6: Chapter 6 The First Order

The next morning, Chairman Wang Shunyi began pondering the matter of product photos.

He didn't have any professional equipment, just a two-year-old beat-up phone. But Minji had said that the photos didn't have to be perfect; they just needed to be clear and presentable.

He found the spot with the best lighting in the semi-basement—the wall next to the window near the ceiling. Sunlight slanted in through the window, illuminating a patch of the wall.

He hung a white bedsheet on the wall to serve as a background, then arranged the packages of fire chicken noodles in front of it.

He tried all sorts of angles: close-ups of a single pack, a five-pack combo, ten packs piled together...

He took about thirty shots and then pulled up a photo editing app on his phone to tinker with them. He adjusted the brightness, contrast, and saturation, cropped out the messy background, and added some simple text.

After two hours of fussing, he finally picked out five that he was reasonably satisfied with.

They couldn't compare to professional photos, but at least they were clear, and you could tell exactly what the product was at a glance.

He photographed the self-heating hot pots the same way.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, he went to an internet cafe.

The internet in the semi-basement was too poor, and uploading images kept failing. He had to come to the internet cafe to use their high-speed network.

He found a computer, logged into the Coupang seller backend, and began listing his products.

First one: La Ziyou fire chicken noodles (single pack). He filled in the name, price, stock, and details, then uploaded the photos.

It went smoothly.

Next, he listed the five-packs and ten-packs. Then came the self-heating hot pots.

After an hour of work, everything was listed.

He looked at his shop page, feeling quite pleased. Although it was simple and didn't have many items, it was his own shop. He was no longer just a vendor crouching at the night market; he was also an e-commerce seller.

After uploading the products, he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

He started searching for "e-commerce operation tips," "how to increase sales," and "how to make detail pages," reading through them one by one.

He learned a lot: titles should include keywords so people can find them; the main image is the first impression and must be eye-catching; the detail page should include features, usage, and reviews to reassure people; offering discounts and coupons can increase the order rate; and customer service should respond quickly.

He noted these down in his phone's memo app. Although he couldn't do all that right now, at least he knew which direction to work toward.

At six in the evening, he left the internet cafe and went home.

He opened his phone to check the shop's backend: 23 views, 0 inquiries, 0 orders.

He had expected this. A new shop with no reputation, no reviews, and no popularity—where would orders come from?

He had to wait. Build it up slowly.

He decided to continue going to the night market in the evening. The online shop was one thing, but he couldn't abandon the offline business. Walking on two legs was more stable.

Seven o'clock in the evening, Dongdaemun Night Market.

As soon as Sister Jin saw him, she shouted with a smile, "Shunyi, I heard you opened an online shop?"

"Yeah, just opened it yesterday."

"And you're still coming to set up your stall?" Sister Jin was a bit surprised.

"The online shop just opened, there's not many people. I have to keep the stall going; another path means another source of income."

"You're right." Sister Jin nodded. "It's good for young people to have ideas."

He smiled and began setting up his stall.

At eight o'clock, the crowds began to grow. A small queue started forming in front of his stall again.

He noticed several repeat customers.

"Boss, my friends all said the fire chicken noodles I bought last time were delicious," a young man said. "I'll take another ten packs today."

"Sure thing, thanks for the support."

"By the way, Boss, do you have an online shop?" the young man asked while pulling out money. "I don't want to travel this far next time; it would be so much more convenient to just buy online."

Chairman Wang Shunyi froze for a moment, then quickly said, "I do, I just opened one on Coupang called 'La Ziyou Official Store.' There aren't many reviews yet, but you can take a look."

"Alright, I'll search for it when I get back," the young man said. "I'll make sure to leave you a good review."

"Thank you!"

His heart felt warm. Even just that one sentence gave him hope.

He decided that from today on, every time he sold something at the night market, he would mention the online shop.

At eleven o'clock, he packed up and went home.

Back in the semi-basement, he opened his phone to check the backend.

87 views, 2 inquiries, 1 order.

He froze for a second, then quickly clicked on the order details.

Order Number: 20240601-001

Product: La Ziyou fire chicken noodles (5-pack)

Buyer: Mapo District, Seoul ×××

Amount: 10,000 KRW

Shipping: 3,000 KRW (Paid by buyer)

Status: Awaiting Shipment

His heart went thud-thud, thud-thud.

