Although it's a street stall business, the competition is fierce.
Especially at the riverbank, there are five or six stalls selling roasted sweet potatoes alone.
Those people have been doing business here for years, so their business skills are naturally much better than He Shitou and Zhao Xiaohe's.
Everyone went to the dock and followed behind the merchants to solicit business, which resulted in those merchants being intercepted before they even left the dock.
Zhao Xiaohe and He Shitou saw this and were very anxious.
"Brother Stone, we can't go on like this." Zhao Xiaohe's face was contorted with anxiety, and his expression was quite unpleasant.
He Shitou let out a low growl and turned on both the oven burner and the pot containing the tea eggs.
Suddenly, a rich aroma of roasted sweet potatoes wafted through the air carried by the wind from the dock. The sweet, soft, and chewy texture filled the damp air.
The tea eggs also carried the delicate fragrance of tea and the rich aroma of seasonings. This fragrance was absolutely unlike anything I had ever heard before.
"Xiaohe, you stay here and watch the stall, I'll go and solicit customers too." After saying that, He Shitou lifted his foot and went off.
He was never good with words, but he quickly organized his thoughts in his mind for those few steps.
Just then, a merchant dressed in blue walked past He Shitou after refusing the offers of other vendors to solicit his business.
He Shitou excitedly grabbed the guest's arm, his mouth trembling slightly with excitement.
"Big brother, are you hungry?"
This merchant must be a frequent visitor, so he's used to the phenomenon of people soliciting customers at the dock.
But this was the first time he had ever met a merchant as reckless and rude as He Shitou.
The merchant's brows were deeply furrowed. He Shitou carefully observed the merchant's expression, and his heart sank to the bottom.
He tried his best to salvage the situation, "Brother, we have some freshly made tea eggs. Free, free samples?"
He Shitou himself didn't know what he was saying. He clearly wanted to make money, so how did it come out as free?
He was filled with remorse and began praying that the man wouldn't agree. After all, a tea egg cost two coins.
"Seeing how sincere you are, I'll reluctantly give it a try," the merchant said earnestly.
He Shitou was caught in a dilemma, and with a somewhat unpleasant expression, he led the merchant to his stall.
Zhao Xiaohe, puzzled, greeted him with a smile, "Big brother, what would you like to eat?"
"Give me a tea egg," He Shitou ordered.
"Okay!"
In a black iron pot, nearly forty tea eggs were boiling. The water was a bit dark and didn't look very appealing, but it smelled quite delicious.
Zhao Xiaohe rolled up a small bucket with oil paper, scooped out a tea egg and put it in.
"Sir, please take this."
The merchant stood in the wind and took out the tea eggs to start peeling them. Because the eggs were quite soupy, he peeled them a little slowly.
When necessary, they would even blow on it with their mouths.
Fortunately, the merchant wasn't a picky person; he took a bite and immediately asked for half an egg.
He Shitou and Zhao Xiaohe nervously looked at the merchant, waiting for him to carefully taste it.
"Brother, what do you think of the taste?" Zhao Xiaohe asked cautiously.
Although it tastes like an egg, boiled eggs are usually bland and dry. But this tea egg is different; it's salty, and the yolk is soft and crumbly.
Even the food in restaurants doesn't have such a rich flavor.
The customer looked at the remaining half egg in his hand with surprise, and exclaimed in a strange accent from out of town, "Why does this tea egg taste different from other places? It's delicious, so delicious!"
Hearing the customer say "delicious" twice, He Shitou and Zhao Xiaohe finally felt relieved.
He Shitou said with a smile, "This is a secret recipe passed down from our ancestors. I'm the only one in the whole county who can make it taste like this."
"Yes, brother, our roasted sweet potatoes are delicious too. They're all the same size, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and very sweet. Would you like to try some?" Zhao Xiaohe seized the opportunity to start promoting his products.
Since it tastes so good, there's no reason not to try it.
The customer took another roasted sweet potato, and after taking a bite, he praised it highly.
Although he had only bought these things occasionally before, the sweet potatoes and tea eggs from this stall tasted better than anything he had eaten before.
Although the first customer offered a free tasting, the customer's positive feedback gave Zhao Xiaohe and He Shitou enough confidence to proceed.
The two disregarded their pride and began soliciting customers at the docks, just like the other vendors.
Their stalls are in a bad location to begin with. If they don't actively attract customers, how will they make any money?
Although it was a winter morning with occasional gusts of cold wind, He Shitou and Zhao Xiaohe were working up a sweat.
By the end of the morning, the two of them had sold a total of twenty eggs and ten roasted sweet potatoes.
Sales were far below their expectations, and it was truly exhausting; their throats were hoarse from talking so much.
Just like when they went door-to-door selling preserved eggs, everything was difficult at the beginning.
Of course, there will be difficulties along the way.
There were still twenty tea eggs and about ten roasted sweet potatoes left on the cart. I heard that no boats had docked until evening.
This means that the vendors at the dock will have to pack up and go home.
He Shitou and Zhao Xiaohe stood in front of their stall, devouring the roasted sweet potatoes and tea eggs they were selling.
But there's so much left over, the two of them can't finish it all.
With his mouth full of yellow roasted sweet potato, Zhao Xiaohe said, "Brother Shitou, why don't we go take a look at the academy? It looks like it's almost lunchtime when they let out."
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