Chapter 55

At the bustling intersection of a small chaotic street stands the largest store, Huang's Bamboo Crafts Store.

Many shops in the area don't even have a sign, so this store, with a big sign hanging at the entrance, is considered relatively formal.

That's why Su Youfu, an honest and straightforward man, chose to sell his brooms here, thinking that a large store would conduct business in a more proper manner.

For many years, he has been directly delivering his brooms to this store, and the price is always determined by the boss.

However, the boss is fair and gives him a higher price compared to others. Although Su Youfu is honest, he is not foolish and would inquire about the prices offered by others.

In reality, it is normal for the price of his brooms to increase several times when they reach the boss. After all, running a store of this size incurs costs such as rent, water fees, and workers' wages. It's not charity work.

The boss, Huang Yufeng, is a decisive and efficient person. This store was passed down from her maternal family. Her parents had two daughters, and as the eldest, it was agreed that she would inherit the store and find a son-in-law.

Once her younger sister got married, this store would no longer have any connection to her family.

Now, Huang Yufeng was looking at the young girl standing at the store's entrance with great interest.

"Old Su, is this your daughter? She looks beautiful," she commented.

Su Youfu smiled and nodded, standing a bit straighter than usual. "Hello, Boss Huang," Xiao Qi greeted with a smile.

"The things you've made are quite interesting," Huang Yufeng, being a businesswoman, complimented the young girl. However, her gaze quickly fell on the bamboo-woven bag in Xiao Qi's hand, examining it closely.

The bag was exquisitely made, with a lid that had a button made of bamboo tied with hemp rope. It was convenient to open and close.

Su Youfu was actually quite nervous, rubbing his hands and supporting his weight with a pole. He watched the boss intently.

Xiao Qi noticed many small bamboo chairs inside the store and brought one over for her father to sit on. He had trouble walking due to his feet, and carrying things made it even more difficult.

Huang Yufeng was completely undisturbed. She carefully examined the bamboo-woven baskets, bags, and other small items taken out of the hemp sack one by one. She touched them repeatedly, tapped them, and even held them up to the light for inspection. She spent a good seven to eight minutes scrutinizing each item.

Su Youfu didn't dare to interrupt, and Xiao Qi was also observing the store. When they first entered this street, they felt it was dirty and messy. However, upon entering this store, although there were many items, they were neatly categorized and appeared clean. Whatever they needed, they seemed to find it quickly.

At the very back, there was a large tea table with a proper purple clay teapot, tea utensils for boiling water, and tea cups. The tea tray on the table was dark and shiny, clearly well-used. There were also some bamboo utensils placed on the table, which looked quite beautiful.

There was a bamboo root carved into the shape of a toad with green beads hanging on it, swaying in the breeze.

Huang Yufeng carefully examined everything once again, regret surging in her heart.

"Old Su, with your talent, why didn't you do this earlier? How much money can you make by making brooms? Even if you sell them at a high price, they are only used by laborers. But these things, the people who buy them are wealthy and have leisure time," Huang Yufeng said straightforwardly.

Su Youfu sat down to rest for a while, finally catching his breath. When he heard the boss say this, he became even more excited.

"I wonder if these can be sold for money. It's quite laborious to make them. My child is about to go to college, and we don't have enough money. So, I thought I'd give it a try. Boss, what price are you willing to offer?"

Every time Su Youfu came to sell brooms, he would always accept whatever price the other party suggested without bargaining. But Huang Yufeng's price was fair. No one else offered a higher price, and it wasn't a big deal either. It was just selling brooms, not that complicated.

Although this time he made something new, Su Youfu himself felt like his craftsmanship had suddenly improved. He was quite satisfied with what he made. However, he didn't know if these things could be sold or if anyone would want them. If they were priced the same as brooms, it wouldn't be profitable to make them. He put a lot of effort into making these things and stayed up until late at night. It was truly complicated and required a lot of thought. On the other hand, making brooms was much easier. Since he started making woven bamboo bags, he used to make two and a half pairs of brooms a day. Now, without resting, he could make four pairs of brooms a day. His efficiency had improved a lot.

