After working all morning, the two men were so busy that they had no time to drink water and their mouths were so dry that they were chapped.
Qiao Lu had fifteen pieces of clothing altered that morning. When she delivered them, she saw the sea of people in front of her and almost thought she had gone to the wrong place.
After finally squeezing in, Li Hongjun quickly snatched the clothes from her hands and said, "Oh, sister-in-law is here! It's better to come at the right time than to come early. We are running out of goods here. You are really helping me in my time of need!"
Fifteen skirts were snapped up and sold out in twenty minutes.
Looking at the empty shop, Qiao Lu was stunned, and later she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Because the activity is so big, customers who participated in the activity did not get free accessories and bags, and everyone had no objection. After all, compared to these free gifts, money is real.
"Alright, alright, everyone! This is the end of the morning's activities. The inventory is insufficient. My boss and I will go back to get some goods and have a meal. In the afternoon! At 1:30 pm, we will continue the activities, okay?"
How can you say it's bad? The goods are gone and you can't buy the northwest wind, right?
"Okay, okay, let's go home and eat first. You can bring some more goods over."
"Okay, no problem!"
The intensity of this activity to attract people is really strong. Although the profit will be a little less, the profit of clothing is high. Even if each person is given a discount of five dollars and a 10% discount, it is not a loss at all. And now the quantity has caught up. A month's supply is sold out in one day. It is not a loss no matter how cheap it is!
"Qiao Lu, you stay here for a while. Hong Jun and I will go back to get the goods."
"Hey——" Qiao Lu hurriedly pulled Xu Haizhou: "We don't have many summer clothes at home. I just saw that many people haven't bought any yet. Do you think those will be enough?"
"Take as much as you can, and bring your autumn clothes. There will definitely be enough for the afternoon. If not, we'll figure out a solution when the time comes."
"All right."
Qiao Lu was simply happy and worried. She never could have imagined that the marketing methods that were popular in later times would have such a "sensational" effect in the 1980s.
We should sell more while it’s still popular, but Li An can’t get the goods, and it will take at least three days to go to the Special Administrative Region. By the time he comes back, the day lilies will be cold!
…
All the stock was sold out in the afternoon, and it was only around four o'clock.
After selling out, we closed the shop early. Some people felt a little regretful that they had not stocked up more goods beforehand!
It's a pity that we didn't know everything in advance, we can only say that everything is destined...
The merchants looked at the empty Xu's shop as if they had seen a ghost.
I went home relaxed today, just carrying two empty sacks.
The setting sun was as red as blood, and the old light poured down from above like water. The residential houses were shrouded in the orange-red light, as red as flames.
Today, when I went home, there were many people following me closely. If it had been before the crackdown, some people might have come up and robbed me. Fortunately, the crackdown has been severe recently, and the public security is tight. You can see patrolling police on the streets at any time...
Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun did not go home but went straight to the bank. With such a large sum of money, they could only feel at ease by depositing it in the bank.
In just one day, I earned six hundred! Six hundred a day! What a concept!
They earned a year's salary in just one day!
Sadly, there is not a drop left in stock...
…
Xu Haizhou hurried home to have dinner, and after dinner he went to the county town to look for Yang Lidong. Fortunately, Yang Lidong had a lot of money in stock, so he gave him half of it for emergency use.
When he came back, his head was covered with sweat, but his body was cool. He untied the cargo ropes and carried a large sack into the house.
Qiao Lu hurried forward and closed the door tightly. The wind blew across her face, making her feel cold.
Qiao Lu wore only a vest in the house for comfort. The wind blew and she sneezed: "Hiss - it looks like the temperature is really going to drop recently. You and Hongjun should bring back less summer clothes and more autumn and winter clothes this time."
"Well, let's try to stock up more goods so we don't have to make another trip." Going to the Special Zone to import goods is physically and mentally exhausting, especially the bus, which makes your bones almost fall apart.
Qiao Lu thought for a moment and said, "Don't stock up too much. This event is just for the sake of novelty. If we really want long-term development, it's not realistic to hold events every day. Don't overstock."
After all, new clothes are not a necessity. Many people are content with taking advantage of a bargain once. If they do it again, they will have to pay for it out of their own pockets.
There’s a saying that goes, if you don’t buy anything, you can save 100%.
We are not fools and will not put all our savings into it just to get a little bargain. Even if the whole family comes to buy clothes, according to the material level of today, at most each person can buy one piece, no more than that.
Therefore, this activity can only last for a week at most. If we continue to do it with such a big force, we cannot actually count on a few scattered customers.
Xu Haizhou took what would normally be a week or four or five days' supply from Yang Lidong. By then, Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun were about to return.
Now that the two of them are gone, the business matters will have to be handed over to Qiao Lu.
Before leaving, she reminded him to be careful on the road and didn't even have time to say anything affectionate. In the early morning at dawn, she helped Qiao Lu deliver the goods to the store and then caught the earliest bus.
