Chapter 77 It feels like more than half of the riders in the entire county are...
Before Guanmaitang sachets and tea bags went on sale, Liu Guixiang had already asked Granny Chen about the relevant matters.
When Granny Chen took Chen Lifang to consult a doctor, she had already inquired for her: "I only know the time of sale, and this time there shouldn't be any sales points outside the ancient town. They will be sold directly in Guanmai Hall."
"That's great!" Liu Guixiang's face lit up. "I'll make the arrangements then. Will there be any purchase limits?"
"It's not clear yet, we'll probably have to see how things go then," Grandma Chen said with a smile. "Then I wish you all the best."
After returning home, she smiled and said to Chen Lifang, "Your Aunt Guixiang has really made a name for herself in the personal shopping business. I think she's planning to treat it as a career."
Ever since Liu Guixiang went to queue up to buy sachets and was bought by a scalper at a high price, she had been eyeing them and researched them at home. When Guanmaitang opened sales for the second time, Liu Guixiang gathered all her family members, bought a lot, and sold them all online, making a few hundred yuan.
Liu Guixiang thought this was a promising venture. Since she was idle at home anyway, she might as well become a personal shopper. On her third attempt, she followed the example of the scalpers and started buying sachets and medicine pouches from other people, then reselling them online to people in other places. After all that, she actually made a couple of thousand yuan.
After that, Grandma Chen stopped paying much attention.
Chen Lifang took out her phone and opened a Taobao page: "Look, you don't know, Aunt Guixiang's shop is open now."
Grandma Chen went over to take a look, and it really was!
This small Taobao shop already has hundreds of reviews. Besides the Chinese herbal sachets and tea bags that are currently out of stock, it also sells other items, especially intangible cultural heritage handicrafts from Zone 5, such as wooden tangrams and Luban locks from a woodworking workshop, and kesi (silk tapestry) fan surfaces from a textile workshop... Of course, the prices include a purchasing agent fee.
Grandma Chen was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected Liu Guixiang to be so professional in her purchasing agent business.
"What's so special about this?" Chen Lifang said. "Aunt Guixiang told me that several delivery drivers in the county have now switched to running errands, specifically to buy snacks from Qinghe Ancient Town. Business is pretty good, and some people from Qinghe City even pay extra to queue up at Song Sao Fish Restaurant and have the food delivered there."
Grandma Chen was shocked; she couldn't believe it was possible!
"There's no other way. The food in the ancient town isn't available outside, so a lot of it has to be brought in from other places." Chen Lifang said with envy, "If I weren't still paralyzed, I would want to do this too."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine in the future." Then Grandma Chen thought for a moment, "Wait a minute, what are you doing doing this? If you get better, won't you come and help me?"
The mother and daughter both laughed.
Grandma Chen asked her, "How are you feeling now?"
Today, Chen Lifang went to Anping County People's Hospital for her first rehabilitation session, and Gao Gongming went with her. Grandma Chen couldn't find the time, so she asked Liu Guixiang to accompany her.
Chen Lifang nodded: "I don't feel anything too bad yet, but I think it's helpful to keep doing it. Also, Dr. Zhang probably put in a good word for me, and the rehabilitation room is very cooperative."
The rehabilitation doctor also discussed the matter with Gao Gongming for a long time and adjusted the treatment plan accordingly. During acupuncture, although she still couldn't move, she seemed to be able to feel a slight warm current, which was even stronger when she exercised.
This also filled Chen Lifang with confidence.
"That's good, that's good." Grandma Chen was extremely relieved. "Dr. Zhang and Dr. Gao are both good people."
There are still more good people than bad in this world!
The next morning, when Grandma Chen went to work, she ran into Liu Guixiang, who brought her grandson, a junior high school student who had finished his exams and started his winter vacation. She even brought a folding stool and water.
The group went out together.
Grandma Chen: "It's only eight o'clock now, the ancient town isn't even open yet, are you going so early?"
