20
The Brothers Are Stuck
Athletic socks for 2.5 yuan a pair? That’s barely higher than her wholesale cost. After factoring in transportation and shipping fees, she’d be selling at a loss.
Are they joking? Do they even know how to do business!?
And that family of three, seeing the neighboring stall selling so cheaply, definitely wouldn’t give Auntie another glance.
They squatted in front of Qi Lei’s stall, first picking up the athletic socks to examine them carefully, stretching them to test the quality.
Qi Lei patiently attended to them, “Don’t worry about the quality! If you’re not satisfied after going back, you can return them for a refund or exchange.”
The man in the family immediately felt reassured upon hearing this. Putting down the socks, he looked at other items before finally asking, “Why are they so cheap?”
Qi Lei replied, “Factory direct sales!”
“Oh.” The man understood, “That really is a good deal!”
Whether in 1998 or 2018, “factory direct sales, no middlemen taking cuts” remained the most powerful promotional slogan.
The man quietly continued selecting items, while the woman focused on the row of premium products displayed at the back.
Pointing at a pair of pantyhose, she asked, “How much are these?”
Though unpriced, she understood these were quality goods—not the type to be sold three pairs for five yuan. You couldn’t expect such bargains everywhere.
Qi Lei: “These are 18. They’re nylon, not real silk, but they’re from a major brand. The quality is absolutely guaranteed. You can open a pair to check the quality if you’d like. It’s fine even if you don’t end up buying—I need to keep samples anyway.”
The woman was quite pleased to hear this. Eighteen yuan wasn’t a small amount for ordinary families, so she didn’t dare make a casual purchase.
She really did open the packaging to examine them carefully. Finding them quite nice, she kept them in her hand without putting them down.
Auntie, watching from her stall with growing anxiety, nearly cried from frustration.
Have they lost their minds? Are they really considering buying? Buy from me! I only sell them for fifteen, and you can even bargain!
Perhaps Auntie’s silent cursing had an effect—though the woman held the pantyhose, she was still hesitating and ultimately didn’t make the purchase. Eighteen yuan was a bit too much for her to part with.
In the end, the family bought two pairs of athletic socks for their child, plus two pairs of women’s socks and one pair of men’s socks for the parents—all at the same price of five yuan for three pairs.
Moreover, the family that had been so focused on bargaining at Auntie’s stall now made their purchase smoothly without any haggling. They paid ten yuan without even mentioning negotiation.
This gave Auntie some slight relief. She cursed inwardly: Selling five pairs of socks for ten yuan? Hope you lose everything! Bunch of spendthrift fools!
But with Qi Lei causing such a disruption, her sock business became impossible to continue.
With such a prominent sign displayed there, who wouldn’t notice? This was truly selling at a loss just to attract customers—Auntie would never dare run her business this way.
While her sock business dried up, Qi Lei’s stall was attracting more and more people, the crowd growing larger by the minute.
It just showed there were plenty of customers looking for bargains. Before long, the area was packed with people.
Everyone was selecting items, checking that the quality was acceptable and not some shoddy counterfeit product, then promptly paying for their purchases.
At first, Auntie kept watching while gloating: Hope you lose everything! Hope you three little brats go bankrupt!
But before long, someone actually bought the premium products, making Auntie so angry her face turned green with rage!
She wailed inwardly: Mine are cheaper than his, and the quality isn’t worse, so why is nobody asking about mine? Come here, come here, come to my stall!
His regular socks might be cheap, but those premium items aren’t cheap at all! Are people stupid?
Just as she was cursing in her heart, huh? Another pair sold!!
Damn! Auntie felt unbalanced, the psychological gap was too great—two pairs sold in such a short time.
Then
Another pair sold.
Another two pairs!!!
Auntie felt like hanging herself; life had lost all its luster.
Fortunately, she didn’t just sell socks but also other small goods, otherwise Qi Lei would have squeezed her out completely, and she’d have had to move spots immediately.
Over at Qi Lei’s stall, as more and more people gathered, he alone couldn’t handle it all. Tang Yi and Wu Ning, timid as quails, had to grit their teeth and step up to help.
However, when Tang Xiaoyi took the five yuan from a customer, his hand was trembling.
It wasn’t because he felt embarrassed, but the feeling was indescribable.
He had vowed to mooch off Old Tang for life, firmly resolved to only spend money and never earn it.
But receiving the first bit of money he’d earned himself in his life—to be honest, the feeling was indescribable, truly indescribable!
Even though it was just five yuan, it was completely different from taking a stack of Old Man Head bills from Old Tang’s hand.
Tang Xiaoyi felt a surge of hot blood, his whole body burning up.
Well, that was from being bundled up!
