How business IS and SHOULD be, done, by giving the customers extra, to ensure that they will, come back, instead of, trying to, cheat them out of, what they're, buying, we don't see enough of this sort of goodwill these days now, unfortunately…translated…

That day, my neighbor Lee called early in the morn when I woke up, that her daughter-in-law was in labor, and she needed to stay by her side, that she may not get back in an hour's time, but, the bamboo shoots she'd cooked the afternoon from the previous day, if she didn't take it to the markets to sell, then, they would all be, spoiled, asked if I could sell them at the marketplace for her?

And surely, I'd told her no problem.  Gone to her home, picked up the foods, but, as I was about to go off, Lee told me, to make sure that the weights of the foods I weighed is precise, "the scale is what we made our living with", that we can't, take advantage of the, customers, I'd smiled and nodded.  Actually, I'd, heard that line from before, as I was growing up, we raised the hens for eggs at home, every evening, my mother would haul out the fresh eggs to the markets to see, and sometimes, when the plantation was too busy, I'd had to, take her place, and sell off the chicken eggs for her.

And every time, my mother would tell me, after I'd weighed the eggs, and agreed on the selling price, to put an extra egg that's, smaller in size, and looked like what the customers wouldn't normally select to buy, to let them know, that we'd not only, weighed everything, that we also, showed our, gratitude toward them for buying from us, that it would cause our business to flourish from here on out.  Back then I couldn't understand all of this, only felt, that so long as I didn't cheat the customers in the weights, why did I need to, give them an extra egg?  If we'd saved the eggs that didn't sell well, then, our lunches would have the eggs, and maybe, we can even get, "upgraded" to one sunny side up each!

But that's how my mother was, rather that her own young didn't have enough proteins, but still, give all she could back to her customers.  She'd told me, that this, is how businesses should be, done, other than being honest, we also needed to care much over the interactions, the kind transactions.  And as the buyer and the seller established that trust, then, our business would become, longer lasting.  This is, the best explanation of the Taiwanese saying of "the scale is our livelihood", also the wisdom of the ancients in doing businesses, the way we should, interact with the world around us.

And after knowing this, I'd, kept this to heart, and followed this "rule of business" since.  In the calculated down to the last gram transactions, I'd never, cheated my customers, only, gave them more.  After all, business is made by, trust.  As I'd, sold the bamboo shoots for Lee on that day, that was, what I, used, and, so, it took me, a very short period of time, to sell it all out completely.

And so, instead of the normal way of business, cheating the people, this person followed her mother's rules, of giving extras to her customers, and by so doing, she'd, shown them that she's truthful and honest, which guarantees that the customers will return.

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