As Su Xiaotian spoke, the stall owner's expression grew increasingly solemn, his face flushing with a deepening red. He, a grown man who had always considered himself quite clever and had earned a considerable amount of money in a short time, was now being lectured by a young girl.
What made it worse was that what the girl said made a lot of sense.
Every day, he sold one or two garments at a high price, which was enough to support his family comfortably. However, he had been cornered twice, though without any actual losses.
Seeing the guilt and embarrassment on the stall owner's face rather than anger, Su Xiaotian felt much more relaxed.
This kind of person was salvageable; there was hope for him!
"Even if you can continue selling at your stall for your entire life, once you've deceived enough people, you'll eventually be recognized. By then, even if there's no longer any evidence to hold you accountable for compensation, will you still have any business?"
"The capital city is only this big. You can't build your business on deception!"
Su Xiaotian's words were earnest and heartfelt. Not only did the stall owner find them reasonable, but the Su brothers standing nearby also agreed.
Su Xiaoliu looked at Su Xiaotian in surprise. His little sister was actually lecturing a stranger.
What's more, this stranger of a stall owner seemed to be acknowledging the truth of her words.
Honestly, he had already prepared himself for the stall owner to resort to violence.
He had even thought that if the other party intended to strike, he would immediately pull Xiaotian away and take the blow himself.
Even though Xiaotian was skilled in combat, it was not right for her to be involved in fights when she had brothers to protect her.
Su Xiaoliu prepared to pull Su Xiaotian away.
A person's tolerance had limits. Xiaotian had said so much, and the other party hadn't gotten angry, which was already a sign of good character. They shouldn't let Xiaotian continue speaking, lest she provoke him.
"Boss, I have a suggestion for you. Go to Rongcheng. There are also goods with good designs and fabrics for tens of yuan. If you truly intend to pursue a high-end market, you could try that. If you're unwilling to take risks, you can also opt for more affordable options. But no matter what business you do, integrity is key!"
Su Xiaotian's words were spoken with conviction. When her siblings and she used to sell clothes, although they charged high prices, the quality of those clothes was undeniably excellent.
The clothes they handled, even after several years of wear, would not go out of style or lose their shape, proving to be excellent value for money.
The stall owner fell into deep thought after hearing Su Xiaotian's words.
Should he continue his deceptive practices, moving from place to place after each scam, or should he follow the young girl's advice and conduct business honestly from now on, forging a long-term, sustainable path?
By the time the stall owner had come to a decision, Su Xiaotian and her brothers had already disappeared.
He murmured the words "integrity is key" to himself.
Perhaps, it was time to change his way of doing business!
After her lecture, Su Xiaotian took advantage of the stall owner's bewilderment and left.
In the past two years, the market had been gradually regularized. There were people who sourced goods from places like Rongcheng and Mocheng and resold them in the capital city at a higher price.
However, the number of people involved in buying and selling had increased, making it almost impossible to make large sums of money as quickly as two years ago.
A markup of ten to twenty yuan on a piece of clothing was feasible, but anything more would likely result in unsold inventory.
However, more people were willing to spend money on clothes now compared to two years ago. Considering the overall market, a small profit margin with high volume sales could still be quite lucrative.
It all depended on what the stall owner himself decided.
If he seized this good opportunity, it could be heaven or hell!
"Xiaotian, in the future, you can't just meddle in such matters. You were lucky to encounter someone with a good temper today. If you had met someone violent, they might have just started hitting you."
Su Xiaotian listened to Su Xiaoliu's lecture and smiled ingratiatingly, "Sixth Brother, I understand. I just saw this stall owner trying to trick us and couldn't help but get angry, so I played a trick on him!"
Initially, she had only intended to play a trick, but it seemed to have veered off course.
Speaking of which, it was also because the stall owner hadn't become enraged by her prank.
If this stall owner could take her advice today, perhaps he would have a more promising future.
Su Xiaoqi looked at Su Xiaoliu and Su Xiaotian with disbelief.
So, that boss had really intended to cheat him?
Was that dress really worthless?
As Su Xiaoqi thought this, he voiced his question.
Su Xiaotian clearly hadn't expected Su Xiaoqi to still be doubting this matter.
"Seventh Brother, when we see Fourth Brother, I'll talk to him. During the weekends from now on, you can go help out at Rongfa Trading Company, specifically in charge of the clothing section!"
Su Xiaotian felt that her siblings were all very intelligent, and they couldn't have a Seventh Brother who was so easily deceived.
Su Xiaoqi immediately shook his head, "No, I'm not going. Fourth Brother exploits his workers!"
Su Xiaoliu couldn't stand it and slapped him, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who's exploiting workers?"
He really couldn't speak properly and was talking nonsense!
Although Fourth Brother had high standards, Rongfa Trading Company also paid its employees well.
How could it be that when Xiaoqi said it, Fourth Brother sounded like an evil capitalist?
"Sixth Brother, I think my slow brain is a result of you hitting me."
Since childhood, his reactions had always been a little slower than his other brothers and younger brothers. It must be because Sixth Brother had always bullied him.
Su Xiaoliu was speechless. He really didn't want to talk to this brother anymore.
Su Xiaotian watched her foolish Seventh Brother with amusement. Could Seventh Brother really succeed in studying electronics? Was he sure he would graduate?
Would he be denied his graduation certificate for failing exams?
Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu, watching the spectacle from behind, were thoroughly entertained.
The two brothers even whispered to each other, discussing the reasons behind Seventh Brother's naivety.
Lost in thought, the group finally reached the Tan family's doorstep.
Su Xiaotian, skipping happily, went to knock on the door but heard someone speaking, a voice that was unfamiliar.
"You two old fossils, do you know who we are?"
When Su Xiaotian heard this, she turned her gaze to her brothers.
What was going on?
It felt like bandits had come to rob them!
Who would speak like that under normal circumstances?
"Listen more!" Su Xiaoliu immediately said with a serious expression.
His voice was low, just enough for his siblings to hear.
"I don't care who you are, I will never hand over this recipe to you!"
The voice speaking was Tan Zishi's. Even through the closed door, it could be heard that Tan Zishi's voice was slightly trembling, likely out of fear.
"Sixth Brother, is there danger?"
Su Xiaoliu gently shook his head, "I haven't heard of anyone coveting Grandpa Tan's family recipe either!"
The Tan family's seasonings were classic. In the past two years, many more people in the capital city had started making liangpi and liangfen, but none of them had the same excellent flavor as the Tan family's.
The main reason why Tan family's liangpi had long dominated a large portion of the market was its exceptionally good taste.
Besides the chewy and springy texture of the liangpi and liangfen, the seasoning recipe was unique.
But since when had the public security in the capital city deteriorated to this extent?