Chapter 109: Twelve Brand-New Blind Boxes

Ten chapters will be released at noon, and another ten in the evening.

"Little Liu, wow, your stall has become so bright and spacious! Must have cost a fortune!" Surprisingly, the first person in line, the very first customer to enter the store, was an elderly woman in her sixties. She was clearly well-acquainted with the owner, as she remarked on the transformation the moment she stepped inside.

This woman was a regular. She had known Liu Xiangjiang since his days as a small street vendor, back when he had shuttled between Shanghai and Wenzhou for work before returning to Shanghai to set up shop. By all counts, she was among the first ten customers Liu ever had.

She hadn't come specifically to queue; she lived nearby and had a habit of going for a walk by the river at 3:00 AM. She had seen the shop brightly lit and bustling with preparations, and upon asking, discovered it was the same blind box store she used to frequent. Hearing it was a grand opening, she figured there would be special promotions, so she stayed in line from 3:00 AM until 9:00 AM.

The store manager, who was working overtime, was a thoughtful man. Worried about the elderly woman, he had assigned a staff member to look after her, serving her tea and water. He even provided a hot breakfast of century egg and lean pork congee along with two large meat buns. It turned out to be a worthwhile wait for her.

"Granny Wang, this money didn't come out of my pocket. Our parent company footed the bill. I’m just in charge of running the store," Liu Xiangjiang explained with a smile as he arrived.

Although Shanghai was Liu’s territory, this first official flagship store wasn't technically his—it was directly managed by the parent company. After all, the ten million plus in property sale proceeds was a sum Liu could never have scraped together. However, Huang He clearly couldn't manage the store himself, so he entrusted the operations to Liu. Liu would receive a commission, so for all intents and purposes, he was still the one in charge.

"Little Liu, I see so many colorful boxes in your shop. Are you not selling the old blind boxes anymore?" Once inside, the old lady asked in surprise, noticing the various boxes of all shapes, sizes, and designs stacked throughout the store.

In her memory, Liu's blind boxes were nothing more than ugly yellow cartons, printed simply with the words "Blind Box" and a few security seals. If not for the detailed information on the items inside, they would have looked like unbranded, sketchy products. Those boxes had been crude, but it was unavoidable; Huang He had hurriedly sourced a batch of surplus cardboard boxes from a print shop and had them overprinted to save time.

Over the past two months, as Huang He shifted his focus entirely to the blind box business, the packaging had evolved significantly, transforming from plain paper boxes into vibrant, illustrated containers. At the same time, the walls of the shop were lined with bright, transparent glass display cabinets showcasing the potential items that could be found inside. Beyond that, there was a temporarily closed Jiangnan Coin exchange counter and a staircase leading to a second floor, which featured a consignment area.

"No, we still sell the original ones. That yellow blind box in the center is our classic leather goods series," Liu Xiangjiang introduced. "Not only does it contain the usual leather bags, shoes, belts, wallets, and jackets, but we’ve also added ten brand-new items, including leather gloves, briefcases, suitcases, and organizers!"

"So many new things!" The old lady’s eyes lit up. She had bought a thousand yuan worth of blind boxes over the past few months. Her proudest find was a pair of master-crafted leather shoes—an original piece by Master PP. She had seen someone at the stall offering 2,000 yuan for those same shoes, so she had already turned a profit on that single item. However, she had already pulled every leather item except for the jacket, so she had lost interest and stopped coming. Seeing the new additions, her curiosity was piqued again. Though, as an elderly woman, she wasn't sure she had much use for leather gloves or briefcases.

"Granny, we don't just have leather goods anymore. We have twelve other new series," Liu Xiangjiang said, noticing her hesitation. "Look at the blue boxes on the far left. Those are our snack blind boxes. They contain over thirty different types of treats. The cheapest item by market value is a 1,000-gram bag of sunflower seeds, retailing for 10 yuan. We also have pistachios, potato chips, chocolates, and even vacuum-sealed roasted chicken and duck. You can even pull a 100-kilogram mega-gift pack of beef jerky!"

"100 kilograms of beef jerky?! Can that fit in one box?" the woman gasped in shock.

Liu laughed, "Don't worry, if you pull the beef jerky gift pack, you’ll find a voucher inside. You just bring that voucher to the store to redeem your prize; it’s not physically inside the box."

"Oh! I see!" The old lady nodded. "Is that blind box still ten yuan?"

"That’s right, still ten yuan. And for our grand opening, it's buy ten, get one free!"

"Give me one—no, give me ten! Buy ten get one free, that means each box is only nine yuan. What a bargain!" the woman exclaimed. She had three grandchildren who visited often, and she could never have enough snacks at home.

"Take a look at the red boxes next to them. Those are our grain and oil blind boxes!" Liu continued.

"Grain and oil? You can put those in a blind box?" The old lady was stunned.

"Exactly. The minimum value in these boxes is a 10-jin bag of Northeast rice. We also have millet, corn, cooking oil, peanuts, pistachios, dried goods, fresh pork, and fresh beef. Oh, and the grand prize is a 1,000-yuan grocery voucher!"

"These things are heavy. If I buy two, I’m afraid I won't be able to carry them home!" she worried.

"Of course, we don't keep the physical goods here. We’ve partnered with the nearby RT-Mart supermarket. The boxes contain vouchers for their grocery section. You just take the voucher you pull and use it at the supermarket!" Liu explained.

"Then I’ll buy one!" The old lady couldn't wait and opened it immediately. The box was small, containing a beautifully printed paper slip: "RT-Mart Supermarket: 10kg Bulk Rice Redemption Voucher."

"This isn't a loss at all!" A smile spread across her face. Rice at the supermarket cost about 1.2 yuan per jin, so 10 jin would be 12 yuan. Since she only paid 10 yuan, she had definitely come out on top.

Of course, Jiangnan wouldn't lose money either. These were specific brands with high profit margins; the supermarket only charged them 6 yuan per voucher. Without factoring in any discounts, Jiangnan still made a 4-yuan profit. It was easy money—all they had to do was slip a piece of paper into a box, saving on shipping, storage, and shelf space. It was practically free income. While some blind boxes might result in a loss, careful calculations ensured an average profit of about 2 yuan per box.

Afterward, Liu Xiangjiang introduced the remaining ten new series: watches, toys, clothing, electronics, figurines, kitchenware, home appliances, accessories, sports gear, and books. Every single one was priced at 10 yuan per box.

Some might be shocked—ten yuan for a home appliance blind box? Ahem, well, a flashlight is technically a home appliance.