"You just mentioned issuing cards, how much does it cost?"

"You can get it for free with any purchase." Xu Haizhou replied.

"Ah, fifteen...a small bag..." The two girls looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.

Fifteen dollars is not a small amount. It is at least one week's salary for them.

Hesitantly, the braided girl stepped forward and asked, "Can we both buy together and get it free? Or does one person have to buy the whole lot?"

"Two people are also fine. Three or four people are also fine, there is no limit to the number!" Li Hongjun explained with a smile.

"Then..." The two of them put their heads together and began to whisper to each other: "Should we get together?"

The girl with the ponytail hesitated: "What do you want? Just a bag. Do you want to carry it or should I?"

The girl with the braided braid was a little embarrassed, but suddenly she had an idea: "Why don't we take turns? You carry one, three, and five, and I carry two, four, and six."

"What about Sunday?"

"Sunday... On Sunday neither of us will carry anything on our backs!" That's fair, right?

After thinking about it, I felt that it made sense and we agreed immediately.

"Okay, show us the clothes you have here and we'll pick out some for $15." Isn't it fair if each person pays $7.50?

Pointing at the dresses hanging on the wall, and then at the skirts on the rotating hangers, Xu Haizhou said, "We have both tops and pants. The ones in the middle are our custom-made ones. We are the only one in Li'an City that has them. The ones below are all skirts, and there are many styles. We have a fitting room here, you can try them on if you like."

"Ah? This skirt is so tight, it's not good to try it on." How can I serve the next customer if it's dirty? It's a hot day, and I'm still sweating... Mainly, I feel embarrassed to get it dirty.

In the 1980s, customers didn’t have the habit of trying on clothes except for coats. Even in department stores, there were no fitting rooms for you to use.

"What's wrong with that? You are a customer, and customers are God! We will definitely do what God asks us to do if we can!" Li Hongjun's eyes narrowed with a smile. He was always good at saying nice things. "Besides, you two are obviously very clean people, so your clothes won't get dirty, so don't worry about wearing them."

The two girls looked at each other and saw the embarrassment that flashed across each other's eyes.

We looked at each other and pushed each other.

"You go first."

"You first."

"You go first, I'll help you watch the curtain."

After struggling for a while, the girl with the braided hair bravely took the first step.

She glanced at the wall and pointed at the blue and white tie-dyed dress in the middle: "That skirt is pretty. How much is it?"

Xu Haizhou said, "Twenty yuan a piece. We're opening a new shop, so we're giving you two new customers a discount, eighteen yuan."

Wow, the boss is giving me a discount even before the price has dropped. This is too good to be true... I can't help but look at him a little more, and my face turns red after just one look.

No matter how embarrassing it is, the money came from their own pockets, so how could they just pay it readily?

The lesbian with the braided hair thought it was a bit expensive, so she picked out a skirt from the rotating clothes rack, tried it on herself, and when she felt the length was about the same, she asked the price.

"How many?"

Xu Haizhou replied: "This one is cheaper, 13."

Oh, it’s still expensive. I can only get a pair of socks at thirteen! I can’t even afford a small bag!

But thirteen dollars for a skirt is a normal price. After all, a dacron shirt costs fifteen dollars!

"What's the cheapest thing here?" asked the girl with the ponytail.

Li Hongjun attentively took down a pair of black overalls from the right wall: "Here, men's trousers, five yuan a pair!"

"..." As a grown-up girl, is it crazy or stupid to buy men's overalls?

After thinking it over, under the smiling eyes of the two men, the braided girl made up her mind and pointed directly at the tie-dyed skirt hanging on the wall: "This is it! I want to try it!"

It's going to cost more than ten dollars anyway, so why not add a few more dollars to buy one you like... People always go "crazy" for what they love.

The ponytail girl tugged at her sleeve calmly and whispered, "Do you really want to buy it? Eighteen, then I won't fight with you, you have enough on your own."

