Chapter 119: The Great Sale of Peach preserves

Early the next morning, a long line formed outside the South China Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

It was not uncommon to see crowds like this at the cooperative, but today, everyone was murmuring about the peach preserves. Even some people who hadn’t planned to buy canned goods were curious. What kind of canned goods could attract so much attention?

Some people had faint memories of the promotional flyers that Qiu Yinuo had distributed. The colorful paper featured illustrations of exquisite peach preserves, accompanied by the simplest of descriptions.

Many people had never seen this kind of advertisement before, so their impression of the exquisite peach preserves was quite shallow.

In their minds, it was just canned goods with peaches, something they hadn’t eaten much of.

With that thought in mind, even those who hadn’t planned to buy them today queued up to get their hands on the exquisite peach preserves.

When the doors of the cooperative finally opened, the crowded crowd surged into the store like a tidal wave.

“Comrade, give me a jar of peach preserves.”

“One for me too.”

“How much is the peach preserves?”

The scene was far more lively than anyone at the South China Supply and Marketing Cooperative had anticipated. Some employees even came out of their offices to see the long line, their faces breaking into wide smiles.

At this rate, they’d probably run out of stock with only five hundred jars!

Thinking this, the leader’s heart tightened.

They couldn’t afford to run out of stock!

Although their cooperative was doing better than others, their sales had always been in the middle to lower tier. No matter how hard they tried, they could never outdo the supply cooperatives in the larger cities. So, the leader had initially taken a laid-back attitude toward the situation.

They had only been able to procure goods from the Jinxiu Canning Factory because of Old Cai’s connections.

But today’s turnout had definitely exceeded expectations.

“Old Cai, has Comrade Xiao Qiu arrived yet?”

“Her brother’s been hospitalized. She probably won’t be here until noon.”

“Once she gets here, make sure to bring her to my office. Five hundred jars won’t be enough; we need to restock. Let’s order another five hundred.”

At that moment, someone came to report: “Boss, our Jinxiu peach preserves are selling like hotcakes. We’ve already sold a hundred jars in this short time. I think five hundred jars might be sold out by tomorrow morning at the latest!”

The leader was both excited and worried. Excited because the sales were so good, but worried that they might run out of stock.

“We can’t let that happen. Let’s round it up and get another thousand jars. This is too much to handle. Old Cai, take someone with you and personally go to handle the exchange, and also sign a long-term cooperation agreement with the Jinxiu Canning Factory.”

The leader seemed to think of something else and continued: “When it comes to business, if there’s any damage during transport, the Jinxiu Canning Factory must compensate for it. We can’t absorb those losses ourselves.”

“Got it.”

At noon, after eating lunch at the hospital, Qiu Yinuo hurried to the South China Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

The leader had been waiting for her. “Comrade Xiao Qiu, you’ve finally arrived.”

“Hello, leader. Where’s Uncle Cai?”

“Our peach preserves are selling so well that I’ve already sent him and a few people to your factory to discuss the long-term cooperation.”

Qiu Yinuo’s face changed. She immediately thought of the unfinished factory in their village and jumped up. “What time is Uncle Cai’s train?”

The leader glanced at his watch. “It should be a 1:30 p.m. train.”

Estimating the time, she realized it would take about five hours to get to their village, meaning it would probably be dark by the time they arrived.

“Leader, I’ll go to the post office to call the village head and let them know to prepare for the reception.” She spoke quickly and then shot out the door like an arrow, and no one could stop her.

“Comrade Xiao Qiu, really, we do have a phone here at the cooperative…” Before the leader could finish his sentence, Qiu Yinuo’s figure had disappeared through the back door.

Qiu Yinuo found the nearest post office and called Taolin Village.

She explained the seriousness of the situation. “If Uncle Cai mentions wanting to see our canning factory, no matter what, you must stop him. Do not let him see it under any circumstances.”

Although their paperwork was in order, the old, run-down elementary school was still far too shabby.

“Village Head Lin,” Qiu Yinuo said, “you must not get upset. The factory building is essential. For food production, safety and sanitation are the most important.”

Village Head Lin responded, “You know, your village keeps saying it doesn’t want to build the factory and just wants to make do with the old school, claiming that you’ll save money and divide it among everyone at the end of the year. Now they want to come look at the factory. What are they going to do?”

“Village Head Lin, don’t get frustrated. Building the factory is a must, and we can’t compromise on safety and hygiene.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not that foolish. Leave it to me!” Village Head Lin reassured her.

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Yinuo returned to the leader’s office. “Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Comrade Xiao Qiu, I have a phone here, yet you went outside to make a call. What a waste of money.”

“I’m sorry, I was too anxious and didn’t pay attention.”

“Comrade Xiao Qiu, our peach preserves will probably sell out tomorrow. We can’t let it run out of stock. You wouldn’t believe it. This morning, I received several calls from the leadership of the federation…” The leader couldn’t help but slap his thigh in joy as he spoke.

“The top three performing supply and marketing cooperatives in the city are asking me about the peach preserves and want to buy from us.”

As he spoke, the leader became worried. What if these people went to the Jinxiu Canning Factory to buy directly from them? If that happened, South China Supply and Marketing Cooperative would no longer be the only one selling the goods.

The leader leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Comrade Qiu, between us—if old Cai goes to your village head to negotiate, do you think there’s a chance your village would agree to supply only to us in the provincial capital? Can we count on that?”

Qiu Yinuo immediately understood what the leader was trying to do. This was essentially a form of multi-level marketing, or pyramid selling.

It was clear that forward-thinking people always had plans beyond the ordinary.

“It depends,” she replied with a calm smile. “You’d have to guarantee a minimum monthly order volume. What do you say, Director?”

“How much are we talking per month?”

“That’s something Uncle Cai and Village Head Lin, would have to discuss. I’m just a helper, I can’t make such big decisions,” she said, then shifted gears. “Of course, if the leader is buying in large quantities, certain things might be negotiable.”

When it came to establishing the canning factory, Qiu Yinuo had never considered working directly within the factory. Compared to that, she preferred being a small shareholder—only stepping in for major decisions, while waiting for the year-end dividends.

Once she gave the answer the leader wanted, he nodded eagerly and then asked, “What do we do if we run out of stock tomorrow?”

Qiu Yinuo thought for a moment. “Leader, have you ever heard of hunger marketing?”

Seeing the leader’s confused look, she continued, “You limit each person to one jar, or only sell ten jars a day, creating a false sense of scarcity. Of course, we really will be out of stock, which will stimulate more demand.”

“By the time the new batch of peach preserves arrives, you’ll have weathered the storm.”

“Great idea!” The leader immediately made the decision and started to notify the people outside.

The noisy scene at the cooperative, with everyone rushing to buy peach preserves, suddenly quieted down when someone shouted, “The leader says no more peach preserves for sale today.”

The people who had nearly broken their heads trying to get one were not happy. “No way! I just saw so many jars! Why are you suddenly not selling them?”