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Chapter 470: Chapter 460 Wholesale
It was not until after four in the afternoon, when it’d become dark and hard to see, that the flow of people gradually lessened, and Shen Yunfang and her companions began packing up to head home.
By the time they got home, Mu Huazhen had finished work, and the women went to cook, the men unloaded the car, and the children rested.
It wasn’t until after six in the evening that they finally had their dinner.
"Yunfang, why did you agree to sell it to that young man for so cheap this year? Are we losing money on this?" Li Xianglian had been dwelling on this all afternoon, and now that they were home with no outsiders around, she finally voiced her question.
Mu Huazhen and Ma Liguo wore expressions of ’what are you talking about’, necessitating Shen Yunfang kindly to fill them in on the afternoon’s encounter with the young man wanting to wholesale spring couplets.
Ma Liguo slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That’s great, even selling to him for less we still make money, Yunfang, why didn’t you agree right away?"
"Oh, stop being so impatient, Yunfang must have her reasons. Just sit tight and listen," Mu Huazhen said, trusting Shen Yunfang implicitly. She’d come to recognize over the past few days that Shen Yunfang had a knack for business.
In the past few days, when their business had seemed slow and very few couplets were sold, everyone else was anxious and frustrated, but Yunfang remained composed—now it was clear she had a plan in mind.
"Heh, I don’t have any grand plans. I just see that our spring couplets are unique; they’re a rare commodity. If he wants to get into this business, he has to wholesale from us. It’s too late for him to get them printed now. Our costs are very low, but I don’t want middlemen to earn more than us."
"Exactly, our costs aren’t high, but think about how much effort we’ve put into this. We can’t just let others take advantage of us for nothing," Mu Huazhen chimed in agreement.
Ma Liguo nodded along, evidently in agreement with the consensus.
Seeing Ma Liguo had no objections, Shen Yunfang turned back to Li Xianglian to explain the benefits of wholesaling, "Though we offer a lower price for wholesale than retail, we move a much greater volume. Think about it; even if we sell five thousand couplets and make a thousand yuan, wholesaling only nets us five hundred. But just the few of us, even selling non-stop all day, how much can we sell before the New Year? To make that thousand yuan is tough. But if we can wholesale, just one person could buy several hundred or a thousand at a time. We could make several hundred yuan in a day, saving time and effort, and we’d actually earn more than from retail."
At this moment, Shen Yunfang remembered something and turned to Ma Liguo, "Brother Ma, if we really start wholesaling, we might not have enough stock. Can you check with your contacts at the printing factory to see if they can print more on short notice if we run out?"
"No problem, as long as the money is right, they’re eager to work for us," Ma Liguo waved his hand, indicating this wasn’t an issue.
Shen Yunfang nodded in satisfaction, confident now that supply would not be a concern.
Li Xianglian was still somewhat confused by the discussion, but seeing that Ma Liguo and his wife had nothing more to say, she kept her mouth shut. After all, she figured she just had to follow Yunfang’s lead; the rest was beyond her understanding.
After dinner, Shen Yunfang, with her kids and the Ma family of three, walked toward the residential complex together.
It was dark, and the two households didn’t live far from each other; it was the perfect opportunity for Ma Liguo to escort Shen Yunfang and the kids back home.
Shen Yunfang was exhausted from the day’s work, and the kids were worn out from playing, so after taking a bath at home, mother and children went to bed early.
No sooner had Shen Yunfang fallen asleep than she was awakened by a persistent knocking at the door.
She frowned, wrapped herself in a garment, got out of bed, and walked to the door to ask, "Who is it?" Taxue had already heard the noise and run to the door, squatting there quietly. His silence reassured Shen Yunfang, convincing her it must be someone they knew.
"Yunfang, it’s your big sister, are you asleep?" Outside was the voice of Li Xianglian.
Shen Yunfang hurriedly opened the door for her, "What’s going on? Is there trouble? Why are you coming over so late, big sister?" Outside were Li Xianglian and Shitou.
She quickly ushered them into the house.
Seeing Shen Yunfang wrapped in clothes, Li Xianglian knew she had been resting. Hearing Shen Yunfang’s tone of urgency, Li Xianglian quickly explained, "It’s nothing serious. That young man came to the courtyard looking for you this afternoon. He seemed pretty anxious, said he wanted to talk to you. Jianjun and I couldn’t decide what to do, so we came to find you. What do you think we should do about this?"
"Oh, he went to the courtyard?" Shen Yunfang was somewhat surprised; she had thought the man would not show up until at least tomorrow. She hadn’t expected him to be so urgent.
"Exactly, I don’t know who he asked for directions, but him knocking on the door gave me quite a shock," said Li Xianglian.
Shen Yunfang thought for a moment and said, "Then I’ll go see what he wants. I’m guessing it’s still about wholesaling our Spring Festival couplets. Big sister, the kids are asleep, and I’m not comfortable leaving them alone at home. I’ll head to the courtyard, and you can look after the kids for me here." She wasn’t comfortable leaving the two children alone at home, especially so late at night.
"Sure, you go ahead. I’ll stay here. Whenever you get back, I’ll head out," Li Xianglian readily agreed.
So, Shen Yunfang got dressed, took Shitou with her, the flashlight in hand, and made her way through the darkness to the courtyard.
Upon arrival at the courtyard, sure enough, the young man was sitting inside.
"Ay, little sister, I’m really sorry to bother you so late at night," the young man said apologetically.
"It’s okay, but you came looking today because of..." Shen Yunfang did not finish her sentence, indicating for him to quickly state his purpose.
"Hehe, little sister, I’m here to discuss the price of the Spring Festival couplets with you," the young man said with a chuckle.
Shen Yunfang raised her hand to stop him, "If you’re here to buy couplets, I welcome it, but the price is already as low as I can go. I can’t reduce it any further. If you think it’s suitable, then buy them; if it’s really not okay, then let’s forget it." Now that he was at the doorstep, she couldn’t lower the price.
The young man saw he couldn’t negotiate any further and reluctantly said, "Little sister, you really know how to do business. Alright, I’ll take it at that price. Give me five thousand copies."
"Do you want to pick up the goods now?" Shen Yunfang asked. It wasn’t convenient this late at night.
"I need them now," the young man said with certainty. If it weren’t for wanting to catch the big market tomorrow, he wouldn’t have come to stock up so late at night.
There was a large market in the surrounding rural areas the next day. During the time before the Spring Festival, such markets were bustling with people, and even the poorest would buy something to celebrate the festival, so he planned to go there to sell.
Shen Yunfang took the stack of money the young man handed over, counted it out — fifty notes, five hundred yuan each, not one more, not one less. After pocketing the money, she and Liu Jianjun opened the storeroom, moved the merchandise out into the courtyard, and let the young man choose.
The young man had already looked over the goods in the afternoon and had a rough idea, so he was quick to pick, but even so, by the time he left, it was already past eleven o’clock.
Shen Yunfang greeted Liu Jianjun, then set off home through the darkness with Shitou. When they got home, she briefly spoke with Li Xianglian and asked her to hurry back with Shitou to rest well. They had to sell goods again tomorrow.