She twisted her braids and tightened her clothes, gritted her teeth and said, "Then I won't fight for it. I'll buy it myself."

Having said that, she took the skirt and went into the fitting room.

There is no channel to customize a full-length mirror at the moment. The store only has two 20x20 small square mirrors, which are neither too big nor too small, and can barely take a picture of the upper body.

After changing her clothes, the girl with the ponytail had bright eyes: "Jingjing, this dress looks really good on you! It makes you look so fair and slim!"

This is not a compliment, it's really beautiful!

Incredibly, he touched it and said, "Look at your waist, it's so thin! I never thought you were so white before..."

At this time, Li Hongjun used his sweet talk to great effect, praising the little girl to the point that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

The lesbian with the braided hair blushed from her face to her neck. She was too embarrassed to say anything and just took out a small stack of banknotes from her handbag. After counting, she found that it was less than eighteen yuan. She borrowed seven more from a friend and took away the tie-dyed skirt and the gift bag.

He was reluctant to change his clothes when he left. He just walked away in his new clothes, taking small steps, his back looking excited and impatient.

The ponytail girl who didn't buy any clothes turned around and her eyes fell on the blue and white tie-dyed skirt on the wall, but she quickly looked away.

Xu Haizhou had a hunch that she would come back to buy it.

Sure enough, two hours later, just before the sunset, I hurried here in small steps.

Without trying on the clothes or bargaining, she took out 18 yuan and slammed it on the wooden table: "Pack it up for me, yes, that blue and white skirt."

…

Both Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun have business experience and are smart, not to mention that Li Hongjun has a clever tongue.

Her little mouth is so sweet that if someone looks into the shop for a while, she will call them "sister" affectionately. If they are younger, she will call them "sister". If they are boys, she will call them "brother". If they are younger, she will call them "handsome brother".

Going a step further, if you like a piece of clothing but are hesitant about whether to buy it, just compliment the person on their good figure and slimness, and tell them that they will definitely look good in it. Hurry up and try it on in the fitting room; it’s free!

He said this to everyone, after all, there were few fat people these days.

Xu Haizhou doesn't have such eloquence, but his good looks still attract many girls. They look at Xu Haizhou's face and then at the high-quality clothes in the store. After a few visits, the transaction rate goes up.

After a week's work, the business was booming and the profits were no worse than before in Qingteng Lane.

Another point is that the clothes designed by Qiao Lu are sold at high prices under the name of custom-made products. At that price, it is considered good if four or five pieces can be sold in a month.

But the profit of one piece is equal to that of five or six cheaper ones. With this layer of income, the net profit can now reach twelve thousand per month!

Yu Fan was curious: "You're giving away these bags and socks... for free?"

"Yes. But if no one comes to buy them, what's the point of keeping these bags and socks? These small things don't cost much, and you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

Seeing that the two of them were attracting more and more customers and even her family's business was improving, Yu Fan nodded thoughtfully.

It seems... it is indeed a feasible solution...

At present, stalls, except for clothing, are basically small-cost businesses. No one is willing to give away any gifts. Sometimes business is bad and nothing can be sold all day. Don’t let the gifts be worth more than the profits.

I don’t know if it’s because the two men are so sweet or the clothes are so stylish, but we’ve already closed six deals in just one morning!

At noon, a lady came to the stall. She didn't like anything else but the hand-sewn color-blocked bag by Qiao Lu.

Li Hongjun waved his hands and hung the bag high up: "This bag is a gift for an honored guest. I won't sell it!"

Xu Haizhou happened to come over to replenish the supplies, and seeing the situation, he and Li Hongjun started a double act.

The customer originally thought that Li Hongjun's attitude was a bit bad and wanted to turn around and leave, but Xu Haizhou smiled warmly and said, "This is a big bag. If you like it, you can buy any clothes in the store. If you spend more than 30 yuan, you can get this bag directly."

The customer was actually tempted by the price, but only for a little while. After all, thirty yuan was not cheap.

