Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 40 Song Zhiyuan's Family Affairs

When you keep thinking about one thing, you will forget about other things.

Fourth Aunt would not show him the purchase order. If Yan Hui went back now, he would definitely not be able to see the purchase order if Fourth Uncle was not there.

Fourth Uncle always spends very little time in the store, which means there is a high probability that I won’t see him if I go back.

Yan Hui suddenly fell into a state of anxiety, but he quickly saw the words written on his notebook.

There must be a pattern.

pattern.

After calming down, he also understood that he didn't need his fourth uncle's purchase order to do any big business, nor did it mean that there would be problems with the price of several types of wood without the ones from the past week.

This is actually a minor contradiction and there is no need to worry too much about it.

Things like details should be done as well as possible. If they are not done well, don't worry about it.

Thinking of this, Yan Hui suddenly felt calm.

The next day, Yan Hui came to the East Gate early, ate steamed buns, and started looking for business.

Song Zhiyuan is a bit far from here and usually can't come here until nine or ten o'clock in the morning. Before that, Yan Hui can find clients by himself.

My luck was pretty good today. I asked twenty or thirty people in two hours and closed two deals, making a total of 40 yuan.

This made Yan Hui a little hesitant. If he didn't move wood for his second brother, but chose to wholeheartedly find customers to negotiate the price difference, would he earn more?
If his second brother hadn't promoted him to foreman and increased his salary, he would have really thought about going out on his own!

As I was strolling, Song Zhiyuan came over from not far away, carrying a few wicker baskets on his back.

"Brother Hui," Song Zhiyuan saw Yan Hui from afar and walked up to greet him.

"You're here? You?" Yan Hui suddenly thought of a question, "You go out early and come back late every day, when do you make baskets?"

"I go home and sleep, get up at four in the morning, turn on the light and code until six or seven, and then set off at daybreak," Song Zhiyuan explained.

"You weave so fast?" Yan Hui was a little surprised. Although he had never woven a basket with rattan, he had seen bamboo weaving a lot. Just preparing the materials took a lot of time.

"My dad will help me deal with the canes."

"I've never asked you about your father. I feel like he must be a very cultured man, right?" Yan Hui also wanted to get to know Song Zhiyuan more deeply.

"My dad. My dad used to be a teacher, and then... he..."

Having said that, Song Zhiyuan didn't intend to avoid Yan Hui and told him about his family affairs.

Song Zhiyuan's family is actually quite happy. His background is much better than Yan Hui's. His father is a teacher and his mother is a doctor.

Five years ago, Song Zhiyuan had just entered the second grade when a sudden disaster struck his family.

In the winter of 1990, Fengtian and surrounding areas were hit by a cold wave and the "three freezes" natural disaster occurred.

At that time, Song Zhiyuan's family conditions were relatively good. His father bought plastic sheets and tape and sealed all the window gaps and other places in the house. There was also a coal stove at home.

At that time, few people could afford to burn coal, and most people still used wood to burn kangs for heating in winter. Song Zhiyuan's father was not very good at using a coal stove, but after using it, he found that it was quite easy to use. The temperature was stable and lasted for a long time, and it was also convenient to add coal.

I'd been using the coal stove for about a month and was pretty used to it. One night, perhaps the wind was too strong and caused gas to backflow, or perhaps I accidentally blocked the smoke outlet when I was pouring coal.

The specific reason is no longer possible to verify.

All three members of the family were poisoned by gas, with one dead and two injured. Song Zhiyuan lost his mother. If Song Zhiyuan's parents hadn't been employed and their employers had come to their house when they were absent from work, all three would have been killed.

Since then, whether it was due to the sequelae of poisoning or excessive grief, Song Zhiyuan's father was unable to recover and his mental state became a little abnormal.

"My dad always told me to face life with a smile. He always said that when I was a child, but he himself couldn't stand it." Song Zhiyuan talked about this and looked at Yan Hui, "Brother Hui, don't you think it's useless to be sad?"

"I didn't expect you to have such an experience, so you stopped studying later?" Yan Hui did not respond to Song Zhiyuan's words. Some things did not need to be discussed. Talking too much would only lead to pain.

"My father is a teacher, and the school took good care of me. I only dropped out this year. My father still had some money, but no matter how much I saved, it was all spent in the past four or five years. My father has not taken care of anything in the past few years. All he can do is deal with the rattan." Song Zhiyuan has been out for more than half a year and has gradually gotten used to it.

