Chapter 174

Although her skin has indeed become a lot darker, the dark skin makes her look more energetic. Compared with the previous pale skin that was suitable for being cautious, the current wheat-colored skin is obviously more suitable for her, and this kind of dressing also makes her look more fashionable and youthful.

No one in the provincial capital dresses like this. Xia Qingtang now wants to buy a pair to take home and try on when he sees Xie Xiaoshuang's jeans.

Xie Xiaoshuang looked at Xia Qingtang and said a little embarrassedly: "My roommate also said that I seem to be getting more and more energetic."

"You are getting more and more energetic!" Xia Qingtang said very forcefully: "You are getting so much better now, I am finally relieved!"

"You should have been relieved a long time ago. After I came here, I gradually felt better. In about the second month, I stopped having nightmares at night. I learned very quickly in the factory and will be able to become a formal worker soon. Coming here was indeed the right decision. Now, I have learned a skill. Even if I don't continue to work in the garment factory in the future, I can always support myself with my skills."

"That's great, you can finally have an income. By the way, have you used up the money you brought with you?" Xia Qingtang asked immediately.

It is absolutely impossible for a person to live in a foreign place like this without money.

"As for the money, I haven't used it up. Our factory provides food and accommodation. I went to the shopping street during the holidays and bought some old clothes with your blessing. I also used some toilet paper and soap. There was not much else I spent. I still have a lot of money left." Xie Xiaoshuang said, "Besides, you stuffed fifty yuan into my clothes before you left. It was not used. Don't worry."

"You don't have to be so frugal. You help me run around the commercial streets to buy clothes and send them, so I should pay you a portion of my wages. I came here this time just to give you this wage, and you must accept it."

"Okay, then I'll take the wages and treat you to a meal." Xie Xiaoshuang said with a smile: "Let's go, I'll take you forward, over there is the bus stop. This time, let's stay in the guesthouse next to our garment factory, it will be more convenient. First go to the guesthouse to put your luggage, then I'll treat you to a meal, and in the afternoon we can go to the factory to meet Deputy Director Liu."

"Okay, let's take the bus first." Xia Qingtang took Xie Xiaoshuang's arm and walked forward together.

Hsinchu City is developing very fast. When I came here last time, there was no bus route here, but now there is one.

Xie Xiaoshuang said that although there are still few buses now, it is at least much better than before, and there are more and more people riding tricycles to transport people and goods here. Because of the fierce competition, the price is cheaper. Sometimes she and the female workers go out and take a tricycle together.

Xia Qingtang saw that there were indeed quite a few modified tricycles parked there. They were equipped with roofs to protect against wind, rain and sun. The young men were all shouting to solicit passengers.

Outside the train station, there are still a lot of small stalls bustling with people, selling snacks, clothes, shoes and hats, umbrellas, fans, and all kinds of ice popsicles.

"It's just too hot here. We have to eat popsicles almost every day, otherwise we can't stand it." Xie Xiaoshuang walked to a small vendor selling popsicles and said, "Give me three cream ice creams."

Then, she turned around and asked Xia Qingtang: "Would you like some ice water? The ice water here is made by the locals themselves using a kind of herbal medicine. Drinking it can relieve heat and reduce body temperature, and it can also reduce internal heat."

"Is it delicious?" Xia Qingtang asked curiously.

“It’s not delicious, but it does relieve the heat.”

"Then let me try one cup. Do you want to drink, Jinxuan?"

Xie Jinxuan said: "Let me try it too."

So they ordered three glasses of ice water and three popsicles, and started to enjoy them in a cool corner.

The taste of ice water is indeed not very good, but it is indeed very comfortable to drink when it is cool. Xia Qingtang originally felt hot in the chest, but now after drinking it, he feels a lot calmer.

The sun was blazing outside. Xia Qingtang looked at Xie Xiaoshuang's bald head and said, "Xiaoshuang, why don't you buy a straw hat? Isn't it uncomfortable to be exposed to the sun like this?"

She and Xie Jinxuan always wore straw hats when they went out in the summer, otherwise they would get a headache after being exposed to the sun for too long.

"Hey, I bought a straw hat, but I forgot about it today. How about you guys, do you want to buy two straw hats? The hats here look a little weird, but they look pretty good when you wear them." Xie Xiaoshuang said, "But don't buy them here. They are always very expensive at the train station. Buy them when you get to where you live."

