Chapter 71 Qin Yang and his team are busy selling goods and exchanging...
The colder the weather, the better Chen Pan's pancake business becomes.
Looking at the New Year's Day promotional banner hung by the Xue family, Chen Pan had a thought in her mind whether she should also make a similar banner for her own pancake shop.
But looking at his grandmother who was busy inside and his second grandmother who came to help, Chen Pan thought about it and decided to give up.
Her shop has been open for so long that her customer base is actually quite stable. In the mornings, it's mostly just tenants and students heading to school. It's also the same crowd at noon and in the evening.
Because, aside from the vegetarian version, all their shaobings are stuffed. Whether it's vegetarian, pork, or beef, they all have quite a bit of filling. Two are enough for a typical meal. Small eaters might even be satisfied with just one, while larger eaters might only need four at most. Anyway, many people around here actually buy these for their meals.
Because of this, his business is actually slightly better than that of simply selling steamed buns and flower rolls.
Anyway, for a small shop with only two people, its customer flow is quite good.
The shop is busiest in the morning, with a brief lull between 10 and 11 p.m. Then comes the lunch rush, and things start to quiet down again around 2:30 p.m. After 4:30 p.m., things get busy again.
This is how busy their store is.
But in addition to these busy hours, there's also time for cooking and eating. They also have to constantly knead dough for flatbreads, wash and chop vegetables, and prepare fillings. In the afternoon, they have to go out early to buy all the meat and vegetables they need for the next day.
From this perspective, their free time in a day is actually very limited.
In addition to their age, we also have to consider their health while making money.
The most important thing is that after selling cakes for a long time, my grandmother has formed a conditioned reflex on the price.
How much is one pancake? How much are two beef patties? How much are five pork patties? If someone gives her one dollar, how much should she give back? If someone gives her fifty cents, how much should she give back?
At the beginning, my grandmother used her brain to calculate these things bit by bit.
But after running the business for so long, her grandmother now has a little muscle memory of the prices of everything, how much others give her, and how much she has to give back to others.
It was for this reason that after Grandpa Chen Pan suddenly left to start a business at the grain and oil factory, she was able to continue the business of the store with her second grandmother who was also illiterate and could only barely write her own name.
In this case, if you give her a buy five get one free or buy ten get two free deal, wouldn't that just make it more difficult for them?
Moreover, when buying pancakes, most people buy a mix of them, and few people buy just one kind.
In this case, when there is an event, some people may buy things again in order to meet the number of participants in the event.
Anyway, the situation in their store is really not suitable for holding frequent events like the one next door.
Another point is that after you do this kind of activity, you may not do it later. Some customers know your bottom line and may suddenly bargain with you later.
So for a small business like Shaobing, Chen Pan feels that if the business in the store is good, there is no need to get involved in promotions.
The store next door is big and has a lot of stuff. Every time they hold an event, they can find some expiring items and some items that are not selling well and specifically promote them.
They make it fresh every day, and there's basically no leftovers, so you don't have to go through the trouble of organizing New Year's events like the ones next door.
So instead of thinking about the mature business of her own pancake shop, she might as well think about the business of their factory.
They have just started this year, and both the company and the factory are actually suffering from serious losses and have been investing money all the time.
Factories that store grain and cooking oil must be absolutely clean and hygienic.
Therefore, both the company warehouse and the Qingshui Town warehouse were built with meticulous care. All roofs were waterproof and moisture-resistant, and the floors and walls were constructed from the finest materials. The entire factory floor was meticulously paved with cement, then topped with the finest available floor paint. They've strived to emulate the grand factory exterior, leaving not a speck of dust or a single grain of cement debris untouched.
The result of this is that his grandparents probably have no savings at all now. The few dozen yuan they earned from making pancakes here every day went into the factory over there, and his grandfather even borrowed more than 10,000 yuan from outside.
In addition to his grandfather, his great-grandfather and second grandfather have also invested a lot of money recently.
This is completely different from their usual practice of dividing up any profit they make.
