Chapter 50 Opening Business
Xu Xiao Jiao had a rare moment of excitement. Early the next morning, she gathered all the documents and got on the bus to the county city.
Wu Chun Hua sent her to the station and kept mumbling, "Oh, Wei Ping said, told me to watch and stop you from running around. You say you are brave enough to go to the county by yourself. If Wei Ping finds out, he will definitely nag you."
Xu Xiao Jiao was holding a handbag and was a little amused when she heard this, "Mom, what is there to worry about? What kind of society is it now? Besides, I've been to the county so many times. Don't worry, I'll be back in the afternoon."
Although Xu Xiao Jiao aspired to be a salty fish who can talk and not use her hands, her basic abilities were present and even exceeded the standard. The business license application was very smooth. She even had a meal with Jiang Mei Li and the other girls in the afternoon.
Jiang Mei Li knew that she was here to apply for a license to open a store and praised her highly, "Xiao Jiao, you are very discerning. Everyone is still lying in wait and observing. I heard from my dad that not many people dare to apply for this license. What are they waiting around for? The opportunity is so good and they still aren’t getting into action at once! The first batch of people to open a store will have no competition. So business will definitely be good!”
Xu Xiao Jiao didn't expect that her application would go so smoothly. The auditor reviewed the information and stamped the certificate without saying a word. She was in a good mood, "Yes, the state supports it. We got to act early. I'm going to prepare a store for my Mom to run a small pot stewed pork shop. This way, she can pass the time. I was in such a hurry this time and I forgot about it. Next time I come, I will bring you my pot stewed pork. It’s so delicious.”
"Then it's settled!"
After having a meal with some good friends, Xu Xiao Jiao bought some seasonings that weren't very common in the town. Since she was going to open a pot stewed meat shop, she naturally had to prepare everything. However, she only bought some rare ones and returned to the village to buy the rest. Now buying and selling had no restrictions. It was better quality and more affordable to buy from the farmer households.
Once the certificate was obtained, the biggest problem was solved.
Song Wei Ping made pot stewed pork plenty of times and Wu Chun Hua always assisted in the past. When it was this matter, it wasn’t difficult to make as long as the recipe was clear. Moreover, Xu Xiao Jiao had bought some seasonings from the county that hadn’t been used before. She had also bought big bones to make the broth. Wu Chun Hua made the soup as instructed a few times and the taste was delicious. It was more fragrant and mellow than the pot stewed pork made by Song Wei Ping in the past.
The last remaining problem was the opening publicity.
Wu Chun Hua didn't think much about it, "Daughter, what's there to do for the opening? It’s enough to tell the neighbors, steam a pot of pot stewed pork, open the door, and sell meat."
Xu Xiao Jiao was used to seeing grand openings in later generations. In order to attract customers, merchants do everything possible and use endless promotional methods. Sometimes the turnover in just one day of opening is very impressive.
She wriggled her finger, "No, no, this first shot must sound loud. Although the fragrance of wine isn’t afraid of deep alleys, reputation is something that the sooner it spreads, the better."
Xu Xiao Gang was eating meat buns on the side, "Promotion, I understand. It's just like the last time you held a tutoring class. ‘No pass, no money' is just publicity."
Xu Xiao Jiao had long believed that her younger brother would be a good seedling for public relations and planning in the future. She nodded affirmatively when she heard this, "That's it."
The cogs in Xu Xiao Gang’s brain turned as well, "Elder Sister, how are we going to promote it? It can't be that you want to do a ‘not tasty, no charge’? That's definitely not possible."
Xu Xiao Jiao pondered for a while and came up with an idea, "Not tasty, no charge is so fake and unrealistic. The discounts we give customers must be realistic. Something that can be seen and touched. "
She asked Xu Xiao Gang to take out a pen and paper and wrote down her general plan.
"Let's warm up first. Promote it for ten days and a half. We can't post personal information on the bulletin board in town at the moment, so let's set up the entire leaflet first."
"The first thing is to make it super popular. For the first three days of the opening, how much the first thirty customers buy is how much extra they get for free."
Before she could say anything, Wu Chun Hua hurriedly stopped, "Oh, oh, oh, that won't work. We’ll be at a great loss. This one jin of meat only provides four-five hundred grams of pot stewed pork. On top of that, so many good things are added in. There’s rock sugar, brown sugar and big bones. According to our old prices, a piece of one hundred gram meat sells for 40 cents. A jin of pot stewed pork costs 2 yuan. When you sell with the buy one and get one free. that’s half a jin of meat sold at a deficit.”
Xu Xiao Jiao signaled Xu Xiao Gang to write it down first before joking with Wu Chun Hua with a smile, "Mom, your counting now is getting better and better."
Wu Chun Hua scolded her, "You're still making fun of Mom. It's hard to do business. If you sell like this, how can our family make any money?"
