I sell pear soup at the school gate

 I had nothing to do during the winter vacation, so I set up a stall selling roasted pears in front of the school gate.

There was an older sister who brought her children to ask for pear soup every day.

I saw that it was not easy for her to raise a child in the cold winter.

The tasting cup was always filled to the brim for her.

But within a week, this lady set up a stall selling pear soup right across from me.

I thought to myself, just sell it. It’s not easy for everyone to make money, so just compete fairly.

But the next day, all my old customers gathered in front of her stall.

The eldest sister's proud voice came through the gap in the crowd: "I've been drinking her drink for a week, and it tastes just so-so. Something that can be made at home costs eight dollars!"

"My bowl is bigger than hers, the sugar is sweeter, and the price is only five dollars!"

1

After returning home during the winter vacation, my mother quit her job and completely handed the task of picking up and dropping off my younger brother Ye Mu from school to me.

My brother's school is in the suburbs. Because the distance is long, there are many parents picking up and dropping off their children, but there are very few snack stalls.

After entering winter, the weather gets colder day by day. In order to grab a parking space, many parents arrive at the school gate two hours in advance and then stay in the car playing with their mobile phones.

I spotted a business opportunity and immediately decided to use the time when I was picking up and dropping off my brother to set up a stall to sell the magical product for moistening the lungs and relieving coughs in autumn and winter - small diao pear soup!

Having made up my mind, I bought some common ingredients such as pears, old rock sugar, Xinjiang dates, Ningxia wolfberries, lilies, lotus seeds, hawthorns, etc.

When boiling it, I also secretly added some Dongjiaquanzhi Dahongpi, which my father drank for himself and was over ten years old.

The 750ml cup is priced at eight yuan.

On the first day of setting up the stall, in order to have a good location to attract customers.

I specially brought two packs of cigarettes to give to Brother Li, the owner of the meat and egg burger stall that Ye Mu and I often visited.

Because I often buy the meat and egg burgers from Brother Li’s house, Brother Li didn’t even confiscate his cigarettes but moved some space for me so that I could sit next to him.

Li Ge’s meat and egg burgers are made and sold freshly, the ingredients are simple and clean, and parents from around the school love to patronize them.

Every day as soon as he arrived, his stall would be surrounded by parents queuing up.

By placing it next to him, I can also attract some customers.

Brother Li sells food and I sell drinks, the two complement each other, just right!

Since my pear soup is made at home and brought here, there is no on-site cooking process.

Therefore, apart from a hanging cloth for "Small Pear Soup", parents passing by would only cast curious glances at the two stainless steel buckets placed on the simple folding table, but no one bought anything.

Even if someone came to ask, they would just turn up their nose and leave when they heard it was pear soup and it cost eight dollars.

In order to convert customers, I first filled a disposable cup for Brother Li.

Then he served some to the customers in front of Brother Li’s stall to taste.

Brother Li stopped what he was doing, took a sip of the pear soup and smacked his lips: "Xiaoye, your pear soup is really good! I can tell it's made of good ingredients the minute I drink it."

Customers who tasted the drink at the stall also said, "It's delicious, and has a strong pear flavor."

"There are quite a lot of ingredients. There's also dried tangerine peel, right? Give me a cup!"

"The white fungus is floating in the soup. Little girl, how much is your pear soup? Wait for my son to come out and buy him a cup!"

I smiled and opened the bucket, "Eight dollars! I made this drink at home, so the ingredients must be real. I'll serve it to you now!"

When the customer saw me put a whole pear into the big cup, he exclaimed, "Wow, a whole pear. We also make chopped pears at home. And the cup is so big, it's enough for me and my child. Eight dollars is really not expensive!"

In a short while, I sold five cups.

Parents passing by saw these people drinking with gusto in front of my and Brother Li’s stalls, and they all stopped to take a look.

I served them some pear soup at the right time, and eight out of ten parents who had tasted it would buy it.

After a short while, the twenty pears I cooked today were sold out before the students came out.

The cold wind blows on my body, it's freezing, but my heart is warm.

It’s my first time setting up a stall, and this can be considered a good start!

Brother Li nodded at me and said, "I just said that your pear soup is very good. I hope you can sell it. Stick to your original intention and your business will get better and better!"

So this is what it feels like to make money. I smiled and squeezed in front of Brother Li’s stall: "Egg burger brother, give me ten egg burgers!"

2

With the experience of the first day, I knew that I had to let the guests taste the food in order to convert them.

So the next day, I bought another big bag of disposable cups.

Not long after I set up the stall, a woman in her forties opened my thermos bucket.

At this time, I was chatting with Brother Li and having a great time.

When I saw it, the woman had already lifted the plastic wrap on the bucket and was stirring it with a spoon.

I felt a little disgusted, thinking that this person had no boundaries, but I didn't want to cause any unpleasantness.

So he suppressed his anger and said, "Sister, please stop stirring it. I'll serve you some."

I reached out my hand, but she showed no intention of handing me the spoon.

Instead, he directly peeled off the plastic wrap and threw it on the ground, tilting his head to look into the bucket: "Let me see what you have in here."

Now I was completely angry, so I snatched the spoon from her hand and put the lid on it.

