“Look, this is a difficult situation. If you have cheap ones, we can’t stop others from buying them. I can’t lower the price either, since we’ve already sold more than forty units. If we suddenly lower the price, what will the people who bought them say?” Uncle San explained in detail.
"I never would have thought of this if my third uncle hadn't mentioned it." Qin Xiaoyu realized that she was too naive and felt a little annoyed.
"Don't underestimate this fifty yuan. They say the buyer is never as shrewd as the seller, and everyone in business is trying to make money. Everyone knows that lowering the price makes things sell better, and that's how you make a lot of money with small profits. But what happens if everyone tries to lower prices? The market will be chaotic, and profits will be as thin as paper, and nobody will make any money."
Qin Xiaoyu broke out in a cold sweat after hearing her third uncle's words.
"Third Uncle, please tell me what to do?"
"Are you still going to order more goods? We'll raise the price back up by fifty yuan next time."
“But that won’t work. Some people have already paid in advance, so I can’t raise the price.”
"Silly child, have you ever heard of hidden repairs? There are many tricks to doing business." Third Uncle said with a smug smile.
What is meant by "hidden reinforcement"?
“Just tell them that the purchase price of this batch of goods has gone up, but because you were worried about delaying everyone’s use, you still bought it back, just at a price increase of fifty. But you have to keep your word, you can’t go back on your word after you’ve agreed on a price, so you’ll make up for it with the same amount of rice, grain and oil. Spend fifty more on a color TV, and get two cans of oil and a bag of rice for free. The New Year is coming soon, who doesn’t buy grain?” Uncle San’s words made perfect sense, and Qin Xiaoyu was truly convinced.
"Okay, we'll listen to Uncle San. By the way, how come you're selling color TVs now, Uncle San? I remember you worked at the school."
“What future was there in that job? I transferred to a less demanding job, wanting to do something on my own. I opened a hotel a while ago, but the location turned out to be bad.”
"What do you mean?"
"I'm always annoyed by Qi Si."
"What? The flood washed away the Dragon King's temple? Third Uncle, let's go, I'll take you to settle the score with him!"
"No, no, let's not provoke him. I've heard rumors that you two are close, but I know your personality—you never back down or ask for favors. How good can things be? I'd rather not cause you any trouble." Uncle San got up to leave.
Qin Xiaoyu refused to comply and dragged her into the car to Qi Si's shop.
Qi Si wasn't at the barbecue restaurant; he'd probably gone off somewhere. Qin Xiaoyu told the waiter to serve the food first, then instructed the front desk to find him.
It's so inconvenient not having a cell phone these days. Qin Xiaoyu guesses that pagers will be coming soon; in the days before cell phones, they were a lifesaver.
"Hey, Mr. Shen, what a rare guest! How come you've run into my sister?" Qi Si was somewhat surprised to see his third uncle.
"You still dare to say that! This is our third uncle!" Qin Xiaoyu glared at Qi Si angrily.
"Third Uncle?" Qi Si rolled his eyes and said, "I've never heard you mention him."
"You're the only one in our family who's good to me, and you've bullied him. Don't you think you deserve to be hit?" Qin Xiaoyu raised her little fist and punched Qi Si twice.
"Third Uncle, it really is our Third Uncle! Then I deserve a beating!" Qi Si hurriedly pressed his Third Uncle back into his seat, then turned around and called to the waiter: "Go and get the Moutai from my cabinet, an unopened whole bottle."
"That's too kind of you, I'm not much of a drinker," Uncle said politely.
"Third Uncle, don't be afraid. I'm in charge here. He who drank it won't be spared!" Qin Xiaoyu glared at Qi Si again.
"Alright, little sister, I've already admitted my mistake, don't make a fuss. Go to the kitchen and make some dishes you like. I don't know what Uncle's tastes like, so you can arrange it. Consider this my way of apologizing today. Don't hold it against me after today." Qi Si sent Qin Xiaoyu out, and when she came back, the two men were already drinking and chatting happily.
"Your third uncle is a shrewd businessman; you should learn from him, brother."
"Don't listen to Xiaoyu's nonsense. What do I know? Your fourth brother runs such a big business, does he need me to teach him?"
"Third Uncle, you're wrong about that. I learned all this from Xiaoyu. Even she said you're the one, so I have to learn from you." Qi Si gave a thumbs up.
"Third Uncle, you've heard about what happened to me a while ago, haven't you?"
"I heard about it. Your aunt and I were extremely worried, but we couldn't find out where you were. We even went to your mother-in-law's house, but we were kicked out," Uncle San sighed.
"I remember now, my cousin-in-law said someone came to visit, asking about you, but was scolded away by my mother-in-law. So it was my third uncle?" Qin Xiaoyu finally realized who it was.
"Alright, it's all in the past now, everything will be fine from now on, let's have a drink." Third Uncle raised his glass, and Qi Si immediately joined him.
"What I want to say is that during that time, only my brother was there to support and protect me. Our relationship is even closer than that of siblings. I know that my third uncle is a wise man, and I treat him like my own nephew, so I give him a lot of advice." Qin Xiaoyu spoke sincerely, and Qi Si understood her intentions, becoming even more humble.
“If that’s the case, then I do have a few words to say.” Third Uncle picked up a white towel, wiped his sweat, and leaned back in his chair.
Qi Si hurriedly filled his glass with wine.
"Please speak, I'm listening."
"Don't think I'm saying this because I also own a hotel and we're on the same street, so I have ulterior motives. To be honest, I don't want to keep this hotel running anymore. Without someone to support me, the expenses are too high. I might as well do something else." Uncle San picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and continued, "Besides your shop, there are five or six other shops on this street, and you've messed them up so badly that they're almost closing down. You probably don't know how much your guys hate them. Every day they either park their cars in front of our shops, blocking the entrance, throw dirty water, making the ground slippery, or they come in and order food to dine and dash. We're angry but dare not say anything."
"Is that so? This is really embarrassing!" Qi Si gritted his teeth in anger.
"I'm not here to complain, I'm just stating the facts. Actually, having more restaurants on a street isn't a bad thing; on the contrary, it will bring you more customers. Imagine customers riding their bikes all the way here to eat, and if there are no seats, or if one or two fussy people insist on changing their tastes, leaving them with no choice, wouldn't that be disappointing? Would they come back next time?"
Uncle's words sparked a thought in Qin Xiaoyu's mind. It made sense. In the 21st century, with such convenient transportation, hotels were clustered together, and food courts and food streets were everywhere. Uncle was indeed no ordinary person.
Qi Si had already taken it to heart, nodding repeatedly as he busied himself serving his third uncle food and wine.
After the meal, my third uncle was already slightly tipsy.
"I'll take my third uncle home," Qi Si said, standing up.
"Alright, you should go find somewhere to sleep. Don't drink and drive. I've told you before, this is the most annoying thing." Qin Xiaoyu stopped him.
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