Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

The joy of victory did not last long; Luo Xiyuan quickly calmed down.

"Dad, Mom, we have to get back quickly. I reckon more people will realize what's happening this afternoon or tomorrow and go to town to buy supplies. We need to get ahead of them and do a second round of restocking."

Her thinking was very clear. The market is constantly changing, and one success does not guarantee future success. They currently possess a first-mover advantage, which they must maximize.

"Go...go again?" Li Minxia was a little surprised, still immersed in the great joy of earning more than 600 yuan.

"Yes! We have to go right away!" Luo Xiyuan's tone left no room for argument. "We sold out this morning, which means the market demand is much greater than we imagined. And we've only covered a small portion of the village; many people haven't bought anything. Tomorrow, we'll not only sell in our village, but also set up our stall in the neighboring Wangjia Village!"

The fact that this word came from the mouth of a fourteen-year-old girl left Luo Xinde and Li Minxia feeling both unfamiliar and shocked.

Luo Xinde's business acumen had been completely ignited, and he immediately understood what his daughter meant.

"Xiyuan is right! Let's strike while the iron is hot! Now everyone in the village knows that the Luo family's vegetables are good and reasonably priced. If we go to buy more, there will definitely be more buyers!" He slapped his thigh. "Minxia, ​​let's go home! Let's leave right away!"

The family got right to work, quickly packed up their stall, and drove their tractor home amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the villagers.

Back home, they didn't even have time to rest before immediately starting to tally up their earnings for the day.

Luo Wen poured all the money from his purse onto the table, and the family of four gathered around to count it. One-yuan notes, five-yuan notes, ten-yuan notes, and a large number of small bills piled up into a small mountain.

This was the first time in their family's history that they had ever seen so much cash.

The final total amount was 1,085.5 yuan, 50 cents more than Luo Wen's initial calculation.

"We now have... 1,085.5 yuan, plus the remaining 500 yuan of principal, for a total of 1,585.5 yuan!" Li Minxia's voice trembled as she announced the number.

"Dad, Mom, my suggestion is to keep 385.5 yuan as a reserve and for household expenses, and use the rest... 1200 yuan to buy more goods!" Luo Xiyuan proposed her plan.

"1,200 yuan?!" Luo Xinde and Li Minxia both gasped.

This is almost three times the initial investment! This is an even bigger gamble.

"Yes!" Luo Xiyuan nodded. "This time, we're not only going to stock up on vegetables and meat, but also some new items. For example, eggs, noodles, and maybe even a small amount of fruit, like apples and oranges. Who doesn't want to buy some fruit as New Year's gifts?"

Her ideas were bolder and more comprehensive.

Having learned from their first success, Luo Xinde and Li Minxia did not hesitate this time.

"Okay! I'll do as you say!" Luo Xinde nodded emphatically.

After a quick bite of food, Luo Xinde, with the huge sum of 1,200 yuan in his pocket, once again set off with Uncle Chen in a tractor towards the town.

This time, their goals were bigger, and their spirits were even higher.

Luo Xiyuan stayed at home. Instead of being idle, she pulled her mother and younger brother together to start preparing for tomorrow's "two-front battle".

"Mom, do we have any relatives in Wangjia Village next door?" Luo Xiyuan asked.

"Yes, your third aunt's family lives in Wangjia Village."

"Could you go to your third aunt's house right now and tell her that we're going to sell fresh vegetables and meat at the entrance of her village tomorrow, and ask her to help promote it in the village? Just say that the goods are guaranteed to be good and the prices are fair."

This is called pre-market warm-up, locking in customers in advance.

"Okay, I'll go right away!" Li Minxia immediately understood her daughter's intention.

"Little brother," Luo Xiyuan said to her younger brother, "go find those friends in the village who are close to you, and have them go from house to house and spread a message that our Luo family will be selling vegetables at the usual place at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. We'll have even more stuff, as well as eggs and fruit. Tell them to come early, or they'll be sold out!"

This is called precision marketing and word-of-mouth marketing.

One afternoon, the entire Luo family mobilized. By evening, almost everyone in their village and the neighboring Wangjia Village knew the news: the Luo family was going to make a big move the next day—to sell even more goods!

In the evening, Luo Xinde and Uncle Chen returned.

This time, they not only brought back a truck full of vegetables and meat, but also several boxes of apples and oranges, as well as several large baskets of eggs and noodles, which were tied to the back of the truck bed with ropes.

The tractor was crammed full of goods worth 1,200 yuan, leaving almost no room to put one's feet down.

Unloading, sorting, packing...

Another sleepless night.

This time, however, the Luo family felt no anxiety, only boundless anticipation for a bountiful harvest tomorrow.

The next day, before dawn, the Luo family split into two groups.

Luo Xinde and Li Shuzhen drove their tractor, loaded with more than half of the goods, straight to Wangjia Village next door.

