"Suit jacket?" Qiao Lu was stunned: "It's not even cold yet, and you're wearing a suit?"
After the party congress last year, a "Western wear trend" swept the capital.
Then at the beginning of this year, around March and April when the weather was cool, this trend began to "move south" and blew to Li'an, and men began to put on this fashionable suit jacket.
Wear your suit open without buttons, and hang a bunch of keys on the waistband of your suit pants. When people see you, they will think you are some kind of "cadre"!
In fact, most people started to dress like this at that time, and when walking in the crowd, everyone was a "cadre".
But to be honest, people at that time had no idea what a suit was, nor did they know that it had to be custom-made to look good.
The suits sold in the market are all one-size-fits-all. People in the south are not as tall as people in the north, and they are thin and frail. When they wear them, they are baggy, sloppy, and out of place. To put it bluntly, they don’t look like “executives” at all, let alone the temperament of domineering bosses. They are just for fun and novelty.
Even so, even if it is selling well and hot, what can you do? Just follow the trend and sell it together.
It's not a big deal to make money.
Tian Jianzhong smiled awkwardly, his features showing a guilty conscience: "The price is almost going to drop, I just wanted to buy some in advance so I can wear them when it gets cold."
"Oh, that's fine. We have not only summer clothes but also autumn clothes. When the temperature drops in two months, Haizhou will also import a batch of winter clothes. You can come to my house then. We have stocks here."
"good."
I happily picked one and went without even asking the price, and finally paid for it without hesitation.
"Do you have a bag? Let me pack it in." He was afraid of being seen.
He picked up a large canvas bag from the ground and handed it over: "Here, I'll lend it to you. Return it to me when the time comes."
"OK."
When Tian Jianzhong was walking away with his clothes, Xu Haizhou just happened to be coming back with his son after taking a bath and passed him by.
"Why is he here?"
The little guy ran into the room to look for his coat. It was a little chilly at night, and he was shivering from the cold as he walked along.
Looking at Tian Jianzhong's departing back, Qiao Lu smiled meaningfully: "This guy... has a situation..."
Xu Haizhou was confused. He put down the wooden basin and went to the eaves to dry the towel. "What's going on?"
Qiao Lu crossed her arms and shook her head, saying, "I don't know, but it seems a little strange. Hey, do you know what he bought from us just now?"
As he spoke, Xu Haizhou walked into the house.
"What?"
"I bought a suit and left!"
"Suit?" Xu Haizhou still didn't understand: "Why buy a suit? I've never seen him wear a suit."
In fact, it's not just Tian Jianzhong. This suit is a new trend this year, and the style is trendy, but only a few people buy it. Now that the weather is hot, no one will buy it.
"Who knows, I guess..." Thinking of his shy and timid look, Qiao Lu laughed out loud: "I suspect he might be... a young boy in love?"
puff--
Xu Haizhou was amused by her choice of words, and then nodded in agreement: "Well... I'm already in my twenties, it's time to find a partner."
But Tian Jianzhong doesn’t care that he doesn’t have a partner, as he already has a wife.
As he thought about it, his eyes inadvertently slid across her face.
One year after marriage, she hasn't changed at all. She is more charming and knows how to dress up better. The relationship between the two of them has also gone from being awkward in the beginning to being full of passion as an "old married couple" now.
His eyes slid from his wife's fair face to her exquisitely shaped breasts, and finally to her waist which was so slender that it was impossible to hold it with one hand...
Twenty-two is the best time in a woman's life. How lucky he is to marry her at this time.
"Why are you looking at me?" Qiao Lu poked him hard in the chest with her elbow, amused.
He had just finished a shower and was wearing only a simple vest and a thin shirt, which was white and slightly transparent.
The water stains on his arms were probably not wiped clean, and the fabric was thinly attached to the muscles, not exaggerating to the point of protruding veins. It was just the right balance, with a hint of tension.