"Big sister, this is inappropriate. I have to sell this pear soup today. How can I sell it if you stir it here and put your head in it and make it dirty?"

She sensed my anger, rubbed her hands and said with a smile: "It's cold, I saw your stall was steaming, so I wanted to take a look, why don't you give me some to try first and then I can decide whether to buy it or not."

At this time, all the parents in front of Brother Li’s stall looked towards me.

Not wanting to make the situation worse, I took out a disposable cup and filled it for her.

She took a sip and didn't say anything. Instead, a childish voice came from behind her: "Mom, I want to drink too."

The eldest sister smiled and pulled a child out from behind her, "Be good, mommy gives you this cup. It's not easy for my sister to run a business, don't take it."

I saw that the child was only five years old and was dirty all over.

Moreover, the outer layer of the eldest sister's black leather coat was peeling and mottled, and the mother and daughter looked pitiful.

The anger in my heart subsided a lot, so I filled another cup and handed it to him: "This is for the child to drink. The weather is cold, so it can warm his hands."

The child took a sip and started dancing and clapping: "It's delicious, mom, it's delicious, please buy me a cup."

The elder sister savored it and said, "It's too sweet. It's not good for children to drink something too sweet."

I am surrounded by parents. How can I do business if she evaluates me like this?

So I explained, "Sister, my family only uses old yellow rock sugar, and never uses white sugar, so it's not sweet."

At this time, the child tugged at her clothes and said, "Mom, please buy me a cup."

The elder sister asked me helplessly: "How much is a cup of this pear soup?"

I answered: "Eight dollars"

My eldest sister looked incredulous, but she didn't say anything to me.

She grabbed the child's arm and said, "Didn't you just have a drink? Don't drink anymore."

After saying that, he took the child and left.

A customer happened to come at this time, and my attention was all on the parents who wanted to buy pear soup, so I didn't notice when they left.

When I closed my stall and reviewed the situation that night, I felt that this lady's business must be not doing well.

But I didn't expect that she came again on the third day.

3

As soon as I set up my stall that night, the lady came towards me with her child.

The child jumped up and down, saying happily, "There's pear soup to drink~ There's pear soup to drink~"

I thought they were coming to buy some, but the eldest sister came up to me and said, "Beautiful lady, serve a cup of pear soup and let the child taste it in a disposable cup."

After I sell all the pears every day, there is always some soup left. If I can’t sell all of it, I always share it with some stall owners nearby.

And when it is made every day, the amount for free tasting is also calculated.

So I didn’t care and gave my child half a cup of pear soup for free.

What's more, I see that this child really likes to drink it, and he praises it for a long time every time after drinking it. The hesitant parents around him will be attracted by him to buy it.

So even though my elder sister brought her children to drink free pear soup every day after that, I didn't mind and gave it to them enthusiastically.

The timings for my stall coincide with my brother’s school schedule. I open the stall from Monday to Friday and take a break on Saturday and Sunday.

I worked on it for a long time at home over the weekend and finally developed a dish of milk pumpkin dumplings that the whole family praised.

On Monday, I happily arrived at the school gate with two thermos buckets, ready to make a big sale.

But I waited for a long time and no customer came to buy.

There were still so many parents in front of Brother Li’s stall. They would usually come to my stall after buying his meat and egg burgers, but today they turned around and walked towards the stall opposite to me.

For fear of attracting the security guards and urban management officers to drive them away, we usually don’t turn on the lights before students leave school.

Therefore, I could only see that the stall not far away was surrounded by people, but I couldn't see clearly what was being sold on that stall.

Ten minutes later, school was over and students left one after another.

The stall, which was already packed with people, was now even more crowded. It was difficult for parents riding electric bikes to pass, and the sound of horns could be heard one after another.

Along with a bunch of exclamations of “Wow”, a puff of hot steam rose from the stall and floated into the dark night sky, making people feel warm.

Ye Mu brought a group of classmates over from the main road and asked for pumpkin dumplings with milk.

Seeing that I hadn't even opened the packaging of my pear soup, he was surprised and asked, "Sister, you didn't sell any of this pear soup, did you?"

I was a little frustrated, but more surprised. "Yeah, that's weird. Normally there aren't enough to sell."

"Sister! Look what that person is holding in his hand?" Ye Mu exclaimed, and I looked in the direction he was looking.

Those parents who usually like to buy pear soup at my house, each of them holds a transparent take-away box in their hands.

The box had an estimated capacity of 1000 ml and was filled with ingredients, including large pieces of white fungus, many red dates and pear pieces.

They also had pear soup.

I was quite curious. I have been selling here for a week and I am the only one selling small hanging pear soup. Where do they get this pear soup?

There was a continuous stream of hot steam coming out from the opposite side, and I secretly wondered if that new stall was selling pear soup?

In order to confirm my guess, I asked Ye Mu to go to the other side to inquire.

After a while, Ye Mu also came back with a transparent packing box.

He put the box on the table angrily, "Sister, that old woman is so vicious, she keeps saying bad things about you!"

Say bad things about me? I was even more confused. We didn't even know each other, so why did she say bad things about me...

4

I opened the pear soup that Ye Mu bought and tasted it.

