Chapter 158

Yesterday, Ji Wanmei called her father and gave him the landline number for his dormitory at school. Tonight at seven o'clock, he called looking for her.

The dormitory manager came upstairs and called Ji Wanmei: "Ji Wanmei, you have a phone number."

Ji Wanmei quickly put the letter away and ran downstairs to answer the phone.

The only person who knew her dorm room number was her father, so it must have been Ji Xingguo who called.

Upon arriving at the dormitory guardhouse, Ji Wanmei answered the phone: "Hello?"

"Meimei, how are you settling into school? Have you eaten yet?" Sure enough, Ji Xingguo's caring voice came from the other end of the phone.

For the past two weeks, Ji Xingguo has been feeling very uncomfortable with his daughter not being home.

I'm not used to eating alone, and I've lost weight.

I just want to call my daughter every weekend to check on her.

Ji Wanmei knew that her father was worried about her, so whether she wrote to him or called him, she always told him the good things.

“Dad, don’t worry. I’m doing well at school. The teachers are very kind to us, and I get along well with my classmates. The coursework isn’t too demanding either. Today is Saturday, and I even went to see a master of Shu embroidery and became her apprentice to learn Shu embroidery.”

Ji Wanmei held the phone, smiling as she shared her university life with her father.

Although she had already written most of these words in the letter, saying them aloud with a smile and a lighthearted tone would make Ji Xingguo feel even more at ease.

"Oh, that's great. You've always loved beauty and pretty clothes since you were little. Learning another skill might come in handy in the future."

Ji Xingguo responded with a smile, offering unconditional support for almost everything his daughter did.

Then he added, "If you go to learn Shu embroidery, do you have to pay tuition? If you need money, Dad will go to the post office tomorrow to send you some."

Tuition fees are definitely required. Shu embroidery is a national intangible cultural heritage, and not just anyone can learn it.

Although Ji Wanmei was favored by Grandma Song, she didn't need to pay tuition; she only needed to study with Grandma Song every week.

But Ji Wanmei wasn't ungrateful. Grandma Song was in her sixties or seventies and had become nearsighted. She had already retired, but now she had come back to teach her. Ji Wanmei insisted that she pay tuition.

She didn't know how much it would cost to learn embroidery from Grandma Song, but for now, she paid 100 yuan a year for a regular student at Shuxiutang, which wasn't expensive.

Ji Wanmei was too embarrassed to tell her father that she had also spent more than 300 yuan to customize an even more 'expensive' cheongsam.

She dared not tell Ji Xingguo that Lei Tingjun had already handed over his entire fortune to her.

Now, Ji Wanmei is quite wealthy.

Back in the 1980s, having ten thousand yuan was a very rare thing.

She already had eight thousand yuan in her savings account.

“I have enough money. The eight hundred yuan you gave me when you left is enough for me for a semester, so you don’t need to send me any more money,” Ji Wanmei said. “Besides, Chunyan’s shop also generates revenue every month.”

Just as they were talking about Luo Chunyan, Ji Xingguo said, "Alright, if you need anything, just call your dad. Chunyan is here too; she's the one who asked me to make the call. She has something to tell you about the shop. I'll let her talk to you on the phone."

The call was transferred to Luo Chunyan, who had been waiting anxiously for Factory Director Ji to finish speaking with Ji Wanmei, but was too embarrassed to urge them.

Finally, Ji Xingguo handed her the phone, and Luo Chunyan hurriedly said, "Hey, Meimei! Oh, let me tell you, a lot of the goods in our store have been copied by the county's general stores. It's so infuriating! Whatever goods we stock, they just copy them!"

Ji Wanmei said, "Chunyan, don't rush, tell me slowly."

Luo Chunyan said, "Tomorrow is the 7th again, and I took out the accounts today to look at them. Many items that sold well last month have seen a significant drop in sales this month. Our business has been snatched away by those who buy other products!"

"Last month, our turnover was over nine thousand, but this month it's less than seven thousand."

Luo Chunyan looked worried: "Meimei, what should we do?"

Ji Wanmei had already anticipated this.

It's just a general store, and it doesn't have any proprietary business model, so it's easy for others to copy its products.

Ji Wanmei thought for a moment and asked, "Have you taken stock of which categories of goods have seen the most significant sales decline, and which are the ones that others are buying the most of?"

Luo Chunyan said, "Hair ties, pants, curling irons, hair ties, scarves, hairbands, and even celebrity magazines—there are so many things to follow."

Ji Wanmei smiled and said, "Don't worry, these things are readily available everywhere. We'll gradually release some of their market share, set volume-driven prices, and regularly offer discounts and promotions to attract and retain our old customers. As for the others, like underwear, face cream, perfume, and jewelry, are there many stores selling those?"

Luo Chunyan thought for a moment: "These things are rarely copied."

Ji Wanmei: "That's settled then. You don't need to worry about those things. In the future, our store will gradually make our products more refined. As long as we always stay ahead of the fashion trends, let those copycat stores follow suit. It's important to leave a way for others to survive, right?"

Luo Chunyan sighed. She felt that Ji Wanmei's words were too easy to understand and too idealistic.

Their shop clearly sells cheap items like leggings, hair ties, and celebrity posters, making money off these inexpensive and high-volume products.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!