Chapter 239: A Big Deal (4000 Words)
Chapter 239: A Big Deal (4000 Words)
After helping Jiang Xiaoxue find her child's father, Deng Shirong left with peace of mind. There was no need to waste time looking for food when his system space was already stocked. After traveling by train for so many days, both his body and mind were exhausted. It was late, so he found a hotel and rested for the night.
The next day, after a good night's sleep, Deng Shirong felt refreshed. He took out two steaming meat buns from his system space for breakfast and then set off to handle his business.
In his system space, Deng Shirong had stored over 63 tons of longan. Selling such a large amount of longan retail was out of the question. The only viable option was to sell them wholesale or find a powerful merchant who could take the entire batch.
The easiest and most efficient way would be to find a powerful merchant who could take the entire batch, but Deng Shirong had no connections in the capital and didn't know any such merchants. So, this option was only a backup for now.
Selling wholesale was a practical choice. The market in the capital was vast, and 63 tons of longan, while a large amount, wouldn't be much when distributed throughout the city. However, in this era, there were no dedicated fruit wholesale markets, and true wholesale markets wouldn't appear for a few more years. Finding merchants willing to buy such a large quantity of longan wholesale wouldn't be easy.
Still, he wasn't completely without leads. Deng Shirong had visited the capital twice before, and he knew some of the more famous places, like the Dongfeng Market, which he had visited once. The Dongfeng Market, originally called Dong'an Market, was the oldest and largest comprehensive market in the capital. Although it wasn't a wholesale market, it housed various businesses, and Deng Shirong was confident he could find merchants there to buy his longan.
Another option was to wait at the wholesale stations of the department stores and supply cooperatives. These were the giants of the era, with wholesale stations spread across the country. Many merchants from all over the country sourced their goods from these stations. Deng Shirong could wait there and pitch his longan to the merchants who came to buy supplies, which should yield good results.
Of course, the simplest and most effective method would be to directly negotiate with the department stores and supply cooperatives for a bulk purchase. However, Deng Shirong was hesitant. Given the transportation capabilities of these giants, they couldn't bring longan from the south to the capital. If he brought fresh longan to the capital and offered it to them, the consequences were unpredictable.
After much consideration, Deng Shirong decided to be low-key and not approach the department stores and supply cooperatives. Instead, he would go to the Dongfeng Market to find a few reliable and capable merchants to sell his longan to. With their local networks and sales channels, he was confident that selling over 130,000 pounds of longan wouldn't be a problem.
With this in mind, Deng Shirong didn't hesitate and headed to the Dongfeng Market.
...
Ruyi Fresh Fruit Shop
This was the largest fresh fruit shop in the Dongfeng Market.
The owner of the shop was Zhou Shengli, a middle-aged man in his forties.
His family had been merchants for five generations. If they had lived in a peaceful era, he would have been a wealthy heir. Unfortunately, the country had been plagued by foreign invasions and frequent wars over the past century. Zhou Shengli's grandfather and father, despite their business acumen, had no opportunity to use their skills and could only make a modest living.
After the reform and opening up, the government gradually relaxed restrictions on business and even encouraged individual entrepreneurship. Zhou Shengli, sensing that the era of merchants was approaching, observed the situation for two years. When he saw that the prospects were improving, he took decisive action. He no longer operated his business like a guerrilla but set up a stall at the Dongfeng Market to sell fruits.
After more than a year of dedicated effort, his fruit stall became increasingly successful. He then upgraded it to a fixed shop. Due to his excellent business skills, his fruit shop was very profitable, earning him more in a day than an ordinary worker would make in a month or two. If this news spread, many people would be envious.
However, Zhou Shengli was not satisfied. His family had been merchants for generations, and he inherited their legacy, aiming to become a well-known businessman nationwide. This fruit shop was just the starting point of his journey.
As Zhou Shengli was contemplating how to expand his fruit shop, a well-dressed middle-aged man carrying a burlap bag walked into his shop.
This man was none other than Deng Shirong, who had come to the Dongfeng Market to sell his longan. After examining the variety and prices of the fruits in the shop, he approached Zhou Shengli, who clearly looked like the owner, and asked, "Hello, are you the owner of this fruit shop?"
Zhou Shengli nodded, "I am!"
Deng Shirong smiled faintly and said, "Boss, I have a big deal I'd like to discuss with you. Would you mind finding a place to talk?"
Zhou Shengli was surprised and asked, "What kind of big deal?"
Deng Shirong countered, "Boss, since you run a fruit shop, you must know about longan from the south, right?"
Zhou Shengli's interest was piqued. "Of course, I know about it."
Deng Shirong opened the burlap bag, took out a bunch of longan, showed it to Zhou Shengli, and then put it back. "Boss, I want to talk to you about a business opportunity related to this. Are you interested?"
Even though he only saw it for a moment, Zhou Shengli, with his years of experience in the fruit business, could tell that the longan was incredibly fresh. The leaves and fruit looked as if they had just been picked, which was truly remarkable.
He was in the fruit business and had considered going to the south to buy some precious lychees and longans to sell, and he knew he wasn't the only one. Many other fruit merchants had the same idea, but the short shelf life of lychees and longans made it impossible to realize.