Liu Guixiang rubbed her hands together, eager to get started: "I'm waiting for the ancient town to open so I can rush in. Let's see if I can make a few more trips today."
Grandma Chen sincerely told her, "Guixiang, with your perseverance, you'll make money no matter what you do."
Liu Guixiang laughed heartily: "I can't earn as much as you do now, but I can still earn enough for my own expenses. People like us who don't have much of a pension, we have to plan ahead for ourselves, right?"
Grandma Chen immediately nodded in agreement.
Those who run shops in the ancient town need to arrive an hour and a half to an hour early to prepare ingredients and clean, entering through the staff entrance. Passing by the main gate of Qinghe Ancient Town, I saw tourists already queuing.
Liu Guixiang: "...Someone actually got here before me?"
Although she knew many tourists would arrive early for the opening ceremony, hoping to be chosen by the celestial maiden to preside over the opening, and she had seen many related videos online, she wondered if queuing more than an hour early was a bit excessive.
I'm not here to make money like her!
In front of the ticket checkpoint for tourists.
"Look, luckily I had inside information and came to queue up early," Ding Nan said to the woman next to her.
She's a friend of Xiao Zhuang, a wealthy and beautiful employee at Qinghe Ancient Town. Ever since she accidentally used a herbal sachet given to her by Xiao Zhuang, it's caused a sensation in her company. Everyone who's used it raves about it!
Last month, Guanmaitang also released a herbal pack for hair growth and hair loss prevention. Washing hair with water infused with the pack was said to be very effective, driving this group of urban women wild. It's worth noting that insomnia often affects hair growth, so this after-sales service really hit a nerve.
This hair growth sachet has emerged as a dark horse, surpassing the sales of the previous two Chinese herbal sachets.
Unfortunately, these sachets and medicine packets are hard to buy. They used to ask Xiao Zhuang to buy them for them, but later, because internal employees were also limited in their purchases, Ding Nan and her colleagues have been out of stock for a long time.
Xiao Zhuang mentioned that Guanmaitang would be launching a large new batch of goods, selling them offline first and then online. After discussing it, the group decided to take advantage of the weekend to visit Qinghe Ancient Town and do some serious shopping. The owner even granted them a day off, allowing them to arrive early on Friday—the owner is also a loyal fan of these herbal sachets.
Ding Nan had dinner with Xiao Zhuang yesterday, and Xiao Zhuang suggested that they should come early to queue up so that they would have more time to explore the ancient town after buying their food.
"They say they've already found a manufacturer to start mass production, but because quality control is very strict, the output is still a bit low," Xiao Zhuang advised. "If you want to buy more, go and queue up early in the morning."
They got up at 7:30, quickly ate breakfast, and rushed here, successfully becoming the first wave of tourists to enter the town.
The parents ahead of them were also from the provincial capital; they were the parents of a high school student. They said their daughter learned about this herbal sachet from a classmate and had been keeping it on hand ever since, finding it very effective at refreshing and invigorating the mind. They couldn't buy it last month, even through personal shoppers, so they came early this time.
What's so special about queuing up at 7 o'clock?
They'd be happy to stay up all night for the sake of the college entrance exam.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and concern. Ding Nan looked at the father's slightly balding head and casually mentioned the miraculous effects of the hair growth medicine pack, reminding him to buy it as well.
After the town gates opened, these people with ulterior motives rushed forward. The opening ceremony was indeed very beautiful, and the scenery was indeed stunning. They were even lucky enough to have morning mist today, but they had no time to appreciate it. They could only take out their phones to take pictures as they ran.
"I've never been so embarrassed in my life!" Ding Nan's older colleague exclaimed breathlessly. "Are we trying to steal free eggs?"
Ding Nan laughed until her stomach hurt: "No free eggs, sis, touch your hair."
The older woman fell silent. As people reach middle age, hair loss is a common problem. After using the hair growth remedy for a month, her hair felt much stronger and she was indeed losing less hair. What surprised her most was that she felt some fine hairs growing along her hairline.
