A stack of steaming baskets sat on the stool in front of her, and astonishingly, she was also selling steamed buns.
Upon seeing Lin Chuxia coming over, the old lady deliberately turned in another direction, with her back facing her.
Sister Liu, who sold peanuts, sunflower seeds and toilet paper nearby, was already familiar with Lin Chuxia and came over, nodding towards the old lady and whispered, “Why are you so late today? The spot has been taken. I told her that someone else was there but she didn’t listen, she even said her son works at the police station and that we can’t afford to offend them. I think she deliberately took your spot.”
With a smile, Lin Chuxia thanked the older sister, “Let her be, I’ll find another place.”
Their small businesses could be run by them or by someone else.
There were plenty of vendors near the train station entrance; it wasn’t yet to the point where finding somewhere to sell was impossible.
Sister Liu thought she was too naive to understand, feeling anxious for her, “You’ve been selling at that spot for so long, not to mention the train passengers, even the locals recognize your buns. Giving it up to her just like that, aren’t you letting her reap the benefits for nothing?”
Out of so many places, why did the old lady have to take Lin Chuxia’s spot if not for this very reason?
Lin Chuxia understood this of course, but “We’re essentially squatting on this land to sell our goods without permission, even if I went to argue with her, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on,” better to set up shop earlier and sell an extra couple of baskets of buns.
Moreover, the local residents and regular customers knew who to look for, she was right next to them, how could they miss her?
Lin Chuxia didn’t dwell on it and located a vacant spot across the way to set up her stall.
Granny Sun initially thought that young miss would come over to fight for the spot and had her excuses ready, but then she saw the other person set up shop opposite her and felt relieved, yet also somewhat miffed.
These past few days, she had been scoping the market and noticed the young girl was making good money selling buns, so she thought of steaming some buns to sell as well.
She had deliberately snagged that spot. Just now, someone came to buy buns and asked if the previous vendor was her daughter, and she claimed it was her daughter-in-law, resulting in that person buying five pork buns without hesitation.
Thinking of using this pretext to sell more, she set up shop right opposite her, making it difficult for her to sell.
Sure enough, after Lin Chuxia set up her stall, passing travelers all gathered around Lin Chuxia’s bun stall to make their purchases.
Lin Chuxia’s buns were being warmed on a small stove, the steam billowing, emitting bursts of fragrant aroma, much more enticing than the old lady’s buns.
No matter the time, people always prefer something warm to eat.
Sister Liu strolled over to Lin Chuxia’s side and laughed while she wasn’t busy, “You’re really something. Ever since you set up your stand, that old lady has not sold a single bun. I can see her face turned green.”
Lin Chuxia handed her a chive-filled bun, “Try this vegetarian bun I steamed today, it’s filled with chives and egg.”
Sister Liu was already very familiar with her, accepted the bun and handed over a handful of sunflower seeds for her to crack and eat in her spare time.
After taking a bite of the bun, she was full of praise, “Your cooking is really incredible, it’s the same chive and egg filling, but how come I can’t recreate this taste? Do you have a secret recipe?”
Lin Chuxia nodded, “I learned the craft from an old master before, and I heard that his ancestors used to be chefs for the Prince Mansion.”
She was speaking with seeming earnestness, partly to make it clear to the other person that her buns indeed had a secret recipe and to avoid further questions about how they were made since a secret recipe certainly can’t be shared freely.
Additionally, it served to build a reputation for her craft, as right now she sells buns, but in the future, she would sell other food items as well.
At any rate, advertising is always the most direct way to attract customers.
Sister Liu’s face was filled with envy, “How come I don’t have your skills? Look at me, selling peanuts and sunflower seeds here all day, but at the end of the day, I earn less than you make from two baskets of buns.”
There were more than just her selling peanuts and seeds by the train station. They are just snacks for boredom relief, and usually only those with money to spare would buy a handful before getting on the train, unlike these meat buns which one could buy just to have a meal.
“Miss, do you still have meat buns?”
While they were talking, someone stood in front of the bun stand and asked.
Lin Chuxia looked up and saw that it was the very first customer who bought her buns.
“Yes, how many would you like? Brother, are you back from a business trip? Did everything go well?”
Lin Chuxia had long developed a skill for sizing up people. Initially, this brother’s clean outfit and briefcase suggested he was likely away on official business.
Half a month had passed, and since he had returned, it naturally meant that he had been on a business trip.
Xu Changping smiled, “Thanks to your kind words, it went smoothly. Your meat buns taste good, give me 20 of them.”
Lin Chuxia quickly served him the buns and casually asked, “Today we also have chive and egg, and celery and egg fillings. The vegetarian buns are six cents each, two for ten cents for the brother—would you like to try them too?”
“Alright, I’ll take five of each.”
Thirty meat buns decimated three baskets, leaving Granny Sun across the street almost popping her eyeballs, she immediately started to hawk, “Meat buns, big filling meat buns, ten cents each, eleven for one yuan…”
Xu Changping handed Lin Chuxia three yuan, smiling, “You’ve got competitors now, huh?”
Nowadays, food isn’t just about the taste; one extra bun for one yuan is a strong competitive factor, regardless of the taste.
Lin Chuxia gave him fifty cents in change and laughed unconcernedly, “Isn’t this what an open market is like? Anyone can be in control, anyone can do business and be the boss. Competition improves product quality, and healthy competition fosters market development. It’s a good thing.”
Xu Changping couldn’t help but take another look at Lin Chuxia—such awareness from someone so young.
His business trip was to the big machinery plant up north to discuss new technology. With the market opening, they were also thinking about reform and innovation at their machinery plant. If they kept to their old ways, self-contained, they would inevitably be eliminated by the market.
Yet, many people fail to see this, especially those in large state-owned plants, who have been spoon-fed by the government for too long and only know to open their mouths to be fed.
“You are quite interesting, miss. I see great potential in you.”
Lin Chuxia accepted his compliment frankly.
In her previous life, having run businesses for a lifetime, she had already seen through it all: the market naturally operates on a survival of the fittest basis, and even using some tricks, as long as they don’t touch the law, is normal.
The market is not yet regulated, and there are no stall fees around the train station, so no one is intruding on anyone else’s territory.
It was perfectly normal for Granny Sun to sell buns and compete for the market. If her buns tasted better and took customers away, Lin Chuxia would accept defeat gracefully.
Conversely, without a good product and unable to compete with peers, one would eventually be eliminated by the market—there was no need for her to worry or take action.
Like today, although she had two more baskets of buns and a new competitor, she didn’t close up shop too late.
Mainly because during this period, she had gained quite a few regular customers.
After selling the last basket of buns, Lin Chuxia cleaned up the baskets and the small stove. Seeing Granny Sun on the opposite side guarding her stack of baskets, eagerly watching her, almost as if she couldn’t wait for her to leave.
Lin Chuxia loaded her belongings onto her cart, said goodbye to the seed-selling sister, and then pedaled the cart away.