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Chapter 464: Chapter 454, Setting Up the Stall
Before the work began, Shen Yunfang took Big Sister Liu’s family for a simple tour of the Capital.
After just a few days, Li Xianglian became restless. Every day, their food and accommodation were paid for by her younger sister-in-law. They didn’t work or earn money, yet they went out to play every day, spending lots of money. She felt very uncomfortable about it.
She asked Shen Yunfang eight times a day when they would start working.
Shen Yunfang looked at the current inventory, which had almost filled up a room, and considering it was less than twenty days before the New Year, she figured it was about time to start selling.
So, they chose a day to officially begin selling.
Early in the morning, Shen Yunfang took the kids and Taxue to the quad-yard.
Once inside the courtyard, they saw that Li Xianglian and her husband were already prepared. "Big Sister, what time did you get up? It’s so early."
"Your brother-in-law woke up before dawn and started bustling around inside and out. After staying idle for these days, he felt uncomfortable all over, and is finally able to start working again," Big Sister Li said with a smile on her face.
That’s the way people are; not used to inactivity. Back in the countryside, every day was filled with hard work, leaving us exhausted as if we were grandchildren. We’d lie on the kang at home and moan about this pain and that ache, suffering terribly, and would think about how nice it would be to not have to farm or work, and enjoy life at home instead. But once we came to stay with the younger brother, we truly enjoyed it, with nothing to do but eat and sleep, yet somehow it felt even more uncomfortable than working the fields back home.
"Hehe, that’s because you’re used to working hard; suddenly stopping makes you feel all restless. Don’t worry, we’ll be busy soon, and your brother-in-law will have plenty of chances to exert his strength," Shen Yunfang said with a laugh.
"That’s true, he might not be good at much, but he’s strong."
While they were chatting, Ma Liguo’s family of three also came over.
In the end, the division of labor was as follows: Mu Huazhen stayed at home with Jiajia, Ma Chaofan, and Pangpang Manman to look after the house. Ma Liguo and Liu Jianjun would first push the tricycle to the market, then Ma Liguo would secretly watch over the place from a hidden spot, while Shen Yunfang and the Liu couple sold goods in plain sight. Shitou and Shuanzi also went along, mainly to keep an eye on the goods on the ground so that no one could pilfer them.
After all, Ma Liguo and Mu Huazhen were public servants, so it was not appropriate for them to show their faces in such matters.
After the division of tasks, everyone started to get to work, with Liu Jianjun and Ma Liguo loading goods onto the tricycle. The two sturdy men quickly loaded up the small vehicle.
Shen Yunfang picked out spring couplets in the storeroom. With so many versions available, there was no need to take them all out right now. She selected more than forty varieties, taking a hundred or so of each.
Once the cart was loaded, the group set off for the market. Ma Liguo had already picked out a spot in the market, so they went straight there and began setting up their stall.
Selling spring couplets didn’t require any shelves; they just spread out a large plastic sheet on the ground and arranged a few of each type of couplet on top. To prevent them from blowing away in the wind, they prepared many medium-sized stones to weigh them down.
Thanks to Shitou and Shuanzi, the two young men spent the past days collecting the stones they needed while out playing. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Under Shen Yunfang’s direction, the spring couplets were quickly arranged. Then, the group started staring at each other with uncertainty, not knowing what to do next.
"Well, I’m going to head off first, okay? If you need anything, just holler." Ma Liguo felt he should hide in the office, why was his face burning up on such a cold day?
Shen Yunfang watched as he ran off like a scalded cat and was somewhat speechless. That guy has a thick skin, yet he fell short at a critical moment.
"Yunfang, what should we do now?" Sister Li felt a bit at a loss looking at the couplets scattered on the ground.
Shen Yunfang looked at the empty market and said to Sister Li, "Sis, you and brother-in-law take the kids and find some shelter from the wind by the wall. When I get too busy to manage, you can come over and help out." At this moment, with so many people standing around, let alone selling anything, ordinary folks wouldn’t even dare to walk this way.
"No, no, that won’t do. You should be the one to find some shelter from the wind. I’ll keep watch here," Sister Li said instinctively.
"Sister, don’t argue with me, neither you nor brother-in-law have ever sold these before. Wait until people come by and watch how I sell them. Once you’ve learned, it’ll be your turn," Shen Yunfang knew she couldn’t let them be the ones to start. From the way they were shivering, it was clear they wouldn’t actively call out to customers. Sigh, she had to be the one to step up.
Li Xianglian thought about it and agreed. If it were up to her to stand there, she wouldn’t know what to do. It looked effortless when others sold things, yet why did it feel so different when she was standing there?
After arranging everyone, Shen Yunfang stood at the front waiting for people to come by. It wasn’t that she enjoyed standing; they even brought small stools, but in the cold weather, you’d freeze sitting down after just a short while. It was warmer to keep moving by walking back and forth.
"Couplets for sale, couplets here! Only two jiao a pair, you don’t have to ask the price, nor bargain. The whole place sells for two jiao a pair, pick and choose as you please, everything for two jiao. Two jiao and you can’t be cheated, you won’t regret it, truly worth your money. Anything you take is a bargain, nothing you buy is expensive. The New Year is approaching, paste our couplets and guarantee a smooth and prosperous year ahead." Shen Yunfang had heard those ads about not getting cheated for ten bucks in her previous life all too often. Now, seeing the people around her, she blurted it out, but luckily she managed to rein it in at the end.
"Goodness, your pitch is quite unique." A middle-aged man passing by the stall stopped when he heard Shen Yunfang’s novel advertisement.
"Comrade, our couplets are even more unique. Why don’t you take a look? Today is our first day of sales, very cheap. Once it’s past February, we will revert to the regular prices," Shen Yunfang said with a smile as she introduced the couplets behind her.
"Really? Then I really have to buy a pair, or I’d be missing out, right?" The man actually squatted down and began to look seriously.
"Is this cursive script? ’Triumph in the prosperous age as the sheep sings, luck as the monkey dances in the New Year, may all go well with you,’" the middle-aged man read a few lines casually, nodding as he did, "Not bad, not bad, quite interesting."
Shen Yunfang could tell from the side that this middle-aged man must also be an intellectual, a cultured person with depth.
"Yes, we have over a hundred different couplets here, each one a premium piece," said Shen Yunfang with not a hint of modesty, "And we had the descendants of great *** write these couplets, absolutely value for money."
"Heh, nice girl, then I’ll take a pair," the middle-aged man said as he stood up and pointed to a pair of couplets he had just selected.
"Alrighty, I’ll wrap them up for you right now," Shen Yunfang took off her gloves and quickly rolled up the couplets the man had pointed out, then took out a pre-prepared hemp string to bundle it up in a jiffy. "Don’t you want to look at the ’Fu’ character? We have many styles for that too."
The middle-aged man glanced at the ’Fu’ characters Shen Yunfang pointed out, shook his head, "Let’s just stick with these."
"Alright then, that would be two jiao in total," Shen Yunfang accepted the two ten-cent bills passed over by the man, "Take care, and come back if you need more. We’ll be here all the way to New Year’s. If someone you know likes them, help spread the word."