Luo Xiyuan and Luo Wen used their family's handcart to pull the remaining half of the goods to the village market.

When Luo Xiyuan and Luo Wen arrived at the market, they found that the situation today was completely different from yesterday.

Several stalls had already been set up at the market. These were the stalls belonging to Boss Li and his men, who had been envious of their business yesterday. They had followed the Luo family's example and brought in some vegetables and meat, although the quality and quantity were far inferior to the Luo family's, they were putting on an act of challenging the Luo family to a duel.

When Boss Li saw that only two children, Luo Xiyuan and Luo Wen, had come today, a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, why did the Luo family send two kids today? Where are the adults? Did they make money yesterday and now they look down on this little business?" he said sarcastically.

Luo Xiyuan ignored him completely and, together with Luo Wen, slowly set up their stall.

Although their stock wasn't large, it was comprehensive. They had not only crisp cabbages, but also golden oranges and bright red apples, along with a basket of fresh eggs.

These items were not available at Mr. Li's stall.

This is differentiated competition.

Soon, the villagers arrived at the market one after another. Their eyes widened when they saw the fruit and eggs at Luo's stall.

"There are apples! And oranges!"

"How much are the eggs?"

The villagers bypassed Boss Li's stall and surrounded Luo Xiyuan and Luo Wen in a huge crowd.

"Apples are 1.5 yuan a pound, oranges are 1.2 yuan a pound! Eggs are 3 yuan a pound, all freshly laid!" Luo Xiyuan shouted loudly.

Although the price wasn't cheap, everyone was willing to spend the money because the snow disaster was just starting to show signs of improvement, supplies were scarce, and the Lunar New Year was approaching.

Once again, the stalls of Boss Li and his group were deserted. Their faces were extremely grim. They had thought they could compete with the Luo family today, but the Luo family didn't play by the rules at all and attracted all the customers away.

They wanted to lower their prices, but their vegetables were already cheaper than Luo's, and lowering them further would mean losing money.

"Damn it, that Luo girl is incredibly cunning!" Boss Li cursed angrily.

While Luo Xiyuan's business was booming, her parents in Wangjia Village were also facing their own battle.

Wangjia Village was larger and had a larger population than their own village. Thanks to Auntie's advance notice, as soon as Luo Xinde and Li Minxia's tractor arrived at the village entrance, it was surrounded by villagers who had heard the news.

"Is this Old Luo's family selling vegetables?"

"Where's the meat? I want ten pounds!"

"Give me five cabbages!"

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia were selling vegetables independently for the first time. At first, they were a little flustered, but they quickly adapted to the rhythm.

Li Minxia was in charge of weighing the vegetables and collecting money, while Luo Xinde was in charge of chopping meat and maintaining order. The couple worked together seamlessly, and by the end of the morning, they had sold more than half of the goods from a tractor-trailer.

Around noon, Luo Xiyuan and Luo Wen sold all the goods on their cart and returned home with the empty cart.

As soon as I arrived at my doorstep, I saw my parents returning in their tractor, with very little cargo left on it.

"Dad! Mom!" Luo Xiyuan went to greet them.

"Xiyuan! It's all sold out! The people of Wangjia Village are such big buyers!" Li Minxia jumped off the car, her face beaming with undisguised excitement. She stuffed a money bag, even bulging than yesterday's, into her daughter's hand.

The family of four reunited victoriously in their own yard!

This time, instead of counting the money, they first enjoyed a hearty lunch.

After the meal, the exciting moment of tallying up the spoils arrived once again.

After combining the sales figures from both groups, Luo Wen, holding an abacus, clicked away rapidly. Finally, he raised his head and, in a trembling voice, announced a number that made everyone hold their breath:

"Today's total sales... two thousand three hundred and sixty yuan!"

Two thousand three hundred and sixty yuan!

After deducting the cost of 1,200 yuan, today's net profit reached 1,160 yuan!

One day, the net profit exceeded one thousand yuan!

Luo Xinde and Li Minxia sat there blankly, feeling like their brains couldn't process what they were seeing.

Happiness came too suddenly and too intensely.

If making money for the first time was a pleasant surprise, and the second time was exciting, then this time was a complete shock.

Looking at the mountain of colorful banknotes on the table, they truly felt for the first time that their family's fate was about to be completely rewritten.

Seeing her parents' shocked expressions, Luo Xiyuan was secretly plotting an even bigger plan.

Selling vegetables is just a temporary measure. The market will quickly return to normal after the snow disaster, and this business won't last long.

What she wanted to do was use this initial capital to do a truly sustainable, large-scale business that could completely lift the Luo family out of poverty.

And this opportunity is coming soon.

She looked up and said to her still-shocked parents:

"Dad, Mom, we're not selling vegetables tomorrow."

"Huh? Why?" Luo Xinde and Li Minxia asked in unison.

"Because," Luo Xiyuan's eyes gleamed with wisdom, "we want to use the money we earn to do something even more important."