Sales Preparations

By dinnertime, Fang Bai closed the shop and went with his father to the Old Restaurant to order dinner.

"Son, isn't Tingting coming over after school?" Fang Shi sat down at the table and poured tea for himself and his son.

Fang Bai replied, "Dad, that's up to her. She probably hasn't come out much these past two days."

Sometimes he was busy and had no time for dinner. Since his Younger Sister was waiting around, she probably did not want to interrupt his work, so she came by less often.

After dinner, as father and son headed back toward their rented place, Fang Shi said, "Eating out every day costs too much. There's a kitchen in the rental. We can just buy some vegetables and cook for ourselves."

"It doesn't cost much. After being busy all day, where would we find the time to cook?"

"There'll be more people tomorrow. Eating at a restaurant will cost at least ten-odd yuan, while buying vegetables and cooking ourselves would only cost a few yuan."

"Food we cook ourselves might not suit everyone's tastes. The dishes at that restaurant are decent, and the prices are reasonable," Fang Bai explained. He understood that his parents wanted to save money. "Dad, take your time getting used to it. What if we have dozens of people in the future? We can't possibly cook for ourselves then. We'll definitely hire a chef, or eat at a small restaurant outside."

"Do as you see fit, then."

After dinner, father and son strolled along the street for a while before returning to the rental.

After Fang Bai returned to his bedroom and sat down, he began considering how to sell the televisions.

He planned to sell televisions from a street stall, but he found several problems that needed solving.

First, customers buying secondhand televisions would definitely worry about the warranty period. What if it broke just a few days after they took it home?

Fang Bai did not have a real physical storefront. Could he use the shop he was currently renting as a repair shop?

That definitely would not work!

The customers would take one look and discover that the televisions they bought were assembled entirely from imported electronic junk! Refurbished goods!

They would most likely demand returns and refunds.

Therefore, the main door of his shop had to stay closed most of the time, with only the smaller door open. Too many people could not know that he was assembling imported electronic junk here.

Second, setting up a street stall would definitely require running a wire and borrowing electricity. That was somewhat troublesome, but still manageable.

Third, there were no cardboard boxes for packaging the televisions. It was too late for that now; he would place an order with a carton factory once he had more capital.

Fourth, there was the issue of transporting the televisions. He needed to buy a tricycle or rent a vehicle for deliveries.

After customers bought a television, they would definitely worry about how to transport it. Deliver it to their homes and install it?

It seemed that had nothing to do with Fang Bai.

Who delivered televisions to people's homes these days?

Fang Bai slapped his forehead. He really did not need to provide home delivery.

Of course, if he could deliver to their homes, he would probably sell better. But he had no such conditions. Customers could spend a little money to hire a tricycle to carry it back themselves, though they probably would not feel at ease until the television reached their homes.

There were plenty of other details to resolve. Fang Bai went to discuss them with his father so that he would understand, since his father would be on the front lines of sales.

Fang Bai liked to plan and arrange things in advance, considering potential hazards and problems ahead of time. That way, he could better avoid risks and unexpected situations, and would not panic when the time came.

"Dad, if street-stall sales don't go well, we can only try opening a storefront for sales."

"Mm, arrange it as you see fit. Your dad doesn't know much about these things."

Fang Shi had watched his son interview and hire people, arranging everything in perfect order. He could not do that himself, so he simply stopped offering suggestions. He would be a listener and just do the work.

Bragging normally was no big deal, but this concerned the development of their whole family. He did not dare act recklessly.

The next morning,

The part-time students arrived at the shop on time to repair televisions. Six came today. Fang Bai had them remove the television back covers first, then he marked out the problems for them to repair.

These part-time students had all been interviewed by Fang Bai. They had some electrical knowledge and hands-on ability. After Fang Bai gave them a general explanation, they knew what to do.

Assigning tasks took Fang Bai only a little time. After that, he went next door to read whenever he had a spare moment. The workers could call him if they ran into any problems.

Fang Bai sent his father to scout out suitable places nearby for setting up a street stall, and to buy the tools they would need for it.

That day, the six part-time repair workers repaired and cleaned twenty-one televisions.

It was their first day working, so their efficiency was a little low.

Fang Bai required each person to repair and clean five televisions per day on average. Completing twenty-one televisions on the first day barely met his requirements.

He wanted to test the waters with sales here in Oubei first and tap into the purchasing potential of the local residents.