It should be said that recently they can only get a fixed salary of around fifty yuan per month, and nothing else.
Under such circumstances, naturally no one saw anything about the dividends they talked about when they first opened the factory.
No matter how tight the money is, they should do something to increase everyone's work passion and confidence.
If their factory was in the city, Chen Pan would definitely persuade his grandfather to give everyone a bag of flour and a barrel of oil.
But unfortunately, their factory is in the countryside, and everyone in the countryside has just finished the autumn harvest, and the things they lack the most are flour and rapeseed oil.
At least in their eyes now, these two things are definitely not the best.
While Chen Pan was busy preparing for the final exams, all he thought about every day was these things.
When I was going home from school again that day, I saw several customers in Xue’s grocery store carrying laundry detergent and large blankets, all with smiling faces.
Chen Pan stood between his home and her own store for a while, then greeted the grandmother and second grandmother who were doing business in front, and then she went straight into the Xue family's store again.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. We have plenty of laundry detergent, thermoses, blankets, and large aluminum pots. There's enough for everyone to exchange. Don't worry, come one by one!"
"Son, take a look at this?"
"It's true, Mom, please register it in the notebook and then get him a thermos!"
When Chen Pan went in, there were still more than a dozen people in Qin Yang's shop.
Everyone was chattering around the counter, exchanging gifts non-stop.
Mother Qin inside was also wearing thick clothes and kept helping.
In their shop, Chen Pan also saw two of Qin Yang's distant cousins, who must have been specially invited to help.
Having lived here for a long time, Chen Pan now knows that although Qin Yang has no real brothers and sisters in this place, he still has several cousins. These people will come here occasionally, so Chen Pan can barely recognize them.
"Chen Pan, if you want to buy something, just take it up and pay for it yourself. We won't accept you."
Chen Pan knew two of them, and the two of them also knew Chen Pan.
A slightly fat boy spoke to Chen Pan hurriedly, and then continued to stare at other people in the store.
His cousin said that this was the most chaotic time in the store, when shoplifting was most likely to happen. So he wanted the two brothers to be extra careful.
As for Chen Pan, Qin Zheng thought of the last time he came here and saw Chen Pan sitting in his cousin's house and having dinner with his cousin's aunt. At this moment, he subconsciously excluded Chen Pan from the real guests.
While Qin Yang and his team were busy selling goods and redeeming membership cards, Chen Pan wandered around for a while. After picking up a large bag of laundry, a box of Zhonghua toothpaste, a bottle of Fenghua shampoo, a yellow towel, a pair of thick winter gloves, a white headscarf, and a box of bangbang oil, Chen Pan slowly stood at the back of the line.
When Chen Pan sees other customers coming to buy things, he will subconsciously give way to them.
Seeing her like this, both Qin Ma and Qin Yang who were busy in front, and the two cousins of the Qin family who were helping to watch the goods and entertain the guests in the back, realized that something must have happened to her.
"Panpan, there are a lot of people here right now. Put your things in the shopping cart and go eat first. Come back to pay after you're done."
Looking at the situation in the store, Mother Qin, who looked in good spirits today, immediately said.
"Okay, then Auntie, I'll come back later!"
Chen Pan put the things in her hand into the small shopping basket that Qin Zheng handed her, and then she went back with her schoolbag.
The situation in her family is a bit complicated now. She eats in the restaurant and then goes to the company behind to sleep.
When Chen Pan went over, his grandfather and Chen Laoshi had already finished dinner. Chen Laoshi had already taken the key and went back to the company. His grandfather had begun to slowly prepare the dough for the next day. As for his grandmother and second grandmother, they were now in the back room, enjoying their rare dinner.
Seeing Chen Panzhi coming back from next door, his grandfather immediately asked Chen Pan what he had bought next door.
Grandma Chen and Second Grandma said in unison: "Panpan noodles are on the stove, bring it over yourself."