"Look at my wife, she's beautiful and virtuous." His voice was so hoarse and charming.
Qiao Lu smiled, walked to the sewing machine, prepared to tidy up and go to the bathroom to take a shower.
Her slender waist was grabbed unexpectedly by someone, and she fell straight into his chest.
What's going on today?
Qiao Lu glared at him unhappily and smoothed her messy hair.
Just as she was about to stand up, the guy suddenly lifted her chin with his slender fingers, as if he was teasing a decent woman.
Qiao Lu didn't know what to do, her eyes widened, and before she could say anything, the dense kisses fell like a rainstorm.
The breaths intertwined, as delicate as silk, entangled and blended into one.
"Hmm——" Why is this man becoming more and more unreasonable?
…
Setting up a stall on Baiyun Street is less stressful mentally, except that the commuting time is a bit more tiring than before.
There is no need to worry about the urban management officers who may appear at any time. The more merchants gather here, the more customer flow there will be.
Sometimes on weekends, some people even choose to ride a bicycle for an hour to stroll around Baiyun Street.
Sunday is the busiest time period, and usually both people are on duty.
Normally, the two of them take turns setting up the stall. Today Xu Haizhou comes, and tomorrow it's Li Hongjun. The one who doesn't come is not idle either. When they are free, they go around various factory areas to see if they can use their connections to buy goods. If they can find a merchant, they won't have to go to the special zone to get the basic payment in the future, which will be much easier.
A quarter of the two large bags of "garbage" have been transformed by Qiao Lu, and the cost of each piece is no more than one yuan.
Almost every piece of “little garbage” has her own improvements and innovations, and they are all different, so the price is not cheap.
Summer thin tops are generally priced at around 5 to 8 yuan, trousers are priced at 6 to 10 yuan, and dresses are slightly more expensive, priced at 7 to 12 yuan...
To be honest, Qiao Lu's design plus the two men's eloquence sold quite well.
The only difficulty is that it takes a lot of brainpower to modify clothes. Sometimes I rack my brains and still can't figure out how to modify them.
Xu Haizhou saw this and somehow heard that royal jelly was a good tonic, so he bought a large bottle without warning.
It was in a glass jar, and it cost twenty-three yuan! It was very expensive. They said it was for her brain tonic, and Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"How can eating too much sugar help your brain? It will hurt your brain!" What a fool!
Qiao An was puzzled and drooled at the royal jelly: "Mom, candy tastes good, why does it hurt my brain?"
"Sugar is delicious, but eating too much is bad for your health." Qiao nudged her son's round nose and said, "Have you forgotten that last time, mommy told you that eating too much sugar will not only make you fat, but also cause you to grow other things?"
"Um... tooth decay! The bugs make their home in your teeth and eat them! Then all your teeth fall out!"
"Yes, that's right."
Xu Haizhou smiled helplessly and rubbed his son's head: "Then I bought the wrong one?"
I did something bad with good intentions, and I feel a little guilty about it.
"That's right, we can make honey chicken wings, and we can also soak honey in water to drink honey lemonade, which is also good." Sour and sweet, if you can have a refrigerator, it will be a magic weapon to cool down in summer!
"Can that help improve my brain?" This is what Xu Haizhou asked.
Qiao Lu shook her head mysteriously: "It shouldn't be possible, but you can..."
Xu Haizhou asked hurriedly: "What can I do?"
Qiaolu winked and tapped him on the head with her knuckles: "You can make me happy, idiot!"
Although her husband is a little silly and lacks common sense, his intentions are good. His kindness makes Qiao Lu happier than receiving an expensive gift.
Looking at his playful wife, Xu Haizhou's heart softened.
The burden in my heart finally eased: "As long as I'm happy, it has worked."
So he went to the market again, and without Qiao Lu knowing, he weighed out two kilograms of lemons! Eighteen in total!
