Will you sell it for money?
"I wonder how much you think would be appropriate?" Chu Yu smiled, pursing her lips.
Chen Baifu thought for a moment, lit a cigarette and said, "I don't know how many you want. There don't look like many buttons here, but buttons are small. I estimate there are at least 20,000 to 30,000 buttons here."
This was indeed beyond Chu Yu's expectations. She could eat all the buttons, but she didn't have a house in Deyang, and there was nowhere to put them if she took them all back. Taking them back to the village would be too much trouble and might cause unnecessary problems.
It's better to take less and come back in a couple of days if it sells well.
"I need about three thousand."
"Three thousand of them, I'll only charge you one cent per one. Give me thirty dollars, and I'll give you a little more, how about that?"
After Chen Baifu finished speaking, he looked at Chu Yu's expression.
He never charged for repairing defective buttons; sometimes they were even taken out and thrown away because they took up too much space. But when his nephew embezzled public funds, he had to pay out of his own pocket to cover the cost.
He earns 46 yuan a month, and he still has to send 10 yuan to his mother. Otherwise, his mother will come to his house and make a scene, saying that his two daughters cannot carry on the family line and that he has no descendants, so he doesn't need to spend so much money.
The section chief had a lot of social obligations, and after spending all that money, he didn't have much left at the end of the month. It was quite a strain to suddenly come up with a sum of money to cover the deficit.
He then wondered if he could ask for a higher price and make some money off the defective buttons.
"Thirty yuan?" Chu Yu and Shu Lan exclaimed at the same time.
Chu Yu was surprised because one cent per button was really... too cheap! A considerable portion of the buttons here are made of acrylic glass, which can easily be sold for two or three cents, making a tenfold profit is a piece of cake! To be conservative, a capital of thirty yuan can still earn two hundred yuan, a sure-fire way to make a profit!
Shulan was shocked. She thought Chen Baifu was incredibly unscrupulous for charging money for a batch of defective buttons! The defective garments in her clothing factory couldn't be recycled; they were either sold cheaply to employees or simply cut off. These buttons, piled on the ground, looked worthless, yet he was charging a penny each. Even if her cousin was an amateur, Chen Baifu couldn't cheat her like this!
Chu Yu understood Shu Lan's meaning, so she secretly twisted Shu Lan's waist from behind. Shu Lan raised her eyebrows and, in perfect harmony, stepped in to play the bad cop.
"Section Chief Chen! One cent per button is too expensive! Nobody wants the buttons from the button factory. They said they'd sell them for whatever price they wanted, but they asked for thirty yuan right off the bat. Don't think you can fool us just because we're novices!"
"Look at what you're saying, how could I lie to you?" Chen Baifu's back was covered in sweat.
"Why not? Go ask around on the street, who still charges for defective products? Besides my cousin, what sucker would buy this dumping stuff? You can't just raise prices because my cousin wants to set up a street stall!"
Shulan's words made Chen Baifu a little embarrassed. He wiped his sweat and asked, "Then what price are you asking for?"
Shulan said three or five yuan would be fine, but she could tell that Chen Baifu was afraid of ruining the business, so she very gently cut the price in half.
"Fifteen! My cousin is doing business for the first time, and she might not even make back her initial investment. As a senior, you should at least help out the younger generation."
Shulan's words were too sharp, and Chen Baifu was powerless to resist. Besides, Shulan had something on him that she couldn't help but do him a favor.
The button disposal doesn't need to be recorded in the books, and it's perfectly in line with the procedures. He got fifteen yuan for free, which is almost half a month's salary. Why shouldn't he take it?
"Okay! Fifteen it is! But there are too many buttons to count them one by one. I've been making buttons for many years, so I can estimate the general number. I'll give you more than you need, so don't worry!"
As Chen Baifu spoke, he went to find sacks to help Chu Yu pack the bags.
Chu Yu fiddled with the acrylic buttons. "Section Chief Chen, give me more of these expensive ones. This is my first time setting up a stall, and I'm worried they won't sell well. Please give me as many different styles as possible."
"No problem!" Since it was sold in a package, Chen Baifu wouldn't be too stingy. He gave her quite a few nice buttons, but they were all cut with a spatula, so they couldn't be too precise. There were always some small and ugly buttons mixed in, which was unavoidable.
Chu Yu's car could only be towed halfway. "I'll come back to tow the rest later."
"No problem, I'll put it in the guardhouse for you. Just come and get it later!" Chen Baifu saw them to the door, not forgetting to remind them, "Young comrades, if anyone asks, don't say you're taking it out to set up a stall. Just say you're helping to deal with buttons."
"Section Chief Chen, don't worry, I won't be foolish enough to cut off my own source of income or cause you any trouble," Chu Yu replied with a smile.
Chen Baifu found her quite clever and worldly-wise, which was quite remarkable. The young girl was pretty and experienced, and he thought she would be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
After leaving the Baode Button Factory, Shulan asked:
"Chu Yu, are you really going to set up a stall? I've heard that being a self-employed person means being exposed to the elements and it's not easy."
"Sis, this isn't my first time being self-employed. I've sold a lot of things before. Oh, I forgot to tell you, my mom and your mom opened a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) stall together. Today is their first day setting up shop right in front of the Municipal Hospital. Do you want to come with me to check it out?"
Shulan's eyes widened. Her mother was quite capable at farm work and housework, but she never realized that her mother could also be a self-employed individual!
She hasn't been home for half a year, how could she have missed so many things!
She really wanted to chat with Chu Yu some more, listen to Zhou Jian'an's gossip, and talk about her family's business, but unfortunately it was already late.
"I won't go, so my dad won't nag me again. I'll come home to see you another day!"
She was thinking about making more money, because her mother's self-employment business definitely wouldn't last long, and if the family lost money, she would have to subsidize it!
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