A younger man stared intently at Cheng Hui, his gaze pausing at her visibly pregnant belly as he frowned.
An older bespectacled man took the toothpick from Cheng Hui’s hand, sampled the cake, and casually asked, “Are you from Jingcheng? An Educated Youth?”
What he really wanted to ask was which ministry her father worked in!
Cheng Hui smiled without answering, instead handing another toothpick to a plump man eyeing her cake tray.
The man’s eyes lit up after tasting it.
Cheng Hui said cheerfully, “Gentlemen, you clearly look like leaders shopping for holiday gifts. Traditional presents like cigarettes, alcohol, sweets, and tea are so overdone—recipients are tired of them. Why not try our Weifeng Cake? It uses newly imported technology from America with fully imported ingredients. Each bag costs 10 yuan! It’ll definitely make you look generous.”
She turned and patted the packaging bag in Tao Juan’s hands, revealing bold black characters: “Retail Price: 10 Yuan!”
The three men fell silent, but their eyes gleamed as they focused on the bag.
What do gift-givers fear most? That recipients will think their presents are cheap or worthless!
They’d overheard Cheng Hui offering samples to the shop assistant earlier but hadn’t paid much attention—just another new Caozi Cake variant. Given their status, giving leaders ordinary Caozi Cakes? They might as well expect to have them thrown back in their faces!
But with this packaging boldly displaying “10 Yuan,” it was a different story.
Currently, the most expensive Maotai cost 8 yuan, while cheaper versions went for 3. A decent carton of cigarettes sold for three or four yuan, and cheaper ones for one or two—and that was for a whole carton, not just a pack.
Gifting this bag of cakes would carry serious weight and prestige.
“Plus, our ‘Buy One Get One Free’ promotion only lasts three days,” Cheng Hui added. “After that, we revert to the original price. If you try to buy it later, our state-owned enterprise won’t accept a single cent less.”
This addressed another concern of theirs: the cakes would still be perceived as worth 10 yuan, not 5.
They could spend 5 yuan but give a gift that felt like 10.
“Selling at half-price means we’re actually losing money,” she whispered. “That’s why we can only give away 20 jin per day. And, well, you understand… we have to reserve some for internal use…”
“So we only have about 20 bags left today. Once they’re gone, we’re closing up.”
“If you want more, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. But whether we’ll still be running the promotion then… I really can’t say. Our leaders are still in meetings at the factory!”
She’d said a lot without revealing much, but these bureaucratically savvy men read between the lines perfectly!
This was a chance to snag a bargain—opportunities like this were fleeting!
“I’ll take five bags,” the bespectacled man said.
The plump man immediately countered, “Give me ten!”
Cheng Hui praised him, “How thoughtful! My father always told me it’s better to buy extra. Even if you don’t gift them all, your family can enjoy them. The last thing you want is to leave someone out… or else, trouble follows.”
The plump man nodded emphatically!
Wasn’t that the truth!
Last year, he’d tried to save money and shorted a deputy leader two bottles of liquor. Good grief! He’d been given the cold shoulder all year—his feet still ached from the subtle mistreatment!
This year, he had to appease that deputy leader properly!
Once bitten, twice shy. And he couldn’t afford to overlook anyone else either!
However, Cheng Hui said, “But this is a promotional event. Our goal is to let more people taste our Weifeng Cake and build our reputation, so each person is limited to a maximum of 5 bags!”
She spoke sincerely to the chubby uncle, “I’m sorry, my apologies!”
The rejected man actually became even happier…
When something is too eagerly pursued, it loses its appeal. Now that he wanted to buy but couldn’t, it made the product seem even more precious.
Initially, the two men had felt a bit reluctant—spending 25 yuan on a few pounds of Caozi Cake. But now, they genuinely felt they had scored a bargain and handed over the money cheerfully.
Cheng Hui turned around, took the bags from Tao Juan’s hands, and gave her a meaningful look.
Tao Juan stumbled away in a daze.