Even though it's just a little bit, it's enough to boost one's confidence.
"Run! I can run for another half hour!" The older woman was full of ambition, but after crossing the bridge, she quickly became confused: "Which way do we go?"
Ding Nan rested for a while, supporting her knees, and then saw Liu Guixiang ahead: "Follow that auntie."
This auntie was probably shopping, just like them.
Their frantic run stunned everyone else.
Zhou Yuhang thought he was fast enough, but he didn't expect that a bunch of aunties, sisters and uncles were also running so fast.
"Wow, are middle-aged people really that obsessed with VR games these days?" He was bewildered, and his feet seemed to be on fire as he called to his friends, "Never mind, let's run faster and get a spot first."
Ever since his amazing VR experience in Qinghe Ancient Town, he'd begged his parents to buy him a yearly pass for the town, vowing never to go to internet cafes again. His parents were delighted; going to an ancient town instead of internet cafes was great, and he could even bring back some food.
Zhou Yuhang praised it to his friends, making his group of brothers yearn for it. This weekend, they finally made an appointment to play VR together, vowing to play it seven or eight times. Unexpectedly, they encountered an even tougher group as soon as they entered.
It's just running, who's afraid of who?
But when they finally arrived at the VR experience center, they discovered that the person who had been running just moments before had vanished.
Zhou Yuhang: ...Then what exactly are they running for?!
"What are they running for?" other confused tourists asked the staff around them.
The staff member seemed unfazed: "The first group is probably queuing for the VR experience center. If you want to go, we suggest you go now, as it will get busier later."
The tourist nodded: "Okay, okay, that's exactly why we came here."
She then asked curiously, "What was the other group heading for?"
It's not mentioned in any travel guides or blogs.
The staff member smiled and said, "The other group is going to Guanmaitang. Today, Guanmaitang is selling all kinds of Chinese herbal sachets and medicine packs, so some people want to line up first. If you are interested, you can also buy a few, they are in section number two."
The female tourist nodded: "I see."
She was somewhat interested, but wanted to go to the VR experience center first, and then check out Zone 2 during lunch.
This is the area in Zone 2 at this time.
The Guanmaitang pharmacy was already open. Zhang Ying had just put up the sign when she saw the people queuing up, and she couldn't help but breathe a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness, they had learned from their previous experiences and had communicated with the security department a couple of days ago, asking them to send people to maintain order.
Otherwise, this chaotic scene will greatly affect the tourists' experience.
Ding Nan, who was at the very front of the line, was still a little out of breath: "Can I buy the sachets now? Is there a limit to the number of purchases?"
Zhang Ying pointed to the standees she had just set up and said in a clear voice, "Purchase is limited. There are three of each style, and five for annual cardholders. Customers who want to buy more don't need to worry. Our production will be increased soon, and any extra stock will be sold together on the mini-program."
Liu Guixiang felt both joy and sorrow upon hearing this.
The good news is that annual cardholders can buy five, but the bad news is that if they can buy them on the mini-program in the future, it will be difficult for me to continue doing personal shopping.
Ding Nan asked loudly, "How can I switch to an annual pass immediately?"
It's just a matter of paying extra for an annual membership, right? Easy!
Zhang Ying told her to look for it in the mini-program, while she went back to the pharmacy counter to prepare to sell the goods.
The pharmacist behind the counter asked her, "How are things today?"
Zhang Ying recalled the queue she had seen, which seemed alright, but considering that it was only the beginning of the day, she decided to be cautious: "I'll have to wait and see."
The first customer was Ding Nan. Without even looking at the sign, she said, "Give me five of everything available today. I'm exchanging my membership card for an adult card."
Her colleagues followed suit and almost all bought the maximum purchase limit.
Liu Guixiang was in line behind them and almost thought they were competitors trying to steal her business. Of course, she also ordered the largest amount of items and pointed to her grandson: "There's also a share for him, five for each of us too."
