Reborn during the early days of China’s reform and opening, the narrator finds himself in the 1980s countryside. In this setting, the past is still a cold reference, yet it is also a fresh start....
"Brother, don't leave in a hurry."
Wan Feng called out to the young man, who looked at him doubtfully, thinking, "I've already paid the money, why do you want me to do this again?"
"If you buy me a pair of pants, I'll tell you a secret recipe to increase your height."
The method Wan Feng told him was very old-fashioned, which was to wear leather shoes with raised heels, whether it was raised inside or outside, the soles of the shoes would be raised. If you didn't dare to raise it more than two centimeters, it was still possible.
The young man seemed to be a little grateful. He didn't expect that he bought a pair of pants, which also came with a free height-increasing secret.
After all, it's lunchtime and the winery workers can't stay here, otherwise they'll lose their precious lunch break after going home for dinner.
So soon there was no one in front of the winery, but someone asked Xinli to come back after get off work in the afternoon.
Xin Li promised to come back after get off work in the afternoon.
The two men walked back with their bags, counting the bills as they walked.
This morning, they sold a total of eight pieces of children's clothing and ten pairs of men's and women's trousers, with sales revenue of 36 yuan.
"Sister-in-law, do you know how much we make from one piece of clothing?"
Xin Li shook her head. Even though she had been selling for the whole morning, she still didn't know how much money she had earned. Wan Feng didn't tell her.
"We make one dollar for every piece of clothing we sell, and we also make one dollar for every pair of pants we sell."
Wan Feng did not reveal all the truth. Even a dishonest businessman would have to be a little cautious.
Xin Li was stunned: "So much! You made 18 yuan just this morning!"
"It's not me, it's us. This morning we're doing business together, and you get half of the profit."
Xin Li was shocked. She had earned nine yuan in just this morning! If she did that, she could earn nearly three hundred yuan a month. Those high-ranking government officials only made a little over a hundred yuan a month now!
And this is only half. If she were to calculate it, Xinli wouldn't dare to calculate further.
"Aren't you going to sell clothes? You've seen the potential this morning. Let's discuss some terms. We'll design and process the clothes, and you'll be responsible for selling them in the city. For now, you can sell them on your own. If you can't sell them in the future, you can recruit people you think are capable. The wholesale price for these clothes is 1.5 yuan per piece or pair, whether it's children's clothes or pants. In the future, adult clothes may be priced a little higher than this. After all, adult clothes use more fabric and are more difficult to cut and sew. That's not a problem. You can also raise the retail price of the clothes a little later. But that's a matter for later. Based on today's selling price, you can make 50 cents per piece of clothing. Do you understand what I'm saying, sister-in-law?"
Xinli nodded.
"Brothers, let's settle accounts clearly. Now let's calculate our profits today. I brought in eighteen pairs of pants and ten children's clothes. Now I have eight pairs of pants and two children's clothes left. I'll leave them to you. According to the wholesale price I just quoted, these eight pairs of pants and two children's clothes are worth fifteen yuan in total. You shared nine yuan of profit with me this morning, and I'll cover that nine yuan. You only need to pay me six yuan more, and these pants and clothes will be all yours."
If she sells all these clothes and pants, she will get 20 yuan, and the money will all be hers.
Xin Li immediately took out six dollars and gave it to Wan Feng.
"You've got experience in selling now. You don't have to stick to just one factory. With hundreds of thousands of people in Hongya, there are probably hundreds of chaotic factories. Go visit each one. It's a huge market, so huge it'll surprise you, but there are also certain risks. Be vigilant. I'll be back this afternoon, and I'll send you some more clothes tomorrow. But there's one thing I have to say: family is family, money is money. We should put people first and gentlemen second. When I bring the clothes, you must pay me immediately, so as to avoid any conflicts in the future that will damage the harmony between brothers."
"Don't worry, brother. Do you think your elder brother and I are that kind of people? From now on, when you send me clothes, my sister-in-law will pay for them right away."
"Sister-in-law, we are in the middle of a bad conversation. Let me give you a heads-up."
Wan Feng left all the clothes to Xin Li and then said goodbye to her.
It was around noon at this time, and Yang Hong's tractor was still at home, so Wan Feng had to go to the construction site to wait.
Xia Qiulong stood at the construction site very professionally, watching a horse-drawn carriage unloading tiles.
Seeing Wan Feng coming with an empty bag, he was very surprised: "Where did you come from?"
Wan Feng sat down next to Xia Qiulong and said, "My sister-in-law and I went to do some retail business this morning. Now we're waiting for the tractor to come home."
"Do business? What kind of business can your sister-in-law do?"
"Hey, brother, you better hurry up. I'm telling you my sister-in-law made nine dollars this morning. Do you believe me? If you don't make any more money, she might kick you out if she doesn't like you."
Xia Qiulong's hand trembled, obviously burned by the cigarette butt.
"Earned nine dollars? Are you kidding me?"
"Have I ever fooled you?"
Xia Qiulong scratched his neck and thought for a while, it seemed that he had never been fooled before.
"Did your sister-in-law really make nine dollars this morning?"
Nine dollars can support their family of five or six for half a month.
"Maybe by evening it'll be fourteen dollars."
This time Xia Qiulong was even more surprised: "What are you selling that's so profitable?"
He couldn't think of anything to sell that would earn him fourteen dollars.
"I won't tell you. Go home and ask your wife yourself. Hey, is this the carriage from the front kiln?"
"Um!"
"How many watts have they delivered?"
"They only have one wagon. Two carts arrived yesterday afternoon, and this is the third. Each cart carries 600 pieces, so there are five carts in total, which means 3,000 pieces."
In fact, since they are so close to each other, one car can easily carry more pieces, and carrying 200 more pieces is not a problem.
"Brother, if they keep going at this speed, won't all the tiles be pulled away by them? We will have much less."
"Haha, these are the tiles they had piled up a few days ago. There are only about 3,000 tiles. Starting tomorrow, we'd be lucky if they could send a truckload. If they continue to transport them, we can make money too."
Hearing this, Xia Qiulong's expression relaxed a lot.
At this time, an old Jiefang truck drove into the construction site, raising a cloud of dust.
Wan Feng got up and hid behind a pile of red bricks, and only poked his head out after the dust settled.
Zhou Bingde came out of the car's cab, with his hands behind his back, looking like a leader.
Wan Feng ran over immediately after seeing this: "Boss Zhou, are you here to inspect the construction site?"
Zhou Bingde was delighted to see Wan Feng: "Ji Diao, you're here too?"
"Hey, hey, I heard you could come, so I ran over so I could listen to your instructions."
"Don't play all this fancy tricks on me. What are you doing here?"
"I'm going to the street to do something. I'm waiting for the tractor to come home."
"Oh! Since you have nothing to do now, accompany me to Yangfang. Get in the car!"
Holy shit, such a senior cadre is sitting on the Jiefang?