After about a week of diligent management, Zhang Yang's rice for making medicinal wine and takeout service accumulated a large number of fishing buddies as customers.
Prompted by Old Zhao's reminder, Zhang Yang set up a new order group, pulling all acquaintances into the group, so that any future orders for meals or medicinal rice could be completed within the group.
With the support of over a hundred fishing buddies, subsequent sales became simpler. Zhang Yang was responsible for collecting orders daily and personally delivering them to the fishermen.
For the next half month, Zhang Yang's daily sales steadily increased.
After deducting expenses for buying groceries and medicinal wine, by month-end accounting, Zhang Yang's cash flow successfully broke through the ten-thousand-yuan mark.
At this rate, making forty to fifty thousand in a year seemed easily feasible.
But there's no wall without chinks. Just when Zhang Yang and his mother's takeout delivery business was thriving, competition arrived!
The village's deli somehow heard about the lucrative boxed meals sales by the Wen River, and on the weekend of May 13th, they carted a load full of insulated box meals on an electric tricycle to the Southeast Embankment area of the river.
"Boxed meals for sale! Little Rooster, Braised Pig Trotters, Pig's Head Meat, Appetizers for Drinks, Cheap and Practical!!" The electronic loudspeaker announcements caught the attention of many fishing buddies sitting on the riverbank.
Soon, Zhang Yang received a call from a fishing buddy. It was only eleven, but there were already boxed meals selling by the river! Hurry and get there early, or all the customers will be snatched away!
On weekends and holidays, it's normal for fishing buddies who usually don't have spare time to come out and fish, some even bring their families.
Saying it doesn't affect Zhang Yang is surely nonsense.
When Zhang Yang arrived by the river with insulated boxes of meals, he spotted Peng Lin's father, Zhang Junsheng, hawking along the riverbank.
"Yo, uncle, you're selling boxed meals too!" Zhang Yang greeted Zhang Junsheng.
"Zhang Yang! Just hit the weekend when there are more fishermen by the river, so we made extra deli food at home and brought it to the river to sell as well!"
Zhang Junsheng waved his hand, refusing Zhang Yang's offered cigarette, a bit uncomfortable in his tone as he spoke.
In terms of seniority, Zhang Yang should call Zhang Junsheng uncle. The families are not far apart in relation and exchange New Year's greetings. Same village, always seeing each other around, competing with your own family's nephew isn't completely upright.
"Oh, how's business? There are certainly more people today than usual!"
"Not bad, sold three portions!"
"Then you keep busy. I'll deliver the meals that clients ordered first!"
"Alright!"
...
After a brief encounter, Zhang Yang began distributing meals along the riverbank.
Today, over forty fishing buddies had pre-ordered meals. Zhang Yang made a round within the embankment, then walked several miles downstream distributing all the meal boxes.
When Zhang Yang was hurrying back after finishing his rounds, Zhang Junsheng's boxed meal stall was still set up on the river embankment.
Most regular customers pre-ordered meals from Zhang Yang, so very few bought boxed meals from Zhang Junsheng. Being his first time out selling like this, Old Zhang didn't quite understand the ins and outs, simply letting the loudspeaker continue its shouting.
Spring winds warming up, with the slight heat aggravated by the shouting from the electric speaker.
Though seemingly Zhang Junsheng hadn't sold many meals today, it had already impacted Zhang Yang's business. People knew boxed meals were being sold by the river, so fewer would pre-order meals moving forward, indirectly snatching Zhang Yang's customers.
In the following few days, as Zhang Yang expected, old clients with stable cooperation were slightly better, accustomed to Zhang Yang's meals with little impact, but the number of new clients greatly decreased.
Having tasted initial success, whether selling more or less, Zhang Junsheng showed up like clockwork with his electric tricycle daily to sell meals, significantly diverting Zhang Yang's income.
Hearing about this after returning from work, Zhang Guofu was ready to confront this brother of his, but Zhang Yang stopped him.
"For all these years, we've helped Junsheng's deli plenty, now he's undermining us, taking away our business!" Zhang Guofu said resentfully.
Zhang Yang shook his head, looking towards his mother.
"Mom, what do you think?"
Zhang Yang's mother was also uncomfortable, it would be less of an issue with strangers, now that it was their own family snagging business, it was indeed infuriating.
"Peng Lin's dad is indeed unkind, Yangyang, what do you plan to do?"
Zhang Yang's lips curled slightly, he thought of various commission tactics of future delivery platforms and the community's demolition plans in 2014.
Instead of fierce competition, fighting till the end, why not sell some favors and make a big profit while you're at it?
After pausing for a few seconds, Zhang Yang said, "I think, this small amount of money isn't worth tearing faces over!
How about I talk to him, and hand over daily orders to him, we take a commission in between, how does that sound?
In terms of deli food, our family is definitely not as professional as his! Competing in fields where we're not professional isn't wise!"
"Right now, our sales are clearly stronger than his! Are we just going to yield and let him have it?" Zhang Guofu was somewhat confused by his son's suggestion.
"Being strong is just temporary, my mom has only so many signature dishes. Short-term is fine, but over time, people will grow tired, diminishing competitiveness! Deep competition is inevitable then!
I've observed lately, quite a few fishermen come out to play with a group of friends and order snacks to accompany drinks, whole chickens, whole fish — which their deli can prepare every day, making spontaneous orders, we can't do, overall we lack advantages!
Instead of losing share later, why not sell him a favor and let him have the business!
By the way, I remember his new house behind has quite a large ancestral home that's been vacant, right?"
"We're supposed to be discussing takeout business, why'd you bring up ancestral homes? After your grandma's passing, indeed the old house behind has been vacant!" Zhang Guofu was confused by his son's leaps of thought.
Zhang Yang grinned, "You tell me, given uncle's family's temperament, if we let him have part of the takeaway business profits, could we get a discount and buy that ancestral home?"
Zhang Guofu frowned and said, "Junsheng and his wife are quite calculating, not bad in character, but I still don't understand what takeaway business has to do with ancestral homes!"
Zhang Yang lowered his voice and said, "Didn't I say before that dealing with wealthy and idle anglers daily, overhearing some useful information can lead to wealth!
I heard, by 2014 at the latest, villages around our Meng Village Community will undergo demolition and consolidation!
If the news is false, buying the ancestral home is at least equivalent to getting a homestead, build a new house after demolition, we won't lose.
If it's true, demolition offers compensation in the form of housing and funds, giving up this small business as a gesture can earn us an apartment at no loss!"
"Demolition?" Hearing this, Zhang Guofu wasn't calm.