The next day, around 8:30 a.m., Zhang Xuemei led Xu Mingwan out. She pulled the cart in front while Xu Mingwan pushed it from behind. The two walked and stopped, looking for a place to set up their stall.

"Third Sister-in-law, where should we set up our stall?"

Zhang Xuemei pointed to the buildings ahead and said, "See that? There's a car repair shop over there. Let's go in and take a look."

The two pulled the cart straight into the alley next to the repair shop. On both sides were self-built buildings, about the same height as the commercial housing that Zhang Xuemei and her family bought, the difference being that these were built by themselves.

As soon as Zhang Xuemei and her companion entered, they attracted the attention of the middle-aged women sitting downstairs doing handicrafts. "Hey, are you looking for someone? They look unfamiliar!"

Seeing that someone had spoken to her, Zhang Xuemei immediately replied with a smile, "Auntie, we're not looking for anyone, we just wanted to ask if you need to buy socks?"

"Socks? You sell socks?"

"How much? I was thinking of buying a few pairs for my son later. I don't know what's wrong with his feet. Other people can wear a pair of socks for years, but his wears out in less than a month. He's such a spendthrift."

Seeing their interest, Zhang Xuemei quickly untied the black bag behind her and took out a dozen socks to show them. "Look, they're all here, men's and women's styles. They're all four yuan and fifty cents for two pairs. I won't sell anymore after this batch, so ladies, if you need any, hurry up."

"Four yuan and fifty cents, can you make it cheaper? I'll buy a few more pairs." As soon as Zhang Xuemei quoted a price, the auntie who loved to bargain started to haggle.

"Oh my, Auntie, everyone else is selling them for three yuan a pair, and I'm offering two pairs for four yuan and fifty cents, which isn't cheap at all! Look at these, they're all good socks, I'm already losing money at this price. If I didn't need the money urgently, I wouldn't be selling them at a loss!"

Xu Mingwan could tell from Zhang Xuemei's familiar way of speaking that she had been bargained down a lot when she was setting up her stall. If it were him, he would probably say, "No, I can't lower the price," and then the business would fall through.

"Look at what you're saying, you'd sell it at a loss? You're just trying to fool us old ladies." One of the disbelieving aunties looked at Zhang Xuemei sideways. She just couldn't believe it. Who would sell it at a loss? Wasn't that stupid?

Zhang Xuemei slapped her thigh, looking aggrieved and distrusted. "Oh dear, why don't you believe me, Auntie? If I sell at a loss, at least I can recoup some of my costs. If I just leave them at home, they'll all be junk. How long will it take our whole family to wear all these socks?"

"Haha, that makes sense. But if it were my son, he'd wear out a pair every month, haha."

As she spoke, the auntie laughed. It was her son who wore out socks so quickly. She had never seen anyone wear out socks so quickly. Only her son had such strong feet!

“Look, if Auntie really wants to buy more, just give her a discount, and I'll feel better.”

"That's right, give way a little."

Seeing their expressions, Zhang Xuemei pretended to be helpless and said, "Alright, alright, in order to get some cash back, I can only lose a little more. How about this, if you buy ten pairs, I'll give you one free?"

"Let's give two pairs, good things come in pairs!" someone thought. Since they could give one pair, they could give two pairs.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuemei immediately waved her hand and said, "No, no, this is too much of a loss. I would rather not sell them than give away two pairs."

Seeing Zhang Xuemei's troubled expression, the aunties who were bargaining knew they had already pushed her to her limit, so they added fuel to the fire, "How about this, I'll take five dozen by myself, what do you think?"

"this……"

"What's so great about this? Hurry up and untie the bag, let's pick some now."

Zhang Xuemei gritted her teeth, stamped her foot, and said, "Fine, two pairs it is, but you have to take a dozen, not just take them in different styles."

The aunties waved their hands and nodded indifferently, "Okay, okay, we'll just take it and not open it. It's just for wearing on our feet anyway, it's not like it's sticking out."

After agreeing on the price, Zhang Xuemei spread an oilcloth on the ground, then untied the black bag on the cart and took out a dozen socks for them to choose from.

"Aunties, after you've chosen your socks, come to my little sister's to pay. Then we'll deliver the socks after you've counted them. Don't make a mistake." Zhang Xuemei gave her sister-in-law a look, and Xu Mingwan quickly took out several dozen socks from the bag, opened them, and placed them in front of her, waiting to deliver them later.

"You know what, these socks you bought are pretty good. Why are they so cheap? Is there something wrong with the quality?" The auntie who was picking out socks looked at this one and that one and her suspicions kicked in again. Why are good socks being sold so cheaply?

Zhang Xuemei was also helpless. Was it wrong to sell cheaply? But she could only patiently explain, "Auntie, the quality is absolutely good. It's a new arrival this year, not some old stock. You can tell by the color. It's so vibrant and hasn't faded. It's obviously brand new. You can rest assured about the quality! I really needed the money urgently, so I'm selling it off."

"Alright, alright, Jianguo's mother, you're just paranoid. You can touch it, and you're even gloating because you got the better deal."

"Alright, alright, I was just saying. Look, you've actually helped. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the boss."

"I can't be bothered with you, girl. How much does it cost for me?" A long-faced woman handed the socks she had chosen to Xu Mingwan, waiting to pay the bill.

Xu Mingwan took the socks, counted them, and did some mental calculations before replying with a smile, "Auntie, you have ten dozen socks here. One dozen socks costs twenty-two yuan and fifty cents, so ten dozen is two hundred and twenty-five yuan. I'll also give you two dozen more socks as a bonus. Is that right?"

"Wow, over two hundred! Old Zhao, why are you buying so many? You can't eat them, and this isn't the way to get a bargain! Buy fewer!" Jianguo's mom, who was picking out socks next to him, couldn't help but advise. Besides, these socks aren't that cheap, why hoard so many? Are you not going to buy any for the next ten years?

The auntie, called Old Zhao, started calculating on her fingers, "You don't even know how many people are in my family. If I only buy for my youngest son, people won't say I'm biased! There are ten people in the family, men and women, and each person needs two pairs, right? Plus my older brother and younger brother's families, it might not even be enough to go around!"

What Aunt Zhao didn't say was that her youngest son had such bad feet that he would go through a pair of shoes every month, and sometimes he would wear out a pair in just two days. A grown man can't go out wearing torn socks, can he? It would be too embarrassing!

Besides, she didn't give away these socks for free; everyone had to pay for them, and she spent over two hundred yuan on them. As for the two dozen that were given as gifts, they were naturally hers.