After securing the venue, Fang Bai remembered that he didn't have a loudspeaker.
A loudspeaker was the soul of a street stall. As long as the voice was loud and passionate and the content unique, it would always catch passersby's attention.
With that in mind, Fang Bai rode out to look for one and eventually bought one from a general store.
Not long after he returned to the rental house, he saw his father ride back on a tricycle. The outside of the vehicle had been reinforced with wooden boards, and he had also bought several plastic straps.
Once the tricycle arrived, Fang Bai ordered everyone to move the goods.
So far, they had repaired thirty televisions. Fang Bai planned to move all of them over; only a large quantity would draw attention.
They first laid cardboard on the bottom of the tricycle before placing the TVs on it. The larger televisions went on the bottom, and the smaller ones were stacked on top after a layer had been laid down.
A tricycle could only carry a few TVs at a time, but fortunately, the distance was not far. Making a few extra trips was no big deal, so there was no need to rent a vehicle.
Fang Bai led the way while his father pedaled the tricycle. The two student part-timers pushed from behind, with the two girls following them.
Once they arrived at the site and unloaded the goods, Fang Bai had everyone spread a solid blue waterproof tarp on the ground before arranging the televisions on top.
Fang Bai and the girls stayed behind to watch the goods, arrange the display, and set up the antennas, while the others went back to move more TVs.
He specifically placed a 32-inch Panasonic Color TV slightly toward the back of the middle of the stall. After plugging it in and adjusting the antenna, a clear image soon appeared.
Passersby came and went, all extremely curious about what Fang Bai and the others were doing. The moment they saw the large color TV, it caused a stir.
A 29-inch imported Panasonic Hua Wang had a market price of 12,000 yuan and was already considered an exceptionally large Color TV in the domestic market. Very few people had ever seen one.
As for a 32-inch Color TV, probably not many people in China had ever seen one. Normally, they would not become widespread domestically until ten years later.
Fang Bai had only managed to find this one 32-inch Color TV. It seemed to have been accidentally damaged by lightning, and the circuit board had suffered considerable damage, but fortunately, it could be repaired.
He guessed that this 32-inch Color TV had only recently gone public overseas. Otherwise, it could not have been found among imported electronic scrap.
Before long, dozens of spectators had gathered around the stall, and many of them whispered among themselves.
"Wow, such a huge Color TV. It's my first time seeing one."
"The biggest Color TV I've ever seen was 21 cun. This is the first time I've seen one this big." When Chinese people talked about TV sizes, they used cun rather than inches.
Of course, this cun was not the traditional Chinese unit of 3.33 centimeters, but rather one inch, or 2.54 centimeters.
"What are they doing? Why are there so many TVs? Are they selling televisions?"
"They should be selling TVs. They've set up a street stall."
Most people simply watched quietly. Large color TVs were too expensive, after all, and they did not dare touch them. What if they damaged one and had to pay for it?
Fang Bai then switched on more televisions and tuned them to TV stations.
In later years, when selling televisions, people would power up every display set and have them all play the same program. It created a crowd-gathering effect and attracted more people.
A 32-inch large color TV stood in the middle, with a 21-inch color TV on each side, all connected to the same antenna.
After he finished setting up five televisions, his father brought over several more, along with price tags.
Fang Bai had the two girls place the price tags in front of the televisions. Only after seeing the prices did the crowd realize that Fang Bai and the others were really selling TVs.
Still, the spectators could hardly believe that the televisions were so cheap.
"My God, a 21-inch Color TV is only 1,100 yuan! That cheap?"
"Yeah, it's cheap, but it looks a little old. Why is that?"
"A 17-inch black and white TV only costs 150 yuan, half the price of a new 14-inch one."
"A 29-inch Color TV is 2,500 yuan, a 14-inch Color TV is 368 yuan, and a 14-inch black and white TV is 78 yuan. So cheap."
Only after seeing the price tags did the crowd realize that the stall was selling televisions, and at dirt-cheap prices.
Seeing the expressions on the crowd's faces, Fang Bai had not expected them to be so shocked.
Then, after he turned on the electronic loudspeaker, an enticing voice filled the area within dozens of meters, drawing even more passersby over.
"Come on over and take a look; don't let an opportunity pass you by; high-end imported brand televisions with guaranteed quality, all cleared out at twenty percent of the original price! Originally 1,680 yuan, now not 998, not even 680. The current price is only 368! You heard that right, only 368! Imported Color TVs you can't buy anywhere else in China are available right here! They'll last three, five years without breaking, and you can even pass them on to the next generation! They may not be family heirlooms, but every household needs one. As long as you own a Color TV, you'll be the brightest big shot in the whole village."
The voice on the loudspeaker was Fang Bai's own. He had recorded it several times, imitating the tone of TV sales hosts.
To record those lines properly, Fang Bai had repeated them who knew how many times, but they still lacked the flair of those Karaoke King/Queen-style stall owners from later years.