But the more she looked at this bag, the more she liked it. It was the first time she saw such bright colors and well-matched styles. This bag was really delicate, neither too big nor too small, exquisite and high-end.

"This skirt is pretty good, how much is it?" She was attracted by a floral skirt. The pattern was a bit old-fashioned, but it was in line with current aesthetics and was also a popular style.

"Sixteen, but our store is a new one and this is your first time here, so I'll give you a discount of two yuan." It's still the same "taking advantage" method.

Two yuan off is a lot, but...

"Fourteen dollars is still expensive!"

"Not expensive! Really not expensive! I don't charge you for cloth coupons, so fourteen yuan is expensive? And I'll give you a pair of socks for free if you buy them! Look, they're made of nylon, and the quality is so good!" Handing her the socks, Li Hongjun muttered, "If you go to a department store, you'll have to put industrial coupons on your socks!"

The socks are pretty good, the skirt is pretty good, everything is pretty good, the only problem is the price...

"Well...if I ask my friend to buy it with me...if I pool thirty dollars with her, can I give her both the bag and the socks?"

Li Hongjun was very dramatic, frowning, holding his heart in pain, and gritted his teeth and said cruelly, "Okay! If you and your friends can really get thirty, I promise to give it to you! Not only the bag, but also a hairpin, and you can give it to your daughter when you go back. I've spent a lot of money!"

After all, it is exaggerated to say that one person spends 30 yuan. This can also be considered as stimulating consumption. Isn’t this the effect we want?

"Look at what you said, it's so exaggerated." The eldest sister was amused by his performance, "Okay, then I'll have lunch and bring people over to take a look."

Before leaving, she pointed at the skirt and repeatedly reminded me: "Leave me a smaller size. Don't sell it! Leave the bag for me too!"

Li Hongjun waved goodbye and said, "Okay! Then go back and have your meal first. I'll try to keep it for you."

Although it was not certain, the woman walked even more hurriedly.

These were the strategies given by Qiao Lu. Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun thought they were pretty good, so they put them into use. Unexpectedly, they were so effective. Everyone, young and old, male or female, fell for it.

The elder sister was indeed very trustworthy and she really came after she said she would have lunch.

When she saw someone, Li Hongjun slapped her thighs in excitement, "Hey, sister, you're finally here! Just now, a lady wanted to take her skirt away, but it was the last one, so I kept it for you."

"Oh, there is such a thing. Fortunately, I came quickly. Thank you so much for your help." He patted his chest and said thankfully. He did not doubt the truthfulness of Li Hongjun's words at all. He was really an acting expert who could confuse the fake with the real.

"You're welcome. I promised you anyway. How can I go back on my word?"

The elder sister gave him a thumbs up and said, "You are a sincere and honest boy. This is how you should do business. Keep your word!"

"Yes! That's absolutely true!" He scratched his head, not humble at all.

The sisters were very strong in fighting and their loud voices attracted many customers. They closed two additional deals and earned more than sixty yuan in one go.

After he left, he counted the money happily: "Hey! Sixty-two and three dollars, not bad, if I can earn this much every day, it will be eighteen thousand a month, excluding the cost..."

Well, the cost of each piece of clothing is different, and he couldn't figure it out right away without a pen and paper, but after a rough calculation, he said, "I think I can make at least 1,500 yuan in profit."

"Well, even though the location isn't great, our products are of high quality and unique, so it's hard to be low-key!"

Yu Fan laughed at him, with a flash of envy in his eyes: "Don't be happy too early, this place is really remote."

It's just that the weather is good and the luck is good. In winter, when the weather gets cold, there are hardly any people coming here. Not to mention the cold, the key point is that it's cold! There's draft everywhere.

In winter, no matter if they are rich or poor, everyone tends to go shopping in department stores. After all, it doesn’t cost money to go in, so if you can’t afford to buy something, you can still go shopping.

