“How much do you sell these coarse pottery bowls for?” asked an elderly woman with gray hair, after examining the goods for quite a while.
At this, Sister Jinfeng looked at Yuan Xiang encouragingly, signaling for her to speak.
Yuan Xiang had already gotten past her awkwardness by now—with a customer approaching, things would be much easier. She put on her most sincere smile and spoke in a clear, bright voice:
“These small bowls are two wen each. Buy three small bowls now, and we’ll give you one of these small dishes for free.”
“Ma’am, even though this dish is small, you can use it on your table for pickles, soy sauce, or vinegar—so you won’t need to take up a whole bowl for those things. It’s practically like getting an extra bowl for nothing,” Yuan Xiang explained as she pushed the small dish toward the elderly woman.
The old lady took the dish and looked it over—it was about half the size of a regular bowl, fitting neatly in the palm of her hand. As she imagined using it as Yuan Xiang described, she suddenly realized her home didn’t just lack eating bowls, but dishes like this too. In the past, she’d always mixed soy sauce, vinegar, and pickles in with her eating bowls; she truly didn’t have anything like this small dish at home.
It seemed these were the kind of fine items used by more careful households. Having lived a rough-and-ready life for decades, today she felt like being a bit more refined.
Besides, buying more meant getting a free dish. She’d come to the market to buy pottery bowls anyway—this was basically getting something for nothing, wasn’t it?
The price was cheaper than the stall she’d visited earlier, where she hadn’t been able to bargain down the cost at all. That was why she’d come over to take a look here.
She was ready to buy, but still wanted to try haggling. Though she listened to all the good things Yuan Xiang had to say about the wares, she gave no indication of her decision, instead carefully picking through the items on the stall while muttering to herself:
“The price is indeed cheaper than the other stall, but your craftsmanship isn’t as good as theirs. Can’t you make it a bit cheaper?”
Even with this criticism of their products, Yuan Xiang kept smiling and continued:
“Ma’am, I’m really not making any profit off you. As you can see, buy more and we’ll give you something extra—this dish would cost money if we sold it separately. Besides, you get what you pay for, don’t you agree?”
Yuan Xiang didn’t argue over whose craftsmanship was better. She’d decided to stick to the strategy of offering good value for money. Earlier, she’d passed another stall selling similar pottery bowls and basins—they were a dark antique gray, with surfaces that did look smoother than hers.
But those bowls were priced at three wen each—one whole wen more expensive than hers.
And one wen was no small matter!
Most people at this market were farmers from nearby villages. Farm families didn’t save much money in a year, so they cut costs wherever they could. A difference of one wen was more than enough to draw customers in.
For these price-sensitive shoppers, when faced with similar products, a lower price was always a key factor in their choice.
Still, Yuan Xiang felt a pang of sadness when she thought about it—she, Erguo, and Sanxi had spent an entire day making these, working from dawn to deep into the night. They were truly handmade.
In her previous world, adding the word “handmade” to any product would send its price soaring.
Now, though, they had to sell them at rock-bottom prices.
Ah, there was no helping it—human labor just wasn’t valued much here.
Seeing that Yuan Xiang wouldn’t budge on the price, the old lady stopped pressing. “Alright then, get me three of these bowls. And this dish is really free, right?”
She stacked the items she’d already picked out, then took six wen from a pouch tied to her waistband and handed them to Yuan Xiang.
Yuan Xiang accepted the coins. Though she could count them at a glance, she counted each one carefully before happily stowing them in a cloth bag she’d prepared in advance.
This was their first sale of the day—a good start!
Having watched the whole process, Sister Jinfeng was impressed. So Yuan Xiang could hold her own in conversation after all—she’d gone back and forth with the old lady during the bargaining and had successfully made the sale.
What surprised Sister Jinfeng even more was that in just a few minutes, Yuan Xiang had earned six wen. Six wen! The chicks she’d just bought had cost five wen each.
Her mother-in-law had counted the money over and over before giving it to her, telling her to bargain hard—times were tough now, and the family was going through a difficult period…
Looking at the remaining goods on Yuan Xiang’s stall—bowls, plates, basins, lidded jars… if they all sold out, they’d make quite a bit of money.
“Selling pottery bowls, plates, and basins! Bowls are two wen each, plates three wen each—buy more, get more free! Buy three, get a dish free! While supplies last—first come, first served!”
With her successful sale under her belt, Yuan Xiang rattled off the sales pitch smoothly and fluently, her clear voice drawing extra attention.
Was this really the same Yuan Xiang who’d been too shy to speak up earlier?
