Chapter 495: Chapter 32: The Bamboo Mat "Little Xi Shi" (Part 2)
When Xiao Xian walked in earlier, she mentioned that this was her first time doing sales. Just this fact alone had already irked the other two. Among them, one had been working part-time for three to four years, and the other was a marketing student. Both were glaring at Xiao Xian, clearly displeased.
"Don’t fuss over those two hours of break time, you’re all old hands here. If I catch anyone slacking off, you’re out," the experienced driver wasn’t one to mince words. He laid it out straight, and upon hearing this, the other two quickly put on a smile, changing their faces faster than flipping a book.
Xiao Xian noticed but didn’t say anything. After all, she was here to participate and focus on the tasks Mao Dazhu had assigned her, and to learn other horticultural matters later.
Seeing that no one had any objections, the experienced driver led Xiao Xian and her group through the streets, finally stopping in front of a mid-sized bamboo mat shop that was shared between two storefronts.
"Mats? Five Gentlemen’s Bamboo Mat exclusive sale, your best choice for a cool summer."
Xiao Xian was brought to a store specifically selling bamboo mats.
"?," Xiao Xian looked around, could it be that what Mao Dazhu was selling was these grass mats? Isn’t he a descendant of the South Gate, shouldn’t he be involved in horticulture? All she saw were yellows and greens, but it was all just the colors of bamboo.
"Team leader, quickly assign the tasks, stop dithering," taking the opportunity while the experienced driver was away, the two student salespeople clamored by the side, each wanting the lightest tasks.
Xiao Xian thought about contacting Mao Dazhu, but then remembered that Mao Dazhu never said he was into floriculture, and moreover, in the heat of summer, Five Gentlemen Flower Art Company’s business couldn’t be that booming. It made sense that items like these bamboo mats could grant such bustling business. She blamed herself for not asking more details.
Xiao Xian, who was a go-with-the-flow kind of person, didn’t raise any doubts and started assigning tasks after donning the red and yellow apron uniform supplied by the market.
The bamboo mat store originally came equipped with a cashier, so the remaining tasks needed to be allocated by Xiao Xian. Distributing flyers outside the store needed one person, and one or two were needed inside the store to introduce the bamboo mats.
Xiao Xian picked one of them to distribute flyers. The university student left in the store was easy to talk to, but the other, upon hearing that they had to go out in the blazing sun to distribute flyers, immediately became irate, slamming the flyers on the cashier table, "This is bullying; just because you’re the leader doesn’t mean you can bully us. Not everyone is like you, able to afford good skincare products."
Most university students who take on summer jobs aren’t just to experience life; many do so to fund their studies. When they saw Xiao Xian’s fair skin and learned she lacked basic work experience, they assumed she was an internal staff of the mat company, specifically coming to bully them.
"Today is the first day; I’ll start by distributing the flyers. In the following days, we will take turns. Anyone who can’t manage it can leave immediately," Xiao Xian coldly dropped the sentence and walked away with a stack of flyers.
Faced with her retreating figure, the two salespeople spat in disgust. One of them remarked, "Sounds so noble. She’d only stay in the store if she could; I bet she hasn’t even seen what bamboo looks like. Probably went out because she was afraid of embarrassing herself at the supermarket."
Xiao Xian ignored the comments behind her and walked towards the commercial street. The summer was unusually scorching, making the nearby summer cooling supplies highly popular; needless to mention, stores selling various fans and air conditioners.
After distributing flyers all morning, Xiao Xian returned to find that both salespeople had already ordered lunch boxes. No one greeted her as she entered.
The cashier worked for Mao Dazhu’s company and had heard him mention Xiao Xian. She handed Xiao Xian a cup of water and also mentioned that there was a staff cafeteria inside the supermarket where affordable and good-quality lunchboxes were available. As today was the first day, everyone was present. Starting tomorrow, they would start rotating morning and evening shifts, with one person distributing flyers and another assisting with sales inside.
"How were the sales this morning?" Xiao Xian, unfamiliar with bamboo mats, humbly sought advice.
"Not quite ideal, we only sold two sets of 1.5-meter linen mats. Last month’s sales were booming. At the beginning of this month, a high-end bedding store opened next door selling premium buffalo leather mats, pulling away some customers who are willing to spend more. Other customers, looking for a bargain, prefer buying from the wholesale market, which affected our business a lot," the cashier explained in detail.
When they hired these part-time salespeople, they hadn’t anticipated the situation turning out like this. Now that the people had been recruited, salaries had to be paid, but sales weren’t picking up.
As people’s living standards improved, their demands for bedding also varied. Xiao Xian listened as the cashier described the different types of cooling mats. It was then she learned that even a simple item like a cooling mat encompassed extensive knowledge, ranging from the simplest straw mats to bamboo mats, linen material mats, and the latest buffalo leather mats.
There were many sizes available, from single bed 1 meter to 1.3 meters and standard double bed cooling mats, ranging from tens to thousands of yuan. She heard that there were even some made from Myanmar jade priced over one hundred thousand yuan on the market.
As for Five Gentlemen’s (technically Bamboo Art) cooling mats, prices hovered around four to five hundred yuan, but this year they had launched a new mat woven from Purple Vine priced around one thousand yuan for a standard double bed.
Xiao Xian noted all these details in her mind. Just then, a young housewife walked in: "Show me the best mats in your store."
**
Thank you "co^0^co" for the perfect 10 rating,
Thank you Gracie MM for your pink~
** (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian () to cast a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)