The day before the town's market day, the clothing store officially opened. To let everyone know that the town had its first ready-made clothing store, Lin Xiazhu prepared a long string of firecrackers.
After the crackling sound of firecrackers, a crowd gathered to watch, mostly shop owners on the street. Lin Xiazhu even spotted her stepfather from her previous life, a tailor, in the crowd.
Judging from the tailor's grim expression, he probably felt threatened. The tailor's business in town was already so-so. Before, only the supply and marketing cooperative sold clothes, but now a clothing store has suddenly appeared, and the tailor's business has been taken away by at least a third.
"Dear fellow villagers and neighbors, my shop just opened today, and we're having a 20% discount for the next couple of days. The clothes are very stylish, come and take a look!" There are no prizes or anything like that.
The most expensive piece of clothing costs only thirty yuan, while the cheapest costs only ten or even eight yuan. These people are unlikely to buy several pieces at once; at most, they might buy two. It's a small business, so there's no need to create so many gimmicks.
Those who want to buy will buy, and those who don't will stubbornly refuse to part with their money no matter how much you plead.
It wasn't a market day, so there weren't many customers on the street. The people who came into the shop were mostly local shop owners who had a little money and were willing to buy something to wear. Business was pretty good that morning, with about ten items sold.
By the afternoon, there were no customers left. Lin Xiazhu counted the money. "It's a total of 163 yuan. Most of them bought the 10-yuan items, and a few bought the 20-yuan items."
"The people here have such low spending power. They only buy the cheapest things. There aren't a single customer in the afternoon. How can we make enough to cover the rent?" Yan Xin was worried. She hoped to keep the shop. Running a shop was hundreds of times easier than doing farm work.
The rent is forty yuan a month, which has already been earned back, and there is a net profit of thirty yuan. However, Lin Xiazhu will not tell Yan Xin directly. If she can't even do this simple math, then she deserves to suffer more.
"Not only will you have to earn the rent, but after this shop is handed over to you, you'll have to earn your own living expenses. Starting next month, you'll have to take care of your own food expenses," Lin Xiazhu announced ruthlessly.
When the customer came in, Yan Xin was sitting behind the counter (the only counter in the store), watching longingly, not even knowing how to greet the customer.
"You saw how Chacha and I greeted the guests this morning. From now on, you have to be just as enthusiastic when you receive guests. Whether they buy eight yuan's worth or thirty yuan's worth, you have to treat them well. If you want people to spend money, you have to work hard."
Don't think she doesn't know; Yan Xin looks down on country folk. She haggles over prices for things that cost only a few dollars, making business so boring. She secretly thinks the shop is too small.
“If you think this shop doesn’t make much money, then sell it and go back to Linjia Village,” Lin Xiazhu said.
"No, that's not true. I'm just not used to it. It's just selling clothes. I'll sell them, and I'll definitely sell them well. By the way, how much did you make today?" Yan Xin wasn't stupid; she quickly thought of that.
Lin Xiazhu didn't intend to hide it from her, but it was impossible to hide it anyway. The purchase order had a unit price, and by calculating how many items were sold, she could figure out how much she had earned.
"I've already earned back the rent, but don't get too excited yet. We just opened a couple of days ago, so there will be more people. But after that, we might not have a single customer a day, and we'll only be able to make enough to cover our living expenses each month."
There's no way around it. It's not a matter of whether they know how to do business or not. It's just that the farmers' purchasing power is too low. In the whole town, only the supply and marketing cooperative and their family sell ready-made clothes. They have no competitiveness. Their clothes are even cheaper than those of the supply and marketing cooperative, so you could say they have an advantage.
But the reality is that opening a shop in town is just enough to make a living; making big money is out of the question.
Yan Xin thought about it and felt a little happy. Although she couldn't make a lot of money, she could make a living and didn't have to work in the fields from dawn till dusk. That was already very good.
"I will definitely work hard, but how should we divide the money? Will you pay me a salary every month?" She thought the money earned by the small shop would be shared among everyone.
"Keep the money you make from the shop; you don't need to share it with me. However, you have to return the principal to me after one year." In other words, Lin Xiazhu invested the money to open the shop for free, intending to give Yan Xin a way to make a living.
Yan Xin was speechless for a moment, her heart filled with mixed feelings. She wanted to say "thank you," but when she opened her mouth, she couldn't say it. However, she kept it in her heart.
As evening fell and the setting sun painted half the sky with crimson clouds, Yan Xin closed her shop and headed home. There she saw Lin Xiazhu carrying a bag of flour as she came out of the grain station.
"Lin Xiazhu, why did you buy so much flour?" Yan Xin was not surprised. This is the South, and people usually eat rice.
Unlike northerners who eat steamed buns, dumplings, and noodles every day, they don't need that much flour.
"Making steamed buns and dumplings... There will be a lot of people at the market tomorrow, so Chacha and I will make some snacks to sell." Lin Xiazhu carried a bag of flour weighing dozens of kilograms and walked very fast, leaving Yan Xin behind in no time.
Yan Xin: "..." So they've developed another way to make money.
"Does Lin Xiazhu earn more money selling snacks than selling clothes?"
"Chacha and I do it whenever we have time. After all, we'll be going back to school soon, so this is like a part-time job. We'll set up a stall in front of the clothing store then."
Lin Xiazhu knew what Yan Xin was thinking, so she smiled and said, "If you're comfortable with it, you can learn to make snacks to sell when we're not available. If you can't manage it all by yourself, you can hire a helper."
Thinking about her own practical skills, Yan Xin immediately backed down; she probably wasn't cut out for it.
Seeing that she didn't respond for a long time, Lin Xiazhu was a little disappointed. This young lady really couldn't endure hardship. Don't expect her to support the whole family's food expenses. With her, they can only eat plain rice every day. Don't even think about meat and vegetables, let alone tuition fees and nutritional supplements.
After dinner, Lin Xiazhu and Lin Chacha started kneading dough, mainly teaching Lin Chacha how to make steamed buns and dumplings. This girl has a strong learning ability and can learn it after making it only once.
Of course, this only applies to work-related matters.
I didn't make too much tonight; what I made was shared and eaten quickly. I need to get up early tomorrow morning to make it for the market tomorrow.
"It's so delicious! Big sister, you're amazing! These wontons are so good, they're the best thing in the world!" Lin Chacha ate two large bowls of them, showing her appreciation.
Lin Taozi smiled and kept saying how delicious it was. Even Lin Xiaoxue ate with her mouth full of oil, looking very happy. She would glance at Lin Xiazhu from time to time, thinking that her older sister's cooking skills were superb.
Sigh, Lin Xiazhu laughed too. Actually, her cooking skills could only be considered good, not that amazing. She had always been alone, and for the last few years, she spent the Spring Festival alone outside. She was so bored that she found some cookbooks to study. She could cook many dishes, but she wasn't very good at them.
However, in these days when everyone is poor and reluctant to spend money on food, her cooking skills are quite good. At least she is no worse than the chefs in the town's restaurants, and perhaps she can even compete with the chefs in the county.
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