Chapter 213: 206: Making Money and Going Home

That day, the two brothers were incredibly busy and in a chaotic state. After some consideration, they decided it would be better to combine their efforts. Even though their booth would be larger, it would make both collecting money and drawing lottery prizes more convenient. It would also save them from constantly misplacing things. If they were to lose the tape recorder, they’d be at a huge loss.

The next morning, they combined their two stalls, and surprisingly, their combined income for that day was no less than when they were working separately. After all, the same number of people would visit their stalls whether they had one or two. Everyone preferred a bustling atmosphere, and although the lottery prizes were minor items, some people still had the hope of winning a big prize. Even if they didn’t win, they’d be happy if they got a small knick-knack.

They continued with their tape business like this, making around four thousand a day. Even the bank staff started to treat them with extra courtesy, offering to open VIP accounts for them, as it was rare to see someone deposit four to five thousand every day.

After about ten days, their business started to decline. Tang Zhijun decided to pull out from here and go elsewhere. He asked Tang Zhinian to stay and continue the business without the lottery and the grand prize of a color TV. One person would be enough for this.

Tang Zhijun went to test the waters in other areas by himself. Once he had a good sense of the place, the two brothers would make their move. Gradually, they figured out the rhythm of this industry, a good place could keep the business profitable for about ten days, then business would start to wane. The third day was usually the peak.

Most people loved their “buy five, get one free” promotion. So, they ordered a bunch of fancy paper bags, adding a touch of elegance whether the tapes were for personal use or gifting.

Of course, they were earning more money than ever. Even on a bad day, they would make one to two thousand. And they were two brothers in this together.

During this time, Chen’s father came over several times to restock his inventory. Seeing his confident and content expression, they knew he was doing well in his business.

“Why aren’t you guys going home?”

Chen’s father seemed curious. “Isn’t Qing’an good? Why do you choose to stay here?”

Tang Zhinian smiled, “My younger brother says the business is good here. And if we go back, then there are three vendors, which can’t compete with you selling alone.”

“This…” Chen’s father seemed speechless, his eyes welling up. He knew the Tang family was honest and decent; he never thought that the Tang brothers would plan their business to avoid competing with him. After all, it was the Tang family who had saved his own family’s life. No matter what, Chen’s father knew he couldn’t forget their kindness.

“Ah, Brother Chen, you’re thinking too much. My brother is simple, he doesn’t know how to finesse words.”

Seeing Chen’s father getting emotional, Tang Zhijun couldn’t bear it any longer.

He quickly stepped forward to console Chen’s father, “Brother Chen, let me tell you, regardless of how many vendors there are, the market for tapes is saturated. It’s better to take away other’s businesses instead of competing in the same place. When the sales in Qing’an slow down, you might need to change locations too. There is plenty of space for us to sell these tapes.”

“I think we’ll be able to sell tapes for a few more years. Let’s keep moving and exploring other business opportunities in the meantime.”

“Brother, I’ll follow your lead,” Chen’s father said, holding back tears. In his heart, he already considered the Tang family his saviors.

“Ha ha…” Tang Zhijun sporting a toothy grin, said: “Brother Chen, don’t say like that. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have come this far.”

Indeed, each party had contributed to their shared success. They were now expanding their business in the south, and were doing quite well, thanks to Chen’s initial generosity. Without Tang Zhinian’s charity to accompany the solitary Chen in his venture initially, they wouldn’t be making thousands a day now.

The Tang family was naturally grateful. Now, not to contest with Chen’s business was the least they could do to repay him.

Moreover, in the south, the brothers were thriving.

Chen’s father picked up a few tapes to take back. Tang Zhinian recommended a few popular ones, and shared some business tactics with him. Chen’s father applied them back at home and indeed, it worked better than his original hard-sell approach. Even though it seemed like he was giving away tapes, he was able to raise the price, sell more quickly, and ultimately earned more than before.

He set up just outside the colleges, where there were plenty of young people. He also adopted the Tang brother’s tactic of having a tape recorder play the latest popular music now and then.

Sure enough, his business grew larger each day.

While he was making money selling tapes in Qing’an, the Tang brothers had already traveled to many places. Tang Zhijun was a natural businessman. He could sense which place had potential for sales, suitable for setting up a stall, and how long was optimal. Just like this, within a month, they had astonishingly made over a hundred thousand. Although the individual profits were small, the volume made up for it.

As their business in this area came to an end, they planned to move to another city to sell tapes, so they decided to visit home first.

“Sisi, Daddy’s back?” Tang Zhijun started looking for his daughter Sisi as soon as he arrived home.

Upon spotting Tang Zhinian, Sisi quickly ran towards him. She lifted her face and sweetly called out to her father.

“Ah…” Tang Zhinian bent down and picked up his daughter. Though Sisi had grown up and become a schoolgirl, in his heart, she was still the two-year-old girl, barely surviving, whom everyone had given up on.

With his warmth and guidance, he taught her to speak and walk. When she first called him “Daddy”, he, a grown man, couldn’t help but shed tears.

“Did Sisi miss her daddy?”

Tang Zhinian rubbed his face against Sisi’s small cheeks. His time outside had made him rugged and cunning.