Huang Fang’s son, Ji Gaosheng, also happened to be treating his guests to a meal at Xiang Banquet private restaurant. As soon as the appetizing 188-yuan fruit platter was served, Ji Gaosheng and the rest were instantly enticed.
However, when they tasted the fruit platter, it was already nearing the end of the meal. Although the fruit platter was rather tasty, Ji Gaosheng and his guests stopped after taking two bites. They did not place any additional orders.
When the filial Ji Gaosheng was footing the bill, he suddenly recalled that his mother seemed to be very interested in fruits lately. The honeydews did taste good. Hence, he considered buying a serving of it and bringing it home for her.
Accordingly, Ji Gaosheng returned with a takeaway box. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the elderly lady Huang Fang seated in front of the television and eating some honeydew.
“Mother, I had a fruit platter when I went out for dinner today. It’s not bad, so I brought some home for you to try.”
Huang Fang was not bothered. She was eating the honeydew that Zhou Kun had delivered to her. The sweetness suited her taste. She thought, ‘Fruit platters are all sliced fruit that had been left out for a long time. How can they be fresher than the honeydews I’ve just sliced?’
“Nah, I just sliced a fresh honeydew. It’s really sweet.”
Ji Gaosheng did not expect her to be eating honeydew as well. However, he had a one-sided thought that the honeydew that she had bought from elsewhere was definitely not as sweet as the one he brought back.
“Mother, you can’t buy the honeydew that I brought home, anywhere else. It tastes much sweeter than the honeydews sold at other stores. Stop eating that honeydew and try the one I brought home.”
Huang Fang was displeased to hear that. She thought, ‘What’s wrong with my honeydew?’
Little Zhou said that these honeydews are of a new variety and they taste as sweet as honey. How good can the honeydews bought by this silly Ji Gaosheng be?
Hence, the two of them had opposing stands, and they each stubbornly insisted that their honeydew was the best.
At last, Huang Fang removed the lid of the box and tried a piece of the fruit because she could not defeat her son in the argument.
The packaging of food from Xiang Banquet private restaurant was rather exquisite. Even though it was just a serving of fruit, it was wrapped meticulously in a cooler bag.
The honeydew was cut into thumb-sized pieces, and there was some remaining honeydew juice in the box. However, Huang Fang felt that it smelled familiar.
She took a bite and thought, ‘Isn’t this the honeydew that I was just eating?’
Hence, she lost interest after taking a bite. She felt that it was not as fresh as the one she had just sliced, and the tiny pieces were not satisfying either.
“How is it? is it tasty?” Ji Gao Sheng asked as he looked at old Madam Huang, looking forward to hearing her answer.
Huang Fang couldn’t bear to be a wet blanket to her son. Hence, she answered perfunctorily, “It’s alright.”
Just alright?
Ji Gaosheng was a little disappointed by the answer.
“Son, come and eat some honeydew. Little Zhou delivered them today. Give it a try.”
Looking at the honeydew that she was handing to him, Ji Gaosheng felt that he had discovered the reason she didn’t want to eat the honeydew that he had brought home
He felt that she definitely couldn’t bear to eat the delicious honeydew as she wanted to save the melons for herself.
“Okay, I’ll eat the honeydew you bought, Mother. You can eat the one I brought back.”
Huang Fang watched her son take the honeydew away from her hand and felt a little baffled because there were still quite a few more honeydews in the kitchen.
Ji Gaosheng ate the honeydew that old Madam Huang had been eating and as soon as he took a bite, he felt that something was amiss.
The honeydew was overwhelmingly sweet, and it tasted rather familiar to him. He felt that it seemed to be the same type of honeydew that he had brought home.
Ji Gaosheng carefully compared the two types of honeydew. Although the honeydew that he had brought home from Xiang Banquet private restaurant was cut into small pieces, the taste and the familiar red lines on the honeydew made Ji Gaosheng feel that it was most likely the same kind of melon.
