Era: Rise from the Wilderness

Li Yunjing took the bottle of icy orange soda, thanked him, and took a big gulp. The sweet, bubbly liquid slid down his throat, bringing a brief moment of comfort.

Listening to Wang Gang's heartfelt, almost childlike, admonition, he felt both amused and touched.

Wang Gang genuinely cares for him as if he were a younger brother or nephew.

"Uncle Wang, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Li Yunjing put down the soda bottle and nodded seriously. "I don't do things I'm not sure I can do."

Wang Gang smiled and shook his head, pointing at Li Yunjing as if to say, "You little rascal."

He strolled slowly to the back of the counter, where the space was even narrower and piled up with account books and miscellaneous items.

He bent down, reached under the counter and pulled out a palm-leaf fan with the words "XX Supply and Marketing Cooperative" printed on it. He straightened up, unfolded it with a "whoosh," and started fanning himself.

"Is your dad away on a business trip?"

"This will probably take several days, right?"

While fanning himself, Wang Gang asked casually, his gaze falling on Li Yunjing, "Your mother is the only one running the shop. She has to buy goods, sell them, and cook. Can she manage?"

"Your shop is in a decent location; it must be quite crowded around school dismissal time, right?"

"She's alright, Uncle Wang. You know my mom, she's capable and meticulous."

Li Yunjing smiled and said, "She can basically handle all the things in the store by herself, such as purchasing, organizing, accounting, and serving customers."

"If I don't have classes on weekends, or if I get out of school early, I can go back and lend a hand, help watch the shop, and move things around."

"It's just that my mom has had a hard time."

He took another sip of soda, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping across the store.

The shelves piled to the ceiling, crammed with all sorts of snacks, seasonings, and daily necessities, and the large, crookedly stacked cardboard boxes on the floor, still unopened and labeled with different manufacturers, came into view.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he continued in a casual, slightly curious and flattering tone, "Uncle Wang, I see your shop's stock is selling quite quickly?"

"I saw you were busy loading goods earlier, and there are quite a few new boxes on the ground. Business must be booming!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Gang paused slightly in the hand holding the palm-leaf fan, and a subtle, complex expression flashed across his relaxed smile.

He sighed, casually placed the palm-leaf fan on the counter, then took out a "Shilin" cigarette from his pocket, skillfully flicked it out and put it in his mouth, then took out a match, struck it with a "hiss," and lit it at his lips.

He took a deep breath, and pale blue smoke immediately rose up, swirling and spreading in the dim light of the store.

"Quickly? Heh, little Yun Jing, you only see the thief eating meat, but you don't see the thief getting beaten up."

Wang Gang exhaled a string of smoke rings, his tone tinged with self-deprecation, "On the surface, it seems alright, with people coming and going, and goods coming and going."

"To be honest, those two deals you made were the biggest orders we've had recently, each worth over a thousand or two thousand. They really boosted our reputation."

He flicked his cigarette ash and continued, "Most of the other people who come to buy goods sporadically are small shop owners from nearby towns and villages. They ride bicycles or tricycles over, taking only tens or hundreds of yuan worth of goods at a time. The variety is also mixed, and the profit margin is as thin as paper. Moreover..."

He lowered his voice slightly and leaned closer to Li Yunjing, as if sharing some industry secret: "Some goods, like those new, oddly flavored cookies, and that fruit-flavored soda you helped us get rid of a large batch through the school channels last time, actually sell slowly around here!"

"The common people still only recognize the same old things."

"These new products have high purchase prices, take up space, and tie up capital!"

"If we can't sell them, they'll either expire or we'll have to lower the price to clear them out, even if it means losing money!"

Wang Gang's expression turned somewhat bitter: "This wholesale and retail business looks bustling and has a large turnover, but after deducting the cost of goods, round-trip shipping fees, shop rent, and various social obligations, there's really not much left in my pocket!"

"It's only slightly more free and better than working in a factory, but the worries and the exhaustion are much greater!"

"It's all hard-earned money, money earned through worry!"

Li Yunjing listened attentively without interrupting, her face showing understanding from time to time, nodding occasionally to indicate that she understood the hardships involved.

He knew that although Wang Gang's words contained an element of complaining, they were largely true.

In the early 1990s, although the individual wholesale and retail industry had broken free from the rigid supply and marketing system of the planned economy and shown great vitality, market competition had also begun to emerge, and the benefits of information asymmetry were being divided up by astute pioneers.

Especially in a county like Fuxian, where consumer spending power is limited and there are many sales channels, profit margins are squeezed at every level, so it's not as glamorous as one might imagine.

Wang Gang's ability to maintain such a business demonstrates his quick thinking and considerable skill.

"Uncle Wang, you're absolutely right!"

"Nothing is easy these days."

Li Yunjing echoed with deep feeling, his tone sincere, "Especially in business, it may look bustling, but there are many tricks and risks involved. You have to be careful in every aspect, and one wrong step can make all your hard work go to waste."

He paused, then abruptly changed the subject, looking at Wang Gang and asking softly in a suggestive tone, "But Uncle Wang, have you considered that besides staying here in this wholesale market, waiting for the local small business owners to come and pick and choose, earning a meager profit through hard work, is there any other way...?"

He deliberately drew out his words, observing Wang Gang's reaction: "...A new sales channel that can make your goods move faster and your capital turnover faster?"

"oh?!"

Wang Gang's fingers, which were holding a cigarette, suddenly stopped when he heard the keywords "other methods" and "new sales channels".

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes, which had been somewhat cloudy with helplessness, instantly became sharp as an eagle's, staring intently at Li Yunjing, as if trying to see through the boy's appearance to see what astonishing ideas were going on in his mind.

"Yun Jing, from what you're saying..."

Wang Gang's voice unconsciously deepened, and he leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between himself and Li Yunjing. "You little rascal... have you come up with another brilliant idea?"

He pressed on impatiently, his breathing even seeming to quicken: "Quick! Stop keeping me in suspense!"

"Tell your Uncle Wang about it in detail!"

"If such a good opportunity really exists, Uncle Wang... I will definitely not treat you unfairly!"