Chapter 25: 024: Sell Short! _1
Translator: 549690339
Ni Yang blanched a handful of noodles in fish soup and served them into ten cups, sprinkled them with cilantro, chopped green onion, and minced garlic, before pouring the final touch of soup over them. Thus, ten petite servings of Sour Fish Noodle Soup were completed.
Though small, the servings had a full spectrum of colors, scents, and flavors.
Ni Yang held a tray with ten servings of noodles, and started soliciting passersby loudly, “Come, come, step right up, free noodles for tasting, it’s all free!”
Upon hearing the word ‘free’, a middle-aged woman immediately paused and asked, “Are you really giving these away for free?”
Ni Yang nodded and handed her a cup, “Yes ma’am, please judge if it tastes good or not. This cup of noodles doesn’t cost you a penny. If you like it, you can sit down and have a bowl of it at only three cents per bowl. If you don’t like it, you can simply leave without any obligation. After all, 1 am a young girl standing before so many people. Do you think I could swindle you?”
The middle-aged woman suspiciously took a sip from the cup while multiple people had already gathered around to watch.
In this era, promotional strategies were scarce, much more so the free food samples, thus attracting numerous onlookers. However, these onlookers only watched the ‘first to act’ middle-aged woman, without accepting the cupped noodles from Ni Yang, fearing it to be a scam.
After finishing the soup, the middle-aged woman wore an incredibly baffled expression.
The surrounding crowd was filled with curiosity.
With an amiable grin, Ni Yang asked, “So ma’am, how would you rate the taste?”
The woman took a bite of noodles without answering, carefully chewing and then looked at Ni Yang incredulously, “This is absolutely delicious! Missy, how did you prepare this fish soup?”
The noodles, imbued with the tangy, spicy, and savory flavor of the pickled cabbage fish soup, were incredibly appetizing and left people craving for the next bite. There was no fishy taste at all. If it weren’t for the fish fillet floating on the soup, who could believe these were fish soup noodles?
“Exactly.” Ni Yang nodded, “Ma’am, would you like a bowl?”
“Yes, yes!” The middle-aged woman replied excitedly and picked a place to sit down, “Missy, hurry up and bring me a bowl.”
The middle-aged woman was originally going to have breakfast. She had been eating here for three or four years, but had never tasted such delicious noodles! She couldn’t wait to have a bowl right away.
“Sure ma’am, please wait for a moment.” Ni Yang acknowledged the request.
Having observed the reaction of the middle-aged woman, the onlookers started clamoring for a free cup of noodles themselves.
They were simply too curious, were the noodles indeed that delicious?
Ni Yang rapidly handed out the remaining nine cups of noodles to the others.
However, many others had not gotten a share. She apologized, “I’m sorry, I have got no free samples left for today. If you would like to eat, it’s three cents per large bowl.”
Others who had tasted the cup noodles were cheered and exclaimed, “Missy, bring me a bowl!”
“Me too!”
“I have never tasted such delicious noodles.”
H ii
Similar comments increased, intriguing those who had yet to taste the free sample.
“I also want a bowl.”
In no time, all three tables were full, leaving many others standing while eating their noodles.
In just four hours, two big pots of pickled cabbage fish soup were sold out, leaving many still waiting for their turn, expressing great regret.
Ni Yang explained with a smile, “Our Pickled Fish Noodles are served with limited availability. About two hundred servings a day. If you want to eat, you can come over a bit earlier tomorrow, the location is still the same.” This was a hunger marketing strategy, creating an inadequate supply phenomenon to maintain product prices and profit margins.
She believes there will be more people coming tomorrow morning.
Ni Yang packed up the tables and chairs and returned them to the neighboring stores.
The shop owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, watching Ni Yang return the tables and chairs, he asked with a chirpy smile, “Yangyang, how’s business?”
Ni Yang glanced up, a small smile playing on her lips, “It went fairly well.”
She always wore a smile when facing people and dealt with things tactfully.
These were the life lessons Ni Yang learned from her previous life.
The shop owner thought Ni Yang was being elusive because she had encountered setbacks on her first day of business. After all, she was just a teenage girl. What kind of business could she do? She was more likely to make losses!
The shop owner immediately tried to comfort her, “Yangyang, you can’t rush a business, you have to take things slow, keep going at it. As the old saying goes, after persistence, the moon will appear through a parting sky. Look at my small shop, despite doing pretty well now, things were very bleak a few years ago. I was on the brink of shutting it down, but now aren’t all troubles past, and everything is sweet?”
Ni Yang set down the tables and chairs, “You’re right.”
Seeing Ni Yang remain so calm and unperturbed, not complaining at all, the shop owner became even more curious. Normally people would complain a bit after facing setbacks, but Ni Yang seemed to be taking it quite cheerfully. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked again, “Yangyang, how many bowls of noodles did you sell this morning?”
She replied, “They’re all sold out.” Ni Yang carefully placed the stove in a non-obstructive place, speaking lightly.
“So, all of them were sold?”
The shop owner’s expression became instantly astonished, “Yangyang… are you kidding me?” When he saw the two big iron pots, he estimated that they could contain hundreds of bowls of soup. Surely, they couldn’t have all been sold?
This young girl was probably too worried about losing face, so she was boasting.
If it had all been sold, wouldn’t she have been over the moon with joy? How could she be so calm and composed?
Ni Yang continued, “I’m not joking with you. They are really all sold out. I’m just packing my things to go home.”-
The shop owner thought Ni Yang was just bluffing, and he laughed and said, “Since they’ve all sold out, you should go home now. Don’t worry your family. In my opinion, it’s better for girls to study more.” He believed that a well-read woman would make a good match and that would be a satisfactory life.
“Well, 1’11 be going then, Uncle Liu. Goodbye.” After putting everything away, Ni Yang said goodbye to the shop owner.
Shop owner Liu watched Ni Yang’s figure retreating into the distance and shook his head helplessly. The kids these days have too much vanity. Not selling the noodles is not a big deal, but pretending to have sold out all…
Did she think he was too old to know better?
Instead of returning home directly, Ni Yang rode her bicycle to the Agricultural Market where she bought eight fish. She also bought some fishing gear, along with some fruits and vegetables, adding to the list, kelp and pig’s feet.
By the time she reached home, it was a little past eleven in the morning.
“Yangyang is back! How was your business? How many did you sell?” Ni Cuaihua asked excitedly upon seeing Ni Yang’s return. Clearly, she had been waiting anxiously at the door for a long time.
Ni Yang handed over the fruits and vegetables she bought to Ni Cuihua, laughing, “Mom, with your daughter being so capable, how could the business not be good? Of course, they were all sold.”
“All sold out?” Ni Cuihua opened her mouth wide in excitement and disbelief, “Yangyang, you’re not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?”
If they had agreed on a price of three cents per bowl the night before, how much money would they have earned if everything was sold?
“I didn’t lie to you mom. They were all really sold out..” Ni Yang unloaded the pots from the back of her bicycle, lifted the lid, and said with a smile, “Look, it’s completely empty!”