At midnight, a torrential rain swept through C City, overwhelming the storm drains and sewers with street water.
A car drove past, kicking up splashes of mud on both sides.
Liu Chen got out of her mother's car with a cloth bag, opening the door as usual.
However, shortly after opening the door, a big client arrived.
"Hello, is this Sister Liu's frozen goods?"
The visitor was dressed in a full suit, a white shirt, a suit jacket, and suit pants, with a pair of polished brown leather shoes.
In this crowd of people wearing tank tops, shorts, and flip-flops, this attire made him stand out like a firefly in the dark.
Liu Chen nodded, looking at the man in the suit standing by the freezer, and asked cautiously:
"Yes, it is. Can I help you?"
The man in the suit, Cheng Gang, quickly took out a business card from his outer pocket and handed it to Liu Chen, who was sitting behind the desk.
"It's like this, I am Cheng Gang, the procurement manager for Old Hot Pot. I'm here today to see what products your store has that are suitable for procurement."
Procurement? Old Hot Pot?
Liu Chen understood now, her godmother was sending business her way!
But who would refuse a business that came knocking on their door?
Certainly not. Especially a chain hot pot restaurant like Old Hot Pot. Even if they only ordered one item, it could mean tens of thousands of units sold per day. If that item was a bestseller, it would be even more incredible, with hundreds or even thousands of units sold daily not being impossible.
However, Liu Chen was a little worried. She knew her own business best. Her mother had originally run this small wholesale store, selling only breakfast items like glutinous rice balls and dumplings. And these items were all priced the same; the wholesale price was roughly the same across the market. For each item, they made a profit of three to five yuan, and buyers were well aware of this.
Wholesalers who supplied to chain restaurants, in order to retain clients, would even give up profits of three to five yuan per item. They wouldn't make a single yuan, just to supply their exclusively代理 products.
If their family simply wrote down their prices and supplied dozens of items like dumplings and glutinous rice balls daily, it would appear as if they were earning tens of yuan more per day. But what would her godmother think?
"You are my god-kin, yet you sell me your goods at a higher price than other suppliers by one or two yuan per item."
This whole line of thought went through her mind in just over a second. After understanding the situation, Liu Chen turned and said to Liu Fang:
"Mom, show Mr. Cheng the scallion pancakes."
Scallion pancakes?
Cheng Gang had never heard of this name, but as a procurement manager, he couldn't show any ignorance. He stood outside the freezer, waiting for the scallion pancakes to be brought out.
In fact, the current suppliers for Old Hot Pot were pretty much as Liu Chen had guessed. For items like glutinous rice balls and dumplings, which sold slowly, the suppliers delivered them at cost price. What they wanted was to secure the supply of tripe, esophagus, and seafood for Old Hot Pot.
Moreover, Cheng Gang had received instructions from his boss yesterday afternoon. He discussed it with his brother-in-law, and what was the situation with "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods"?
After a round of inquiries, he left his brother-in-law's store and decided to pass on the least profitable items, glutinous rice balls and dumplings, to "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods." This would not only save them the trouble of moving these unprofitable items but also subtly inform their boss of how diligent he was as a procurement manager and how unreliable this supplier, whom she had specifically requested, was.
Liu Fang took a bag of scallion pancakes from the cold storage, tore open the bag in front of Cheng Gang, and briefly explained how to make them.
"Sister Liu, you... Old Hot Pot is a hot pot chain, not a breakfast chain, right?" Cheng Gang looked at the pancake wrappers in front of him and found it absurd.
Liu Fang was also unsure in her heart. In her opinion, this was indeed a breakfast item!
But Liu Chen didn't think so. In 2008, although housing prices hadn't yet risen, the cost of living was already showing signs of increasing. For an ordinary person with a monthly salary of a thousand yuan, a meal at a renowned hot pot restaurant like Old Hot Pot for a family of three would cost at least over two hundred yuan.
Adding a staple like scallion pancakes, which were filling and cost-effective, wouldn't be too expensive at Old Hot Pot. For customers with tight budgets, it would almost be a must-order item.
"Brother Cheng Gang, how about this, you take a case of scallion pancakes back to try first, okay? As for other items like our full-range dumplings and glutinous rice balls, the prices are the same. We'll sell them at the same price as before!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Fang didn't react much. In her opinion, selling at the same price as the previous supplier was normal.
But Cheng Gang, after hearing this, looked at the young girl from Sister Liu's Frozen Goods again. She was fair and tender, with a pair of eyes that smiled back at him, making her look like a well-behaved and innocent young girl to anyone.
But why did her words and actions exude the aura of an old hand?
Since the girl had stated things so openly, there was no room to rip her off on the prices.
"Alright then, we'll stick to the previous supplier's prices, 45 yuan per case. Twenty cases of sesame-filled glutinous rice balls and twenty cases of pork and cabbage dumplings each. We'll load the goods at the parking lot at eleven in the morning. Please write me an invoice, and I'll pay you the money upfront."
This was the reason why Cheng Gang and his brother-in-law were willing to earn a little less money to secure the supply for Old Hot Pot: unlike other establishments, Old Hot Pot paid in cash upon delivery, with no payment delays.
Liu Fang had originally been worried about cash flow, but before the goods were even sold, the money was already in her hands, which made her sigh with relief.
After Cheng Gang left, several neighboring shop owners came to inquire.
"Who was that? He was dressed like he was going to get married?"
"Yeah, yeah. I saw you, Sister Liu, show him something, and then write out an invoice. He paid upfront before even getting the goods. That was quick!"
As there was no business at the moment, everyone crowded around and started asking questions.
Liu Fang was a bit hesitant. While it was good that Old Hot Pot was sourcing from her, her family wasn't making much profit. But if she said that, the neighbors wouldn't believe her, and Yuan Ying Jie would think she was being difficult.
Liu Chen, however, didn't feel any difficulty looking at the cluster of female bosses. These were all potential distributors, so why hesitate?
"That's a kind of pan-fried pancake. That young man is taking it back to try. For you aunties, take a few pieces back to pan-fry and eat. If you find the taste good, you can buy them from us and sell them. For each case you sell, we'll give you a five yuan rebate."
As she spoke, Liu Chen handed each of them a few stiff, frozen pancakes.
Holding the frozen pancakes, the female bosses didn't ask many more questions. They would go home, taste them, and if they found them satisfactory, they would come to "Sister Liu's Frozen Goods" to pick up some samples and display them in their freezers. If anyone wanted them, they would just call Sister Liu for delivery.
If sales were good, they would call the manufacturer and order directly from them.
"How are you distributing pancakes to them? What if they sell well and learn to sell scallion pancakes like us?" Liu Fang thought her Chen Chen was too soft-hearted. She gave away pancakes just after a few words, and in Liu Fang's opinion, it was like throwing a bone to a dog.
Liu Chen, however, squinted her eyes and whispered to Liu Fang with a smile:
"We call this 'casting a wide net to cultivate the key players'!"
"What do you mean? You little rascal, don't use fancy words with me, I don't understand that!"
"Hehe, I still think our sales volume is too slow. I want those aunties to help us expand our sales! To become our distributors!"