To be honest, the taste is just average.

As soon as you taste it, you can tell that it is white sugar, and a lot of it. It tastes sweet and greasy.

The red dates used were low-quality ones that cost about 7 yuan per pound. Although there were a lot of white fungus, it couldn't be soaked and tasted like plastic. The soup had no viscosity at all. Even the pears used were chopped pears, and tasted like foam.

Brother Li finished selling his meat and egg burgers and took a puff of cigarette towards the stall in the distance. "Why is Wang Taohong here again? She used to sell things here, but they were dirty and not tasty. Students didn't buy them. How dare she still sell here?"

Wang Taohong? I’ve been setting up the stall for a week now, and I’ve never heard of this name.

The students gradually dispersed and my stall became less popular.

I followed Brother Li's gaze and saw that Wang Taohong, the pear soup seller, was the older sister who brought her children to my place to drink pear soup all day long.

"No, why is she like this? She brings her children to my place every day to ask for free pear soup. I thought she was a parent!"

"Oh! What kind of parent is that? She has been setting up the stall here longer than I have. She just didn't set up the stall during the time you were here.

"Usually there are too many people in front of my stall to pay attention to you. If you knew she came here every day, I would have chased her away long ago."

There was also some indignation in Brother Li's tone.

I looked at the little hanging pear soup, which didn't seem to be moving at all, and I was instantly deflated: "Well, I haven't sold this soup for a few days, and now it's completely ruined!"

Brother Li smiled and said, "It's okay, Xiaoye, this is totally irrelevant. Just sell your products normally, and the two of you should not interfere with each other. You should compete fairly, and parents can buy from wherever they want.

"We often set up stalls, so it's normal to run into people in the same trade. You can't stop others from selling just because you sell, right? We can only say that some people are decent and won't steal other people's business by selling the same things in the same area. But Wang Taohong is used to being immoral, so you're unlucky to run into her."

Brother Li’s words made me feel much better.

Anyway, I am only doing business during the winter vacation, so it doesn’t matter how much money I make, as long as I can ensure that I don’t lose money.

Before I came here, my dad told me to just experience life and not think about making a lot of money. I should do things according to my age. My main task is to study hard.

But I know the pear soup I make myself, and I use only high-quality ingredients.

The brown paper cup for soup alone costs one dollar each.

Excluding costs, I make about three dollars from a bowl of soup.

Wang Taohong only sells it for five dollars, so you can imagine the materials used.

The packing box alone looks unhealthy. I would never dare to use the disposable packing box made of urine belt box or infusion tube.

Brother Li is right, so let’s not interfere with each other and compete fairly.

Having made up our minds, Ye Mu and I packed up our stall and prepared to go home.

While waiting for the traffic light, I stopped right in front of Wang Taohong's stall.

At this time, there were two or three parents and students in front of her stall.

One of the parents asked, "Are you from the same family as the girl selling pear soup over there?"

Wang Taohong is doing good business tonight, with a smile on her face: "We are not from the same family. I have tasted their pear soup before, and it tastes really bad. The most important thing is that young people always ask for a high price for things that can be made at home. They even want eight yuan! What's the difference between this and robbery?

"My bowl is bigger than hers, the sugar is sweeter, and the price is only five dollars! Come to my store to buy from now on, don't be cheated by her!"

After hearing this, the middle-aged man said "OK" repeatedly, smiled and walked away with his things.

I was stunned by her words and felt that my good intentions were not rewarded.

If Ye Mu hadn’t reminded me, I would have almost missed the green light.

It really fits the saying: [Society is simple, but people are complicated.]

5

As expected, my pear soup business was affected in the next few days.

On the other hand, Wang Taohong would start cooking around the stove as soon as the students got out of school, and her stall would be steaming hot every day.

The chilly night did attract a lot of customers.

In addition, she also added a new product, fruit rice cake, which costs four yuan each.

It was obvious that her business had been good these days and she was making a lot of money, and the smile on her face never faded.

When he passed by me on his way to pack up his stall, he looked at me with a strange look.

I didn't just sit there and wait for death. The pear soup that I cooked with all my heart is my signature dish. I just reduced the amount I made every day, but I didn't take the small hanging pear soup off the shelf.

Because of the sudden cold weather, the number of students suffering from coughs and colds increased.

I added some Fritillaria cirrhosa to the pear soup and changed the [Small Pear Soup] into [Roasted Fritillaria cirrhosa].

In addition, purple sweet potato and yam hot drink has also been added.

You can't put all your eggs in one basket. Now my milk pumpkin and purple sweet potato yam are not something that Wang Taohong can easily copy.

Although Wang Taohong has been slandering me in front of other parents, I don't care. I am only focused on building my own brand and never engage in price wars.

However, when I see the dismal daily income that can’t even cover the costs, I still feel a little lost.

Seeing that I was always unhappy after closing the stall, Ye Mu's tone was full of indignation for me: "Sister, do you want me to persuade my classmates not to go to her house to buy things?"

I looked at his serious face and thought it was cute and funny. I patted his head and said, "It's not necessary. Doing business is not easy. If you do this, won't I, your sister, be criticized by others?