Xu Xiao Jiao shook her head, "Mom, this is a marketing strategy. You don't understand. Think about it, if we can attract a hundred people to buy with these thirty spots, will the small amount of money loss be considered a lot?"
Xu Xiao Gang's mind was quick, "Even if you lose thirty people's money, you can still make money from the remaining seventy people. And even if you lose those thirty people, you won't lose much. Mom, after all, we are still profiting."
Xu Xiao Jiao nodded, "Moreover, our pot stewed meat shop will be promoted immediately. As long as the people who buy it find it delicious, most of them will become repeat customers. Wouldn't this business take off?"
Wu Chun Hua mulled over it for a long time. Although she still felt it was somewhat of a loss, her daughter was indeed right and she didn't stop her. "Alright, alright, you young people got your wits. Mom will listen to you."
Xu Xiao Jiao signaled Xu Xiao Gang to continue writing, "Secondly, we can't only let the first thirty people benefit. If they don't get a spot, wouldn't they just leave? The people behind will have to be given discounts. We will base this on the money spent. Let’s calculate.”
She thought for a while, "We have to contact the source of goods first. This time we will buy some chicken feet, pig's trotters, pork liver and other things. When the time comes, stew them together. As long as the purchase exceeds fifty cents, give away chicken feets. If it exceeds one yuan, give away pig trotters, liver, and the likes. Anyway, as long as they spend money, we will give them something more or less."
Seeing Wu Chun Hua about to speak out, Xu Xiao Jiao explained first, "Mom, don't worry. We will only hold this event for three days. So the things given away won't lose money. At most, we will make less money. It's the same. Once people increase, small profits become quick turnover.”
As for the source of goods, Xu Xiao Jiao thought for a while, "Song Wei Ping used to buy meat from a man named Butcher Zhang in the town. I followed him there once and know him. We used to be secretive, but now he can do it openly on the streets. I met him a few days ago. We can buy meat from him first. If the demand is high in the future, we can also go back to Meilin Village, find someone to cooperate, and let the people in the village raise pigs."
She listed it out one by one. Almost all the problems were thought out. Xu Xiao Gang jotted down more than ten items.
After finishing writing, Xu Xiao Gang looked at the two full sheets of paper and asked, "Elder Sister, are these all getting posted?"
Xu Xiao Jiao gave him a head rub, "What I'm writing now is the store opening plan. Everything is listed out one by one in an orderly manner. For publicity, we can just write the first few items. It can’t be that you want to tell everyone where you purchase the goods from?"
Xu Xiao Gang rubbed his head and laughed, "Elder Sister, you don't say. Just writing like this makes me feel like I can open a store. Going by what you said and do it one by one and it will be done in the end."
Now that she voiced it out, Wu Chun Hua also felt that it was clear what to do step by step from buying and selling, from opening to publicity, from now to the future, "This is your elder sister's ability. Your elder sister is someone who had held tutoring classes. You should learn from her."
As she talked, Xu Xiao Jiao thought of another way to promote it, "I'll talk to the cooperative and see if I can put up a flier at their door. It's okay to pay some money. Although their customer flow isn’t that big, there are still a lot of people going there every day. And those who go to the cooperative to buy things, they still have the spending power. I will ask Chun Yan to promote it more for me."
She came up with ideas one by one. Xu Xiao Gang's mind started to spin, "Then I will also promote our store in school. From now on, I will bring pot stewed pork and roujiamo with me every day. I can let my classmates sample. This way, when the time comes , they will definitely come to buy it.”
Xu Xiao Jiao immediately applauded, "Yes, yes, Xiao Gang, your idea is a good one. Put it down!"
Xu Xiao Gang was greatly encouraged and immediately came up with a new idea, "Doesn’t Granny like to go out for a walk? She knows a lot of people who grow flowers. If she does go out today, she can also promote it then."
Xu Xiao Jiao deeply approved, "Yes, that works. Let's warm it up for half a month to get everyone's attention and heat up the topic. We won't be afraid that no one will come by then."
Have to say that Xu Xiao Jiao’s strategy was extremely correct.
The whole town was only that big. Some family matters tend to spread quickly.
Xu Xiao Jiao's family’s pot stewed pork shop had a huge benefits during its opening. Anyone who heard about it would definitely find out and see if they could benefit from it. In addition, Xu Xiao Jiao's family deliberately publicized it. It took ten days or so and almost everyone in town knew it.
It had been some time since Xu Xiao Jiao and the others moved to the town. She was pretty and had a good personality. Many people in the town knew her. The news that they were going to open a pot stewed meat restaurant had just been publicized for a few days when someone met Xu Xiao Jiao and asked her about it.
"Xiao Jiao, I went to the cooperative to buy something. Chun Yan said the three days of your pot stewed pork shop’s opening, the first thirty people who buy meat will get whatever amount they buy as a bonus. Is this true?"
