Chapter 40: Too many markets reduce value.
At three-quarters past dusk, Wu Yifan walked out of the teahouse, yawning.
Several colleagues who left before her chatted as they walked, saying they were going to check out the newly opened market.
Wu Yifan was taken aback, then suddenly remembered that the market, which had been advertised for so long, was officially opening today. She touched the money in her pocket and thought that she might as well go and see what they were selling, just in case she needed it later.
She hurried forward to catch up with her colleagues and asked them where the market was, as she wanted to go together.
The market is located on the east side.
When Wu Yifan and his group arrived, the place was already bustling with people.
Men carrying bamboo baskets, women carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, elderly people carrying baskets, and children carrying cloth bags.
They haggled with the stall owner at the stall, selected goods in the shop, ate crispy red bean cakes in front of the bakery, and led toddlers eating candied hawthorns on the street.
The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and laughter filled the air.
"Wow, there are so many people!" a colleague exclaimed.
Wu Yifan glanced at it and nodded, "Yes, it's much bigger and more lively than the old market."
"Is Yifan from Anling County?"
“Yes,” Wu Yifan said with some pride, “When our teahouse was recruiting, I was the first to sign up and I was hired.”
"You're quite farsighted. Our teahouse has a bright future."
The group chatted as they walked.
I saw pork stalls selling raw meat, beef stalls selling beef, shops selling steamed buns, mantou, and pancakes, noodle shops selling rice noodles and noodles, tea shops, liquor shops, vegetable stalls selling vegetables and tofu, and so on...
There are also restaurants that own an entire building and teahouses with two storefronts.
In the heart of the market, there stands a very large inn with four large characters on its signboard: Youjian Inn.
Smelling the aroma of food, Wu Yifan and his colleagues felt a little hungry. They took out their money, bought some meat patties, and continued walking.
“Hey, haven’t you noticed something’s missing?” A colleague suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The others looked at her curiously.
Then I heard her exclaim, "Why is it all food? Where are the clothes stores? Where are the jewelry stores? Where are the bowls, chopsticks, and cups stores?"
The group suddenly realized, "That's right!"
This street is clearly all about food.
Wu Yifan turned to a man selling dried fruit next to him and asked in his local dialect, "Uncle, where is the general merchandise store in our market?"
The uncle chuckled and replied, "Our market has two streets, one sells food and the other sells general merchandise. Just walk straight ahead, turn right at the end, go through that alley, and you'll be there."
Wu Yifan blinked. "Okay, thank you."
She said to her colleagues, "Let's go take a look."
My colleague was surprised; there were actually two streets between them.
"Sister, sister, I want to buy braised chicken feet!" A little boy ran past, shouting as he ran.
A girl carrying a bamboo basket, not far ahead, raised her voice helplessly, "Slow down, be careful not to fall."
As soon as she finished speaking, the little boy fell to the ground with a "thud".
The girl was speechless. She sighed and quickly stepped forward, picking up the little boy with one hand.
The little boy looked up, revealing a bright smile with a few missing teeth.
Several young women brushed past them, and a lively voice said, "I want to eat crabs. I'm so envious of the crab feasts held by the ladies in 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' It's a pity we don't have that kind of opportunity."
Another gentle female voice replied, "You can eat braised beef to satisfy your craving. The Flower Monk in 'Water Margin' likes to eat braised beef, and it looks delicious."
"Steamed buns are fine too. I'm willing to fall in love with eating steamed buns for our Prime Minister Zhuge."
"Then I'll fall in love with peaches for the sake of the Great Sage!"
"Tsk, you can eat steamed buns all year round, but peaches..."
"This means our peaches are more expensive than your steamed buns."
"...There's no need to argue about this."
Wu Yifan subconsciously turned around to look at them.
I thought to myself, the title "Dream of the Red Chamber" sounds familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before.
They walked forward, and the familiar sounds of bargaining came from the roadside.
"Hey boss, could you make this egg a little cheaper?"
"It's already very cheap, it can't be any cheaper. I get my eggs from a chicken farm, and I also have to pay for renting this stall, so I have to make a little profit."
"Really not okay? I can get the same price if I go to a chicken farm. Just give me a discount, and I'll buy ten. I'll even tell my neighbors to come and buy from you."
"...I really can't do anything with you, so take it. But if anyone asks you, don't say you bought it for this price."
"Okay, okay."
A colleague immediately stopped in his tracks. "Wait for me!"
She walked up to the egg vendor in a few quick steps, grinned, and said, "Boss, I'll have ten too, at that price."
Vendor: "..."
Wu Yifan and the others burst out laughing.
They walked for about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, through the food street, and then through an alley to another department store street.
Wu Yifan: "Wow!"
The department store street truly lives up to its name; it's a place that sells department store goods.
Shops selling fabric, clothes, embroidery, jewelry, and cosmetics.
Shops selling bamboo products, wooden furniture, farm tools, and iron products.
A bookstore, a stationery store.
A shop that sells kitchen utensils such as pots, pans, and bowls.
...
It has everything.
Wu Yifan and his group strolled along the way.
Bamboo products store.
Wu Yifan picked up a bamboo chair, looked at it from left to right, and after a while, she put it down, turned around, and sat down.