"Stick to your original intention. Besides, most of the people who come to this area to buy things are parents. They care the most about what their children eat and drink. Let's wait and see."

Ye Mu wanted to say something, but I knocked him on the head and said, "Don't meddle in adults' business. Your task now is to study hard!"

"I got it..." Ye Mu muttered reluctantly, then went into the house without even eating dinner.

Even if Ye Mu didn't go to school, he would get up at five in the morning to study.

But I didn't see him until ten o'clock on Sunday morning.

I asked my parents and they told me Ye Mu got up early this morning. When asked where he was going, he didn't say anything and just kept putting his hands in his pockets, acting mysterious.

At noon, until the whole family was getting impatient waiting for Ye Mu to eat, he excitedly pushed open the door carrying two large bags: "Sister! Come and see what good things I bought, I want to brag about myself, hahahaha!"

I opened the red plastic bag with confusion, and inside were bags of vacuum-packed fruit rice cakes.

"Isn't this the kind of fruit rice cake that Wang Taohong sells? This thing is actually a semi-finished product?" I was full of surprise.

Ye Mu put his hand on my shoulder and said, "How is it, sister? Your brother is useful, right? I went to all the farmers' markets this morning before I found this one. I said that Wang Taohong's rice cake doesn't look like it's freshly made. Sometimes it's not steamed well, and the inside of the rice cake is hard and cold!

"The key is that these rice cakes I purchased were only one dollar each, but Wang Taohong sold them for four dollars. How shameless! He even had the nerve to say that your pear soup was expensive! I bought this with my pocket money, so remember to pay me back when you make money!"

"Sis, she is unkind and you are unjust, let's set up a pot next to the stall, steam the rice cakes, and sell them for 1.5 yuan, so that she can experience the feeling of having her business taken away!"

As Ye Mu spoke, he became more and more excited, and looked like he was about to start fighting right away.

I suddenly had a headache and smiled bitterly. It was already vicious competition, and now it was going to get even worse.

6

Ye Mu bought fifty bags of rice cakes, ten in each bag, for a total of five hundred.

Our whole family ate it from morning to night for two days in a row, and my dad's blood sugar level increased.

The dried fruits that everyone loved in the past are no longer delicious now that they are stuck together with the rice cakes.

I was very curious, how could kids eat this sticky and tooth-breakingly sweet thing with such relish?

I couldn't finish all the rice cakes, so I stuffed them all in the refrigerator.

When I set up my stall a new week, I found that many customers who later went to Wang Taohong to buy pear soup came back to buy from me.

I was extremely surprised, but couldn't resist gossiping, so I asked indirectly, "What's wrong, brother? Isn't that lady selling pear soup today?"

The eldest brother was also a man of true character. He spoke in a loud voice: "You get what you pay for. You don't know that the soup from her restaurant is so sweet that it makes you sick. My child drank your pear soup for two days and her cough was almost cured. After drinking a few bowls of your soup, she developed pneumonia. The high school schedule is tight, so I have to wait for her to finish her evening self-study and take her to get an IV drip.

"Well, my daughter specifically asked for your pear soup this time, so I came. Girl, listen to my advice, as long as you keep your original intention, your business will be good!"

I smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, brother, my pear soup is not only without technology and hard work, but also contains Sichuan Fritillaria, and it is never left overnight. The unsold ones are drunk by myself as breakfast the next day."

My brother politely paid for the pear soup and left, but our conversation reached Wang Taohong's ears.

She stood in front of the stall holding a soup spoon and glared at me fiercely: "You are just a yellow-haired girl. You think you are so capable after running a stall for a few days."

This time she challenged me in person, so I didn't tolerate it any more: "Customers are not fools. Imitation of inferior goods will never be accepted."

A double entendre.

In the following days, Wang Taohong's business became worse and worse. After school, apart from the students who went to buy her fruit glutinous rice cake and pear soup, almost no parents came to patronize her.

Parents who used to buy pear soup from my house gradually came back.

They sat in a circle, drinking soup and chatting with each other.

​‍‍‍​‍‍‍‍‍‍‍​​​​‍‍​‍​​‍​​​​​​​​‍‍‍​​‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍​​​​​‍‍​​​‍​‍‍​​​‍ ​​‍​‍‍‍‍‍​​‍‍​​‍‍​‍ ‍‍​‍​‍​‍‍​​​​‍​​‍‍​​​​‍‍‍​​​​‍‍​​​​‍​‍‍‍‍​‍‍‍​​​‍‍​​​​‍​‍‍‍​ ​​‍​‍‍​‍‍‍​​‍‍‍‍​​​‍‍ ​​​​​​‍‍​​​​​‍‍‍​‍‍​​​‍​​​‍‍​​​​‍​‍‍‍​​​​​​ ‍‍​‍​​‍​‍‍​​‍​​​​‍‍‍​ ‍​​​‍‍​‍​‍​​‍‍​​‍​​​​‍​​​​‍‍​‍​​​​​​ ​‍‍​‍‍‍​​‍‍​​​​​‍‍​​​​​​‍‍​‍‍​​ ‍​​​​​​​‍‍​​​‍‍​‍‍​​​​​​​​​​‍‍‍‍​​​​​​​​​‍​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ‍‍​‍​​‍‍‍‍‍‍‍​​‍‍​​‍‍ ​‍​​‍​‍‍​‍‍‍​​‍‍​​​​​‍‍‍​​​​​​​​‍​​‍‍​​​​​​‍‍‍‍‍ ​‍‍‍​‍‍‍‍​​​​‍‍​‍​​‍​‍‍​​‍ ​​​​‍‍‍​‍​​‍‍‍​‍‍‍‍​‍‍‍‍‍​​​​‍‍​‍‍‍‍​‍‍‍‍‍‍​​​​‍‍ ​​​​​​‍‍​‍‍​​‍‍‍​‍​​​​‍‍​‍​​​​‍‍​​​​‍‍​​​​‍‍‍​​​​‍‍‍​​​​‍‍​‍‍​‍‍​​‍‍​​ "After all, it's something made by young people, so it looks clean."

