Wang Xing'er was known for her skillful hands when she was at her parents' home. She could sew clothes, embroider, and operate a sewing machine.

Hearing Li Xiangdong say he wanted to build a garment factory, she got excited. "Xiangdong, if you want me to start, I'll guarantee you here that I can train a group of good apprentices and make money for our brigade!"

With Wang Xing'er's promise, Li Jin said with a smile, "Go back and find someone first. The sewing machine will arrive in a month."

Wang Xing'er happily agreed, but there was one thing she wasn't quite sure about: "Captain, Xiang Dong, I used to do processing work, but the clothes I made were all work uniforms. Does our garment factory also make work uniforms for others?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head, "It's not that we can't do this kind of business, but right now our focus is on making clothes for ordinary people."

Wang Xing'er raised a question: "Now that everyone makes their own clothes, who would spend money to buy ready-made clothes?"

Li Xiangdong retorted, "Our fabric is cheap, comes in many styles, is fashionable, and doesn't require fabric coupons. If it were you, Auntie, wouldn't you buy it?"

Wang Xing'er slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Then I'll definitely buy it!"

"yes!"

"But……"

"Oh dear, honey, Xiangdong has been away on business for so long and is exhausted. He needs to eat. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Liu Changhai quickly stopped his wife, who was about to ask another question.

Wang Xing'er smiled sheepishly, quickly stood up, and said repeatedly, "Look at me, once I start talking about making clothes, I just can't stop. You guys hurry up and eat, oh dear, sister-in-law, hurry up and clear the table, I'm leaving now!"

Zhao Sufang smiled and told her, "Auntie, why are you in such a hurry to eat? Please sit for a while longer."

Li Xiangdong stopped Wang Xing'er, "Auntie, you need to think about how to make good use of the flawed fabric, whether it's for embroidery or to make a patchwork garment like a pleated dress."

“Auntie, we made you the leader because you are skillful. You can’t just bury your head in your work; your job is to figure out how to make clothes with the highest price at the lowest cost.”

After leaving Li Jin's house, Wang Xing'er and Liu Changhai walked silently for a long time without saying a word.

Seeing his usually lively and talkative wife unusually silent, Liu Changhai hesitated for a long time before finally speaking, "Honey, we don't have to do this job. Xiangdong's demands are too high, and the pressure is too much..."

"Oh, the idea of ​​piecing things together that I told you about is really great! Honey, take me to the warehouse again so I can see what patterns they have!"

Liu Changhai was startled by his wife's sudden shout, but seeing her radiant appearance, he immediately went to the warehouse without saying a word.

...

A month later, the first batch of sample garments was produced.

Unlike the currently popular loose-fitting black and blue clothes, this batch of clothes features brighter colors, with women's clothing fitted at the waist and men's clothing styled like suits.

In particular, the style of the men's and women's cotton-padded jackets is quite similar to the bread-like clothing of later generations. The cotton-padded jackets are also made of various colored fabrics pieced together to form patterns, which is very similar to the paddy field clothing of the Ming Dynasty. They look very novel.

In addition, this batch of clothes also includes summer garments such as pencil skirts, pleated skirts, flared pants, and dresses, which can only be seen in big cities.

Each garment is made in three sizes: small, medium, and large, to make it convenient for people of different body types to choose from.

The first batch of clothes was sent to the fabric counter of the county supply and marketing cooperative for sale, priced only slightly higher than ordinary fabric.

These clothes were snapped up as soon as they were displayed, and were especially popular among young men and women.

Even though it's still winter, all the summer clothes have been sold out.

Li Xiangdong, along with Li Guoqing and Zhao Xiaojun, bought some broad beans and ate them while watching people rush to buy clothes next to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Oh, I want that dress! It's exactly the same style as the one I saw in the magazine!"

This is a young girl with curly hair. She and her best friend each bought a dress.

"These bell-bottoms are really nice, they'll definitely look amazing in them!"

The young men prefer bell-bottoms and suits, and when they add a pair of sunglasses, they'll look incredibly stylish.

"Give me two of these down jackets! They'll fit my twin grandsons perfectly!"

An elderly woman squeezed to the counter, pointed at two cotton-padded coats, and spoke loudly to the sales clerk.

Li Xiangdong still remembered her; she was the old lady from the oil mill who had bought fish with him a few years ago. She was a woman who was not short of money.

The Chinese people's long-standing habit of buying fabric and making their own clothes is easily changed by these stylish and affordable ready-made garments.

...

Several people left the supply and marketing cooperative and rode their bicycles home.

The northwest wind was still cold, but some people were already wielding hoes and turning over the soil.

The guys chatted as they pedaled their bicycles with all their might.

"Second brother, I think this business is worthwhile!"

Li Guoqing couldn't stop smiling as he recalled the lively scene of people scrambling for clothes.

He knew the purchase price of these fabrics, and based on the current selling price, the profit margin was more than three times!

Zhao Xiaojun shook his head and did the math, "That's right, that's right! We sold over three hundred yuan worth of goods today. If we can sell the same amount tomorrow, we'll make three thousand yuan in ten days! Hahaha, we're going to be rich!"

Guo Yuxi also chimed in with great enthusiasm.

Seeing how hot-headed they were, Li Xiangdong immediately poured cold water on them.

"What we sold today has basically exhausted the purchasing power of the county. We may not be able to sell the next batch."

Unlike in later times, when clothes were worn a few times and then discarded, the modern saying goes, "New for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years."

Therefore, once you buy these clothes, you won't buy the same style again for three to five years.

After hearing Li Xiangdong's explanation, the group immediately deflated.

"What do we do now? This has become a one-off deal!"

"We even spent a lot of money on the sewing machine! We lost money..."

Li Xiangdong found their dejected looks amusing. "Think about it, what should we do next?"

Li Guoqing thought for a moment and said, "Besides our county, we can sell them elsewhere. It's just that we can't sell them in big cities, because people might not be interested."

He chuckled after saying that.

Li Xiangdong nodded, "That makes sense. What do you two say?"

Zhao Xiaojun then shared his idea: "We can sell it like watermelons, promoting it to other places and wholesaling it in large quantities. Although the price of each piece of clothing is a little lower, the sales volume is much larger this way."

Guo Yuxi spoke last, "I went to the Yanjing Department Store with my second brother before, and the clothes there weren't much more fashionable than ours. Why can't we sell them in big cities? If we buy good fabrics and make them into trendy, expensive clothes, wouldn't the profit be higher?"

Li Xiangdong concluded by saying, "What you all said makes sense. Guoqing focuses on the low-end market, while Yuxi targets the high-end market. These two are not contradictory, but to compete with clothing brands in big cities, we must have a continuous stream of new styles."

"This is what we call core competitiveness."