That afternoon, Shen Yuequn and his wife hastily finished lunch and took out the remaining 200 blind boxes, heading back into the market.
They had expected the place to be deserted by then. However, as soon as they parked, two or three people approached them. Upon inquiry, they learned that these individuals had been there since morning, waiting for their return. Shen Yuequn was greatly surprised. Did these blind boxes truly possess such immense allure?
Well, not exactly. If Shen Yuequn had observed these customers closely, he would have noticed they were all over 60 years old. They had ample time; sometimes, they could watch others play chess for an entire afternoon, and they would wake up as early as 4 AM to queue for eggs that were a mere ten cents cheaper. Therefore, waiting for them was not an issue at all; it was simply a way to pass the time.
However, after these few elderly customers finished their purchases, the popularity seemed to wane a bit.
"Old brother, I just can't figure it out, why are your blind boxes so attractive?" A neighboring stall owner couldn't help but ask during this quiet interval.
"I'm not sure either, it's my first day selling them!" Shen Yuequn was nothing like Boss Huang He, who had such profound research into blind boxes that he could write a thesis on them with zero plagiarism. "Why don't you buy one and try it out!"
"Me? I won't buy!" The small stall owner repeatedly shook his head.
"It's okay, I'll give you one!" Shen Yuequn said with a simple smile.
"Oh, how can I accept that?"
"It's fine. We're both setting up stalls here, and I'm new. It's my first time here, and I need help from experienced people like you!" Shen Yuequn said sincerely.
"Heh, then I won't be polite." The stall owner licked his lips and took a blind box from Shen Yuequn's cart.
Shen Yuequn maintained his smile. Although he had lost 10 yuan for free, he had gained the goodwill of the other person. As Shen Yuequn had said, he was a newcomer, and a very popular one at that. He was bound to be envied by the older vendors around, and they might cause some trouble.
Therefore, Shen Yuequn was willing to foster good relationships with those around him to avoid any unnecessary hassle later.
"A wallet!" The other person opened a wallet. This was normal, but its color was white. To be honest, it looked quite garish. He would never use a white wallet in his life.
The stall owner clearly showed some dissatisfaction on his face.
"Oh, it's white!" Seeing the wallet, Shen Yuequn's eyes lit up.
"What? Is there something special about this white one?" The other person asked curiously.
"Well, there is indeed something special, because the white ones are not made of ordinary cowhide, but rhinoceros hide!" Shen Yuequn said.
"Rhino hide!" The man's eyes widened. "Impossible! Rhinos are a protected species. Making wallets from rhino hide is illegal! And if it were truly rhino hide, you wouldn't be able to make wallets that sell for only 10 yuan!"
"This is true!" Shen Yuequn said very seriously. "I personally processed this rhinoceros hide myself at the time. However, this rhinoceros hide is not anything illegal, at least not according to our company!"
"Weren't they investigating a wildlife fur smuggling case last year? It involved over a dozen pieces of rhino hide. According to regulations, these rhino hides could not enter the market, and auctioning them was also not allowed. They were directly shredded by a fragmentizer and then buried somewhere."
"However, someone, whether by digging up the pit where they were buried or by obtaining them directly, managed to get a large batch of rhinoceros hide scraps, which were then sold to our factory as cowhide."
"Because they were scraps and couldn't be made into anything else, they were all made into bags. Do you see the lines on it? These are the connecting lines of the rhino hide."
"As a result, after everything was made, an old craftsman in the factory recognized the material as rhino hide. The factory was immediately shocked, and that young fellow Huang He's face turned red with regret."
"But there was no other way. These rhinoceros hides had already been made into the least valuable wallets, and they couldn't be altered. So, Huang He ordered all these wallets to be made white and then tried to sell them to rich foreigners, with each wallet priced at at least 2,000 yuan!"
"Unfortunately, not long after these wallets were made, the factory closed down, and Huang He ran away. Everything was left in the warehouse, and unexpectedly, it ended up in the blind boxes!" Shen Yuequn said with emotion, then skillfully turned on the loudspeaker, playing the rap of the scoundrel boss Huang He.
"What a legendary story!" Not only was the small stall owner listening with great interest, but more than a dozen people had gathered around, all listening intently.
"Ahem, everyone, the rhino hide story is something I made up. We absolutely do not sell anything that is prohibited by the state, so please don't spread it around!" Shen Yuequn said somewhat nervously as the crowd grew.
Whether he was telling the truth or not, only ghosts would know.
Meanwhile, the small stall owner carefully put the leather wallet back into its packaging box and then placed it inside a locked cash box at his stall. After thinking about it, he felt it wasn't secure enough, so he carefully opened the only locked cash box he had and put the wallet inside.
This was rhino hide, good heavens!
As Boss Huang repeatedly "ran away with his sister-in-law," Huang He's stall was once again surrounded by a bustling crowd, and the boxes were diminishing at a visible rate.
At the same time, many people who had bought in the morning brought their friends to buy in the afternoon. In short, the afternoon sales were even faster than the morning sales. In the blink of an eye, half of the blind boxes were gone.
However, at this point, an unexpected situation arose.
A person who had bought a blind box in the morning and drawn a pair of leather shoes came to Shen Yuequn, demanding, "Boss, change these shoes for me."
"Sorry, blind boxes cannot be exchanged!" Shen Yuequn replied without hesitation.
"But, your shoes don't fit!" The person said helplessly. "My shoe size is 41, but these shoes are size 38. I can't even get my foot in. Even if I won, I can't wear them. If you don't exchange them, these shoes are useless!"
"I really can't exchange them for you. These are all blind boxes. Where would I find size 41 shoes for you!" Shen Yuequn said helplessly.
"Then give me a refund of 10 yuan, I don't want these shoes anymore, is that okay!"
"No, blind boxes are non-refundable and non-exchangeable!" Shen Yuequn insisted.
"Where is such logic in the world!" The person became agitated. He suddenly snatched Shen Yuequn's megaphone and shouted to the people queuing for blind boxes, "Everyone, don't buy them, don't be fooled! Even if you draw shoes, there are dozens of sizes for shoes, but you only have one foot. What you buy are ill-fitting leather shoes that you can't wear!"
As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the queue found them reasonable. What was the point of drawing shoes if you couldn't wear them?
As a result, about half of the people withdrew from the queue. Seeing so many people leave, most of the remaining people began to hesitate. After a few minutes, only a few people were left, leaving Shen Yuequn dumbfounded.
What was even more critical was that in a short while, several more people who had drawn shoes came to Shen Yuequn, demanding that he exchange them. Shen Yuequn refused, and these people caused all sorts of commotion, making it impossible for Shen Yuequn to continue his business. Helplessly, Shen Yuequn had to reach an agreement with them, refunding each of them 10 yuan to resolve the trouble.
However, by then, Shen Yuequn had no intention of continuing his business. He took half a cart of unsold blind boxes and his worried wife and went straight home.