"You know what, this girl looks so young, but the food she makes is actually delicious. My son has never liked pumpkin since he was a kid, but this milk pumpkin shop actually asked me to buy him a cup every day after school."

"The soup made from dozens of pears is different. The Tremella has become gelatinous and it makes your mouth sticky when you drink it. You can't make it yourself."

......

A short and fat man who often drinks free pear soup from me, holding an empty cup in his hand, said to me: "Don't think you are just licking it without buying anything. I am very picky about food. If it is not delicious, I will not drink it even if you give it to me. The taste of that restaurant is far inferior to yours. You are just standing here."

What surprised me the most was that the grandparents who came to pick up their grandchildren, who had asked about the price and thought it was expensive, bought a cup and

Basically, whenever I go to the stall, people will come to buy a cup for their children.

Even if I get tired of pear soup, I will buy other hot drinks.

And even though Wang Taohong's pear soup was cheaper than mine, they never bought it.

It turns out that the love grandparents have for their grandchildren is different. They may think something is expensive, but they will spend money on their children without any hesitation.

7

Wang Taohong's business is going from bad to worse day by day.

Later, she put away all the pots and pans and returned to her old business, selling only fruit glutinous rice cakes.

If I didn't know better before, I would have thought she didn't make much money just selling glutinous rice cakes.

But since I knew that what she bought were semi-finished products and that she made a net profit of three dollars per stick, I stopped feeling sorry for her.

In fact, if the glutinous rice cakes sell well every day, students can earn hundreds of yuan even if they only sell 30 pieces in the half hour after school.

But she ended up losing more than she gained, and instead tried to steal my business, which ended up ruining her own reputation.

The vendors around here basically ignored him, and Brother Li always said that she had a bad character.

I thought Wang Taohong would be quiet for a while after this incident, but I didn't expect that she would play tricks behind my back.

We had just set up our stall that day and I was making pear soup for customers.

Two urban management officers in uniform suddenly appeared in front of my stall. They held up law enforcement recorders and took pictures from all angles while chasing me.

Since my stall is at the outside and is the only way for parents to pass, the urban management staff can see me at first sight.

At this time, Brother Li's stall was surrounded by people, but he was unaware of it and was still enthusiastically greeting the parents waiting in line.

I shouted, "The urban management is here!"

Brother Li immediately stopped talking, and the other stall owners also acted like a cat seeing a mouse. They stopped taking money, stopped selling goods, and just ran away with their carts.

I saw their cars driving past my stall one after another. My stall was a set up table and two thermos buckets weighing dozens of kilograms. I had no time to run away and could only stand there and pack up slowly.

When Brother Li passed by me, he gave me a look that said "I wish you good luck".

So, I packed up my stall under the concentrated [care] of the urban management and the comprehensive filming.

Fortunately, this is not the era of violent law enforcement. The two urban management brothers were still very polite: "You look quite young, and you just started to set up a stall. We will not accept your goods today. Don't come again next time. The reporting phone number of this place has been flooded with calls in the past two days!"

I nodded and said politely: "Yes, yes, I won't come next time."

The urban management officer circled the school gate twice, got into the car and stayed there for half an hour, then got out, took a few photos around and left.

Within two minutes, the stall owners came back on their bikes to continue setting up their stalls.

I followed closely behind him and set up the table again.

Everyone's business was affected because they missed the peak period when students were leaving school.

When closing the stall, everyone gathered together to chat and the quarrel was over.

Unexpectedly, the urban management came again the next day.

This time they stayed longer, until 10 o'clock when all the senior high school students were dismissed from school.

It is simply not possible to rely solely on the purchasing power of the senior year.

My total income was only 30 yuan, not to mention the other stall owners, who had a lot of prepared ingredients left over.

This time, everyone was a little unhappy and complained that business was not doing well.

The man selling roujiamo suspected that the report call was made by the school security guard and suggested giving the security guard two boxes of cigarettes.

Everyone agreed and each contributed 44 yuan.

The urban management officers didn't come on the third and fourth days, and everyone thought the smoke was effective.

But on the fifth day, the urban management came again!

8

There were two city management officers, one tall and one short. The taller one spoke more fiercely: "How many times have I reminded you not to display your items? Do you want us to take all your items away?"

After his roar, the stall owners had no choice but to push their carts away.

