Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

Cai Quanwu closed his eyes, gathered his emotions, mustered his courage, and said, "Take a look, take a look, fresh seafood is on sale at a low price."

When he opened his eyes, he found that his voice was too soft, as if he was talking to himself. The surroundings were already very noisy, and no one could hear him shouting.

Just when he was at a loss, a middle-aged man came over. Judging from his clothes, there were no patches on them. He was also very polite, so he should be from a well-off family. This saved Cai Quanwu from the dilemma. He quickly asked the man, "It's almost the New Year. Can you buy some seafood to take home?"

The man asked, "How much are these shrimps?"

Cai Quanwu answered mechanically: "Shrimp is 25 cents a pound, large mackerel is 45 cents a pound, hairtail is 36 cents a pound, kelp is 0.6 cents a pound, and dried shrimps are 10 cents a pound." These were the only ones he brought today, and he listed them all out like he was reading out the names of dishes.

The man said: "It's really not cheap!"

Cai Quanwu: "It's really not expensive. Look how fresh it is. If you act too late, it will be gone."

The man said, "Weigh me two pounds of shrimp, five pounds of kelp, and two pounds of dried shrimps. And weigh two Spanish mackerels." Cai Quanwu was delighted. This was the opening of the business, and the deal was done without him even shouting.

The first order was sold for 4.6 yuan, which is not a small amount. In this day and age, those who are willing to buy so much food at once must have a rich family. It seems that there are many rich people in this city! This is also a good start!

Then, he sold three more orders, but the sales were not high. Then, a young man in his twenties came over, pushing a bicycle.

After some negotiation, the visitor wanted to buy all his shrimp and fish. Cai Quanwu brought 40 catties of shrimp and 80 catties of each type of fish. He sold a small portion of it and weighed the remaining fish and shrimp, and found that he still had 165 catties.

Looking at the bicycle of the person coming, Cai Quanwu said, "Can your bicycle carry so many things? Do you want me to deliver it to you?"

The man patted the seat and said, "My bike is very sturdy. It can handle another 20 kilograms!"

Cai Quanwu nodded and asked intentionally or unintentionally: "Can you eat all the fish you bought?"

The man said, "I am a buyer for the textile factory. I purchase goods for the factory. If you need seafood in the future, you can come to the factory to find me. My name is Liang Zhiyuan."

Cai Quanwu: "That's great! My name is Cai Quanwu. I have some sea bass at home for 30 cents a pound. I didn't bring them here today. Do you want any?"

Liang Zhiyuan said: "I will send these back first and ask our director. If you need me, I will come to you again."

Cai Quanwu: "Okay, if I'm not here, you can find me at the Daqianmen Tavern."

The remaining dried shrimps and kelp were also sold out quickly, mainly because these two things are cheap, affordable for ordinary people, and scarce in the market. In addition, people tend to follow the crowd, and if everyone else is buying it, it must be a good thing, so I will buy some too.

Cai Quanwu came back before noon. Xu Huizhen asked in confusion: "You came back so early? Have you sold out everything?"

Cai Quanwu said happily: "It's sold out. There are still many rich people in Beijing. I met a factory buyer. He bought a lot." He took out money while speaking. "All the words you taught me were useless."

Xu Huizhen was surprised and said, "It's so easy to sell? It seems that I thought too much. It's a seller's market now!"

At this time, Niu Ye came in from outside with a list in his hand. He said with a smile: "Cai Quanwu, give me 50 catties of Spanish mackerel, 50 catties of hairtail, 35 catties of shrimp, 20 catties of kelp, and 5 catties of dried shrimp. Divide them for me according to this list. These are all what my old friends want. Otherwise, I will have to divide them again when I go back."

Cai Quanwu said quickly, "Okay, Master Niu, you take a break first, I'll go get the goods for you." Xu Huizhen was very satisfied with Cai Quanwu's diligence. She poured a cup of tea for Master Niu and said, "Master Niu, drink some tea to warm yourself up. You really have connections!"

Niu Ye said proudly: "That's right. My old friends all have some money. But now the materials are in short supply and they have to implement unified purchase and sale. We can't buy goods even if we have money. Isn't it infuriating?"

While the two were chatting, Cai Quanwu had already weighed the goods. He moved the goods onto the tricycle and said, "Uncle Niu, I'll deliver it to you. You can't carry so much by yourself."

Niu Ye said, "Okay, let's go. We'll go back and see Shopkeeper Xu."

Xu Huizhen: "See you later, Master Niu."

Niu Ye's house was not far away, and Cai Quanwu came back soon. After she came in, she loaded the goods onto the car and had to go to the market again. Xu Huizhen stopped her and said, "Take a break. You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. Let's take our time. It's almost time for lunch. Let's talk about it after lunch."

Cai Quanwu was quite smart. The textile factory buyers bought a lot in the morning, which gave him an idea. He said to Xu Huizhen: "Selling in the market is too slow. I will go to other factories in the afternoon and sell directly to the factory canteens. It will be more efficient."

Xu Huizhen said this was a good idea. She took out another 15 kilograms of vegetables and said, "Take these fresh vegetables as a stepping stone. I guarantee they will want your goods. Remember, they will make sales."

Cai Quanwu asked: "Then Hongxinglou said they would give them vegetables if they had any, and the price is negotiable."

Xu Huizhen said, "Hongxing Restaurant requested so much yesterday, and they probably won't request seafood these days. We've done our best by not selling vegetables to other restaurants."

Cai Quanwu: "The shopkeeper is right!" He was absolutely in awe of Xu Huizhen. If Xu Huizhen said that the sun rose from the west today, he would probably say, "Well, it seems to set from the east."