If it had been later years, Fang Bai would not even have wanted to listen to an advertisement like that and would have found it noisy.
But in this era, it was utterly shocking.
Before the two girls had even finished listening, they could not help laughing. The passersby were also drawn in by the novel lines and listened to them over and over again.
People in Wen City were highly sensitive to new things, so they all crowded into the stall for a closer look.
"Miss, are these TVs really only twenty percent of the original price? Can they be that cheap?" a spectator asked.
As a salesperson, Li Meng answered enthusiastically, "Yes, brother, every television here is only twenty percent of the original price!
"Of course, these are test units left over from television factories in developed countries. Some of them were manufactured several years ago and show signs of use,
"but there are no quality problems. You can test them on the spot."
The two salesgirls were both third-year university students and looked fairly decent.
The slightly round-faced one was Li Meng, while the other girl was Chen Xiaofang.
What Fang Bai valued most was that they were articulate and quick-witted.
He had not chosen beautiful girls. In this era, girls who were too pretty could easily attract trouble, and Fang Bai did not want problems while doing business.
"Miss, what's a test unit?" one spectator asked curiously.
"It's like this, ma'am. Television factories conduct various performance tests to test a TV's lifespan and functions. All the parts are original factory components. The model is just a little old, but it's already very advanced by domestic standards," Li Meng answered solemnly. These televisions were all refurbished units, though thankfully they worked. Still, Mr. Fang's script was somewhat misleading to ordinary people.
Fang Bai had explained it to them: they were original goods from the original factories, merely refurbished. Otherwise, how could the prices possibly be so low? It was sales terminology, not exactly a lie.
Besides, they had not passed inferior goods off as quality products, nor had they told customers these TVs were brand-new.
Calling them test units was a compromise. If they said the sets had been pieced together from imported electronic scrap, probably no customers would buy them.
But if he called them new machines, Fang Bai was not thick-skinned enough to do that, nor did he want to cheat the public.
Refurbished units sold at twenty percent of the original price were not excessive.
"I see. Then is there any quality guarantee?"
Li Meng followed the script. "You can test the playback on the spot. There won't be any problem using them for a few more years.
"If you take one home and discover a quality problem, you can bring it back for a return, and we'll give you a full refund.
"Brothers and sisters, if you're interested in buying one, come take a look."
Fang Bai had anticipated the questions customers might ask and listed the answers for them.
If anything else came up, they would have to improvise.
At her call, quite a few spectators stepped closer to inspect the televisions.
More and more people gathered, and the crowd had already exceeded a hundred. Fang Bai had not expected so many people, so he had the two strong laborers maintain order. When his father went back, he was to send two repairmen over to help push the tricycle and hurry more goods over.
"Miss, can the price be any lower? This 14-inch Color TV is still too expensive at 368 yuan." In the crowd, a middle-aged man in his forties asked Li Meng.
Li Meng spoke in a pitiful tone. "Uncle, we're already clearing these out at a loss. We really can't lower the price any further.
"There aren't many in this batch. Once they're sold out, there won't be any more."
The man took money from his large bag and showed it to Li Meng. "Miss, I really want to buy that 14-inch Color TV, but I only have 360 yuan on me. I have to keep some travel money to get home."
"How about this, Uncle? Please wait a moment. I'll apply to our leader."
After saying that, Li Meng walked over to Fang Bai and roughly explained the situation.
This was also a sales strategy Fang Bai had taught them: when they encountered someone with a very strong desire to buy, they should not reject the customer outright.
Asking the leader was merely an act; she could have made the decision herself.
Fang Bai said, "Mm, sell it to him for 350. Most people don't carry that much cash when they go out, so we need to keep that in mind. When you're selling, remind customers that we'll be here every other day so they can prepare their money in advance.
"But be careful. There are a lot of people now, so don't waste too many words. If you talk too much, you definitely won't be able to keep up."
After receiving Fang Bai's reply, Li Meng walked over to the man with a smile. "Uncle, our leader said that considering your situation, we can lower it to 350 yuan.
"To be honest, 368 yuan is already a loss for us. Buying one at this price means you're making a profit."
"Miss, you really know how to talk. Then I'll pay for that 14-inch Color TV." Seeing how crowded the place was, the man feared that if he hesitated even slightly, someone else might snatch it away.
Li Meng wrote him a sales slip, took the cash and handed it to Fang Bai, then told the man he could carry the television away.
"Miss, doesn't it come with packaging?"
"Uncle, let me explain. These are test units that have been dismantled and reassembled, so there are no manuals or packaging.
"If there's a quality problem, we'll be here every other day for a while. You can bring it back for a return, and we'll refund all your money."
Hearing Li Meng's assurance, the man no longer fussed over the lack of packaging. He only needed to be careful when carrying it home.
When the other spectators saw someone pay and carry off a television, many more began asking about prices, their desire to buy thoroughly stirred.
Before you continue