wavenovel Chapter 33 Asking the Price
Chapter 33 Asking the Price
the next day……
"Fifth Uncle, I've replaced all the roof tiles for you. Everything should be fine now."
Sun Ran climbed down the ladder and smiled as he spoke to an elderly man with gray hair in the courtyard.
After checking out the house for his grandparents yesterday, he and his mother called his maternal grandmother's house to ask about the situation there.
The two villages are separated by a mountain, about seven or eight miles apart, and both will be affected by the typhoon.
Fortunately, there are two uncles there, so he probably won't need to go and help, but he should still check in on him.
This morning, my mom and I inspected our house and Wang Jun's old house together.
After finishing his work in the morning, he didn't rest. Instead, he went to check on several elderly people in the village with whom he had a close relationship.
After all, there are many elderly people in the village, and many of them have difficulty climbing up and down. If we can help those who are related to us, we should definitely do so.
Just like this fifth uncle in front of us, not only are we related by several generations back, but he also taught his younger uncle the craft of bamboo weaving.
He couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing about it.
Of course, the village is so big, he can't take care of anything else.
Just like in the village, there are a few houses that have been uninhabited and neglected for years. The worst ones are overgrown with weeds and one side has collapsed. There's nothing he can do about those.
"Thank you so much, Xiaoran. Here, take these bamboo fungus I dried. We don't have much good stuff at home, so please don't mind them."
The old man was getting on in years, and his hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably, but he still enthusiastically stuffed a bundle of sun-dried golden bamboo fungus into Sun Ran's hands.
"Oh, Fifth Uncle, you're too kind. I can't accept this. I'm leaving now. Please take care of yourself at home!"
Upon seeing this, Sun Ran quickly dodged to the side, shouted, and ran away.
It wasn't that he disliked the things the old man insisted on giving him.
Bamboo fungus is a precious fungus that only grows in bamboo forests. Adding a few to chicken soup will make the whole pot of soup even more delicious. It is a truly good thing.
But the old man's hands and feet are not very nimble now, and he has to exchange the bamboo shoots and mushrooms he digs in the bamboo forest for money.
How could he possibly accept that?
So they had no choice but to make a hasty retreat.
"Hey, hey, don't run away! You silly child!"
"Fifth Uncle, don't bother seeing me off. Remember to lock all the doors and windows when you get home!"
……
"Hey, you're humming a nice tune!"
Sun Ran was humming a song as he walked home when he heard a sharp pain in his shoulder. Turning around, he saw his uncle, Sun Bolang, standing behind him.
"Hiss~ Uncle, if you touch me again, I'm going to tell Grandma!"
"Hey, you little rascal, you're really trying to cause trouble! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"
Ever since Sun Ran took away his favorite fishing rod, Sun Bolang has become increasingly displeased with his nephew. Now that he finally has a chance, he has no choice but to teach his nephew a lesson.
The uncle and nephew put their arms around each other's necks and started playfully fighting on the road.
After a fierce contest of "monkey stealing peaches" and "scooping the moon from the sea," the two, who were evenly matched, finally let go, panting heavily.
"...Have you finished with your fifth great-uncle's affairs?"
"Yes, some of the roof tiles were replaced, and we also checked all the doors and windows in the house."
Sun Ran responded, and Sun Bolang added somewhat sourly, "You're doing well, kid. You're getting more and more efficient at your work."
Although it sounded a bit sarcastic, his praise was genuine.
Sun Ran was initially a little worried about the houses he was looking after today, so he went to check on them and found that Sun Ran had done a really good job.
On the contrary, the work he organized with a few people in the village was not as advanced as his nephew's.
It took him a while to adjust.
"Hehe, that's for sure."
Sun Ran grinned smugly: "How about that, Uncle? You can't compare, can you? Why don't you just hand over your village chief position to me and let me take over?"
These past two days he's been busy climbing up and down the house to inspect it, and he's once again experienced the benefits of having a golden touch.
One reason is that he now drinks spiritual spring water every day, and after a period of time, he feels that his physical condition has improved.
He is noticeably stronger when moving things, and walking on the roof is as easy as walking on flat ground. His sense of balance and coordination have improved a lot.
My physical strength has also improved. Now, even if I don't eat spicy snacks to restore my energy, I'm still full of energy the next day.
Another thing is that the Qiankun Bag makes his work much easier.
You can just throw things like tiles, bricks, hammers, and screwdrivers into it and carry them with you wherever you go.
People saw him carrying a bamboo basket that seemed to contain only a few tiles, but in fact, his Qiankun bag contained more than half a bag of several hundred tiles.
With improved health and the savings in time spent climbing up and down stairs to move things, efficiency is bound to be high.
"Hey, you little brat, you're not even fully grown yet and you're already trying to seize power, are you?!"
"Ouch, Uncle, you dare to ambush me? Take this!"
The uncle and nephew walked home, playfully bickering as they went.
Dark clouds loomed over the horizon behind us, and every now and then a strong wind blew by, making the surrounding trees rustle.
It was just the calm before the storm...
Ring ring~
When the two were halfway there, Sun Ran's phone suddenly rang.
