The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chen Cuiyuan wanted to turn around and leave, but just as she was about to turn around, her steps stopped abruptly.

She couldn't leave without any gain. Her trip here would be in vain. Even if she didn't plan to sell charcoal in this shop, she should at least ask about the price of the charcoal.

So, she held back her anger, turned around, and forced a smile: "Brother, I'm asking for this price on behalf of someone else. Please tell me."

The man behind the counter looked at her again, and seeing that she was standing there calmly with no intention of leaving, he finally spoke: "The basket you are referring to is good charcoal, which costs six cents a pound. There is also a cheaper one, which costs four cents a pound."

Chen Cui couldn't help but feel delighted when she heard this. The last time she came to ask, one was five cents and the other was three cents, and now the price has increased again.

For her, the price increase of charcoal is a good thing, as it affects how much she can eventually sell a truckload of charcoal for.

With a smile on her face, she thanked the waiter: "Thank you, brother Waiter!" After that, she turned and left.

The man behind the counter was stunned and puzzled. He just told her the price of charcoal, but the woman showed joy. Why was she so happy?

Chen Cui found Chen Dahe, got on the ox cart, and asked him to drive the cart to Chu's Grocery Store.

"Is the price offered by this store not high?" Chen Dahe asked when he saw her coming out so quickly.

Chen Cui shook her head: "The boss is not here, this guy is not good, I didn't tell him that I sell charcoal, let's go to Boss Chu to have a look."

As soon as they arrived at Boss Chu's store, they saw a waiter seeing off customers at the door.

Seeing the ox cart stopped at the door, the waiter took a look and hurriedly came over with a smile, saying, "Hey, isn't this Mrs. Liu? You're here to deliver coal again!"

Chen Cui jumped off the ox cart and said with a smile, "Yes, is Boss Chu here?"

"Yes, yes. I'll go call the boss right away." The waiter said as he ran into the store.

Boss Chu came out quickly, and when he saw the ox cart at the door was fully loaded, the smile on his face became more genuine.

"Mrs. Liu, we've been looking forward to your coming. How much charcoal did you bring this time?" Boss Chu said with a smile.

"More than a thousand kilograms, Boss Chu. I heard that the price of charcoal has gone up. I wonder about your situation..." Chen Cui deliberately tested.

"May I ask if the charcoal this time is of the same quality as last time?" Boss Chu asked in a deep voice.

"Not worse than last time!" Chen Cui answered straightforwardly. As her proficiency increased, the quality of charcoal became better and better. Even if there were some not-so-good ones occasionally, they were not loaded onto the trucks but left at home.

Boss Chu was even happier. It was confirmed that this year would be a severe winter. The price of charcoal had been rising, but it was more difficult to purchase it than in the past. The batch of goods he had ordered earlier was two days late and had not been delivered yet. The charcoal sent by Mrs. Liu was really a timely relief.

"Okay, okay, as long as the product is good, I promise to give you a satisfactory price! Come on, it's cold outside, please come in and have some hot tea to warm yourself up. Brother, please don't stay outside, drive the car to the backyard and come in to warm up!"

Boss Chu's attitude was even more enthusiastic and considerate than the first time they met. He even did not neglect Chen Dahe and greeted him as well, fearing that he might not do enough and let the brother and sister who had already entered the door escape.

After all, he knew very well that he was not the only one selling charcoal in the city. If he didn't treat them well, it was very likely that the source of goods would become someone else's. By then, wouldn't it be a loss?

Chen Dahe, who was named by Boss Chu, was a little scared. The reason why he stayed in the car outside instead of entering the store last time was not only because he wanted to keep an eye on the goods, but also because he was timid and would feel uncomfortable in such an occasion, so he avoided it.

But when Chen Dahe saw his sister nodding at him, he felt less panicked. He pretended to be calm and did what Boss Chu said. He drove the car to the backyard, but still stayed in the car and refused to go into the house. He was afraid that if he couldn't see it at a glance, what if the charcoal in the car was less? Who would he tell?

Seeing that he was unwilling to come in, Chen Cui did not force him and let him go.

Boss Chu took out a few pieces of charcoal from the basket and bag on the car and lit them for testing.

"Boss Chu, how much does a pound of charcoal cost in your store now?" Chen Cui asked.

"To be honest, the price of charcoal has indeed gone up. Now, the better quality ones are six cents, and the average ones are four cents." Boss Chu said with a wry smile.

Most people think that since the price of charcoal has gone up, as a businessman he should make more money, but this is not the case.

The retail price has increased because the purchase price is higher, but the profit has not increased accordingly. On the contrary, in order to maintain some old customers, he has to make some concessions on the price of charcoal.

For example, if the other party wants 100 kilograms of charcoal, then he must deliver at least 105 kilograms. The remaining 5 kilograms are considered as losses, and some people will have to give additional benefits to the person responsible for purchasing. In short, the profit here is not as great as outsiders imagine.

However, since only wealthy families could afford charcoal, it had become the link between his small grocery store and those families. He could make less money from charcoal and sell more oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and other expensive things. All in all, he still made more money.

Therefore, even if the charcoal is not very profitable, Boss Chu cannot let it run out of stock, and he cannot offend those customers because of it.

"Then what price would you give for my charcoal?" Chen Cui asked directly without any nonsense.

Boss Chu looked at the charcoal glowing red in the charcoal basin. The heat it emitted warmed his whole body. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about four and a half cents a pound?"

This is half a cent more than the four cents per pound that Chen Cui had estimated earlier. She was happy in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She remained calm and said, "Okay, thank you, Boss Chu. I trust you and won't ask for the price anywhere else. I will sell all the charcoal to you at the price you said."

Boss Chu's smile was even more sincere at this time, and he kept asking people to go to the backyard to unload the truck and weigh it.

In the end, the total weight of this cart of charcoal was 1,497 pounds, and the pay should be 5,988 coins. Boss Chu took the lead and added the 12 coins to make it an even sum, totaling 6 taels of silver.

Chen Cui took the two pieces of silver, one large and one small, and put them into her purse. She was so happy that she wanted to go shopping!

After saying goodbye to the hospitable boss Chu, they parked the ox cart in the backyard of Chu's grocery store. Chen Cui took Chen Dahe to the street to start shopping.

After leaving the house, Chen Cui gave the small piece of silver to Chen Dahe: "Don't think it's too little. I'll give you more when I make more money in the future. You can also go to the street and buy something for your wife and children. Bring it back when you go home next time."

Chen Dahe didn't expect that his sister would give him only one tael of the six taels of silver he earned from selling charcoal today. When he was working before, he was just thinking about helping his sister's family and letting his sister and nephew not work so hard, and he didn't think about the money at all.

The honest man was at a loss for words and tried to refuse: "Sister, no, really no, I didn't do anything."

"Take what I give you, don't tell me otherwise. There will be more when I sell charcoal in the future. If you don't want it, it must be because I think it's too little!"