Unfortunately, the customer did not get their box immediately because more people had already rushed forward, surrounding Shen Yuequn, waving their cash, and demanding to buy boxes.
The worst item in a box was a genuine leather wallet, and there were even leather shoes. This was a box that couldn't possibly result in a loss, so only a fool wouldn't buy one.
As a result, more than a dozen people surrounded Shen Yuequn, and in just a few minutes, he sold over twenty blind boxes.
At the same time, and quite amusingly, a second circle of people formed around the crowd surrounding Shen Yuequn.
The first circle was at the core of the three-wheeled cart, consisting of customers who had bought blind boxes. There were about ten people in this circle, and more were continuously joining.
The second circle consisted of even more onlookers. They weren't there to buy but to watch those who had already bought the boxes. The number of people opening their blind boxes was greater than the number of people buying them.
The customers who bought the blind boxes also thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being watched by a crowd, subtly becoming the center of attention. Thus, almost no one chose to open their boxes at home. Everyone opened them on the spot, making the atmosphere increasingly lively.
"Haha, it's a wallet!" When they saw someone's blind box reveal a wallet, bursts of laughter erupted. This made the person who got the wallet quite unhappy, and they grumbled as they bought another blind box.
"Leather shoes! They're leather shoes!!" Suddenly, a gasp came from the crowd. A customer had opened a blind box and pulled out another box of leather shoes.
"Wow, the second pair of leather shoes!"
"I got leather shoes too, I opened leather shoes!" The person who had gotten a wallet earlier and then bought another blind box out of displeasure now shouted excitedly, thinking they had also gotten a pair of leather shoes.
The two boxes of leather shoes were opened within ten seconds of each other, almost simultaneously. This stunned many onlookers, who began to wonder if there really were many leather shoes inside.
Many onlookers suddenly felt that being an onlooker was quite boring and decided it would be better to buy a box themselves, as it was only ten yuan either way, and they would at least get a wallet!
After seeing so many customers open their boxes on the spot, the onlookers were basically convinced that there wouldn't be anything in the boxes priced lower than a wallet. Buying such a box was definitely not a loss.
Thus, the crowd began to shift. More than twenty people from the outer circle of onlookers began to push into the inner circle, waving their ten-yuan bills and loudly shouting that they wanted to buy blind boxes.
And curiously, most people in the inner circle were reluctant to leave. They enviously watched the two people who had opened leather shoes and were now proudly showing them off on their feet, even though the shoes didn't fit very well.
They felt that if they bought just one more box, they would definitely open a pair of leather shoes, and then they would be the ones making a fortune.
Therefore, many customers chose to make repeat purchases and asked to buy another blind box.
Suddenly, the entire inner circle was congested, and Shen Yuequn himself was almost pushed over twice.
"Everyone line up! If you're a man, line up. I won't sell my blind boxes to anyone who doesn't line up!" With the growing crowd, Shen Yuequn had to ask for more people to form a queue, otherwise, he wouldn't even know who to serve first, as at almost every second, a dozen hands would be trying to give him ten-yuan bills.
This is where the brilliance of the ten-yuan pricing became evident.
Firstly, in 2001, ten yuan was not as significant a sum of money as it was when a certain Mr. Jia first arrived in 1990. Ten yuan was already a price point that many ordinary families could afford to spend at any time, and the market had sufficient capacity to absorb ten yuan.
At the same time, it was not like the later blind boxes priced at 59 yuan each.
Frankly speaking, in 2001, if you dared to sell a blind box for 59 yuan, the market would have slapped you hard.
Finally, the most convenient aspect of the ten-yuan price was that it eliminated the need for change. Everyone's pocket would have a ten-yuan bill, so they only needed to take out a bill directly, which was even more convenient than mobile payments.
But even with such convenience, the queue quickly exceeded twenty people, and the number of onlookers also increased to about a hundred.
Even the security guards and police officers near the market were alerted. They were originally there to maintain public order, but now they were maintaining order while curiously observing the crowd opening their boxes.
"Damn, another wallet! I've opened five wallets already!"
"I got leather shoes!"
"Mine is a belt!"
One blind box after another was opened, revealing its true contents. Some smart people began to secretly count. They found that out of over thirty blind boxes, three pairs of leather shoes had been opened, meaning an average of one pair of leather shoes per ten boxes. And the market price for leather shoes was at least 100 yuan!
What did this mean?
This meant that it wasn't just a sure thing; it was a guaranteed massive profit! For just 100 yuan, you could get a pair of leather shoes and nine wallets. By all accounts, this was an incredibly profitable deal. If you were lucky, you might even get two pairs of leather shoes, which would be even more lucrative.
Thus, more and more smart people started to act. They quietly joined the queue, their eyes gleaming as they looked at the blind boxes, while simultaneously cursing the people ahead of them in the queue for being too slow.
"Wuuuu wuuuu wuuuu!!!" Suddenly, the sound of a child crying loudly came from the crowd. Judging by the sound, it was extremely distressed, accompanied by angry scolding from the parents.
Everyone looked over. It turned out that a child was clamoring to buy a blind box, but their parents refused, so the child started crying.
This was a very minor issue. Normally, a spanking would suffice.
However, the child was exceptionally persistent and was not afraid of their parents' beatings. Finally, the child even ran to the three-wheeled cart and lay down on the ground, refusing to get up, crying and demanding to buy a blind box for fun.
This made the entire atmosphere even more lively. The surrounding onlookers laughed heartily and told the parents that since the child was crying so miserably, buying a blind box wouldn't hurt, as it was only ten yuan!
"No, he's just a child. He doesn't need a wallet, can't wear leather shoes, and can't wear a belt. What good are they to him!" The parents were also furious. If it weren't for the overwhelming number of people around, they would have grabbed the brat by the ear for a good mixed-gender beating.
"Forget it, let's buy one. I'll consider it getting a new wallet!" The father finally couldn't stand it. He went to the back of the queue and, when it was his turn, told his unfilial brat to pick a blind box himself!
"Dad, help me open it!" the brat said again. The father could only open the blind box helplessly, muttering, "Although ten yuan isn't expensive, I already have several wallets, and I really don't need them!"
Then, the blind box was torn open, and the father shook it. As a result, the contents did not shake out.
"Huh!" Many onlookers exclaimed in surprise. Before, whether it was a belt, a wallet, or leather shoes, the packaging was smaller than the box and could be shaken out directly. There had never been a situation where something couldn't be shaken out, unless the box inside was large enough, almost the same size as the blind box, just a tiny bit smaller!
"Holy cow!" The father, with all his might, managed to extract the packaging box from the blind box. Only then did he discover that it was a very large packaging box, which seemed to have a pattern of clothing printed on it.
"CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!!" Suddenly, the sound of a booming gong and drum erupted. Shen Yuequn, from who knows where, pulled out a somewhat worn copper gong, struck it with all his might, and then, holding a megaphone, shouted, "Congratulations to this little friend for opening a foreign trade pure leather coat worth 2,000 yuan!"
This voice resounded throughout the entire scene, as if the entire city of SY could hear this astonishing announcement.