On market day, people set off before dawn in order to secure a good spot.
Qiu Yu took the pancakes she had baked yesterday, filled a sheepskin bag with water, and loaded the bulk of goods onto a cart and took it to the county.
The car creaked and groaned, and it took them almost two hours to reach their destination.
The two got up early and arrived in the county town just as dawn was breaking. They quickly found a place to set up their stall. It was a large market day, held every two weeks, and the streets were filled with all sorts of things. Many people simply laid out a tattered mat on the ground, but He Zifeng was skillful; he had made two stands at home. They simply propped them up with wood and placed their goods on them.
The fabric took up a lot of space; there were seven or eight half-pieces of fabric and twenty small bundles of fabric scraps. The two shelves were almost full.
It's a rare opportunity for a large market to be held, and many vendors haven't even set up their stalls yet, but customers are already arriving.
The fabrics in He Zifeng's house were all neatly stacked, with different patterns, but all the same size.
There are usually vendors selling scraps of cloth at the market, but they always spread out large mats on the ground, piling them up like small mountains. But He Zifeng's stall looks very neat and tidy.
"How much is this fabric?" A young woman with a girl of about eleven or twelve years old stopped in front of the stall and asked.
He Zifeng said, "A stack of fabric scraps with six different patterns costs five coins. A whole piece of fabric costs ten coins, but they all have some slight staining. They're not suitable for making clothes, but they're okay for other things."
Upon hearing this, the woman rummaged through the area and said, "It's alright." It's not a large-scale dyeing process. Besides, ten coins is a reasonable price. Even if it's not used for making clothes, it'll be very useful for sewing quilts and making linings for cotton-padded jackets.
The woman picked out three pieces of cloth, but the larger pieces didn't have as many colors as the smaller ones. She bought two stacks of the smaller pieces, and He Zifeng and his partner made forty coins on their first day of business.
He Zifeng told Qiu Yu to keep it.
Before long, the area became much larger.
How much does it cost?
"This fabric is beautiful." Soon, a group of people gathered around. Without taking the fabric apart, they could see what it looked like just by holding it and turning it over. The colors were all quite bright. It was almost overwhelming to choose.
If you like it, grab it quickly and start calculating the cost together, lest someone else snatch it away.
"Five coins a stack."
People who come early are usually thrifty and good at managing their money. Vendors typically set their prices low to get things going. He Zifeng's stall also had two small wooden racks filled with fabrics.
The guests paid their money very quickly, as if afraid that someone else would snatch it away.
Qiu Yu greeted the customers, while He Zifeng kept bringing in goods. He sold whatever he brought in each time.
The best deal was a whole piece of cloth, which only cost ten coins. Those ten or so coins were quickly sold out, even the less attractive ones were snapped up.
Small pieces of fabric come in many colors and are inexpensive. Everyone needs to sew things together sometimes, and it's a waste to tear up a large piece of fabric. That's when you need to use small pieces.
It's more elegant to buy things here. It's convenient to look around or choose what you want, without having to squeeze in with those fabric vendors over there.
Customers are happy and enjoy making purchases!
He Zifeng's place had become a spectacle on Zhongjie Street; many people hadn't even opened for business yet, and his place was already surrounded by people. Luckily, there were two of them; one person really couldn't have done it alone.
Egoko was busy loading goods, and Qiuyu was collecting money; the two worked together very well.
Some customers, after paying, would open the package on the spot to see what was inside, to see if there were any rotten materials mixed in. Upon opening it, they found it was even better than when it was folded up. It was either rectangular or square, without a single stain or wormhole. Usually, vendors exaggerate to sell more goods. The actual product is always a little less than what they say, but He Zifeng was honest; some customers found it even better than they imagined after opening it.
The people who opened the fabric acted as if they were living advertisements for He Zifeng and his group, and suddenly even more people bought it.
Qiu Yu and He Zifeng were both somewhat surprised. At first, they were a little flustered, but as time went on, they became much more at ease.
"I have another piece of silk cloth here."
"Huh? Let me see?"
"Oh my, you have such a good eye for picking. This one alone is worth five coins, and the other five are practically free."
"Boss, do you have any silk cloth left?"
He Zifeng said, "There's not only silk cloth inside, but some also contain brocade. But there are so many patterns that I don't know which bundle they're tied in. Don't worry, every bundle is worth it. I didn't put in any of the bad ones."
