Song Tan's Notes

After Lu Chuan said that, the leaders looked at Qiao Qiao not far away and felt a little embarrassed.

Yes.

In order to sell grapes, everyone in their county, from the Party Secretary to the county leaders, started rehearsing live streams, watched several, and went to various places to learn more...

Otherwise, how could they know so much about things like the slot fee?

But seeing how much preparation others make from product selection to marketing strategies, I can't help but feel uneasy.

And what about Qiao Qiao?

The other person had a youthful face and pure eyes; upon closer inspection, they truly looked like a teenager.

Furthermore, given their mental impairment, they are precisely the kind of people these successful adults should be caring for.

But nowadays, teenagers work tirelessly for hours on end in this vineyard in the sweltering heat, eating and talking all the while, and even trying to use irony in their marketing.

Although they didn't understand, it takes ten years of practice to achieve one minute on stage!
The more understated they are, the more it shows they've done their homework beforehand; who knows how much work they've been working behind the scenes.

Everyone looked ashamed.

It's because they can't grasp the current business trends that this young man has to suffer so much.

But there were still some families whose grapes hadn't been sold, so even though I was a bit shameless, I still had to ask, "What about tomorrow..."

Song Tan remained silent.

Lu Chuan expressed the same meaning with far more emotional intelligence than she did.

At that moment, Lu Chuan indeed appeared sincere:
"Don't worry, boss. Since we've been entrusted with this task, we must do it well. The child is just a little tired today."

"But don't worry, everyone. Our live stream has always had a great long-tail effect. The links have already been put up in advance. There will definitely be sales tonight. Tell everyone to wait patiently for one night."

"Moreover, these days shipping is all about speed. With so many products sold, we need to ship them as quickly as possible, otherwise customers might just wait and then request a refund."

He appeared so sincere and caring, which reassured everyone once again:

"How about this, if it's not sold out by tomorrow morning, then we'll just broadcast it again first thing in the morning."

Having been busy for so long, they didn't plan to drive back overnight.

After all, judging from Qiaoqiao's expectant look as she stood to the side, she clearly remembered the local specialties and delicacies promised by her fellow villagers and leaders.

—Although it doesn't taste as good as the ones at home, it has a unique flavor that's different.

After going out for exercise many times (mainly because Yang Zhengxin talked about all kinds of food from all over the country), Qiao Qiao is no longer the Qiao Qiao who had to bring her own ingredients when she went out.

The leaders were immediately relieved.

The people in the garden were still busy, but they couldn't neglect Song Tan and his group, so they took them to the pre-arranged family dining hall.
"This restaurant doesn't look like much, but it serves exceptionally authentic local cuisine. Otherwise, the dishes in those hotels are all pretty much the same from all over the country; they're just more upscale in terms of ambiance..."

The previous administration was incompetent, and the new administration took over the mess. As expected, they adopted a down-to-earth and practical approach, and the family-run canteen they chose is quite to everyone's liking.

Qiaoqiao nodded excitedly as she walked:

"We also have a cafeteria! Chef Jiang there cooks really well—what's wrong with a family-run cafeteria?"

Ultimately, it was just a young person's confusion.

The leader glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh as well:
"Nothing much, I was just worried the place might be too small and you might find it simple. But the food is sure to be delicious! Try it, eat more, you've had a really hard day..."

As the words were spoken, even the tone softened considerably, clearly indicating that the favorability had been maximized.

……

Meanwhile, the villagers who had been pushed out of the orchard in a daze were completely bewildered, having no idea why they hadn't put up any resistance.

People are born in a daze—is it because they themselves lack confidence?
As they were talking, the person next to them was still complaining:
"What's wrong with you? Didn't you ask someone to help us sell some products too? We're not going to pay that 5 yuan!"

"Yeah, why don't you ask everyone?"

Muttering amongst themselves, everyone turned and crowded back into the orchard, calling out, "Liang Er, Liang Er! You should talk to them too. We have a thousand or eight hundred catties of fruit in our orchard, why can't we sell them? It's just a matter of adding a few more to our inventory, it won't make a difference!"

Liang Erfan is so annoyed:
"How am I supposed to tell them? I was doing a perfectly good live stream, and you all had to come and cause trouble?"

"That's great, even my family's are no longer being sold!"

The streamer said he was tired. Why is it that he's not tired now or later, but he has to say he's tired right when this person is about to come up to him?