A colleague asked, "How is it?"
Wu Yifan nodded, "I think it's pretty good."
Another colleague examined the bamboo chair and said, "I think the wooden chair looks better. I'll go take a look at the wooden chair."
"OK."
A colleague was holding a small winnowing basket in one hand and a large winnowing basket in the other, looking quite conflicted. "Which one should I buy?"
"I think you can buy both."
"This bamboo cup is so cute! It would be great for drinking wine or tea."
clothing store.
"Is this the new ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that the embroidery shop has launched?" My female colleague held up a red and green qixiong ruqun against herself and exclaimed, "It's so beautiful!"
"Was it made by the embroidery workshop based on the clothes worn by the goddess?"
Speaking of this, Wu Yifan asked the store employee, "Do you sell those kinds of pants? The kind that men in the military wear?"
The employee nodded. "Yes, yes, do you want men's or women's clothing?"
"Please let me see them all," Wu Yifan said.
Kitchenware store.
The shop was packed with customers who were fascinated by the new bowls, plates, spoons, and ladles from the ceramic workshop.
"Look at this little bowl, its rim is like a flower petal!"
"My best friend is getting married next month, so I'll buy her a set of tableware as part of her dowry."
"So pretty, she'd look great with makeup."
Wu Yifan carefully picked up a teacup, looked at it, and then put it back.
A couple standing behind her were whispering, "Why don't you sell the glass cups produced by your glass factory?"
"Glass products are rare items; once there are too many, they become worthless. Therefore, the people in the administration plan to make a quick buck."
Wu Yifan's eyes widened: Glassware?
...What is that?
bookstore.
"I just feel like this kind of store doesn't suit us," a colleague said.
Wu Yifan laughed and said, "Don't say that. We're different now. We're all cultured people who can write."
The colleague couldn't help but laugh, "A cultured person? Hahahaha."
Wu Yifan picked up a book, which turned out to be about how to grow flowers. She flipped through a few pages at random, "I wonder if I can grow a flower bed by following this book."
“You can actually give it a try; you can make money selling flowers,” a stranger told her with a smile. “A certain county has specifically allocated several acres of land to grow flowers. If it can be successful, they plan to develop it into an industry.”
Wu Yifan: "?"
The stranger continued, "A certain county wants to develop fruit tree planting and become a major fruit-producing county. Everyone is currently working hard to explore a development direction suitable for their local area."
Wu Yifan recalled what she had heard and said, "If it really becomes a major fruit-producing county, then it can also develop winemaking, dried fruit, and canned fruit as side products."
The stranger smiled and nodded. "Yes, this is the industry chain. Currently, the administration is encouraging everyone to start their own businesses. If you have any ideas, you can give it a try."
Wu Yifan quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I'm doing quite well at the teahouse."
The hour of Xu (7-9 PM).
The sky had darkened. Wu Yifan and his colleagues ate noodles at a noodle shop, then returned home satisfied with the goods they had bought.
They chatted enthusiastically as they walked.
Administrative Office.
Yun Youning asked her assistant, "Have you done a good job of conducting the questionnaire survey?"
Assistant A nodded proudly, "Of course, we interviewed about fifty people in the East City today, including men, women, young and old, and collected their opinions and suggestions on our East City based on the content of our questionnaire."
Yun Youning was very satisfied. "Very good. Then compile these opinions and suggestions and you can give a report at tomorrow's morning meeting."
Assistant A was shocked. "Huh? Me?"
“Yes, you.” Yun Youning said, “We must build our East City better based on the opinions of the people. At the same time, we should fully learn from the experiences and lessons learned in the construction of the East City to facilitate the construction of the West City in the future.”
Assistant A: "Okay."
Yun Youning called over Assistant B, "We can consider the transportation issue. For customers who purchase a large amount of goods, we can offer delivery services."
Assistant B, holding the banknotes in his hand, said thoughtfully, "Are you thinking of separating the transportation project for development?"
Yun Youning nodded, "That's right, because not every shop has enough staff and carriages."
Assistant B tapped his face with the end of his calligraphy brush. "I'll go ask Minister Mo for advice when I have the chance." However, Old Master Cheng and Minister Mo are busy with household registration and land allocation these days, so they probably won't have time to guide him.
Yun Youning: "...Once Mo Jingchun is done with her work, I will definitely suggest that she teach a separate course."
Assistant C reported, “We have spoken with some merchants in Maozhou and Ningzhou. They are very interested in our goods and want to purchase from us.”
Yun Youning smiled and said, "Very good. We can wholesale to them at low prices in the early stages, and then we can talk about raising prices once the business gets going."
Assistant C asked, "Our glass products..."
Yun Youning raised an eyebrow. "Of course, we'll handle the glassware business ourselves. Our target audience is the imperial relatives, high-ranking officials, and wealthy families in the capital, as well as the scions of prominent families across the country. Be careful to control the quantity; otherwise, it won't be worth much."
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Author's Note: 9000/21000
Lately, I've been watching videos about Lilliput on XHS every day, and I'm fantasizing about the protagonist becoming a savior and helping the Lilliputians survive a natural disaster. _(:з」∠)_
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