Chapter 52: Real Talent and Fake Genius

  Qiu Ye could have picked the vegetables the night before, but she thought they wouldn't be fresh that way. Her vegetables sell well for two reasons: her good service attitude and their freshness. Compared to those of other vegetable vendors, hers stand out. When people come to buy vegetables at the same price, they naturally choose the freshest ones.

  "You can't just trample on our family's land, we're still waiting for the vegetables to dry so we can eat them in winter." Every summer, Mrs. Qiu would dry a lot of bean sprouts, eggplant, potatoes and other things, leaving them for her daughter to cook with in the winter. With these dried vegetables, her daughter could eat more rice and gain some weight.

  Qiu Ye simply waved her hand towards the back, and those dishes were all left behind, they could be dried in a few days.

  She and her brother arrived at their own land, then they squatted down and entered, one person with a basket, starting to act separately. Qiu Ye picked bean sprouts and eggplants, Qiu Feng picked cucumbers and persimmons, half an hour later, they had picked all the vegetables that could be picked. Then the two of them pushed the cart back to the tofu workshop to pick up tofu, went to the cold storage to pick up frozen tofu, pushing a full load of things, and went to the Xizhai market.

  While on the road, Qiu Ye didn't waste time learning and started reciting ancient poems with her brother, one sentence each, not wasting a single moment along the way.

  Arriving at Xi Village Market, Qiu Ye came to the place where she had been selling vegetables for the past few days and greeted a nearby butcher uncle, "Good morning, Uncle Wang."

  "Xiao Ye, you're late! It's already after 9 o'clock. Hey, you're not selling vegetables today, but tofu instead?" Wang Da Shu, the pork seller, was picking bones and casually greeted them, then looked up to see two blocks of tofu on Qiu Ye siblings' cart and asked in surprise.

  "No, today we brought some tofu made at home to sell and see if there's a market for it. The vegetables are all underneath the tofu." Qiu Ye said, then took out several baskets of vegetables from the car and arranged them on the ground.

  The cart was welded a bit smaller than the normal cart when it was being welded, this is specially for two kids to use, so it wasn't made that big. Now Qiu Ye and the other one want to carry so many things at once, they need to reasonably arrange the space.

  They put the vegetables they picked in the morning inside, and stacked two foam boxes outside, containing frozen tofu. The water tofu has a mold, so it can be placed directly on the two car walls, neither occupying space in the cart nor crushing the vegetables below.

  Qiu Ye just agreed with her brother that she would be in charge of selling tofu today, and her brother would be in charge of selling vegetables. The two of them would compete to see who could sell more.

  They had just set up their stall when customers came to buy bean sprouts. Qiu Ye seized the opportunity and started recommending her own tofu to them.

  "Hey, old lady, why don't you buy a block of tofu? Tofu is really good for you, especially for the elderly... Our family's tofu is made from high-quality soybeans imported from Northeast China, so it's extremely nutritious. And eating tofu can even make your skin look better..." Qiu Ye enthusiastically praised their family's tofu, making it sound like eating it would grant eternal youth and longevity.

  "Alright, alright, you little girl can really talk, I'll buy a piece to take home. If it's delicious, I'll come back and buy some next time." The old lady heard Qiu Ye say so much that she felt that whether she wanted to or not, if she didn't buy a piece of tofu from this little girl, it would be unfair to her. In the end, in addition to the bean sprouts, she also bought a large piece of tofu.

  "Ma'am, don't worry, our tofu is not only rich in nutrients but also absolutely the best in taste. I guarantee that after you try it this time, you'll come back to buy from us again next time. Take a look, we're Qiu's Tofu, passed down through generations."

  After the old lady left, Qiu Feng looked at his sister who had earned three毛 (a small amount of money) for herself. She put it away and said with some annoyance: "Little sister, you're really making an effort, just one piece of tofu, you talked for over ten minutes. If all these pieces of tofu are sold out, how many words will you have to say today?" In fact, he thought his sister was very cunning, the customer had clearly come to buy his bean sprouts, but his sister had persuaded them to buy an extra piece of tofu, so they had earned more money than him from the start.

  "Brother, this is a marketing strategy. Of course, people who sell things want to think of all sorts of ways to get others to buy their products. If you just sit there silently selling your goods, you can only wait for those who want to buy your vegetables to come and patronize you. But if I do it my way, by shouting out my wares, I'm advertising my products and increasing the chances that others will come and buy my tofu. My business might sell a lot more this way. This is my own business, and since we're both at this station all day, of course I want to make as much money as possible. You think that's right, don't you?" I explained my sales philosophy to my brother in simple terms, but I'm not sure how much he understood.

  "That's right." Qiu Feng said in a low voice, and then fell silent.

  When another woman came to ask how much the eggplant was, Qiu Feng quoted a price and then hesitantly asked if she wanted to buy some cucumbers or something.

  "Hey auntie, would you like to buy some more cucumbers? These were just picked from the ground this morning and are really fresh. Take a look."

  Qiu Feng also wanted to sell his goods, but he always felt that there was nothing to say, so he kept repeating the word "fresh".

  Qiu Ye chimed in from the side, "Yes, auntie, our cucumbers are all grown in our own backyard, and they're definitely not the same as those that were brought up. You eat a lot, you must know, when you look at our cucumbers, they're all top-notch with thorns, even holding them hurts your hand, but they're the freshest in this market. In this weather, eating these refreshing cucumbers is the most delicious way to end a meal."

  The last old lady really bought a few more cucumbers and left.

  Although Qiu Ye helped Qiu Feng sell the goods in the end, Qiu Ye still looked at his brother with admiration. With just this one instance, he was able to learn and apply it immediately - now that's a real talent! It's completely different from my own pseudo-genius. Although my brother still has some shame and won't say anything nice, these are all things that can be cultivated later on. After selling a few more times, he'll get the hang of it.

  Qiu Ye Chao gave his brother a thumbs up, and his brother smiled somewhat embarrassedly. But afterwards when someone came to buy vegetables, he would enthusiastically recommend other dishes to them, and finally even learned from Qiu Ye, shouting out loud to attract customers.

  That day, their business was very good. Qiu Ye's frozen tofu was the only one in this market, and Qiu Feng's vegetables were very fresh. The two siblings took turns calling out to customers, and it seemed like they couldn't do bad business even if they wanted to. By around 2 pm, everything had been sold out. Qiu Ye gave the last piece of tofu to Wang Da Shu next door, "Uncle Wang, take this, the last piece of tofu. Bring it back for Auntie and your sister to make a dish with. It's good luck, don't refuse!"

  After this, I will often sell tofu here, so it is still necessary to be on good terms with the neighbors.

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