Following behind them were the parents of the high school students. They had originally only wanted to buy herbal sachets to treat insomnia and refresh their minds, but seeing that the people in front of them were buying them, and after being reminded that the hair growth sachets were very effective, they didn't think twice and gritted their teeth:
"We'll have five of each... no, three!"
Sadly, they are not VIP annual pass holders.
The man hesitated about whether to switch to an annual card as well, but his wife pinched him and said, "Be rational, don't get carried away."
Zhang Ying and the two pharmacists worked non-stop; one was responsible for checking payment information, and the other for packing goods. They were soon overwhelmed with work.
On the other hand, Ding Nan and her colleagues discussed the matter and realized that to meet the needs of those at home and at the company, they would have to make at least two more trips.
"Let's line up, let's line up while there aren't too many people yet..."
The group of people carrying their things trudged back to the end of the line, where dozens of people were now queuing. Ahead of them were Liu Guixiang and her grandson, who were moving even faster.
Liu Guixiang opened the small stool for her grandson to sit down: "Be a good boy, Grandma will give you a big red envelope after we buy things."
I even opened the water bottle and gave him a sip; it was clear I was prepared for a long battle.
The little kid, despite his small size, gave her an OK sign: "No problem!"
Ding Nan immediately realized her mistake; she felt she needed a small stool now.
By this time, the number of people in the queue had grown significantly. When they were halfway through, Ding Nan turned around and exclaimed in surprise, "Why are there so many people?"
She was deeply worried about her third time queuing and wanted a small stool even more.
......
"Why are there so many people? What are they queuing for?" Tourists who had already seen the morning mist, experienced the VR, and even climbed Qinghe Tower had slowly strolled into Zone 2 when they were surprised by the long queue that stretched out from an alley.
Everyone stood on tiptoe, eager to see where the line originated.
The female tourist recalled the staff member's earlier answer: "You're buying medicine, right?"
The tourists nearby were bewildered: "Buying medicine? You have to queue to buy medicine? Is it free?"
"Free community health checkups?"
No, this is a scenic area, not a community health center!
An auntie in line couldn't stand it anymore and said, "I'm not buying medicine! I'm buying Chinese herbal sachets and some tea bags from Guanmaitang, as well as herbal foot bath packets and the like."
A young female tourist leaned closer and asked curiously, "Is it really that effective?"
“It works.” The woman nodded. “If it didn’t work, would we be in such a long line? Just wait and see, the line will definitely get even longer later.”
An older man in front of us turned around and said, "We locals get annual passes not only so we can stroll around occasionally, but also mainly to buy these things from Guanmaitang. We get them once a month, and the supply can't keep up with the demand."
Seeing that the young lady was very polite, the auntie kindly offered some advice: "There are remedies for insomnia, remedies for mental alertness, and remedies for hair loss; they're all very effective. My child is prone to eczema, and the medicated bath packs have worked very well for him; I have to stock up on some every month. Young lady, you can buy some for your family too."
The tourist's eyes lit up: "Treats hair loss?"
She really needs it!
Without a second thought, she immediately stood at the back of the line and joined the queue.
"Is it a shill?" a tourist nearby muttered.
At this moment, another tourist suddenly shouted excitedly, "I know! Is it the 'miracle doctor in the scenic area'? I just watched the video yesterday. It said there's a miracle doctor in this scenic area who can tell what illness you have just by looking at you."
The auntie who had spoken earlier turned around and said, "You mean Dr. Zhang? He did produce those medicine packets, and he is indeed a miracle doctor. But the idea that he can tell what disease someone has just by looking at them is definitely just nonsense from those marketing accounts. Dr. Zhang himself is very humble."
The tourists were very interested and started chatting with the auntie, and then joined the queue.
The topic of "miracle doctors in scenic spots" has been trending these past few days, and many tourists have seen it, so the queue is getting longer and longer.
Chinese people have always had a penchant for joining in the fun. Even if they don't understand, many people still want to see what all these people are queuing up for, which makes the queue even longer.
