Chapter 197: Limited Purchase
Translator: Lonelytree
This news soon spread to the entire village. The villagers chatted loudly while they worked the fields.
With people shouting back and forth, the whole village knew someone came from the county town to buy Xiao Lingyu’s crops. Plus, the person bought more than 300 catties at one go, and Xiao Zhengyang was not that willing to sell.
This was a huge blow to the villagers.
“Xiao Lingyu’s vegetables really sell that well in the county town? They bring a big truck every day with 1000 catties of vegetables. All of them are sold out?” This was unimaginable for most of them.
“I guess so.” Someone said uncertainly. “Chen Qiuying has been coming home early these few days. Why would she come back so soon if the stock was not sold out?”
“If that’s true, then they are so rich! The cheapest cabbage sells for 3 cents per catty. If they sell 1000 catties every day, they’ll earn at least 300 RMB every day.”
“Chun Yan, that’s where you’re wrong. Didn’t you hear from the city woman that Chen Qiuying sells the cabbages much more expensive in the county town? It’s at least ten times as expensive. In that case, they will earn at least 2000 RMB per day.”
“2000 RMB?!” The villagers’ jaws dropped. “We can barely earn that amount in a year, but Chen Qiuying and her family earn that in a day?”
“That’s the power of education. No matter what she does, she does it better than us rural people. Even the vegetables she grows are different from the rest.”
“That’s right. We laughed at Xiao Lingyu for abandoning her high-paying job in the city to come back to the farm. Now, it looks like we’re the fools for laughing at her. She can earn 2000 RMB daily just from selling vegetables. It’ll accumulate to several ten thousand in a month and hundreds of thousands in a year!”
However, these people had no idea Xiao Lingyu’s daily income was actually not 2000 RMB but 7000 RMB per day. Regardless, this was already enough to make people talk and some jealous.
…
“Ah, someone came from the county to buy vegetables?” Chen Qiuying and the others were a little surprised to hear that. They didn’t think someone would do something like that!
“Yes, she bought more than 300 catties. Oh, she just left,” Xiao Zhengyang said.
“So that has to be the red car we saw at the village entrance.” Xiao Mingyang said.
“That’s right. She drove a red car.”
Mother Xiao frowned and said, “What should we do? Yu ‘Er has just decided to limit the customer’s purchase of the vegetables. We barely have enough with 1000 catties, but you’ve sold 300 catties.”
“Ah?” Xiao Zhengyang was stunned. “Limited purchase?”
“That’s right, second brother. You have no idea how crazy these customers are! They snatch the vegetables. If some buy more, then the others wouldn’t get to buy any. There were fights because of it. To not let this impact the shop, Yu ‘Er decided to introduce a limited purchase system. This way, everyone will have the same amount.”
Xiao Zhengyang, “…” This was only needed for free things. They were selling vegetables at high prices, but they were still so popular?
Xiao Zhengyang nodded. “Yes, Yu ‘Er’s idea is not bad.”
“However, Yu ‘Er was working with an estimation of 1000 catties. But we’ll have less tomorrow.” Mother Xiao said, “And most of our customers are parents with children sitting for the university entrance exam.”
“…” Xiao Zhengyang. ‘I seem to have done something wrong.’
Xiao Mingyang said, “Second sister, we’re a business. We can’t pick our customers. Plus, the woman has driven so far to come here, we can’t let her leave with just a few catties, right?”
Mother Xiao shook her head. “I’m not thinking about that. I’m more worried about this news spreading. Since one came today, more would come tomorrow. If everyone came to buy several hundred catties…” Then, they wouldn’t need to go to the county town anymore.
Everyone, “…”
Their problem was their stock sold too well, and they didn’t have enough. This was a big problem.
They couldn’t just open a shop in the county town and have nothing to sell.
Liu Chunjiao thought and said, “Second Sister, why don’t you call Yu ‘Er and ask her what we should do?”
“Okay!”
…
When Xiao Lingyu received a call from her mother, she was instantly speechless. Who knew selling too well would be a problem.
Xiao Lingyu said, “Mom, I’ll go back tomorrow and take a look.”
Xiao Lingyu hung up the phone and sat quietly in her room. She was also very surprised that someone actually thought of going directly to Taoyuan Village to buy vegetables. Her mother was right. This customer would start a trend. More people would come to Taoyuan Village directly to buy from the source. They operated a business, so they couldn’t chase people away. So what should they do?
Xiao Lingyu then thought of something. Many people in the village had picked her cow dung to grow vegetables. Although the taste of the vegetables was a little different from hers, it was much better than the dishes from other places.
Xiao Lingyu thought of a few families. They were benefactors of her cow dungs. However, she still needed to go back and check their tastes first.
…
“Hmm? There’s a limited purchase?”
Early in the morning, many people crowded here waiting for the shop to open. Then, the owner announced with a loudspeaker that there was a limit to the number of vegetables they could buy. Each person could only buy four catties at most.
