Chapter 40: Fangs

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Near evening, Lu Fan brought Bai Lu back to the night market in Baoshan District.

This time, when they arrived, forty or fifty people were already crowded around the original stall, more than half of them elderly.

Nearly all the seniors had brought small folding stools, and each carried a large palm-leaf fan. They were full of energy and vitality, their faces glowing with confident, healthy smiles.

Lu Fan knew at a glance that they were all retired, most likely former employees of public institutions.

With money in their pockets, they carried themselves with confidence, and their voices were especially loud.

“Uncles, aunties, grandpas, and grandmas, you’ve arrived awfully early.”

“We had nothing to do at home, so we came over early. It makes no difference where we sit and enjoy the cool air, and there are more people here, so it’s livelier.”

“All right, then. We won’t waste any time today. Those who registered yesterday, please line up at the front to collect your gifts. Those who haven’t registered can sign up after the gifts have been handed out. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good!”

Everyone answered Lu Fan in unison.

Their booming voices drew passing pedestrians over one after another.

Behind him, Bai Lu had already set down a stack of enamel basins and two stainless-steel basins.

She held a small notebook containing the list of people who had registered the day before.

Lu Fan chatted with the crowd while Bai Lu distributed the gifts one by one and had each recipient sign the register.

There were thirteen gifts in all: eleven enamel basins and two stainless-steel basins.

The distribution took only a little over ten minutes.

Those who had received gifts did not leave immediately. They were stopped by the others, who took the basins from their hands and examined their quality carefully.

Lu Fan had carefully selected the enamel basins at the market fair. They had originally sold for five yuan each, but he had managed to bargain them down to four. They were well made and of excellent quality, suitable for kneading dough or washing one’s face.

Once the gifts had all been handed out, registration began.

Since arriving that day, Lu Fan had not mentioned selling clothes even once, and not a single person had asked when the clothes would arrive.

Everyone had conscientiously prepared ten yuan and handed it over to register.

The entire process went smoothly, though it took more than an hour.

During that time, several calls came to Lu Fan’s phone, some from Ding Maocai and others from Gu Jianjun, but he answered none of them.

It was not until registration was nearly finished that Lu Fan finally called Ding Maocai back.

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“Hello, Boss Ding. Couldn’t you wait any longer?”

“I’m at the sales site right now, and this is the prime time. Listen to all these people. I’ll contact you again later.”

After only a couple of sentences, he hung up again.

As for Gu Jianjun, he did not call him back. Their calls had come almost simultaneously, so the two men were certainly together.

Ding Maocai owed Gu Jianjun two hundred thousand yuan, which was no small sum. Gu Jianjun would undoubtedly keep an eye on him around the clock, afraid that he might run off.

After everyone had finished registering, Lu Fan conducted a small survey on the spot.

He found one of the older women who had registered earliest and asked, “Auntie, tomorrow’s gift will be worth eight yuan. What kind of gift would you like?”

The woman did not hesitate. “Anything is fine, as long as it’s practical.”

Lu Fan pondered for a moment before saying, “There are plenty of practical things: dried noodles, eggs, peanut oil, toilet paper. Or I could give out a few more small basins.”

“And the day after tomorrow, you’ll be receiving gifts worth sixteen yuan. The day after that, gifts worth thirty-two yuan. Tell me what you’d like. I’ll make a bulk purchase and distribute everything to you then.”

Everyone’s interest was immediately aroused, and they began talking over one another.

Some wanted a quilt. Others wanted a toy for their grandchildren. Someone asked for a wok. The most outrageous suggestion was a small dolphin massage wand.

Lu Fan pretended to take copious notes before finally coaxing everyone into leaving.

Bai Lu came over with the registration notebook and said softly, “We collected one thousand and twenty yuan tonight.”

Lu Fan nodded.

One hundred and two people had paid the deposit, which meant at least 306 garments had effectively been sold—more than fifty percent of the previous evening’s sales.

Lu Fan glanced at the width of the stall and brooded silently. There would surely be more and more people in the future. At this rate, things might become dangerous.

After all, he did not even have the products yet, and he was already collecting money on such a large scale. It looked suspiciously like illegal fundraising.

Still, there was no other way. If he had possessed the merchandise, he would never have gone to such lengths with flashy marketing schemes.

In this era, people had little experience of the world. As long as one employed a few tricks, sales would flourish.

The bold thrived while the timid went hungry. Surely the small amount of money he was handling would not attract anyone’s attention.

Starting tomorrow, he would have to disperse the crowd as quickly as possible. Once they collected their gifts, he would send them away immediately. He could not let them linger here chatting.

Seeing Shi Hu and Jiang Ermei staring at him expectantly, he waved and walked over, handing each of them a cigarette.

Jiang Ermei had a heavy smoking habit. She had already gone through four or five cigarettes in the past hour.

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The two of them no longer had any interest in selling their own clothes. They had spent the entire time watching what was happening over here.

Lu Fan smiled. “There’s some progress on your matter. I asked one of the managers, and they said they’re holding a meeting to discuss expanding the market. But one problem still has to be solved. Without solving it, expansion won’t be possible.”

“What problem?” Shi Hu asked nervously.

“Production capacity. The factory’s current output is already insufficient. The batch of goods I applied for from the main plant has been intercepted by another market. Otherwise, would I need to go to all this trouble, handing out gifts every day just to keep the customers interested?” Lu Fan said with a bitter smile.

“That’s true, that’s true. With so many people, how much money would all those gifts cost? But what will you do if you still don’t have any merchandise?”

“The factory is working on it. They’re considering acquiring some small factories or commissioning other factories to manufacture the goods. They’re still negotiating. I estimate that once they reach an agreement, your situation should be settled.”

“That would be wonderful. I hope your factory’s managers can move quickly.”

“Ah, with matters like this, it’s hard to say.”

Just then, his phone rang again.

He took it out and saw that the call was from Gu Jianjun.

Lu Fan merely turned around, walked two steps away, and answered in front of the other two.

“Hello, Boss Gu. Yes, Boss Ding called me just now. You two are together, right?”

“Then please pass this on to him for me. We’ve discussed it, and we’re willing to take over the entire factory for four hundred thousand yuan. Alternatively, we can sign a debt-transfer agreement and purchase all the clothing factory’s assets and liabilities as a package. We’ll guarantee that all your debts will be paid off in installments within three months, with interest during that period calculated according to the bank rate.”

“Please discuss it with Boss Ding. I felt awkward saying this to him myself—it would have sounded a little like taking advantage of his misfortune.”

“Yes, yes, Boss Gu, you’re right. Discuss it among yourselves.”

“All right, then. Goodbye.”

After ending the call, Lu Fan smiled and said, “The factory has also given us some authorization. We can look for factories locally. If one can be acquired, we should acquire it. If not, we can discuss cooperation.”

When Shi Hu and Jiang Ermei heard the astronomical figure of four hundred thousand yuan, their admiration for Lu Fan reached absolute heights.

They were still doing business in tens or hundreds of yuan, while this young man was already dealing in units of ten thousand.