Tai Pi the street hawker

A week ago, Tai Pi announced to me that she was going to sell origami creations "downstairs" i.e. our condo grounds. In the past, she had sold her drawings to me and KK and to the next door neighbour, and she had also sold hair accessories to her friends, so this show of entrepreneurship from Tai Pi was not new.... but origami, er... When she presented me with her idea, she had already prepared a display table, which was a big box she covered with colour paper, on top of which sat a few pieces of origami. She had to explain her creations as otherwise it would have been quite impossible for anyone to figure it out. She had priced her wares at "1 for $1, 3 for $5". Clearly Tai Pi is not numerically inclined but math aside, I didn't think anyone "downstairs" or anywhere else would be interested in her origami creations. I didn't know how to tell her this without hurting her feelings....so I roped in Pumpkin.

I asked Pumpkin, "Would you buy this for a dollar?"
Pumpkin who either does not know the value of a dollar, or really likes origami creations very much, or both, says "Yes."

OK, let's move on to Plan B. I suggest to Tai Pi that if she wants to sell something, why not sell some old toys they don't play with anymore. We would be moving soon so it would be the perfect time to get rid of those.

We didn't discuss it any further and as the days passed, I thought Tai Pi had forgotten about the whole thing. Then nearing the weekend, she said to me, "I'm opening my shop on Saturday." I didn't take her seriously as I thought she would get distracted by TV and computer games come the weekend and forget about her origami venture.

But I was wrong. Yesterday, she presented me with her display table now covered with origami creations. Incidentally, all this took place during exam week so now I know what she was busy with while kids everywhere else in Singapore were studying hard for their exams. Now I had to be blunt and I told her I really don't think anyone "downstairs" would buy origami, not even at 10 cents (she had lowered her price). And I quickly picked some stuffed toys they didn't play with anymore and placed them in a tub for her to sell "downstairs" and instructed her to sell them at 1 for $1, 3 for $2.

The girls and I then went down and while Sai Pi and I sat at a bench and played with bubbles, Tai Pi and Pumpkin whom she had recruited as her sales assistant went about to peddle their goods. Tai Pi was a bit shy but did approach a couple of people but they weren't interested ("I have no children," said one of them). They then stationed themselves at the drop-off point near the entrance of the estate. They took the toys out of the tub and displayed them on a bench. Tai Pi instructed her assistant to play with a toy monkey, swinging its arms and legs about wildly to attract attention and create a buzz. It seemed to work as it caught the attention of a group of children who called out to their parents that someone was selling toys, but nothing came of that.

Tai Pi became discouraged and we went home soon after as it was getting dark. I told Tai Pi it didn't matter that she didn't sell a single toy. The important thing was that she didn't give up so easily; "that's perseverence and it's a good thing," I said to her.


Origami anyone?