Dao of Money-Chapter 91: Counterfeits

Chen Ren hadn’t expected it, but the opening day was simply the prelude to what was about to come. Due to their initiative in marketing, discounts, and the perfumes already being pretty cheap, word of mouth had spread pretty fast. There were now twice the amount of people entering their shop that were on the opening day.

The public samples helped, but it wasn’t just that. They had recognized some young girls from non-union clans and, in a bid to make sure the product reached as many as possible, gave them free items to advertise within their circles. By the next day, the store was swarming with an even bigger crowd.

It wasn’t just the perfumes that were flying off the shelves. Even the clothes were being snapped up faster than expected. He even witnessed a few women fighting for the last piece of a certain design, and that spoke volume to him.

Yuqiu had to ramp up production, bringing in more sewing machines and doubling the workforce to meet the growing demand. It was the ideal scenario for Chen Ren, who realized he’d underestimated the middle class in the city. The people of Jingxi were far more hale than he’d initially thought. In this world, even a middle-class family, who had money to spare, often had more than two or three children. So, if one member of the family bought a perfume, it was only a matter of time before the others would follow suit, either out of curiosity or because of the absolute effectiveness of the product.

On the other hand, this shift in momentum gave him a rush of qi and an unshakable confidence. Finally, he had the public’s support, and he could feel it. It was time to take on the union. Yet, even after a week of the shop’s opening, the union didn’t seem to make a move. The Xueying Clan was still looking for their men, but at this point, even they knew they might not be able to find them.

But other than that, it was quiet. Too quiet one might say.

Maybe he had misjudged the union. Maybe instead of competing, they might want to collaborate, seeing the potential for mutual profits. That view wasn’t unreasonable, because even on Earth, such situations had always existed, and more often than not, they led to lucrative partnerships. He knew that in order to succeed long-term in Jingxi, becoming a part of the union was going to be inevitable. There was no way they could dismantle the whole thing, not when it had its tendrils so deeply embedded in the city.

In the end, all merchants simply wanted to make money. But as the days went by, his expectations proved to be wrong. On the eighth day of the mall opening, the calm was finally broken, and a problem cropped up.

He was on the ground floor, contemplating an offensive lightning technique that he had found in Chen Ren’s memories, one that he hadn’t had the time to practice yet. He knew the basics and where to begin, but he simply hadn’t had the proper time to practise and develop when the drama started.

“Hey! I need to talk to the owner!”

An angry voice came from the entrance. Three women barged in the store and the one leading them yelled, making every head on the ground floor turn towards the entrance. For how loud she was, he knew even the second floor customers might’ve heard the chaos.

Chen Ren looked up from his trance and noticed the group of people. One look at their faces told him they weren’t customers that came to hunt for good perfume or a dress.

Apart from the three women, there were two middle-aged men that entered after them, all of them were sweaty and brimming with anger. The woman’s upper lip curled into disdain as she looked around at the store before making a beeline for the counter.

Her eyes narrowed down to where Chen Ren sat, right beside the counter. By his fine tunics, they could tell his worth. But he’d been silent, studying their appearance.

“Are you the owner of this place?” she spat the last word as if it was the last thing she wanted to say.

Chen Ren straightened up. “Yes, how can I help you?”

Before he could even finish his sentence, one of the men pushed a wooden container on the counter, the soft thud of the cylindrical box hitting the surface of it.

As if their voices aren’t enough, they just have to make a show, Chen Ren thought while still maintaining a neutral expression on his face. Polite, yet unoffended.

The man’s face twisted in fury as he spat, “I need a refund. You-you better check this piece of garbage! You sold colored water in the name of perfume to my wife.”

The other man, clearly in agreement, chimed in. “Same here. You sold fake perfume to my sister... and I'm here to demand a refund. You thought you could scam me out of my hard earned money. I will complain about you to the City Lord.”

He moved forward and wiped his sweaty brows. The younger woman, who Chen Ren guessed was the sister, among the five nodded with a sniffle.