"Wow, this boss is so young, but he's really thoughtful."
Everyone thought it was a good deal, so they were more willing to buy it.
He Zifeng's fabric sold out very quickly. He Zifeng and Qiu Yu were surprised by the speed of their business, as it was their first time doing business. It was no wonder that they had carefully organized the fabric; it sold out very fast. They kept restocking, and after this batch of fabric was sold out, only some small handicrafts were left.
Small beanbags cost one coin each, flower basket beanbags cost two coins each, and shoe uppers cost two coins a pair (they're semi-finished products; they come with soles and can be used directly, saving you the trouble of sewing the uppers yourself). Small purses cost one coin each. The "hundred-family quilt" is a quilt cover made of different small square pieces pieced together, meant for children to sleep on for good luck. They only have ten in total, selling them for one hundred coins each.
Small beanbags and similar items could be made with any cloth, so sales gradually slowed down. However, the two of them had just sold all the scraps of cloth. They had already recouped their costs and even made a small profit. He Zifeng said to Qiu Yu, "Grab some money and buy some household items. There aren't many people around, so go and browse around. I'll take care of things here!"
Qiu Yu hummed in agreement, took the copper coins, and went out. The entire street was a market, selling bamboo rice, paper-cut paintings, sugar figurines, all kinds of trinkets, homemade woven baskets, bamboo baskets, wild vegetables, eggs, fish, and meat.
After Qiu Yu left, there were more people on this street.
"These little beanbags are quite cute, I'll pick three!"
He Zifeng readily agreed, and soon a few people picked out a few and paid up without hesitation.
"Can you give me a discount on the money bag? I'm really worried about what to buy for my sisters!" The customer picked out the cheapest one after browsing around, saying that the kids would love it.
He Zifeng said, "One coin each, buy five and get one free."
Upon hearing this, the other party said, "Buy ten and get two free?"
"right."
Several people gathered around when they heard this, agreeing with the customer that it would be good to buy it to soothe the child. They figured they'd run into the child eventually. They'd buy it now and give it to the child when they saw them again, and as for the fabric, they certainly wouldn't use proper cloth to make one.
"This is the same price as the sandbag, can we buy them together?" People who come to the market like the feeling of finding a bargain.
He Zifeng said, "Okay, but the flower basket sandbags cost two coins each."
Once everyone makes a purchase, others like to join in the fun.
How much does this patchwork quilt cover cost?
"One hundred coins!"
"It's so expensive, can you make it cheaper? I'll take it for fifty coins," an auntie said. She hadn't planned to buy this on this trip, but the patchwork looked nice and had a good meaning. She had just had a granddaughter, and the whole family adored her. Buying one would make her daughter-in-law happy too. But one hundred coins was too expensive, and besides, it didn't even have a quilt insert.
He Zifeng wasn't annoyed by the 50% price cut, and said, "This thing is troublesome to make, and there's labor cost but no material cost. How about this, my wife isn't here, so I'll give you a good price, eighty coins, you can pick one."
The aunt picked out different patterns on each one, and she thought they were all good. She was so overwhelmed with choices that she said, "Sixty coins each, that's enough. I don't have any money left."
He Zifeng wasn't good at dealing with bargaining either, and after being worn down like this, he gave in.
Even the dazed vendors next to them bought one, thinking that He Zifeng was honest. If they had encountered a small vendor who was good at haggling, they wouldn't have been so quick to lower the price. He Zifeng said that he was selling it cheaply because his wife wasn't back yet, and the people around didn't dare to linger, for fear that his wife would raise the price when she returned.
They sold seven of them in one go, and He Zifeng was worried that their expensive items might not sell well.
No wonder all these small vendors are coming to the market; it's really a treat. Those who have plenty of money are buying everything. He's already sold half of his stock.
He Zifeng still had three quilts made from various families, thirty pairs of shoe uppers, fifteen two-copper sandbags, and a bag of silk flowers left to display. His money pouch and one-copper purse were all sold out, and glancing at the sky, it wasn't even noon yet.
He Zifeng set off early and was a little hungry, so he took out a flatbread he had made at home and ate it. He ate it with a bite of flatbread and a sip of water, finding it delicious.
When he had nothing to do, he glanced to the side and saw that all the other stalls were open. But the most popular items were still the food stalls. They were all surrounded by people, but the smell in the air was faint. He Zifeng thought it wasn't as good as his wife's cooking.