After the urban management officers left, everyone gathered together and their anger reached its peak.

"Why is this security guard like this? He has already collected the cigarettes, why is he calling to complain?"

"That's right, report him and accept bribes in private."

"I heard that it wasn't the security guard who called, but a parent complained that we were occupying the road for business."

"Bah! Whose road are we occupying? This gap is right for construction, big cars can't get in, small cars can't get in, and only people like us are here to do business. Why didn't he tell us that this spot is only five meters wide, and a pothole hasn't been repaired for half a year!"

"Damn it! We haven't been open for a few days. I won't come tomorrow!"

"I'm not coming either. Do you have any other good places to go? This place in Yigao is no longer for sale."

......

Everyone talked to each other and agreed not to set up stalls in front of Yigao Gate from tomorrow onwards.

Brother Li asked me if I would like to go to the gate of his community. I thought I was just picking up my brother and setting up a stall at the same time, so I thanked him and declined.

There had been no one setting up stalls in front of No. 1 High School for several days in a row, and parents who usually liked to buy snacks for their children began to get anxious.

"What a shame for the city management. People setting up stalls here aren't causing any trouble, so why are they chasing them away?"

"That's right, the economy is in a downturn and life is already difficult, so we should just turn a blind eye to these people who make a living by setting up stalls!"

"Hey! My child insisted on having pear soup and a meat and egg burger, and asked me to make a reservation in advance. It's been several days, but I haven't bought anything."

"Eh? Look, there's a stall coming!"

"Isn't that the guy who sold glutinous rice cakes before? How come his equipment has been upgraded and his car has become so big!?"

These parents were standing next to my car chatting. When I heard their exclamations, I looked out of the car.

Wang Taohong was seen riding a modified giant mobile food truck, scraping against the branches on both sides of the road, and the sense of oppression was slowly fading.

The dining car was equipped with all the necessary kitchen utensils. She drove the car directly to the pedestrian walkway at the school gate, and after maneuvering back and forth for a long time, she finally found a suitable position.

After a while she got out of the car and set up a stove at the door to steam glutinous rice cakes.

He opened the front tailgate, lit the oil and started making meat and egg burgers.

There were a few large grilled wings spinning next to it.

She turned on the lights in the dining car, and a row of eye-catching large characters came into view: [Meat and egg burger, pear soup, burrito, grilled sausage, grilled wings, meat sandwich, oden]

Wow, she has put all the items sold from nearby stalls into one cart.

There are so many types, can she finish them all?

Parents nearby had been waiting for many days and when they finally saw a snack stand coming, they all swarmed over.

I took a photo and sent it to Brother Li, [Brother, Wang Taohong disappeared for so many days and suddenly appeared. She even set up a food truck and sold everything that everyone else sold.]

Thirty seconds after the message was sent, Brother Li sent a voice message.

"This woman is really a bastard. I asked someone and found out that she was the one who called the Urban Management Bureau every day to report us. Didn't you notice that she didn't come during the days when we were chased away by the Urban Management Bureau?"

That's true.

When Wang Taohong was away, the urban management staff came for a week.

The urban management officials didn’t come today, so it seemed like she had come here at a specific time to set up her stall.

Wang Taohong was standing on the dining car with a smile on her face.

"Those stalls are no longer here. From now on, you can just come to my house to buy."

"Don't you know who I am? I serve students. The food is clean and the price is very favorable."

Looking at Wang Taohong's smug look, I felt like a huge stone was blocking my chest and I felt uncomfortable.

If she doesn't let us do business, then I can't let her do business well.

9

After discussing with Brother Li, we decided to try our luck by setting up a stall in front of the gate of No. 1 High School. The urban management staff can’t really come every day.

In order to make it easier to close the stall, I put the things directly in the back of the car.

Nine o'clock in the evening is the time for food trucks to set up their stalls.

But at this time everyone was stuck at the traffic light and couldn't get through.

Normally, parents who drive will park their cars in front of the stalls, but they will leave some space for the snack stall owners to make it easier for cars to pass through and for parents riding electric bicycles to pass through.

At this time, the narrow passage was blocked by Wang Taohong's huge food truck, and the sound of horns was heard one after another.

Brother Li couldn't help but shout, "What are you dithering for? Hurry up and move forward!"

Wang Taohong pretended to be helpless: "Oh, my car is too big. I can't go any further. I can only park here."

"Why don't you just back out and let our cars go in first and then you can drive in?"

"The road behind me is also blocked by you guys. I can't go in from the front and I can't go out from the back, so I'll just stop here and sell it!"

Now everyone else was annoyed. “What the hell are you talking about? You’re taking up such a big space, and you’re asking us to set up our stall in the middle of the road. What if we get hit by a car?”

Wang Taohong looked indifferent, "You are blind, it's your bad luck."

Roujiamo brother was anxious, "What the hell are you talking about? Believe it or not, I will overturn your car!"

As he said this, he was about to jump into the car and pull Wang Taohong down.

The other stall owners hurried forward to stop him, "Forget it, brother. Don't bother with her. We are all small businesses, so let's be merciful. If we can't sell it here, we can go to the next place!"

