Time passed quickly, and soon it was evening.
Since it had grown dark and there were no light sources nearby, only the shop area emitted a little light. Just as the customers were worrying about it and even taking out their phone flashlights to illuminate the area, Hoshino Sora silently pressed the master switch for the lanterns overhead.
Modern lanterns don't need to be lit with fire like in ancient times. As Hoshino Sora pressed the master power switch, all the lanterns lit up at the same time, emitting a glowing brilliance.
When the lanterns lit up in an instant, the entire scene seemed to undergo a magnificent transformation.
The originally dark night was instantly illuminated, becoming colorful and dazzling. The brightness of the lanterns gradually increased, dyeing everything around it in vivid colors.
"So beautiful!"
The customers, who were eating zongzi with the help of the shop's light and moonlight, couldn't help but look up after feeling the brightness.
Their eyes reflected the light of the lanterns. The lanterns in the sky were of various styles; some had peculiar shapes, some had exquisite patterns, and some were colorful.
When they lit up, they looked like blooming flowers, emitting a charming radiance. These lights intertwined to form a beautiful painting, dazzling to the eyes.
"Indeed, it's really beautiful. I didn't expect such a place to exist on the back hill. Not only is the environment beautiful, but the zongzi are exceptionally delicious, and they even give out handmade souvenirs. It's simply a paradise on earth. No! I have to post this on social media to show it off!"
A customer exclaimed this. If he hadn't seen his friend's post, he really wouldn't have known about such a paradise. Sitting here, feeling the evening breeze, eating zongzi, watching the lanterns, and guessing lantern riddles—it was incredibly comfortable!
Under the glow of the lanterns, people's faces were tinged with a colorful halo. Their smiles became even brighter, and their eyes were filled with surprise and excitement. The whole scene was full of laughter and liveliness.
At the same time, melodious and elegant music began to play in the surroundings. This music was sometimes cheerful, sometimes melodious, sometimes moving, echoing with the light of the lanterns, immersing people in this wonderful atmosphere.
The Three-Fresh Zongzi at Hoshino's shop were selling like hotcakes. Every customer would buy three or five, and a large number of [Zongzi Redemption Vouchers] were collected, piling up into a small mountain in the box.
This was despite the poor sales in the first few hours after opening due to the remote location. However, after the word-of-mouth promotion on social media today, tomorrow's customers would surely be several times more than today's! The snowball had already begun to roll.
"How were today's sales?"
Putting down the zongzi in his hand, Hoshino Sora looked at the staff member who had come to count the sales, his eyes filled with curiosity. Although they had been delayed for a few hours, their subsequent sales volume had been quite good.
"Two thousand three hundred and fourteen. You are currently ranked fifth in the best-selling zongzi chart, with a gap of four thousand five hundred and thirty-eight from first place. This is as of 8:00 PM tonight. Please keep working hard."
Entering the numbers into the tablet he was carrying, the data was uploaded to the cloud, and the backend data was updated immediately. Hoshino Sora's ranking was fifth on the overall leaderboard, with a total of one hundred and seventy-three participants.
"Fifth, huh? A little underwhelming."
Hearing his ranking, a look of disappointment appeared on Hoshino Sora's face. However, this was normal; after all, he wasn't in the Central Area, so the foot traffic could never reach its peak.
The zongzi in the pot were still boiling, and the cooked zongzi nearby were piled into a small mountain, while the uncooked ones were piled into a big mountain. Everyone was resting because there was no point in continuing to wrap them.
Although the number of customers was still increasing, it still couldn't reach peak traffic, and there were still quite a few empty seats at the scene.
Let's talk about purchasing power: one customer buys four or five, so ten customers mean forty or fifty. Working from 12:00 PM until now, the foot traffic was about five hundred.
It sounds like a lot, but you have to realize this is selling zongzi, not the restaurant industry. Although some people choose to dine in, more...
They were all for takeout, and they sold for a full eight hours.