"Okay!" Chen Pan first talked to the two grandmothers inside, and then went to her grandfather and whispered the real purpose of her visit to the Qin family shop.
"Ah, you're probably smart because you've read a lot. I never thought of giving everyone some labor insurance for the New Year."
"You're so busy running back and forth every day that you naturally can't take care of these things."
Standing next to his grandfather, Chen Pan briefly explained the types of labor protection he had chosen to him. He then added, "Washing powder is one yuan, Fangcao toothpaste is fifty cents, Fenghua shampoo is two yuan, a medium-cotton towel is one yuan, thick winter gloves are one yuan, a women's headscarf is fifty cents, and a box of stick oil is one yuan, which adds up to seven yuan. If I buy in bulk, I estimate I can get it for six yuan. Since there are 15 people in the factory, these things will only cost a hundred yuan. Anyway, there will be no dividends this year, so I will give everyone some labor protection when the time comes, to make everyone a little happier."
The so-called labor protection, if in developed areas, may be labor insurance and labor security.
But in Longcheng, in this era, it is the other corporate benefits that companies give to their employees in addition to wages.
In this day and age, when people judge whether an enterprise or company is good or not, they look at these things in addition to salary.
Anyway, for the time being, Chen Pan and his team definitely won't be able to buy insurance or social security for everyone. This thing is not even popular among large companies outside.
So there will definitely be no dividends this year, and everyone is just pouring money in. Chen Pan feels that he can only use these things to temporarily make everyone happy.
"Okay, my granddaughter is really thoughtful. I'll leave this matter to you. Don't buy those thick gloves you have. Let's change them all to the rubber gloves that everyone uses for work. I'll give everyone five or six pairs at a time. These are more practical than those thick gloves. Everything else will be done according to your wishes. You can go next door to discuss the price later. When you're done, I'll go across the street to settle the payment."
Grandpa Chen spoke quickly as he kneaded the dough.
Chen Pan thought for a moment and said, "You men might like those rubber gloves for work, but the cashiers, the second and great grandmothers, and the others might prefer thick leather gloves that can be worn outside. Otherwise, let's split the gloves half with leather and half with rubber, and let everyone choose. As for the money, I actually hid a few hundred yuan last time. Let me pay for it this time, and Grandpa, you can save it to pay off the loan and pay everyone's salaries."
Business had just started recently, and they had only a few clients. But Chen Aiguo, who already had to pay back over a hundred yuan in loans every month and also had to pay out six or seven hundred yuan in wages, nodded helplessly but also with relief: "Okay, then consider it as Grandpa lending you a loan first. I'll pay you back when we have more money."
"OK!"
Chen Pan did not object to this.
After chatting with his grandfather, Chen Pan went to the inner room to eat.
Recently, Second Grandma has been living in Chen Pan's original small house every day, while Grandma Chen sleeps between here and the new house inside.
When Chen Pan went in to eat, they had already finished dinner and were talking about today's business.
"Grandma, Second Grandma——"
After Chen Pan came in with a large bowl of noodles, she took the initiative to greet them. After telling them about her interesting things at school today, Chen Pan briefly mentioned that she would prepare labor insurance for everyone in advance for the New Year.
After hearing her say this, Grandma Chen was no longer worried.
Grandma Chen Er became excited and asked Chen Pan directly.
"They're just some small daily necessities. Keep it secret for now. If I tell you now, you won't feel surprised at all when you receive it later."
Chen Pan deliberately kept this a secret.
Seeing her say that, the tactful Second Grandma stopped asking and took the initiative to tell Grandma Chen Pan about a strange customer they met today who kept bargaining.
After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, Chen Pan immediately went next door.
It was around seven in the evening. It gets dark early in the winter, and in a short while, there were no other customers in Qin Yang's shop. Qin Yang's mother and two cousins were gone too. It was unclear whether they had gone upstairs or had returned home.
"Brother Qin——"
After stepping through the door of the small shop, Chen Pan asked, "Brother, will your redemption promotion continue until the end of the year? Will we lose money this way?"
