This is her first customer.
Zhou Qiqi immediately perked up, a warm smile spreading across her face, and replied crisply, "Ten yuan."
This price was set after careful consideration.
She had previously inquired with the stall owner about the price of basic clothing, which ranged from a minimum of six yuan to a maximum of eight yuan.
In those days, the individual economy was just emerging, and people were very simple and honest; at most, they would double the price of their goods.
Unlike those later shops, they could buy goods for twenty yuan, change the label, spray some perfume, and then dare to sell them for two hundred.
After all, most people only earn forty or fifty yuan a month, so clothes priced too high won't sell well.
Every piece of clothing that Zhou Qiqi sells has been carefully modified and processed by her. From the design concept to the adjustment of details, she has put in a lot of effort. She feels that charging an extra two yuan is not unreasonable.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhou Qiqi added with a smile.
"You're our first customer today, so we can give you a 12% discount!"
She was filled with anticipation for a good omen for the opening, her eyes brimming with sincerity and enthusiasm.
Unexpectedly, the little girl rolled her eyes and said with a look of disgust.
"Even after the discount, it's still over eight yuan. This style is outdated, how dare you sell it like this? Why don't you just rob someone?"
Zhou Qiqi had anticipated this situation. She calmly picked up the batwing shirt and patiently explained.
"Mine is different; it's been improved, look..."
However, the little girl waved her hand, interrupting.
"Stop introducing yourself, just tell me, what's the lowest price?"
His tone was very impatient.
Zhou Qiqi pointed to the small characters in the corner of the signboard, written neatly in black ink:
[Fixed price] [12% off for the first customer each day].
Despite Zhou Qiqi's eloquence and bargaining skills, she actually hates haggling the most.
When negotiating the price, both sides go back and forth, going through a series of roundabout and convoluted arguments, which is both mentally taxing and requires a lot of talking.
But if you don't bargain, you're likely to be ripped off.
If others buy it for ten yuan, but you spend twelve, you won't even enjoy your meals for a day.
Ultimately, bargaining only benefits businesses; they earn more when dealing with customers who aren't good at bargaining.
Zhou Qiqi was too lazy to waste her breath and didn't want to earn money from this kind of empty talk.
She firmly believed that the value of her clothes was to sell for ten yuan, regardless of who wore them.
"You're not going to negotiate the price? No wonder you won't sell it!"
The little girl pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, and looked utterly disdainful.
Strangely, she didn't leave. Instead, she pointed to the bell-bottoms next to her and asked about their price.
"Twelve yuan and fifty cents."
The same pricing strategy, the extra 50 cents is for auxiliary materials.
This time, Zhou Qiqi's tone was much more perfunctory. She could tell that this girl didn't really want to buy anything.
Sure enough, after asking the price, the girl left without looking back.
"this..."
Zhu Yingying watched the little girl's departing figure, wanting to stop her but not knowing what to say. She felt even more distressed than Zhou Qiqi, the stall owner.
"Don't take it to heart. That's how it is when selling clothes; there are always more people looking than buying."
Zhou Qiqi patted Yingying's stiff shoulder, and suddenly a burnt aroma wafted into her nose.
Looking up, I saw an older woman wearing a blue headscarf using tongs to turn sweet potatoes over next to an iron bucket not far away. Golden sugar syrup dripped down the cracked skin.
"I'll treat you to roasted sweet potatoes!"
Plump, white roasted sweet potatoes cost only two cents a pound. Zhou Qiqi picked out two of medium size, weighed them high, and only asked for three cents.
Looking at the aunt's rough hands, Qiqi also bought some soybeans and chestnuts from her stall, spending a total of one yuan.
When she took out her money, she couldn't help but complain to herself, "Goodness, I've set up a stall and haven't even made any money yet, but I'm already eating."
It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly; fate is playing a cruel joke on this gluttonous pig.
But it wasn't all for nothing that I had such a craving.
However, being greedy isn't without its advantages. Seeing that she had bought a lot, the auntie showed some reluctance and gave her an extra handful of chestnuts, saying in a low voice.
"Hey, that girl who went to your stall just now, she's a shill! You'd better watch out!"
The aunt's daughter had set up a stall here before, so she knows the area best.
"The woman in the middle, Ran Hongxia! She often hires a student to pretend to be a customer and ask about prices. Once she has a good idea of everyone's budget, she starts to lower the price, always by two cents compared to others."
In this way, she will always be the one selling the cheapest items in this area of street stalls.
People are naturally greedy for bargains; if they can buy something cheap, they certainly won't sell something expensive.
So every day, Ran Hongxia's stall was the best-selling in the area; no one could outsell her.
Everyone who runs a stall nearby knows about her, but there's nothing they can do about it.
"You can do that?"
Zhou Qiqi's eyes widened in shock, and a chill ran down her spine as she recalled the little girl's behavior just now.
She had sensed something was off about that girl earlier, but she never expected it to be such a vicious business battle!
This is pure malicious competition.
The older woman handed her the things and said earnestly.
"Listen to your aunt, lower your price by one cent, and you'll sell better!"
Zhou Qiqi smiled and shook her head.
She sells designs and craftsmanship, so she doesn't engage in price wars.
Once customers come and see for themselves, they'll immediately recognize that she's selling quality products, so there's no worry about them not selling well.
However, she didn't realize that she had been a bit too confident.
I never expected the other party to be so shameless.
For the next hour, not a single customer came to her stall.
Several customers, who were clearly about to reach her shop, deliberately turned around and went back.
It's almost 11 o'clock and they still haven't opened for business!
Zhou Qiqi felt uneasy, but she didn't get discouraged. Instead, she continued to hawk her wares, trying to attract people.
Seeing that two more girls had turned and walked away, he quickly chased after them and asked them in a gentle and polite manner.
"Hello, I'm the owner of the Qiqi Fashion stall over there. Excuse me, why don't you guys come to my stall? Is there a problem?"
As she spoke, she slipped two scrunchies made of floral fabric into her hands.
"These are for you! Feel free to say whatever you want!"
These two look like college students; their eyes are quite clear.
Upon seeing such a beautiful hair tie, her eyes lit up. A little embarrassed, she hesitantly opened her mouth.
"The proprietress over there said that everything on your stall is defective, and it's ridiculously expensive! She's also very rude and swears a lot, so we're all afraid to go there..."
No wonder no one comes to her stall!
Good heavens, they've even started spreading rumors! They'll stop at nothing to achieve this!
She had always heard people say that heartless people could make a lot of money, but this time she had truly seen it for herself.
Looking at the woman's thriving stall, Zhou Qiqi's eyes lit up, and she glanced at the two college students, an idea forming in her mind.
Are your dorms close together? I'd like to borrow them to change my clothes, is that alright?
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