He's still angry!

They're just well-mannered and don't show it!
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately fell silent.

But the silence lasted only a moment, and then the shouting resumed even louder:
"What are you worried about? Your family's garden of over ten acres has already sold tens of thousands of catties, hasn't it? What's the rush for this little bit left? You've definitely made a profit!"

"What do we do then? We haven't even gotten our money back yet!"

Good heavens, Liang Er was even angrier:
"When we first signed the contract, didn't you say it was expensive? We hadn't even invited you retail investors yet!"

They chattered loudly, laughing at those who had nothing and resenting those who had something.

Before, when people were chatting in the village, they would often say—

[I knew they were obsessed with money, planting so many grapes! Now look what happened, they've all wasted their time, they're going to lose a fortune!]

[Exactly! They even go to the trouble of hiring experts and offering agricultural consulting services? We've been growing grapes for so many years, and they're still growing just fine! Look at the size of my grapes this year!]

They're planting so much that it's making it hard for us small farmers to sell our produce today. But thankfully, it's only a few hundred kilograms; the roadside stalls have already sold out, so we can at least make some money.

What secrets could there be in the village? They don't even try to hide their conversations from others, and they speak very loudly.

He felt a surge of frustration every time he passed by and heard it.

Everyone says they're just following the trend of planting grapes, but who actually planted them first? Both he and Tao Zhuangzhuang's families were among the first to start!
And what about this group of people? They saw that grapes sold for high prices last year, so they all jumped on the bandwagon this year.

They follow too many orders, yet they don't implement scientific management or quality control. They even engage in malicious price wars at roadside stalls.

When grapes first came to market, they weren't just 3 yuan a pound! It was all driven up by people comparing prices and shouting their prices.

Thinking of this, his words were tinged with anger:

"You haven't recouped your investment? You bought those fruit tree seedlings in a rush at the end of last year. Besides spraying pesticides, what else have you done with them?"

"What's the cost? Those grapes aren't even up to standard. The inspectors wouldn't even take yours for random checks. How can you sell them mixed in with ours?"

"Take that biological agent for example. When Da Liang and I were administering it, did you guys laugh?"

"Even such a small bottle costs tens of dollars. I don't know how much money several acres of garden would cost. That's our capital!"

That's not how it's said—someone outside was muttering:
"Who's as rich as you guys?"

"You started growing grapes early, and you've figured out the ways to make money much better than we have. You've built a large and prosperous business!"

“We’re just a small business, we don’t even have ten or twenty thousand left over in a year, how could we afford to invest like this? We have to rely on your connections to sell our products.”

The words were spoken softly, but the underlying meaning was far more unsettling. Whose family is so wealthy and powerful? Who's just a small, insignificant household?

Whose money wasn't earned through their own hard work?
If they really didn't want them to make so much money, then why did they secretly laugh at them when experts were hiring them to teach them step by step and they couldn't accept even the slightest mistake?
They even said they wanted to sell grapes for tens of yuan per kilogram; they've lost their minds.

They also said that they didn't care about anything, yet the grapes grew big, round, and sweet.

Then, thinking about other streamers who had to end their broadcasts before finishing their own content, I felt even more frustrated.

But he wasn't good at arguing, so he could only plop back down on the stool.

"You can tell them yourselves. I'm busy packing anyway, so I can't bother with that!"

I heard that Lao Tao plans to reduce production next year, and he will reduce it too—

Even if you sell them successfully this year, next year there might still be people who only see the stolen produce without seeing the consequences, and they'll still follow suit and plant them.

If the market becomes chaotic, even the best quality products won't be recognized.

The streamer is impressive, but look at his abilities, what wouldn't he be good at selling?
I might not be able to come next year!

He was preoccupied with something and angry, so his face was gloomy.

Okay!

The villagers stared at him: "You've only sold so many grapes, I wonder how much money you're making. And you don't care about the other villagers?"

They don't care!
There's only one family canteen in the village, so they went to find the leader themselves!

This is the kind of grape that the leaders promoted before, so why are they planting it and then neglecting it?
People left in a flurry, calling their friends and leaving the orchard quiet down, with only the rustling sound of packing the fruit.

Liang Er sighed, looking at the garden again—there were hardly any employees.

Looking again at the pile of delivery boxes over there, he couldn't help but worry, and turned to call Da Liang:
"Da Liang, are you sure you can finish sending this out tonight?"