"Well, no. Although it says on my card that the redemption promotion ends at the end of December, since we're all from the same hometown and this is my first time doing this promotion, I plan to give everyone a month's grace period. Also, this month is both New Year's Day and Chinese New Year, so as long as customers come here, they will definitely buy more or less. Some customers will even deliberately buy more in my store because of my delayed redemption. Plus, I have to restart the promotion this month and issue new membership cards to everyone.
My actions will encourage more people to trust me and my promotion, leading to more people getting new membership cards or following the lead of existing members. As long as they have a membership card, they'll likely buy their New Year's shopping from me for the points. So even if I extend the membership period by one month, I'll still make a profit overall."
By now, Qin Yang, who has grown to 1.8 meters tall in a year, has regarded Chen Pan as a particularly outstanding little business genius.
Seeing that Chen Pan was curious, he stood behind the counter and spoke seriously.
After explaining this matter, he took out the small basket that Chen Pan used to put laundry detergent and other things from the back and asked: "Panpan, do you want to wholesale these things?"
"Right!" Giving the other person a look of praise, Chen Pan then said, "I need about fifteen of these things. My grandfather said he could make half of them the thick kind I like, and the other half could be the rubber work gloves of the same price. When we're done, you can consider adding a few more of these things like shampoo, toothpaste, towels, and headscarves. All together, we can make a hundred yuan. See how much discount you can give me."
"Let me see—"
Nowadays, in small shops in rural areas and towns, you can basically bargain. If you pay more, the shop will give you a lower price accordingly. This is a basic operation.
After taking out Chen Pan's things and looking at them one by one, Qin Yang said, "I can give you this kind of toothpaste at wholesale price, 35 cents each. Let's take the Bee Flower shampoo for 1.7 yuan, and I'll make 1 cent from you for each one. I can give you 80 cents for this kind of towel cotton. I've sold a lot of laundry detergent recently, and the manufacturer gives me a very cheap price. I'll give it to you at the original price of 70 cents.
I'll give you 80 cents for either type of gloves. Same with the toothpaste, I can give you 35 cents for each headband. As for the oil sticks, they're usually 10 cents a stick and a box of 12 for 1 dollar. I really don't make much money, so I can only give you the full price."
"Okay, can you help me calculate how much it will cost?"
Chen Pan acted as if he completely trusted the other party, pulled over a stool from outside, and sat directly outside the counter.
"Wait a moment!"
Qin Yang, who knew how to count, took the small abacus next to him and started calculating.
Soon he said, "Five dollars and seven cents."
"Can it be five dollars and a half each? That way I won't ask for less than a hundred. I'll just take twenty and it'll make 110."
Bargaining has become Chen Pan's instinct. When he heard the price of five dollars and seventy cents, Chen Pan immediately raised it to five dollars and fifty cents.
"Okay!" Like countless times before, Qin Yang immediately smiled and nodded.
Hearing what the other party said, Chen Pan immediately narrowed his eyes and said happily: "Then let's pretend like this!"
*
January is a busy season, with New Year's Day, final exams, parent-teacher meetings, holidays, cleaning up and preparing for the New Year, etc.
It seemed like in the blink of an eye, time had come to the day when Chen Pan was reborn into this world last year.
In the morning, after being licked awake by the cow cat Xiaobutian that was kept in his room, Chen Pan got up early and washed up.
"Is Panpan awake?"
Yesterday was the last time I delivered goods to them before the New Year. The uncle who finally stayed here for one night was the first to greet Chen Pan in the corridor.
"Well, uncle, you got up so early!"
After subconsciously responding to the other party, Chen Pan then said to Chen Laoshi, who had just come out of his room early in the morning: "Fourth brother, are you ready?"
"It's ready. Hurry up and pack. Third Grandpa said we have to leave at seven o'clock."
"Okay, I'll get it done quickly."
After giving them a look to wait, Chen Pan quickly went into the suite where his grandparents lived to wash up.
