My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 84 Setting up a stall
Bell-bottoms? Jeans? Microphones? Lighter? And a digital watch? They didn't quite understand the calculator and perfume samples, but they spotted everything else—these were all luxury items! "The Man from Atlantis" was currently showing, and only a handful of people in Shanghai owned these things, especially bell-bottoms, jeans, and microphones—they were practically Mike Harris's standard attire in the show. As for the digital watch and lighter, needless to say, what man wouldn't like those?
"No wonder! No wonder!"

At this moment, many people suddenly realized why these guys were so arrogant and had connections with the young leader of the West Palace. The things they were selling were unique in all of Shanghai; they'd never been seen anywhere else. Without connections and resources, how could ordinary people possibly get their hands on them?

"Hey friend, come on over, have a smoke. How much is this stuff?"

At this moment, a young man who had set up a stall nearby came over and asked. This young man was about the same age as Xu Guoqing and the others. Judging from his appearance, he was probably also a sent-down youth from another place. However, he had not been assigned a job and had come to Xigong to set up a stall.

Zhou Jiye took the cigarette from the other person, and the fierceness on his face from when he was lecturing him was gone. Instead, he was all smiles and had a very good attitude.

One thing at a time. Zhou Jiye isn't a fool. Business is business. Didn't he treat his customers warmly when he sold old hens at the market? Besides, even though the other person was also a vendor, since they came to ask, they were his customer. Who says a vendor can't be a customer?

Based on the prices agreed upon yesterday, Zhou Jiye pointed to each item and quoted a price. The young man listened attentively as he quoted the prices, and at the same time, he showed a look of shock.

"So expensive?"

"Expensive? Where's the expense?" Zhou Jiye chuckled and patted the other man's shoulder. "These things all come from outside. I'm not bragging, but right now, I'm the only one in the entire city that has them. Look at the material used in these pants, how good it is! How smooth and durable!"

"A Dacron shirt costs twelve yuan in a department store, and a decent pair of pants costs at least fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen. My shirt and pants are incomparable to them in terms of both style and fabric. Especially these, look at them, touch them yourself. And the brass buttons and plaques here are all made of the real thing. A pair of pants costs twenty-five yuan without any coupons. Is that expensive?"

As he spoke, Zhou Jiye reached out and picked up a pair of Apple brand jeans for the young man to try on. The young man touched them and couldn't help but nod.

The items are indeed high-quality, but they're really expensive! However, what they say makes sense; their products are good and unique, so it's normal for them to be pricey. Besides, he himself was envious of all of these things; if he weren't short of money, he would have bought them all.

"Can you make these microphone glasses cheaper? I'll buy a pair if they're cheaper."

His gaze swept over the dazzling array of goods, the young man's face showing hesitation, but he finally fixed his eyes on the sunglasses they had displayed.

He had limited funds and definitely couldn't afford to buy everything, but he could manage to buy a pair of sunglasses if he gritted his teeth. If he wore a pair of sunglasses just like McHarris's outside, he wondered how many girls would look at him with envy. Just thinking about it made his heart burn with excitement.

Zhou Jiye shook his head vigorously, saying that they were already making a meager living at this price, so how could they possibly negotiate? Besides, there were only so many items available, and it was first come, first served, and once they were gone, they were gone. A pair of microphone glasses was 15 yuan, no bargaining. However, since he was the first customer, he could help him pick out the best pair. As for any other requests, he couldn't help him.

The young man tried to negotiate with Zhou Jiye, saying that even a one-yuan discount would be fine! But Zhou Jiye told him again that the price was non-negotiable, and then ignored him, continuing to organize the goods. Once the goods were almost arranged, they had to start selling them.

"Friends! Friends!"

Seeing that Zhou Jiye was no longer paying attention to him, the young man finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Fifteen it is, I want a pair, and you have to help me pick the best one!"

Zhou Jiye chuckled upon hearing this. "This is how you open a business!" he exclaimed. He immediately agreed and picked out a pair of sunglasses that looked almost exactly like the ones in the TV series. He then handed them to the young man: "Look at this! It's the same style as McHarris's, a genuine import. You won't regret buying it, you won't be cheated. Wear it out for a stroll, and you'll be the most stylish person on the street!"

The young man's heart pounded at these words. He took the sunglasses and examined them closely. Indeed, the sunglasses in his hand were exactly the same as those in the TV series. Moreover, there was an oval-shaped label on one corner of the lens, printed with foreign words he couldn't understand and fancy patterns. It was obviously a genuine imported product, and wearing it would make him look incredibly stylish.

"I want this pair!" Without saying a word, the young man took out fifteen yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Jiye. Then he couldn't wait to tear open the outer plastic packaging. After taking the heavy microphone glasses out of the bag, the young man grinned and put them on his face. Instantly, he exuded a completely different aura than before.

"Cool! Brilliant! Stylish!"