"So, are you still considering going back to school?"

"Yes. I have made more than 2,000 yuan this year by selling baskets and helping you, Brother Hui, to attract customers. I plan to go back to school when I make 5,000 yuan. This money will be enough for me to finish high school. My teacher told me that our high school has an award for top students. As long as I can get it, I won't have to worry about high school." Song Zhiyuan explained.

He was completely different from Yan Hui. While Yan Hui didn't dislike studying, he preferred business, which gave him a greater sense of accomplishment. His uncle's achievements two years ago had always inspired him. He could sense the progress of the times, and he didn't want to miss out. If he went back to high school and college, he felt he would miss out on so much. As for learning, it was learning anywhere.

Song Zhiyuan is different. A person's personality is basically determined before the age of 10, so he is very suitable for school.

"Okay, then let's work together and try to get you back to school in the spring of next year." Yan Hui thought about it and decided that this would mean Song Zhiyuan would only have to suspend his studies for a year, which was really not a big problem.

"Brother Hui, I didn't dare to tell you before because I was afraid that you would think I couldn't do this for long and would not take me with you anymore." Song Zhiyuan felt a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong with that? This is a good thing for you. Don't worry, just work hard. When I become a big boss, I might be able to help you with your studies. When you graduate from college in the future, maybe you can come here to help me." Yan Hui could see that Song Zhiyuan was a good person by nature.

"That's for sure! Brother Hui, you are a good person, I can see that!" There was light in Song Zhiyuan's eyes.

"By the way, now that everything has been brought up, I still have one thing that bothers me. When I first met you, why were you holding a cardboard box and lighting it up to smoke?" Yan Hui finally asked the question that he had been holding back for several months.

"Ah?" Song Zhiyuan had no idea that Yan Hui still remembered this incident. He said a little embarrassedly, "My dad smokes this. I want to try it and see what it tastes like."

"This..." Yan Hui understood everything at once. After thinking about it, he said to Song Zhiyuan, "Follow me."

Song Zhiyuan didn't understand what was going on and followed Yan Hui.

Yan Hui found a store and spent 3 yuan to buy a pack of cigarettes and five boxes of matches, which he packed in a bag. "When you go home today, bring these to your dad to smoke."

"You mean, he likes smoking?" Song Zhiyuan was confused.

"Didn't he smoke before?" Yan Hui asked curiously.

"Don't smoke."

"I guess he wants to smoke it now. There's nothing I can do. No matter how bad this is, it's better than the paper shells he smokes." "Ah? Then," Song Zhiyuan said a little embarrassedly, "is there anything cheaper?"

"Give him this to try first. If he accepts it, you can buy him tobacco. I've bought tobacco before. It's one dollar a bunch."

"Okay," Song Zhiyuan said, taking out some money from his pocket. "Three dollars, I'll give it to you."

"No, it's mine."

"It's on me." Song Zhiyuan knew how frugal Yan Hui was in his daily life.

"You're too polite," Yan Hui finally refused the three dollars. "I'm free today. Let's sell your basket at a low price first, and then go talk to the client together."

"Okay." Song Zhiyuan nodded.

Song Zhiyuan's basket weaving was pretty good, and if he could get a dollar off each basket, he'd sell them quickly. After all, he only got three.

The two went to a familiar place. Song Zhiyuan was selling baskets there, and Yan Hui went to communicate with the driver.

Yan Hui has been cooperating with the driver for some time, and the driver has made some money from the cooperation, but the driver has been a little shaken recently. He heard that there is a place recruiting long-term drivers, and he wants to go there.

"It's up to you to decide," Yan Hui said without further ado. "I'll have more free time than before, and I'll be able to find clients on my own."

"Okay, I haven't finished the negotiation yet. Let's talk about it after I finish it."

The two chatted briefly, and then Song Zhiyuan came over.

"Sold out? So quickly?" Yan Hui was a little surprised to see Song Zhiyuan with empty hands.

"Yeah, they're sold out." Song Zhiyuan nodded. "I met someone and gave him a discount of 4 yuan, and he took them all."

"Okay, come on, I'll take you to find the client."

The driver might have to leave. Song Zhiyuan had told Yan Hui about this a few days ago. It was also the first time that Yan Hui had a specific conversation with the driver.

