Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 24 The Beginning of Business

As usual, Yan Hui went to the East Gate and bought three steamed buns and a small bag of pickled mustard greens.

Yan Hui sweated a lot while busy this afternoon, and his mind was filled with the sweet and salty aroma of pickled mustard greens.

Hot steamed buns just out of the pot, stuffed with pickled mustard greens with red oil, oh my god, they are so delicious!

After buying it, Yan Hui took a big bite and was so happy!
The days were getting longer and longer, and it was still daylight. Yan Hui ate while walking at the east gate. He quickly finished a steamed bun and met the boy who sold dogs yesterday.

The boy seemed to have come specifically to look for Yan Hui. He was so happy to see Yan Hui that he ran over excitedly, "Brother! I sold all my puppies!"

"Congratulations," Yan Hui also smiled, "Is it selling well?"

"Well, thanks to you yesterday, I built a fire by the river last night and made steamed bun soup for the puppies. They're all fine! I went to sell them today and sold all three!"

"How much did it sell for?" Yan Hui asked.

"25 yuan! One ugly one was sold for 5 yuan, and the rest are 10 yuan each."

"That's good, you have a good business sense. Okay, you have sold all the dogs, it's time to go back." Yan Hui nodded.

"Brother, thank you for yesterday. I'll give you 5 yuan. Don't think it's too little. You've helped me only once in the two days since I came here!" The young man said, pulling out a 5-yuan bill from his clenched hands and handing it to Yan Hui.

"No need," Yan Hui shook his head. "Looking at you, you need this money more than I do. How about this, come and sell things next time, and we can make money together if there's a chance."

"That's what I mean," the boy said stubbornly as he stuffed the money into Yan Hui's pocket. "My dad always said, 'A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of water!'"

This sentence made Yan Hui stunned for a moment.

Yesterday I saw this teenager squatting by the market, burning cardboard to "smoke". The first impression he gave me was that he was a gangster, and an extremely down-and-out gangster at that. How could he have such a father?
Yan Hui had no choice but to accept the five yuan. He then took out a hot steamed bun, stuffed it with pickled mustard greens in red oil, and handed it to the boy: "Let's eat together."

"Hmm!" The boy took it and finished the steamed bun in no time.

While the boy was eating steamed buns, Yan Hui bought four pork pies from a stall nearby, wrapped them in a plastic bag, and handed them to the boy.

"Take it back and eat it on the way."

"Thank you, brother!" The boy did not refuse.

"So what are you going to sell next time you come?" Yan Hui asked.

"I can weave baskets. I've sold them here before, and they're easier to sell," said the boy.

"Can you weave baskets?" Yan Hui was shocked again.

The "doghouse" for the three puppies yesterday was so ugly!

"Yeah, it's not quite the cane season yet, so we have to wait a while."

"You messed up that doghouse yesterday."

"What we're selling is a dog, not a nest." The boy said confidently.

"Have you ever thought that if you build three better doghouses and sell them with the dogs, you can get a better price?"

"Huh?" The young man clapped his hands and said, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Then the boy said, "I still have some canes from last year. I'm going home today and I'm going to weave some beautiful doghouses! I still have three puppies!"

"Yeah, go ahead." Yan Hui said with a smile.

"Brother, are you usually here in this market?" the boy asked.

"Well," Yan Hui pointed to the market, "No. 37, East District. I move wood there. I usually do it during the day and hang around here at night."

"Okay, brother, I'll see you next time I come. I have to hurry back. It will take me three or four hours to get back. I have to leave before it gets dark."

"Go quickly and be careful." Yan Hui felt that he was an adult at this moment.

After saying goodbye to the boy, Yan Hui continued to wander around.

The majority of people in the East District Market are porters, shop assistants, small business owners, etc. There aren't many customers, mainly because customers don't usually eat here.

Sitting in the small stall here, all I hear are things about wood and gossip about the various stores. The information density is extremely low.

But apart from the market here, there aren't always so many people gathering in other areas, and even fewer people chatting.

After walking around for half an hour, Yan Hui finally saw a driver looking for a stall to eat, so he took the initiative to buy some food and went over to share a table.

