Chapter 211: Chapter 204: New Ideas for Trade
The apartment she paid through monthly payments years ago, spanning over a hundred square meters, would take her 30 years to fully pay off. By the time she completed the payments, she would have grown from a young woman into an elderly lady. She bit the bullet and paid off the remaining sum all at once, only to find out that the apartment had eventually become someone else’s home and had nothing to do with her anymore. That apartment is now worth over a million, and they now own two apartments. In the future when their financial situation improves, she intends to buy another one in Beijing. Thinking about the future property prices for homes in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, her heart aches and feels as though it’s shattering into pieces.
Therefore, the current thousand or two is already equivalent to a back payment of hundreds of thousands in the future.
She is very supportive of her father starting a business. Besides being freed from a life of toiling and drudgery, he could make more money, and his horizons and perspectives would broaden over time.
Li Tang Village had always been like a well; only a strip of the sky could be seen from there. However, the outside world offered the entire sky.
Tang Zhinian discussed the idea with Tang Zhijun. Tang Zhijun was naturally open to it. In fact, he had been keen on trying it out last time, but his older brother was only accompanying Mr. Chen to test the waters. The success of this venture remained to be seen. However, now it’s proven to be profitable, and the earlier they started, the more money they could make.
The two deliberated over the idea for a few days. When Mr. Chen visited them with a face full of happiness, Tang Yuxin knew that he had successfully sold his cassette tapes. Although each tape might only have been sold for five or six dollars, and it took three days to sell them all, at least they were all sold. This venture had likely made a sizeable profit of at least over a thousand dollars, which was equivalent to half a year’s worth of his salary. If he consistently did this, he could potentially earn a year’s worth of income in just a few months. If he worked more diligently, he could soon become a ten-thousand-yuan household, and they wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. He could then afford to buy whatever his son wanted, get his wife a gold jewelry set. He felt ashamed for having neglected his wife and son over the years. Despite earning a decent monthly wage, he had never bought any earrings for his wife. Even though Tang Zhijun was a farmer, his wife, Zhang Xiangcao, had gold earrings, necklaces, and rings. And at home, Tang Zhijun never let her lift a finger, so she almost looked as young as she did in her twenties despite being over thirty. She didn’t have to work, she wore good clothes every day, and she had a good husband.
While the factory offered to mail the tapes home, they insisted on carrying them back themselves. They were extra careful and timid when doing business.
However, being cautious was a good thing. At least their business was running steadily.
Tang Zhijun quickly formulated a plan. He took five hundred tapes and set up a stand near a university in the wholesale market. He also followed what Tang Yu Xinxin had suggested: seven dollars a box, buy five get one free, buy ten get two free, and buy a hundred get a tape recorder. Of course, the idea of giving away tape recorders was his own.
A tape recorder now costs just over a hundred dollars. If they sold a hundred tapes at seven dollars each, they could make five hundred dollars. Even after deducting the cost of the tape recorder, they could still make over four hundred dollars.
However, he was overthinking. There was a limit to how many tapes they could sell. After all, tapes were not daily necessities, like food, clothing, and sleep. As soon as everyone had a few tapes, business would naturally slow down. However, this was a minor issue. At the very least, they could still sell tapes for a year, and when they couldn’t sell anymore after a year, they would think again.
They put the tape recorder aside and paid a nearby shop ten dollars to use their electricity. They played the most popular songs of the time, and within a short while, they had attracted many young people. There were university students, high school students, and even junior high school students.
At the sight of these cassette tapes, the young people’s feet seemed to be glued to the ground — they were just too appealing. On top of that, there were free tape recorders, as long as you bought a certain amount, and they were a few dollars cheaper than in other malls.
People were immediately tempted. If the conditions were not favorable, they could pool resources to buy together. Afterward, they could use the tape recorder in the dormitory.