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Chapter 471: Chapter 461: Pack Up and Go Home for the New Year
In the next two days, Shen Yunfang’s little stall really got busy, but accordingly, their income also increased exponentially.
When they first started the stand, they earned only four or five yuan a day, never reaching ten, but now their daily earnings kept growing, thirty something, over eighty, to over a hundred.
The most enjoyable activity for the group every evening was counting money before dinner, watching the small bills pile up, everyone’s faces bloomed with smiles.
On the third day the youngster came to pick up goods, he arrived at the courtyard and immediately told Shen Yunfang that he wanted another five thousand couplets.
This request genuinely shocked Li Xianglian, "What, you want another five thousand? Did you sell all those you took the day before yesterday?" she asked incredulously.
"Hehe, there’s a little left, but not much, so I came over to see if you had any more," the youngster replied with a smile.
"It just so happens that we received a new batch of goods yesterday; you really are lucky. If you had come yesterday, we actually would have had none left," Shen Yunfang said, lying without blushing. Business was like this, full of truths and lies, bluff and sincerity. If she didn’t speak this way, how would others know how in-demand her goods were?
Upon hearing this, the youngster was delighted, quickly nodding and saying, "Wow, that’s so fortuitous; it must mean we are fated to do business together." The young man sure had the gift of the gab.
Li Xianglian blinked repeatedly, thinking to herself that Yunfang was outright lying; the warehouse was still stuffed with old stock, and they hadn’t received any new goods yesterday. Li Xianglian was an honest person and had never told such lies to someone’s face, so she was somewhat uncomfortable with it.
Liu Jianjun, just like his wife, could hold his tongue. Although he felt that lying wasn’t right, he turned away, afraid his expression might betray something and spoil Shen Yunfang’s business.
After exchanging pleasantries with the youngster, Shen Yunfang saw he was eager to pick up the goods, so she quickly took his money and then organized staff to bring out the merchandise for him to choose from.
She secretly instructed Liu Jianjun to move the couplets specific to the Year of the Monkey out first. Jianjun didn’t understand why, but he was obedient and swiftly carried the designated couplets out into the yard for the youngster to select.
The youngster indeed noticed the new designs and believed they really had received new stock yesterday. Impressed by their sales capabilities, he finally decided, after some thought, to negotiate with Shen Yunfang to take even more goods.
Shen Yunfang certainly welcomed this, but she also made it clear that the price of one mao per unit was already the lowest they could go. Even if he took more, the price was non-negotiable. However, she could offer him a little bonus, promising that if he made a wholesale purchase of ten thousand couplets at once, she would give him an extra hundred for free.
The youngster did some quick math in his head: ten thousand couplets would cost him a thousand yuan, and a hundred couplets would be ten yuan. Comparing the small bonus, it really wasn’t much, but something was better than nothing, as even a little louse is still meat. So, he slapped his thigh and declared he would wholesale ten thousand couplets right then and there.
Li Xianglian stood by with her mouth agape in astonishment; in a matter of moments, Yunfang had managed to sell another five thousand couplets, an impressively rapid pace indeed.
Seeing his mother’s elated expression, Shitou hurriedly pulled her into the house.
Afterwards, it was time to collect payments and pick up the goods. Everyone had been through the process before, so it all felt familiar. An hour later, they had sent the young people on their way.
After they had gone, Ma Liguo gave Shen Yunfang a thumbs up. He truly admired her in his heart; it was undeniable. This sister-in-law had a more agile mind than his own and knew how to do business with methods and rules. In just a short while, she had managed to sell off ten percent of the stock. Ma Liguo thought about himself and realized he couldn’t do it, at least not with the skills he possessed now.
Over dinner, Shen Yunfang explained today’s tactics to Li Xianglian, "I reckon this guy didn’t take the goods for retailing himself; he might be a middleman. He raised the price slightly and then wholesaled it to someone else; that’s why he could sell so fast. Today I misled him into thinking our stock was tight, too. He must have been anxious, afraid that if we ran out, he’d make no money. You know, the best time to sell Spring Festival couplets is these few days."
"Oh, can you do that?" Li Xianglian asked with wide-eyed surprise.
"Why couldn’t you? He’s just like us, wholesaling couplets to others. Even if he gave someone a pair for one yuan and two cents, he would make a clean hundred yuan from five thousand sheets. Moreover, he wouldn’t increase the price that little; I estimate it’s closer to one yuan and five cents," said Shen Yunfang. She felt if it had been her, she would have set the price at one yuan and five cents and made at least a fifty percent profit.
"Then, can’t we raise our prices like he did?" Li Xianglian said, feeling distressed at the thought of letting someone else make all that money.
"That won’t do, big sister. If he helps to push sales out there, we must leave some profit room for him; otherwise, who would run around trying to sell so earnestly, right? Think of it this way: the more money he makes, the more he will push out, the more we will wholesale to him, and the more money we will make. It’s mutually beneficial, and we won’t lose out," Shen Yunfang reasoned.
Shen Yunfang didn’t know how much of what she said Li Xianglian could understand, grasp, or accept. Nevertheless, in the coming ten-plus days, Li Xianglian was especially enthusiastic when selling goods, vying with others to approach customers as if trying to earn back every penny that was slipping through her fingers.
On the afternoon of the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, looking at the darkening sky, Shen Yunfang gave a small wave of her hand, "It’s getting late, let’s pack up and head home." Most of the neighboring stalls had already packed up and gone home; there weren’t many left who persisted until now like them.
Li Xianglian looked at the couplets still spread out on the ground and hesitated, "There are still so many left; maybe we should wait a bit longer." These couplets could only be sold before New Year’s Eve; after tomorrow, hardly anyone would buy them, and the remaining stock would just sit unsold. After all, these were equivalent to money, and Li Xianghe felt disheartened at the thought.
"Big sister, let’s not wait any longer; hardly anyone comes around at this hour. Let’s head home. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and today we need to go back and do our accounts, split the profits, and have a good celebration," Shen Yunfang said with a smile as she began to pack up.
Seeing her get to work, the others also started packing up.
When they got home, Ma Liguo and his spouse had already arrived, and Mu Huazhen was busy cooking. Li Xianglian went to help out, Liu Jianjun unloaded the car, and Shen Yunfang counted today’s earnings with Ma Liguo. They divided every cent and bundled it up with the money from the previous days, then recorded the final entry in the ledger.
Seeing the numbers in the ledger, everyone smiled.
"Come on, stop counting and let’s eat. After dinner, we’ll count together," Mu Huazhen called out, arranging the dinner table and getting ready to start the meal.
"Oh, time to eat! Meat to eat!" The children, having no idea why the adults were so happy but hearing there was food, cheered immediately. With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, they knew well that there would be delicious meat on the dinner table.
