Chapter 20: Chapter 020 Free Tasting
Translator: 549690339
“This is a family craft, not to be shared.” Zhuang Qingning smiled and said, “Since you find it tasty, ma’am, would you like two more pieces?”
“How could one simply eat tofu without paying? I indeed find the taste good, and I was planning to buy some tofu in the afternoon to cook with. I was going to stop by the Changji Tofu Shop after I finished selling my fried chop rice cake. Now it seems like I don’t have to, I can buy it from you directly.”
While speaking, Mrs. Liu took out her purse: “You said your tofu is one coin per tael? Give me two taels.”
“Sure thing.” Zhuang Qingning happily agreed, weighing the tofu carefully: “Since it’s my first day of business, I’m offering two and a half taels of tofu for two coins. I’ll give you three taels.”
Mrs. Liu, a seasoned small business owner, knew the weight as soon as she held it in her hand. Her smile broadened as she handed over the money.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Zhuang Qingning accepted with a bright smile.
“What’s there to thank for? It’s natural to pay for what you buy,” Mrs. Liu said, “Are you selling tofu again tomorrow?”
“My grandson at home loves tofu balls. He won’t eat properly if there aren’t any tofu balls in the soup or in his meals. Your tofu is delicious, so I guess the fried tofu balls would be as well. If you come tomorrow, I’ll buy again.”
“My tofu hot pot is bubbling away at home, how could I possibly stop?” Zhuang Qingning smiled: “I’ll keep a piece for you tomorrow, ma’am.”
“Sure thing.” Mrs. Liu grinned, placing the tofu carefully in the basket underneath her fried chop rice cake.
“Hey, I say, is your tofu really as delicious as you claim it to be?”
On the side selling pea cake was an old man named Ge Hetong. Seeing Mrs. Liu’s prompt purchase, he expressed surprise: “Are you two putting on some kind of show?”
“I didn’t like what you just said.” Mrs. Liu’s face dropped instantly when she heard this: “At my age, do you think I’d lie?”
“Moreover, I’ve been selling my fried chop rice cake here for a long time. Have you ever seen me praising other’s things like this? These two girls are here for the first time yet you think they’d trick me? For this tofu priced one coin per tael, do you really think I’d go through all that trouble?”
“You have a point.” Ge Hetong stroked his sparse goatee, contemplating the tofu in front of Zhuang Qingning, “Is this tofu really better than the one from Changji Tofu Shop?”
“Why not try it to find out?” Zhuang Qingning suggested, “If it’s not tasty, don’t buy it. There’s no harm in trying a piece.”
Curious why Mrs. Liu, who usually looked down on his pea cake, would compliment this tofu, Ge Hetong decided to give it a try himself.
“Hmm?” After tasting, Ge Hetong was quite surprised: “Wow, this really is better than the tofu from Changji Tofu Shop.”
While he was speaking, he picked up another piece to eat: “This isn’t bad at all. I can go home and fry it, or mix it with chives and some glass noodles, even stuff it into vegetarian buns with some garlic…”
“What did I say?” Mrs. Liu rolled her eyes at Ge Hetong: “This tofu is delicious, isn’t it? Can I fool you with a piece of tofu? How about it, do you want to buy some to fry for lunch?”
“Well…”
Ge Hetong shrank his neck: “I barely make any money selling pea cakes every day. Do you know how much there is left for me after giving it to my family? If one coin is missing, I’ll be interrogated. My family didn’t ask me to buy tofu, how dare I do so?”
“So you’re not buying after all this talk?” Mrs. Liu scoffed: “You just took two pieces of her tofu, and at your age, you still want to freeload off others? Aren’t you ashamed?”
“Who said I freeloaded off her?” Hearing this, Ge Hetong’s face turned red to the roots of his ears, he declared: “I just didn’t buy it today. It doesn’t mean I won’t buy it tomorrow. I’ll discuss it with my family when I go home. If they agree, I’ll buy a piece.”
“Besides, they came to sell tofu here, it’s not a one-time thing. I will still have many opportunities to buy in the future, won’t I?”
“All this talk is because you can’t make decisions on your own.” Mrs. Liu dismissed him and turned her direction to Zhuang Qingning: “You are a good girl, I was wrong to discourage you from selling tofu. The tofu tastes good. Take your time, and I’m sure you will do well.”
“I’ll take your lucky words, ma’am.” Zhuang Qingning smiled, her eyes curved, started to yell to attract customers.
“Tofu, tofu here, free tasting, try before you buy! One coin per tael, two and a half taels for two coins, get the most value for your money, you won’t get ripped off…”
Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui took the initiative to greet passersby, inviting them to taste the tofu they made.
The no-loss marketing method of offering trial eats was always most reassuring to customers and most effective.
It’s only a piece of tofu to taste. If it’s good, you can buy it; if it’s not, you don’t have to. In the final calculation, you don’t lose anything. Even better, you get to taste someone else’s tofu for free, so why not?
When people heard Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui offering free tasting, some of them stopped.
“Is your tofu really free?” A rather short, round-faced woman with a bamboo basket on her arm stopped and approached.
“Yes, we offer two free pieces for tasting. Would you like to try it, ma’am? If you find it tasty, you can buy it. If not, we wouldn’t force you to.” Zhuang Qingning replied with a smile.
Initially, the woman was hesitant, skeptical of any freebies. She was afraid there was a catch.
But seeing that Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui were the only two women at the tofu stall and that they didn’t strike her as cunning, she felt reassured that even if she didn’t buy their tofu, they couldn’t do anything to her.
Finally, Mrs. Yu nodded and let Zhuang Qingning give her a piece to taste.
“This tofu is indeed tasty.” After tasting, she nodded repeatedly: “And the price is not expensive either. But it’s just me and my husband at home, so we only need one tael…”
“However, for your two coins for two and a half taels deal, it’s a bit of a loss for me to pay only one coin for one tael. You give me one tael and two taels, we both avoid a loss.”
“Deal.” Zhuang Qingning agreed readily, using her tofu knife to measure. She made sure to give the full one tael and two taels..
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