Soon he heard Qiu Yu calling him.
Upon seeing this, He Zifeng quickly put the sheepskin water bottle aside and hurried over to help his wife, Qiuyu, who was carrying a large bag of things.
He Zifeng quickly went over and took it.
Qiu Yu carried the heavy load over, his forehead covered in sweat. He hurriedly wiped it away and said, "I bought five catties of pork fat, which is more expensive than the meat, twelve coins a catty." Even so, you have to fight for it. Because he bought so much, the butcher was quite polite to him. Someone next to him tried to negotiate with the butcher to sell him a catty of pork fat, but the butcher refused and waved him away.
Qiu Yu said, "I bought nine more pig trotters at three coins a pound, twelve pounds in total. The butcher saw I bought a lot and even gave me two big bones for free. These things alone cost a hundred coins, and I used the remaining four coins to buy a pig's heart." The seller practically gave the pig's heart away for free. Who told him to buy so much stuff?
Pig's trotters are mostly bones with little meat, and the skin has stiff pig hair, so nobody likes to eat them. It's only today that He Zifeng likes to eat them, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sell them well.
After buying these, Qiu Yu went to the grain store and bought five jin of soybeans. Carrying more than twenty jin of things, she was too tired to walk any further.
He Zifeng took it and placed it on the cart, then quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
When Qiu Yu came over and saw them, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes: "Oh, all of these have been sold."
“Yes.” He Zifeng raised his chin slightly.
Qiu Yu looked at He Zifeng and said, "I'll make you something delicious tonight." Then she remembered and added, "I still need to buy some spices and rock sugar. You can keep an eye on things for a while."
He Zifeng said, "First, buy three feet of hair tie, then we'll put the silk flowers on." These haven't been put out to sell yet.
Qiu Yu said, "Okay." Then she went to a cloth shop, where they would usually sell these little trinkets. She bought three feet of red ribbon. The two of them then threaded the ribbon through the silk flower and tied a knot, and it was done.
Qiu Yu left only after she finished.
He Zifeng liked He Zhong's philosophy of small profits but quick turnover. Seeing that other people were selling small jewelry and hair ties for two or three coins, he priced them at two coins each.
There weren't many, and a few young women came to the stall and quickly sold them all. I also bought some shoe uppers as a bonus. It didn't cost much.
After a while, a man came over and said, "You have all of this here?"
He Zifeng hummed in agreement.
The man said, "I own the general store over there. How much will you pay me for all of these?" He had been looking at them for a long time. That other stall sold more than his entire shop.
This man does this kind of work at the market. While others buy things by the piece, he buys them by the pile, managing to get a very low price by buying everything from everyone else. There are only two market days a month, and the next day he displays his wares in his shop. Those who couldn't buy anything go to his shop to buy it.
He Zifeng calculated that the covers for three hundred quilts would cost three hundred coins, and with the shoe covers, silk flowers, and pockets, the total would be four hundred and sixty coins. He said, "Just give me four hundred coins."
This man was shrewd too, and said, "Brother, I'm just doing business. If I buy your stuff for four hundred coins, how am I supposed to make a profit? This is our first time working together, how about I give you two hundred coins?" Cutting the price in half was his specialty.
He Zifeng waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no. I might as well sell it myself. I only bought it from you cheaply for convenience. It's three hundred coins, no less."
The man said unhurriedly, "Your designs have already been picked over several times. All the good ones have been taken. Besides, it's not worth keeping this little bit all day. We might as well become friends. If you have anything that's hard to sell in the future, I'll help you get rid of it. We're better off than others." He even tried to establish a friendship.
He Zifeng had no choice but to haggle with him for a while, and finally got 240 coins. This man was really stingy; he even took the two wooden frames that He Zifeng had nailed.
Fortunately, there was plenty of wood in the countryside, so He Zifeng could make more later and get rid of the rest of the wood with peace of mind.
When Qiu Yu returned excitedly, all that was left in their house was a handcart.
Qiu Yu's face turned pale: "What happened? Did someone steal our things?"
He Zifeng said, "No, we've sold it. Let's go home."
Qiu Yu and He Zifeng put their things on the cart and pulled it home.
I got home before noon and quickly emptied the money box and counted it.
The couple were shocked when they counted out the acceptable number.
After deducting the cost of 468 coins from the market purchases, there are still 1300 coins left.
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