These days, after Zhang Qingshan finished his busiest time at noon, he went to the town to look for a suitable shop. A grocery store does not need a place as big as a restaurant, a storefront of about 15 square meters is enough. Zhang Qingshan looked for a shop that met the requirements along the street every day. In just a few days, he became darker and thinner, but the children became more energetic and he was busy every day.
Since Zhang Qingshan decided to open this grocery store, Li Hehua naturally had to help him. One day, when the businessman surnamed Wang came to her restaurant for dinner again, Li Hehua put down her work and went to greet him in person, "Boss Wang, long time no see."
Wang Dayang laughed heartily, "It's been a long time since I came to your place for dinner. This time I went to many places and it took a long time. Today I was in your town to pick up goods, so of course I had to come to your place for dinner before leaving. Otherwise, I would be reluctant to leave."
The people who followed Wang Dayang all nodded with smiles. They were now die-hard fans of Li Hehua's cooking skills and would come here to eat whenever they came to this town.
Li Hehua smiled and gestured for everyone to come in, saying, "Please take a seat quickly. I've been waiting for many days."
Wang Dayang understood the meaning behind the words, "Boss, do you need us for something?"
Li Hehua didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I really have something to discuss with you. So, I'll treat you to dinner today. Can we sit down and have a good discussion?"
How could Wang Dayang say no? A businessman will never turn away any business opportunity.
Li Hehua first brought a few jugs of good wine from the store to the table, and asked Zhang Tieshan and Zhang Qingshan to sit down and drink and chat with Wang Dayang and his group. She then went into the kitchen and cooked a very sumptuous table of dishes. She cooked all the dishes that the guests liked.
After everything was done, Li Hehua took off her apron, entered the box and sat next to Zhang Tieshan.
Zhang Tieshan shook her hand under the table, picked up a few of her favorite dishes with chopsticks and put them in her bowl, and whispered, "Eat something first, are you hungry?"
Li Hehua smiled at him and ate the food he picked for her. He had eaten so much because he was indeed hungry.
"Then let's continue. The boss wants to hear it too." Wang Dayang raised his glass and clinked it with Zhang Tieshan's. They both drank it with their heads tilted back. Then he said, "Every time we go out on the ship, there are many people together. The goods on the ship can be said to be everything. If you want to open a grocery store, it is indeed most convenient to get the goods directly from us. Anyway, regardless of anything else, none of us here will disagree, otherwise we will be embarrassed to come here to eat in the future."
The others present smiled and nodded in agreement when they heard this. That's right, every time they come here now, they have to eat here and pack up a lot of food to go. They are old acquaintances of the boss, so they will definitely help with this and give some discounts on the price.
Wang Dayang then introduced to Li Hehua the identities of several people traveling with him. The man in his thirties wearing navy blue clothes was named Jiang, and he was mainly engaged in tea business; the older man wearing ink-colored clothes was named Wu, and he was mainly engaged in kitchen seasoning business, including pepper, star anise, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, etc.; and the middle-aged man wearing white clothes was named Fang, and he was engaged in grain business.
These people are all engaged in business of daily necessities, and what they sell are indispensable for purchasing goods to open a grocery store. If they agree to come to the town to deliver goods to Zhang Qingshan every time, the grocery store business will basically be successful.
Zhang Tieshan obviously thought so too. He picked up the wine pot and poured wine for Wang Dayang and the others. He raised his cup and thanked them, "Thank you all. I won't say more. I'll toast to you."
Several people raised their glasses and drank.
After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Tieshan asked again: "I wonder if there are other people in your group who sell other goods? If possible, please ask Boss Wang to introduce them to us. We would like to discuss with them and see if they can sell goods to us when they stop in the town in the future."
Wang Dayang smiled and waved his hand. "We do have a lot of people selling other supplies on our ship, such as scented soap, soap beans, candles, and scented oils. These are all things you can use when you open a grocery store. But you don't need to negotiate in person. I can talk to them directly for you. We brought these people with us, so we will still give them this little face."
I didn't expect Boss Wang would be so helpful. In this way, the purchasing issue can be solved at one time, and the matter is half successful.
Zhang Tieshan and Zhang Qingshan stood up and toasted them again to express their gratitude. Li Hehua also expressed his gratitude to them with tea instead of wine.
Next, the two parties discussed the price issue in detail. Finally, Wang Dayang gave a minimum purchase price, and Zhang Qingshan gave the product categories he wanted.
Because Wang Dayang and his team had almost sold out their goods this time and couldn't sell them directly to them, we agreed to bring them more goods next time they came, which would take about a month.
Li Hehua felt that the timing was perfect. A month was just enough time to find a shop and renovate it. When everything was ready and the goods arrived, it would be just right for the opening of the business.
The meal took about an hour and a half, and by the time we finished, we had almost finished discussing the matter.