"That's not true. Look how hard I'm shouting. With Haizhou's personality, he doesn't care about face when doing business." As he said that, he looked up and down at Yu Fan who was curled up on the bench and laughed at her: "I think you are a lesbian who is too thin-skinned and embarrassed to shout. Otherwise, you would have opened the shop today and could have made at least a hundred or a thousand a month."

In terms of making money alone, he is not as motivated as him and Xu Haizhou. If he continues to do this, he might as well work in a factory!

"It's not that simple." Yu Fan smiled and shook her head, twisted the teacup and drank a sip of the jasmine tea she brewed herself: "When it comes to doing business, it's a voluntary commitment."

Li Hongjun disagrees. He has never liked the term "voluntary involvement".

How can someone be hooked if you don't seduce them? Volunteers? Where do so many brainless volunteers come from?

After chatting for a while, the topic gradually turned to Yu Fan. Li Hongjun was very curious about her, not only about her as a person, but also about her experience.

She said she stopped studying after graduating from junior high school because she was a minor and could only work odd jobs in a small workshop to earn money. She worked there for two years, but because the salary was so low that she could barely support herself and her grandmother, she decided to resign.

It was the beginning of 1979, when the reform and opening up began. She resigned without hesitation and was led by a friend to work out to earn money. Later, she felt that the time was right, so she started out on her own.

After hearing her experience, he was quite sad. After all, they were not that familiar with each other, so it was not convenient for Li Hongjun to ask further questions.

"Comrade Yu Fan, I want to ask, how old are you this year?"

Yu Fan glanced at him and said, "Twenty."

"What, just turned twenty?"

"Well, what's wrong? Are you surprised?" He stroked her chin-length curly hair, "Didn't I say I dropped out of school in the second year of junior high school?"

It is not easy to get into junior high school these days. The fact that Yu Fan was able to pass shows that he is a good student. It's a pity.

"It's more than just surprise!" His eyes almost popped out!

It is not popular for lesbians to show their faces in public these days. Even if they cannot find a job, they cannot go into business. Even if they want to do business, at least they need someone to accompany them, such as a partner or husband, or with friends.

It would be very dangerous for a girl, so young and pretty, to be alone.

"It's rare to see a young lesbian like you setting up a stall. What about your parents at home? Do you have any objections?"

"I'm dead. If you have any opinions, wait until I get down to talk to you."

"Cough cough cough——" Li Hongjun was scolded so much that he thought to himself that this girl was really brave and spoke without restraint. She was indeed someone who had been hanging out in society since she was a minor and had the temperament of a "social girl".

"So you are the only one in your family now?"

"There is also a sister who is in junior high school and my grandmother."

"Oh." Li Hongjun pursed his face: "It's not easy for you, supporting three people."

Yu Fan didn't think so: "Compared to being unemployed, I don't have to worry about food and drink now, what's so difficult about it?"

Indeed, some people may work very hard for a month and still not earn as much as Yu Fan in a few days. Although she endured strange looks, she did earn a lot!

"It's much harder than mine."

Without a stall, Yu Fan could not imagine how it would feel to earn a month's wages in one day. He never thought that making money was so easy. Just by talking and making customers happy, the money was in hand. Compared to being hungry, this life was like living a god's life.

…

Over here, in the big yard, Qiao Lu was still worrying about the two big bags of "junk".

Qiao Lu was troubled by this for several days, but finally she couldn't bear to throw it away. She looked through the clothes and found that they were all defective. The clothes still had a bit of smell. She picked up one and spread it out to see that it was second-hand! There were obvious signs of use!

He gulped in disgust, went out to wash his hands, and then went to the hardware store to buy a pair of rubber gloves.

I'll go back and continue looking through them. It would be good if I can pick out two decent ones out of ten.

Throw away anything that looks second-hand; who knows if it might contain any virus.

The remaining defective products are put in one pile, and the qualified products are put in another pile. The ratio of good to bad products is about eight to two. What a fucking scam!