On average, more than sixty people per hour, most of them came later, only less than a hundred people were received in the first four hours, and the rest came later. From this perspective, they still have a lot of room for improvement.
"The number of Zongzi sold by the first place is three times ours, which is truly terrifying!"
Looking at the Statistician's departing back, and thinking of the sales figure for the first place he had just mentioned, Hoshino Sora's face showed a subtle expression. A three-fold difference in quantity, tsk...
Although tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, and there will definitely be more people, their situation is like this, and other people's businesses will certainly not be bad. It just depends on who can make more customers spend money.
"Although the gap is a bit large, we can open at 7 AM tomorrow. To be precise, customers are allowed to enter the park. If we work hard enough, this is not an insurmountable number."
"That's right, with so many of us, are we afraid of them?"
"Today was mainly because there weren't enough customers. Tomorrow, we'll open a few more purchasing lines. We'll start preparing Zongzi tonight. Our reputation has already been established, so I don't believe we can't surpass them!"
"That's right, they just have a good location. If it were us, we could definitely sell better!"
Seeing that Hoshino Sora seemed a bit dejected, the girls immediately comforted him. It couldn't really be called comfort, as if they were truly in that location, they could certainly achieve several times the current sales.
"We've done well enough today. We'll operate for two more hours and then close. With the beautiful lanterns, it's a good opportunity for these customers to post on their Moments before they leave, a wave of perfect promotion!"
Looking at the dazzling lanterns above, Hoshino Sora stroked his chin and said so. If this scene were utilized, it would surely create more value.
"Hmm, then let's bring out another batch of souvenirs. However, the sisters at Gourmet Manor will have to work hard tonight to catch up, as the souvenirs are being consumed quite quickly."
"At that time, give them a few more food coupons, and all the Zongzi left over from the Dragon Boat Festival will also be given to them. All in all, this is our first battle in China, only first place is allowed, not second!"
"This battle will surely be victorious!"
"Crush them!"
Hoshino Sora looked at the group of people around him, their eyes firm. They also gave him the most positive response. Unity is strength and can overcome all difficulties. To make their customers' Moments more engaging, Aka-ri and Rika launched a lantern riddle marketing strategy.
Guessing the lantern riddle allows for a buy-one-get-one-free offer, which is practically selling at a loss, but it's worth it to boost everyone's buying interest. Anyway, there are only so many lantern riddles in total, so not much wool can be pulled.
After the plan was decided, the group dispersed and each took on their respective roles.
Some were boiling Zongzi, some were wrapping Zongzi, some were entertaining guests and encouraging them to post on their Moments, some were cosplaying as Zongzi maidens greeting guests at the entrance, and some were acting as the lantern riddle shop owner at the very outside.
"How much?!"
A shocked voice echoed through the night.
"That shop upstairs is indeed in fifth place, that's correct. The rankings will be posted in the Central Area later, announcing the results of each group. There are still some shops whose statistics haven't been compiled, so the rankings will change then."
Looking at the shocked expression of the person in front of him, the Statistician looked at the tablet in his hand and then said with certainty.
It must be said that Hoshino Sora is truly a talent. To be able to create such high sales in such a remote place, judging by the satisfied expressions of the customers, there should be even more people coming tomorrow.
"How could this be? In such a remote place, they actually got a good result of fifth place!? I sold less than a hundred Zongzi all day, and he actually sold over two thousand?!"
Watching the Statistician leave, the owner of the shop next to Hoshino Sora's slumped to the ground, his face full of dejection. Not long ago, he was still mocking, thinking the other party was putting on a show.
But now, it seemed, he was the clown himself.
That feeling was like being slapped hard by his own previous words. He should have known better than to speak. At least he should have waited until they failed before mocking, instead of being humiliated after mocking...
Oh no, he's become a classic villainous minor character.
No, he can't be a villain! He wants to reverse it, the electric meter reversal technique!
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