"good."

After eating the popsicles, the three of them walked to the bus stop together and took the bus to Xie Xiaoshuang's garment factory.

The last time I came here, there were not so many shops nearby, but now I find that there are many new buildings on both sides of the road, some of which are even just thatched huts, selling all kinds of things, and it is as lively as the train station.

Xie Xiaoshuang said: "Workers like to come here to hang out after work, and those who have extra money will eat and drink here. We apprentices can't do that, and we are reluctant to buy anything even if we occasionally take a look."

"You will be a formal worker soon, and then you can buy it." Xia Qingtang said.

"Yes, but I will still be frugal with my money. I want to save it for future use."

"What's the use?" Xia Qingtang was a little curious.

Xie Xiaoshuang whispered, "I heard from the factory staff that houses in Hsinchu City are available for purchase. There are many houses facing the street over there. Although the factory does not provide houses, if I can buy a house, I would also like to buy a house nearby that is big enough for me to live in. It doesn't have to be too big, but as long as it is my own house, that's fine."

People in other places didn’t have the concept of buying a house until the late 1980s. I didn’t expect that Hsinchu City is so advanced that people can already buy a house.

However, whether in the late 1980s or the late 1990s, buying a house was very expensive for ordinary people, and ordinary working-class people could hardly afford it.

However, by the 1990s, almost all units no longer had any welfare housing, and young people had to spend money to buy expensive commercial housing in order to get married and have children.

Xia Qingtang had heard her brother-in-law from her previous life say that commercial housing would become more and more expensive in the future. Although she didn't know whether it was true or not, Xia Qingtang would rather believe it.

She said, "Buying a house is great. If you can buy a small house of your own here, I'll feel more at ease. Besides, a house is something you can live in for the rest of your life. How great is that."

"Yes, I think so too. If I have my own little house, no matter what job I do in the future, I won't have to worry about having no place to live after quitting my job. So, I have to save money and try to buy my own house here as soon as possible."

"Don't just save money. If you see a suitable house but you don't have enough money, you can tell me and I can help you a little."

"No, I can't take your money." Xie Xiaoshuang refused firmly.

"I'm not giving it to you for free. I'm just lending it to you. Please write me an IOU and pay me back slowly in the future."

"Are you that rich already?" Xie Xiaoshuang asked, "Your store hasn't been open for long."

Xia Qingtang whispered: "It's true that I haven't made that much money from running a shop, but I do have some money, all given to me by Jinxuan."

"So that's how it is. I thought so." Xie Xiaoshuang smiled. "You are really lucky to be with Old Xie."

As they were talking, they had already arrived in front of the best guesthouse near the garment factory. Xie Xiaoshuang had already told the staff at the counter about this, so when they arrived, they got a room on the first floor with its own bathroom.

"I heard from my co-workers that there are two rooms with their own bathrooms, so I came here in advance to talk to them and reserved a room. You can rest assured living here, there are electric fans in the room, and if you want to drink ice water, it's for sale outside the door. This guesthouse also has its own freezer, and if it's too hot at night, you can ask the staff to buy popsicles." Xie Xiaoshuang took them to see the room.

"Will it be so hot at night?" Xia Qingtang asked.

The staff holding the key said, "Yes, it's very hot here. When I first came here, I couldn't adapt to it and often couldn't sleep. Now I'm used to it and sleep with the electric fan on all night. If there is a power outage, I will set up a tent outside and sleep outside."

Xie Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "We slept outside at night, and it was still a bit cold in the second half of the night. So, next time you come to see me, choose to come in winter."

The room was indeed very spacious, with two single beds, a sofa, a table, and a coffee table. The private bathroom was also well ventilated and had a simple solar water heater installed, so on a hot summer day, one could stand there and take a shower, which was very convenient.

The staff showed them the house, brought them a glass jug filled with cold water, and then left.

Xia Qingtang turned on the electric fan and blew it towards the room, then said, "What time can we meet Deputy Director Liu this afternoon?"

"We'll be back at work at 2pm." Xie Xiaoshuang said, "Let's go eat next door first. After that, I'll go back to the factory to take a nap. You guys can also come back to take a shower and rest for a while. We'll meet at the factory gate at 2pm. How about that?"

