Chapter 590: Another Prize-Winning Sale
In the golden autumn of October, during the National Day holiday, the capital was filled with a festive and harmonious atmosphere!
Early in the morning, the Yanjing TV flagship store in Xizhimen was already packed with people, all eagerly awaiting the store’s opening!
Or, to put it simply, these ordinary people were all waiting for the TV Factory’s prize-winning sales event to begin.
With Feixue Apparel having sparked the craze for prize-based sales, the people of the capital have gradually come to accept this novel marketing approach.
After all, the 1,000 televisions, thousands of bicycles, and all the other prizes—big and small—from the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill were actually given away.
Many residents truly spent just a few yuan to get both clothes and a TV, or clothes and a bicycle—which made others envious.
Of course, some questioned whether Feixue Apparel’s campaign was genuinely a way to reward customers or simply a gimmick to boost sales.
But these doubts didn’t stir up much of a reaction; the vast majority of citizens still thought the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill’s campaign was excellent, and consequently, they were filled with anticipation for the campaign at the Yanjing Television Factory as well.
This was undoubtedly because people in those days were relatively simple-hearted; they hadn’t yet experienced the exploitation and deception of unscrupulous merchants through various marketing tactics. At that time, they were like innocent youths, completely unaware of the treachery that lurked in the world.
Furthermore, the people who came today were all in genuine need. While it’s true that some were drawn by the lure of the 10,000-yuan grand prize, the vast majority were there because their families actually needed a television.
You just can’t escape the reality of genuine need!
It’s just like those people decades from now who are buying homes to get married—even as housing prices keep skyrocketing, far beyond what people can afford.
Yet, vast numbers of young people still rush in one after another, even if it means taking on 20 or 30 years of mortgage debt.
It’s not that people don’t realize those hefty loans are essentially a life sentence, condemning them to immense pressure for the rest of their lives—but because it’s a basic necessity, they have no choice but to grit their teeth and bear it.
The situation today is much the same. Many people are drawn here simply because their families need a TV and they happened to come across this opportunity.
Even so, everyone can’t help but buzz about that 10,000-yuan grand prize.
Many worry that this is just a smokescreen or a gimmick put out by the TV manufacturer, and that the prize won’t actually be included in the raffle tickets.
But others felt that, after all, the Yanjing TV Factory is a well-known major enterprise; if they ended up not awarding a single 10,000-yuan prize by the end of the sale, it would be a serious blow to their reputation.
For a time, people on the street were abuzz with speculation!
But whether or not they believed the campaign would actually award the grand prize, everyone was filled with anticipation for that 10,000-yuan prize…
……..
Just past 7:30, staff from the Yanjing TV Factory began arriving at the store one after another and started setting up.
Unlike Feixue Apparel, which confined its event to an indoor venue, Yanjing TV Factory’s event was held outdoors.
After the staff arrived, they quickly set up a simple podium outside the store for the executives to give their speeches.
After all, Yanjing Television Factory is a local Beijing enterprise, and the Xizhimen branch is the factory’s largest and most important store, so it was only natural for the factory’s leadership to attend such an event.
Moreover, the event had already generated a huge buzz even before it began; numerous media outlets and television stations had already taken notice, so it was clearly not appropriate to start it on the quiet.
At 8:30, Sun Feng arrived at the event site accompanied by several factory executives!
By then, the venue was nearly ready.
Half an hour later, with a burst of firecrackers, the event officially began!
Because the event had attracted so much attention, it didn’t unfold like the one at Feixue Apparel, where people rushed to grab clothes the moment the doors opened and then exchanged them for raffle tickets—a scene completely devoid of any sense of ceremony.
The TV factory, on the other hand, maintained a strong sense of ceremony. As the firecrackers went off, Sun Feng, the deputy factory director, delivered an enthusiastic speech on behalf of Yanjing TV Factory.
After his speech, Sun Feng once again read out the detailed rules of the event before officially declaring it open.
As the ceremony concluded, a massive crowd of citizens surged into the store, kicking off a frenzy of shopping!
