to exchange for goods.

Therefore, many big merchants are keen on buying fabric.

Shen Wansan is just such a major fabric merchant. He has a vast business network for fabric. With his channels and Chen Jie’s goods, the two can easily collaborate for mutual benefit. Why not do so?

Hence, Chen Jie took out the cotton fabric, looked at Shen Wansan, and said: "How is this cotton fabric?"

Shen Wansan looked at the cotton fabric in front of him and said: "Very good, I wonder if Guild Leader Chen would let me test it out."

Chen Jie replied: "Please do."

Shen Wansan said: "Miss, could you please fetch me two basins of water, one hot and one cold."

Shen Wansan spoke to Cuiju. Cuiju, upon hearing this, looked at Chen Jie. She was his maidservant, not Shen Wansan’s.

Chen Jie nodded in agreement. Cuiju said: "Alright, please wait."

Saying that, she went to fetch the water and soon brought two basins, one of hot water and one of cold water.

Shen Wansan first tested the cotton fabric by soaking it in hot water to check for shrinkage, then soaked it in cold water, alternating hot and cold to inspect the fabric quality.

After testing, this cotton fabric turned out to be very sturdy, with no shrinkage.

Then he used scissors to cut open the fabric to examine the cross-section; everything was satisfactory.

He also tested the patterned fabric and found its quality good; it didn’t fade and felt thick to the touch.

This patterned fabric was crafted with skill by Chen Jie, using the coating technique from later generations, resulting in an excellent effect.

Shen Wansan was very satisfied with these products. Looking at Chen Jie, he said: "Guild Leader Chen, your fabric is excellent. I wonder what price you are selling it for."

Chen Jie replied: "Thirty cents a foot."

"How much?"

Shen Wansan looked directly at Chen Jie with wide eyes. It’s known that the cheapest cotton fabric on the market costs thirty-five cents a foot, and its quality is definitely inferior to that produced by Chen Jie.

Chen Jie said: "Thirty cents a foot."

Shen Wansan looked at Chen Jie and said: "Guild Leader Chen, you’re not joking, are you? Do you know how much this costs outside?"

"Thirty-five to forty cents."

"Yet you still only sell for thirty cents?"

Chen Jie replied: "Yes, I sell for thirty cents, but of course, this price is exclusive to you; others won’t get this price."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wansan said: "Thirty cents, you just let me net five cents?"

Chen Jie replied: "You’ve suffered losses on grain, haven’t you? I’ll compensate you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wansan became silent, calculating in his mind that this business deal was worthwhile. Ten thousand pieces from Mianshui, five cents profit per foot, was definitely lucrative. More importantly, even if Chen Jiusi’s request was refused, it wouldn’t be possible.

His grain couldn’t be sold anyway, plus Chen Jiusi said the monthly production was twenty thousand pieces; two thousand a month equals twenty thousand pieces in ten months, making it a substantial business deal.

Moreover, Shen Wansan admired Chen Jiusi himself. This person moved with elegance, had broad vision, a quick mind, and ambitions to dominate the world.

Now, while still weak, if invested in, he might achieve great future success, allowing Shen Wansan to ride the wave, advancing further.

No comfort is comparable to that enjoyed by officials, as opposed to merchants.

Becoming a government-affiliated merchant was the lifelong pursuit of people like Shen Wansan, and his idol was the Warring States period’s Lu Buwei.

Similarly engaged in commerce, Lu achieved the rank of Prime Minister through business, while Shen was merely a humble merchant.

So why did Lu Buwei succeed?

Because he invested in someone promising, soaring to great heights, and Shen also needed to find a Hidden Dragon to invest in.

And clearly, Chen Jiusi before him was just such a Hidden Dragon.

While Shen Wansan was pondering, Chen Jie was also in thought, considering why he dared offer thirty cents price for cotton fabric.

The reason was simple: Chen Jie operated on a large scale when purchasing cotton, coupled with mechanized production, directly enabling mass production, which means cost control. Therefore, Chen Jie’s cost per foot of fabric was merely twenty cents.

Meanwhile, others operated small workshops, where a foot of fabric cost them thirty cents to produce, leaving only thin profits at thirty-five cents selling price.

But Chen Jie’s cost was twenty cents, selling at thirty cents constituted substantial profit.

Furthermore, Chen Jie set the thirty cents price with a straightforward intention: to monopolize the market using low prices; if everyone sold at thirty-five cents, he would sell at thirty cents, equating to their cost price, making them unable to compete with him, thus forming a moat.

This positioned Mianshui’s products in absolute advantage, ensuring even if Shen Wansan wanted to switch products in the future, it would be impossible.

The same applies to the patterned fabric.

Chen Jie sold it at only fifty cents a foot, while the market price was fifty-eight cents a foot.

Chen Jie could also form a moat.

And once the moat was established, the business for Chen Jie was equivalent to a money tree.

Chen Jie thought while looking at Shen Wansan: "Mr. Shen, the quality of my fabric is excellent, isn’t it? How about it, thirty cents a foot, do you want it?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wansan considered for a moment and said: "Guild Leader Chen, I don’t want thirty cents."

Hmm?

Chen Jie looked at Shen Wansan, who said: "I’ll take it at thirty-five cents, and as for my 100,000 stones of grain, I won’t take a penny; I’ll contribute it to Mianshui’s people. How about that, Guild Leader Chen?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Chen Jie furrowed his brows, looked at Shen Wansan, and said: "What are you planning?"