"Okay, your arrangement is perfect." Xia Qingtang said, "Then I'll give you the wages first."

As she spoke, she took out an envelope and explained clearly the money inside and how the wages were calculated.

After listening to this, Xie Xiaoshuang asked, "Isn't it a bit too much?"

"Not much. You only have one day off a week, but you help me pick second-hand clothes every day, and then you help me mail them to me. It's very hard work, and I calculate the salary based on the number of times. You buy something once, and it's counted as one time's salary, which is not much at all. Moreover, you must accept this money because this is our formal cooperation. Don't you want to save money to buy a house? Then you also need this part-time job, and I happen to need you too, so we have mutual benefit. Let's not talk about friends or not, let's just talk about this cooperation, which both sides need, so we can continue, right?" Xia Qingtang said seriously.

Xie Xiaoshuang thought for a second and nodded, "You make sense. If it lasts for a long time, it would be a good thing for me to have such a temporary job. It can help me save more money. Well, I will take the money according to the number of times. In the future, we will do the same."

"Okay, let's do this. I hope we can cooperate more in the future so that we can both make more money." Xia Qingtang happily stuffed the envelope into Xie Xiaoshuang's hand.

After calculating their wages, they went out for lunch together.

Xie Xiaoshuang was very familiar with everything here. She took the two of them to a seafood restaurant run by a couple, ordered three dishes and a soup, and let Xia Qingtang taste the local specialties.

The dishes were all light and delicious. Xia Qingtang was originally very hungry, so his appetite was whetted and he ate a lot in one go.

After eating, Xie Xiaoshuang took the initiative to pay the bill, then sent them to the door of the guesthouse and returned to the factory for lunch.

Xia Qingtang and Xie Jinxuan returned to the room and both took a simple hot shower. Xie Jinxuan then fetched water to scrub the mat in the room twice, sprayed it with the floral water they brought, and then she and Xia Qingtang lay down on each side of it.

"Xiao Shuang has changed so much. She is so happy living here. I am happy for her too." Xia Qingtang said slowly.

She had slept fairly well on the train, so she wasn't very sleepy.

Xie Jinxuan never needed much sleep, and she certainly didn't need a nap at noon, so the two chatted for a while.

At half past one, the two of them got up, packed up, put on their clothes, put on straw hats, and slowly walked out.

There were not many people on the street at this moment. The two of them walked slowly forward hand in hand, feeling the heat waves. It was indeed much hotter than at home.

Xie Jinxuan said: "It's just too hot here, but if you get used to it, it doesn't matter where you live."

"Yes, I think Xiaoshuang has adapted very well."

Seeing that her expression was a little serious, Xie Jinxuan asked, "Are you a little nervous?"

"Yeah, I don't know if the cooperation can be concluded."

"Are you worried? Didn't Xiao Xie say that their factory can accept your purchase volume?"

"I'm not worried about that. I feel like I can make the deal with the purchase. I'm thinking about what to do after I go back." Xia Qingtang said, "It feels like a waste to buy goods from here for just my store. I still want to negotiate a good cooperation with the department store. But I'm also worried, what if the department store comes to discuss the cooperation on its own? That way, they can save one more procedure."

Xie Jinxuan said: "The department store probably won't think of buying goods from here, at least not in the next few years."

"Because they don't dare?"

"Yes, after all, it is a large state-owned store, and the leaders above will be more cautious."

"That's why I'm worried. It's okay to bring samples back for them to see, but I'm afraid they will think that mature clothes are not stable enough and won't want our supply at that time." Xia Qingtang took a deep breath and said, "Forget it, there's no point in worrying about these things. You have helped me find good people, and the rest depends on my efforts! Let's talk about the problems here first!"

Xie Jinxuan smiled and patted her head, saying, "That's what's so great about you. Before I could even explain it to you, you'd already figured it out."

"Of course. Things will work out when the time comes. There's no point in thinking so much. If things can be done, they can be done. If not... let's just do something else. Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I will always find a way to become a millionaire." Xia Qingtang said confidently.

When they walked to the factory gate, they saw Xie Xiaoshuang. She was still wearing the same clothes as before, but with a very fashionable straw hat on her head.

This kind of straw hat is not sold in the provincial capital, but Xia Qingtang had seen it in a movie in Hong Kong in his previous life, and it was obviously something from there.