Wang Dayang and his group ate and drank to their heart's content. When they left, their faces were all red and they even walked a little unsteadily. It was obvious that they had drunk too much. Li Hehua was worried, so he asked Luo Er and the others to send them on board.
Here, Zhang Qingshan was also drunk, his face flushed, and he sat on a chair with a silly smile, saying to Li Hehua: "Sister-in-law...hiccup...sister-in-law, I've done it! I can do it...don't worry, I...I will pay you back, and soon...hiccup!"
He really drank too much. Li Hehua didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and quickly went to the kitchen to make some sobering soup.
Li Hehua originally didn't want Zhang Qingshan to drink, after all, he was still a half-grown boy. But he was the owner of the grocery store and he would be the one dealing with others in the future. He couldn't really act like a child and had to express what he should. So Li Hehua didn't stop him. Who knew that he would drink too much.
After giving Zhang Qingshan a bowl of sobering soup, he fell asleep on the table and started snoring. Li Hehua had no choice but to let Zhang Tieshan carry him to the guest room in the backyard to sleep.
Zhang Tieshan looked quite normal, but when you got closer you could see he reeked of alcohol.
Li Hehua also served him a bowl of hangover soup and pretended to be disgusted, "You stink so bad, drink a bowl quickly to heal yourself."
Zhang Tieshan smiled and without saying a word, he picked up the bowl and drank it in a few gulps.
Li Hehua wiped his mouth and touched his face. It was still quite hot, probably from drinking. He drank a lot at noon and tried his best to take the responsibility of drinking himself so as not to let Zhang Qingshan drink more.
Li Hehua asked, "Are you feeling dizzy now? Do you want to go take a nap? Anyway, we are not that busy this afternoon, so it is okay for you to take a nap."
Zhang Tieshan looked at Li Hehua for a while, nodded, but held her hand and said, "Come with me."
Li Hehua thought about it and couldn't bear to refuse him, so she took his hand and went to the backyard. She originally planned to let him sleep in the small room prepared for Shulin, but the man didn't want to. He went into Li Hehua's room, fell asleep on her bed, and closed his eyes without looking at her.
This stinky man!
Li Hehua patted his face and said, "Hurry up and get up. You stink. Don't sleep here with me. How am I going to sleep at night?"
Zhang Tieshan didn't move at all, as if he was really asleep, and didn't respond no matter how Li Hehua pinched and squeezed him.
Li Hehua had no choice but to bend down and take off his shoes, straighten his heavy body, and then cover him with a quilt. His back was sweating from all the busy work, but the man on the bed pretended to be serious.
Li Hehua was so angry that he pinched his nose and said, "You stinky guy! If you keep pretending, I will cover your mouth too."
The man with his eyes closed on the bed curled up the corners of his mouth. The next second, he reached out and held Li Hehua's hand. With a force, he brought Li Hehua to the bed and pressed him on him.
Li Hehua was almost scared to death and punched the man several times in anger.
Zhang Tieshan let her beat him, but the smile on his face grew deeper and deeper. He simply took off her shoes with his feet, brought her directly into his arms, wrapped her in a cup, and hugged her waist tightly under the quilt.
"Zhang Tieshan, I still have to go forward, please let me go." Li Hehua pushed him, but he was as motionless as a mountain.
Zhang Tieshan said "hush", "Be good, there's no one coming up ahead now, it looks like everything will be fine for the others, can you stay with me for a while?"
It was rare for him to speak so softly, and Li Hehua's heart could no longer be hardened, so he stopped struggling.
Zhang Tieshan smiled, bent down and kissed her on the forehead, and then on her eyes.
Seeing that he couldn't fall asleep for a while, Li Hehua told him about the shop, "What price did Boss Wang and his men offer? How much profit can we make after we get the goods?"
Li Hehua didn't have much time to take care of the grocery store's affairs. It was Zhang Tieshan who helped Zhang Qingshan prepare for it, and he knew all the profits.
Zhang Tieshan closed his eyes and said, "The price that Boss Wang gave us is still very cheap. They didn't make any extra money from us. It's only cheaper than the goods sold to other companies in town. If Qingshan sells it, they can still make a lot of money in the middle."
Zhang Tieshan gave Li Hehua an example, "For example, they offered a jar of vinegar for 100 coins. I calculated that according to the price of vinegar in the town, I could earn at least 150 coins for each jar, and 50 coins in the middle."
"That's quite a lot. It seems that the purchase price given by Boss Wang and his team is very reasonable." It is already very good to make a profit of fifty cents from a large jar of vinegar. Adding other things sold in the store, the profit will not be less in a day.
Zhang Tieshan said "hmm". The price they offered was indeed very good. It was given out of respect for Li Hehua.
Li Hehua thought of the cakes he sold and patted Zhang Tieshan on the chest. "In addition to the cakes we import, you can also sell some cakes from me after the business opens. Some people may buy some cakes when they see food while shopping for other things."
