By the time Wen Ci returned home, the sun had already set.
The canteen was closed by now. Wen Ci walked briskly towards the landline phone in the living room. Seeing her husband approach her, she said, “Huo Jingyuan, I’m hungry. I want to eat noodles.”
“Then I’ll cook noodles for you?”
“Mm-hmm!”
During Huo Jingyuan’s hospital stay, Wen Ci had stuffed the kitchen refrigerator full. All sorts of vegetables were in the crisper, and beef and pork were frozen.
“Where’s Wen Yaozu?”
“Asleep.”
Wen Yaozu had been exercising in the yard all day and was already exhausted. After dinner, he yawned and willingly went to bed.
Huo Jingyuan took some ingredients from the refrigerator.
He was going to make braised noodles for Wen Ci.
Noticing a faint odd smell from the fridge, he frowned. This refrigerator was brought back from abroad by his aunt a few years ago, and he had no idea about maintenance.
Maybe he should ask his aunt to send another one?
Then again, Huo Jingyuan thought it over carefully. They would only be in Beijing for six months at most. By the time a fridge shipped from abroad arrived, they’d probably be back in the Northwest.
On the sofa, Wen Ci called Xu Jinghe, her voice excited: “Xu Jinghe, I might need to come down South in a few days.”
“You sold out?”
Wen Ci shook her head, even though he couldn’t see it. “Not sold out, but I sold over a thousand items today. But it was thanks to the military district. I sold to the families for five yuan per jin, with the district subsidizing three yuan.”
After a moment of silence, Xu Jinghe asked, “Weren’t you planning to sell for nine yuan per jin? Factoring in transport costs, it’s already seven yuan per jin. If you sell for eight yuan, even with forty thousand items, you won’t make much.”
Hearing this, Wen Ci’s eyes widened.
So that’s what felt off! She had quoted the wrong price. Originally, she planned to make a profit of two yuan per jin, but now it was only one yuan.
She could still make a profit with one yuan, but it was just too much work for the money.
Wen Ci bit her lip. “Then I’ll raise the price tomorrow.”
“Absolutely not!” Xu Jinghe quickly stopped her. Integrity was paramount in business. “If you’ve already advertised eight yuan per jin, then stick to eight yuan. Changing the price easily damages credibility.”
Wen Ci said hesitantly, “But I only advertised eight yuan at the military family compound. Tomorrow I plan to sell at the market, and later negotiate prices with department stores and wholesale markets.”
“Your strategy is sound, but can you successfully negotiate with the department stores?”
The clothing factory had dedicated salespeople. Whenever new stock arrived, the salespeople had to negotiate with the department store managers, which inevitably involved wining and dining.
With Wen Ci’s low-profit margin approach,
wining and dining wouldn’t be cost-effective.
“I have a way.”
After chatting a bit more, Huo Jingyuan came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming bowl of braised noodles, the aroma filling the air. Wen Ci looked at the man and swallowed.
“Let’s stop here for now. I’ll update you tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Wen Ci hung up the phone receiver, got up from the sofa, and walked to the dining table. The noodles were topped with stir-fried potatoes and meat, the sauce evenly coating the noodles.
Wen Ci couldn’t help but swallow saliva.
“Huo Jingyuan, your cooking skills are getting better and better.”
Huo Jingyuan smiled. “Darling, you haven’t even tasted it yet. How do you know my skills have improved?”
“You can tell it’s truly delicious just from the smell.”
As she spoke, Wen Ci eagerly took the bowl of noodles from the man. Her chopsticks picked up bits of the potato and meat topping. She slurped a noodle from the chopsticks.
“So good.”
Then, Wen Ci started eating the noodles in big mouthfuls. In the quiet of the residential compound at night, the voices of aunties chatting could be heard.
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