Chapter 62 Stealing Business
Boss Liang and Mrs. Zhu also came to the county town to set up stalls today. They were reluctant to spend money to ride in a ox cart, so the whole family got up early and pushed the cart for two hours before entering the county town.
Liang Wenyong also came with his parents, and he helped to light the fire.
Originally Zhaodi also wanted to come, but Old Man Liang and Old Lady Liang disagreed. They felt that it was unseemly for a new bride to go out and show up in public, so they let Zhaodi stay at home to do laundry, cooking and housework.
There were suddenly four stalls selling sugar-roasted chestnuts in the county town, and the supply was already overwhelmed by the demand. But this morning, Qianhua's stall was doing particularly well.
It turned out that many old customers went to the other two stalls to buy chestnuts because they wanted to save money. After eating, they found that the fried chestnuts from these two stalls were not as delicious as those from Qianhuan’s. Not only were they not sweet, glutinous, fragrant and soft enough, but sometimes they could even taste rotten.
The prices at those two stalls have now dropped to 5 cents per pound, but some people whose families are not well off still go to those two stalls to buy chestnuts, mainly for the sake of bargains.
However, most of the wealthy people in the county still care more about the taste of food, and they still like to buy Qianhuan's sugar-roasted chestnuts.
Look, Qianhuan’s family hasn’t set up their stall for a few days, so those young masters and young ladies quickly called their maids and servants to line up to buy.
Qianhuan also took the opportunity to promote the brand of her own chestnuts. She had to make this name known.
"If you want to eat sugar-roasted chestnuts, please look for our 'Liuji Kaikouxiao Chestnuts', which is the most authentic sugar-roasted chestnuts..."
Liang Lao Da's family didn't know the situation in the city yet, so they also followed Qian Huan's example and sold chestnuts at 10 cents per pound. The chestnuts they had bought from the other two stalls were too disappointing in taste, and the price at this new stall was not cheap, so naturally no one was willing to pay for them.
So, after Mr. Liang’s stall was set up for a long time, not a single customer came to patronize the business.
"What's going on? Why is no one coming to buy at our stall?" Zhu asked puzzledly.
"Are we selling it too expensive?" Boss Liang thought it was probably because of the price.
"Don't Qianhuan's family also sell it for ten cents a pound? How can they keep up with the demand?"
"Mom and Dad, why don't I go for a walk on the street and find out what's going on." Liang Wenyong thought he should observe the market first.
"Okay, you go."
When Liang Wenyong came back from his walk, he said, "In the county town, it's not just Qianhua's family that's selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. There are two other stalls that are also selling them, and these two only sell for 5 cents per pound."
"What? There are two more?"
"Yes, Mom, why don't we sell them at a lower price? Otherwise, we have bought so many chestnuts at home, and if they can't be sold they will rot and be wasted," Liang Wenyong suggested worriedly.
"Then how much should we sell it for?" asked Zhu.
"We bought these chestnuts at one cent for two catties, and the other two companies sell them at five cents per catty. Let's just sell them at four cents per catty. The price is a bit low, but we can still make a profit." Liang Wenyong gave another idea.
"Okay, I'll listen to you and try selling it at 4 cents a pound."
The effect of the price reduction is quite good. Their products are now the cheapest in the entire county, and soon there was a long queue in front of their stall.
When everyone saw that the newly opened sugar-roasted chestnuts stall was selling for only 4 cents a pound, they all ran over to buy them. Zhu was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
"Have you heard? There's a new stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts over there, and they're only selling them for 4 cents a pound. Let's go buy some and try them."
"Only 4 cents a pound? It's so cheap, I'll buy it there too."
Originally, there were quite a few customers at Qianhuan's place. When they heard that the new stall was only selling for 4 cents per pound, everyone, out of curiosity and the desire to get a bargain, ran to Zhu's stall.
"Qianhuan, what should we do? The two newly opened stalls have already reduced their prices by half, which has already caused us to lose a lot of customers. Now your uncle's family is only selling it for 4 cents per pound. Wouldn't it be even more difficult for our stall to do business? Otherwise, we should also reduce the price." Liu was very anxious when she saw this.
