The next morning, Shao Jingque went to Yongsi Photo Studio as promised.
Rong Yongsi opened the door for her with messy hair and dark circles under her eyes. Shao Jingque said in surprise:
"Boss Rong, have you been up all night?"
He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and didn't look like he had just returned home.
Rong Yongsi yawned and shook his head:
"It wasn't an all-nighter, as everything was done after three o'clock. The developed photos were all hung up, and I was too lazy to go home again, so I just stayed in the darkroom overnight."
Hearing that it was not finished until three in the morning, Shao Jingque felt a little sorry:
"If I had known it would take so long, I would have come to pick it up tomorrow. It's not that urgent."
Rong Yongsi waved his hand to indicate that it was okay. Shao Jingque was not in a hurry, but he was. He was in a hurry to develop the photos so that Shao Jingque could help him take model photos!
Shao Jingque looked at the photos that Rong Yongsi handed to her. There were ten photos in total, which were the ten best ones he had carefully selected. The content, characters, expressions and composition were all good.
She nodded with satisfaction. These photos would definitely be good to Liang Tuan. She smiled and thanked him:
"Thank you, Boss Rong, the photos are really great. How much is the total? I'll give it to you!"
Rong Yongsi was feeling sleepy just now, but he perked up when he was praised:
"Don't be so polite to me. Didn't you agree to help me take modeling photos? Let's call it quits!"
Rong Yongsi refused to accept it, so Shao Jingque had no choice but to give up.
Returning to the topic of taking model photos, Rong Yongsi took a closer look at Shao Jingque's face and found that her eyes were slightly blue, as if she had not slept well last night.
However, it does not affect her beauty at all. Instead, it brings out a hint of sadness and a unique beauty of willows swaying in the wind.
He pointed to the few photos on the wall and said:
"It's this kind of headshot I'd like you to take."
Shao Jingque looked in the direction of his finger and found that it was the most common black and white registration photo at that time. The people were all looking in the same direction, with very stiff expressions and no special features at all.
Looking at the photos hanging on the wall, she suddenly thought of Yue Feiying's sudden marriage, and her mind was full of wild thoughts: would she take wedding photos?
Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and he asked:
"Boss Rong, can your studio take wedding photos?"
Rong Yongsi looked as if it was a matter of course, as if she had asked a very simple question:
"Of course you can. Wedding photos and headshots are the same. It's just a photo of two people versus one person. There's no difference."
When Shao Jingque heard him say this, the idea that suddenly popped up in her mind became clearer - she seemed to have found a way to earn money to buy a camera.
"Boss Rong, your studio is on the same street as the state-owned studio. The competition must be quite fierce, right?"
This sentence hit the nail on the head for Rong Yongsi. The competition was not only fierce, but the pressure was so great that he began to doubt his life in the month since opening his business.
At first, he thought of opening a new photo studio on the same street as the state-owned photo studio. Naturally, many customers who came to take photos would notice the newly opened photo studio, which would increase the studio's customer flow.
Unexpectedly, he noticed that those customers only came into the store to take a look and then chose to go to the state-owned photo studio to take pictures. Compared with the state-owned photo studios that were crowded with people, his photo studio was deserted.
What was even more infuriating was that every time he closed the shop and went home, when he passed by the state-owned photo studio, the sales clerks at the door would always point at him in groups of three or five, and cover their mouths with their hands and laugh. Every time, Rong Yongsi could only pretend not to see it and walk past quickly with his head down.
It goes without saying that those people must have been laughing at him for being so arrogant as to dare to compete with the state-owned photo studio for business.
Although they had only known each other for a short time, Rong Yongsi felt that Shao Jingque was a really good person, so he didn't hide it from her. He nodded honestly and sighed:
"Business is tough these days, but most people are still happy to support state-owned photo studios. After all, they're state-owned, their signs are resounding, and the shops look big and impressive. I understand that."
Sure enough, it was similar to what Shao Jingque had guessed. She understood it deeply:
"Then Boss Rong, have you ever thought of any solution?"
Rong Yongsi smiled bitterly:
"I've thought of a solution. The state-owned photo studio charges one dollar for a photo and fifty cents for a developed one. I lowered the price by ten cents on each. Unexpectedly, those who take photos still choose to go to the state-owned photo studio. I have no choice. If the price drops further, I won't have enough money to buy film, not to mention the monthly rent. Sigh..."
He had also secretly observed the prices of state-owned photo studios before opening the shop, and was well aware of them. He also spent several days observing the customer flow of state-owned photo studios. There were no less than thirty or forty people coming in and out of the studio every day, and sometimes there was even a queue at the door.
At that time, he felt that opening a photo studio would definitely make money. He calculated that if only ten customers came to the store a day, after deducting rent and costs, he could easily make a hundred yuan a month, which was much better than working in a factory.
But the actual situation was far from what he had imagined. He overestimated himself. If he had listened to his family's arrangements and worked honestly in the factory, he could have earned thirty or forty yuan a month. He would not be losing money every day like now.
Shao Jingque frowned after hearing this. Rong Yongsi had pushed himself into a dead end!
Going to a photo studio to take pictures was still a serious matter for ordinary people in that era. The first thing that came to mind was definitely the state-owned photo studio, with clearly marked prices, fair treatment, and excellent technology.
It is the most unwise choice for private photo studios like Rong Yongsi to try to compete with state-owned photo studios by lowering prices.
Fortunately, it is highly likely that the business of the state-owned photo studios has not been affected, so his photo studio can still have one or two customers come every day. If the business of the state-owned photo studios has been affected, and the other party has also started a price war with him, how can he be a rival to the state-owned units?
By then, they will either be squeezed out of business or they will be unable to afford the costs and will close down.
"Boss Rong, with all due respect, lowering prices isn't a good idea. Can you ever lower prices below the cost of state-owned units? We still need to find differentiation in other ways. That's where the value of a private photo studio lies."
“Differentiation…value lies…”
These unfamiliar words left Rong Yongsi stunned, and he completely forgot that his original intention was to ask Shao Jingque to help take model photos. He now wanted to hear if Shao Jingque had any better ideas.
"Comrade Xiao Shao, what do you mean by differentiation?"
Shao Jingque smiled. This was the "business" she wanted to discuss with Rong Yongsi.
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