Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 201 Sold Out
Huang Ying put down her hand, stepped forward, and began to explain, "Hello comrade, this charcoal stove of ours..."

She had barely begun when her gaze drifted upwards, "Charcoal stove, charcoal stove..."

Chen Fan blinked. Well, he was brave, but a bit impatient; he forgot at the very beginning.

He then turned to Yang Ju and said, "Help her replenish it."

Yang Ju immediately said, "The charcoal stove is for burning charcoal."

The group of people surrounding the stall burst into laughter, with some even mocking, "If the charcoal stove doesn't burn charcoal, is it for holding water?"

Chen Fan gritted his teeth and said to the customer, "I'm sorry, this is my first time selling things, I'm a little nervous."

The middle-aged man wasn't angry at all; instead, he chuckled and said, "Young comrade, don't be in such a hurry, speak slowly."

At this moment, Liu Dan quickly added, "Our charcoal stove can not only burn charcoal, but also coal and firewood. It is not picky about fuel."

Huang Ying blushed, and with Yang Ju and Liu Dan's reminder, she remembered the rest of her lines: "Our charcoal stove can also be used for stir-frying, cooking rice, and boiling water. Most importantly, it can be used as a heater. When it's cold, you can put it in the house and the house will be warm all night."

Someone nearby immediately said, "A coal stove would work too."

Another person said, "Burning a charcoal stove inside the house could be fatal."

After getting started, the girls gradually relaxed.

Upon hearing what the two people said, Yang Ju immediately said, "This is the biggest feature of our charcoal stove. It has a chimney that can vent the gas out, unlike a coal stove which will produce gas and cause carbon monoxide poisoning over time."

Chen Fan also taught them this term.

They had just started learning chemistry with Jiang Lili and quickly understood what carbon monoxide was.

So the product presentation naturally turned into a science popularization session, with the three of them taking turns explaining the knowledge about carbon monoxide to everyone.

Perhaps because they were too young, some people were skeptical.

However, the vendors nearby were all from Lujiawan, and they wouldn't let outsiders bully the people from their own village.

Some members who had bought charcoal stoves shared their experiences, saying, "My family bought a charcoal stove from Teacher Chen. It works very well. A few days ago when the snow was melting and it was so cold, as long as we lit the stove and burned some charcoal inside, it was warm all night long."

Another person said, "You can burn firewood to cook, but you need to burn charcoal for heating at night. Firewood produces smoke and doesn't burn for long, but it has a strong flame. If you burn charcoal, you can put a kettle on the stove, and you'll have hot water when you wake up the next morning. It's so convenient."

With a group of helpers, Huang Ying and her friends became more and more relaxed, and their originally eloquent tongues were "unsealed," as they talked endlessly about the advantages of "Teacher Chen's charcoal stove."

After they finished speaking, the middle-aged customer who had asked the first question didn't inquire about the charcoal stove. Instead, he asked curiously, "Master Chen, why do they all call you Teacher Chen? Have you become a teacher again?"

Before Chen Fan could explain, someone nearby immediately shouted, "Teacher Chen is our veterinary class teacher, and he's also teaching a few people academic subjects. He's really amazing."

His words conveyed an air of pride and honor.

Huang Ying nodded repeatedly, "We are now learning junior high school knowledge from Teacher Chen."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's mainly about learning from each other."

Upon hearing this, many people around suddenly understood. After all, it was indeed eye-catching for a man to be with four girls, but if it were a teacher with students, it would be much more understandable. A male teacher with one female student might be a bit problematic, but with four female students, no one would find it strange.

Only the people of Lujiawan who knew the inside story were secretly laughing. They had come up with a pretty good excuse: Teacher Chen was a veterinary teacher, not a general education teacher. What did you guys learn from him?

Having satisfied his curiosity, the middle-aged man nodded and said, "Since your charcoal stove can provide warmth, I'll buy one."

Huang Ying and her friends were overjoyed. They had succeeded in selling the product on their first try, which gave them a great sense of accomplishment!
However, the man didn't immediately take out his money. Instead, he pointed to a bamboo basket on another cart and asked, "What's in this?"

Liu Dan immediately ran over and brought over a basket. "This is a set of tableware, a total of 36 pieces, including 12 bowls, 12 spoons, 12 plates and bowls, the largest of which is a soup bowl, and a fish-shaped plate, which is best for holding fish."

As she spoke, she, Huang Ying, and Yang Ju took out all the bowls and plates and showed them to the guests.

Chen Fan stood behind, a satisfied smile on his face.

Excellent, excellent. As the saying goes, disciples should serve when there is trouble. These students are well taken in.

Looking at Jiang Lili next to him, well, he didn't know when she had put her headscarf back on. Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle.

Hearing the laughter, Jiang Lili turned to look at him, puffed out her cheeks slightly, and gave him a reproachful glare.

Unfortunately, she was covering her face, so you couldn't see the goldfish's mouth; you could only see her eyes.

Chen Fan took two steps forward, getting a little closer, and whispered, "Want to give it a try?"

Jiang Lili quickly shook her head gently, "No."

If you ask her to work behind closed doors, she's better than Huang Ying and Liu Dan combined; almost forty percent of the pottery here comes from her hands. But she doesn't dare to do sales in public like this.

She's already from a troubled family; if she dares to sell things outside, it'll be terrible if someone who knows her sees her.

Chen Fan understood her situation, so he just smiled and didn't try to persuade her further. He only hoped that Jiang Lili could be more cheerful; since the time wasn't right, he decided to let it go.

At the stall, the middle-aged man took out 22 yuan to pay and left happily.

The charcoal stove can provide warmth, so I'll install it for my elderly parents when I get back. As for the set of tableware, it has auspicious words like "fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness" on it. Such items would cost at least 8 cents each at the supply and marketing cooperative, and the whole set would probably cost ten or twenty yuan. Now, buying the whole set for 10 yuan is definitely a good deal.

The villagers of Lujiawan who had previously bought charcoal stoves no longer felt bothered by the lack of writing on them when they saw that their charcoal stoves were selling for 12 yuan.

It's just that no words were written on it, so it's two yuan cheaper. If you really want auspicious words, just ask someone in the village who can write to write them on. You don't even need to pay. Just give them a couple of cigarettes and a few pieces of rice candy. That's what I call a good deal.

Just like the last market day, almost half the people from the commune came, especially the residents of the town. Many of them had plenty of money and were just afraid of not being able to buy anything good.

The charcoal stove that Chen Fan brought made many people interested.

There are also those pottery sets covered with auspicious sayings, yet inexpensive. They look very festive and would certainly make a good impression if displayed on the table during important family events, thus becoming highly sought-after items.

In just over half an hour, all 30 charcoal stoves, 30 sets of tableware, and more than 100 pieces of loose pottery were sold out.

Chen Fan stuffed a large amount of money into his cloth bag without counting how much it was, then told the four girls to pull the cart and leave.

(End of this chapter)