NOVPUB
Chapter 147: Chapter 141: Selling Goods
"Eggs. How much are the eggs each?" Shen Yunfang asked.
She had already sold some yesterday and knew the approximate price, now she was testing whether the middle-aged man was honest enough.
"Sister, we had a pleasant cooperation just now, so I’ll give you the real deal. Currently, we’re selling eggs for fifteen cents each, but of course, we’d buy them for a bit less. I can give you twelve cents each if I can take a look at the size. If they’re about the same, that’s the price I can offer." He also needed to make a profit, and making three cents per egg was not bad.
Upon hearing his offer, Shen Yunfang promptly put down her basket, lifted the cloth on top, and allowed him to examine the eggs.
"My eggs are larger than the average, so I can’t sell them to you for twelve cents each."
The middle-aged man picked up an egg to take a look and, indeed, it was bigger than the usual eggs, "Are these eggs fresh?"
"Heh, as you said, doing business requires integrity. I still have quite a few things to sell, and I can’t ruin my reputation."
After that, things became easier. One truly wanted to buy, and the other truly wanted to sell, and what followed was the negotiation over the price. When the middle-aged man found out that Shen Yunfang had over ten thousand of such eggs, he reluctantly raised the price to thirteen cents each and firmly said he couldn’t offer more.
Shen Yunfang thought it over and then agreed.
She had a year’s supply of eggs saved in her space. Except for the ones consumed by herself and those sold to deceive, there were roughly fifteen thousand left. She had sold two thousand to Manager Sun, leaving her with about twelve thousand or more.
"Do you want to buy anything else?" Shen Yunfang thought she might as well not bother with multiple sellers and hoped to clear her inventory at once, as she wasn’t in the mood to sell this year.
"What else do you have?" The middle-aged man’s expression was one of pain and indecision. Just taking on Shen Yunfang’s ten thousand eggs was enough for him, and if there were more, he feared he wouldn’t have the capacity.
However, that’s how business is; the mention of a good source of products was always tempting. After all, that meant money.
"I’ve got some vegetables too," Shen Yunfang said.
"What kind of vegetables? Dried?" The man’s eyes lit up again. With the New Year approaching, meat, eggs, and vegetables were the best-sellers.
"If you want dried vegetables, I have some, but not much; they are all fresh." Shen Yunfang considered that this time of year, every household would be drying their vegetables, so who would buy them? That’s why she dried them mostly for her own consumption and had never thought about selling them.
"Fresh vegetables? Where did you get them?" The middle-aged man asked instinctively, then immediately realized he had misspoken, "Sorry, my mistake, what kind of vegetables do you have, and what are the prices?"
Those in the black market don’t ask where the goods come from; he had overstepped.
Seeing that he didn’t pry further, Shen Yunfang listed her produce, "I have leeks, a bundle per pound, and I have about seven to eight hundred bundles. I’m selling by the bundle at seventy cents each. There are also fresh mushrooms from the south, eight hundred pounds at eighty cents per pound. Then there are eggplants, string beans, and such, all priced at eighty cents per pound, persimmons and small hot peppers, a dollar twenty per pound, and I have about four hundred pounds of those. I also have some radishes and cabbages, which I’ll sell you for a bit cheaper if you’re interested."
Her asking prices were generally higher than what she got last year, mainly because fresh vegetables were scarce in the black market at this time, and these were only available in the south. She had rare goods, so she could quote higher. Besides, prices could be negotiated, and she couldn’t sell for less than last year’s prices, could she?
The middle-aged man was tempted, but he also understood that such a large quantity was beyond his ability to absorb, "Your offerings are too much; I have limited funds and might not be able to take them all at once."
"No problem, you can buy as much as you like. I’m not worried about selling these items," Shen Yunfang said with a smile.
Sure enough, this could very well be the only one in the provincial city.