Good guy, cut two lemon slices into pieces and soak them in a cup of water, and you can soak them repeatedly, one or two times.
Even though there were three people in the family, everything had to be consumed in moderation. Qiao An could only give him one cup a day at most, and two adults could only drink two cups a day, which meant they could only drink half a lemon a day.
One every two days, it will take me forever to finish this!
Qiao Lu helplessly supported her forehead: Regarding her silly husband, she has a hunch that he will definitely do more "stupid things" in the future!
…
Xu Haizhou got up at five o'clock today without telling Qiao Lu, but the rustling noise still woke her up.
"What's wrong? Going to the bathroom?" He mumbled in a daze, his eyes too sore to open.
"No, I had to go out for something." He tiptoed out of bed, tucked in the quilt for her, and then went to the closet to change clothes.
Listening to the rustling of fabrics, and then the sound of footsteps getting farther and farther away, Qiao Lu fell into a daze and her hand accidentally stretched out from under the quilt...
Hiss——the temperature difference between inside and outside the quilt is so big! It’s so cold.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep after a few seconds.
Xu Haizhou left home early in the morning and didn't get home until almost nine o'clock.
At that time, exclamations were heard one after another in the yard.
"Wow-TV-!"
Dongdongdongdongdong—the sound of footsteps rising and falling everywhere.
"Good fellow! Haizhou, your family is getting richer and richer. You even bought a TV!"
"Oh! The radio isn't working anymore, let's buy a TV!"
The mother and son ran out quickly. She was just as surprised as her neighbors: "Haizhou, you, you didn't sleep so early in the morning to go buy a TV?!"
Fearing that the TV might get damaged on the way, Xu Haizhou didn't even ride a bicycle. He walked all the way there and carried the TV back carefully. He was so tired that he was gasping for breath, but he was very excited.
"I've wanted to buy a ticket for a long time, but I couldn't get one. I had to go early to get in line. When it was my turn, there were only the last three seats left."
Nowadays, buying a TV set requires more than just money and a ticket. You also have to get up early and queue up. Sometimes you have to wait until the TV is sold out, and you have to blame yourself for your bad luck.
Alas, it is so difficult to buy a TV these days!
"I went in smoothly, the house is a mess." Qiao Lu didn't have time to ask anything else and hurried into the house to clean up.
Qiao An followed closely behind, sometimes looking curiously at the big group in her father's arms, and sometimes looking at her mother's busy back.
"Oh, there are goods everywhere. I don't know where to put them." Qiao Lu was so anxious that she was sweating all over. She didn't know where to put all the miscellaneous items.
Xu Haizhou smiled and said, "Just find a place to put it aside for now."
Qiao Lu hurried back to the bedroom, moved out the bedside table and placed it on the side wall next to the bedroom door. After placing the TV firmly, she began to plug in the cables.
Televisions in the 1980s did not have input jacks and needed a converter to be used. There was a plug at the back of the TV, with an adapter, plug in the power supply, put the satellite dish outdoors in a place with a strong signal, and finally adjust the antenna, and you can basically use it.
"Okay, we can watch it tonight."
The television programs in the 1980s were not as rich as those in later generations. They were so simple that they could only receive three channels: one was the central station, one was the provincial station, and the last one was the municipal TV station.
There are no programs broadcast before 6 o'clock every night. Even if you turn on the TV, you can only see dense black and white snow. At this point, just let it rest.
The new TV in Xu Haizhou's house successfully made everyone in the inner courtyard uneasy for the whole day.
At around 5:30 in the afternoon, the children could not wait to linger outside the cabin.
"Hey - make way, make way, why are there so many people blocking the door, what are you doing?"
Li Hongjun came back from packing up his stall to stock the goods. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he was stunned by the scene in front of him.
What are you all doing gathered at the door of Xu Haizhou's house? Has something happened?
He rushed in carrying the sack, and the neighbors quickly made way for him.