“Four catties are too little!” Someone exclaimed, “I used to buy ten to twenty catties every time.”
“Yeah, I also bought at least ten catties every time. Now I can only buy four catties. How can that be enough?”
“Sigh, four catties it is. At least it’s better than nothing.” Someone said. “After all, Boss Xiao’s vegetables get sold out too easily. And people have been quarreling over them. That must have affected Boss Xiao too.”
The parents of the students became more anxious as the date of the exam drew closer. They were like monsters fighting for the treasures in the shop. Then again, for their children, the parents were willing to do anything.
“Four catties of vegetables is just right. That’s enough for two or three meals.” Someone commented, “That should satisfy everything.”
“You’re right. After all, there are many students sitting for the exam soon.”
At the weighing station, Mother Xiao said very politely. “I’m sorry, but from today on, the vegetables in our shop are sold in limited quantities. You can only take four catties each day, but you have more here.”
The customer said, “Boss Xiao, I have a big family. Four catties is not enough! Plus, does it matter who you sell the vegetables to? Why do you need to set the limit?”
Mother Xiao shook her head firmly, “Sir, what you said makes sense. We’d be happy if we could sell everything sooner and go home. However, we’ve been stopped many times because some couldn’t get the vegetables they want. To be fair, we have to set a limit.”
The customer smiled embarrassedly. “It’s the first time I’ve heard a talk about fairness when doing business.”
Mother Xiao sighed lightly, “There’s nothing we can do about it. We don’t want to do this but look at my daughter. She’s pregnant now. We don’t want people to get into arguments and cause accidents.” Mother Xiao’s hidden meaning was clear.
Mother Xiao asked, “Sir, what do you wish to take out?”
The customer examined the vegetables in the basket, and he was conflicted. He had bought more than ten catties of vegetables. They were favorites of his different family members. In the end, he gritted his teeth and only kept the vegetables meant for his children. “That’s all.”
Mother Xiao weighed them immediately. “That’s four catties.”
The customer nodded and took the vegetables to pay the bill.
Most of the customers also focused on the vegetables meant for the children. The atmosphere was lighter since no one was fighting for vegetables anymore.
Even though there was some grumbling, Mother Xiao was firm but cooperative.
The four were in a good mood as they tidied up the shop. Liu Chunhua heaved a deep sigh of relief and said with a smile, “Things went rather well.”
Xiao Mingyang smiled, “Yup.” The atmosphere was friendlier than before.
Mother Xiao commented, “We still sold out today. Even though we still have some customers who miss out, the number is less than before.”
Liu Chunhua added, “And I notice we have more new customers.”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head. “This is just a phase. The new customers are here because they have students sitting for the exam. After the university entrance exam is over, the business will slow down.”
Liu Chunhua was shocked. “Yu ‘Er, you mean the business will soon die out?”
Xiao Lingyu shook her head. “It won’t be that bad. But things won’t be so crazy anymore. Xing Yin County is only so big, and our prices are high. There are not many people who can afford our vegetables daily.”
Xing Yin County was a poor county in the country, and its overall economic level was relatively low. The average salary of ordinary people was around 1,000 to 1,200 RMB. For example, the salary of a hotel attendant was around 1,200 RMB, even the salary of a high school teacher was only around 1,800 RMB.
For many customers, if they bought dozens of vegetables every day, they had to pay 1000 to 2000 RMB per month, which was more than the salary of an ordinary person. In other words, an ordinary family couldn’t afford her vegetables daily. But they would be reserved for special events.
Only relatively wealthy families could afford to buy from her daily. However, not every wealthy family knew about Taoyuan Village Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.
Their current client base still consisted of students’ parents. After the exam was over, the business should return to normal.
“Speaking of the exam, isn’t Ye ‘Er on holiday?” Mother Xiao remembered, “There are still four more days to the exam.”
The school gave the students a holiday before the exam for home revision and relaxation.
Xiao Lingyu nodded. “Yes. Ye ‘Er will begin his holiday tomorrow.”
“I’ll need to cook Ye ‘Er good food for the next three days!” Mother Xiao said, “Even though he’s in the elite class, the food at the school canteen isn’t that good.” The others agreed with Mother Xiao.
Xiao Lingyu said, “Since it’s a holiday, we should let little brother have fun in the next few days and rest up to prepare for the university entrance exam.”
With Xiao Lingye’s level, there was no need to cram at the last minute. So he should relax and clear his mind.
“I’ll take Ye ‘Er home in the afternoon,” Xiao Lingyu said.
“Okay. We can go back home together,” Liu Chunhua said.
Xiao Lingyu said, “Fourth uncle and fourth aunt, you’ve helped out a lot at the shop. We barely have time to walk around the county town. Since we have time this afternoon, we should take this opportunity. You can buy anything you want. Consider it a treat from me!”
“Haha. Thank you..” Xiao Mingyang and Liu Chunhua thanked her.