Alas, these days, making money is easy but also really not easy. You travel thousands of miles to carry goods, only to get back such broken stuff.

"Didn't you sort the clothes out?" Today it was Xu Haizhou's turn to do the laundry. When he came in after finishing his wash, he saw his wife rummaging through a pile of "junk". The sight of this pile of garbage gave him a headache.

"Hmm." Qiao Lu pointed at the defective products and said, "This pile, let me slowly make some changes. Some sleeves are one too long and one too short, some collars are crooked, some have big holes, and some styles are not good... I will make some repairs and sell as many as I can to reduce the loss."

Then he pointed at the slightly acceptable clothes and said, "I will check these again when the time comes. If there are no problems, I will sell them in the store."

"Thank you for your hard work." Xu Haizhou walked forward, pinched her shoulders and patted her back.

It would be tiring to sit in front of a sewing machine all day long. Xu Haizhou planned to wait until the temperature dropped to around 24 or 25 degrees Celsius and then take her out for a night run to keep her healthy.

"It's not that hard."

In fact, hard work is nothing. The most important thing is that your lover can see your hard work, does not take it for granted, and can understand your hard work. Then all the hard work you have done is worth it.

"By the way, how are the tie-dyed skirts selling recently? If they're selling well, I'll have Sister Wu make a few more."

"Make ten pieces first, and then make more when most of them have been sold out, so as not to accumulate inventory." The fabrics he uses now are all bought from the black market, or by purchasing fabric coupons at high prices and then buying them in department stores. The cost is high, and if there is too much inventory in stock, it is easy to lose cash.

"Okay, then go get some more dyes. I plan to make a few more colors before the weather gets cold."

"OK."

I finished altering three half-sleeved long skirts in just one afternoon.

Before the alteration, the neckline was so big that you could see the chest, the shoulder lines on both sides were asymmetrical, the cuffs were inconsistent in length, and there were too many loose threads on the skirt... After the alteration, the waistline was shrunk, the shoulder line was corrected, and the rough hem was re-sealed to make the pleats dynamic, making it look more elegant.

From Qiao Lu's perspective, it's not bad.

I stretched my waist, took a break and then moved on to the next one.

Outside the courtyard, the sun was setting and the aroma of food was lingering in the air… Aunt Tian was scolding her son again.

"You scrub all day long, but you only scrub the outside and not the inside. Isn't that wasting your time? You are so picky! The outside of horse shit is shiny!"

"Tsk, mom, why are you so annoying? I'm brushing my clothes myself and I didn't ask you to help me. What are you nagging about?" Tian Jianzhong was impatient and deliberately made the noise of brushing clothes even louder.

Auntie Tian patted his head and said, "Hey! You think I'm being unreasonable when I nag you? What's the matter? I'm your mother, shouldn't I nag you?"

Tian Jianzhong: “…”

Never mind. There's no point in talking to her.

Tian Jianzhong recently bought a new white Dacron shirt. He also had one last year, but for some reason, or maybe he didn't store it properly, it had turned yellow when he took it out of the bottom of the box.

So she spent her salary to buy a new one, but Aunt Tian was extremely disgusted with it!

It's yellow, so it's yellow. It doesn't have holes and it hasn't shrunk, so why can't I wear it?

Buy another one, each one is fifteen dollars! Oh, this prodigal son!

These days, the most popular clothing in the country is the "Dacron" shirt. This is the first synthetic fiber to enter the domestic market. It is made of polyester and is wear-resistant.

Although the price is expensive, it is worth it.

Ordinary shirts will wrinkle when worn, but Dacron shirts will always stay smooth without wrinkles or shrinkage. The only drawback is that they are not breathable.

We sweat a lot in summer, so the shirt needs to be washed every day. The collar is the place where dirt and grime accumulate the most. If it is not cleaned frequently, a layer of yellow dirt will grow on the collar, which will greatly affect the appearance.

Tian Jianzhong bought this piece of Dacron with his salary this month. It is very good.

