Chapter 008: The Ways of Business

Just after sitting down for a short while, I saw a middle-aged woman in her forties, not yet fifty, standing in front of the car, gazing at the vegetables inside. The woman was not dressed in a fashionable manner, but her attire was quite refined. She did not resemble the typical housewives I had seen before, indicating that her family's circumstances were likely quite good

The elderly woman casually asked, "Are you going home at this hour? Not selling anymore?"

He stopped the car, and Wen Xu directly opened the trunk door. He didn't bother to place the baskets on the ground, thinking that if the urban management officers came, it would be easier to just close the trunk and drive away. He arranged the price tags next to the baskets one by one, and then Wen Xu sat quietly by the car, playing with his phone while waiting for customers to arrive.

Young man, wait a moment

The elderly lady said: "I haven't cooked yet, and I've noticed that there are only half of the tomatoes and cucumbers left, the rest have all been juiced by my granddaughter..."

The elderly woman said: "What vegetables are you buying, young man? At this hour, many dual-income couples have just gotten off work. The ones buying from you earlier are mostly us old folks. Most people around here haven't returned yet. Listen to me, wait here a little longer; I estimate that in less than half an hour, your vegetables will be sold out. At this time, your vegetables will look fresher and more appealing than those in the market."

The costs are different. The growing period of my melons is much longer than theirs, nearly double, and there are no pesticides or artificial ripening..." Wenxu began to explain again.

"It really can't be cheap," Wen Hu said. If it were truly willing to be cheap, then Wen Hu wouldn't have sold over ten pounds in just a few days.

Not only is it expensive, but it is also exceptionally so. Tomatoes are sold for 3.5 yuan elsewhere, while here they are 4.5 yuan per jin. Green peppers are 5 yuan in the market, but here they are sold for 6.5 yuan. In short, almost every type is more than 1 yuan more expensive than in the vegetable market. However, when you ask Wenxu to lower prices to boost sales, Wenxu is unwilling. Competing by lowering prices for good products is seen as degrading one's value. Wenxu believes that doing business should not be approached in this manner; it is too lowbrow.

Wenxu quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Auntie, are you out shopping for groceries?"

"Are all the vegetables sold out?" Upon seeing Wenxu about to leave, the elderly woman immediately inquired.

The God of Space has been feeling quite hurt for several days to come

Thank you. Wenxu took the money, then found the change and was about to close the trunk door.

Give me two jin of tomatoes and one jin of cucumbers, the aunt immediately said upon hearing that there were still vegetables available

After finishing the meal, Wengxu directly threw the remaining half box of rice to the puppy, humming a little tune with satisfaction, and headed home with the day's earnings.

"Do you have something, Aunt?" Wenxu hurriedly got out of the car

Regarding the failure from the past two days, Wenwu felt that it might be due to his lack of proper preparation in identifying the target customer group. Selling a truckload of high-priced vegetables at the entrance of affordable housing and ordinary residential areas, how could it possibly sell? Most of these people are quite discerning with their spending. However, the consumption mindset of those living here should be different; these individuals have high salaries and should have correspondingly high demands for their food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Therefore, today, Wenwu is quite optimistic about his business.

As he looked up, the sky had already darkened. Wenxu closed the rear door of the car, walked to the driver's seat, and opened the car door, preparing to get in and head home. Just as he was about to climb into the car, he heard someone calling out.

Soon, those returning home noticed Wenxu's small stall, some stopped to inquire about prices, while others parked their vehicles by the roadside. Most of them were young people, who were much more generous than the middle-aged women from the afternoon. They hardly haggled over prices; upon glancing at the vegetables and finding them satisfactory, they began to fill their bags. Weighing and paying took less than an hour, and Wenxu sold out several baskets completely!

The lady in green chuckled and said, "This young man is not very quick in doing business"

A child raised in the countryside knows the difference between cucumbers grown in a greenhouse and those that grow naturally, and when it comes to this topic, he speaks with great confidence.

Indeed! The sky has darkened. Wenxu thinks, who would still come out to buy groceries at this hour

Wenxu turned her head and saw, about ten meters away from her car, a chubby figure running towards her while waving a hand. It was only when she got closer that she realized it was the elderly woman who had been the first to make a purchase today.

