Old Zhang paced back and forth in the workshop. He could have simply made the product and sold it without asking Shu Yan, since there was no patent involved. However, his personality wouldn't allow him to do so. Honesty was the foundation of being a good person, a principle his father had taught him since childhood. It was precisely because of his good character that the factory workers didn't leave him during his most difficult time.

He was really tempted by the cooperation Shu Yan proposed. Mortgaging the house was a last resort. He would never mortgage the house unless absolutely necessary, as it was the foundation of his livelihood. If he lost the house, his wife and children would have nowhere to live. He could be homeless himself, but he couldn't let his wife and children be homeless as well.

If he were to cooperate with Shu Yan, she would cover all the money needed at this stage, without requiring him to mortgage his house, and the risks could be shared. Old Zhang couldn't think of a reason to refuse.

Old Zhang's agreement was within Shu Yan's expectations. The next day at noon, the two had lunch together, signed a cooperation agreement, and went to the market in the afternoon to select fabrics and materials.

Shuyan originally only made red and black. Chinese people really like red, and this color is the most popular. Later, they added black and gray for men, which also sold well. Now that they are selling wholesale, these colors are a bit less available. For women's sizes, they added pink, cyan, and purple, while for men's sizes, they added blue. They also made some other colors, but only used them as samples. Mass production will only use the colors mentioned above.

Each color has four sizes, and with 200 sets of each color, that's 6400 sets. Including samples of other colors, that's 6500 sets. The material cost alone is 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, all of which will be covered by Shuyan.

"Isn't this too much?" Old Zhang hesitated when he saw Shu Yan pay without batting an eye.

"It's okay, we can just put them in my store for a promotion and they'll sell." This was Shu Yan's confidence; lingerie won't go out of style, and she could sell them off with a couple of promotions at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year. "Do you still have any of your old clients' phone numbers? Call them and ask if they're interested?"

"Just a few individual customers, I doubt they'll take much stock." Old Zhang was a bit embarrassed. He once made a hit product, but it was quickly eliminated by the market. He couldn't make it for two years after that, and many of his customers who bought clothes from him went to other stores.

"There's still some connection, these are all resources. I'll contact them later and give it a try." Shu Yan suddenly remembered that Old Zhang's factory didn't have a salesperson. "Who was the one doing sales before?"

“She’s my wife. She used to be a worker in a textile factory. She could make clothes herself and knew a lot of people. All the original customers were brought over by her.” Old Zhang’s eyes flashed with pride when he talked about his wife.

"I didn't realize he loved his wife so much." Shu Yan's lips curled slightly. "Then can your wife continue running the stores? Of course, her salary will be separate."

“It’s our own factory, why talk about wages?” Old Zhang waved his hand. “No problem. My son is in junior high school, and she doesn’t really have much to do at home, so she can come back to work.”

"Now that you're working with me, it's better to keep things clear about money. Let's be upfront and clear things up later; let's not make a fool of ourselves over a few dollars." Shu Yan felt this needed to be made clear. "How about this: your sister-in-law will have a base salary of one hundred yuan a month, a 5% commission on the first order, and a 2% commission on repeat orders. As long as she gets the store, all subsequent repeat orders will be counted as commission. How does that sound?"

That's quite a bold move; no wonder her business is booming. Old Zhang thinks cooperating with Shuyan should be very pleasant.

"Also, next time I go to Hangzhou to buy goods, I will promote our products to the wholesalers there. If we can sell our underwear there, we will definitely be able to close deals very quickly."

Old Zhang hesitated, "If we give it directly to wholesalers, won't they make their own patterns and samples?"

"That's very possible. But you know the clothing industry, once a slightly nice new style comes out, everyone has it within a few days. Even if you don't sell it now, they'll still release the same styles later. It's better to take advantage of the exclusive business now and make more money." Shu Yan had already thought about this. China is a country that loves to copy. No matter what it is, as long as it's profitable, it will be copied immediately. Thermal underwear doesn't require any special technology. It's something that anyone can make at a glance. I believe it won't be out in the streets for more than a week.

If you have enough funds, you can register a brand and advertise on TV and in newspapers, instantly becoming a well-known domestic underwear brand. Unfortunately, this requires a lot of manpower and resources.

Forget it, I won't think about it too much. I'll take advantage of the current market gap and make a killing to at least make up some of my savings.

On Saturday, Shuyan planned to go to Hangzhou to buy goods. Xiuxiu asked for leave the next day, and Shuyan was supposed to come back in the morning. However, in the afternoon, Xiuxiu said she wouldn't take leave anymore.

“Chen Fei is a designer, so his schedule is quite flexible. My parents don’t have much work lately either, and they’re mostly at home. They can switch to Mondays, so it’s fine if you come back a little later,” Zhang Huaxiu explained.

That would be perfect. Shu Yan plans to explore the wholesale markets in Hangzhou and take the samples with her to try and sell them. It would be even better if she could open up sales channels.

Those women from last time probably really excluded Shu Yan, as they haven't asked her to go shopping with them for a long time. Shu Yan didn't call them either, but called the driver directly.