"Other than that, sister, can you give me two days, no, just one day, I’ll find some money, can you keep all the goods for me, is that okay?" The middle-aged man was somewhat anxious, knowing all too well that right in front of him was a pile of cash, yet he was unable to reach it due to the meagerness of his own pocket – what an indescribable feeling that was.
Shen Yunfang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "That will do, I’ll give you one day. If you decide to buy tomorrow, go to the north gate of Empty Heart Park, do you know Qiuxin Square, over there? There’s a pavilion with woods around; I’ll wait for you there."
"Okay, I know the place. But sister, shouldn’t we discuss the price? Your stuff is good indeed, but you should still let your brother make some profit," pleaded the middle-aged man pitifully.
So the two of them entered into another fierce negotiation over the price of the vegetables.
In the end, they settled on sixty cents per bundle of Chinese chives, sixty-five cents per pound for mushrooms, while persimmons and chili peppers stayed at one yuan per pound; the prices of the other fresh vegetables remained unchanged.
After agreeing on the terms, they went their separate ways, planning to trade eggs at noon. After discussing the time and place for the delivery with the middle-aged man, Shen Yunfang left. They both needed to prepare.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shen Yunfang did not go back to the guest house, but instead wandered around a department store nearby, then headed straight to the trading spot and unobtrusively took out baskets of eggs one by one.
Before the agreed time, the middle-aged man arrived with a tricycle. They counted the money and roughly counted the eggs – more than ten thousand eggs weren’t exactly countable – and after the transaction was complete, they parted ways.
Heading back to the guest house, Shen Yunfang thought about making fish soup for Li Hongjun. She took out two frozen crucian carps from her space, let them thaw a bit, and then prepped them, knowing that the soup wouldn’t take long to cook.
As soon as she stepped into the guest house’s gate, she heard an argument, one of the voices she recognized all too well.
"Oh my, sister, you’re finally back, hurry up, this is your mother-in-law, go talk to her yourself," the little attendant said upon seeing Shen Yunfang return, clutching at her like she was a life-saver.
"What’s the matter?" Shen Yunfang had no idea why the two were quarreling.
"What’s the matter, you ask? I want to know where you’ve been off to. My son is still lying in the hospital, and here you are roaming around. Were you out hooking up with some random men?" Qiu Shuping glared and yelled loudly, as if worried others wouldn’t know what Shen Yunfang had supposedly been up to.
Shen Yunfang’s brows furrowed.
"Sister, you heard that, didn’t you? I’ve explained so many times that you were out buying vegetables, but she still wouldn’t believe me. She’s been making a ruckus non-stop, disturbing the other residents so much that we’ve had several complaints. If this goes on, I’ll have to report it to the management, and then you’ll have to find another place to stay," the attendant said to Qiu Shuping towards the end of her statement.
What a nice girl she is, her fiancé bedridden for days, and she’s been here preparing and sending over food, which the attendant had noticed. But then this mother-in-law comes back, starts shouting and yelling with offensive words – she felt sorry for the girl. Such a nice young woman, having to deal with a family like this, was simply a waste.
Shen Yunfang apologized with a smile, "Oh dear, I really troubled you. I’ll handle this, I promise we won’t disturb anyone again. By the way, I bought two fish today. I’m going to make fish soup later; you should come over in the afternoon."
After coaxing away the little attendant, Shen Yunfang then faced Qiu Shuping with a cold expression, "Auntie, what are you doing? Are you saying Li Hongjun had it too easy in the military and you want him discharged to come home? If that’s what you want, just go directly to your son and talk it over. There’s no need for this."
"Nonsense..."
"Don’t shout, and don’t make a fuss. Didn’t you hear what the staff member just said? If you keep causing trouble, they will kick us out. I don’t mind, I can manage anywhere. But you’d better think about whether you can handle sleeping on the streets," Shen Yunfang cut her off before she could finish.
"That’s enough; I have to cook. Don’t get in my way here. If you have something to say or feel wronged, go talk to your son at the hospital."
