Chapter 31: Better to Rely on Oneself Than Others

Li Dongyang attempted to purchase the soap and perfume formulas from Jiang Yi at a low price, but was met with a firm refusal.

"One thousand strings of cash for each formula is certainly not a low offer for you," Li Dongyang remarked.

"No matter how much you offer, I will not sell the formulas, nor am I afraid of any tactics you might use against me," Jiang Yi replied coldly.

These were common commercial ploys, effective only against small-scale independent traders. The Hanzhou Li family held a monopoly on soap and cosmetic sales across several provinces, with even the high-ranking officials in Gaojing purchasing their goods.

"If you don't sell the formulas to me, I can certainly ensure you won't be able to acquire a single bit of raw material, leaving you unable to earn a single copper," Li threatened.

Jiang Yi sneered at this. To corner the market on raw materials for perfume and soap across Hanzhou and its surrounding provinces would require immense financial resources. If the finished products failed to sell quickly, the materials would simply rot in the warehouse, wasting both capital and stock. It was a foolish strategy; if Jiang Yi possessed Li Dongyang's wealth, he would never act so recklessly. Only by improving product quality and building a strong reputation could a brand truly stand the test of time.

"Your threats are useless. If you want to stop me from getting materials, by all means, go ahead and buy them all up."

The primary ingredients for soap were vegetable and animal oils. If those were unavailable, he could simply produce other goods. As for the perfume, the ingredients were various fragrant medicinal herbs, which Li Dongyang could not possibly monopolize across all the provinces.

"If I cannot sell soap, Li Fu's soap sales won't fare much better either."

Instead of improving their own formulas, they chose to try to buy his at a pittance. When that failed, they resorted to threats, hoping to starve him of materials. Such behavior was shortsighted; Jiang Yi wondered if the rest of the Hanzhou Li family even supported such a man.

"If you sell me both formulas, I will give you two thousand strings of cash. How about that?"

"Forget two thousand; even three or five thousand would not tempt me to sell." Jiang Yi knew clearly that once the formulas were sold, he would lose his livelihood.

"I had hoped you would be interested in a business partnership. Since that is not the case, I shall take my leave." Jiang Yi had no intention of wasting more time here; he had plenty to attend to back home. No matter what measures Li Dongyang took, he would eventually reap what he sowed.

Jiang Yi left the Li Fu Department Store, intending to buy more lard and soybean oil before heading back. However, the moment he arrived at an oil shop, a clerk from Li Fu followed right behind him, buying up all the stock and placing orders for the coming days.

The shop owner was more than happy to sell to Li Fu, as they conducted large-scale transactions regularly. Jiang Yi then visited a nearby butcher, but the shopkeeper told him there was no pork fat left; even the fatty meat had been bought out. Only lean meat, bones, and offal remained. Jiang Yi had anticipated this. He bought some meaty bones and offal for braised dishes, which were quite inexpensive.

As he passed the Li Fu Department Store, Li Dongyang, standing by a second-story window, looked down at him with a smirk. "The entire city's oil has been bought by our store. Let’s see how you make your soap now!"

"Since you want to ensure I can't get oil, I suppose I'll just have to use the swill oil from the restaurants and taverns," Jiang Yi said deliberately, testing whether Li would waste money buying that up, too.

"Swill oil is so filthy. You would dare use that to make soap? If the public finds out, let’s see if anyone still buys your soap." Li Dongyang thought Jiang Yi had lost his mind, turning to disgusting swill oil when he couldn't get clean oil.

"Swill oil is still oil. As long as you filter out the residue, it looks perfectly clean. It’s not as if people are eating the soap." Jiang Yi wanted to goad Li into spending money to buy up all the swill oil. Once word spread that Li Fu Department Store was buying swill oil, the public would inevitably assume that Li Fu's own soap had been made of such garbage all along, explaining its strange odor. In reality, any odd smell in soap was simply a matter of production technique.

Driven by his obsession to block Jiang Yi, Li Dongyang sent men to buy up all the swill oil stored at every tavern and restaurant in the city, even if it meant dumping it out, just to deny Jiang Yi the materials. Jiang Yi, meanwhile, had already turned his thoughts to fish oil, which was also an excellent material for soap.

As the Li Fu clerks scrambled to carry out these petty tasks, Jiang Yi walked away with a smile. He purchased some tools, hitched his mule cart, and departed Hanzhou City. An hour later, when he arrived home, Shen Rong greeted him with a sweet smile.

"You've worked hard, husband." Seeing him return safely, her anxious heart finally settled.

"The owner of Li Fu, Li Dongyang, tried to buy my formulas at a low price, and I refused. He then sent people to buy up all the animal and vegetable oils in the city, and even the swill oil from the restaurants."

Jiang Yi had spent thirty copper coins to have the city's beggar children spread the rumor that Li Fu Department Store was buying swill oil to make soap. He ensured everyone in Hanzhou knew that if one filtered the residue, swill oil could indeed be used for soap. Once people heard this, they felt disgusted, and Li Fu’s sales were bound to plummet.

"The Hanzhou Li family has vast resources. If they corner the market on materials, we won't be able to make our soap," Shen Rong said, feeling both angry and helpless. Their current wealth was not enough to compete with the Li family. If they sold the formulas, they would be barred from selling their own products commercially.

"The difficulty is only temporary. They think that because they bought all the oil, I can't make soap. Heh, they are far too naive." Jiang Yi knew he could hunt animals and catch large, fatty fish to obtain fish oil. "Heaven will not cut off all paths; don't worry about the lack of materials."

The Hanzhou Li family might be wealthy, but there would come a day when they squandered it all. Li Dongyang's decision to buy up swill oil would only serve to ruin his own reputation. Jiang Yi couldn't help but wonder how such an incompetent man had become the head of the store. Once Li Fu's reputation was tarnished, their sales would inevitably collapse.

"Should you talk to Zhao Tuo and see if the Zhao family can help us obtain oil?" Shen Rong suggested. To the Zhao family, this would be a trivial matter.

"I don't ask for favors lightly, and besides, we haven't reached a dead end yet." Some debts of gratitude were hard to repay, and Jiang Yi firmly believed in self-reliance.

"If the Zhao family offers to help on their own, that is better than us begging them. With the savings we have now, we can live frugally for several years." Jiang Yi comforted her. He did not want to live out his life in such mediocrity; he still had his mother's murder to avenge, and those perpetrators were still living in comfort.

"Once I have enough strength, whoever bullies us will be crushed beneath our feet."

Shen Rong took Jiang Yi's hand, feeling a heavy weight in her heart. She was a diligent and simple woman, and in the face of such adversity, she felt powerless. They had started hunting to make ends meet, but it was too dangerous, and once they had some capital, they had hoped to build a different life. Their soap and perfume business had just begun to show promise before being targeted by Li Fu.

"You are right, husband. Whoever tries to cut off our livelihood will never make another cent. We will crush those who bully us and ensure they never have a chance to rise again."

As the couple worried over their raw materials, several ox-carts arrived outside their picket fence.