Although her house is also a suite, it is a little smaller than her grandparents' and has no faucet or stove. They still heat and wash in her grandparents' new house.
"Are you up? I've already poured water for brushing your teeth and washing your face, so hurry up!"
Seeing Chen Pan coming in, Grandpa Chen, who was tidying up things in the suite, immediately shouted.
"Got it, Grandpa, is Grandma going over today?"
Today was Little New Year, their factory's official holiday, and they were preparing to go back home to receive their labor insurance. Besides that, their village also had a custom of going up the mountain to pay respects to their ancestors' graves on Little New Year's Day, so Chen Pan was curious whether his grandmother would go today. If she did, their shop would definitely be closed today.
"Go ahead, it's the Little New Year after all."
After Chen Pan checked and checked the things he had prepared in the house, Grandpa Chen went out to direct Uncle Chen and Chen Laosi, who were strolling outside, to move the things together.
"Is this the labor insurance prepared for us?"
Uncle Chen had heard about these things for several days. When he saw his third uncle finally moving these things out, he immediately laughed subconsciously.
"Yes, after all, our factory has only been open for over a month. There will definitely be no dividends this year. Although there are no dividends, we can still get labor insurance."
Grandpa Chen, who had paid back his granddaughter's loan of over a hundred yuan early on, smiled brightly.
They could have separated these things earlier, but to liven up the atmosphere, he decided to take them back in their original boxes and then distribute them to everyone on the spot.
"Everyone knows this. The factory has high expenses, but there's no need to prepare so much!"
Looking at the boxes of things inside, Chen Yongyi was sincere.
If he had previously complained about why his father did not strive to become the factory director, now he completely understood his father's concerns.
In the first month and a half since the factory opened, his third uncle had probably invested over ten thousand yuan, and still owed another four or five thousand yuan. His father and second uncle had also invested over three thousand yuan each, but that was still a decent sum; at least they had only used up their family savings, and hadn't run into any significant debt.
Anyway, at this moment, seeing Chen Laosi, the patriarch's family, carrying out boxes of things, Chen Yongyi, who also carried two boxes, felt such emotion.
"It's okay, it's not that bad!"
He directed everyone to move all the labor protection items, pick up the paper money and incense sticks that had been prepared long ago, and also pulled along his granddaughter who had quickly washed and packed up.
Then Chen Aiguo locked the gate, jumped on his nephew's handcart, and everyone went to the town to pick up Grandma Chen Er, who was going back to celebrate the New Year, and Grandma Chen Pan, who had already gone there to join in the fun.
After we picked up the people, we all wrapped ourselves up tightly, covered ourselves with two tattered blankets, and sat in a pile of labor protection, each carrying their own belongings, happily rushing home.
Later, when Grandma Chen saw that Chen Pan was not wearing a mask or headscarf again, she had the foresight to take out a newly bought woolen hat for Chen Pan.
Looking at the thick woolen hat that his grandmother had prepared for him, Chen Pan had already tilted his body and put his head forward before he could react.
"This lazy girl!"
Seeing her granddaughter acting like this again, Grandma Chen raised her hand and gently put the hat on Chen Pan while complaining.
Afraid that the weather outside would freeze Chen Pan's cheeks, she pulled the collar of the sweater on Chen Pan's neck hard and pulled up all the collars of the turtleneck sweater.
"Time flies so fast. Panpan has grown into a big girl in the blink of an eye."
After staying at Chen Pan's house for a month and a half, the second grandmother felt that her face had grown some flesh and her skin looked better. She sighed subconsciously.
"..." Grandma Chen followed the other person's words, took a closer look at Chen Pan, and then said to him, "He has indeed grown a bit. Now his feet are a size 37!"
"I'm not talking about the feet, and a size 37 foot is not particularly big. I'm talking about height. In the past year or so, Panpan seems to have grown two or three inches taller, right?" Second Grandma gestured slightly with her skinny fingers.
After hearing what she said, everyone on the trolley subconsciously looked at Chen Pan.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
