Chapter 20 Jinjiang's Exclusive Wholesale Market [First Update]...
Su Ruyi followed Wang Huiting on a bus to the Dakang Road Wholesale Market. It was far from the city center, but the surrounding area was very bustling. They were already stuck in traffic two or three stops away.
After getting off the bus, it was packed with people.
As expected of the largest wholesale market in the province, it was extremely lively and noisy, with tricycles carrying large amounts of goods passing by everywhere.
"Let's find a better place to go in." Su Ruyi hadn't been to a place like this in a long time, and the sight of it made her feel a little scared.
Especially now that the weather is hot, Su Ruyi felt like she was about to be overwhelmed by the various smells before she even stepped inside.
Wang Huiting was extremely excited, her face turning red with excitement.
"Sis, it's so lively here!"
No matter how well-prepared Wang Huiting was, it was her first time in such a place, and she was still a little dazed.
However, Su Ruyi was very experienced. With one being experienced and the other having a talent for finding directions, they quickly found an area specializing in wholesale small ornaments.
The dazzling array of goods left Wang Huiting overwhelmed and unsure of which to choose.
"No rush, let's take a walk around first and calm down."
The two walked around for a while, and because there were so many people and the place was so big, an hour passed in no time.
Wang Huiting was a little flustered at first, but she quickly got into the swing of things and cleverly followed behind others to listen to the prices.
Although the price was mostly discussed in secret, Wang Huiting still managed to gather a lot of information and gain a basic understanding of the situation.
"Sister, the things here are so cheap! Hair clips that sell for at least one or two yuan in our county only cost one or two mao here!"
With the lack of online shopping and underdeveloped logistics, many industrial products are more expensive in small county towns than in cities.
Wang Huiting was extremely excited, like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, as if she could already see herself making a fortune.
Su Ruyi: "Don't be too happy yet. The reason those people can get the goods so cheaply is because they buy in large quantities. We don't need much, it's like retail, so we can't get such cheap prices."
Furthermore, some stalls do not engage in retail sales and have minimum order quantities.
Small items are even more complicated; picking them out one by one is already troublesome enough, but then you also have to unpack them.
Those who are willing to sell in small quantities command much higher prices.
One of the reasons Su Ruyi was able to make money back then was that she had enough capital.
She wasn't afraid of losses; if she couldn't sell them, she could just give them away. Even if the goods were stuck in her hands, the loss wouldn't be significant for her.
Therefore, she can purchase goods in large quantities at a lower price than others, giving her a price advantage.
With larger purchase volumes, there are more options available.
This created a virtuous cycle, and her business was always doing very well. Later, when she got tired of it, she hired a classmate from a poor family to help her sell the goods, paying her a commission per item. She earned more than she could have done herself.
Those students simply lacked resources and their minds were constrained by poverty, but given the opportunity, they all strived harder than the last.
So when Su Ruyi heard that Wang Huiting had actually come up with the idea of selling things on her own, she felt that it was very impressive and that she had a talent for doing business.
This era is not like the information explosion of decades later. Qing Province is relatively closed off compared to southern cities and is still influenced by the past, believing that individual businesses are not respectable.
Many people want to get out of their current situation, but they don't know how or in which direction to work towards it, so most of them just find a job.
Looking at the present from a hindsight perspective, it seems like anyone can easily make a fortune by starting a business, but in reality, it's not that easy.
Capital and vision can limit a person, so those who can become rich in this era are those who dare to take risks and are not afraid of bad outcomes.
If you hesitate and look back, it's hard to seize an opportunity.
Some of these people made a fortune, while others suffered a terrible setback and could never get back up.
Even decades later, only a few people can seize the opportunity in the early stages; most people only start to follow suit after others have succeeded.
Su Ruyi's business acumen is a result of her upbringing.
In their area, people either go out to work and become bosses, or they start small businesses locally and eventually open factories. The atmosphere for making money is very strong, and they are not as obsessed with getting a stable job within the system as they are elsewhere.
Wang Huiting wasn't in that kind of atmosphere. In Liulin County, people still took pride in having a secure job. She was just a young girl who not only had ideas but also worked hard to put them into practice, which already put her ahead of many others.