Zhang Tieshan nodded. In fact, he had the same idea. He could also sell some food. Even if he couldn’t sell it, he would not lose money by eating it himself. The key was to have as many varieties as possible to attract people.
Li Hehua thought of modern supermarkets and, in comparison, felt that the items in Zhang Qingshan’s grocery store were still not complete and a lot of things were still missing.
The first things people in this era need to buy are rice, oil, salt, needles and thread. After they have all these things, there are also some daily necessities. Li Hehua simply puts himself in the shoes of a person who needs to buy household items. What things would he buy? In addition to rice, oil, salt, needles and thread, there are also pots, bowls, pans, and other things.
Li Hehua then added: "Let Qingshan order some wooden basins, wooden barrels, wooden ladles from the carpenter. If some people don't have time to go to the carpenter or are too lazy to find a carpenter to make them, they will buy them when they see these. After all, wooden barrels and wooden basins will not go bad. After selling them, they can find a carpenter to make them. They won't lose money."
"Then, we'll buy some bowls, chopsticks, plates, spatulas, and other things. These are what ordinary people need in their daily lives. Although there are places that sell bowls, chopsticks, and other things, some people will buy them when they see them in grocery stores, and they are too lazy to go to other stores to buy them."
After listening to this, Zhang Tieshan patted Li Hehua on the head and said, "I will tell Qingshan about these things. Let him handle the rest on his own. He has to stand on his own feet. You can't worry about him forever."
Li Hehua smiled and pinched Zhang Tieshan's nose. "Then can I say one last thing?"
Zhang Tieshan was amused by her and held her tightly in his arms, "Okay, you go ahead."
Li Hehua then said the most important thing, "You must ask Qingshan to get a cart. Not only do you need a cart to buy goods, but in the future, if someone buys a lot of things at once, you have to deliver the goods to their door. If you use a cart to send them back, they will be happy and will come back to buy things next time."
Zhang Tieshan really didn't expect this. Fortunately, Li Hehua mentioned it. Otherwise, he would have forgotten about it and would have been too late when he remembered it and went to get a cart.
Zhang Tieshan kissed the top of Li Hehua's head and said with a smile: "You are the one who is best at making money in our family. It seems that I am only suitable to work for you."
Li Hehua smiled secretly and pinched his face to comfort him, "It's okay, if you do a good job, I'll give you a raise and won't let you be so poor."
Zhang Tieshan curled the corners of his mouth, held her head in his arms, and fell asleep holding her.
.............................
Zhang Tieshan told Zhang Qingshan all the things Li Hehua had added. Zhang Qingshan patted his head, wrote them down one by one, and made preparations when he had time. He even went to the carpenter's shop to order a large cart.
Zhang Qingshan had also found a shop, not far from the restaurant, with a good location. Although the area was not large, it was enough to open a grocery store. After signing the contract, he immediately found a craftsman to decorate and arrange the shop. Finally, all the work was ready before Boss Wang and his team came next time.
When Boss Wang and his companions came to the town again, they brought more than forty kinds of goods to Zhang Qingshan. It took three trips with a cart and the restaurant's horse-drawn carriage to move all the goods from the dock into the grocery store, instantly filling up the originally empty shop.
And three days later, the grocery store officially opened.
Before opening the shop, Zhang Qingshan specifically came to consult Li Hehua about many relevant preparations. Li Hehua gave him two ideas. The first one was to invite a lion dancer to perform in front of the shop on the opening day to attract customers and increase traffic.
The second is to offer a promotion on the first day of opening, where three cents will be deducted for every thirty cents spent.
Since ancient times, common people have loved to watch the fun, so when there was a lion dance, they all gathered around to watch, and the children couldn't be pulled away. Moreover, the discount of three cents off for every thirty cents spent was very large, so it naturally attracted many common people to come in to watch the fun. When they saw so many and complete things inside, and the prices were the same as those in other shops, they naturally understood that they made a profit by deducting three cents, so there was no reason not to be tempted.
Many people thought about what they needed at home. Some remembered that they needed soy sauce, so they bought some to take home; some remembered that they had no wire at home, so they had to buy some; some saw rice and flour for sale, and thought they would not lose out if they bought more, so they bought some as well.
Some acquaintances even discussed buying together and pooled together thirty cents, which could reduce three cents and save a lot.
As a result, the grocery store had a large flow of people on the first day and business was quite good. Fortunately, Li Hehua asked everyone in the restaurant to go and support the business and help out, so the business was finally over. Otherwise, Zhang Qingshan would not be able to collect all the money by himself.
When night fell and the shop finally closed, everyone was exhausted, but they all had smiles on their faces, because the shop had a good start today. Zhang Qingshan calculated that he had earned almost three taels of silver today, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
In order to celebrate, Li Hehua called everyone back to the restaurant and personally cooked a table full of dishes, which instantly made everyone's fatigue of the day disappear.
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