RBCT Chapter 86 The Initial Development of the Family Business
Chapter 86 The Initial Development of the Family Business
In the afternoon, Zhang Beichuan waited for his mother to finish receiving her last month's salary, and then happily took her to Beichuan Aquatic Products to familiarize herself with the business.
After receiving her salary, Zhang Xiaoli felt completely relaxed.
"Hey son, the subway entrance is over there, you're going the wrong way!"
"I know," Zhang Beichuan blinked and chuckled, "but I drove here."
"You came by car? Whose car was it?"
"Of course it's mine, otherwise how would I deliver goods?" Zhang Beichuan quickly put his arm around his mother's shoulder and led her to the bread cart parked by the roadside.
"When did you buy it? What kind of car did you buy? How much did it cost?"
"Mom, you'll know once you see it."
As the two were talking, they had already walked to the silver-gray Wuling Rongguang.
"Is this the car you bought?"
Zhang Beichuan opened the passenger door and nodded.
"This truck is great, so well-organized." Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhang Xiaoli turned her head to look at the space inside the truck, her face showing satisfaction. "It can carry goods and also a lot of people."
Zhang Beichuan, who had just sat down, smiled. If it were any other woman, he would have just given her a disdainful look, but not his mother.
Even if it's just a used bread cart, she can find a reason to praise your good taste.
As the car drove towards the Baijia Wholesale Market, Zhang Xiaoli watched the scenery rushing past the window, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Two weeks ago, my son was just an ordinary office worker who was worried about finding a job.
Now he's not only his own boss, but his business is booming, and he's even bought a car.
Although the process sounded risky, the results were undeniable, leaving her no choice but to believe it.
"Xiao Chuan," she suddenly spoke, her tone much gentler, "Mom knows you're resourceful and capable. But in the future, if there are any major issues, you should still discuss them with the family, instead of trying to handle everything alone. Your father and I may not be very capable, but we can always offer some advice and lend a hand."
Zhang Beichuan felt a warmth in his heart, knowing that his mother had completely accepted the current situation.
"Okay, Mom. I'll definitely discuss it with you later. It's not like this is the first time, and I didn't want you to worry."
The car soon arrived at Baijia Market. Although it was evening, the market was still quite lively.
After parking the car, Zhang Beichuan took a black plastic bag from the car and took his mother to Beichuan Aquatic Products.
"This is it." He took out his keys and opened the roller shutter door.
The shop wasn't very big, but it was very well organized. Several fish tanks were placed against the wall, filled with a large number of eels, with the water just covering their surfaces.
As Zhang Xiaoli entered the shop, she looked around and touched things, her eyes brightening considerably.
"Ogawa, is this the merchandise we're going to sell tomorrow morning?"
"This is part of it; there's some more stored in a warehouse not far away. I'll bring it over after we sell some of it tomorrow."
Zhang Xiaoli looked at him with surprise. "There's a warehouse too?"
"Yes, the shop is only this big. We received a lot of goods yesterday, about five or six thousand catties of eels, which can't all be stored here, so we have to rent another warehouse outside."
"How many can you sell in a day?"
"We haven't been doing this for very long, and we're currently selling about two to three thousand kilograms a day. I usually sell from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m., and then I go to deliver goods to people."
As Zhang Xiaoli listened, she made her own plans.
At this sales rate, five or six thousand kilograms of goods should be sold out in a day. It's just that my son was too busy to drive for too long before.
Now that I'm here myself, the store's opening hours have to be extended.
"Okay, Mom understands. Now tell me, what price do you sell these things for, and how much profit do you make per pound of seafood?"
So Zhang Beichuan briefly talked about the prices and costs of the seafood in the store, as well as some experience he had summarized from dealing with these people, such as how to oxygenate the seafood.
Upon hearing that the gross profit margin was around 20%, Zhang Xiaoli beamed with joy.
"I know, I know, this is wholesale, not retail. It's by the kilogram, and Mom won't charge people for it. It's for the long term."
"That's fine then." Zhang Beichuan grinned and handed the black plastic bag that was placed to the side to his mother. "Mom, you take this."
"What?" Zhang Xiaoli opened it, revealing two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes inside. "Why did you buy such good cigarettes?"
"Mom, these are for the customers to take out in the store."
She looked at the two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes in her hand and instinctively felt a pang of heartache.
"You silly kid, why don't you just buy some cheap cigarettes that cost twenty or thirty yuan a pack? These cigarettes are so expensive!"