Qiao Lu was right. Almost all the small vendors selling clothes on Baiyun Street "tacitly" used Xu Haizhou's marketing tactics yesterday. Those who did not take advantage of Xu Haizhou's stall yesterday all went to other stalls today.
Qiaolu's place is remote, and customers were diverted away, so the flow of people dropped drastically. Fortunately, we made a name for ourselves yesterday, so we can at least have some meat soup today.
Yang Lidong has good taste, as expected of an old clothing expert who has been in the business for four or five years. He keeps up with the trends, and the quality and styles of the clothes he buys are impressive. Moreover, Qiao Lu has a fitting room that no other boss has, so he makes a lot of money at the end of the day.
I earned 60 yuan in the morning and 40 yuan in the afternoon, for a total of 100 yuan. After deducting the cost, I made a profit of about 70 to 80 yuan.
Looking at the clothing store owner who has a geographical advantage, he has been counting money until his hands cramp, and the clothes in his store are selling well, not worse than they did yesterday.
The merchants were complacent and after work they discussed how much goods they should stock up.
Qiao Lu just found it funny when she heard it.
Stock up, stock up more, exchange all your cash for goods, and see how long it will take you to make back your investment.
I bought lunch from a nearby restaurant. Today, since I had to be out for a long time, I brought Qiao An along as well. The little guy is not very obedient and doesn't make any noise. When there are guests, he just sits there quietly, either writing or reading a book.
When Qiao Lu was no longer busy, she would cling to her mother like a sticky candy and tell her stories.
Xu Haizhou is a really thoughtful person. He clearly came back yesterday, had a meal and then went to the county town. I don’t know when he came to see Hou Caijun. When she was closing the stall in the afternoon, Hou Caijun came to help her move the goods, saying that it was Xu Haizhou’s request.
Qiao Lu was very grateful.
This is the first time I have seen Hou Caijun since the wedding banquet.
His face looked more haggard than before, and it seemed that the severe beating had dealt him a heavy blow. However, the money he had saved before was enough for him to live a comfortable life. Unfortunately, he was not a person who could live in peace, and he couldn't help feeling anxious when he thought too much.
"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll drop you off here. I'm leaving now. I'll pick you up at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." He untied the cargo rope, handed the cargo to her and carried it into the house. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and left in a leisurely manner.
Qiao Lu called out to the people, "Brother Hou! Come in and have a drink of water before you leave."
It's tiring enough to ride for an hour carrying a big bag of goods. It would be so embarrassing if you didn't even give people a sip of water when you get home.
Hou Caijun waved his hand nonchalantly, rubbed Qiao An's head, stretched out his long legs, got on his bicycle and left.
"I'm not going to drink anymore. Something has to happen at home!" He left in a hurry, not even giving Qiao Lu time to persuade him.
"An An, say goodbye to your uncle quickly."
"Goodbye uncle! Uncle, take care! Uncle, be safe on the road!" This little kid can draw inferences from one example.
Hou Caijun held the handlebar with one hand and waved the other, and soon drove away from Ziyuan Street.
As he led his son into the house, the young man suddenly raised his head and asked, "Mom, who is uncle?"
Qiao Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After everyone had called out to her, this guy still didn't know who he was greeting just now.
"Have you forgotten? He is the uncle I met at the last wedding. He is Dad's friend."
"I forgot." Qiao An scratched her head and asked, "Mom, where is Dad? Isn't Dad coming home again today?"
"Dad went to buy some supplies. He will be back in a few days." She walked into the kitchen, tied an apron, and prepared to cook a bowl of rice.
I bought the vegetables in the morning on Baiyun Street. That street is close to the suburbs, and there are often farmers carrying baskets on their shoulders to sell vegetables in the city.
"Well, I'll miss him."
Xu Haizhou was not around, and Qiao Lu was too lazy to go out to buy meat, so she simply stir-fried some shredded lettuce and added some scrambled eggs with leeks. It was a rare occasion without meat, but Qiao An still enjoyed the meal.
It was less than six o'clock after dinner, and the children were already lingering at the door of Xu's house.
Wu Guifang's daughter, Hu Fangxia, was the oldest child in the inner courtyard. She could read the hour and minute hands, and her eyes were always fixed on the wall clock on the wall of the Xu family's main hall. Tick-tick-tick, as soon as six o'clock came, she immediately reminded: "Qiao An! It's six o'clock!"
Qiao An was startled and ran into the house to find Qiao Lu: "Mom! It's six o'clock! Can we turn on the TV?"
Qiao Lu, who was working on a sewing machine, looked up and said with a smile, "Sure, do you know how to open it?"
The young man shook his head, "I can't."
Putting down what she was doing, Qiao Lu demonstrated it to him and then let him try it again.
"Got it?"
Qiao An nodded heavily: "Yes! Mom, I know how to do it. It's very simple!"