Wang Hui and Li Yan were standing dumbfounded behind the table. Seeing Tao Juan running back in a panic, they were terrified.
Wang Hui rushed over to meet her. Tao Juan looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
“What’s wrong? What happened to the deputy director?” Wang Hui asked anxiously. “Did someone hit her because the prices were too high?”
Tao Juan snapped out of it instantly and pinched him. “Keep your voice down! What are you shouting for?”
“Oh.” Wang Hui glanced around awkwardly. Sure enough, many people were staring.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Tao Juan said loudly. “Our Weifeng Cake uses technology just learned from the U.S.! All imported ingredients! Even high-ranking leaders have tried it and praised it. Selling it for a few cents per jin would be an insult—it must be sold for 1 yuan each!”
She had picked up the pitch remarkably fast.
Wang Hui and Li Yan were both stunned. U.S. technology? Imported ingredients? High-ranking leaders?
Sister Tao never used to boast like this!
“Quick, pack 10 bags for me. Come with me to deliver them. Two leaders over there each ordered 5 bags!” Tao Juan declared loudly.
The onlookers immediately erupted in chatter.
Wang Hui and Li Yan had been selling the items at 1 yuan each for Caozi Cake, and many people had seen it, silently cursing them for being “outrageous.” Only fools would buy it!
And yet, they actually sold some?
Li Yan began fumbling nervously as he counted the small bags.
Tao Juan patted him. “The large bags! The 10-yuan large bags. You stay here and watch the stall. Wang Hui and I will make the delivery.”
There were only 25 large packages and 50 small ones in total. Another 50 were left unpacked, just loosely stored. Cheng Hui said she had important use for them.
Tao Juan had already taken 5 large bags earlier, leaving only 20. They didn’t need to count—just grab a basket and go.
When the two returned after the delivery, Cheng Hui added, “Are you two leaders living far away? We need to catch the 4 p.m. train back. If it’s convenient, I can have someone help deliver the items to your homes. They’re not heavy, but they do take up a lot of space.”
Such considerate service! Home delivery was almost unheard of at the time.
The two men were immediately pleased and provided their addresses.
As soon as Cheng Hui heard them, she knew exactly who they were…
The bespectacled man lived in the Provincial Publishing House Family Compound, and the chubby uncle lived in the District Committee Family Compound.
“Alright then, do you need to buy anything else? We happen to have two male comrades here. They can help carry everything back for you later.”
After saying this, Cheng Hui shot a quick glance at Wang Hui.
Wang Hui, who had just had some reservations, instantly became obedient and stood there like a dutiful simpleton.
Good grief, the deputy director’s glare was terrifying! It was as if he had seen his long-departed great-grandmother!
“Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention—these pastries contain absolutely no preservatives. They’re fresh and safe, so the shelf life is only three days. If that timing doesn’t work for you, I can refund your money right now.” Cheng Hui made a gesture as if reaching into her pocket.
The two men who had initially frowned upon hearing the three-day shelf life immediately relaxed their expressions.
The more reluctant someone seemed to sell, the more they wanted to buy!
The portly middle-aged man chuckled: “Didn’t your father teach you? Delivering gifts early helps you stand out from others—it leaves a stronger impression.”
Cheng Hui blinked and smiled: “My father also taught me that if adults are hard to please, you should win over the children. Whose child isn’t treasured? When a kid keeps talking about how nice a certain uncle is, it’s more effective than anyone else’s praise.”
Instantly, all three pairs of eyes lit up.
This was a blind spot in their thinking—they’d never considered “little brats” important before, but now they realized it made perfect sense!
The gifts they’d given were either consumed, regifted, or stored away—their superiors might forget about them immediately.
But if they won over the children, and the kids kept casually mentioning how great Uncle So-and-so was at home, wouldn’t that be more effective than anything?
And these sweet, rich pastries were exactly what children would love most.
The two men who had initially felt somewhat hesitant now decided to send family members tomorrow to buy five more bags each! The day after, they’d send different people to buy again!
The young man who had remained silent until now spoke up: “I’ll take five bags too!”