"Brother, that's not what I meant. This woman has bullied us. She sells whatever others sell. Without Yigao, we will lose 200 to 300 yuan a day. How can we give in?"

Wang Taohong had an expression that said, "What can you do to me?" and started heating the pot.

Everyone was so angry that they gnashed their teeth, but there was nothing they could do about her, so they had to park the car in the middle of the road.

But if this continues, not only will it cause traffic congestion due to occupying the road, causing dissatisfaction and further complaints from parents, but it is also very unsafe to park there.

This is still okay at the moment, but once the large number of students leave the school gate, people and cars will be stuck in traffic, and scratches and collisions are common.

But luckily I came early today and parked my car in front of where I usually set up my stall.

I signaled to Chicken Wings Brother and Oden Sister to make way and drove out.

After everyone parked in one after another, I backed the car back.

Sister Oden smiled and said, "Beautiful lady, luckily you drove here and took up a seat, otherwise we would have a hard time doing business today."

Wang Taohong stood on the food truck with a provocative look on her face: "Even if you park here, it doesn't matter. With my food truck here, you won't be able to make any money!"

Everyone just thought she was a clown and no one paid any attention to her.

10

My pear soup has gained a good reputation. As soon as I open the trunk, parents will come over when they smell the aroma.

The pear soup and purple sweet potato and yam dumplings were sold out before the students even left school.

After the things were sold out, I took out the sealed oven that I had prepared in advance from the car.

Then he took out all the glutinous rice cakes that had been prepared in the back seat and put them on the stove to steam.

While the glutinous rice cakes were being steamed, I had nothing to do, so I went around one stall and then to another to chat.

After a while, steam came out of the pot, and Wang Taohong kept glancing at me with her eyes slanted.

Seeing how curious she was, I took out a small blackboard with the words: [Fruit glutinous rice cake, 1.5 yuan each] written on it.

Wang Taohong's eyes widened: "You... you dare to steal my business?"

"Why, glutinous rice cakes are your patent, so you are allowed to sell them but others are not?"

Wang Taohong was anxious, "Then you can't set up in front of my stall, and you're only selling for 1.5 yuan, how can I do business?"

Did she ever think about others when she was stealing other people's business?

I sneered and moved the stove again, directly in front of her dining cart.

"Then I'll put it here. I made my own pear soup for eight dollars and you go around saying I'm expensive. Then you sell the glutinous rice cakes you wholesale from the farmers' market for four dollars each, isn't that not unscrupulous?"

When parents who usually buy glutinous rice cakes for their children heard that this glutinous rice cake was not handmade but a pre-made semi-finished product, they asked: "Boss, didn't you say that this was made by yourself without any additives?"

"I bought it for my children because you said it was healthy. You are selling dog meat under the guise of sheep meat!"

Wang Taohong explained palely: "No... No, this is made by my family. She sells it for 1.5 yuan, but it doesn't even cover my cost."

I didn't argue with her anymore and directly took a few steamed glutinous rice cakes from the pot and handed them to the parents around me.

"Uncle and aunt, try it and see if it tastes the same."

They took it and tasted it. "Yes, it tastes the same. Even the words engraved on the stick are the same."

I took the opportunity to introduce: "They sell the same glutinous rice cakes for four yuan, and I sell them for one and a half yuan. The main point is that I don't make any money, but I just want to have fun."

When Ye Mu bought the glutinous rice cake before, I didn’t want to start a price war with Wang Taohong and embarrass her, so I kept it in the refrigerator.

Now seeing how arrogant and domineering she is, I want to punish her, and glutinous rice cake comes in handy.

That night, all my glutinous rice cakes were sold out, but Wang Taohong didn't sell a single one.

Few people buy other snacks because they don’t taste good.

She was so angry that she gritted her teeth, rushed to me, and raised her hand to slap me.

Ye Mu had just finished school. The 1.88-meter tall guy stood in front of me and said, "Old woman, what do you want to do?" Wang Taohong immediately became scared.

The other snack stall owners came forward and surrounded her, hurling all kinds of nasty insults at her, but none of them could outshine Wang Taohong.

Wang Taohong spat, and everyone realized that they had made a fool of themselves and rode away on their bikes in disappointment.

I got into the car and was about to start it when I heard Wang Taohong yelling through the window: "Fuck! Who the hell let the air out of my car?"

I couldn't help laughing out loud. Seeing this, Ye Mu looked puzzled: "Sister, what are you laughing at? Could it be you who put it there?"

I raised three fingers and said, "God is my witness, I didn't do this!"

"Ah? Who else could it be?"

Who? Who knows, maybe it was a snack stand owner who wanted to retaliate, or maybe it was a passerby who couldn't stand it.

11

Wang Taohong did something so bad that no one wanted to pay any attention to her.

She still comes to the stall every day, but because my glutinous rice cakes cost 1.5 yuan, in order to avoid having a backlog of goods, she can only sell them cheaper than me. After calculating all the costs, she doesn't make a penny.

In addition, because the food tasted bad and was served slowly, parents gradually became unwilling to go to her house to buy food.

We set up a small group privately, and we would share with each other where there are no urban management officers and where we can sell things.

