Chapter 441 – The Supermarket’s Grand Opening
After the sound of firecrackers, Xu Xiangbei officially announced the supermarket’s grand opening.
The people waiting outside immediately rushed in.
Once inside, they realized how different this supermarket was.
It was truly unlike the supply and marketing cooperatives or department stores.
There were many shelves, each neatly stocked with various products, offering a wide range of choices.
Almost everything was available here, except for items like grains that required ration tickets and luxury goods.
In the past, people had to visit several places to buy what they needed, purchasing one or a few items at each location, and only after running around could they gather everything.
Now, they discovered that all the daily necessities could be found in this Xiangning Supermarket.
This saved them a great deal of time.
Not only that, but every item had a price label, so they didn’t need to ask about prices.
They didn’t even need staff to help them pick out items.
There were baskets and carts available, and anyone who wanted to shop could grab one.
Whatever they needed, they could simply put in their basket or cart, and once they were done, they just had to go to the front to check out.
Here, they didn’t have to rush; they could take their time and choose until they found the items they liked the most.
No one would hurry them either, even if they spent the entire day browsing inside.
Everyone who entered was shrewd.
Many had come just to take a look, but upon seeing so many good-quality and affordable items, they couldn’t help but start buying.
Some items were even snapped up in an instant.
Xu Xiangbei had anticipated this behavior, so he immediately ordered more stock to be replenished.
As a result, a shopping frenzy erupted in the supermarket.
Not only that, but the crowd kept coming in endlessly. Even those who didn’t intend to buy anything, upon hearing about such a novel supermarket, wanted to come and take a look.
Xu Xiangbei, as the one overseeing everything, was the most nervous.
The supermarket’s overwhelming success was within his expectations. However, it also brought relief to the merchants, who had secretly sent people—or even came themselves—to observe, and they were pleasantly surprised.
Normally, they wouldn’t know how much of their goods would sell. But now, with their products in this supermarket, sales were skyrocketing.
What did this increase in sales represent? It represented making money.
Some merchants even regretted signing only a six-month contract with Xu Xiangbei.
Many of them were business-savvy, and upon witnessing such a bustling scene, they immediately realized that in the future, there might be merchants begging Xu Xiangbei to let them set up shop here.
So, they had to act quickly and secure their position.
Seeing the crowded supermarket and the constant flow of people, Xu Xiangbei couldn’t help but feel grateful for hiring plenty of staff.
Just look at the checkout areas—every register had long lines of people waiting to pay.
Of course, to prevent people with ill intentions from stealing or causing trouble, Xu Xiangbei also hired a few people to patrol various parts of the supermarket and keep watch.
If anyone was caught stealing, they would be immediately escorted to the police station.
And sure enough, no matter the era, there were always such people.
Within half an hour of the supermarket opening, one person was caught. In front of everyone, Xu Xiangbei called the police, and thanks to the connections Zhang Changzheng had left behind, the police quickly arrived and took the person away.
This incident sent a strong warning to many others.
In this era, ordinary people still feared dealing with officials.
Perhaps because of the earlier incident’s deterrent effect, the rest of the day passed peacefully without any trouble.
Of course, the flow of people to the supermarket continued unabated.
Those who finished shopping and went home became the best promoters. People who had their curiosity piqued by these accounts also started coming from all directions.
Xu Xiangbei was very busy too.
In addition to overseeing everything, he was also taking photos with a camera.
His little sister couldn’t be there in person for the supermarket opening, but Xu Xiangbei wanted her to know how things were going.
So, he decided to take photos, develop them, and then send them to her.
Other members of the Xu family were also very concerned about the supermarket, so they came to visit as well.
Naturally, they were also amazed by the sight of so many people in the supermarket.
Xu Xiangdong stood at the checkout area, watching the cashiers who never seemed to stop working, and couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.
The supermarket’s daily sales were quite impressive.
It seemed that his younger brother had truly been propelled forward by Ningning.
Xu Xiangdong knew that starting the supermarket, including choosing the location and setting it up, was Ningning’s idea. That’s why the supermarket was named Xiangning Supermarket.
Even the earlier suggestion to buy market stalls had come from Ningning.
His younger brother had followed all these suggestions, and as a result, money was continuously being made and the business was thriving.
However, Xu Xiangdong didn’t feel jealous; instead, he was happy and reassured for his younger brother.
Besides, Ningning had also helped him previously. The ventures he engaged in, such as contracting, breeding, and fruit planting, were all based on Ningning’s decisions and advice.
He had earned quite a bit himself, and he believed that he would certainly make even more in the future.
Besides, he and Xu Xiangbei had different personalities and strengths.
Ningning had given them the best advice and ideas based on their respective strengths.
Ningning had already done an excellent job.
Both he and Xu Xiangbei should be satisfied.
By the evening, around four or five o’clock, the crowd at the supermarket began to thin out as it was getting dark.
In an era when electric lights were not yet widespread and there were no streetlights, people generally returned home early for dinner and sleep, so the supermarket could not stay open late.
Thus, by five-thirty, the supermarket closed.
When Xu Xiangbei returned home, it was already dark.
After dinner, he hurried to tally up the day’s sales figures.
When the numbers appeared before him, they still left him in awe.
“This supermarket’s profit for a single day is indeed impressive,” Xu Xiangbei remarked with amazement.
“However, this is just the first day of opening, with various discounts and promotions boosting the sales. We’ll have to wait and see how it performs after things settle down.”
For the first three days after the opening, the supermarket was always packed with people.
The merchants who had set up shop there were constantly restocking. Although it was busy, they wore smiles on their faces all the time.
Why?
Well, who wouldn’t be happy about making money?
After three days, prices returned to normal, though still relatively favorable. The daily influx of people was less than at the beginning but remained substantial.
Moreover, from then on, everyone who came to Anren County had developed a habit.
That was to visit Xiangning Supermarket when they came to Anren County.
