Chapter 590: Selling Electric Heating Blankets

"Give me a cheaper price, it's too expensive..."

"Right, if it's cheaper I'll buy it, three yuan per piece."

"This thing is indeed good; spread on the bed, at night I'm no longer afraid of the cold, but it's a bit pricey, it costs me several days' wages."

"Three yuan per piece, we several will buy. It's hard to get a business trip to Capital City, so we'll bring back a rare item."

Everyone chattered, and Lu Ying, who was listening, couldn't help but frown; they've already mentioned three yuan per piece, so it surely can't be sold.

"Sorry, comrades, our cost isn't low either; this price is set by higher authorities, I have no authority to change it."

While Lu Ying spoke, others still wanted to haggle, when suddenly an arm reached out from the crowd, and a Great Unity appeared on the counter.

"Two, please."

Seeing the Great Unity on the counter and the suddenly appearing young man, the crowd opened their mouths in surprise.

Whoa, this young man is really rich.

The key is that he bought two at once, without even blinking.

Seeing the younger brother who had been called back from Hua Bing Chang, Lu Ying was startled; just as she was about to scold him for causing trouble, Lu Cheng gave her a look.

Having grown up together as close siblings, Lu Ying quickly understood what her younger brother meant.

He was pretending to be a shill.

Now the onlookers, after experiencing it firsthand, have a strong desire to buy, but because it's their first encounter with an Electric Heating Blanket, the five‑yuan‑per‑piece price is hard to accept.

With the younger brother acting as a shill, perhaps they can shift everyone's mindset.

Understanding instantly, Lu Ying had the money put away and handed Lu Cheng two Electric Heating Blankets.

"Take them, Comrade; if you find them useful, recommend them to relatives and come back."

Lu Cheng said deliberately, "They'll definitely bring relatives; I have several relatives who want to buy. When I asked the Friendship Store, guess how much it costs?"

Lu Cheng said this while looking at the customers, who shook their heads.

"Fifteen yuan per piece; this is produced in our own factory, only five yuan per piece, much cheaper. Yet you still complain it's expensive."

After speaking, Lu Cheng made a 'che' sound toward the older customer who had been bargaining.

The older customer, a bit irritated, said, "Hey, why are you making that sound? What does it mean?"

"Nothing special, just wanted to make the sound, 'che'…"

"Hey, you think I'm cheap? Think I can't afford it?"

Lu Cheng looked at the older customer; though he said nothing, his contemptuous expression said, "I look down on you."

Zhao Bin, who squeezed in from the side, also saw Lu Cheng's intention and fanned the fire with another 'che' sound.

"Hey, you also think I'm cheap, huh? Fine..."

The older customer finally lost his temper, pulling a neatly folded handkerchief from his coat pocket.

He unfolded it layer by layer, counted the five‑jiao pieces up to one yuan, then slapped it on the counter and said, with great swagger,

"Give me one, it's only five yuan! Who can't afford that..."

Zhao Bin kept fanning the fire: "If you have the guts, buy two."

The older customer retained a sliver of reason: "I don't need that many, so I'll buy one, try it first, and buy more if it works well."

People's habits gradually change with new products, just as when washing machines first appeared, many were skeptical.

They worried about water and electricity costs, feared damaging clothes, and never felt as safe as hand‑washing, but over time washing machines became indispensable household appliances.

Now the Electric Heating Blanket is the same; it needs a psychological acceptance process.

Fortunately, this thing heats quickly, and it's deep winter; with Lu Cheng acting as a shill, once the older customer bought one, others' desire to purchase rose.

But because of the price, some still hesitated; a knowledgeable person asked, "What wattage is this Electric Heating Blanket, does it consume much electricity?"

It's not that after spending five yuan to buy it, there will be no electricity cost; this device heats by electricity, so it will incur power charges.

Lu Ying, already well‑versed in the Electric Heating Blanket, replied, "Don't worry, sir, it doesn't waste electricity; ours has a switch for temperature control.

Initially you can set high heat for an hour, with a maximum power of about one hundred watts; once the bed is warm, you can switch to low heat, dropping the power to fifty watts, which costs roughly one‑tenth of a yuan for a night."

"Only a tenth of a yuan for a night?" the man hesitated, noting that's still a bit costly.

To allay concerns, Lu Ying gave an example: "It uses a bit of electricity, but think about it—coal briquettes cost two cents per piece; burning them all night costs three or four yuan, which is about seven or eight cents."

The man nodded, seeing the comparison; it seemed comparable, and the Electric Heating Blanket is a rare item, giving face when taken home.

After all, it's much cheaper than the Friendship Store's Electric Heating Blanket.

The man then didn't hesitate, paid five yuan, and took one.

Lu Ying this time brought back over twenty blankets; without a big event, they sold out quickly.

This gave Lu Ying great confidence; at this rate, once three thousand blankets are assembled, there'll be no worry about selling them.

But it still felt a bit slow; after all, Electric Heating Blankets can't be sold year‑round, only in winter.

Through today's trial, Lu Cheng also observed the current issues.

People, having just encountered the Electric Heating Blanket, have reservations and need gradual explanation to dispel them.

Even so, many still hesitate; those willing to spend are mostly office workers.

"Sister, I think we can't sell like this; it's too inefficient."

Lu Ying poured herself a bowl of Big Bowl Tea and said, "Exactly, to sell these twenty‑plus blankets, my throat is already dry.

If we sell all three thousand, I guess my throat will never be needed again."

Lu Cheng leaned on the counter, cracking sunflower seeds, and said, "So we need to come up with a method, preferably letting those who have bought an Electric Heating Blanket help spread the word, creating a propagation force, so they will actively come to buy."

"Create a propagation force? How do we do that?"

Lu Ying also knew her ability alone was limited; if they could truly generate such momentum, many would come to purchase by reputation.

Lu Cheng spat out a sunflower seed shell and casually said, "Come up with a name."

"A name?"

"Right, give the Electric Heating Blanket a brand name, so that when someone buys an Electric Heating Blanket and others ask about it, once they hear the brand it's easy to remember; even if they don't buy it this year, when they need one next year they'll immediately think of this brand's Electric Heating Blanket."

With his sister nodding, Lu Cheng paused briefly and continued.

"Also, regarding the current production of Electric Heating Blankets, we are the first to take the plunge, but I believe that by next year or the year after, other factories in the country will definitely start producing Electric Heating Blankets."

"So giving it a name is even more necessary, to build brand awareness in advance; when later someone wants to buy, the first thing they think of will be our brand name, which will also be advantageous in future competition."

Lu Ying kept nodding: "Hmm, you're absolutely right; we really should give it a name, just like bicycles have Phoenix brand, Eternal brand… but what name should we choose?"