Chen Ren blinked. There was no way they could have sold colored water. The perfume bottles were checked thoroughly before being put on the shelves, no exceptions. And colored water? They never created them. The colors of the perfumes were a result of the products infused in them.

And to make things worse, there were more and more customers looking at them. He wasn’t about to give them a spectacle. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure.

“How about we deal with this upstairs in my office?” Chen Ren offered, attempting to move the confrontation out of the public eye.

“No,” the lead man snapped. “We will talk here. Do you want to just sweep this under the rug after selling us such a scammy product?”

Sweep under the rug?

From the corner of his eye he saw Yuqiu, who had been upstairs handling the production, stepping down quickly, her eyes scanning the room, studying the men and women whose eyes were on Chen Ren.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, the noise probably bringing her down.

“These men are saying we sold them colored water instead of perfume,” Chen Ren replied, taking the eyes off of the men.

Yuqiu walked closer. “Let me see.” She took the container the man had pushed over and turned it around in her hand. The label, even Chen Ren noticed, was extremely similar to their packaging. And now, she confirmed so. “This does look like the design of our container, with the brand mark of the Divine Coin Sect on it, but…” She opened the cap and inhaled. “You’re right, there’s no fragrance in it. Coloured water loses it in a couple of hours. This isn't our perfume.”

Chen Ren felt a tightening in his chest. He had no idea what was going on, but this was the type of attack he’d been waiting for. He had no doubt that the union was involved in this.

He narrowed his eyes at the lead man. “Where did you buy this?”

The man, momentarily flustered, turned to his wife who stood beside him, clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation. She was the one to answer. “From your men,” she said.

“But where exactly? Did you get it from our shop here?”

“No… we got it from one of the stalls that were advertising the perfumes. They sold it to us.”

The other two men nodded in agreement, and Chen Ren’s heart dropped as everything clicked into place. The stall was likely one of the offshoots run by the union or someone working with them. This wasn’t a misunderstanding. This was deliberate.

“Then I’m sorry, but we didn’t sell it.”

That earned multiple gasps from the women that were watching the drama. But it clearly pissed off the five people who’d walked in.

“What do you mean? We bought it from someone selling it with your shop's name on it. How is that not your responsibility? Mind you, we will not let this go until we get our refund!”

Chen Ren opened his mouth to explain, but before he could get another word out, the sounds of more commotion from outside rang through the open doorway. More angry shouts came from outside.

“Chen Ren! Come out! We demand our money back!”

“You better come out before we barge in!”

“Cheap businessmen! We won’t let you continue your business here! Come out!”

What the fuck? Chen Ren’s eyes went to the door. From the shouts, it looked like there were at least a dozen people outside.

“Hold on,” Chen Ren said quietly.

He exchanged a brief, tense look with Yuqiu, who had already gone pale. Without wasting another moment, they both moved quickly toward the door, ignoring the remaining angry customers inside for now. This was escalating way quicker than he thought.

And as they stepped outside, the sight before them made his stomach twist. It was more than just a dozen people. Probably twice, shouting his name and waving perfume bottles in the air. The chants for refunds and demands for their money back rang out, almost deafening. He couldn’t decipher and single-out any more sentences.

His presence turned the roar into an uproar.

The union had finally made its move, targeting his reputation and hitting them where it would hurt the most—public perception. His heart sank, and he felt a headache start to form at the back of his skull.

Yuqiu stood next to him, her face pale as the enormity of the situation dawned on her too.

A few of their guards moved to contain the crowd, but they were vastly outnumbered. The guards flanked Yuqiu and Chen Ren, positioning themselves in protective stances, but even Chen Ren knew it was more of a formality than a real defense.

The crowd was simply too large, and the situation was growing too volatile.

Chen Ren didn’t need protection. He stepped forward, trying to calm his mind. The union had taken its time, but now they had set in motion a scheme that would tear apart the goodwill he’d worked so hard to build. They had carefully orchestrated this—an attack on his reputation, one that was already doing its damage.

He stood firm, facing the mob of angry customers.