I only wore it for one day. As soon as I got home in the afternoon, I took it off and washed it.

For fear of deforming the collar, I took a small brush, dipped it in detergent, and scrubbed it again and again until all the sweat stains were washed away.

Of course, after washing them, they were not squeezed but sank to the bottom of the water and hung directly on the clothesline while still wet. The dripping water gathered into a small river. The children ran around in the yard, and if they ran too fast, they would step on the water and slip if they were not careful.

When they cry, they can hear their parents’ reproachful voices:

"Cry, cry, cry! Why don't you pay attention to the road again!"

Apart from him, almost everyone in the yard who had white shirts washed them in this way. Countless "small rivers" could be seen in the large yard almost every day.

After brushing the shirt, she continued to brush the white shoes. Except for the white edge of the shoes, she did not brush any other parts. This was also something that Aunt Tian could not get used to. She found it incomprehensible. She brushed the outside without brushing the inside. It was all in vain!

Watching Tian Jianzhong brushing his shoes and clothes, Qiao Lu stretched her waist and asked jokingly, "My store sells Dacron, why don't you come to my store to buy it?"

There was a shadow above his head. Tian Jianzhong raised his head and saw her.

She was wearing a beautiful blue tie-dyed dress. This dress seemed to be very popular recently and he could see a few people wearing it on the street from time to time. However, he knew that this was a new style that Qiao Lu had come up with herself and no other store had it except hers.

To be honest, Tian Jianzhong admires her very much.

When she first got married, she was actually a little prejudiced against this woman. She felt that she was a young widow with a child and was not worthy of Xu Haizhou.

He didn't expect her to be very skillful and virtuous, and the family of three lived a better and better life, without the chaos he had imagined.

On the contrary, a loving father and a filial son, a virtuous mother and a warm-hearted son...

"You have it at home?" Blinking and retracting his scattered thoughts, Tian Jianzhong pretended to be ignorant and pursed his face: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me earlier, I would have bought it from you."

Auntie Tian was in a bad mood. While cooking in the small kitchen, she shouted outside: "Your store should be on Baiyun Street. It's a million miles away from here. How can we afford to go there just to buy a piece of clothing?"

Qiao Lu smiled and said, "You don't have to go there specially. Just tell me or Haizhou and we'll deliver the goods to your door for free."

"That's great, there's no need to go out and look for her." Tian Jianzhong laughed.

Auntie Tian was unhappy and thought to herself: What a bullshit! The couple only know how to cheat people out of their money!

She had completely forgotten how Qiao Lu had helped her make extra money before.

After chatting for a while, Qiao Lu went back into the house to look for Carpenter Tian: "Uncle, is the drawing I gave you last time finished?"

A few days ago, I took some time to draw a model of a clothing model, the kind with only the upper body, which will make it more convenient to make clothes in the future.

Tian Yongkui, who had just taken out his cigarette and was about to smoke, looked up at her with a gentle smile: "Qiao Lu is here, come and sit down."

"No need to sit down, uncle. I just came to ask a question."

Tian Yongkui rolled the cigarette slowly and said, "I think it will take another two days for your stuff to be ready. Wait a little longer. I'll have Jianzhong deliver it to you as soon as it's ready."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

In the evening, Tian Jianzhong suddenly came to Xu's house, sneaking around like a thief.

At this time, Xu Haizhou took Qiao An to the bathroom to take a shower, while Qiao Lu was doing housework at home, sweeping away all the small scraps of cloth produced during today's work.

Seeing him, she was slightly surprised: "Why are you here?"

When Qiao Lu saw Tian Jianzhong, her first reaction was to think that he had come to deliver a model, but he turned out to be empty-handed and tiptoeing, which didn't seem like the case.

He walked forward slowly, closing the door slightly as he entered, looking sheepish: "Do you have...here...ahem, that, what, a suit jacket?"

puff--

The old masters were stammering and hesitant, and Qiao Lu almost thought he was going to ask if he had any underwear!

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