Zhou Jianhua was an ordinary worker at the Beijing Steel Plant. Since his wife was also a full-time employee at the plant, their family’s financial situation was fairly comfortable.
As their family’s living standards had gradually improved over the past few years, and with their children constantly begging, they decided to add a major household item this year—a television!
Originally, he and his wife had set their sights on a locally produced “Peony” brand TV and were planning to buy one during the National Day holiday. However, in recent days, newspapers and television had been flooded with advertisements touting the exceptional quality of Yanjing TVs. Being easily swayed, Zhou Jianhua and his wife began to waver upon seeing this.
Just as they were debating whether to abandon the Peony for a Yanjing TV, the Yanjing TV Factory announced that it would be holding a prize-winning sales promotion during the National Day holiday.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Jianhua and his wife immediately decided to buy a Yanjing TV!
Early in the morning, they arrived at the TV factory outlet in Xizhimen and immediately took their place at the very front of the line.
As soon as Sun Feng announced the start of the event, Zhou Jianhua and his wife rushed into the store and approached a staff member.
“Comrade, these TVs are yuan each, right?”
“That depends on whether you have a ration ticket. If you do, it’s indeed yuan per unit, and we’ll also give you lottery tickets!” the staff member replied immediately, with a very friendly attitude.
“I have a ticket… I have a ticket!”
Saying this, Zhou Jianhua hurriedly pulled out the money and ration tickets he had prepared in advance.
That’s right—back then, buying a major appliance like a TV required ration tickets. Usually, factories allocated a certain number of tickets each year, but you could also buy them from others!
However, unlike the severe shortage of TV coupons in previous years, TV production had increased significantly as every province across the country had established its own TV factories. As a result, TV coupons were no longer as scarce as they had been in the past.
It makes sense when you think about it—if they’re practically unsellable, how could there be a shortage of coupons?
But even though they weren’t scarce, the store still required vouchers when selling televisions.
If you don’t have a voucher, it’s no big deal—you’ll just have to pay extra!
After the staff checked the TV purchase vouchers held by Zhou Jianhua and his wife and confirmed they were in order, they immediately said, “Comrade, your vouchers are fine. If you’d like to make the purchase now, you can pay and we’ll issue the invoice!”
“Buy… of course we’ll buy it! Hurry up and issue the receipt!”
Soon, with the staff’s assistance, Zhou Jianhua and his wife paid yuan, receiving a -inch black-and-white TV and four beautifully designed lottery tickets.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhou Jianhua carefully scratched off one of the tickets.
“Thank you for your business!”
Seeing what had appeared beneath the gray coating, Zhou Jianhua felt a pang of disappointment.
He had listened very carefully to the speech by the TV factory’s manager earlier and knew that “Thank you for your patronage” meant he hadn’t won.
The fact that the very first ticket was a loser made Zhou Jianhua’s heart sink, so he immediately handed one of the tickets to his wife.
“My luck isn’t great today. You try scratching one!”
Without a second thought, Zhou Jianhua’s wife took the ticket and immediately began scratching off the coating!
The moment the coating was scraped away, three beautiful Chinese characters appeared beneath: 520 yuan!
“I… I won?” Zhou Jianhua’s wife said, somewhat excitedly.
A staff member nearby immediately said, “Congratulations, you’ve won 520 yuan! You can redeem this ticket for 520 yuan in cash at the prize redemption counter over there!”
Seeing this, Zhou Jianhua immediately said, “Let’s not rush to claim the prize just yet. Quick, scratch these two tickets too!”
Soon, the remaining two tickets were scratched off as well. One read “Thank you for your patronage,” while the other read “100 yuan.”
Two out of the four tickets were winners, totaling yuan in prize money.
After cashing in their prizes, Zhou Jianhua and his wife were delighted to discover that they had bought the TV, which originally cost yuan, for only yuan.
Although they hadn’t won the so-called 10,000-yuan grand prize, they were still overjoyed.
With Zhou Jianhua and his wife setting the example, ordinary citizens with an urgent need for a TV rushed to make purchases. For a time, the store’s sales staff, cashiers, and prize redemption personnel were swamped with work…
………
Note: There will be one more chapter before 10:00 PM!