"Mom, don't worry. We just need to ensure the quality and taste of the chestnuts. Cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap. We don't need to rush to lower the price." Qianhuan said calmly.
At this time, Master Cai came with a group of his younger brothers to collect the stall fees. When he saw Qianhua, he said in surprise, "Brother Liang, your family has finally decided to open a stall. I have been wanting to eat your sugar-roasted chestnuts for several days. Hurry up and give me five pounds."
"Okay, Master Cai, I'll weigh and pack it for you right away."
Master Cai added, "You don't know that the chestnuts fried at the other two stalls are not comparable to the taste of yours. Sometimes you can even taste rotten chestnuts. Your sugar-fried chestnuts are more to my taste."
"Hey, isn't your stall located opposite Zuixianju? Why did you move it next to Zuixianju today?" Young Master Cai finally discovered that her stall had moved.
Qianhuan told Master Cai what happened before. Master Cai apologized and said, "Brother Liang, I'm really sorry. I can't do anything about them not letting you set up a stall next to the restaurant. The owner of this newly opened restaurant is surnamed Ma. He is a wealthy businessman in Qingxi County. His family made their fortune by selling all kinds of cakes and desserts. They have shops in every county in Lingzhou City. They are also involved in many other industries and have some connections with government officials. I can't afford to offend such a person."
Qianhua handed over the chestnuts and said, "Master Cai, you don't have to blame yourself. We ordinary people can't afford to offend wealthy businessmen like them. It's also good for us to set up our stall next to Zuixianju."
Master Cai counted out 48 copper coins to her and said with a smile, "As long as you understand, you don't have to pay the 2-cent stall fee. It will be deducted directly from the 50-cent chestnut money."
Master Cai took the chestnuts and headed west with his brothers to collect stall fees.
At this time, the uncle who often came to Qianhuan's stall to buy chestnuts came over again. He was still wearing a green gown today and looked very elegant.
He also said with a look of surprise: "Finally, you guys came out to set up a stall. Quickly give me three pounds of chestnuts."
"Okay, uncle, I'll weigh you right away."
"Why haven't you set up a stall these days? My mother has been thinking about your sugar-roasted chestnuts. I bought them from another stall but she said they were not tasty and insisted that I buy yours."
"Uncle, we were delayed these days by something at home, so we couldn't come out to set up the stall." Qianhuan replied with a smile.
At noon, Qianhuan and Liu were sitting on mats eating buns. It was already November and the weather was getting colder. Qianhuan no longer asked Liu to bring pancakes to the county town to eat. Instead, she went directly to the bun stall to buy hot buns for lunch.
Suddenly, a luxurious carriage appeared at the entrance of Zuixianju. Qianhuan looked at the carriage and felt that it looked familiar. She guessed that it must be the young master of Zuixianju.
Sure enough, Yuanji, who was wearing a thin gray cotton coat, jumped off the carriage first, and then Chu Yichen also walked out of the carriage.
Today, he was wearing a long robe with white embroidery and a jade ribbon on his head, which made him look like an immortal. He had a smile on his lips, handsome features, and his noble and elegant demeanor could not be concealed when he waved his folding fan.
Qianhuan was a little dazed, she didn't expect that the young master of Zuixianju was so handsome. The last time she saw him in the restaurant, she was busy talking about putting away tools and didn't have the nerve to stare at him. Today, after a careful look, she realized that this young master was actually a handsome man. He was really pleasing to the eyes.
Suddenly, Chu Yichen felt someone was staring at him. He turned around and saw that it was the vendor who had given him chestnuts who was staring at him.
Qianhuan didn't expect that he would suddenly turn around and look at her. It was so embarrassing that she was caught staring at him.
Fortunately, Qianhuan was a person with strong psychological quality. She gave Chu Yichen a big smile and greeted him.
Chu Yichen originally frowned with displeasure, and even thought to himself: Could it be that this vendor is a gay? Otherwise, why would he stare at me with such a lustful expression? Seeing her greet him openly, Chu Yichen felt that he seemed to be overthinking.