"In short, before he leaves, you must have the ability to find customers. It's okay if you can't reach an agreement, I will do it. But you have to clearly identify who are the new customers and who are the old customers." Yan Hui went on to talk about some of his techniques.

There are all kinds of people in the market. Yan Hui and Song Zhiyuan can tell at a glance who is a person in the market and who is a customer, but there are differences between customers.

"At the retail level, most of the customers are new, but they buy so little that it depends on luck. If a customer only buys two boards, or even just one, there's no point in negotiating the price. At the wholesale level, although customers buy in larger quantities, they are more cautious, and most of them are old customers with their own supply channels."

Yan Hui's money-making strategy can only be used with new customers, because all existing customers will skip him as the middleman.

Even clients Yan Hui had helped would abandon him without hesitation the next time he came. Of course, there was one exception: when timber prices fluctuated significantly.

"If lumber prices fluctuate dramatically, that's our opportunity. You know, the biggest issue between customers and businesses is trust," Yan Hui continued. "If they've worked with us before and the price remains the same next time, they'll inevitably abandon us. But if lumber prices rise dramatically, and they can't negotiate a lower price next time, they'll still come back to us."

"So, we are looking forward to changes in timber prices?" Song Zhiyuan understood.

"Yeah, especially if there's a big price increase. A big price increase will cause some old customers to lose trust with the store. But such opportunities don't come around often."

"It's okay, I can try more!" Song Zhiyuan has obviously grown compared to before.

In the next two days, Yan Hui and Song Zhiyuan worked non-stop and asked hundreds of customers in the market.

These are just selected clients. In fact, they have seen thousands of clients.

If you ask enough questions, luck will naturally improve. In just two days, Yan Hui and Song Zhiyuan earned a total of 240 yuan, and Song Zhiyuan got 72 yuan.

If he can maintain this efficiency, Song Zhiyuan will definitely be able to earn 5000 yuan before the Chinese New Year.

"Have you ever considered buying a bicycle?" Yan Hui asked in the evening when the two were about to part.

"I wanted to buy it before, but I don't think so now. It's going to snow soon, and it will be inconvenient to ride a bike then."

"Okay, it's up to you." Yan Hui saw the tobacco leaves in Song Zhiyuan's hand and said, "Goodbye."

After watching Song Zhiyuan leave, Yan Hui also prepared to go back to drink some water. He was almost dying of thirst after not drinking any water all afternoon. In the evening, the wind was quite cold.

As soon as Yan Hui entered the market from the east gate, he saw Dakai.

Dakai is tall and can be easily spotted in a crowd.

At this moment, Yan Hui suddenly felt that Dakai was not cut out to be a thief in his life because he would be discovered too easily.

Dakai was carrying wood out of the market on a cart.

Yan Hui didn't recognize the person pulling the cart, but he seemed to be Xiaobao's younger brother.

The two passed each other and saw each other, but neither said hello.

Recently, Dakai has become more down-to-earth and has been working with Xiaobao here. Yan Hui heard that Xiaobao has monopolized the flatbed trucks in this area, and any flatbed truck transportation is related to Xiaobao.

Yan Hui still admired Xiaobao for this, but he didn't know how Xiaobao could make the business so big. Although the profit was not much, there were so many carts.

Can I also train a lot of Song Zhiyuans?
Yan Hui began to seriously consider this issue, but ultimately decided it wasn't feasible. With just the two of them, it wouldn't have much of an impact on such a large market, but with more people, it would inevitably upset all the timber shop owners.

Simply put, every time Yan Hui visited a store, he was effectively bringing customers to that store, so even if he made less profit, he still made money. However, if there were too many middlemen, all stores would face the problem of losing profits, which would inevitably spark public outrage.

In addition, there is another problem: it is easy to find porters like Dakai, but it is difficult to find people like Song Zhiyuan. Many people don’t know how to talk to strangers.

In business, searching for a needle in a haystack like Yan Hui does is a dead end. While he can make money, and more than most ordinary people, his ceiling is too low, preventing him from "expanding production."

After thinking for a long time, Yan Hui still couldn't come up with a good idea. He secretly decided that in two years, when he turned 18, he would open a shop and start as a small business owner.

When I got back to my place, there was no light on in Shan Ge's room, so he probably hadn't come back yet. I don't know what Shan Ge has been doing recently.

Yan Hui took off his clothes and lay down. The quilt was cold. After thinking for a while, he found the electric blanket.

(End of this chapter)