Huang Yufeng didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked at the things in her hand, furrowed her brows slightly, and seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, she spoke, "I'll try selling them first. I'm not sure if they'll sell for a good price or not. Whether they sell well or not, I think the craftsmanship of these items is excellent and worth the effort. I'll pay you 150 yuan for the larger ones and 100 yuan for the smaller ones. Leave me your phone number, and if they sell well, I'll give you a call to make more. If they don't sell well, then forget it."

She had seven items in her hand, five large baskets and bags, and two small trinkets. Su Youfu originally thought that a few dozen yuan would be a lot because these items didn't use as much bamboo strips as a broom. But a broom was only sold for 15 yuan, even after the price increase.

He sold these seven woven bamboo items for 950 yuan, while a bundle of brooms, twenty of them, was only sold for 300 yuan.

Su Youfu thought the price was fair, even pleasantly surprised. However, he was a slow person by nature, so even though he was particularly surprised, he didn't show it on his face. He just nodded.

Upon hearing this price, Xiao Qi didn't know if it was high or low. Although she had confidence in her father's craftsmanship, the market also played a role in such matters. Her father wasn't a master craftsman but an ordinary farmer. The price offered by the other party seemed quite good in her opinion.

Seventeen-year-old Su Xiaoqi wasn't good at this kind of thing, but she had the impression that agricultural product prices were not high, and the same applied to processed agricultural by-products made by farmers themselves.

Su Youfu left Aunt Liu's phone number. With everything sold, he carried the bamboo pole and a sack of vegetables and walked out with his daughter, wearing a serious expression on his face.

They walked for a long time, far away from that street, crossed the road, and passed by the entrance of a commercial bank. Suddenly, Su Youfu burst into laughter.

Su Xiaoqi: ...

"Dad, Dad!" Su Xiaoqi looked at the puzzled look on the security guard's face at the bank entrance and tugged at her father's sleeve.

"Xiaoqi, I've calculated all the way here. I can make at least two baskets and an additional small bag in a day. That's a total of 300 yuan per day, which means 9,000 yuan per month. You don't have to worry about your tuition anymore. Dad can earn money now. And when I earn more, we can renovate our house. We can fix the collapsed wall at the entrance and you won't have to worry about your monthly expenses anymore."

Su Youfu had never been so excited and full of ambition before. His shoulders straightened, and he no longer hunched his back.

"Dad, please don't get too carried away. The boss said they still need to see the sales volume. What if we can't sell them all?" Although Su Xiaoqi was happy, she thought her dad was being too optimistic. If things didn't work out, they would be disappointed. It's better to be clear-headed from the beginning.

"No, I'm not blindly selling things. I've checked out all the shops on that street. This boss pays the best and sells the fastest. I've seen it myself. She sells our brooms for two or three times the price she bought them from me. She also rejects some items. She doesn't accept everything that comes her way. But if she accepts it, it means she can definitely sell it. I sold her one for 150 yuan, and she can easily sell it for at least 500 or 600 yuan." Su Youfu explained to his daughter.

Su Xiaoqi thought to herself that her dad may seem simple-minded, but he's actually quite cunning. He's a typical crafty farmer from the countryside. She wasn't sure how to express it, but having some cunning is better than being foolish and getting taken advantage of.

Neither the father nor the daughter found anything wrong with the boss selling at a higher price. After all, that's how selling things worked. When watermelons are in abundance, farmers sell them to middlemen for a few cents per kilogram, but people in the city still buy them for one or two yuan per kilogram.

At this moment, both father and daughter were quite happy. Su Xiaoqi suggested, "Dad, why don't we buy you a mobile phone too? It's inconvenient for us to always go to Grandma Liu's house to make phone calls."