Chapter 60 of 100

Chapter 60: Selling Tofu

11 min read2,866 words

When Zhu Daodong found Hou Lihua and his son at the train station, the joy on his face had yet to fade. Hou Lihua, a worldly-wise man, saw Zhu Daodong approaching and quickly asked with a smile, "Xiao Zhu, did you find a treasure?"

"Finding a treasure is a bit of an exaggeration, but I did resolve a major concern," Zhu Daodong replied without hiding his thoughts. He had initially planned to have the liquor sold through the county's storefront, and given the appearance of the Shulin Ridge liquor, it would definitely not perform poorly. However, he hadn't expected Xu Jun to also agree to sell the Shulin Ridge liquor at his resort, which solved a significant problem for him.

The Xiangshan Resort, despite being just a dining spot, had a substantial daily alcohol consumption. According to Xu Jun, the resort served at least 200 bottles of liquor daily. Of course, at least half of these would be high-end brands like Maotai or Wuliangye, but the remaining nearly 100 bottles of liquor was still a considerable number. In other words, if all the Shulin Ridge liquor were sold at the Xiangshan Resort, it could be sold out in as little as two months.

"Is it about the premium old white liquor?" Hou Lihua had received a call from the township yesterday afternoon. He found it somewhat overblown that a party committee meeting was specifically convened for this matter. This was essentially forcing Zhu Daodong into a do-or-die situation. If he succeeded, his prestige would spread throughout the township. If he failed, his position as the director of the enterprise office, which he had held for only a few days, would likely be taken over by someone else. Of course, he was aware of the underlying reasons and felt quite disdainful towards Yuan Ping. Why would a township chief make things difficult for the director of the enterprise office? Winning would make him appear petty, and losing would damage his authority.

"Nothing can escape your notice, but this matter is still uncertain. Please help me keep it confidential for now," Zhu Daodong said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret," Hou Lihua replied with a laugh.

They boarded the train at the Yuhua train station at 9:30 and arrived in Shachang City at 10:30. After exiting the train station, they went to the nearest farmers' market. The market was busiest in the early morning when the vegetables were fresh and there were many choices. However, since it was Sunday, there were still quite a few people buying vegetables when they arrived.

Zhu Daodong had been to this farmers' market before. He first took Hou Lihua and his son on a tour of the market to familiarize them with the environment and bought some small plastic bags to hold the tofu. The market had storefronts around the perimeter and various stalls in the middle, all of which required rent. The three of them found a spot at the entrance of the market and placed the two buckets of tofu on the ground.

After a while, people started to ask about the prices. They had brought two types of tofu: the fragrant tofu was large, about the size of a palm, and about one centimeter thick, priced at 50 cents per piece. The braised tofu was smaller and thinner but could be eaten directly, making it a ready-to-eat food, so it was also priced at 50 cents per piece.

"Daodong, isn't the price too high? Should we lower it to 30 cents for three pieces?" Hou Lihua, seeing many people asking but few buying, began to lose his patience. He had calculated the cost at home, including electricity and coal, and found that the cost of one piece of fragrant tofu was about 30 cents, while the cost of braised tofu was slightly higher but only by a few cents. This trip was to test the market, and if they couldn't sell everything, it would be a significant blow to the villagers' confidence.

"That won't do. You see, the fragrant tofu in the market isn't as big or as thick as ours, yet it also sells for 50 cents. We can't sell at a loss just to attract customers," Zhu Daodong shook his head. Lowering the price was not the right approach. After all, 50 cents per piece for fragrant tofu was a reasonable profit. Hou Lihua hadn't even factored in the transportation costs, which would bring the total cost to about 40 cents per piece.

"But these are two large buckets. Selling one piece at a time, how long will it take?" Hou Lihua was worried.

"People who come to the market are regulars. We're new here, so it's normal to sell less," Hou Gan said in a deep voice, having noticed that many vendors in the market greeted their customers warmly.

"So, to sell our tofu well, we need to build a reputation. At least we need to make it clear to others. Wait here, I'll go write a sign," Zhu Daodong thought for a moment. He had read many books on sales, but applying theory to practice was challenging.

He went to the market and asked someone for a piece of cardboard and a pen. He had wanted to use a brush, but couldn't find one, so he used a ballpoint pen. He wrote in hollow letters, filling the inside with lines, making it quite eye-catching.

"Young man, your handwriting is great. Could you also write the prices for me?" The person who lent him the pen was a fruit vendor who found Zhu Daodong's price sign unique.

"Sure, I'll take this out first and come back to write for you later," Zhu Daodong smiled. Helping others was also helping himself, and it was just a small favor.

"Shulin Ridge fragrant tofu, 50 cents per piece; secret recipe braised fragrant tofu, 50 cents per piece. Great, now I don't even need to shout the prices," Hou Lihua said with a smile, looking at the two cardboard signs.

With these two "signs," sales immediately increased. Zhu Daodong remembered a promotional technique he had read in a sales book. He took two pieces of fragrant tofu and braised tofu, borrowed a knife from the fruit vendor, and cut them into small pieces. Whenever someone came to ask, he immediately offered them a taste. Most people who tried the samples ended up buying one or two pieces.

The "Shulin Ridge fragrant tofu" was large and substantial, enough to make a dish with one piece. The braised tofu had a great taste and was perfect for drinking and cold dishes.

"Try our fragrant tofu. It's fine if you don't buy, but the taste is excellent."

This phrase quickly became the standard call of Hou Lihua and his son. As a result, the two buckets of tofu were sold out in just two hours.

Hou Lihua counted the money, which amounted to 98 yuan. They had brought 100 pieces of fragrant tofu and 100 pieces of braised tofu, and Zhu Daodong had used two pieces of each for promotion, leaving 196 pieces. The total matched the money they had. He calculated the cost in his head: at 30 cents per piece, 200 pieces of tofu would cost 60 yuan, leaving a gross profit of 38 yuan. Even after deducting transportation costs, they still had 34 yuan. If they could earn this much every day, my goodness, they could make a thousand yuan in a month?

This calculation left Hou Lihua amazed. Tofu was simple, but making money from it was also simple. If the entire village were organized to produce tofu, how much could they earn in a day? A month? A year? Even those who worked outside might not earn as much.

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