This kind of straw hat is very fashionable and is suitable for pairing with pants or dresses. So, although Xia Qingtang has not gone shopping yet, she has already decided to buy a fashionable straw hat to take back.

Xie Xiaoshuang took them to the office over there. Deputy Director Liu was a middle-aged lady. She had a very spacious office, but everything inside was very simple, even simpler than the office of the future director of the electrical appliance factory.

The lady was also dressed very casually. Maybe it was because the weather was too hot, so she wore a very thin short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of equally thin off-white shorts that reached nearly her knees. She wore a pair of white plastic sandals on her feet. She looked very relaxed and casual.

She smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be the good friend who opened a shop that Comrade Xie mentioned. You are so young that I was almost shocked."

Xia Qingtang said: "It is because we are young that we dare to do such things. I am one of the first few people to try it."

"You are right. It is precisely because you are young that you have such courage. Please sit down first and let's drink some water. I want to hear your ideas about your clothing store."

Xia Qingtang didn't know why she wanted to hear all this, but she told him everything: "I only have one clothing store now, but in the future, I want to open a chain store. In the future, I won't just sell clothes. I also want to sell shoes and hats together. I just haven't found a suitable supply channel yet. My clothing store is not very large, but the customer flow is very stable. Customers also like our store very much. Some fashionable customers go to our store to buy clothes almost every month. The clothes I purchase are divided into two parts. One part is brand new clothes produced by your factory. I asked Mr. Yu from the commercial street to help me select their best-selling clothes every month and send them to me. They also sell very well over there. The other part is second-hand clothes from the port city. I asked my good friend Xie Xiaoshuang to help me purchase them regularly and send them over. Second-hand clothes are also very popular because of their unique styles, bright colors and low prices."

"I have a question. You opened your store at the turn of spring and summer, and now you sell summer clothes. But our factory does not produce winter clothes. The most you can buy is autumn clothes from here. What are you going to do when winter comes?" asked Deputy Director Liu.

Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "I thought about this problem before opening the store. It's easy to solve. I've already found out about the supply channels for fashionable winter clothes in Shanghai. Before the weather gets cold, I'm going to go over there to discuss it."

"What if we can't come to an agreement?"

Xia Qingtang said: "It doesn't matter if we can't come to an agreement. I can just sell ordinary winter clothes. At worst, I can hold more promotional activities. As long as I can maintain my expenses during the winter months, I can make money again when spring comes. This way, I won't lose money in a year."

"That's a good point. You are very courageous at such a young age." Deputy Director Liu said, "Okay, we can cooperate. You can purchase directly from our factory."

Xia Qingtang was very happy: "Thank you, Deputy Director Liu, thank you very much!"

"You're welcome. Our factory has also been trying to sell domestically, but there aren't many people willing to come over to discuss cooperation. You're one of the first to try. I hope we can continue to cooperate in the future." Deputy Director Liu stood up and shook hands with Xia Qingtang, then said, "Let's start talking about the details now."

After that, they talked for a long time in the office. Since Xie Xiaoshuang didn't understand what they were saying, she simply went to the next office to play with other staff members.

Xie Jinxuan stayed with Xia Qingtang until the end of the discussion. They agreed on the purchase price, shipping time, quantity, and payment details. Finally, they signed the contract. Both parties signed it, and the garment factory also stamped it with the official seal. Only then did Xia Qingtang feel relieved.

Since she was already there, she picked out a batch of new clothes as her first order for the cooperation. She then bought some solid ready-made samples from the factory, intending to take them back to show the samples to the department store.

Some of these samples are suitable for older people, so Xia Qingtang is very particular when choosing the size and chooses according to the size of his family members.

Regardless of whether we can successfully negotiate with the department store, these clothes can be given to my family to wear, so they won’t be wasted at all.

Moreover, she bought them at the factory price, so these clothes were cheap and affordable, which was exactly what Xia Qingtang wanted.

Everything was done, and it was time for Deputy Director Liu and his colleagues to get off work.

She sent Xia Qingtang and the others out, and then asked, "Would you like to have a simple meal together tonight?"

Just as Xia Qingtang was about to say "OK" he saw a young man running hurriedly over from the factory area, shouting that something had happened over there and asking Deputy Director Liu to come over and solve it.