His fingers flexed at his sides, and he could feel his qi stir, but he knew better than to act rashly. For now, he needed to think, to strategize. He couldn't afford to make the situation worse by responding in anger. The crowd was only growing, and their demands for a refund echoed through the streets, but he knew there was more to this than just a simple misunderstanding.

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In a way, this… made sense. In a psychotic, evil way. The union had used the same tactic he had used to market his products—attracting attention through crowds—but this time, it was being used against him. The union had turned his own methods back on him, but with malicious intent.

With a deep breath, he stepped forward, raising his hands in a gesture meant to command attention.

"Everyone, I’m Chen Ren," he said. "Please calm down, so I can deal with whatever problems you’re having."

The crowd stilled for a brief moment, but then a man from the mob shouted, his voice full of accusation, "You sold us fake perfumes! Give our money back!"

Chen Ren turned to face him, unwavering. "Did you buy it from me?" he asked the same question as he asked before.

The latter hesitated, glancing at the others before replying, "No… but it was from your men."

Chen Ren's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"It has the mark of your shop on it. You can’t fool us!"

The accusations hung in the air, the murmurs growing louder once again to a point where he couldn’t hear his own thoughts. The angry men, in the middle of the day drawing more and more attention from the passerby, felt like a cruel joke.

He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing his qi, letting the energy surge slightly through his body, infusing his voice with a subtle but commanding resonance.

"Please," he said, his voice cutting through the noise with an authority that only a cultivator could wield. "Calm down."

They all hushed, realising that he was a cultivator.

Chen Ren took the opportunity to speak again. "I know you all have been fooled, but trust me, Heavenly Fragrances had nothing to do with it. Those are not our products. Someone has made them and sold them to all of you, scamming you. Although I’m sorry for what happened, Heavenly Fragrances wasn’t involved."

There was a brief silence, the crowd still simmering with doubt. Finally, one woman stepped forward, her voice hesitant but filled with suspicion. "But they have your mark on their bottles…"

The mark of our bottles… It gave him an idea. He stood a little taller and nodded, acknowledging the concern. A sudden wave of confidence rushed over him as he knew just how to stop this chaos at once.

Yes, they had the engravings, but Heavenly Fragrances had done much more than just engraving the Divine Coin Sect mark on the front. Chen Ren wanted to create something luxurious, and with Yuqiu's help, he had done exactly that—right down to the packaging.

"Yes, but only in the outer engraving. It’s a cheap imitation, not something we’ve ever sold."

He turned to one of the guards positioned near Yuqiu, the man’s attention sharp as he stood ready. "Get me a bottle from inside," Chen Ren instructed.

The guard nodded and moved swiftly into the store. Chen Ren kept his gaze on the crowd, letting the tension linger in the air, but with a sense of control now radiating from him.

As he waited, he could already sense the growing anticipation of the crowd. Some were still whispering and throwing comments regardless of his words. But he stood ground, staring at them directly, showing them that he couldn’t be manipulated into accepting responsibility that wasn’t his to begin with.

Fortunately, the guard returned soon, a bottle in hand.

Chen Ren took it, holding it up for the crowd to see, his voice ringing clear and authoritative. "Although it has an outer carving of the sect mark, there's one on the inside too."

With a focused expression, Chen Ren used his strength to delicately peel away a thin layer of wood from the bottle, just enough to reveal the inner engraving. He held it up for everyone to see. The mark was crude—obviously hastily made—much less refined than the one on the outside, but it was there.

"See?" he said, "We haven’t just carved out the brand mark on the outside but inside too. This is how we do it. We ensure the mark is there, solid and clear."

He turned to one of the men in the crowd. "Can you give me one of your bottles?"

The man hesitated but then handed over one of the offending bottles, his grip tight with frustration. Chen Ren took it, and without hesitation, peeled it open in the same manner, spilling the coloured water on the ground and revealing the complete lack of a brand mark inside. The engraving was missing entirely.

Chen Ren held it up for all to see, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Like you can see," he said. "These bottles are not from us. Someone has counterfeited them and is selling them in our name. I know you all are troubled, but this isn’t our fault."

The crowd stood in stunned silence for a moment. Slowly, expressions of realization began to settle on their faces, but there was no denying the dissatisfaction still bubbling underneath.