Xu Xiao Jiao nodded, "Yes, we do not engage in false propaganda."
"Meaning, if I buy a jin of meat, you will give me another jin?"
"That's right. If you buy ten jins, I will give you ten jins."
With Xu Xiao Jiao's personal confirmation, everyone had no doubts this time. The state-owned restaurants in the town also have the kind of pot stewed pork that Xu Xiao Jiao mentioned. The taste was average, while the price wasn’t cheap. If Xu Xiao Jiao's store was similar to the state-owned restaurants, it was worth spending fifty cents on the buy one and get one free to try it.
There were also people who have eaten the pot stewed pork and roujiamo sold by Song Wei Ping. They were lamenting how they haven’t seen Song Wei Ping selling pot stewed pork in the alley for a long time. When they heard the news that Xu Xiao Jiao was going to open a pot stewed pork shop, they thought about the taste of the pot stewed pork from the alley. No matter what, they have to try it. If it tastes good, they wouldn’t have to wait in the alley.
Because of the good publicity, there were many people waiting on the street outside the window early in the morning on the first day of opening.
The door of this store room was expanded according to Xu Xiao Jiao's request. The original one-meter small door was directly expanded to more than two meters. A two-meter-long table was placed in front of the door, with two large flat baskets placed on the table. There is no problem for two or three people to work away inside. The space outside wasn’t small. One could clearly see what was in the basket.
In order to maintain the taste, Wu Chun Hua still got up early to make fresh pot stewed pork freshly even though the weather allowed it to be cooked the day before.
The big iron pot was tightly covered. Only the sound of gurgling inside could be heard. When seven o'clock came, Xu Xiao Jiao saw that there were many people outside the door and called to Wu Chun Hua, "Mom, take out the pot."
Wu Chun Hua responded in the kitchen room and opened the lid of the big pot.
The mellow and overbearing aroma of pot stewed pork spread instantly. This time they weren't like in Meilin Village. At that time, in order to prevent the smell from escaping, the stove room was sealed tightly. Now the windows and doors were wide open and Xu Xiao Gang held a big cattail leaf fan to blow hot air outwards.
Wu Chun Hua held a large iron tong and put the pot stewed pork into a large basket lined with white cloth.
The people waiting outside the store were still whispering.
"How is it? I see you came quite early and already in the top five. You also here for the buy one get one free? Definitely for the buy one get one free. Just don't know how they made the meat. If it tastes bad, it will be a waste of money."
That person nodded along and said, "Ain’t that right. I was thinking about queuing up first. What if it's good? I can buy two for the price of one."
Except for the thirty people in front, whose spots were determined under Xu Xiao Jiao's supervision to prevent disputes, most of the remaining people gathered together, waiting to watch the fun.
Most people have the same idea, to see if they can get any benefit. If the meat is really good, they plan to buy some to try it today. Wasn’t it said that there will be freebies later. If it is really good, then they would come early tomorrow to reserve a spot. The buy one get one free was a better deal.
Everyone was chatting away when a tickling aroma suddenly spread. It made people forget what they wanted to say.
"Snifff...it smells quite fragrant."
"Yes, yes, I haven't had breakfast yet. This smell, tsk tsk, meat rolled into a pancake, would be amazing."
"Oh, when you say that, I think of the Roujiamo in the alley again. It tastes really good."
As Wu Chun Hua moved the basket over, Xu Xiao Jiao lifted off the white cloth covering it. The heat mixed with the aroma radiated from the shiny pot stewed pork. The eyes of the people in front of her were all fixated
"Hello everyone. Today, our Songji’s pot stewed pork is officially opened. As for the pot stewed pork, they are priced at two yuan per jin. According to our original promotion, the first thirty people can buy one and get one free. Don’t mix up with the prearranged order. We’ll start selling now.”
While she was talking, Xu Xiao Gang put the chopping board and knives on the table. Then Wu Chun Hua stood at the head table. Everything was ready.
The first person was hit the hardest. He was closer and could see more clearly. When Wu Chun Hua put the basket on the table, the pot stewed meat jiggled. It felt fresh and fragrant just by looking at it. .
Xu Xiao Jiao happened to add on the side, "You are our first customer after opening. On top of the buy one get one free, we’ll give you two chicken feet and a Roujiamo."
Aiya, aiya, this was a big advantage. The man immediately made up his mind, "Give me a yuan worth of meat!"
Wu Chun Hua was feeling distressed about the things her daughter gave away. Although the chicken feet weren’t very valuable, they were stewed with all kinds of good things. The Roujiamo contained almost fifty grams of meat per bun. If this person bought something that cost only three to five dimes, it would be a loss to give away so much.
When she heard the man calling out "one yuan," she breathed a sigh of relief. At least they didn't lose that much. She neatly cut off a jin of meat according to the meat that the man picked. Then the two chicken feet and a Roujiamo were sorted in a moment.