Deputy Director Liu could only sigh and said, "It seems that we won't be able to have dinner tonight. I have to go over and take a look. How many days are you going to stay here?"

Xia Qingtang said: "We will leave here on the train the day after tomorrow evening."

"How about this, I'll treat you tomorrow night and we can go to the restaurant over there for dinner, how about that?"

"Okay, we are honored." Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "Thank you, Deputy Director Liu."

"Now that we have agreed on the cooperation, we should have a meal to celebrate. Then it's settled. You come to the factory gate at this time tomorrow night and we'll go there together." After saying that, Deputy Director Liu hurriedly ran towards the workshop.

Xie Xiaoshuang came over and said, "Qingtang, congratulations on your successful cooperation!"

"I should be the one thanking you. You helped me find the way. Thank you so much." Xia Qingtang said, "Come on, I'm going to treat you to dinner tonight. No matter what you want to eat, I'll treat you. You know, I still have some money, so don't be polite to me."

Xie Xiaoshuang laughed: "Really? Then I really won't be polite with you. Let's go over there. I'll take you there."

They first went back to the guesthouse to drop off the contract and clothing samples, and then went to the restaurant that Xie Xiaoshuang mentioned.

This is not a particularly luxurious restaurant. In fact, it also serves stir-fried dishes, but the dishes here are actually the hometown stir-fried dishes from the provincial capital, which surprised Xia Qingtang.

Xie Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "I discovered this place two months ago. The owner came from our place. His whole family came here and opened this restaurant. Business is pretty good. I've eaten here twice, but it's hard to order alone, and I also want to save money, so I don't dare to come here often. If you want to treat me to a meal today, then let's eat these. I just happen to be craving for hometown food."

Xia Qingtang smiled and said, "Then I'll make sure you have a good meal today."

She ordered four dishes and a soup, all of which were the most distinctive hometown dishes in the provincial capital, and two of them were meat dishes, which were just enough to nourish Xie Xiaoshuang's body.

After the shop owner found out that Xia Qingtang and the other three were from the provincial capital, he confiscated the money for the soup and gave it to them instead.

While the three of them were eating, they listened to Xie Xiaoshuang slowly talking about her experiences after working here. It took her quite a long time to gradually adapt from being unable to adapt.

"To be honest, the work here is really hard. The old workers often get drunk on their days off because they are too tired. But no one wants to leave here because they can make more money here. I am different from them. They all want to work for a few years, and when they can't do it anymore, they will take the money and go home. As for me, I want to work for a few years, and when I can't do it anymore, I will leave the factory with the money and do some small business. I don't have any idea about doing business, but seeing that you have started doing business, I am also very tempted."

Xia Qingtang said: "You can do a lot of business. In a few years, I estimate that many people will come here to buy goods. If you can set up a small garment factory of your own, it would not be bad."

"Garment factory? Me? How is that possible?" Xie Xiaoshuang waved her hands.

"That's entirely possible. You work in a garment factory, and everyone you know knows how to sew. Later, you can learn some new styles of clothing and improve your aesthetic taste. You can then make some exclusive custom-made clothes. You can set up a small garment factory with seven or eight people, specializing in making custom-made clothes of better quality and unique styles for those demanding customers. Wouldn't that be great?"

Xie Xiaoshuang pondered for a while and said, "If there really is such a customer, it can indeed be done."

"Yes, you are so close to Hong Kong City. In a few years, people from Hong Kong City will definitely come here. There are business opportunities there." Xia Qingtang said, "It will be much easier for you to do business here than for us."

Xie Xiaoshuang laughed: "Then do you want to do business here too?"

"As for me, forget it. I don't want to leave the provincial capital." Xia Qingtang said with a smile: "To be exact, I don't want to leave Xie Jinxuan."

Xie Jinxuan smiled but didn't say anything.

"Hey, I was just kidding you. Of course I know you don't want to leave Old Xie. You two are just like the fairy couple in the novels. It makes people envious just by reading you."

Xia Qingtang's eyes lit up: "Xiao Shuang, are you envious too?"

Xie Xiaoshuang thought for a moment and said, "I would be envious, but I'm just envious for the time being. If you ask me if I want to find a gay man like him to date, I don't want to. I'm sure of that."