Before Sister Jinfeng could even react, a crowd had gathered around the stall.
“What did you say you’re giving away for free?”
“You’re not lying, are you? Do we really get something free?”
When the villagers from nearby towns and villages heard there were free items, several immediately crowded over to ask questions in a flurry of voices.
Thankfully, Yuan Xiang had already told Sister Jinfeng the prices and promotions for all their goods. Though Sister Jinfeng had never sold anything herself, she’d shopped at markets many times before. Now, switching roles, she copied how vendors would deflect bargaining attempts, and managed to handle the sudden influx of customers with ease.
“That’s right—buy three bowls, get a dish free. Buy plates, and we’ll give you one too! You can use this dish for pickles or sauces—isn’t that just like having an extra bowl? Where else are you going to find a deal like this? Cheap prices and free stuff! We’re only doing this for good luck on our first day of business—we won’t be offering it later!”
Sister Jinfeng repeated what Yuan Xiang had said earlier, her words flowing smoothly. No matter what people asked, she had a ready answer.
While tending to her own customers, Yuan Xiang kept an eye on Sister Jinfeng and was pleased to see how quickly she’d grasped the key to creating a sense of urgency—emphasizing that if customers didn’t take advantage of the offer today, they’d miss out forever.
The goal was to make them feel like they’d be losing out if they didn’t buy something today.
Yuan Xiang also noticed that Sister Jinfeng worked with crisp, efficient movements, her voice loud and energetic, with an unmistakable cheerfulness in her eyes—very different from the impression she’d first given.
In truth, Sister Jinfeng had always been an open and quick-witted woman. She’d been full of life in the village before, but with the family’s recent hardships and so little to be happy about, she’d grown quieter these past few months.
Just then, a middle-aged woman with a gray cloth headscarf finished examining every item on the stall. Earlier, she’d tried to bargain but been turned away by Sister Jinfeng, leaving her feeling annoyed. Seeing that the stall was run by a young girl and a young wife, she spoke carelessly:
“No wonder these are so cheap! Look at them—they’re not as nice-looking as the ones at other stalls. Who knows if they’ll break after just a little use? Then you’d be throwing your money down the drain, wouldn’t you?”
The other customers who’d been picking through the goods heard her words clearly. They paused with the bowls and basins in their hands, suddenly hesitant, and began inspecting the items more closely. Sure enough, upon closer look, the wares here were a bit rougher than those at other stalls.
Sister Jinfeng could tell this woman was deliberately trying to cause trouble, so she dropped her smile and spoke bluntly:
“Hey now, ma’am—those are unfair words to say! How can you make claims like that without even using the things first? If you bought one and it broke soon after, then yes, that’d be our fault and I’d own up to it. But we’re a small stall running on a tight budget—we can’t do business with someone who spouts nonsense. You’d be better off going elsewhere! Tell me—am I not right about this?”
With her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised, her sharp eyes and rapid, direct words carried an air of undeniable authority.
The woman hadn’t expected this vendor to be so forceful. She instinctively stepped back and mumbled, “I was just saying—no need to take it so seriously.”
Yuan Xiang knew it was her turn to play the peacemaker now that Sister Jinfeng had taken the tough approach.
She smiled warmly and spoke in a clear, sincere voice: “Please don’t worry, everyone—we’ll definitely be here at the next market day. If any of these bowls or basins break, just come find us. We’re not here to do business only once.”
Hearing this, the customers’ concerns faded, and they went back to picking out items and paying for their purchases.
With the little incident resolved, Yuan Xiang turned to promote a mug she’d made to a customer who seemed interested: “Look, sir—usually when we drink water, we hold the cup directly in our hands, right? But if the water’s too hot, you can’t hold it. With this cup that has a handle, though, you can hold the handle and won’t burn your hands no matter how hot the water is.”
“Isn’t this a handled cup? I’ve only ever seen these in shops in the county town! Never thought I’d find one at a village market,” the man said, turning the mug over in his hands and testing the handle to see how sturdy it was.
When he said this, others crowded over to look. “Hey, this is pretty interesting.” Handled cups were rarely seen in the village, so they drew quite a bit of attention.
Seeing how many people were interested, Yuan Xiang quickly quoted the price and began promoting it: “Three wen each—no burnt hands with hot water, no burnt mouth with hot soup! Buy one today—you won’t regret it, I promise you!”
The crowd was amused by the young girl’s playful words. After looking over the cups, they agreed they were as practical as she’d said. Plus, hearing that these were items you’d only find in the county made them feel like a status symbol for their homes. Several customers who’d planned to buy bowls and basins decided to add a handled cup to their purchases.