After a brief interlude, Zhang Wei continued to observe. His uncle, who was already quite talkative, managed to sell seven or eight out of ten inquiries about rice. In just an hour, even in this not-so-busy area, he sold over two hundred pounds.
No wonder he was willing to spend thirty thousand yuan to build a house next year, Zhang Wei thought to himself. This sales speed was indeed a bit terrifying. If it were in his previous life, it might not be this good, as the competition was too fierce back then.
At this time, selling rice was still quite profitable. Moreover, since electronic scales were not yet popular, it was normal for a ten-pound bag of rice to be a little short. Missing a few pounds was not necessarily a sign of a dishonest merchant. If a big truck came to sell rice, it was not unusual for a hundred-pound bag to be short ten pounds, and some could even be short fifteen pounds. That was just a different kind of business.
His uncle could make about thirty yuan from selling over two hundred pounds of rice, of course, this profit included the missing weight. If he sold it honestly, he would only make twenty-some yuan at most.
Zhang Aiguo and Cheng Lin didn't understand the market; they were just helping to sell rice while observing how Zhang Jianguo did business.
Zhang Wei had a rough idea of the market; after all, his father sold rice in his previous life. At this rate, wouldn't his uncle sell over a thousand pounds of rice in a day?
The sales volume exceeded his expectations. Zhang Jianguo sold a whopping two thousand pounds of rice in one day, making over three hundred yuan.
No wonder people said that the 1990s were a time when gold was everywhere!
This made Zhang Wei look forward to his family starting to sell rice.
**At Dinner Time**
Zhang Jianguo was in high spirits, having bought a pot of yellow wine and some pig's head meat to share with Zhang Aiguo.
"Business was pretty good today. Usually, I sell at most fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds. It generally stabilizes around twelve hundred pounds," Zhang Jianguo said with a hearty laugh.
Zhang Wei thought for a moment and felt that his uncle wasn't exaggerating. After all, the New Year had just passed, and many families were replenishing their supplies. Selling twelve hundred pounds a day was still impressive, making him about one hundred fifty to sixty yuan.
In the following days, Zhang Aiguo and Cheng Lin continued to learn from Zhang Jianguo. They gradually understood some of the small tricks and began to realize how much money Zhang Jianguo could make in a day. This made the couple dream about the future, imagining how much they could earn when they started selling rice.
After a week, Zhang Wei's family rented a farmhouse, bought a permanent bicycle, and purchased three thousand pounds of rice. At that time, rice was only available in two types of packaging: one hundred pounds and fifty pounds. They bought twenty-five bags of one hundred-pound rice and ten bags of fifty-pound rice.
Thanks to the two thousand yuan from the village head, they could afford to buy this much rice; otherwise, they would have only been able to start with a thousand pounds.
Zhang Wei's family was about to officially start selling rice.
**In the Early Morning, Shanghai Bay Area**
The Sunlight City neighborhood had been around for a few years; the buildings looked quite old. Nearby, there were stalls for shoe repair, tailoring, and electrical repairs.
After a few days of observation, Zhang Wei noticed that the foot traffic here was decent, so he suggested to his parents that they set up their rice stall at the entrance of the neighborhood. After observing the area, his parents agreed.
"Aiguo, do you think we can do good business?" Cheng Lin asked, struggling to support the bags of rice on the bicycle.
Zhang Aiguo also exerted himself to stop the bicycle, unloading the rice bags while saying, "Why worry about things we can't control? If our eldest can do good business, why can't we?"
Zhang Wei couldn't help but laugh. At this moment, his father was still full of hope, unlike in later years when people only sought stability.
"Dad is right. Our family can definitely do good business," Zhang Wei said. He didn't believe that, with his twenty-plus years of insight, they wouldn't be able to sell rice in this less competitive era.
Once Zhang Wei's family set up their rice stall, three nearby vendors looked at them with strange expressions, as if they had seen something unbelievable.
Zhang Wei noticed their gazes but didn't have time to think about why. He was more focused on how to make their business successful and earn their first pot of gold.
Who said our family would do poorly in business?
Who said we would leave here in disgrace?
Just wait, I'll make sure our family's business thrives and show you all. Let's see who the real fool is then!
Zhang Wei didn't think that setting up a stall would make him rich overnight; he just knew that the family didn't have much money right now, and starting with a small business was the only way to improve their financial situation for the time being.
With the foresight of someone who had lived for over twenty years, he simply couldn't believe that they wouldn't even be able to handle a small business! Moreover, Zhang Wei had worked as an investment consultant for over two years. Although it didn't last in the end, he still had a basic understanding of business strategy. As long as he figured out why there was decent foot traffic but few customers, all their problems would be easily resolved!
Seeing that the two people had fallen silent, Zhang Wei returned to his spot and began to carefully observe his surroundings.