Xia Qingtang nodded. She knew that Xie Xiaoshuang had not completely come out of the shadows of the past, but it didn’t matter. Time always moves forward. As time goes by, everything will fade, and in the end even herself will forget about it, and then everything new will start.

After dinner, Xia Qingtang and Xie Jinxuan sent Xie Xiaoshuang to the factory gate. She hugged her, and Xie Xiaoshuang returned to the factory to start her night shift.

It was indeed very hot in the guesthouse at night, but Xia Qingtang was quite tired, so even though he was covered in sweat, he still slept soundly.

After she woke up, she took a shower, got dressed, and had a simple breakfast with Xie Jinxuan in the guesthouse. Then she went to the commercial street to pick out second-hand clothes.

In summer, there are more styles of second-hand clothes here, and the clothes are also newer, and some have almost no signs of wear, so Xia Qingtang picked out a lot of them, and then paid for them and sent them out according to the old rules.

Here they also met Le Xinnian, the young man whose money was stolen in the guesthouse last time. He was taking a day off today and came here with two fellow villagers to buy clothes. Unexpectedly, he met Xie Jinxuan again.

"My benefactor! Why are you here? Are you here again?" Le Xinnian grabbed Xie Jinxuan and was extremely happy.

Xie Jinxuan was also surprised: "Xiao Le, it's you! My wife and I came here to do something, but I didn't expect to run into you! Are you taking a day off today?"

"Yeah, we're taking a break today. We just built a house, so we need to take a break for two days."

Le Xinnian wrote several letters to Xie Jinxuan and sent them some kelp, seaweed and dried shrimps. He said in the letters that there were many construction sites here and he was lucky enough to have met a construction team with fellow villagers. He has been working with these people ever since and has not finished any work until now. Therefore, he has made a lot of money and Xie Jinxuan is happy for him.

When Le Xinnian saw Xie Jinxuan, he held him tightly and wanted to treat him to a meal.

Xie Jinxuan couldn't refuse, so she let Le Xinnian treat her at noon.

"You guys can order whatever you want. I have plenty of money now. The work on the construction site is harder and more tiring, but I can earn a lot of money." Le Xinnian said with a smile, "I am very glad that I came here to make money."

"Yes, although you are quite tanned, you are in good spirits and your eyes are sparkling." Xie Jinxuan said, "It seems that those who come here to make a living can see hope here."

"Not everyone can see hope, it still depends on luck. I also know a few fellow villagers who were cheated of their money here, and in the end they didn't make anything, and had to borrow money to go home. So I always say, Brother Xie, you are my benefactor and noble man. If I hadn't met you that day, I would have starved to death." Le Xinnian sighed.

Xie Jinxuan said: "This is also our fate. I am very happy to be able to help you."

"By the way, Brother Xie, how is your cousin doing here? You came here to see her, right?" Le Xinnian still remembered that Xie Jinxuan and the other three came together.

Xie Jinxuan said: "My cousin is doing well here. She is an apprentice in a garment factory and is about to be promoted to a regular employee."

"That's amazing. She hasn't been here long, so she must be very smart." Le Xinnian said, "Brother Xie, I'll write down my current address for you again, and you can give it to your cousin. We live there and we're all from the same place. If your cousin needs any help, she can go find us there. We're all from the same place, and we're very united outside. We'll definitely help if there's anything."

"Okay, thank you. I will tell my cousin. As a young lady here, it would be good for her to hang out with fellow villagers." Xie Jinxuan said, "I will tell her tomorrow."

"Okay, Brother Xie, don't worry. You are my benefactor. I will definitely help you take care of your cousin." Le Xinnian picked up a piece of fish and put it in Xie Jinxuan's bowl, "Brother Xie, eat more."

After lunch, Xie Jinxuan and the others separated from Le Xinnian, and went to a small market that Le Xinnian introduced. They bought some dried seafood, intending to take them back and eat them slowly, or give some to relatives and friends.

In the evening, they had dinner with Deputy Director Liu. They did not talk about business, but some local strange stories. Xia Qingtang listened with great interest and also told Deputy Director Liu some stories from the provincial capital.

Deputy Director Liu got along very well with her. When the banquet was over, she patted Xia Qingtang on the shoulder and said, "Write to me when you have time. I've made you my friend!"