Seeing the pictures inside, I breathed a sigh of relief for no reason: "Good fellow, did you really sell the TV?"
He threw the sack aside and walked over to take a look: "Wow, it's Panda brand, not bad."
As he spoke, he gently patted the big butt of the TV. Qiao An immediately grabbed his clothes and said, "Uncle, be careful! Don't break the TV!"
Li Hongjun burst out laughing, picked up the little guy and kissed and pinched him.
"Are you afraid that I'll ruin your photo? Huh? How can I ruin a TV with such a thick case?"
Wiping his face with his hands, Joan said, "The TV is very precious. We must protect it."
"Oh, you even know the word 'precious'. Who taught you that?"
Pointing at Qiao Lu, he said in a baby voice, "Mom."
Qiao Lu walked over and the little boy stretched out his arms for her to hold him.
After taking her son, Qiao Lu joked, "You made so much money, what's wrong with buying a TV?"
Li Hongjun raised his eyebrows and gave her a thumbs up: "Sister-in-law, you are really becoming more and more generous in your words. It's true that being rich is different. What does this prove? It proves that money is a person's confidence!"
"Of course not."
Xu Haizhou was fiddling with the TV seriously, Qiao Lu was waiting on the side with her son, and a bunch of neighbors had nothing to do so they stood aside and watched Xu Haizhou. A group of people surrounded him like they were watching monkeys in a zoo.
Noticing the sack he brought back, she went up to look through it and asked, "You brought back so many goods today?"
"Don't mention it, I only sold one piece." Li Hongjun said sadly.
"How come? Wasn't he fine before?"
Li Hongjun scratched his head anxiously: "I don't know what's going on. Maybe everyone wanted to try it for a while, but now that it's no longer new, they won't come anymore."
Indeed, it’s not new when it first opens.
"It's okay, just leave it alone for now. I'll discuss countermeasures with Haizhou in the evening."
The address is so remote that it cannot be changed, so we have to find another way.
"Okay, let me do the hard work, and you two will be in charge of being the intelligent brain."
Phew—Qiao Lu was amused.
"It's time." Like a spell to break a curse, the two words were spoken, and even though no one in the crowd spoke, the atmosphere was filled with excitement.
Getting restless.
"Come and watch TV together." Qiao Lu said to Li Hongjun.
"Okay!"
The children couldn't wait to ask: "Joan! Are you going to watch TV? Can we watch it together?"
The young man subconsciously turned his head and looked at Qiao Lu.
Qiao Lu stroked his chin and asked, "Do you want to share your new TV with your friends?"
"Yeah! I think so." He likes to share with his good friends.
"Then please invite the children to sit down."
Joan ran to the sewing machine, pulled out two sacks, used them as cushions for the children's butts, and then sat on the floor to watch TV.
Everyone sat in a row in an orderly manner, and the adults stood in the back row to watch in an orderly manner. The small room, which was not big to begin with, suddenly became crowded.
In the blink of an eye, under everyone's expectant gaze, the picture finally appeared on TV. Even the commercials were watched with gusto, not wanting to miss a single word.
Today happens to be Saturday, and the most popular TV series currently being broadcast at this time is: "Huo Yuanjia".
The first scene is a spectacular fight that is so dazzling that one cannot even breathe.
Except for Qiao Lu, everyone's reaction was highly consistent. The more they looked at her, the cuter she became.
Although she had long been immune to this type of TV series, once immersed in the atmosphere, she couldn't help but feel that this old TV series seemed quite interesting.
Two hours later, the word "Goodbye" appeared on the fluorescent screen. At this time, everyone still didn't give up. It was not until the TV screen suddenly turned into dense "snow" that they were willing to leave.
"It's really nice, Qiao Lu. Can I come to your house to watch TV again in the future?"
"Sure, come if you want to watch, but it's best to bring your own bench."