"Sorry, I'm already taken."

Shu Yan thought to herself that it was a pity, but this time it wasn't urgent, and she could catch the train to Hangzhou tomorrow morning.

She vaguely heard a man's voice saying something across from her, and then the driver suddenly changed the subject, "You know the person I'm taking this time, the gentleman who rode with you last time. He said he can give you a ride. Do you want to go? If you do, I'll pick you up."

"Go ahead, I'll wait for you on Fuqian Street." Shu Yan didn't expect it to be that man; what a coincidence.

Shu Yan goes to buy goods almost every week. Jingjing and Tianbao are used to it and don't need Shu Yan to tell them anything. They can take care of themselves. Shu Yan still tells them again, and then carries a large bag of sample clothes downstairs to wait for the car. Soon a car stops in front of Shu Yan, and the man sitting in the passenger seat is none other than Fang Zeyu.

Surprisingly, Fang Zeyu actually nodded when he saw her today.

"Um, thank you!" Shu Yan said softly.

They traveled in silence until they were almost in Hangzhou. Then Shu Yan said, "Master, I won't be going back with you this time. I have a lot of things to do today."

"Okay, then I won't wait for you for a while." The driver nodded.

"I'll pay the fare first." Shu Yan counted the money and handed it to the driver.

"No need, Mr. Fang has already booked the car. If you want to give it to someone, give it to Mr. Fang."

"No need, it's on my way anyway."

This was the first time Shu Yan had heard Fang Zeyu speak in a long sentence; his voice was slightly magnetic and exceptionally pleasant to listen to.

"No, that won't do. You paid for the car, so I should pay for it since I rode in it. Please accept the money." He refused, so Shu Yan tossed the money into his arms as she got out of the car. "Thank you, I'm leaving now."

Fang Zeyu glanced at Shu Yan and silently took the money.

"Mr. Fang, this..."

"It's alright, let's go."

After grabbing the goods, Shu Yan took the sample garments to several wholesalers she was familiar with. The store she often bought from had its own factory, so Shu Yan deliberately avoided it. Since the store had its own factory, the wholesaler would definitely take the sample garments and make copies, so Shu Yan never planned to stock her store in the first place.

The other bosses were just wholesalers, so Shu Yan planned to stock some goods in their stores.

"You started your own factory?" One of the bosses, who got along well with Shu Yan, was particularly surprised.

“No, it’s a friend’s factory. I’ll help promote it. Anyway, you don’t need to spend money on inventory. Just leave it here. If someone is interested, you can call the factory directly, and they’ll ship it to you immediately. They can even ship it directly to the customer. You can make money without doing anything.” As soon as Shu Yan said this, the boss’s wife immediately agreed.

It doesn't cost any money, so I can just leave it there; it doesn't take up much space anyway.

"It seems to have a good market. What's the factory price? What's the wholesale price? And what's the retail price?" the proprietress asked directly.

Including labor, materials, rent, and utilities, the cost price is 7 yuan. After discussing with Lao Zhang, Shu Yan decided on a factory price of 13 yuan, with a discount for larger orders, down to 12 yuan. The wholesale price is set at 18 yuan, and the retail price is 35 yuan. That's how it's set, but they can't keep track of the exact wholesale and retail prices.

"This ex-factory price is a bit high," the shop owner said hesitantly.

"You should check the quality first. We're targeting the mid-to-high-end market, not some roadside stall. You're already running a mid-to-high-end clothing store, right? Would you even look at something low-end? Besides, it's not like we're asking for your money right away," Shu Yan said with a smile.

"Alright, give me five sets of each," the proprietress said, sounding reluctant.

There aren't really five sets. Shu Yan can't carry that many clothes by herself, so I'll give her one of each color for now. I'll call back later and ask Lao Zhang to ship some more for her.

Using the same approach, Shu Yan placed orders with several mid-to-high-end wholesalers and then went to restock. It was already noon when Shu Yan arrived at the back of the market and saw many small vendors selling noodles, rice, sesame cakes, steamed buns, and other similar items.

Chinese people have always been clever; once the country opens up, they can always find a way to get rich.

It had been a long time since Shu Yan had eaten at a roadside stall. She chose a relatively clean place to sit down, ordered a bowl of noodles, which tasted quite good, and then found a place to lean back and take a nap. In the afternoon, she went to several stores that had previously stocked her goods, but only two of them sold a few items, so the results were not particularly ideal.

Shu Yan decided to stay in Hangzhou for one night and check on the situation here again tomorrow before going back.

Author's Note: My internet at home is down, sorry. The extra words won't incur extra charges. Sorry o(╥﹏╥)o

I have another problem: I can't bargain. When I was still in school, I always got ripped off when I went to the market to buy clothes. Once, I wore the same outfit as someone else, and what made me feel the worst was that I paid 80 yuan for it, while she only paid 45 yuan. I felt like my IQ had been severely damaged. After that, I stopped going to the market to buy clothes. I prefer to buy clothes from places with clearly marked prices and no bargaining. As long as I know that someone else paid the same price as me, I feel better...