After speaking, Wenqu directly reached out and ran his hand over the cucumber, removing the sharp spines from its surface. He then casually broke the cucumber into two pieces and, without wiping it, put the broken end into his mouth and began to chew.

Listening to the aunt's ramblings, Wenqu weighed out the tomatoes and cucumbers, and then handed the plastic bag to the aunt's hand

Overall, this dish attracts many inquiries, but very few are willing to pay for it. The main reason, which Wenqu also understands, is that the price of this dish is high

After sending off three elderly women, Wen Xu took out his phone and started looking at it. This continued intermittently until it was nearly dark. Wen Xu felt that his choice was indeed correct; the residents of this community had considerable purchasing power. By the time it was dark, he had already sold half of his vegetables, and this afternoon's sales had surpassed the total from the previous few days. Of course, the vegetables that were confiscated by the urban management did not count.

The most unfortunate incident occurred the day before yesterday, when Wenhu was stopped by the urban management due to unfamiliarity with the roads. Over two hundred jin of vegetables, along with the basket, were confiscated. In the end, they left a message stating that he would have to pay a fine at a specified location the next day to retrieve the vegetables. With a fine amounting to several hundred yuan, Wenhu felt that no one would be willing to pay such a hefty sum for just a small amount of vegetables. Consequently, Wenhu had no choice but to buy a new basket in order to continue his vegetable-selling business. With a fine amounting to several hundred yuan, Wenhu felt that no one would be willing to pay such a hefty sum for just a small amount of vegetables. Consequently, Wenhu had no choice but to buy a new basket in order to continue his vegetable-selling business

For Wenqu, there is nothing that cannot be faced with dignity; he can sit in the office coding to earn 20,000 a month, and he can also pick up a scale to buy vegetables that cost two to three yuan per jin.

"Who knows whether what you say is true or false?" the first-arriving lady said with a smile, "I see your vegetables are quite fresh, so how about this: give me a little bit at the market price!" After saying this, the lady began to reach for a plastic bag hanging from the side of the trunk, intending to put cucumbers inside.

A few days ago, at the entrances of those residential communities, the women there were much more difficult to deal with than these two. Many would directly snatch the vegetables and then shove the money into the warm hands. In nature, those aunties are quite similar to those who aggressively sell jade pendants for their military coats. Today, the tone and attitude of these three individuals are somewhat better than the customers from a few days ago

Upon seeing Wenxu approach, the puppy remained cautious and retreated slightly into the green hedge. It was only after Wenxu got back into the car that the puppy approached the lid of the food container, sniffed it a few times, and then looked up at Wenxu. Noticing Wenxu eating heartily, the puppy then buried its head and began to eat.

Wen Xu said: "No, there are still some left, almost every type on the vehicle has about half remaining"

The individual glanced at the cardboard sign in front of the warm basket, furrowed his brow, and said: "Young man, your vegetables are a bit too expensive; cucumbers are only 4 yuan per jin in the market, and you are selling them for 5 yuan here"

It is marked above "How much do you want? I will cut it for you"

The later curly-haired aunt reached out to pick up a tomato from the basket, observed it for a moment, then brought it to her nose to smell. She then asked Wenxu, "The vegetables are good, they look like they are organically grown, but the price is a bit high. Can you lower it a little? If it's cheaper, the three of us can buy some."

After a few days, this can be considered a little trick that Wenxu has figured out for selling vegetables! Giving these small items to customers will make them quite happy, and it is even more effective than reducing the price by two or three dimes.

After several days of practice, Wenqu summarized his mistakes and today parked the car in a new location. There are seven or eight residential communities nearby, all of which are mid to high-end communities, many of which are inhabited by staff from municipal agencies, either from the municipal party committee or the district party committee, or employees from various former public institutions in Mingzhu. The social strata can be said to be quite good, and the household income is likely to be quite impressive

The elderly woman was complaining here when two middle-aged women of similar age walked by, tilted their heads to glance at the one standing beside the warm vehicle, and then approached as well

Thank you, Aunt Xie! Wenxu realized that it made sense; it is only six o'clock now, and the main group of people finishing work has not yet returned! How could I not have thought of this myself

One of the middle-aged women with permed hair looked at the large winter melon in the warm basket, observing the white fuzz covering its skin. After curiously touching it a couple of times and giving it a light flick, she asked, "Young man, how much is this winter melon?"