"Hey~ Wang Jun? Why did you suddenly decide to call me today? Are you short on things to move from the office?"
He took out his phone and saw that it was Wang Jun, so he quickly answered the call.
"I'm fine, I've almost finished moving everything. I just wanted to ask you if I could buy some tea."
Wang Jun's laughter came from the other end of the phone: "Didn't I give my parents your honey tea last night? They said it was pretty good when they woke up this morning."
"I wanted to ask if you had any more, so I called you as soon as I finished my work at the company."
"As for the price, they said it's all negotiable, you can just set your own price."
Sun Ran, holding the phone, was speechless. "Sure, I can open it however I want?"
"And what about you? How did you feel after drinking it? What price would be appropriate?" he asked after thinking for a moment.
"Me?"
Wang Jun pondered for a moment on the other end of the phone: "This honey tea does taste pretty good, and considering its sleep-aiding effects, I think it's definitely worth ten or twenty yuan a cup."
"Of course, if you put more effort into the packaging, a slightly higher price of twenty or thirty yuan wouldn't be unacceptable."
"If you really encounter a wealthy person with particularly poor sleep, I think they would be willing to buy it for fifty or sixty yuan or even more."
"Twenty or thirty yuan a cup, that's not a low price for you!"
Sun Ran laughed into the phone, "Melatonin sold online only costs two or three yuan a day, one pill is enough. You're only paying such a high price because of me, aren't you?"
"Of course not, the results speak for themselves," Wang Jun said with a laugh on the other end of the phone.
"Um……"
Sun Ran hesitated for a moment while holding the phone, then asked, "If I said I wanted to sell this tea for two or three hundred yuan a cup, do you think that's possible?"
For him, the tea itself didn't cost much.
Aside from the labor involved, the honey production is basically zero; it's just a few slices of dried lemon and some other dried fruit.
Even if we follow Wang Jun's suggestion and improve the packaging, the cost of one cup would only be a few yuan at most. If we sell it for thirty yuan a cup, we can make a net profit of more than twenty yuan, which is not bad.
However, the limited production of honey meant that this tea could not be a mass-market product, so Sun Ran still wanted to make it more high-end.
As for how to sell this cup of tea for two or three hundred yuan in the future, he had a general idea, but he still needed to do some research first.
Besides, when doing things, you should always have a goal, just in case you succeed.
"Two or three hundred per cup?"
On the phone, Wang Jun exclaimed in surprise, "This price, are you serious?"
"You just said it yourself, the results speak for themselves."
"It shouldn't be that expensive..."
"The honey production is only a few kilograms per month right now, and we don't even know if there will be any left by winter..."
"...If that's the case, a higher price wouldn't be unacceptable, but a price of two or three hundred is still..."
"How about this..."
Sun Ran thought for a moment and said, "I'll spend a little more time perfecting the packaging of this tea. Could you help me make an appointment with Uncle Wang then?"
"I'll personally visit you so you can see what price would be suitable. What do you think?"
"Yes, that's definitely no problem. Just bring two more chicks with you. My dad was really craving them yesterday, haha."
Wang Jun, on the other end of the phone, didn't hesitate much and readily agreed.
After settling things up and chatting with Wang Jun for a few more minutes before hanging up the phone, Sun Ran stood there somewhat lost in thought.
The rich are the easiest to earn money from.
A few years ago, when I was studying in Shanghai, my cousin and I went to what was supposed to be the most expensive supermarket there. The prices of everything there were outrageously high.
A wooden rice paddle can cost tens of yuan, and a small box of fruit can easily cost three figures.
But getting wealthy people to willingly part with their money isn't that simple.
After all, if you're not shrewd, you won't make that much money.
Selling calming tea for two or three hundred yuan a cup is not impossible, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Packaging requires effort, the product itself needs to be standardized, and testing reports and such need to be obtained.
Most importantly, you have to come up with a good story...
"What are you thinking about? I overheard you on the phone talking about tea, and then you said it cost two or three hundred yuan a cup..."
At this moment, his uncle Sun Bolang came over and slapped him on the back: "What kind of tea is so expensive? Pu'er or Da Hong Pao?"
"What Da Hong Pao? It's just the honey tea you drink, sir."
Sun Ran turned around, glanced at him quietly, and then spoke.
"Holy crap, are you out of your mind?"
Sun Bolang exclaimed in surprise, "Do they think people are stupid and have too much money to spend? They dare to sell a cup of honey water for two or three hundred yuan?"
"In my opinion, even twenty or thirty is too much."
Sun Ran's face darkened upon hearing this.
If I were to rely on you, my uncle, I would never be able to get rich in my life!
"Uncle, I have to go now, I have something else to attend to!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran towards home.
"No, it's already dark outside, what do you want?!"
"Let's go up the mountain and take a look later!"
"Why are you going up the mountain if you have nothing to do? Be careful, it's going to thunder soon, it's dangerous up there!"
"It's okay, I'll just take a quick look around and be right back!"
Sun Ran shouted loudly without turning his head.
Danger?
What does danger matter?
The nest of golden bees on the mountain is now his hope for making money in the future.
Even if it's thundering, he'd still go, even if it's raining knives.