Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 113 - 112: Exorbitant Profits

Chapter 113: Chapter 112: Exorbitant Profits

The three of them stayed under the shade of the trees, watching as the crowd, each with their share of different snacks or ice pops, gradually dispersed as the movie’s screening time approached. Only then did they get a clear view of the two stalls at the entrance of the cinema.

One sold sunflower seeds, salted golden dates, and roasted soybeans, all packaged in small cones made from newspaper; the other sold ice cream and ice pops.

Without seeing it with their own eyes, who could have imagined that the small stalls outside the cinema could be doing such a bustling business?

Lu Yun gazed dumbly, her mind whirling a thousand times in an instant. It wasn’t until she saw Shitou running towards the two stalls that she snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream.

Lu Aiguo also came back to his senses. His eyes were wide and sparkling as he watched Shitou linger at each stall for a while before running back to them.

"It seems like Haicheng really is paved with gold!"

Lu Aiguo’s exclamation immediately brought laughter from Lu Yun and Shitou, who had already returned.

"Brother Aiguo’s words are not wrong at all. Coming to Haicheng was indeed the right move," Shitou said, holding a variety of snacks in one hand and three sticks of cream-filled, richly scented ice cream in the other.

As they walked and ate their cream-filled ice cream, Shitou began to show them the snacks he had bought from the stalls as if displaying his treasures.

"These small carts of sunflower seeds cost five cents, the big ones ten cents; a packet of salted golden dates is five cents; a packet of roasted soybeans, ten cents. Look, they only contain so little, it’s a complete rip-off."

Shitou looked at the snacks with disdain.

"The ice pops are somewhat better. The cream-filled ice cream we are eating is the most expensive, costing fifteen cents, which is three cents more expensive than in our village where they only cost twelve cents; the cream ice cream costs ten cents, also two cents more expensive; finally, there is a red bean ice pop for five cents, one cent higher than our price."

Having often freeloaded meals back in their village, Shitou and Lu Aiguo were somewhat aware of the prices, although they had never bought ice pops before, they knew the prices very clearly.

"I also found out just now that these two stalls are actually run by the same family. They said they are relatives with someone in the cinema, which is why they are allowed to set up their stalls here and others who come are driven away."

"Relatives or not, they definitely know someone inside. Maybe they catered to them to get the perk," Lu Aiguo sharply pointed out.

"That was my first thought, too. I figured that if we really want to take over this spot, there are ways to do it. But then I thought, do we even need to bother?"

Shitou shared his hesitation. He admitted that when he saw the thriving business of those two stalls, he was tempted. He felt he could get involved in the business.

However, that temptation was fleeting; after giving it more thought, he felt it wasn’t right.

"How come?" Lu Aiguo was puzzled, as he hadn’t given it much thought. His mind had first been rocked by the high price of ginseng, and then was heated up by the current scene to almost the boiling point; the heat just wouldn’t settle down for a while.

"You see, the number of screenings at the cinema is fixed, and so is the number of people who come to watch movies. It’s indeed good to sell stuff here, but have you thought about whether this place is so popular because there are only two stalls here?"

Shitou calmly analyzed for Lu Aiguo, who, upon thinking, felt there was some truth to it and then nodded, "Pretty much."

"If we want to join in, we also need to find a way to make some connections, right? Then, when we compete with them for business, won’t that dilute the customer flow?"

Shitou continued to speak unhurriedly.

"Even without mentioning the saying that ’the strong dragon cannot suppress the local snake,’ is this small piece of business really worth our effort to fight over? And even if we did get it, how do you know others won’t be jealous and try to barge in? When there are more people selling, but the number of buyers remains the same, do you think we can recreate the scene of people eagerly buying stuff?"

Lu Aiguo nodded thoughtfully and then fell silent, lost in contemplation.

Seeing that he agreed, Shitou also breathed a sigh of relief, "In my opinion, instead of guarding this spot every day and competing for so few customers, wouldn’t it be more profitable to continue selling door-to-door?"

"If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have carefully thought about it until much later. Cough, that’s why they say you have to keep your mind clear at all times, and not make hasty decisions when you’re hot-headed."

Lu Aiguo gave a self-deprecating laugh, but he still felt a bit unwilling, "So are you saying that we’ve been worrying for nothing?"

The situation was indeed just as Shitou had described. The scene from before would captivate even passersby, not to mention the staff at the cinema who face this every day—how could they not be tempted?

Who doesn’t have relatives and friends? When they also decide to set up stalls, can the cinema staff drive them away, let alone drive away their own relatives and friends?

Even if they had no connections, like themselves, who could want to make inroads inside the cinema, could others be so foolish? From what he saw, the world was never short of clever people.

"Worrying wasn’t pointless. We can still profit from it if we find another way," Shitou said with a slight smile, confidently.

"How so? Have you thought of some good idea again?" Lu Aiguo asked excitedly. Shitou was quick-witted and full of ideas, so if he said so, it must mean he had figured out a way to get a piece of the action.

Lu Yun listened to their conversation while nibbling on her ice cream, not interjecting herself, as it wasn’t appropriate for her to chime in at the moment. Actually, she had been surprised at first, but having business experience from her past life, she had quickly thought of all the things Shitou mentioned.

At the same time, she came up with many different ideas, and not one of them involved her dad and Shitou setting up their own stall... But now, she actually wanted to hear what Shitou had in mind.

"Looking at what they’re selling, did you think of anything?" Shitou shook the large bag of snacks in his hand.

"What could I think of? Just tell me, stop beating around the bush," Lu Aiguo said impatiently, urging Shitou on.

Shitou just laughed and stated directly, "They only sell three kinds of snacks, which is too limited in variety. If people who come to the movies here eat them too often, they might get sick of it. Did you notice that although there are a lot of people buying, many didn’t make a purchase? I was thinking, since we have so much harvest from the mountain this time, can we make our own small snacks and supply them directly to those who sell?"