"How is that possible?"

Da Liang exclaimed, "There are still a few more families ahead of us, including Old Tao's! They haven't even finished packing half of their food yet!"

Don't even mention the lack of manpower; we've called in two hundred people to pack the orders. The volume is huge, and the packing has to be meticulous!

Security guards were also on hand, watching over the work. If anything didn't meet the standards, they would send it back to be redone.

Why are there only four security guards?

At most, they'll give a share to those big spenders. Since it's a small operation like theirs, nobody's watching over it. Only he, as the boss, can keep a close eye on everything and listen to everyone, afraid of making even the slightest mistake and ruining his reputation.

The host said that he specially took photos of them this year and included their names in the links.

If they eat well, they might be able to attract fans to their channel if they start their own broadcasts next year.

If its reputation is ruined, then whoever suffers the consequences will be left wondering.

After all, after-sales service fees are deducted from their payment for the goods.

When money is involved, even if everyone wants to loosen monetary policy, they dare not act recklessly at this moment.

But now, his own garden can bring in hundreds of thousands of yuan in orders.

Although the villagers were speaking in anger, they were right; after deducting his initial investment, he did indeed make some extra money.

Thinking about it this way, all the fear and anxiety I had ahead of seemed worthwhile.

Then he thought about it again, and realized that those retail investors who made sarcastic remarks and mocked them a while ago couldn't sell at such high prices and could only watch their payments come in, which made him feel smug again.

Jojo!

He silently murmured the name, then thought of the family's angelic good looks, and thought to himself:

I should probably check out the streamer later.

If he wants to sell something else, he has to support the popularity of the seller!
And these grapes, I wonder when they'll leave?

Before he left, he also had to get about a hundred pounds of good grapes to take back with him.

Although Qiaoqiao said it wasn't as good as what his family made, he didn't believe her.

After all, it was my first year growing grapes, and the price was a bit lower than that of Lao Tao's family, so I put in extra effort the second year and studied very hard.

There are quite a few Grade A fruits here, how could they not even compare to those from the streamer's store?

This must be the different sales tactics used by different livestreamers these days!

As for the hundred or so pounds that we can't finish eating them all—

Oh dear! Who doesn't have relatives and friends? If you can't finish it, you can take it back as a gift or a favor!

In short, since he earns more than others, he probably wouldn't care about money, so he'd better bring more grapes.

Coincidentally, Tao Zhuangzhuang was also making calls everywhere, asking for manpower.

Forget about the hourly wage of 20; the people we've been hiring in the area are now being offered 30 because they have to work overtime.

The town didn't have enough packing boxes, so they had to be brought in from the city overnight.

But when it comes to making money, nobody is ashamed, and everyone steps on the gas pedal at breakneck speed, keeping half the town busy.

Meanwhile, the villagers, who had been marching menacingly toward the family canteen, spotted three buyers by the dim streetlights on the dark roadside.

At this moment, they looked at each other, each seemingly having found a breakthrough.

The villager who was leading the way came over and said, "You haven't left yet? All the grapes in our village have been pre-ordered, 50 yuan a pound!"

Selling goods is all about give and take, isn't it?

The buyer also put on a calm face: "Only the top-quality goods from that Tao family sell for 50, the others I see are all around 30 or 40."

That being said, the villagers' glances at him were also pointed:
"Yeah, other people are already charging 30 or 40, and you're still charging 3? Who's going to sell? Why don't you raise the price a bit?"

Upon hearing this, both of them were moved.

The three buyers exchanged glances: "They didn't offer that much, did they? 30 yuan per jin, and they have to screen the plants first. I estimate that half of them won't meet the standards."

"After that, we still have to deduct 5 yuan from the commission for those good quality ones we select."

"You know how it is with fresh produce delivery; things always fall off or get damaged, and there are always bumps and knocks. The after-sales service costs a lot!"

"And then there's the delivery service, and the packing—I heard it's 30 yuan an hour. Tell me, how expensive is that labor cost!"

He was quick-witted, but as he weighed the pros and cons, a strange sense of anxiety arose within him.

There were other people chiming in:
"Yes, on average, the best fruit costs 30 yuan per jin, but can you even get 20 yuan? And even then, people still pick and choose."

"We're different. The price we're offering is for the entire orchard. All the fruit in your orchard, big or small, will be weighed together and we'll say 10,000 jin (5,000 kg), not a tael off." (End of Chapter)