Chapter 239 Big Business
After helping Jiang Xiaoxue find the father of her child, Deng Shirong left with a clear conscience.
With food stored in his system space, there was no need to waste time searching for meals. Having spent so many days on the train, he was physically and mentally exhausted. As evening approached, he found a guesthouse to rest for the night.
...
The next day.
After a good night's sleep, Deng Shirong felt refreshed and free of fatigue. He took out two steaming meat buns from his system space for breakfast and then set out to attend to his business.
Deng Shirong's system space contained over 63 tons of longans. Selling such a massive quantity through retail in a short time was impossible. The only viable options were wholesale or finding a powerful merchant to take over the entire batch.
The most convenient approach would be to find a capable merchant to handle the entire lot. However, Deng Shirong had no connections in Beijing and didn't know any influential merchants, so this option remained a backup plan for now.
Wholesaling was feasible, given the size of the Beijing market. While 63 tons of longans sounded like a lot, distributing them across the capital would make the quantity manageable.
However, this era lacked specialized fruit wholesale markets, which wouldn't emerge until several years later. Finding enough merchants willing to wholesale longans wouldn't be easy.
Still, Deng Shirong had some leads.
Having visited Beijing twice before, he had explored many areas while searching for a courtyard house. Though he couldn't claim deep familiarity with the city, he knew some prominent locations, including the East Wind Market, a bustling hub in this era.
East Wind Market, formerly known as Tranquil East Market, wasn't a wholesale market but one of the earliest comprehensive markets in the capital. It housed a variety of businesses, and Deng Shirong believed he could find merchants there to promote his longans. With their help, selling over 63 tons of longans seemed achievable.
Another option was to wait at the wholesale outlets of department stores.
Department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives were giants of this era, with wholesale stations across the country. Merchants from all over purchased goods from these outlets. Deng Shirong planned to promote his longans to these merchants, expecting good results.
Of course, the simplest and most effective method would be to negotiate directly with department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives. However, Deng Shirong hesitated. Given the transportation capabilities of these entities, they couldn't transport longans from the south to the capital. If someone suddenly offered fresh longans, it might raise suspicions.
After careful consideration, Deng Shirong decided to keep a low profile and avoid approaching department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives. Instead, he would visit East Wind Market to find capable and reliable merchants to wholesale the longans. With their local networks and sales channels, selling over 100,000 kilograms of longans shouldn't be a problem.
With this plan in mind, Deng Shirong took a bus directly to East Wind Market.
...
Ruyi Fresh Fruit Shop.
This was the largest fresh fruit shop in East Wind Market.
The owner, Zhou Shengli, was a middle-aged man in his forties.
His family had been merchants for five generations. In a peaceful and prosperous era, he would have been a wealthy man.
Unfortunately, the country had faced foreign invasions and frequent wars over the past century. Zhou Shengli's grandfather and father, despite their business acumen, had no opportunities to thrive and could only make enough to support their families.
After the reform and opening up, the country gradually relaxed restrictions on business and even encouraged individual entrepreneurship.
Zhou Shengli sensed that the era for businessmen was returning. After observing the improving situation for two years, he acted decisively. Instead of operating as a mobile vendor, he set up a stall in East Wind Market and began selling fruits.
After more than a year of hard work, his fresh fruit stall flourished, and he upgraded it to a fixed store.
Thanks to his business skills, the fresh fruit shop thrived, earning a daily net profit equivalent to one or two months' salary of an ordinary worker. If word got out, many would envy his success.
However, Zhou Shengli wasn't satisfied. His family had been merchants for generations, and he aspired to become a nationally renowned businessman. The fresh fruit shop was just the beginning.
As Zhou Shengli pondered how to expand his business, a well-dressed middle-aged man carrying a sack walked into his shop.
The man was Deng Shirong, who had come toEast Wind Market to promote his longans. After surveying the types and prices of fruits in the shop, he approached Zhou Shengli, the obvious owner, and asked, "Hello, are you the owner of this fresh fruit shop?"
Zhou Shengli nodded. "I am."
Deng Shirong smiled faintly. "Boss, I have a big business deal to discuss with you. Can we find a place to talk?"
Zhou Shengli looked at him curiously. "What kind of big business?"
Deng Shirong didn't answer directly but asked, "Since you sell fresh fruits, you must know about longans from the south, right?"
Zhou Shengli's interest was piqued. "Of course."