“Hahahaha——” From now on, I no longer have to go to Zhao Kuihua’s house in the outer courtyard to watch TV. I can watch it in the inner courtyard, and there are fewer people, so I can watch it closer and more enjoyably!
"Okay, okay, bring your own bench next time! Don't stand there blocking the people behind you from watching TV!"
The air is filled with joy.
We dispersed reluctantly, learning the lines from the TV as we walked and discussing the plot as we walked. This was a rare moment when adults and children had something in common to talk about.
After watching TV, she covered her mother with a lace dust sheet that Xu Haizhou brought back from the department store. He was so considerate and attentive, even more attentively than he served his own mother.
After taking a bath in the evening, Qiao An, unusually, did not take a book to urge her mother to tell a story, nor did she pester her to learn a new song. She just seemed to be unsatisfied and was still savoring the plot of the TV series.
This was Qiaoan's first time watching TV. He had been dragged by his friends to watch it once at Kuihua's house in the outer courtyard. Unfortunately, there were too many people and he couldn't squeeze in. He was short and could only vaguely see a few black and white images through the gaps. He didn't even get a taste of the show.
Now my family has bought one, and I can sit in the best movie-watching area. It’s so exciting and thrilling!
"How's it going? Do you like it?"
"Yeah! I like it! Dad, I like it very, very, very much! The clothes they wear are different from ours!" The background of Huo Yuanjia is the Qing Dynasty, and everyone in it wears ancient costumes. Seeing Qiao An with such a different style for the first time was as exciting as discovering a new continent!
"Do you like dad or TV?" Xu Haizhou asked, touching his son's chin.
The boy answered without hesitation: "I like my dad! And thirdly, I like TV!"
Without his father, he wouldn't have a TV to watch!
"Who do you like second?" Xu Haizhou asked again.
Qiao Lu, who was sitting in front of the dressing table applying facial cream, also pricked up her ears.
The young man pouted in confusion: "The second favorite...like...like myself."
"What about mom?" Xu Haizhou set a trap for him.
The boy answered without hesitation: "Mom and Dad are in first place!"
"You little clever boy." His mother was right. This child is a clever boy and will never fall for your tricks.
Qiao Lu was quite satisfied with this answer. The couple never liked to force their son to say who he liked the most, as this would really hit the child hard.
Because in a child's heart, father and mother are always equally important.
Now, without Xu Haizhou and Qiao Lu shouting, Qiao An climbed onto the crib automatically, covered himself with the quilt, and lay down.
He just has one requirement, which is that he must stay in the same room with his parents. He won't agree to sleep alone in an outer room.
If you ask me when a man is most proud, it must be when he makes his wife and son happy and makes them envied by others. How face-saving it is!
Xu Haizhou might have been a little carried away today. Just a few minutes after Qiao Lu got into bed, he turned over and pressed her down.
Qiao Lu pushed him in annoyance: "What are you doing? An An hasn't slept yet."
When I turned my head, I met a pair of large, misty eyes.
Forgot to turn off the light, the kid looked at the two adults stacked together, his eyes wide open, a little confused: "Dad, why are you pressing on Mom?"
“Ahem—”
Xu Haizhou suddenly turned over, squeezed Qiao Lu's palm, and talked to her with his eyes: Why didn't you tell her earlier that An An was not asleep yet?
Qiao Lu rolled her eyes at him: Don’t you usually call him by his name before you start? Why didn’t you call him today? Are you blaming me?
Xu Haizhou: …
"An An, go to bed quickly. Going to bed early will help you grow taller."
"Dad, but I'm so happy today that I can't sleep." His tone was full of excitement.
"Then close your eyes, take a nap and you will fall asleep."
"All right."
As expected, he closed his eyes obediently, but after a while he spoke again: "Dad, the TV is really good."
Xu Haizhou, who had just put his head close to his wife's face, froze: "Well, as long as you like it, go to sleep quickly."
"Okay~" and closed his eyes again.