A few murmurs rippled through the crowd before one woman stepped forward, her voice trembling with frustration.

"But we spent a good amount of money on it. I used up my savings of months to buy this."

Chen Ren’s heart clenched as the woman’s words sank in, and he could see others nodding in agreement. "I spent my entire monthly savings," another woman added, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I thought I was buying something worth it."

The anger and regret in their voices were palpable. Chen Ren felt his chest tighten. This was a blow to his reputation, one he hadn’t been prepared for. The stall where the counterfeit products had been sold—where was it now? It probably wasn’t there anymore or these people won't have come here.

But again, they’d placed trust in a brand, in something they believed in, and it had been betrayed.

He could already sense the rumblings of dissatisfaction spreading through the crowd, like a wildfire. Even if they walked away knowing that the issue wasn’t directly tied to Heavenly Fragrances, the damage had been done. The trust they might have in the brand was shaken, and worse yet, if word of this got out, the gossip and rumors could tarnish everything he had worked for.

He swallowed, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. A solution had to be found—one that would satisfy the crowd and repair the damage to his reputation. The problem was that even if he hadn’t been involved, they were still holding the bag.

He didn’t have time to waste. "I understand your frustration," he said. "I truly do. But please, listen to me. This is an issue of counterfeit goods, and we will work to ensure that whoever is behind this is held accountable." He paused, feeling the weight of their gazes. "However, I also understand the predicament you're in. You’ve spent your hard-earned money on these products, expecting quality. And I can't ignore that."

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A few of the people in the crowd murmured in agreement, their eyes expectant.

Chen Ren’s gaze sharpened as a plan began to form in his mind. "Here’s what I’ll do," he said. "If you’ve bought these bottles from the stall selling them under our name, bring them to us. We will offer you a full refund or exchange it for our actual products at no extra cost. You won’t leave here empty-handed."

What he was saying… It wasn’t an immediate fix, but it was something that would help ease the tension and rebuild the trust that had been fractured. Even grow it.

"And," Chen Ren continued, feeling the pressure lift just a little, "We will personally investigate and make sure those responsible are found and held accountable. I will not let this tarnish the name of Heavenly Fragrances. You have my word. Now, I need you all to bring the bottles you’ve purchased to us, and we’ll handle this the right way."

“That’s amazing! Thank you!” A woman said, her hands in the air as she broke into a wide grin.

People mirrored her expression, and soon began to move inside. He felt a wave of relief wash over him—at least for now, the situation was under control. But the gnawing sense that this was only the beginning of a larger battle didn’t leave him.

He exhaled slowly, his gaze shifting to Yuqiu as she walked up beside him, her expression tight with concern. “This will take away from our profits,” she said with a sigh. “A good chunk. We’re giving it away for free.”

Chen Ren’s eyes hardened as he looked out at the crowd, who were now filing in, eager to get their hands on the real product. “Reputation is far more important at this stage,” he said. “We can't afford to lose it. Not now, not when we’ve just begun to build something good.”

Yuqiu crossed her arms, her lips tight with frustration. “But more people are going to come in with the fake perfumes sooner or later. What then? Are we just going to keep handing out free products?”

Chen Ren gave a single nod. “Yes, I understand. We can’t keep giving them free perfume forever, and we won’t. But right now, we need to prove that Heavenly Fragrances stand for integrity. We can’t afford to let falsehoods spread. This will buy us some time, but we can’t let them flood the market with counterfeits.”

Yuqiu's gaze softened slightly, but she still looked troubled. “So, what’s the plan then? You’re going after the counterfeiters, right?”

It was a good question. The moment he knew this was what the union had planned all along, he knew exactly what to do.

“Yes, going after the counterfeiters, but more than that… I’m going after the union itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was waiting for the perfume shop to stabilize before I started dismantling them,” he wiped the sweat that had formed in his own brows. “But I don’t think I can wait any longer. We can’t let them continue to undermine everything we’ve worked for. I will do the one thing that unions always have a hard time against—internal strife.”

***

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