Zhou Jiye gave the other man a thumbs up in praise, and the young man was overjoyed. Although he hadn't looked in a mirror and didn't know what it would look like with these sunglasses on, and the sky seemed to darken considerably after wearing them, making it a little difficult to see things, the young man, who had a very high opinion of himself, felt that Zhou Jiye's praise was perfectly valid. Didn't he see the group of people around him looking at him with envy?
Fifteen yuan was such a great deal! The young man had just felt a pang of regret for spending fifteen yuan, but now he didn't care about the money at all. What could be better than being more handsome or trendier?
After chuckling a few times, the young man leaned closer to Zhou Jiye and quietly inquired, "Friend, where did you get all these good things?" Zhou Jiye smiled but didn't answer, giving him a meaningful look. The young man felt uneasy under his gaze and quickly changed his mind, waving his hand, "I won't ask anymore, thank you, friend. I have to go back to my stall. Let's chat sometime...sometime..."

After saying that, the guy turned and left. He took a few steps, then looked back and saw Zhou Jiye and his partner continuing to busy themselves organizing the goods. He breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been blinded by greed; how could he have asked about the supplier's sourcing? Luckily, Zhou Jiye hadn't turned on him like before, or he would have gotten a beating!

Thinking of this, the young man scolded himself for being so blind and saying the wrong thing. Fortunately, the other party was not really angry. The young man breathed a sigh of relief, then felt the microphone glasses on his nose, straightened his chest, and swaggered back to his stall with an arrogant gait.

Having just set up their stall, Zhou Jiye made his first sale, putting him in a very good mood. Moreover, everyone noticed the young man buying sunglasses, and as soon as he left, others couldn't resist approaching him to inquire. Zhou Jiye and his team continued to answer questions and explain the goods they were selling, adhering to the prices they had previously agreed upon.

As nine o'clock approached, the West Palace truly came alive. With more and more young people visiting the West Palace, the crowds gathering at Zhou Jiye's stall also increased.

Upon seeing the items sold at their stall, most young people, regardless of gender, were instantly captivated. These imported goods were all high-quality items! What young person wouldn't love them? Unfortunately, for most people, the items sold by Zhou Jiye and his group were simply too expensive. With everyone's income currently low, and the people who came to Xigong to play actually not having much money in their pockets, very few could actually afford to buy anything.

In about an hour, they sold four pairs of microphones, two lighters, and five digital watches.

As for the bell-bottoms, jeans, and shirts that were originally the most favored items, none of them sold out, and the same goes for calculators. Ordinary people don't need these things at all, and they're not cheap either. On the contrary, the perfume samples that Lin Ying was promoting sold quite well.

After figuring out what it was and smelling the alluring fragrance, many young women readily bought it. In a short period of time, more than twenty bottles were sold. This may also be related to the fact that each perfume sample only costs one yuan. After all, most people who come here can still find a way to save one yuan, even if they don't have much money in their pockets.

As it approached eleven o'clock, some more goods were sold, and one pair of bell-bottoms was finally sold. However, the jeans and shirts still hadn't sold. Old Wen couldn't help but feel anxious. You see, these two types of pants and shirts alone accounted for nearly half of their stock. They originally thought these items would sell well, but the situation was not as expected!
"How about we lower the price of the pants and clothes? We can't keep them from selling!" Old Wen couldn't help but suggest to Zhou Jiye and the others.

"No need!" Lin Ying immediately rejected the idea before Xu Guoqing and the others could answer.

Seeing the puzzled looks on Lao Wen and the others, Lin Ying lowered her voice and said, "I just noticed that it's not that no one wants these things, it's that no one brought enough money to buy them!"

"Isn't this the same?" Old Wen asked subconsciously.

“How can this be the same?” Lin Ying retorted. “Whether you want to buy or not is one thing, not having money is another. Besides, our products are currently sold exclusively by us. We’re the only vendor in the market. And to be honest, they’re not expensive. Today is our first day setting up a stall, so not many people know about us. Most people who come to visit don’t have much money with them, so naturally they can’t buy anything.”

"But think back to the expressions on the faces of many people when they asked about the price. Were they tempted? Since some people were interested in buying, it means there is definitely a market for these."

Besides, we don't need to be in such a hurry on our first day setting up a stall. We can wait until more people find out, or if those who want to buy come back tomorrow or the day after, we'll definitely be able to sell everything then. What do you think?

Zhou Jiye unconditionally agreed. He thought Lin Ying was right. Why rush things on the first day of setting up a stall? Let things take their time. They weren't going to sell everything today and then quit tomorrow. It would take them several days to sell all this stock.

Xu Guoqing thought for a moment and nodded, saying that they should wait and see. If the situation remained the same in a couple of days, they could make adjustments later. Three of the four objected, so Lao Wen had no choice but to retract his suggestion and continue to promote their products at the stall.

Around noon, the four of them took turns going back to eat. In the afternoon, they sold some more things. By evening, perhaps because young people who had finished get off work came to Xigong to play, the number of customers suddenly increased significantly, and their business became even better.

As six o'clock approached, several customers suddenly came and picked out three pairs of jeans, four pairs of bell-bottoms, and three shirts. This sudden change finally put the four of them at ease. It seemed that Lin Ying's guess was correct. It wasn't that the products were hard to sell or that the prices were too high. It was just that on the first day of setting up a stall, no one knew about it and didn't bring enough money. They went back to get the money and came back, and then they sold everything.

(End of this chapter)