When Xu Haizhou let go of his hand and his lips almost touched Qiao Lu, his son closed his eyes again.
"Dad, will Huo Yuanjia still be there tomorrow?"
Xu Haizhou: "...Yes, An An, go to sleep quickly, we'll talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow."
"Okay~" This time I really want to sleep.
Snap—pull the light cord off with force.
Qiao Lu pursed her lips and laughed to herself, laughing so hard that her stomach started to ache.
Xu Haizhou's eyes darkened and he bit her lips angrily, causing his wife to let out a coquettish moan.
Then, my entire breathing came to a standstill.
Qiao Lu burst into tears, saying, never laugh at a man! Because you never know how he will retaliate!!
Being pressed into the quilt and kissed deeply, Qiao Lu felt like she was suffocating. She didn't even have enough air to begin with, and now she was being attacked so forcefully by him!
When his cheeks turned red and his body temperature rose, he finally decided to lift the quilt.
Panting, his dark eyes moved to her face. Although it was dark and he couldn't see clearly, he could imagine what a dazed and charming look Qiao Lu would have on her face at this moment.
In the silence, he suddenly turned around and called, "An An?"
No one responded.
Very good, he fell asleep, then...the mother can’t sleep.
“Hmm—”
My arms were too weak to cling to him, so I just let him sway as he did.
"Slow down...slow down...mm..."
…
Because the store is really too remote, simply shouting is no longer effective in attracting customers. Seeing that the entire day's revenue yesterday has become "11", the three-person team has to come up with more tricks to attract customers.
"Big opening promotion! 10% off on all promotional prices! No matter the price, as long as you buy, you will get a free accessory! Buy and get a free one! Buy and get a free one!"
"Get a reward for pulling in people! Get one yuan off for pulling in one person, get two yuan off for pulling in two people... the maximum is five yuan!"
The time was chosen exactly on Sunday when the busiest crowds of people came in one after another, driven by curiosity.
"What, you get a pay cut for recruiting new members? What does that mean?" asked an old lady carrying a vegetable basket.
Li Hongjun explained: "That is, if you invite a friend to buy, we will give you both a one-yuan discount. If you invite two people, we will give you three a three-yuan discount!"
"Four minus four, five minus five?!"
"Yes."
"What do you mean by 10% off? Can you get a 5 yuan discount if you invite people to come? Can you get more discounts?"
"Of course, if you bring five people to buy it, we'll give you an additional discount! 10% off plus another $5!"
"Is this true? Is there such a good thing in the world?"
"We do business based on honesty. How can we cheat people?" You can't catch a wolf without risking the lamb!
"If I bring a hundred people, will you give us a hundred yuan discount?" the aunt said naively.
Li Hongjun was amused and speechless: "Oh! Didn't you hear me completely? I said, the maximum is five dollars, which means you can only get five people at most, sister!"
"Yeah, that's what I said, who would do a business that would make a loss?" But it's still quite a good deal.
Five dollars, two days’ wages!
She had no intention of buying clothes, but she became interested: "How do you sell clothes here?"
Li Hongjun quickly sent the person to Xu Haizhou: "Come, this is our boss, you can discuss the price with him."
After welcoming the customer in, continue to attract the next customer.
The division of labor is clear, so no matter how many people come, there is no panic.
Probably because they had never seen such a marketing method before, the effect was amazing. For the whole morning, they saw customers coming in and out. They came in to inquire about the event and then hurried out. After a while, they brought their aunts and uncles with them, basically three or four of them!
Oh my god, what is going on.
Other stall owners stopped setting up their stalls and focused on Xu Haizhou's stall. The door was packed with people.
What the hell is going on... I also joined in to ask what was going on.
Li Hongjun and Xu Haizhou were both dumbfounded. They had never expected to face such a scene.
It's not that he's reluctant to spend money on clothes, it's clearly that the discount he gave before was not enough!