Jiang Luo had already moved down the aisle when he heard the calls, so he turned back, pulling dolls out of the woven bag as he went and called out, “Fifteen a piece.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “That expensive?”
Jiang Luo smiled smoothly. “Cost fifteen, you sell for twenty—that’s five yuan profit per doll. Not enough for you?” He looked at her. “Don’t want them?”
He started walking away.
The woman quickly called out, “I do! Alright, alright, fifteen it is.”
Jiang Luo continued pulling dolls from the bag. “Ten, right? That’s 150 total, cash upfront.”
The woman rummaged through her cookie tin for some large bills.
Nearby, another stall shouted, “Hey young man, come here! I want some too, bring me ten!”
Jiang Luo counted the dolls while calling out, “Okay, coming right up. Fifteen each, total 150, cash upfront.”
At the other end, Wang Chuang dragged his own bag into a toy stall.
“You called earlier about ordering thirty, right? Fifteen each?”
The shop owner hesitated, thinking fifteen seemed expensive for a single doll. His other toys weren’t even close to that price.
Wang Chuang followed Jiang Luo’s script. “Yesterday, I gave you these for free, didn’t I? You sold them for twenty, right? Sell for twenty-five, then. Do you want them or not? If not, never mind.”
He turned and shouted, “Anyone else want these dolls?”
A voice from nearby called out, “Are these the blonde ones you gave away for free? I want some!”
The toy stall owner immediately yelled at Wang Chuang, “Yes! I want them! Fifteen each!”
Wang Chuang stopped and pulled dolls from his bag. “Thirty, right?”
Another person ran over, seeing the dolls in Wang Chuang’s bag. “Fifteen each? I’ll take ten too.”
“Give me ten as well,” Wang Chuang said.
“Okay, wait a moment—I’ll give him his thirty first.”
The woman, noticing the order, exclaimed in surprise, “He’s ordering thirty?”
The toy stall owner shrugged. “I sell toys, of course I’ll get more.”
The woman quickly changed her mind. “Then I want thirty too. Young man, count thirty for me as well.”
Wang Chuang did the math: fifteen per doll, ten for 150, three orders total, that’s 450 yuan.
The woman went off to fetch the money.
Meanwhile, Jiang Luo’s bag was empty. He walked through the stalls, calling out, “Anyone else want these? Place your orders with me! I have business cards.”
He shouted, “Clear pricing, fifteen a piece! Don’t just sell for twenty or twenty-five—you’ll sell even more. My dolls come in more styles than Pacific Department Store: blonde, pink, blue, black—choose what sells best!”
Someone immediately shouted, “Give me a business card!”
Another asked, “Are the dolls sold out?”
Jiang Luo pulled a card from his pocket and tossed it to the stall owner, continuing down the aisle. “No stock at the moment, but I’ll have more the day after tomorrow. Call me to place orders, I have a pager!”
He repeated, “Again, call me for orders, I’ll take them down, I have a pager!”
At the other end, Wang Chuang was also calling out:
“Anyone else want dolls? Get a business card from me! My card has my pager—you can order directly.”
He shouted again, “Don’t just sell for twenty! Don’t just sell for twenty! Pacific Department Store sells for sixty-eight—sell for twenty-five, I guarantee you’ll sell them all!”
Hearing this, the previously indifferent stall owners started to stir. Selling at twenty-five per doll, when cost was fifteen, meant a solid ten yuan profit each. Who would leave that money on the table?
“Give me a business card!” someone shouted.
Immediately, more hands went up.
After both of them exited the small market with their now-empty woven bags, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang slapped their palms together, gripped each other’s hands, pulled, and bumped shoulders in celebration.
Both pockets were heavy with the money they had just collected. Wang Chuang shouted, “Yes! This is f***ing awesome!”
Jiang Luo smirked, hurried forward, tossing the empty bag to Wang Chuang while looping an arm around his neck. “Come on, let’s head to Wencheng and coordinate with Zhang Zhiqiang for more stock.”
Their steps were fast, full of pride and energy.
The next day, they caught the earliest train to Wencheng. Upon arrival, Zhang Zhiqiang’s car was waiting outside the station. Seeing Jiang Luo, he waved through the crowd. “Here! Over here! Jiang Luo!”
Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang made their way over, all three smiling, especially Zhang Zhiqiang, who had received Jiang Luo’s call the night before about needing two thousand dolls—business like this made him genuinely happy.
“Come, get in the car, it’s got air conditioning,” Zhang Zhiqiang said.
The train had been packed and hot; the AC was a welcome relief.
As they drove, Zhang Zhiqiang chatted from the driver’s seat: “You said two thousand dolls yesterday, but the production line hadn’t even stopped yet. Overnight we managed only a thousand.”
“I was wondering if we could wait two more days—then we’d definitely have two thousand ready.” He laughed, “I thought it’d take days before I heard from you. Didn’t expect it so fast.”
Wiping sweat from his temple, Jiang Luo replied, “You trust me, of course I wouldn’t make you wait long.”
Zhang Zhiqiang beamed; steady orders meant uninterrupted production and steady money. He asked, “Haven’t had lunch yet, right? Shall we eat first?”
Jiang Luo waved him off, “No need, let’s head to the factory.”
Arriving at the toy factory, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang went to Zhang Zhiqiang’s office to eat while he oversaw packing and urged workers on the assembly line to finish dressing the dolls.
After finishing, Jiang Luo saw workers loading boxed dolls onto the truck. Zhang Zhiqiang met him, “Finished eating?”
“Come on,” Jiang Luo beckoned. “Let’s go into your office. I have something to discuss.”
“What’s the matter?” Zhang Zhiqiang asked, guiding them inside and starting the kettle for tea.
“No need for tea,” Jiang Luo said. “We’ll leave with the truck shortly.”
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Luo began: “You’re giving me the dolls at five yuan each, right? Here’s what I want: find a factory that makes packaging boxes and get them to produce boxes for the dolls.”
He handed Zhang Zhiqiang a pen and paper and sketched a simple rectangular box. “The design department can handle the styling—nothing fancy, just cute, fashionable, bright colors. The front should have a clear plastic window so people can see the doll.”
“I estimate the box won’t cost more than fifty cents each. You sell it to me for six yuan per doll—deal?”
Zhang Zhiqiang thought for a moment. “Sure, no problem. That size box wouldn’t cost half a yuan anyway. Selling at six? I’m happy.”
Jiang Luo continued: “From now on, make two types of dolls—one with boxes, one without. Don’t make too many with boxes yet. Start with three hundred, then ship to me. I’m coming today; after this, I won’t be stopping by as much. I’ll handle payment via bank transfer. Any issues, we can call—my pager and your office number work.”
Zhang Zhiqiang agreed cheerfully. Jiang Luo signaled Wang Chuang, who pulled out the cash wrapped in newspaper.
“I’ll pay the first installment for this batch,” Jiang Luo said.
Soon after, they returned to Wencheng train station with the shipment. Wang Chuang bought tickets for the next train, while Zhang Zhiqiang handled the freight.
When Wang Chuang returned with the tickets, Zhang Zhiqiang had finished the shipping paperwork and handed it to Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo joked, “No flipping me off today, right?”
“Not a chance!” Zhang Zhiqiang laughed. “You’re my God of Wealth!”
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