The plan was good, but changes came faster than expected.

It was not until evening that Fang Shi returned from outside and reported to his son. "Son, the place with the most foot traffic is still outside the Bus Station. The passenger terminal is nearby, and people come and go every day. There are just too many of them."

The Bus Station was only three or four hundred meters from their shop. Turn at the intersection of their street and walk south for one or two hundred meters, and they would reach it. A few dozen more meters straight south was the passenger terminal.

There was a street near the Bus Station that served as the main route to and from the city. Pedestrians constantly passed through, and many vendors set up stalls there. Fang Bai naturally knew the place. When he returned to Oubei from the city, he crossed the river by ferry from the passenger terminal.

The people traveling daily between Yongjia County and the city were relatively well-off and had purchasing power.

The only downside was that everyone hurried on their way in the morning, with little desire to buy anything. They could not possibly sell much in the morning; they might as well set up near the vegetable market.

But the foot traffic was high. Most people had time during the afternoon return trip. Their main targets were those traveling back and forth from the city, not people rushing to catch a bus.

If they were setting up a stall, it had to be on that main thoroughfare. Only an idiot would sell televisions right at the Bus Station entrance.

As long as they advertised and promoted properly, stirring up passersby's desire to buy, someone would always make a purchase.

There was no need to worry about the chengguan when setting up a stall now. They only needed to be more alert for petty thieves.

Wen City's public security was fairly good. If this were somewhere else, Fang Bai would truly worry about hooligans and gangsters coming to cause trouble.

After thinking it through, Fang Bai said to his father, "Dad, let's settle on that place. We'll set up the stall there tomorrow after lunch. The only troublesome part is finding somewhere to run an electrical wire.

We should still buy a tricycle. It'll be more convenient for hauling goods."

"All right. I'll go buy one tomorrow. You stay home and read."

"Mm. After we buy it, take it to one of those Auto Repair Shops to modify it so it can carry more goods." Fang Bai took out his backpack and pulled out one thousand yuan for his father.

Buying a tricycle would not cost that much. He gave his father extra to keep on hand, since there were too many places where they would need to spend money.

Fang Shi took the stack of 10-Yuan Notes, feeling its weight in his hand. He hoped his son's business would get off to a roaring start and recover its costs as soon as possible.

The next morning, Fang Shi rushed out energetically to handle business.

A little after nine in the morning, the two girls in charge of sales arrived, and Fang Bai gave them a few more instructions.

Besides the two of them, there were also two students responsible for guarding the site and moving televisions.

The two boys looked rather rugged. Judging by their appearance, ordinary punks would not dare provoke them.

They could serve as guards and move goods. They could not have been more suitable.

He would use money to pave the way and hoped everything would go smoothly, without trouble.

That was Fang Bai's way of thinking: spend a little more money, make more connections with people who could help him, cause less trouble, but never fear trouble either.

After marking the televisions that needed repair today, he rode out on his bicycle. He wanted to inspect the site himself so he could feel confident.

A little while later, he arrived at the Dock and gazed at the rippling waters of the nearby Oujiang River, accompanied by the faint sound of waves.

Boats traveled back and forth across the river, piled high with goods. The open spaces at their bows and sterns were crowded with people crossing between the two banks.

People bustled about on the Dock, where goods were piled as high as mountains.

Workers in worn clothes and broken shoes carried goods on shoulder poles. Sweat soaked through their undershirts, and they worked busily with determined eyes, occasionally shouting to encourage themselves.

The sight of the Dock made Fang Bai feel the vitality and vigor of this era. Having come to this time, he too wanted to brave the waves and build a career for himself.

He wanted a more comfortable life for himself and his family, and he also wanted to make some contribution to this country.

After watching for a while, Fang Bai turned his bicycle around and headed back, arriving at the street near the Bus Station.

He made a round of the area and found quite a few open spaces suitable for setting up a street stall.

The open space in front of a small restaurant was very good. Fang Bai went directly to negotiate with the owner. He first offered him a cigarette and chatted for a bit to lower his guard before getting down to business.

A few minutes later, Fang Bai reached an agreement with the restaurant owner.

Fang Bai said they could run an electrical wire from his restaurant, paying five yuan a day for electricity and the use of the open space in front of the shop. It would not affect his business, and could even bring in customers and increase his restaurant's visibility.

The other party was a businessman, so Fang Bai had to communicate with him from a businessman's perspective. He could not let him lose out.