Zhang Beichuan had a bit of a headache. Being with his mother meant he was bound to be nagged about these things, but he still patiently explained.
"Mom, we're in the wholesale business, and our customers are all big spenders and regulars. They buy goods in quantities of several thousand yuan at a time. We offer them a good cigarette, chat for a bit, and that's how we build a relationship. We can't skimp on this money; we have to spend it when necessary."
"Alright, it's your business, you decide."
Zhang Beichuan originally wanted his mother to go home and rest, and then he would go home to pick her up at midnight.
But Mom didn't want to go through all that trouble herself, so she planned to stay at the shop for the night and go back to rest after selling the goods the next day.
Unable to refuse, Zhang Beichuan had no choice but to buy another recliner, and the mother and son spent the night in the shop.
Zhang Xiaoli, who hadn't slept well all night, heard the gradual movement in the market and hurriedly got up from her recliner, nudging Zhang Beichuan, who was sleeping soundly.
"Ogawa, Ogawa?"
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Zhang Beichuan rubbed his eyes groggily.
Zhang Xiaoli, who had already sat up, said excitedly, "Shouldn't we open the door? I can hear a lot of noise outside."
Zhang Beichuan took out his phone and saw that it wasn't even 1 a.m. yet.
"Mom, it's still early. The market doesn't open until 2 o'clock. Let's sleep a little longer, just a little longer."
Seeing her son's tired face, she was too excited to sleep. She finally managed to stay awake until 1:30 a.m. and then quickly woke him up.
At 2:00 PM sharp, the number of people in the market increased significantly.
Many buyers, restaurant owners, and middlemen began to dart between the stalls like schools of fish searching for food.
Soon, regular customers strolled to the entrance of Beichuan Aquatic Products.
"Hey, Mr. Zhang, you're opening early today!"
Zhang Beichuan smiled helplessly. According to his usual routine, he would only start packing up his stall at two o'clock, but today everything was done by two o'clock.
"Brother Li's here! Come look, this is some great stuff that just arrived today, it's looking fantastic!"
As he spoke, he handed cigarettes to the man.
Li Tao took the cigarette, lit it with the light Zhang Beichuan offered, and squinted at the eels in the fish tank.
"Same as always, give me 100 jin, pick the biggest ones."
"Okay!" Zhang Beichuan readily agreed, then turned around and saw that his mother was already busy preparing.
At this moment, Li Tao also noticed Zhang Xiaoli, who was busy at work.
"Who is this?"
"Oh, this is my mom. She'll be helping out here from now on. My dad will also be coming to the market to help out soon. Brother Li, you can let me know in advance how much you need, and I'll have my dad bring it to the shop."
Upon hearing this good news, Li Tao nodded in agreement.
Zhang Xiaoli, who was busy working behind, quickly weighed the eels and pointed to the weight on the electronic scale with a smile.
"Boss Li, it's 100.6 jin in total, let's call it 100 jin, that's 4200 yuan."
Li Tao threw away the cigarette butt, smiled, nodded, and took out his phone to pay.
"Okay, Auntie, the money has been transferred."
Hearing the electronic notification of payment receipts in the store, Zhang Xiaoli's smile widened even more.
Over the next few hours, waves of customers came into the store.
The mother and son were so busy they barely had time to breathe. As dawn approached, Zhang Beichuan, who had just brought some eels from the warehouse, glanced at the time.
"Mom, you stay here at the shop, I'll go deliver the goods."
Zhang Xiaoli, who was introducing the eel to someone, turned her head to respond, then turned back to continue her work.
By 11 a.m., nearly 5,000 jin of eels had already been sold.
Zhang Xiaoli was overjoyed. According to the gross profit margin her son mentioned, she had earned 40,000 yuan in just one morning.
If we sold for a few more hours, or even a whole day, wouldn't we earn even more?
This isn't doing business; it's more like running a money printing machine.
Despite not having slept well all night, she was now full of energy, having just seen Zhang Beichuan returning from delivering goods.
She called out as she greeted the guests.
"Son, the store's stock is almost sold out. Do you have any left? If so, go and get some more."
Zhang Beichuan looked at his mother, who was sweating profusely from her busy work, and smiled wryly.
The eels in the 2026 warehouse have all been sold out, but in the 1986 warehouse, after deducting the goods brought over yesterday, there are still nearly two thousand catties left.
I'll just make a trip to 1986 to bring the eels over, and while I'm at it, I'll also take the secondhand TV I have at home.
"Okay, I'll go to the warehouse and get some goods."