His first online order!

It was just one order, ten thousand won in sales, but it meant so much to him.

The online shop was officially open for business.

He immediately clicked "Confirm Order" and began preparing for shipment.

He took five packs of noodles from his storage space, put them in a delivery box, and wrote down the address and phone number.

Then he opened a delivery company app and scheduled a pickup for tomorrow morning.

After finishing all this, he lay on his bed staring at his phone, feeling very much at peace.

From today on, he was a proper e-commerce seller.

The next morning, the courier came to pick up the package.

He watched the courier's departing back, feeling incredibly moved.

A few months ago, he was looking for work everywhere, worried to death. Now, he had already started selling things online.

Though it was small and he wasn't earning much, the first step had been taken.

Next was to keep going and slowly grow bigger.

He sent a message to Minji: "Minji, my online shop is open! I got my first order yesterday and shipped it today."

Minji replied quickly: "Congratulations! The first order is the most memorable. Keep it up, there will be more and more later."

He replied: "Thanks. By the way, I wanted to ask you something. How can I let more people know about my shop?"

Minji replied: "That's a big question, but I'll give you a few simple directions: optimize your titles and detail pages so people can find them; pay for ad space (this requires a budget, so don't consider it for now); post content on Instagram and YouTube to attract followers; and rely on customer reviews. Once you have more reviews, your reputation will grow. The most important thing for you right now is to accumulate good reviews. You can have your night market customers order from the online shop and leave reviews. Once there are more reviews, sales will naturally increase."

After reading it, he had a sudden realization.

He replied: "Thanks, Minji, I understand."

She sent another message: "You're welcome. By the way, have you thought about finding someone to help? It's too much for one person to handle both the stall and the online shop."

He thought about it and replied: "It is getting a bit overwhelming. But I don't have the money to hire someone right now."

Minji said: "Then you can find a partner, or a friend willing to work without a salary first, and then share the profits once you're earning. In the early stages of a startup, the team is very important."

A person immediately popped into his mind.

Zhang Junhao.

A high school classmate and a good buddy. He hadn't had much luck finding a job since being discharged from the military.

He immediately messaged Jun-ho: "Jun-ho, you free? I want to talk to you."

A few minutes later, the reply came: "I'm free. Where are you?"

"At home. If it's convenient, come over, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Okay, I'm heading over now."

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Junhao arrived at the semi-basement.

They had known each other for seven years, so he was familiar with the place. He found a small stool and sat down, looking at the goods piled on the floor. He asked, "Shunyi, what have you been busy with lately? I heard you're running a stall at the night market?"

"Yeah, selling fire chicken noodles." Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded, then gave a rough summary of what had happened recently—he didn't mention the system, of course, just saying he got a unique recipe from a friend.

After Zhang Junhao finished listening, his eyes lit up. "These fire chicken noodles are that easy to sell?"

"They're doing alright. Right now, I'm at the night market every day, and I can earn over a million a week."

"Over a million?" Zhang Junhao's eyes widened. "That much?"

"Yeah." Chairman Wang Shunyi nodded. "And I recently opened a Coupang shop; I just got my first order yesterday."

Zhang Junhao was silent for a while before saying, "Shunyi, you're really something."

Chairman Wang Shunyi shook his head. "Still a long way to go. I can't handle it all by myself, so I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to work with me?"

Zhang Junhao was taken aback. "Work together?"

"Right. Haven't you been looking for a suitable job? Why not do this with me? I'll handle the products and the direction, and you handle operations and shipping."

A spark flickered in Zhang Junhao's eyes, but it quickly dimmed. "Shunyi, I don't have much in the way of skills. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you..."

"You do," Chairman Wang Shunyi interrupted him. "You're down-to-earth and responsible, and we've been friends for so many years; I trust you. I really can't handle this alone; I need your help."

Zhang Junhao was silent for a good while.

Then he looked up, his gaze determined.

"Alright. I'll do it with you."

Chairman Wang Shunyi reached out his hand. "Then it's a deal."

Zhang Junhao shook his hand. "It's a deal."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Between brothers, everything was understood without needing to be said.