Ten... fifteen... Zhang Ying was frantically picking up the goods, her hands were numb and her back was aching.
The pharmacists glanced at the length of the line and decisively sent one of them back to the pulse diagnosis hall to fetch reinforcements. They needed to rest and catch their breath.
"Why are so many riders queuing up?" he muttered to himself, somewhat exasperated.
It feels like more than half of the delivery riders in Anping County have gathered here today...
Qinghe City.
"Wow!" A young woman in the office suddenly exclaimed while watching a video on her phone, "Guanmaitang is selling medicine packs today!"
The colleagues who were eating looked up blankly: "Guanmaitang? Medicine packets? What are those?"
Young girl: "It's the TCM clinic I told you about last time, the one that people online say has amazing herbal sachets! They say they have a really good formula for treating insomnia and promoting hair growth. Look, the line is huge."
Everyone crowded around to take a look: "It really is! We were just saying we'd wait until we went to buy it..."
“My friend is from Anping County, and he said it is indeed possible.”
"It's subject to purchase restrictions, so it's unlikely that it will be available when we get there."
"There's nothing we can do about it, we just have to work overtime today!"
The young woman touched her hairline, feeling resentful. She browsed through Xiaodigua and Xianyu platforms, and suddenly noticed that there were delivery riders queuing up. A sudden idea flashed into her mind, and she immediately posted a reward notice on the delivery platform.
She refused to believe she couldn't find a delivery rider who could get into Qinghe Ancient Town.
As it turned out, a rider actually accepted the order ten minutes later, asking for a delivery fee of fifty yuan, with a limit of three of each item, and shipping fees to be calculated separately.
The young woman immediately asked her colleagues, "Do you want to combine orders? If we split the delivery and shipping fees, it'll only be a dozen yuan or so, which is quite a good deal."
A woman next to me immediately raised her hand: "Me, count me in. My husband has been having trouble sleeping lately. I need something to cure his insomnia, and also something to promote hair growth."
A male colleague touched the top of his head shyly and said, "I want one too. I'll try the hair regrowth treatment."
Their office often does group purchases, and they quickly reached the required number, even exceeding it. The young woman asked the rider if it could be counted as one order.
Rider: "No, because there's a purchase limit. If I want to buy more, I'll have to queue up again. Look at this queue, it's very long. It would take more than an hour to get through."
Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem wrong.
Finally, going from one office to another, they placed orders for forty or fifty sachets and medicine packets.
And this kind of thing isn't limited to this company.
And for the super-rich, there's no need to pool money to buy anything; they can simply spend 200 yuan to hire a delivery person to buy 200 yuan worth of sachets and medicine packs. It's not like they can't do something like that.
So, the number of delivery riders in the team kept increasing...
One rider who bought an annual pass at the best price when the store opened said he was too farsighted. The cost of the annual pass was almost entirely covered by his regular delivery work carrying snacks.
And you can buy five annual passes, not three, hehehe.
Seeing all this in the queue, Liu Guixiang felt a mix of emotions. She realized she had suffered because she wasn't very good at using the internet. If she had known it could be done this way, she would have registered as a delivery rider on the platform herself. She hadn't done it before because she was worried she wouldn't know how to operate it.
On this day, Liu Guixiang, who was in her fifties, decided to keep up with the times.
......
Section 5, Textile Workshop.
If you were to ask what the largest workshop in Zone 5 is, many people would naturally assume it's the woodworking workshop, but in fact, the textile workshop is just as large, both occupying an entire courtyard.
However, since it is currently only half-finished, the textile workshop is located a little further inside.
Just walk deeper into the alley and you'll find a serene courtyard built of old blue bricks and dark wood. Several female tourists are pausing in front of the building, their eyes drawn to the huge, spotless floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
Inside the shop window, soft spotlights illuminated the magnificent Hanfu displayed there.
