Moreover, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law are quite patient; five hundred jin in one day is already their physical limit, so they don’t seek more, transitioning slowly is already excellent.
Ye Huan thought about the fruit in her space, and it seed it could be sold on Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law’s cart too, so she began to accumulate fruit.
In the sumr of 1984, the minimum protective purchase price for top-grade waterlon in Beijing was 0.07 yuan per jin, and the highest retail price couldn’t exceed 0.25 yuan per jin.
The waterlons in Ye Huan’s space were large and juicy. She sold them to Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law for ten cents per jin because she was selling in April, a ti when nobody else had waterlons. It was an early opportunity, so being slightly expensive was okay, but not too expensive, or nobody would buy them.
The weather had ward up, and walking through the streets daily, you’d naturally see the children. Her family’s waterlons were all sandy-fleshed, cut into pieces, and neatly placed in a glass tank, sold at three cents for one piece and five cents for two pieces. With such big waterlons, costing one yuan, they might not make much, but at least they could sell for two yuan, right?
The earlier the waterlons ca out, the more expensive they sold. When they were expensive, they could reach 25 cents a jin. A waterlon could easily weigh seven or eight jin, even ten jin. Soone with enough money could spend two or three yuan for a large waterlon, but there were more people who lacked money than those who didn’t. By splitting them, kids could afford a piece to taste; a few cents was affordable.
Aside from waterlons, she also prepared apples. The apples in her space were large, beautiful, sweet, and crisp—delicious. During this era, the initial retail price for apples was 0.47 yuan per jin, and those red banana apples were 0.55 yuan per jin. Ye Huan would give the apples to her brother and sister-in-law at four mao per jin, suggesting their family’s apples were good and could sell for six mao, offering them one free each day to cut and let people taste for free.
At that ti, apples were still a few mao per jin. By January 1986, the Beijing Municipal Price Bureau stipulated that the market retail price for top-grade red banana apples was 1.2 yuan per jin, and Guoguang apples were one yuan per jin. You see, this was the transition period for price increases.
She would give one waterlon each day and five jin of apples for them to sell gradually; if they couldn’t sell them all, they could return them to her.
Her brother and sister-in-law were satisfied with the daily business of earning thirty to forty yuan and ntioned that people in Beijing had money. Even with five or six hundred jin daily, they could sell everything, which motivated them more.
When Ye Huan had ti, she would also teach them to make sour tofu and suggested that when they had free ti at night, they could sell stinky tofu. If stinky tofu was done well, it could earn more than selling tofu.
"At first, many people might not accept the sll. You can make so at ho first and give it free to those who buy our tofu. So when we set up a stall nearby at night, we won’t be without business."
Even discussing eating stinky tofu, not just outsiders, even the Ye Family themselves hadn’t tasted it. After Ye Huan made it once, the Ye Family was overwheld by the sll. However, seeing her enjoying it so much, they couldn’t help but swallow their saliva and try it, eventually becoming addicted and falling in love with the taste.
Especially with the sauce poured on the tofu, the taste was even better. Paired with delicious chili oil and coriander, it was simply the finishing touch.
Every day, five or six hundred jin of tofu wasn’t exhausting for the couple. So they took their sister’s advice, cautiously making just a hundred pieces the first day, then putting up a [Ye’s Stinky Tofu] sign, and started a stall at the busiest street corner of Nanluoguxiang to sell stinky tofu.
Initially, their tofu was criticized for being too slly. But after the old neighbors found out, they rushed to line up and buy it since they still rembered the taste of the samples. As soon as they heard about the stall, they quickly brought bowls to buy and eat. Seeing them eating and praising it while wrinkling their noses, onlookers couldn’t help but gaze skeptically—was it really that good?
Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law were quick-witted and imdiately gave them an out: if it wasn’t good, it was free to taste. The result was, with one taste, they fell into the trap, unable to climb out. On the first day, selling and giving away, they even earned one yuan—it was inconceivable.
Because stinky tofu sold for ten cents per serving, with only five pieces for ten cents, and for a larger portion, it was twenty cents for eleven pieces, one more piece.
Is it expensive? Indeed, it wasn’t cheap, considering one jin of tofu was only seven cents, but where could you find five pieces of tofu for ten cents?
However, this tofu needed to be fried and seasoned. Besides eating the tofu, you could also enjoy the soup. Calculating this way, ten cents was value for money.
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