Chapter 241 Operation

“Of course.” Su Xiangwan nodded and said with a smile, “Auntie’s idea is really fantastic!”

“But your Uncle Liqun said that this idea is unrealistic…” Cai Shuhua nervously recounted all the concerns that Tong Liqun had expressed last night.

After listening to her words, Su Xiangwan said, "Uncle Liqun's words are indeed a concern..."

Upon hearing this, Cai Shuhua's expression immediately darkened.

But then Su Xiangwan said, "But these are not unsolvable problems! For example, transporting things to the capital doesn't necessarily mean that people have to go back to transport them themselves. They can just have the villagers pack the things and then ship them to the capital."

"As for what you said about selling, you can try it out on a small scale first and gradually accumulate experience. However, have you considered who will be responsible for selling in the capital, whether it's a small-scale operation, a storefront, or finding a partner to sell the goods so that you only need to provide them?"

Su Xiangwan continued to ask.

"Can we find partners to sell it?" Cai Shuhua was taken aback; she hadn't considered that.

“Of course, if you find a sales partner, you won’t have to worry about how to sell it. You just need to keep supplying the goods.” Su Xiangwan nodded.

"If that's the case, then wouldn't it be most appropriate for us to find a partner to sell it now?" Cai Shuhua asked cautiously.

Looking at Su Xiangwan, his eyes were full of expectation and admiration.

After pondering for a moment, Su Xiangwan asked, "Auntie, before considering all this, you need to determine how much you can produce, and whether the embroidery and quality of each item can meet the standards you showed me. All of this determines whether your business can succeed, how long it can last, and how big it can become."

After listening to Su Xiangwan's words, Cai Shuhua calmed down and began to think seriously.

Seeing his wife's expression, Tong Liqun coughed lightly and said, "Shuhua, we're both getting on in years, and the kids are all grown up. Why bother with all this?"

"At this age? Tong Liqun, I'm only forty. How am I old?" Cai Shuhua snorted irritably. "You admit you're old, but I'm not old. At my age, I'm in the prime of my life!"

"Ahem... I just didn't want you to worry too much!" Tong Liqun was embarrassed by her retort and touched his nose, not daring to provoke her any further.

Sure enough! Women just can't stand the word "old," they get furious as soon as they hear it.

Seeing that he wasn't angry even after she scolded him, Cai Shuhua's initial anger subsided. After a moment of silence, she said, "Do you think I'm just making trouble for myself? I just want the people in our village to have a better life."

At this point, Cai Shuhua looked at Su Xiangwan, her eyes slightly red, and said, "Xiangwan, don't laugh at me, but I know exactly what our Bakeshu Village is like. In the whole village, besides Tong Ximei, I'm the only woman who's truly treated like a human being! In fact, my good days only started after I married your Uncle Liqun. Before that, my status was even lower than that of a pig in the pigsty. And in the end, I was sold for less than the price of a pig. If your Uncle Liqun hadn't bought me first, I don't know if I'd still be alive..."

“Shuhua… all of that is in the past…” Tong Liqun said with heartache when he heard Cai Shuhua say these things.

Cai Shuhua gave a bitter smile and said, "My hard times are over, but the hard times for the girls in the village are not over yet."

At this point, she looked at Su Xiangwan and said, "That's why when I heard you say that these handmade cotton-padded jackets and embroidery can be sold for money, I thought, if that's really the case, and I make this business a success, then the women and girls in the village can earn some money with their own hands, and their lives will be a little better."

"At least, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat. At least, many families won't kill their daughters because they're considered a financial burden..."

Tong Liqun's heart tightened: "Wife, so that's what you were thinking... I really didn't know..."

Su Xiangwan lowered her eyes and considered for a moment before saying, "Auntie, how about this? You should call the village first and discuss it with everyone. Based on the situation, calculate with Uncle Liqun how much you can produce each month. Then, you need to calculate the cost, labor, and selling price of each item clearly. After that, you should carefully consider whether this is feasible. After all, everything right now is just your own idea, Auntie."

Hearing her say that, Cai Shuhua nodded and said, "You're right. This matter does need to be carefully considered. I'll make a call to the village right away."

There was a telephone in the guesthouse, so Cai Shuhua didn't delay and dialed the village's number directly.

The person who answered the phone was Tong Decheng. After hearing Cai Shuhua's idea, he was also very excited and immediately began to visit the whole village with Zhu Jinmei to learn about the matter.

After telling Tong Decheng about the matter, Cai Shuhua felt a weight lifted from her heart.

Whether things succeed or not, at least she has tried her best, so she has no regrets.

Tong Decheng and his team didn't keep Cai Shuhua and the others waiting too long; they had almost finished compiling everything that very evening.

Cai Shuhua took the statistics and began to carefully calculate them.

Having worked in this field for many years, she naturally knew the costs of these things all too well.

Apart from the complete sets of clothes, the tiger-head hats and shoes were all made from leftover scraps of fabric from making clothes, so the cost was almost zero.

Even the children's clothes were pieced together from leftover fabric from adults making clothes.

After listening to Cai Shuhua's words, Xu Yirou suddenly spoke up, "Auntie, if that's the case, after you start mass production, you won't need to buy fabric in town. You can get the goods directly from the factory, which will save you a lot of costs. You can also collect scraps of fabric that people don't want and use them to make hats, shoes, and socks. This way, you can further reduce costs."

Hearing Xu Yirou say this, Cai Shuhua's eyes lit up and she nodded repeatedly: "You're right. Many people just throw away their scraps of cloth. It's okay if we just pick them up and use them."