After parking the car, the driver took out a thermos and two cups from the car and poured a cup of hot water for himself and his companion. Judging from the appearance of the thermos and cups, he was also a person who knew how to live a good life.

There were two people on the driver's side. They were probably delivering goods to the boss. Yan Hui was not a customer. This made Yan Hui a little disappointed, but he didn't lose anything, so he just ate slowly.

"The price of diesel has increased by another 1.2 cents, and the freight is still the same. I won't deliver to them anymore. Everyone else's freight has increased!" the driver cursed.

"Uncle, I've long told you that Mr. Wang is stingy. Look, when you negotiated the shipping fee today, he refused to budge at all. You can't count on this kind of person!"

"That's fine. There's plenty of work now. The car is our treasure. If he doesn't raise the salary, we won't work for him. Working for their shop won't make any money. I still have to find customers myself. That's where the money is."

"I've heard that too. How about this, Uncle? Let's go to the South Gate and try it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow... I can't. I already have an appointment with Mr. Wang. I have to finish all the things I agreed to do before I go to the South Gate."

The two were chatting, and Yan Hui understood everything.

Some people in the timber business own their own cars, but they only have one or two cars at most, which is definitely not enough when it is busy.

Most of the stores do not own their own cars and use drivers from the market.

These drivers are generally divided into two types. One type mainly works for stores and receives freight from the store owner.

Another option is for the customer to charter a car to pick up the goods.

The two options are actually similar, and the money spent by the customer is also similar. The difference is that if the store provides the truck, the wool comes from the sheep. If the store pays 150 yuan for shipping, it will definitely ask the customer for 50 more.

In other words, if the driver can take the job directly from the customer, then he can keep the extra 50 yuan that the store earns. This is not just 1/3 more profit, but at least double the profit! Remember, there are also the wear and tear of the car and the cost of gas!
No one wants to save money for customers.

But there's also the problem of acquiring customers. Direct hire customers are few and far between, and those who do tend to be regulars with a dedicated car. In short, it's not easy.

The store's willingness to charge customers a premium for shipping is because it knows drivers can't find customers. With such a large store and a huge sign, isn't that a cost? The two of them talked for twenty minutes, almost finishing their meal, when Yan Hui, who was sitting nearby, spoke up.

"Uncle, I just heard you talking about customers renting cars. I have an idea. Can I talk to you about it?" Yan Hui said.

"Hmm?" The driver had noticed Yan Hui a long time ago, but he didn't expect Yan Hui to interrupt. However, since they were sitting at the same table, it was difficult to refuse, so he could only nod.

"You will definitely make more money by directly asking customers to hire cars than by sending cars out from your store, but your biggest problem is that you don't know how to attract customers, right?" Yan Hui asked.

"That's right." The driver nodded and looked at Yan Hui again.

"So you have to offer more discounts than other drivers to attract customers."

"Your words are meaningless," the driver waved his hand unhappily. "If I could charge less for the freight, I wouldn't bother with this!"

"No, no, no. It's not about charging less for shipping. It's about letting customers spend less when they buy wood." Yan Hui pointed to the market. "I know the purchase price of wood from almost all the wholesale stores here. I work at the forest farm. When you meet a customer, you can let them negotiate the price first. After the negotiation, you can come to me. I guarantee I can negotiate a lower price for you. With such an offer, do you think customers will come to your car?"

"So what's in it for you?" the driver asked the key question first. These days, it's not just ordinary people who can afford to own a car.

"For example, if a square meter of wood costs 750 yuan, and I negotiate it down by 100 yuan with the customer, I will take 30 yuan from it. This means the customer can buy it at 680 yuan per square meter, which will definitely be acceptable to the customer. As for you, the customer will definitely be willing to pay you the normal shipping fee." Yan Hui's heart was beating fast when he said this.

He seemed like a natural born businessman, appearing confident in his conversation. However, he was still a rookie, and he found it difficult to suppress his inner nervousness.

"Do you really have this ability?" The driver was a little unconvinced.

"Uncle, believe what I say. It won't do you any harm, right? You can give it a try." Yan Hui said, "Only by cooperating can we make money together."

"Hmm," the driver thought for a long time, then asked, "Then let me ask you, what's the current purchase price of white pine?"