"Okay, Sister Liu, don't worry, I will definitely write to you! I will also send you some local specialties for you to try!" After a meal, Xia Qingtang turned the other person into Sister Liu. The two of them did have some kind of fate.

The next day, because Xie Xiaoshuang worked the day shift, they took advantage of her break to go to the factory to say goodbye to her. Xia Qingtang secretly slipped her fifty yuan, then went to the train station and took the return train.

After returning to the provincial capital, Xia Qingtang immediately went to meet Director Ji, who was in charge of purchasing for the clothing department of the department store introduced to her by Xie Jinxuan.

Director Ji was an old-fashioned, middle-aged gay man. Although he knew Xie Jinxuan's background, he still refused after seeing the sample clothing that Xia Qingtang brought.

"I know your Xinfeng Clothing Store. The clothes there are too fancy and not suitable for ours. Even the clothes you brought here today, I don't think are serious enough." Director Ji said.

Xia Qingtang said: "Although these clothes are not so stable, they are very solemn and can be worn in formal occasions. Director Ji, have you watched the news recently? The people in the TV news are all wearing fresher clothes than before. Now is the 1980s, and the times are different. Even middle-aged and elderly people are willing to choose some fresh and bright clothes. Especially female comrades, no matter what age they are, everyone loves beauty. Department stores in Shanghai and Beijing are full of more fashionable clothes and shoes than these, and people in their 80s will also buy them. If our department stores are willing to give it a try, I believe it will sell very well."

"How can you guarantee that it can be sold? What if it can't be sold? Wouldn't that be a waste of public money?"

The samples that Xia Qingtang brought back this time were really dignified and elegant styles, but the designs were more fashionable, and the colors were also changed from black, gray, and dark blue to bright colors such as white, beige, silver gray, and snow blue. They were styles that could be worn by middle-aged people, and in fact young people could also wear them, and they would not be impolite to wear them to work or meetings.

Therefore, she was very confident in her choice. Seeing this, she said, "Director Ji, how about this? As long as you agree and are willing to put the goods on the shelves, we will collect the money after you sell out the first batch of goods. In this way, you won't have to worry about losing money."

Director Ji hesitated for a while, then shook his head: "I dare not put these clothes on the counter. If they are found out, the responsibility will be on me."

Seeing that he was worried about this, Xia Qingtang could only say, "Times have changed. The higher-ups are unlikely to investigate this anymore."

Director Ji waved his hand: "Don't tell me this, I really can't bear this responsibility. You might as well go and find the senior leaders above. Unless the general manager agrees, who would dare to put these clothes of yours on the shelves?"

Xie Jinxuan didn't know the general manager of the department store. When Xia Qingtang heard this, he said, "Director Ji, can you introduce someone to me? I want to talk to the general manager in person."

Director Ji was a little amused: "Do you really want to persuade our general manager? That's impossible."

"I just wanted to give it a try because I thought these clothes would be very popular."

Seeing Xia Qingtang's firm attitude, Director Ji took a funny attitude and really took Xia Qingtang to the general manager's office.

Coincidentally, the general manager happened to be inside and was available to meet guests.

Director Ji went in first to express his purpose and briefly introduced Xia Qingtang, then let Xia Qingtang in.

The general manager of the department store was a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties. She had very short hair, and wore a plain white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, a pair of cloth shoes on her feet, and a pair of tortoise-shell glasses on the table with some tape wrapped around the legs of the glasses.

Seeing this, Xia Qingtang felt a little disappointed, because the general manager looked very plain and old-fashioned. Even Director Ji couldn't accept the clothes, so they would be even more unacceptable to her.

But since he was already there, Xia Qingtang made up his mind. After introducing himself and his purpose of coming, he took out the clothes that he had just displayed and began to slowly explain them.

The general manager didn't say much. She listened to Xia Qingtang's introduction very seriously, thought for a while, and then said, "Where are these clothes produced?"

"I don't want to talk about this because this is my source of goods." Xia Qingtang said, "The leader should be able to understand."

The general manager nodded and said, "Do you think these clothes can be sold?"

"certainly."

"Well, Old Ji, see how much you can order on the second floor and sign the order first." The general manager said calmly.

Director Ji and Xia Qingtang were both stunned. Director Ji was horrified: "Really?"