As the sky gradually darkened, because Qi Lei had intentionally chosen a spot under a streetlight, they didn’t need to worry about lighting.
In this nearby area, aside from a melon farmer’s watermelon cart diagonally across, their sock stall was the most popular, drawing envious glances from the surrounding vendors.
The critical ones would say, “Such spirited young lads, why aren’t they focusing on school and doing this instead?”
More would sigh in admiration, “Look at that kid, he’s really got drive!”
By now, Tang Xiaoyi and Wu Xiaojian couldn’t care less. In the dim light, how could they work wearing sunglasses? They’d long taken them off, and their jackets were tossed behind them, ignored.
Hot! Working made them hot, and the weather was hot too!
Although Qi Lei was still the main one dealing with customers up front, tasks like taking money, fetching goods, and tidying the stall kept them plenty busy.
That feeling… utterly transparent.
Not far away, on the street side, an elderly couple watched Qi Lei’s stall silently through the crowd.
Some vendors couldn’t help but notice that this old couple had been standing there for over an hour, staring fixedly at the sock stall without moving.
At this point, Grandma Qi supported Qi Haiting, saying, “Let’s go back, what’s there to see? There are plenty of people, but they’re not making any money!”The old lady had been rambling for a while—sure, there were lots of people, and the prices were cheap, but where was the profit? It was pure nonsense.
“Cheng Gang and Lian Shan are both sharp as tacks, and our Guo Jun isn’t bad either. But look at these three foolish boys—they’re not cut out for business!”
Qi Haiting, however, glared, “What do you know!? Whether they make money or not, it’s still a skill!”
The old man had come filled with worry, but now he was happier than anyone.
In his eyes, his eldest grandson was about to soar to the heavens.
So what if they didn’t make money? They’re only sixteen—why fear not making money?
At sixteen, what you should fear is not even thinking about or daring to face the future!
In his view, Shitou having the guts to lower himself to do this was already a skill.
“In this, he’s much better than his father!”
Grandma Qi rolled her eyes, “Your eldest grandson is just perfect, alright? Let’s go? Head back?”
Qi Haiting ignored her, watched a bit longer, then finally turned, hands behind his back, “Let’s go!At that moment, the night market was crowded and noisy, the three brothers had no chance to witness Old Man Qi’s proud and spirited figure.
Yet years later, when people asked the three of them where it all began—at what exact moment—they would proudly say, “1998. The sock stall at sixteen!”
After ten o’clock, the Night Market gradually quieted down. Unlike in later years, night markets in those days didn’t stay open past midnight. Ordinary households went to bed early, and by eleven, the streets were nearly empty.
Vendors began packing up one after another, and it was only then that the three boys finally caught a breather.
They realized their T-shirts were soaked through with sweat.
Wu Xiaojian plopped down on the ground, cross-legged, as if in a dream.
Wiping his face, he tasted the bitter saltiness of sweat on his lips.
As for thoughts or reflections…
None to speak of, really. Just one pressing question: “Shitou, should we pack up?”
“Pack up!”
At Qi Lei’s command, Tang Yi and Wu Ning felt as if pardoned. Wu Xiaojian sprang up from the ground, and in no time, they had cleared the stall completely.
Before leaving, they didn’t forget to bid farewell to Auntie next door.
Ha, what polite kids!
But then, with misplaced enthusiasm, they added, “Auntie, you should move to a different spot tomorrow. Business is tough!”
Auntie was so furious she nearly fainted. Damn brats, just you wait!
She had barely sold any socks all night, her business far worse than before.
…
The three boys returned to Qi Lei’s grandfather’s house under the moon and stars, pushing their cart.
The day before, Qi Lei had asked his grandfather for the gate key, worried they might disturb the old man if they returned late.
But when they crept into the yard, they found both grandparents still awake, watching TV in the room!
Their excuse? Couldn’t sleep.
This puzzled Qi Lei. Ever since his grandfather’s surgery, his grandmother made sure the old man was in bed by nine, forbidding him to stay up late. Why were they still awake at nearly eleven tonight?
He didn’t press further, just urged his grandfather to rest soon before hastily stepping out.
On the way home, the three rode their bikes, speeding down the deserted streets. Tang Yi and Wu Ning, usually boisterous, were now completely silent.
Qi Lei understood—silence was normal. They hadn’t adjusted yet; today had forced them into this, and they needed time.
But then, Tang Xiaoyi, riding ahead, suddenly let out a piercing, heart-wrenching roar that could’ve woken the entire street.
The moment he shouted, Wu Xiaojian joined in with a screech, startling Qi Lei.
Those two had been holding it in for too long!
…
.
The monthly vote event ends today. If you have votes, please cast them. New books need everyone’s support—it’s not easy.