"Ah, right." Wang Huiting came to her senses and then said, "But even if it's a bit more expensive, it's still very cheap. There are so many different kinds here, many of which I've never seen before."
Wang Huiting was very optimistic. Based on her observations, she found several suppliers where she could purchase small quantities of goods.
These stalls also cater to individual customers, but they generally don't allow customers to pick and choose; you have to take them in bags. If a bag has a high rate of breakage, you can exchange it.
Su Ruyi did not interfere with Wang Huiting during this process, letting her figure it out on her own, and at most chiming in when she was bargaining.
However, Wang Huiting didn't really need her help. She was even more capable than Su Ruyi. She dared to bargain down from ten yuan to two yuan, and she wasn't afraid of being scolded. She shamelessly continued to raise the price little by little.
Having lived a life of plenty for so long, Su Ruyi found it hard to be as patient and argumentative as Wang Huiting, who was short of a few cents.
Su Ruyi was happy to be free and gave Wang Huiting two hundred yuan as start-up capital. It wasn't a free gift; it was considered an investment.
This gave Wang Huiting even more confidence. All her money added up to only a little over fifty yuan, including some given to her by her sister.
She never had much pocket money; she would spend all the money she had. It wasn't until she went to the provincial capital that she had an idea and started saving money, which consisted of New Year's money, breakfast money, and money from selling recyclables.
Even with hard work, I only managed to save about twenty yuan over two years.
"Sister, you're my real sister!" Wang Huiting was extremely excited. "Sister, don't worry, I will definitely sell them and I won't let you lose money. I've been observing for a long time, and these things will definitely sell."
"Don't let this interfere with your studies."
Wang Huiting nodded emphatically and said confidently:
"Don't worry, there's still more than a month before school starts, and I'll be able to sell most of them within that time."
Su Ruyi didn't discourage her from blindly going through with the task, saying that since she had already decided to do something that was difficult to do, she shouldn't be timid.
With money, Wang Huiting became even more cautious, meticulously selecting patterns without ever getting tired of it.
Sometimes even when the boss gets annoyed with her and starts grumbling, she still shamelessly continues, refusing to pick a few items just because she's shy, or to simply switch to another store.
Unless she encounters someone who really tries to drive her away, she can usually let things go in one ear and out the other.
"Sister, what do you think of these?" Wang Huiting asked Su Ruyi for her opinion.
Although Su Ruyi had dressed in the 'retro style' of this era before, which is the Hong Kong style, her aesthetic sense is quite different from that of people today. Moreover, she is not really a teenager and doesn't understand the mind of young girls, so her aesthetic sense is definitely different.
Therefore, she only picked a few classic 'retro Hong Kong style' designs and did not comment on the others.
“These styles are suitable for working people. I’ll go back and sell them in places like textile factories and movie theaters. They’ll definitely sell very well.”
Wang Huiting immediately identified her target consumer group: these earrings and hair accessories were exaggerated in style and brightly colored, making them too eye-catching for students.
Seeing that she had a plan in mind, Su Ruyi let her do as she pleased.
After some haggling, Wang Huiting spent all the money.
When I received the goods, I still went to the trouble of carefully inspecting each package.
Some bosses, unable to stand it, said irritably:
"Doing business with you young ladies is really troublesome. Why are you so picky about the goods? If everyone were like this, we wouldn't be able to do anything else all day."
Wang Huiting wasn't annoyed and smiled, "Boss, we're a small business, we can't be careless. Unlike you, who runs a big business, you certainly don't care about these pittances."
Wang Huiting has a round face and a pair of bright, adorable eyes that crinkle when she smiles. Like a sunflower, she is full of vitality and easily wins people's favor.
The boss snorted coldly, but didn't say anything more.
We're all in business, and most of us believe that harmony brings wealth.
Wang Huiting didn't patronize those powerful ones in the first place.
"Sister, I'm all done here, let's go." Wang Huiting carried a large bag of goods, looking completely satisfied.
Su Ruyi looked around and said, "No rush, I want to go see something, but I don't know where it is."
