Chapter 32: This Is How Fruits Should Be Sold
"Auntie Huang, we're talking about 2000 kilograms, not 200 kilograms. Make sure it's the right one."
"Ah, I know, we have more than 180 people here who want to purchase the grape. Even 200 kilograms won't be enough to be shared among us."
"Although the grapes have a shelf life of a few days, you don't have to stock up so much, do you? On average, each of you is ordering more than 10 kilograms."
"How is that considered stocking up? I'm buying 50 kilograms at one go."
"50 kilograms? You're going to purchase 50 kilograms? Can you finish eating them?"
"I'm not going to eat the 50 kilograms of grapes. I'm planning to use them to brew wine."
"Wine?"
"Yeah, the home-brewed kind, I have to make some for reserves during this time of year, every year."
Zhou Kun didn't know how to continue the conversation. He thought, 'You're using grapes that cost 30 yuan per 500 grams to make wine. Are you trying to make some Lafite out of it?'
On the other end of the phone, Huang Fang was still babbling on and on. "And Auntie Zhang, who also went to your store yesterday, is welcoming her two sons and one daughter home for dinner during the weekend. Wouldn't she need five kilograms of grapes for sharing among the family?"
"Okay, give me an address then. I'll call you when I get there."
"Deliver the goods as soon as possible."
As soon as Huang Fang hung up, Zhuo Xiong called Zhou Kun.
"Little Zhou, where are your grapes from? Why are they sold at 30 yuan? That's so expensive."
"The grapes are sold out."
"Huh? Are they selling that well?"
"I can't help it, the quality of the grapes is too good. Even if it's expensive, there are still people who rush to buy it. If you don't have anything else to tell me, I'll hang up now. I have to rush to deliver the goods."
Fancy you calling yourself a wholesaler. You're not even as quick to react like a bunch of old ladies. Your taste is poorer than theirs too.
After that, Zhou Kun gave it some thought again and realized that in terms of the order amount, Zhuo Xiong would not order as much as old Madam Huang, even if there were ten of him.
Zhou Kun delivered the grapes to the address that Huang Fang had given him. It was a residential district named 'Jinlan Residences'.
Although Zhou Kun was unfamiliar with that estate, he knew that it was the area with the highest property prices in the entire Tong City.
It was no wonder the elderly ladies purchased all of the grapes he had at 30 yuan per 500 grams.
"Hey… what are you doing? You're not allowed to set up a stall here." Zhou Kun had just parked the car and was about to call Huang Fang when the security guard rushed over from the guardhouse.
"I'm making a delivery to a customer here."
"What kind of goods are you delivering? Do you think the residents inside will eat the items in a truck like yours?"
Zhou Kun didn't expect the security guards there to be that snobbish. For convenience's sake, he had borrowed a small truck from the market. Hence, he looked like a roadside fruit vendor.
Just as Zhou Kun was about to explain to him, he heard a voice from behind him that spoke in a tone of surprise.
"Little Zhou, is that you?"
Zhou Kun looked at the person and found her to be familiar. He felt that she seemed to be one of the elderly ladies who had gone to his fruit store with Huang Fang the day before.
"Sisters, the grapes that we've purchased together are here. Hurry and collect the goods," said the lady who sent a voice message to the chat group.
The scene after that basically had nothing to do with Zhou Kun and that security guard.
The elderly ladies had a clear division of labor. They were in charge of different tasks, such as opening the doors and directing Zhou Kun to reverse the truck into the parking lot. Huang Fang, who arrived at some point, was holding a small notebook in her hand.
"Come on, queue up. Collect your goods according to the name list that I have here," said Huang Fang. There were two elderly ladies beside Huang Fang who were calibrating with electronic scales. Clearly, it wasn't their first time doing something like that.
"Little Zhou, hurry and unload the goods. Little Chen, help him out." Accordingly, the security guard who was fighting with Zhou Kun a second ago bitterly began helping him unload the goods the next second.
Zhou Kun finally saw it clearly. Ever since he entered the estate, he was no longer in control of the situation.
"Little Zhou, look over there. Don't worry, I won't mess up the sums."
Previously, Zhou Kun had always heard of old ladies going to the supermarket to snatch eggs, but he hadn't witnessed such a scene before. However, he now knew what it was like.
A group of elderly ladies and men lined up in a long line with their small grocery carts, in an orderly manner.
"Ma Juan, you ordered 10 kilograms." As soon as Huang Fang reported the order, two elderly ladies beside her began weighing the fruit.
"Xu Feng, 20 kilograms."
"Guo Meili, 15 kilograms."
They had handed the money for the grapes to Huang Fang a long time ago. They merely had to collect the goods now.
Zhou Kun's understanding of Huang Fang was still too little. As the lead dancer of the square dancing team of Jinlan Residences, which had 200 abled members, and the core figure of the estate committee, Huang Fang had very strong connections within the estate. The group of elderly ladies all followed her around.
During their dance session the day before, Huang Fang brought some washed grapes to the session as a snack they could munch on after dancing. To her surprise, everyone said that the grapes were delicious, and thus, that led to the success of the group purchase.
In addition to the group of elderly ladies who trusted Huang Fang, there were many others in the estate who followed the trend of buying grapes.
All the residents of the estate who tried the grapes said that they were delicious, but they had no idea how fresh or delectable they were.
The elderly ladies who had already collected their goods began talking to the people who were still queuing up behind.
"Are these the grapes that we have purchased in the group?"
"Yes, I just arrived in time. I just happened to be at the entrance when the truck arrived, and now, I've gotten all the goods."
"Wow, these grapes are still cold. Have they just been retrieved from the cold storage warehouse?"
"I heard that Huang Fang knows the seller of the grapes, and she helped us order all of the stock that he had in his warehouse."
"No wonder they're exceptionally fresh. Look at the turquoise vines. One look and you can tell that they are better than the ones sold elsewhere."
"That's for sure, you can't purchase grapes from other stores without a few middlemen involved. However, the grapes we have now were directly purchased from a wholesaler."
"Those are all phonies. These grapes cost 30 yuan per 500 grams. That's not cheap either. The most important thing is that they taste good. Hurry and try them."
The elderly lady was not petty either. She took out a bunch of grapes and allowed everyone to try them.
"These grapes are delicious. They're really worth 30 yuan per 500 grams."
"I regret it now. I only bought five kilograms. I wonder if I can order more."
There were more than a few people who thought that way. Hence, an elderly lady quickly mentioned her desire to purchase more.
"Huang Fang, are there still any more grapes? I'd like to get 10 more kilograms."
"There are definitely no stocks left for this batch. Wait for the next batch."
"There are so many grapes. How can they be insufficient? Give me 10 more kilograms."
"No, you're strictly not allowed to purchase more. I initially prepared to get 50 kilograms, but after tabulating the orders, we realized that there isn't enough stock, so I changed it to 25 kilograms. If you'd like to purchase more, you can only wait until next time."
"Yeah, if you get more, the people behind us definitely won't have enough. We've already calculated everything. How can you buy more?"
Upon hearing that that elderly lady actually wanted to purchase more, the people who were behind her in the line refused to let her do so because they were afraid that the stock would run out.
Zhou Kun put his hands on his waist and stood by the side. Seeing that the elderly ladies were about to get into a fight because of the grapes, he instantly felt that it was the strangest deal he had ever done.
It turned out that such was the way to sell fruits. Zhou Kun, who had years of experience in selling fruit, suddenly felt confused.