In a distant time and a distant land where it was customary for mercantile expeditions to span oceans and deserts, there lived a merchant who specialized in inks. He traveled far and wide to collect the most exotic and high-quality inks, and even farther and wider to sell them to intrepid scholars who were obsessed with writing down their ideas in the most elegant way possible.

One day, he came upon a town renown for its scholarly population, and he, being the savvy business owner he was, sensed opportunity. He asked around the locals until he found out the name of the most prestigious academic family in the town, and, choosing his best and most attractive inks, made his way to their dwelling.

During his journey, he formulated his plan. He had learned that the master of the household was old and retired, but his work was being carried on by his four sons, each in university, each a budding scholar. All four would most certainly benefit from the merchant’s inks, but the question was, how should he approach the sale? Should be present himself to all four at once, or meet them individually?

He arrived at the dwelling and pondered for a few moments. Perhaps the best thing was to meet them one-on-one, allowing him to tailor his message to each brother individually. That would maximize his chances of success (and good profit).

Content with his strategy, the merchant proceeded to present himself at the front door. A maid answered him.

“How can I help you, sir?” she asked.

“I am looking to speak to one of the master’s sons,” the merchant replied.

“Oh. Which one?”

She mentioned four names and he quickly memorized them. To her, he repeated the first of the list, and she nodded dutifully.

“Right away. He will only be a moment.”

She retreated back into the house. Within a few minutes, the post at the front door was taken up by a tall, young man in scholars’ robes.

“Perhaps the best thing was to meet them one-on-one, allowing him to tailor his message to each brother individually. That would maximize his chances of success (and good profit).”

After he had finished his presentation, the merchant waited for a response. The young man pondered for a while, but then replied, “I thank you for your consideration, but I do not really see a personal need for these inks, or really any ink in general. Most of my work is done in pencil. Good day.”

This said, he excused himself and retreated back into his house. The merchant lingered on the steps, considering his plan. Perhaps he might have better luck with the other brothers.

He would try the next day.

***

When the next day came, he presented the second name on the list the maid had given him, and she fetched him the second brother.

Imagine his surprise when he saw the same tall young man appear before him!

“Good sir, you called upon me?” asked the young man.

Astonished, the merchant asked him to confirm his name, and the young man confirmed it was indeed the name the merchant had given the maid.

“You look so much like your brother,” the merchant remarked. “And you are a scholar, also.”

The young man simply smiled, a knowing smile.

The merchant pushed aside his surprise, and, recollecting himself, made his presentation as he had the day before. And, as his brother had done, the young scholar pondered for a while before giving his answer.

“I appreciate your consideration, good sir,” the young man began pensively. “I have in fact been having problems with waiting for ink to dry in my manuscripts. However, as I still have a lot of ink I purchased that is unused, and this is the first I hear of your exotic type of ink, I shall need to think about it.”

The merchant swatted away his internal disappointment and instead wore a smile. “Of course.”

“Good day.”

And so, even the second day, the merchant found himself unsuccessful in his quest to sell his wares. Still, he had two brothers left to ask.

***

The next day, the merchant called upon the third brother, and this time his surprise was not as great (although it was still palpable) when a tall young man who appeared to be just the first brother came out to meet him.

“Good morning,” the scholar greeted him politely. “How may I help you?”

“It is not a question of how you may help me,” the merchant began, “but how I may help you.”

The previous two days repeated themselves—he gave the presentation, and he patiently observed the young man as he pondered his response. This time, however, what followed was different.

“I have heard of these no-smudge exotic inks,” the young man informed him. “But I was planning on purchasing them from a different supplier.”

Upon hearing his rival’s name, the merchant smiled. He knew just how to outshine him.

“Good sir,” the merchant addressed, picking out a bottle of ink from his collection and offering it to the young man, “I would like to ask that you test my ink for yourself and see whether it lives up to my bold claims.”

The young man seemed surprised. “But the other merchant would not let me test his ink.”

“I am not the other merchant,” the merchant smiled. “Please, go ahead.”

The young man enthusiastically fetched a blank sheet of paper and tested the merchant’s ink. With delight, he found it to be exactly as the merchant had described—instant-drying, and very sophisticated-looking.

“If you would like, I have six bottles of the same,” the merchant offered.

“I will take them all,” the young man smiled.

Finally, a sale, the merchant thought to himself happily. The two made the exchange, and the merchant went on his way for the evening.

He had already made a handsome profit, selling seven bottles (almost a third of his collection), but he knew that there might still lie untapped opportunity with the fourth brother, so he decided to go back one last time.

***

The fourth and final day, the merchant presented himself, but the maid, who had intuited his plan by now, did not ask him for the name of whom he intended to visit.

In fact, as soon as she saw him appear, she simply left and a fourth replica of the original brother replaced her.

“Hello sir, the maid said you had an offer for me?” the fourth brother asked.

As he had the previous three days, the merchant presented his collection. But this time, he was not allowed to finish his presentation.

“Sir,” the young man interrupted, “you could not have come at a better time. I finished all my ink yesterday, and I have been apprehensive of buying more because of the annoying smudging problem—and the fact that even though my handwriting is very good, some of my academic rivals look down on my work because the ink looks too grainy and it makes the manuscript look second-rate.”

He came forward and took the merchant’s hand. “Please sell me everything you have,” he pleaded.

The merchant, initially surprised but quickly pleased, gave him the rest of his collection—at a discount, too, for the bulk purchase. He also promised, at the young man’s behest, to come back every six months or so to visit him and replenish the collection.

And it was so that the merchant left town with fantastic sales and a new regular client.

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