"What specifications are you asking about?"

“Just a normal plate.”

"If it comes out of the forest farm, it's 625. When it comes to our market, different bosses will give you different prices, probably around 730." Yan Hui said confidently.

"You really know." The driver had only heard the price of this kind of wood. He heard it was 750, which was basically consistent with what Yan Hui said.

Looking at Yan Hui's expression, he really knows?

"Uncle, I won't ask you for a penny during this whole process. I won't even ask the client for money. I can just take the kickbacks directly from the boss." Yan Hui told him about his optimized plan.

"If you lower the price so much, will the boss still give you money?" The driver looked unconvinced.

"Yes, you don't have to worry about that. In short, you will definitely make money from beginning to end. And there is no risk at all."

"Okay, how do I find you?"

"I live in the market now and usually help out at store No. 37 in the East District."

"No. 37, East District? Second brother's place?" The driver was very familiar with the place.

"Yes, Uncle Li's place."

The driver believed it about 80% of the time and nodded. "Okay, I'll have my nephew come find you when there's a chance later."

"No problem." After finishing his meal, Yan Hui said goodbye to the two of them and left on his own initiative.

Walking on the road, Yan Hui felt extremely comfortable all over, as if he had completed a baptism.

His mind was working very fast just now. At first he was thinking about saving money for customers and then getting money from them, but later he thought of getting kickbacks from the store!

Don’t be fooled by the low price he negotiated! But the boss will definitely make money even if the price is low!
It’s easier for people who make money to share the profits! On the contrary, it’s wrong to take money from customers. Customers spend money, and they don’t want to take more referral fees. It’s also bad for the store. It’s not a good thing for customers to know the lowest price!

What's the biggest cost for any boss? Yan Hui has recently realized it's customer acquisition costs!

In the entire business chain, the biggest cost is always how to acquire customers. As long as there are enough customers, you can make money no matter how low the profit margin is.

Yan Hui even thought that when there are enough customers, it is still profitable even without profit!
So he doesn't need to take money from customers or drivers, he can just take money directly from merchants!
For example, the total cost of one cubic meter of wood is 730 yuan, but this cost will increase.

If you hold onto the goods and don't sell them, your capital costs, labor costs, and storage costs will all increase. It's best to sell them as quickly as possible.

For wholesale customers, the price can be negotiated to 850 per square meter, so Yan Hui can definitely negotiate it to 750. But there is no need.

He could negotiate the price down to 800 yuan per side and then take a 30 yuan kickback.

In this way, the customer gets a price of 800, the store gets a profit of 40, Yan Hui gets a kickback of 30, and the driver gets the full freight.

No one lost money here, not even the lumber store. He simply brought an unsure customer to his shop with certainty, that's all. Furthermore, the 800 yuan price the customer received didn't violate market rules.

After figuring this out, Yan Hui was full of confidence in his future business. He asked highly trustworthy drivers who already had cars to help him pick up passengers!

The rest depends on your bargaining skills.

Whether he can negotiate the price down to 770 is a very important question. What if some stores insist on 850, and customers still want to buy from this store?
After thinking about it, Yan Hui decided to give up on this kind of customer.

Yes, there is no way around this. Not all clients can succeed, Yan Hui realized.

At this moment, he wanted to tell everyone how smart he was, but he couldn't tell anyone. He didn't even plan to tell his fourth uncle.

This kind of thing is likely to offend people, so there is no point in telling my fourth uncle.

On the way back, Yan Hui planned to go to the South Gate tomorrow to deal with all the drivers who took private jobs, but he decided to give up on the way.

We have to take one step at a time. If we rashly try to talk to everyone one by one, not only may we fail to win over any of them, we may also lose the uncle we met today.

Correct.

Yan Hui affirmed himself.

He has no one to discuss things with and has to rely on himself for everything.

Yan Hui returned to his residence alone and saw some scraps piled in the yard. He took the initiative to sort them out while there was still some sunlight.

Maybe he was lucky today, or maybe it was because it was not completely dark yet, but Yan Hui was only stabbed once while cleaning up these scraps.

He casually pulled out the splinter, looked up at the sunset, and stood with his back straight.

(End of this chapter)