After Zhang Tianxing and Zhou Fuqing discussed it, they decided to hold a beer competition during the crayfish festival.
To boost popularity, they set prize money: five thousand for the first prize, with a competition held daily. The registration fee would be a symbolic five yuan.
They had initially considered waiving the registration fee, but then thought that with so many people who could drink, a small entrance fee would be appropriate.
Furthermore, they would provide some complimentary cold dishes. It was a business, after all, and they needed people to show up.
Everyone heard the proposal and agreed it was feasible, as it would gather popularity and promote crayfish.
There would also be a crayfish eating contest. Each contestant would be given ten crayfish, and the one who finished in the shortest time would win. The prize money would be equally generous.
Everyone's eyes lit up; these ideas were great.
Zhang Tianxing declared loudly, "Don't be afraid we don't have money. What we need is popularity. Whether we make money or not is secondary; we need to ignite the atmosphere."
This young boss Zhang was quite capable, throwing out so many ideas that everyone was secretly impressed. Good heavens, he had too many!
Fortunately, they were all in this together; otherwise, they wouldn't know how the ship sank with his many schemes.
Both the beer competition and the speed crayfish eating contest exceeded their imaginations.
However, they could also imagine that these two events would attract a huge crowd, making them the stars of the crayfish festival.
"Then it's settled. We'll prepare flyers first and then distribute them."
"Let's promote through multiple channels. I'll contact the newspapers."
"Agreed. It's decided. President Zhang, we'll go prepare now."
Zhu Dayong walked over and punched Zhang Tianxing on the shoulder, "Kid, you're something else, making this crayfish business so popular."
"This is just the beginning. I haven't even made crayfish famous nationwide yet. We only have one store here, not hundreds," Zhang Tianxing said with mild annoyance.
"Hundreds of stores? You really dare to dream. If that day ever comes, I'll contract a hundred acres of ponds and raise crayfish!" Zhu Dayong looked at Zhang Tianxing with doubt.
He still couldn't understand what his close friend was thinking. He had changed so much in the past two months.
Zhang Tianxing had elevated unwanted crayfish from the fields to their current status, exceeding everyone's imagination, even selling them abroad.
It was said that they were earning foreign exchange, and to be blunt, Zhu Dayong still didn't know what foreign exchange looked like.
Zhang Tianxing was actually earning foreign exchange, and he hadn't even traveled abroad.
This Zhang Tianxing was going solo behind his back. He had to go back and write it down in his notebook: this was a betrayal by his best friend.
"Are you really planning to give out so much prize money for the beer competition and the crayfish contest? Five thousand yuan for first prize, that's not a small amount."
"I know. Small amounts won't attract attention. We are building momentum for the inaugural crayfish festival. Only if the first crayfish festival is successful will our crayfish truly stand up, and our sales channels will open."
"Speaking of which, what about the candy you brought back from Belarus last time? There's a whole warehouse full of it."
"What's there to worry about? We'll sell it at the crayfish festival. It's authentic foreign candy. We'll register it with the Administration for Industry and Commerce and find a spot in the crayfish restaurant to display some."
"Why don't you wholesale it? We could sell it out quickly that way," Zhu Dayong asked, puzzled.
"You'll know in a couple of days," Zhang Tianxing chuckled. This candy was unique in Zhonghai City.
If it weren't for the crayfish festival, Zhang Tianxing would definitely find a way to wholesale it.
However, with the crayfish festival now, Zhang Tianxing planned to sell this Belarusian candy retail, as retail offered much higher profits.
And the speed of sales was unlikely to be slow, given the quality of the candy. There were even some high-end varieties.
However, in this era, families generally only bought meat and candy during festivals.
Zhang Tianxing found Wu Li and said, "Aunt, how about this, for the next few days while we sell crayfish, we'll give customers a few pieces of candy. This candy can also be sold retail at two yuan per pound."
"Xiao Xing, I tasted this candy when you sent it over last time. It's delicious, but at two yuan a pound, that's the price of a pound of meat. Will anyone buy it?" Wu Li was a little doubtful.
It was delicious, but who would buy candy at other times besides festivals, especially this high-end candy?
She really didn't understand what her nephew was thinking. And Liang Cheng was also strange. They went out to deliver goods, and they should have just taken the money back.
Who knew they exchanged the money for such a pile of candy? Thinking about how to sell these candies made Wu Li dizzy. Zhang Tianxing's operations were baffling, and the neighbors' gossip started to spread.
"This Zhang Tianxing is still too young and impulsive. He's doing well with crayfish, so he thinks too highly of himself. He's young and doesn't know the immensity of the heavens and the earth. He went abroad and casually bought foreign candy to sell. I'll see how much he can sell!"
"Second Aunt, you're not saying it right. Maybe he's having a 50% off big promotion."
"That's true. Perhaps Juanzi will break Zhang Tianxing's leg. He's from a poor family, and he can't even afford tuition for business."
"Exactly. That pile of candy is hard to sell, and it's not even the New Year. Looking at that young man Zhang, he's so handsome, how can he do such a brainless thing?"
"Alas, 'We see his mansion rise, we see his mansion collapse.'"
"The first crayfish festival is coming soon. Maybe it will still pull through."
"That's hard to say. Do you know how much candy there is? I saw them unloading the truck; there were two or three trucks."
"My goodness, how much candy is that? How much money did young Zhang make?"
"Did he borrow money at exorbitant interest rates? Otherwise, where would he get the money to buy so much candy?"
Hearing these words made Wu Li feel sick. The forest is vast, and there are all sorts of birds. Zhang Tianxing's rise with crayfish was too rapid.
To many people, it seemed unbelievable. He was just a high school graduate whose parents were ordinary workers. Such an ordinary family.
Starting from scratch, was he dreaming? Crayfish had made Zhang Tianxing's pockets bulge, and many people were waiting to see him fail, especially after the Belarusian candy was unloaded from the warehouse.
No, I have to tell Tianxing to deal with this candy properly, otherwise, how much money will he lose?
Seeing the candy, Wu Li felt a little scared. How much money was that? What if it couldn't be sold? Candy has an expiration date, and once it expires, no one will want it.