Looking at the tiny fruit platter that he had brought home, Ji Gaosheng compared it to the whole-cut honeydew in old Madam Huang’s hand and suddenly felt that his honeydew looked rather inferior.
“Mother, what honeydew is this?”
“Little Zhou delivered these honeydews today. I heard that it’s a new variety of honeydew. The honeydew that you brought home seems to be of the same variety. Tell me, how much did you purchase it for?”
“188 yuan,” Ji Gaosheng said with a lack of confidence.
“188 yuan for such a small amount? You’re a big boss, but it seems you’re doing worse than I am!”
Old Madam Huang glared at her son and thought to herself, ‘I knew it, how can a silly man like him buy any good stuff?’
After tasting the new variety of honeydew, Huang Fang, the leader of the Jinlan Residences clique, felt that she was obliged to obtain some welfare benefits for her sisters.
“Little Zhou, how much did you sell your honeydews to Xiang Banquet private restaurant for?”
Zhou Kun was shocked to hear her point out the fact that he had sold his honeydews to Xiang Banquet private restaurant. He thought, ‘Is this elderly lady that amazing? Did she found out so soon?’
“300 yuan each. However, I can’t hide it from you. The manager of Xiang Banquet private restaurant is my childhood friend. When the honeydews arrived yesterday, he ordered some from me. There’s a limited quantity, so I didn’t supply it to anyone else.”
“Did he order all of your stock?” asked old Madam Huang who got straight to the point.
“No, he said that he’d just try to sell it yesterday. He’s going to order from me again today.”
“In that case, I’m going to order that batch of honeydew from you on behalf of the residents of Jinlan Residences. Little Zhou, just like the old saying, you’ll only feel at ease knowing that your money is in your pocket. You have to exchange your honeydews for money. Deliver them to me now, and I’ll transfer the money to you.”
When old Madam Huang was younger, she was definitely a great businesswoman. Her words made sense, and Zhou Kun couldn’t turn her down.
“Auntie Huang, I’ve already received his deposit. I don’t think it’d be appropriate to do this.”
“Have you guys decided on how many honeydews he’s going to get from you?”
“No, we’ve only discussed it verbally.”
“That’s not valid then. Let me tell you…”
In the end, Huang Fang’s constant persuasion made Zhou Kun feel giddy. He had no choice but to put aside 50 honeydews for old Madam Huang.
Due to the limited quantity and the expensive price of 300 yuan a honeydew, Huang Fang immediately decided to sell them in a group-buy flash deal.
“Little Zhou, upload a group-buy order for the honeydews onto Jiaduoduo. Leave the rest to me.”
After hanging up, Huang Fang enthusiastically began to organize the group purchase for the honeydews.
Lately, the snacks and fruit stores in front of Jinlan Residences found that their fruit business had been affected. The owners of both stores began to suspect that someone was up to some tricks.
There was a saying online that made sense, “Usually the ones who kill you are not your competitors, but a crossover.”
Before Gluttony Place Snack Store opened, Daily Vitamin C Fruit Store enjoyed good business. However, the new snack store that opened would often have discounted fruit on sale, thus snatching away plenty of business from the fruit store. The two stores competed by offering discounts in order to attract more customers to their own store. In the end, they formed a tacit understanding and decided to sell fruits of different varieties.
There were a few elderly ladies in Gluttony Place Snack Store who had been picking out fruit from a crate for a long while. The deal was about to be done. All of a sudden, the sounds of notification tones came from their mobile phones.
“Hurry and look. There’s a notification in the chat group that states that a group-buy flash deal is going to be launched tonight. Let’s not buy any fruit here and take a look at what is going to be up for grabs tonight!” They then left without turning back.
At the same time, there were a few customers who reacted in the same way in the Daily Vitamin C fruit store.
The owners of the two stores watched as the customers left, and they felt that the other party was definitely up to something.
Hmph… you’re organizing a wholesale group behind my back. I shall see what tricks you’re up to.
As such, there were two new members in the chat group of the “Flowers of Jinlan” who remained quiet.