Gourd Farm Chapter 20
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 20: Selling Fruit and Making a Profit.
Right now there are still seven or eight watermelons left in the car. The less stock there is, the harder it is to sell. It feels like they're leftovers that people didn't want. There have been quite a few people coming and going, but either they find the prices too high or they say there aren't enough watermelons.
Sometimes, it's really hard to understand the minds of these consumers. Even though they are all the same, they insist on calling them different varieties.
At this rate, it's estimated that they won't sell out before noon. The watermelons are just too big, so people either don't want to buy a whole one or don't want to buy half.
Business hasn't been as good as the previous weekend when there were more people making it easier to sell even if they split the melons in half.
With fewer customers now, if they don't sell out on the same day, he won't be able to sell them the next day anymore.
Each watermelon costs quite a bit of money, and Yang Feng didn't have a fridge at home.
However, the supermarket owner said something that inspired Yang Feng. He Thought making of fruit salad.
Yang Feng had seen this done before in some of the larger supermarkets when he was living in the city. Customers could divide the fruit into portions and pack them into containers themselves.
With this method, they could sell the fruit salad at the school gate or to passing cars on the side of the road. People who wanted to eat the fruit could just grab a box, and the price wouldn't be too high.
With this idea in mind, Yang Feng rode his bike to a nearby market where they sold almost everything.
He found a store that sold tableware, and inside, there was a wide variety of pots, pans, dishes, and utensils.
"Hey handsome, what would you like to buy?" asked the shopkeeper.
As soon as Yang Feng walked in, a young woman carrying a leather bag greeted him warmly.
"Shopkeeper, do you sell fruit containers?"
"Yes, we do. What size do you need?" the shopkeeper replied.
Yang Feng hesitated. He only had a sudden idea after the supermarket owner's suggestion and didn't have a clear idea of the specific size.
"If you're not sure, tell me if you're using it for a stall or for your store, and I'll recommend something for you," the shopkeeper said to Yang Feng.
"Oh, I'm planning to use it for a stall. I'm looking for the normal kind that costs fifteen yuan per container," Yang Feng replied.
"I see. How about this one? It's 1500 milliliters," the shopkeeper said as she pulled out a transparent plastic container from a cardboard box. It looked quite nice, and the quality seemed good.
"Hmm, that should be about right. How much is it per container?" Yang Feng asked.
"If you want to buy more, we can offer a wholesale price of 0.5 yuan per container, with a minimum order of 100 containers. Otherwise, they retail for .08 yuan per container," the shopkeeper replied.
"I'll take a hundred for now," said Yang Feng.
He put the fruit containers in the car and found a spot without any cars to cut open a watermelon and divide it into containers. Places with lots of cars would stir up dust, and since it was food, it was better to be hygienic.
In no time, a large watermelon was divided into more than ten containers. The flesh was already superb in color, and with the container, it looked even more appetizing.
After finishing the fruit salad, Yang Feng decided to head to the school gate first since there was a higher flow of people there.
At this point, the school gate was filled with people and cars, and there were also many snack stalls, selling fried skewers and the like.
After a long search, Yang Feng finally found a spot, but he had to negotiate with an old man who said he might arrive a bit late today. If business is good, Yang Feng will come earlier tomorrow.
This area is a combination of a kindergarten and an elementary school, and to sell these things, you have to find a place like this, where most parents will indulge their children when they ask for snacks.
"Ding, ding, ding."
An alarm bell rang, signaling the end of school. The once quiet campus suddenly became lively as students came out of their classrooms.
Elementary school students were well-behaved and lined up neatly, but the preschoolers were running around everywhere because of their young age and excitement to see their parents.
Yang Feng placed the fruit salads in a prominent position at the front, so that the children could see them at first glance.
"Grandma, I want to eat that watermelon," a child said.
"No, we just bought some at home. Look at the color of this watermelon, it must have hormones in it. It will make your stomach ache if you eat it," the grandma replied and dragged the child onto the electric tricycle.
The child's two big eyes were still fixed on the watermelon.
"Mom, what's this? The color is so pretty, I want to eat it," another child asked.
"This is a watermelon. It looks like a new variety," the mom replied.
"How much is this watermelon from your stand, boss?"
Yang Feng was confused by the old lady earlier, don’t buy if you don't want to, but she shouldn't say that the watermelon had been injected with hormones and deceive the children.
"Boss?"
"Oh, this is 15 yuan per container, feel free to choose."
It was only after hearing the woman's voice that he came back to reality from his earlier dilemma.
"Just one small container costs 15 yuan, can't it be cheaper?"
"This is the lowest price, and this is a new variety."
The woman gritted her teeth and said, "Give me a one."
If her daughter didn't want to eat it, she wouldn't have been willing to spend more than ten yuan on such a small container of watermelon. It was just extravagant.
Seeing that some children had bought it, other passing children also stared at their parents pitifully. To be honest, it’s really hard to refuse those pitiful little eyes.
It seems that the promotion isn't strong enough. When Yang Feng was buying the fruit box earlier, he asked the boss for a bag of small forks just so that the children could try the fruit. Now, seven or eight children have come over, including older and younger ones.
"Would you like to try this watermelon, kids? It's sweet and crispy."
Yang Feng handed a container to a group of children without hesitation. The children were already defenseless against the temptation of snacks. They looked at their parents one by one, but none of them opposed it, so they grabbed the container and used small forks to eat the watermelon inside.
"Daddy, I want more."
"Mommy, I want some too."
"Sister, I don't want my toy gun anymore. Can you buy me a box of watermelon instead?"
...
Yang Feng saw several customers waiting for their orders, and he hurriedly began packing the remaining fruit salads. He was glad to see that the watermelon was a hit with the kids, but it meant he had to work faster to keep up with demand.
"Coming right up, just a few more minutes!" he called out to the impatient customers.
"Can you hurry it up, we're in a rush!" one of them complained.
"Hey, you haven't given me my change yet," another reminded him.
"Take it easy, I'm doing the best I can," Yang Feng replied as he finished packing the last of the orders.
…
...
"Just relax, don't be in such a hurry."
Yang Feng's fruit knife was flying non-stop at this point, and soon there was a large pile of watermelon rinds in front of him.
He was busy for twenty minutes, and there were only three watermelons left in the car, and only half of the boxes were left.
"Oh my god, I'm so exhausted."
He picked up a water cup and chugged it down, "Gulu Gulu", and let out a belch.
Now the school gate is empty again except for the snack vendors. He only did business for half an hour.
Looking at the money in the bag, he realized that selling fruit boxes was more profitable than selling whole watermelons, but he had to prepare them in advance, or he would really be too busy to handle it.
If he had prepared more today, he could have sold at least ten more boxes, but some customers couldn't wait and left.
If it weren't for the greenhouse at home, he wouldn't have planned to go back for lunch today and could have sold all afternoon.
After counting, he had made seven hundred yuan in just this short time. If he could get some repeat customers, he could build a second greenhouse in no time.