"What is that?"
Do you know what a hula hoop is?
According to Su Ruyi's memory, hula hoops had already become popular at this time, and many children in her hometown county had hula hoops.
However, I didn't see them in Liulin County. In the provincial capital, I occasionally saw children carrying them on the street, which means they have started to become popular in the provincial capital. I'm not sure how popular they are, since they only stayed for a short time and didn't do much shopping.
The Asian Games will be held in Beijing this September, and hula hooping will become a popular sport on the streets. Almost everyone, adults and children alike, will have one and spin it in all sorts of ways.
One year during the Spring Festival Gala, a little girl performed with a hula hoop, attempting to break a Guinness World Record.
Su Ruyi also bought a hula hoop when she was a child, but it wasn't very popular then, and she played with it for a few days before throwing it aside.
“Hula hoop? I know it.” Wang Huiting nodded emphatically. “Our furniture factory manager’s youngest daughter has one. I heard it was bought in the provincial capital. It’s very expensive, ten yuan a hula hoop. Yunyun saw it and wanted to play with it, but no one would let her touch it. So she made a hoop herself out of twigs.”
"Is this stuff hard to buy in the county?"
"I haven't seen anyone selling them; they all buy them from the city or the provincial capital." Wang Huiting recalled Su Ruyi's inquiries about the plastic factory. "Sister, you're not thinking of selling this, are you?"
Su Ruyi didn't hide anything from her, saying, "Yes, the Asian Games are about to start, so it will definitely sell very well then."
"But hula hoops are expensive, right? And they take up a lot of space and are hard to transport, so it's only worthwhile if you buy a lot of them."
Su Ruyi: "I asked the bus ticket seller, and they said I can put the goods on the roof of the bus. It's okay if I pay a little money, even if there's a lot of stuff."
These days, management isn't strict, so people put their luggage on the roof of the car, and even live poultry like chickens. They put as much as they can fit.
Su Ruyi thought it would be best to hire a truck. Hula hoops are not heavy, but they take up a lot of space, and the roof of the truck can't hold too much. If she takes too little cargo, it's not cost-effective to make a trip.
However, trucks are expensive, and they're only profitable if they're fully loaded. She doesn't have enough capital, doesn't know the cost of the goods, and is unsure if she can even afford a truckload.
Su Ruyi preferred to work directly with factories, eliminating middlemen from taking a cut. Moreover, once the Asian Games started, hula hoops would be in high demand and short supply. Many plastic factories were supported by this small, low-tech contraption, and sourcing directly from factories would ensure a more reliable supply and lower prices.
She also made a record; if the cost is too high and she can't load a whole truckload of goods, she'll do it in small batches and multiple times.
Although we earn much less, we are not afraid of being stuck with unsold inventory.
Wang Huiting nodded, her eyes shining: "Sister, hula hoops will definitely sell well. So many kids are drooling over them and want to buy one. It's just that our house is so small, we don't have room to put them. Those things take up too much space."
Su Ruyi smiled and said, "I asked Aunt Mei before, and there are vacant factory buildings in the factory."
Li Mei was originally a temporary worker at the furniture factory, and now she is also in charge of cleaning, so she knows the factory's situation very well.
The furniture factory used to be quite successful, so it expanded its factory buildings considerably.
There aren't many orders right now, and the factory doesn't have the money to stockpile timber, so many factory buildings are now empty.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about the factory building. It's just sitting empty anyway, so we might as well rent it out and make some money."
Thinking of the current chaotic situation at the furniture factory, Wang Huiting added:
"If we can't rent a place at the furniture factory, we can try the textile factory. My friend Lu Qiuyu's mother is the chairperson of the textile factory's labor union, so she can definitely help us free up space. Her younger brother also wanted hula hoops before, so if we give him two, we can definitely get it done!"
The textile factory was much larger than the furniture factory, so the union activity room was built to be particularly spacious and well-equipped. Now that the factory is not doing well, it rarely holds activities, and many places are empty. Making room for an empty room is a piece of cake.
Author's Note: See you tonight for the second update!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