Wang Taohong often came to ask questions with a flattering face, but when everyone saw her coming, they pretended not to see her. The originally lively atmosphere of chatting came to an abrupt end and immediately became quiet.

Wang Taohong didn't feel embarrassed at all, and rubbed her greasy apron on the man's arm: "We have been setting up the stall for so long, we are colleagues, it won't hurt to tell me."

"What colleague? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? You have done too much to steal other people's employees. Your forehead is blue. You will be punished!"

As school was about to start, I ended my stall experience early because I had to pack my luggage and meet up with friends.

Brother Li told me that stall lines have been drawn at the entrance of No. 1 High School, so people no longer need to hide when setting up stalls.

But the space is limited, there are only eight stalls, and except for Wang Taohong, there is just one stall for each of us.

I thought about it, Brother Li has been taking good care of me during the time I was setting up the stall. His sister-in-law usually takes care of two children at home alone, so Brother Li is under a lot of pressure.

Pear soup and various hot drinks can be prepared at home in advance and brought over in Brother Li’s car in the evening, which does not cost much.

The most important thing is that the couple works together, each with a stall, one selling meat and egg burgers and the other selling pear soup, which is a best of both worlds.

So I gave my sister-in-law the secret recipes for making various hot drinks. To thank me, Brother Li waved his hand and said, "I have paid for your brother's midnight snacks for the past three years. From now on, I will provide free meat and egg burgers for your whole family when they come to eat!"

After setting up stalls for a long time, I have developed some feelings for everyone, and I have never left the stall setting group that I joined.

Not only do people share their experience in setting up stalls in the group, they also often chat about gossip.

Wang Meili, who sells burritos: [Wang Taohong is here again. When she puts her cart forward, it blocks all of our stalls. I quickly called the city management office to complain.]

Brother Li stopped what he was doing, took a sip of the pear soup and smacked his lips: "Xiaoye, your pear soup is really good! I can tell it's made of good ingredients the minute I drink it."

"—Ping" I clicked on her accompanying picture. Wang Taohong's fancy food truck was straddling the green belt at the traffic light intersection. It looked like it was speeding when turning, and then braked and crashed into the green belt.

All the pots, pans, and utensils inside were knocked out, and all kinds of food were scattered all over the floor.

Wang Taohong sat on a stone by the roadside with a pale face, frowning and crying loudly.

The Roujiamo boss said that her food cart was scrapped and could no longer be used.

Because the green belt is a public facility, Wang Taohong damaged five bricks and two square meters of flowers and plants, and the municipal government demanded 20,000 yuan in compensation.

Later, I was busy with my internship and no longer paid much attention to the messages in the group.

When I went to pick up Ye Mu from No. 1 High School after school during the summer vacation, Brother Li's stall was as prosperous as ever.

My sister-in-law was selling ice jelly and cold drinks at the stall next door, and her business seemed to be pretty good.

When Brother Li saw me coming, he greeted me warmly. I looked around and saw that there were more and more stalls nearby, obviously twice as many as when I first set up the stall half a year ago.

I asked Brother Li out of curiosity: "Brother Li, aren't there only eight stalls? Aren't you afraid that the urban management will come and chase you away with so many stalls?"

Brother Li was busy frying eggs, not even looking up: "If no one reported it, the urban management would not come."

"You don't know, the reason why the city management came so frequently before was because of Wang Taohong, the bad apple. Now she doesn't come to set up a stall anymore. We are all very friendly here, and everyone's business is doing well."

I was even more surprised, "Wang Taohong is not setting up a stall anymore?"

My sister-in-law said, "Oh no! Xiaoye, you may not know this, but Wang Taohong's leg is broken and she can only use a wheelchair."

"Ah?" I just arrived and received shocking news.

"Didn't she crash into a green belt a few years ago? Not only did she not pay the government money, she simply repaired the scrapped food truck and continued to use it on the road. At that traffic light, her brakes broke and she collided with a dump truck. Fortunately, she survived."

"oh......"

When I heard the news, I didn't feel very happy, but I didn't feel any sympathy either. After all, Wang Taohong's character is really not very good. She is narrow-minded and vindictive. She has no emotional intelligence and doesn't know how to do business. She is really unlikable.

People will eventually pay the price for the foolish things they do.

Day after day, year after year, no one mentioned Wang Taohong anymore. Everyone was working hard to make a living.

Later, the Wings Brother made a fortune by speculating in stocks, and setting up stalls became his side job when he was bored.

The oden lady and the burrito aunt opened a shop together and their business is booming.

Brother Roujiamo also opened a restaurant, but Brother Li still makes a living by setting up stalls with his sister-in-law.

But Li Ge makes as much money as he does from a stall. In his words, "I make money from selling 100 egg burgers every day, but if I open a store, even if I sell 200 egg burgers every day, 100 of them will still be for the landlord. It's not cost-effective."

I only recently found out that Brother Li took an order from a factory after the New Year. He only takes pre-orders at Yigao every day, and spends the rest of his time in a factory with 500 workers, making meat and egg burgers for others. He earns 3,000 yuan a day, and his life is getting better and better.

Ordinary people do ordinary things. Although the threshold for setting up a stall is low, there are many tricks involved. You will understand after experiencing it once.

--over--