Chapter 1013: 993. Venue Adjustnt
They were thoughtful, and Song Tan responded honestly:
“Our produce has a low yield, especially in winter. There’s barely enough for our own household, so we weren’t planning on selling during the judging segnt.”
“That’s why the packaging boxes were just bought temporarily for easy transportation. As for the other bagged items, it’s just a way to save space.”
The manager reluctantly tore his gaze from the trailer, letting out a heavy sigh: “That’s such a pity! During the judging segnt, you could’ve sold a lot and attracted returning custors… You really missed the chance to expand your sales!”
He opened the cold storage, provided dedicated storage boxes, labeled and categorized everything, and added, “I didn’t expect your stock to be so limited. We originally saved you a great booth location – quite spacious, and even equipped with a dedicated product display area…”
What he had in mind was that during the public judging phase, as long as the flavor was good, stocking up more inventory would make it convenient for custors to buy straight away.
But now…
The manager found himself in a dilemma: “With so few items, the large booth we originally prepared isn’t appropriate anymore…”
Anyone passing by, seeing the vast booth with just a few lonely boxes on display, would probably assu it was so shady operation—though in truth, it wasn’t!
With the S
rating for fruits and vegetables given by Professor Song, getting a pri booth should naturally be expected. The manager was rely being accommodating and hadn’t randomly assigned the space.
Song Tan, however, waved her hand dismissively: “The public judging isn’t important for us. We genuinely don’t have much to sell. What really matters is the official judges. Is there a smaller booth we can switch to?”
Her easygoing attitude put the manager in a good mood: “Yes, wait just a mont. I’ll go and coordinate—oh, by the way, tomorrow, you’ll need to plan how to display your products. Make a list in advance.”
“If anything needs cooking, you can co early to make arrangents; the logistics team has specialized tools.”
Song Tan was surprised: “So thorough…”
The manager chuckled, a hint of pride in his expression: “After all, this is a fruit and vegetable competition. Fruits are one thing, but many vegetables don’t showcase their strengths unless they’re cooked.”
“However,” he added seriously, “even if they’re cooked, it won’t be luxurious dishes—that’s too easily influenced by the chef. So if you need sothing boiled, we can boil it in water. If it needs frying, we can stir-fry it plainly. For cold dishes, they’ll have to be eaten raw.”
Song Tan’s expression turned a bit peculiar.
She had assud the judges could feast indulgently until they were full, but this… Well, this was hard to put into words.
After all, plain vegetables—no oil, no salt, no flavor—weren’t exactly appetizing for most people.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she asked curiously: “Can you really tell the quality this way?”
“Absolutely,” the manager said confidently. “It’s only by tasting the ingredients in their purest form that you can distinguish their unique strengths and qualities. Plus, during the public judging, the judges can also sample dishes cooked by each participant, making it more comprehensive.”
Song Tan was stunned: “We cook ourselves?”
That was bad news. With so little stock, it would be gone after just a few samples—what would be left for actual cooking? Although she wasn’t too concerned about the public judging, still—
Professor Song really had missed several rounds of judging, hadn’t he? How could so many details have been left out?
The manager nodded and glanced at the siblings: “Which one of you will cook? There’s nothing to sell, but with your S
preliminary rating, at least let people have a taste and rember your brand.”
Qiaoqiao imdiately raised his hand: “, , !”
“Alright!” The manager handed over the prepared signs: “Co early tomorrow to set up your booth… Actually, never mind. Even if there’s not much to set up, co check out the location in advance, and pick up your supplies from logistics while you’re at it.”
He stored away their limited stock and then pulled out an iPad, projecting a map of the exhibition hall:
“At 9 a.m. tomorrow, the main hall will host an import-export agricultural product trade show, which will attract a lot of foot traffic. Our competition is more niche and on a smaller scale, so it’s being held in the auxiliary hall.”
“The auxiliary hall is still spacious, divided into four zones: East, South, West, and North. Your original allocation was at South A Zone No.66—a pri spot near the center, offering great visibility for the public judging.”
“The booth space was also large, 30 square ters… But now…”
No matter how much the manager tried, with the few items Song Tan had brought, even spreading them out on the ground wouldn’t co close to filling 30 square ters.
At this point, he pointed to South A Zone No.7: “Will this work? This is the only option left now. The booth here got scraped earlier by a stray piece of farm machinery in the hall—it’s already been repaired.”
Though the position ranked higher in order, the area was only 8 square ters and situated right next to the machinery exhibition booth.
Compared to the original spot, it was a stark downgrade.
Song Tan glanced at it: “Will this affect the judges’ scoring?”
The manager was taken aback before shaking his head: “No, the judges’ scoring happens together at the end. Your location doesn’t matter for that… And if I rember correctly, Professor Song ntioned you wanted to be the last entry?”
He paused, then pointed to the new location: “If you’d kept the original spot at 66, being the last entry would’ve been a bit tricky. But with this Zone No.7—look at the map—it’s conveniently positioned as the very last booth.”
If not for its remoteness, how else would that spot be so conveniently last?
“Perfect!” Song Tan imdiately made the decision: “Zone No.7 it is!”
Her decisiveness, giving up an advantageous spot for such a minor detail, left the manager with mixed feelings: “You went to all this trouble for a second-round review; wouldn’t it have been better to prepare ahead of ti and bring more stock?”
Song Tan sighed: “Qi, you don’t understand. Our produce never struggles to sell. The problem is the price doesn’t go up. Professor Song said we lacked an official accreditation… That’s the only reason I’m here.”
Her candid response made the manager nod knowingly: “Small-scale operation, right? Small scale ans lower prices but higher quality; naturally, it sells itself. That’s all the more reason to scale up your production… Oh, forget it. You don’t seem business-minded. Keeping it small has its perks—less pressure.”
He sighed again: “So, is this your final decision? Let
remind you—our competition is highly professional. Adjusting to improve an already good spot is easy, but trying to fix a bad one later? Impossible.”
Song Tan nodded: “No changes!”
…
After all the back and forth, by the ti Song Tan and Qiaoqiao got into the car and their drowsy driver Mr. Li perked up, it was already close to 1 a.m.
Qiaoqiao started yawning the mont he got in the car. He had never stayed up this late at ho and was now so out of sorts he even forgot about the kids’ al toy he had been promised.
anwhile, Song Tan thought of the food Lun Chuan had dropped off earlier and couldn’t help feeling grateful—
It really had co in handy! Otherwise, Qiaoqiao would’ve been starving by now.
And Mr. Li too, after waiting so long. If not for those incredibly filling sweet potato cakes, he’d surely be famished by now.
Song Tan pulled out her phone and transferred money to Mr. Li again: “Once you drop us off at the hotel, you can head back. I hadn’t expected today to drag on this long. Thanks for your hard work.”
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