Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Pre-Year Promotion
Xia Chuyi guessed that Zhang Xiaoling would probably have more tricks up her sleeve.
After all, for someone with “princess syndrome,” the world not revolving around her and things not going according to her plans was simply intolerable.
“Alright, don’t worry about it so much,” Xia Chuyi said after rinsing the rag in her hands, addressing her cousin.
She didn’t want him to get too involved.
“Oh,” Zhao Xiaogui replied somewhat listlessly.
He wondered if what he had said to Zhang Xiaoling earlier had brought trouble to his cousin.
Seeing him and after working for a while, Xia Chuyi thought for a moment and said, “Tomorrow we’ll hang up a sign that says it’s the last day of business before the New Year.”
“Let’s cook all the remaining ingredients and sell them all, then we’ll head home and come back after the New Year.”
Zhao Xiaogui was startled. “Wouldn’t that mean earning a lot less money?”
“It’s already the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month; we’re not missing out on many days,” she comforted him.
Actually, she hadn’t told the truth. She had originally planned to continue until the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month because the closer it got to the New Year, the better the cooked dishes should sell.
But there was no choice, her attempt to find someone today hadn’t worked out, and Zhang Xiaoling would surely try to find someone else to cause trouble.
She needed to avoid the sharp edge and also needed to start preparing.
Since Zhang Xiaoling had struck first, she wouldn’t hold back either.
Zhao Xiaogui thought his cousin was afraid of Zhang Xiaoling, nodded, and said, “Alright, let’s go home. I’ll talk to my dad about this, and let him come up with a solution!”
This tendency of his to push problems onto his father made her want to smack her cousin again—what was she to do?
Ultimately, it was still because she wasn’t strong enough; even Zhao Xiaogui always felt she had to rely on Uncle Xia.
Xia Chuyi sorted the remaining ingredients, documented everything clearly, and cooked them all following a specific sequence.
The next day, she wrote on a wooden board “End-of-Year Clearance, Extra Discounts for Bulk Purchases” and placed it at the door.
Pedestrians who saw these words, even those who hadn’t planned to buy anything, stopped in their tracks.
“Comrade, is your store having a clearance sale today?” a customer asked.
“Yes, the New Year is almost here,” Xia Chuyi explained with a smile. “These two days were just to test the waters, our shop officially opens after the New Year.”
The customer had heard about this earlier, nodded, and showed understanding.
“So how are the discounts calculated?” the customer asked further.
“For individual purchases, the price remains the same. Buy two pounds and get a 5% discount; for three pounds, a 10% discount and a free cooked egg; for five pounds, a 20% discount, plus another cooked egg.”
“Above that, no further discounts, but every five pounds still gets two more cooked eggs.”
People were used to state-owned store procedures, where goods were sold at fixed prices with no bargaining. This promotional approach was very novel for current times.
Seasoned foods, especially when bought in quantities from two to three pounds, were easy to achieve, and with the added allure of cooked eggs and discounts, customers started making calculations in their minds.
Some, having freezers at home, began considering how much to buy, fitting it into their storage space.
Others, more cunning, went back to gather neighbors and friends to discuss and combine their purchases.
Regardless of whether customers purchased individually or combined, Xia Chuyi honored the discounts as announced.
Thus, most of the seasoned meats sold were cheaper than usual, enticing even the more frugal customers to join in and purchase.
Unexpectedly, even though there was three times the usual amount of ingredients, they were all sold out around one in the afternoon.
This time, the siblings were thoroughly exhausted.
Yet, there were still customers making inquiries.
Xia Chuyi gathered her energy, explained the situation to each customer, sent them off, and told them, “During the first three days after we officially open after the New Year, there will be promotional activities too, with even better discounts than before.”
After sending off the customers, the figure of Zhang Xiaoling suddenly appeared at the shop entrance.
Following her today was the same man in work clothes from before—Li Cai.
“Xia Chuyi, don’t be so smug!” Zhang Xiaoling didn’t have a pleasant tone as soon as she appeared.
Xia Chuyi glanced at Li Cai behind Zhang Xiaoling, pretended to be surprised, and said, “Was the man yesterday someone you brought?”