The man looked at it with greedy eyes. He took the wrapped pot stewed pork in one hand and took a bite of the meat bun in the other.
"Mm..." He squinted his eyes, raised his thumb, took another big bite, and left with satisfaction.
With the first example and the taste, the next ones weren’t indecisive to buy. They originally planned to buy five dimes worth, but ended up gritting their teeth and bought the one yuan worth.
Seeing that the people behind her were still hesitant, Xu Xiaojiao immediately thought of another way. She took a piece of meat, cut it into thumb-sized pieces one by one, put it on a plate, and asked Xu Xiao Gang to take it out for everyone to taste for free.
Now some people can't hold it in anymore.
Originally, some people bought pot stewed pork and started to eat it on the street. One must know the reason why mukbang became popular was because the brain can magnify the deliciousness of other people’s food when watching other people eat. In addition, when other people always say the food is delicious, it makes people even more hungry.
When Xu Xiao Gang brought out the meat, those who wanted to taste it could pinch a small piece and eat it for free. Who would hold back? Those who wanted to buy and didn’t want to were all vying to eat a small piece. Some of them had their kids and pinched a piece for themselves, bite a little bit and stuff the rest into the kid's mouth.
The scene became even more uncontrollable.
"Hey, it's so delicious. I was thinking of waiting in line tomorrow. Why don't I buy five dime worth to eat at home today and wait in line tomorrow?"
"Tsk, our minds think alike. Also, doesn't this pot stewed pork have the same taste as that pot stewed pork in the alley? However, this one has just come out of the pot and maybe the ingredients are enough, I find it better than this one more delicious than the alley. I’m getting 50 cents worth no matter what and pair it with alcohol when I get home. I have been thinking about this for a month or two."
"Ain’t that right. Oh, this roujiamo should be the same as the ones in the alley. My kid has eaten it a few times since then, and now he’s pestering me for it these days. I'll buy some for him as soon as possible."
Some of the kids at the scene immediately started to throw tantrums. If they don’t buy, they won't get up. Initially, some parents were hesitant, but after this pestering they planned to buy some to eat first and queue up early tomorrow to buy cheap ones.
Some people ate a lot of Song Wei Ping's pot stewed pork and roujiamo. They could tell the difference as soon as they tried it. They raised their voices and asked Xu Xiao Jiao, "Little comrade, your meat tastes the same as the old alley’s pot stewed pork. The ones who were doing business in the past were your family?"
Xu Xiao Jiao didn't refute, nor did she admit it openly, "Now that the country's policies are good, the alley’s pot stewed pork and Roujiamo are gone. Our Songji pot stewed pork is open. From now on, everyone can come and eat whatever they want. It’s convenient and fresh. Guaranteed to satisfy everyone.”
Having said this, those who have eaten it could vaguely understand that it was their family.
Everyone was queuing up. Since they were idle, they started chatting away.
"Say, your family is really amazing. This country has just announced its opening up. While those who carry bundles and walk around the streets are still afraid, your store is now open."
"Yes, I heard the news that a store was going to be opened in the town and was shocked. I have been using various coupons for many years and now they aren’t needed. Also, self-employed is allowed. I was still thinking about opening a store to sell stuff and resell."
"Now, everywhere is like this. Didn't you see that the business license is posted on the boss’s wall? In the future, life will definitely get better and better."
The pot stewed pork shop was officially opened. On the first night, when Wu Chun Hua was counting the money, she was extremely satisfied, "My dear daughter, fortunately I listened to you. Twenty jins of meat were stewed. After deducting the cost, we finished the day with seven-eight yuan. And this includes the loss from the first thirty yuan. Otherwise it would be more than ten yuan."
Xu Xiao Jiao knew that she felt distressed for the meat given away. Because the first thirty people bought one and got one free, the first few were okay and bought less. The rest bought more because they tasted it. The most one person bought was three jin of meat. In this day and age, everyone got a few cuts of 50g meat. Three jins was a hefty amount.
Xu Xiao Jiao comforted her, "We've made a lot of money. More than you think, Mom."
Wu Chun Hua nodded, "Mom was thinking earning two or three yuan would be a lot."
Xu Xiao Jiao instructed Xu Xiao Gang to keep the accounts and said to Wu Chun Hua with a smile, "Mom, tomorrow, thirty kilograms will be enough. For the day after tomorrow, at least fifty jins are needed. Also make more chicken feet, pig trotters and Roujiamo."
"Why? It's not fresh if we can't sell fifty jins and let it sit for a day."
Xu Xiao Jiao smiled and said nothing, "You will know on the third day."
Though she kept her mouth shut, she was thinking in her heart that if Song Wei Ping were here, he would definitely understand what she meant.
She missed him a little bit again.
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