Wenxu had no particular thoughts about the dog; he neither wanted to eat its meat nor tease it for fun. However, upon seeing the dog staring at him with eager eyes, he tore off the lid of the takeout box that contained food scraps. It was filled with bones, greasy braised meat, and the like. He pushed open the car door with his right hand and placed the lid of the paper box on the ground.

The curly-haired lady retorted, "Isn't it true that you don't have a stall fee when you sell using a vehicle compared to others?"

If you come at that price, I will definitely be quick about it. The price you offered means I will lose that much on my end, so I can't be quick. The wholesale price I get is not low. In this cold weather, could you consider helping me out a bit?

After sending off the elderly lady, Wenxu thought for a moment and then took out some more vegetables from the storage space. He then stood under the streetlight, continuing to wait for customers to arrive.

Wenxu immediately explained, "You cannot say that; the cucumbers in the market are different from those here. You look like someone who often buys groceries, so you must be able to tell the difference"

If you don't believe it, you can give it a try," said Wenqu, as he handed the remaining half of the cucumber to the elderly woman.

While speaking warmly, he took a cucumber from the basket and pointed directly at the flower end of the cucumber: "Their flower ends all have small knobs, as if they have not fully developed. Look at this cucumber; the flower end does not have those sharp little knobs at all. This side has a plump flower end, which indicates it has naturally ripened without any artificial ripening. Moreover, my cucumbers have not been treated with any pesticides from planting to harvest! If you don't believe me, I will eat it in front of you" If you don't believe me, I will eat it in front of you

This is not feasible; it won't sell!" Wen Qu immediately shook his head

At this moment, the first aunt who arrived earlier laughed and said: "I also think this young man's prices for vegetables are too high. How much is it per pound at the market? You are a dollar more expensive than them"

This price is too expensive! Just accompanied the curly-haired lady over here, and the lady in the green wool coat immediately shook her head, indicating her dissatisfaction with this price

Because my own vegetables are selling very poorly, or rather, it would be more accurate to describe it as extremely poorly. In just a few days, I have sold less than 20 jin in total, and that is the combined weight of all the vegetables!

Holding a paper food box, Wen Hu sat back in the car, turned on the broken speaker, and began to eat while listening to music. After finishing half of the meal, Wen Hu looked up and noticed a pair of bright green eyes peering at him from the nearby hedge. As he turned his head to take a closer look, he realized that hiding in the hedge was a half-grown puppy. Although it was called a puppy, it was more accurate to say it was a lively little dog that could happily bounce around. In the dark, it was hard to tell what breed it was; in any case, it was just a dog.

Thus, Wenxu began to haggle with the three elderly women, spending nearly five minutes on the negotiation. In the end, Wenxu conceded a reduction of two to three dimes per pound. However, he firmly held onto the price, and as a result, the three elderly women each purchased several pounds of vegetables. Although the price was only lowered by two to three dimes, in the end, Wenxu also added a small cucumber and two or three green peppers as a bonus

After driving for a while, Wenwu stopped the car in front of a Chinese fast food restaurant. He went in to buy a box meal. Business was good today, and he had grasped some insights into the trade, so Wenwu decided to reward himself with three substantial meat dishes. Each of these dishes was a hearty option: braised pork, braised lion's head meatballs, and a sauced pig's trotter, all of them quite substantial.

Aunt, this dish is different. Please take a look at my dish. The thorns on the cucumber are prickly, and the tomatoes don't need vinegar; when stir-fried, they have the authentic taste of tomatoes... Wen Hu began to explain briskly and warmly, having repeated these words no less than eight hundred times over the past few days. When it comes to praising his own cooking, Wen Hu can speak effortlessly.

The elderly woman quickly opened the door and said with a smile, "You young man are quite diligent in your sales pitch. The vegetables are good, but the price is just too high"

"Are you going to buy again?" Wenxu asked curiously while walking towards the back of the car.