Chapter 38: Calm Amid the Storm

"Hey, Old Shen, what brings you here in person today?" Several nearby vendors greeted Shen Yuequn with surprise when they saw him arrive. After all, Shen Yuequn had struck it rich. The blind box business had taken off like wildfire, and word had it he was now the owner of a company, driving a van and overseeing the entire market across the three northeastern provinces.

The local vendors were green with envy. Some of them had been running stalls for over a decade and still remained mere stall owners, while Shen Yuequn, after just a month in business, had already become a boss. Of course they felt jealous—it was impossible not to.

But they couldn’t replicate his success. Many had tried to sell blind boxes as well, but couldn’t procure such inexpensive leather goods. Others attempted to sell different items, yet most of the contents in their blind boxes were worth far less than the price, causing customers to give up after a few purchases.

Unlike Shen Yuequn’s blind box stall, which attracted many repeat buyers. After all, ten yuan for a wallet was a steal.

Had anyone tried to drive Shen Yuequn out? As it happened, yes—some jealous vendors selling leather goods in the market, whose business had been snatched away, harbored deep resentment.

But whenever they tried to employ certain tactics, all the nearby stall owners united to defend Shen Yuequn’s stall. The management took the same stance; even some underground groups openly declared that no one was allowed to force Shen Yuequn out, and anyone who tried would face consequences.

Was it because Shen Yuequn had powerful connections? Not at all. He was just an ordinary man. The real reason the entire market protected his stall was because he drew crowds of customers, bringing in huge traffic. Many who had no interest in the market came specifically to see the now-famous blind box stall in SY City.

After a month, statistics showed that Shen Yuequn’s market saw a 12% increase in foot traffic compared to the previous period.

More visitors meant more consumption. Though most came for the blind boxes, they didn’t just buy those—if they saw something interesting at a nearby stall, they’d buy it too.

As a result, the income of all vendors rose by about 10%. How could the market possibly let Shen Yuequn leave? His stall was a super viral shop of 2001!

Especially for those stalls nearby, sales soared by over 50%. Now, to secure a place next to Shen Yuequn’s stall, some stall owners even engaged in physical contests.

The most intense saw group fights involving more than twenty people.

So now, anyone who managed to set up near Shen Yuequn’s stall was undoubtedly a loyal guardian, attentive to every detail. They all knew Shen Yuequn rarely appeared these days, so his sudden arrival was unexpected.

“Got something new today!” Shen Yuequn smiled and pulled a brand new cardboard sign from his cart, drawing everyone’s attention.

The writing was similar to before: handwritten notes detailing the possible collectibles in the blind boxes.

But unlike before, when "Leather Jacket" was the largest text, this time the biggest words were "Full-Color Touchscreen Phone," followed by "(Original price 8,888 yuan)."

“Old Shen, is it true? There’s a phone in your blind box now?” The crowd was stunned by the new sign.

“Of course!” Shen Yuequn nodded, pulled out his signature loudspeaker, and pressed play. The familiar cry of the "Jiangnan Leather Factory," along with the tale of the boss and his sister-in-law, once again echoed in everyone’s ears.

It was a voice everyone knew well, but after it finished, a new recording played.

“Guangdong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Shenzhen! The scoundrel boss Huang He has been found. He used our hard-earned money to buy and resell phones, running up a debt of 350 million. While we reported him, he escaped with his sister-in-law. Left with no options, we took the phones as payment. All of them—original price 8,888 yuan, imported European Tianxing phones—are now ten yuan each, all ten yuan, hidden in these blind boxes.”

“Huang He, you are heartless! We worked for you for half a year, you didn’t pay us—give us back our money, give us back our sweat and toil!”

No doubt, it was still Huang He’s voice.

“Wow, there’s a sequel!” The crowd buzzed with excitement.

For over a month, they’d listened to the same story about the scoundrel boss Huang He. The recording was full of intrigue, so captivating that once heard, it was unforgettable.

Over time, everyone grew more curious about the saga’s continuation. They wondered what Huang He did after fleeing with his sister-in-law, what happened next, and whether they spent every day indulging in excitement.

Now, at last, the story had a new chapter!

“Yes, some workers said they saw Huang He in Shenzhen, so many went to catch him and found he’d stockpiled a huge batch of phones, hoping to make a fortune.”

“Unfortunately, the man was too cunning. While we reported him, he escaped again with his sister-in-law, leaving only the phones behind!” Shen Yuequn spoke with genuine sorrow.

“Tsk, tsk, this Boss Huang is something else—he sunk 350 million into leather goods and still had money to hoard phones!” someone exclaimed.

“Yes, he’s truly a villain!” The crowd condemned him, their gazes drifting to Shen Yuequn’s cart. Finally, someone couldn’t resist curiosity: “Old Shen, are there phones in your cart?”

“I don’t know. To ensure fairness, all the phones we recovered were mixed into the leather blind boxes,” Shen Yuequn replied. “So these 400 boxes might contain phones—or might not. No one knows what’s inside until they open them!”

“Really? If there’s at least one phone in these 400 boxes, that’s a bargain—a full-color touchscreen phone costs at least 6,000 yuan now. Four hundred boxes cost only 4,000 yuan, plus all those wallets and shoes—it’s definitely worth it!” Many mentally calculated their odds.

“Yeah, Shen Yuequn will be selling like crazy again!” The crowd sighed with anticipation, while Shen Yuequn eagerly watched the growing throng, hoping the new phones would restore the bustling atmosphere of earlier days.

That was why he had come in person—to gauge the market’s response to the new product firsthand.

Yet…nothing seemed to change.

While the phones drew bright-eyed attention, overall sales barely differed from yesterday. There was a slight uptick, a few hundred yuan at most—nothing remarkable.

“What’s going on? Does nobody care about the phones?” Huang He’s face was full of confusion. At that moment, someone with a knowing look remarked, “Old Shen, regardless of whether there are phones in your boxes, at 8,888 yuan per phone, there’s probably only one in 800 boxes. The odds are too low, same as with the leather jackets. No one expects to win!”

It was true: a one-in-800 chance was pitiful, worse than the odds in a gacha game. So even if there really were phones inside, no one would buy the blind boxes just for that.