The robes were wide and flowing, adorned with dignified brocade, their colors as rich and vibrant as the glow of sunset. The intricate embroidery on the garments shimmered with the unique, warm luster of silk threads under the lamplight. They were carefully displayed on minimalist wooden hangers, reflecting against the carved window lattice.
Inside the window on the other side, you can see a huge, old-fashioned wooden loom, where a weaver wearing a light purple round-necked robe with small sunflower branches and a porcelain blue long skirt, with her hair styled in a peony bun, is intently weaving cloth.
Beside her, unfinished rolls of brocade or plain gauze cascaded down like waterfalls, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting.
This scene, specially set up by the textile workshop to demonstrate traditional textile techniques, has become a popular photo spot, producing many amazing pictures. Many female tourists are also attracted by this setting and then visit the workshop to experience specialized classes.
For example, weaving, embroidery, making fan-shaped sachets, or knotted pendants, etc.
However, the two court ladies in charge of this textile workshop were clearly not satisfied with this.
The younger sister, Han Yunshang, was vividly describing the long queue in Zone Two to her older sister, Han Yushang. She had just returned from Zone Two: "...There were so many people. The queue stretched from the entrance of Guanmai Hall all the way to the end of the alley and circled around several times."
Han Yushang was manipulating the wooden shuttle in her hand, weaving the peacock feather thread into a dazzling gold and emerald pattern on the cloth. Even though the pattern was not yet fully formed, its exquisite and beautiful appearance was already evident.
She is weaving a wedding robe.
In her dynasty, peacock feather thread was one of the main techniques used in weaving the emperor's dragon robes; the ever-changing luster of dragon, cloud, and wave patterns came from it. Han Yushang was promoted to the position of Shanggong (a high-ranking court lady) because she wove a dragon robe that satisfied the Jiajing Emperor.
She originally wanted to weave a dragon robe for display, but Lu Xiaoqi persuaded her otherwise: "Forget about men, young ladies these days are generous with their money, so we should make things they like."
A man? No way.
Although Han Yushang was somewhat confused, she recalled some observations she had made since arriving here and vaguely felt that Miss Lu might be right. So she changed her plans and started weaving dresses and shawls that the imperial concubines liked.
Hearing her sister say that, she looked up and asked with a smile, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Han Yunshang plopped down, not very elegantly, which made Han Yushang frown slightly.
"I just feel that other people's businesses are so good. I wish our textile workshop could be this popular someday!" Han Yunshang muttered.
Although the textile workshop is also large in scale, it is not as popular as the woodworking workshop and other popular craft workshops because it is more difficult and most of the experience is paid.
Not to mention comparing it to Song Sao Fish Restaurant, the giant in the queues in Zone 2.
Unexpectedly, Guanmaitang in Zone 2 has suddenly become a rising star, and Han Yunshang is quite envious of the long queues she sees today.
When will their textile workshops be bustling with tourists?
The embroiderers at the back also looked up and laughed, "It's not because we haven't prepared everything. I see that women nowadays love to look beautiful and they all have money. If we had everything, our textile workshop would definitely be very popular!"
They want to create a high-end Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) boutique, which should at least display some clothing, right?
The textile workshop has been doing this for the past few months.
Fine clothing, fine clothing, nothing can be overlooked from the fabric to the details—find the right fabric, or even weave it yourself if you can't find it, even if it's just kesi (silk tapestry). Machine embroidery? That's definitely not acceptable; it can't compare to the fluidity of hand embroidery.
Cutting corners? That's simply not true.
However, the workshop only has so many people, and these details and techniques are extremely time-consuming. In addition to making this, they also need to spend some time giving experiential activities to tourists, so they can only complete one or two sets of works in several months.
"Sister, I don't think this will work," Han Yunshang suggested earnestly. "If we just keep doing this, the other areas of the ancient town might be open by the time we're still stuck here embroidering."
Han Yushang put down the wooden shuttle in her hand.
This is something she has been thinking about and even worrying about for some time now.
She simply summoned everyone over, including Li Niang and others: "Everyone, please tell me what to do. Feel free to share any ideas you have."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