Deng Shirong opened his sack, took out a bunch of longans, showed them to Zhou Shengli, and then put them back. "Boss, I want to discuss this business with you. Are you interested?"
Though he only glimpsed the longans, Zhou Shengli, with years of experience in the fruit business, could tell they were incredibly fresh, as if just picked. This was astonishing.
As a fresh fruit merchant, Zhou Shengli had considered traveling south to buy precious fruits like lychees and longans. He knew others had the same idea. However, the short shelf life of these fruits made it nearly impossible.
Lychees, in particular, would rot before reaching the capital unless transported by air at great cost. Longans had a slightly longer shelf life but still posed significant risks. Even if they didn't rot, they would lose freshness by the time they arrived, leaving little time for sale. Few merchants were willing to take such risks.
This was why fresh fruits like lychees and longans were absent from Beijing's markets.
Yet here was Deng Shirong, offering longans as fresh as if just picked. Zhou Shengli was both shocked and intrigued.
"Boss, I'm very interested in this business. Can we discuss it in the warehouse at the back?"
Deng Shirong agreed, and the two moved to the warehouse behind the shop.
The warehouse was stocked with fruits, a testament to the shop's thriving business.
After sitting down, Zhou Shengli introduced himself. "My surname is Zhou. May I ask yours?"
"Deng."
Deng Shirong wasted no time. He took out the bunch of longans and handed them to Zhou Shengli. "Boss Zhou, taste these first, and then we can talk."
Zhou Shengli eagerly examined the longans. The stems were fresh, the leaves vibrant, and the fruits looked as if they had just been picked.
He peeled one and found the flesh perfectly fresh. Tasting it, he was impressed by its thick flesh, small seed, and sweet, refreshing flavor.
After savoring one, Zhou Shengli couldn't contain his curiosity. "Boss Deng, how did you manage this?"
Deng Shirong simply smiled, unwilling to reveal his secrets.
Zhou Shengli realized his question was too direct and moved on. "Boss Deng, how many longans do you have?"
"Over 63 tons. Can you handle that much, Boss Zhou?"
Zhou Shengli was stunned. The quantity was far beyond his expectations. He took a deep breath and asked, "If I buy from you, what's the price per kilogram?"
Deng Shirong replied, "If you can take the entire lot, I can offer you the lowest price of 2 yuan per kilogram."
Zhou Shengli's eyes lit up.
At 2 yuan per kilogram, the wholesale price was high for this era, but Zhou Shengli found it reasonable, even lower than he had anticipated.
Longans had never appeared in Beijing's market before. Before opening his shop, Zhou Shengli had traveled south to study fruit prices. He knew longans retailed for 50 to 60 cents per kilogram in their place of origin. Transporting them thousands of kilometers to the capital, considering preservation costs, a wholesale price of 2 yuan per kilogram and a retail price of 2.5 to 3 yuan seemed fair.
Zhou Shengli was satisfied with the price but faced a funding gap. With assets of around 100,000 yuan, he couldn't afford the entire 63 tons, which would cost over 250,000 yuan.
He needed partners.
Zhou Shengli's mind raced as he said, "Boss Deng, can the price be lower? This is the first time longans are appearing in Beijing's market. If the price is too high, customers might not accept it, and we could lose money."
Deng Shirong smiled. "Boss Zhou, you can't imagine the costs of transporting fresh longans to Beijing. At 2 yuan per kilogram, I'm barely breaking even. I'm offering this price to test the market. If it succeeds, I can make profits next year.
So this is my lowest price. There's no room for negotiation."
Zhou Shengli agreed with Deng Shirong's reasoning. Even if the profit margin was slim, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Shengli said, "Boss Deng, I only have a little over 100,000 yuan, so I can't buy the entire lot. But give me some time. I'll gather a few friends, and we can pool our resources to purchase your goods. Is that acceptable?"
Deng Shirong nodded. "That works. I won't need to look for other merchants. But I can only give you until 3 PM today. Whether you succeed or not, I need an answer by then. Is that okay?"
"No problem!"
Zhou Shengli then asked, "Boss Deng, can I keep this bunch of longans? Seeing is believing. With this, I'll have an easier time convincing my friends."
Deng Shirong smiled. "Of course."
Zhou Shengli stood up, excited. "Then I'll go talk to my friends now."
Deng Shirong nodded. "I'll return to the fruit shop this afternoon for your answer."
End of Chapter.