Her mother seemed to sense her elder daughter’s low spirits. She shook her head, said nothing more, and led Xia Xueqing out of her room.
It was Xixi, who had been snuggled close to her mother, who suddenly spoke, “Mom, I think Dad has really changed.”
As if finding affirmation, Xia Yuqing’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at her daughter expectantly. “Xixi thinks so too? How do you feel that way?”
Xixi blinked her eyes and thought for a moment before saying, “His eyes. Dad’s eyes are different from before. Before, Dad looked at me with disdain and as if he wanted to avoid me at all costs. Now, he’s full of care for me.”
“And Dad has really been much better to me than before. The other day I even ate the stinky tofu he brought. It was delicious.”
“But Auntie said it’s not healthy and doesn’t let me eat too much.”
At this point, the little girl looked a bit wronged, seemingly reluctant to part with that stinky tofu.
Xia Yuqing was a little stunned when she heard this. It was common knowledge that actions could be faked, and words could be faked, but eyes could not lie.
Originally, she thought she was the only one with this feeling and had dismissed it as her own delusion. Now, she never expected her daughter to have also sensed this change.
“Could it be? Has my husband truly turned over a new leaf? Have I truly wronged him?”
At this moment, her mind was in a jumble, and she couldn’t help but recall her husband’s behavior these past few days.
…
The next morning, Song Qiao arrived at his shop early again.
As he was falling asleep last night, he suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.
Since his shop opened, the stinky tofu had only ever come in one flavor. While this flavor was popular, it was too oily and spicy. It might be fine for a short while, but if it went on for too long, people would eventually get tired of it.
In his past life, a very famous mala tang restaurant closed down precisely because its flavor was too monotonous, leading to customer loss.
Based on his research and investigation during this period, he found that although people in this city enjoyed spicy food, it wasn’t purely spicy. It was mainly sweet and spicy, or numbing and spicy.
Early this morning, he woke up early and went to the spice market near his home, where he bought various seasonings and personally concocted five different flavored sauces.
One of these flavors was called Orleans. This flavor had not yet become popular in China and could only be found in Western fast-food chains like KFC and McDonald’s.
He had a strong preference for the Orleans flavor in his past life and had even researched online recipes for it.
He never expected it to be so useful today.
Not only that, but he also specifically bought several bags of sour plum powder and made them all into sour plum soup. This beverage is particularly popular in the summer. Sometimes, when one loses their appetite, a glass of sour plum soup can immediately make one’s mouth water.
It was widely used by many catering businesses in his previous life, especially in restaurants with heavy oil and spice, like hot pot establishments.
Moreover, the cost of making sour plum soup was extremely low. Therefore, Song Qiao decided that anyone who spent more than 5 yuan at his shop would receive a free cup of sour plum soup.
Before long, Lin Jing and Li Lili also arrived at the shop. Seeing that Song Qiao had already arrived so early, both of them felt a little embarrassed.
“Boss, just your willingness to endure hardship proves that Sister-in-law’s judgment is truly remarkable.”
Li Lili’s words praised both of them, making Song Qiao laugh heartily.
Lin Jing greatly admired Song Qiao. For someone like her who had trouble waking up, waking up early every day was a painful experience, but the boss remained consistent.
The three of them chatted while busily preparing the stinky tofu, and soon, all the tofu Song Qiao had bought was processed.
“Boss, yesterday we sold so much because our shop had been closed for two days. Today, we’ve made even more than yesterday. What if we don’t sell it all?”
Lin Jing, seeing the tofu blocks piled up like a small mountain, couldn’t help but worry.
Song Qiao smiled mysteriously and said, “Have you lost confidence in our stinky tofu?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve added new flavors today. I guarantee they won’t be able to resist.”
“Besides, I’m in urgent need of some money these two days. Selling more is always good.”
As he spoke, he handed a few portions of the new stinky tofu to Li Lili and Lin Jing, letting them taste how they were.
The two of them had become quite fond of the taste of stinky tofu by now, eating a few skewers every day. Seeing that there were new flavors, they eagerly volunteered to try them.
Indeed, when the Orleans-flavored stinky tofu entered their mouths, both of them were somewhat stunned. They had never imagined that ordinary tofu could taste so delicious.
For a moment, they almost swallowed their tongues.
Seeing their reactions, Song Qiao suddenly thought of something.
He rushed into the house, got paper and a pen, and wrote the prices of the five flavors on a piece of cardboard. The Orleans flavor was slightly more expensive than the others, at 1.5 yuan per skewer.
Tiered sales were the way to achieve better profits.
This was a valuable lesson learned from countless business models!
After everything was ready, the Xiang Piaopiao Stinky Tofu shop reopened for business.
The loudspeaker, that trump card, was put to use again, continuously broadcasting the shop’s sour plum soup giveaway event and the news of new flavors.
The sound immediately attracted several foodies who had been waiting by the entrance. As soon as they entered, they shouted, “Boss, boss, tell us what new flavors you have! Give us two skewers of each to try first.”
Song Qiao smiled and agreed, pointing to the erected sign. “Everyone, the Orleans flavor’s seasoning costs more, so the price is different from the others.”
“Orleans? Doesn’t that sound like a foreign name? Never mind. Let’s not worry about it. Money is not a problem. Just give me two skewers of that flavor to try first.”
The tiered pricing indeed attracted the customers’ curiosity, and they all asked to buy two skewers to try.
After all, the regular flavor, at one yuan per skewer, was already delicious. How much more so would the Orleans flavor be, which had higher costs?
Furthermore, those who came to queue up so early to eat this particular food were certainly not short of money. Such tiered pricing would not affect their desire to purchase.
…
After being busy for more than an hour, they finally managed to serve all the foodies in the queue.
Just as he was about to sit down for a rest, an old woman in her fifties or sixties rushed in, holding a red banknote in her hand.
As soon as she entered, she shouted to him, “Give me 10 portions of stinky tofu, to go.”
Song Qiao’s eyes lit up. His stinky tofu was one yuan per skewer, with ten skewers making a portion. This woman was ordering one hundred skewers at once, which was a full one hundred yuan!
Lin Jing and Li Lili also showed expressions of shock and quickly got up to greet her.