Especially with lychees, unless you don’t mind the exorbitant cost of air freight, they’ll rot before they even reach the capital with conventional transportation methods.
Longans have a slightly longer shelf life, but not by much.
Even if you manage to keep them fresh during transport, by the time they arrive in the capital, they won’t be fresh anymore. The window for selling them is incredibly short. If you can’t sell them immediately, they’ll go bad within a few days. Can you blame any fruit vendor for not wanting to take such a huge risk?
This is the primary reason why fresh lychees and longans have never been available in the capital's markets, from ancient times to the present.
But now, Zhou Shengli had seen longans that looked as fresh as if they had just been picked, right here in the capital. This not only amazed him but also piqued his interest in the business Deng Shirong had mentioned. He immediately said, "Boss, I’m very interested in what you’ve said. Can we talk in the back warehouse?"
Deng Shirong nodded, preferring not to discuss business in front of other customers. The location didn’t matter to him.
Zhou Shengli bid his family a quick farewell and led Deng Shirong to the back warehouse of the fruit shop.
Inside the warehouse, there were plenty of fruits, and the stockpile clearly showed that the fruit shop was doing very well.
After settling on a small stool, Zhou Shengli said, "My name is Zhou. May I ask for yours, sir?"
"Call me Deng."
Deng Shirong didn’t waste time. He pulled out a bunch of longans from a burlap sack and handed them to Zhou Shengli, saying, "Mr. Zhou, taste these longans first. We can talk after you’ve tried them."
Zhou Shengli eagerly took the bunch of longans, examining them closely. The branches were freshly cut, the leaves were vibrant, and the fruits looked as if they had just been picked from the tree. The more he looked, the more unbelievable it seemed.
He picked one longan, peeled it, and found the flesh to be as fresh as could be. He popped it into his mouth and savored the thick, small-seeded, and incredibly sweet fruit. Indeed, longans were one of the most famous fruits from the south, and the taste was truly exceptional.
After trying one, Zhou Shengli couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Deng, how did you manage to do this?"
Deng Shirong understood what he was asking and smiled without answering.
Zhou Shengli realized he had asked a silly question. Such a trade secret wouldn’t be shared easily. He cut to the chase, "Mr. Deng, how much of this longan do you have?"
Deng Shirong replied, "I have over 63 tons. I’m not sure if you can handle that much, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Shengli was taken aback by the quantity, which far exceeded his expectations. He took a deep breath and asked, "Mr. Deng, if I were to buy from you, how much would you charge per pound for these longans?"
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "If you can take it all, I can offer you the lowest price of 2 yuan per pound."
Zhou Shengli’s eyes lit up at this.
2 yuan per pound, and that was the wholesale price. In this era, that price was considered exorbitant, with few fruits that could compare.
But Zhou Shengli found the price reasonable, even slightly lower than his expectations.
After all, these were longans, which had never been seen in the capital’s market. Before opening his fruit shop, he had specifically traveled to the south to examine the local fruits, and he knew the prices well.
The retail price of longans in their place of origin was already around 0.5 to 0.6 yuan per pound. Transporting them thousands of miles to the capital would incur significant costs, not to mention the expenses for keeping them fresh. A wholesale price of 2 yuan per pound and a retail price of 2.5 to 3 yuan per pound would only be about five times the original price, which was already a fair deal.
Thus, Zhou Shengli was satisfied with the price. The only issue was that 63 tons of goods would cost at least 250,000 yuan, and he only had around 100,000 yuan saved up. There was a significant gap.
So, monopolizing the deal was out of the question.
Zhou Shengli’s mind raced, but he said, "Mr. Deng, can you lower the price a bit? As you know, this is the first time longans have appeared in the capital’s market. If the price is too high, we don’t know if customers will accept it. If they don’t, we’ll be stuck with the goods!"
Deng Shirong laughed, "Mr. Zhou, the cost I incurred to transport the freshest longans to the capital is unimaginable. At 2 yuan per pound, I’m barely breaking even. The reason I’m offering you this price is to test the market. If there’s demand, I can make a profit next year. So, I can’t lower the price any further."
Zhou Shengli understood and agreed with Deng Shirong’s reasoning.
Even if the costs weren’t as high as Deng claimed, it was clear that the profit margin was slim.
Therefore, Zhou Shengli didn’t haggle over the price. He pondered and said, "Mr. Deng, I only have about 100,000 yuan. I can’t take all the goods, but please give me some time. I’ll gather a few friends to discuss it, and we’ll buy the batch together. Is that okay?"
Deng Shirong nodded, "That’s the best approach. I won’t have to look for other buyers. However, I can only give you half a day. By 3 PM, I need a definite answer. Is that acceptable?"
"No problem!"
Zhou Shengli then held up the bunch of longans he still had in his hand and asked, "Mr. Deng, can you give me this bunch of longans? As the saying goes, seeing is believing. With this bunch, I have a good chance of convincing my friends."
Deng Shirong smiled, "Of course."
Zhou Shengli was excited, "There’s no time to waste. I’ll go talk to my friends right away."
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "I’ll leave then. I’ll be back at the fruit shop this afternoon to hear your decision."
Today’s 7000-word update is complete. Gentlemen, you know the drill^_^
(End of Chapter)
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