After the TV was turned on, the children in the yard rushed in with their small stools, and the adults followed closely behind.
"Hey, Qiao Lu, you are still making clothes. The TV show is about to start, come and watch it!" Aunt Chen called her.
Qiao Lu smiled without raising her head: "No need, just watch me, I'll make some clothes for a while."
I'm really not interested in the old black and white TV series Jolu, it's not as interesting as making clothes.
In the inner courtyard, everyone, from children as young as three or four years old to an eighty-year-old woman, Liu Xiaohong's mother-in-law, was present. They were all there, staring intently at the TV screen, afraid to miss even a single second of the scene.
It was so lively and lively, and only at this moment everyone was of one mind, everyone was talking and the atmosphere was just right.
Before leaving, he waved to Qiao Lu enthusiastically and thanked her.
"I feel embarrassed to use your TV." Wu Guifang said while holding a bench.
"It's no big deal. It's the same whether one person watches it or a group of people watch it." Besides, television nowadays is not broadcast 24 hours a day. It's only broadcast during the evening. People will leave after watching it. It's no big deal.
Besides, there are so many people and it's lively. Wouldn't it be interesting for everyone to discuss the plot together? Looking at the smile on her son's face, Qiao Lu really doesn't mind everyone coming to her house to watch TV.
Last night the little guy told her that he was proud of inviting all the other kids to his house to watch TV.
…
Joan can sleep with her mother again tonight. She was so excited that she didn't feel sleepy until nine o'clock. She asked her mother if she could still tell stories.
Qiao Lu was helpless, so she just sang to him, a slow and soothing tune, and finally coaxed the little ancestor to sleep.
The next day, Hou Caijun arrived at the compound on time at 8 o'clock. After helping her carry a large pile of goods to Baiyun Street, he left in a hurry.
"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Hou!"
Hou Caijun waved his hand nonchalantly and joked, "What's the problem? I've been sitting at home with nothing to do lately. If it's not convenient for you, I can help you run the store."
Smile and watch him leave.
It was really boring to look after the store, but luckily Qiao Lu had hobbies and brought paper and pen to continue drawing her designs.
The little guy also followed her example and wrote and drew beside her.
Today he set a small goal for himself. He had to memorize the 26 letters of the alphabet and let his mother dictate the pinyin and some simple characters. After writing the characters, he had to read the picture book his mother had just bought for him. The illustrations were very beautiful! However, he didn't recognize many of the characters. He asked his mother to read them to him while he turned the picture.
"Your child is so well behaved, writing and reading quietly here, not making any noise at all." Yu Fan from next door suddenly interrupted, breaking the quiet atmosphere: "Actually, I really hate children, I'm annoyed by their crying and noise, but your child is pretty and not noisy... By the way, how old is your son?"
Qiao Lu stopped drawing, rubbed her son's head and said with a smile, "Four years old."
The boy raised his head. He was so focused on writing that he didn't hear the two people talking: "Mom, why are you touching me?"
Qiao Lu chuckled: "It's okay, keep writing. Are there any words you don't know how to write?"
He shook his head: "I can write them all down. I have memorized them a long time ago."
He is consolidating it now. After it is firmly consolidated, he will ask his mother to teach him new words!
"Four years old? So smart, he can even write?" Yu Fan was surprised and looked at the child's face carefully.
This child is really well raised. From his fair, tender and round face, you can see the care that Qiao Lu and his wife put in for him. The child speaks and acts in a calm manner that is not in line with his age. He is also smart and intelligent.
But Yu Fan noticed one thing: "Didn't you say you were only 22 and you married your man at the age of 18?"
It's too early!
In Li'an, a child is born at the age of 0, so if Qiao An is four years old this year, it means that Qiao Lu was pregnant at the age of 18.
Thinking it was not a secret, Qiao Lu did not hide it and explained the relationship between herself and Xu Haizhou. Yu Fan suddenly realized that this was his second marriage!
But if she didn't say it, no one would have thought that this happy and well-matched couple was actually getting married for the second time!
Besides, Xu Haizhou is so handsome, their son is also pretty, and Qiao Lu is beautiful. It is easier to convince people that they are getting married for the first time rather than for the second time, right?
Somehow, Yu Fan was particularly interested in the love story of Qiao Lu and her husband, and taking advantage of the fact that there were no customers at the moment, he pulled her aside to tell it.
Without any hesitation, Qiao Lu simply told her how she met and got to know Xu Haizhou.
After listening to this, Yu Fan held her heart with both hands and couldn't help but sigh: "I am so happy. If there is ever a time in my life when a man as decisive and handsome as your man can confess his love to me, I will definitely marry him directly!"
At this moment, one can finally see some of Yu Fan's little girl behavior, which is quite inconsistent with her mature look.
"Don't you have a partner?" Qiao Lu asked casually.
"Hmm..." Yu Fan hesitated for a moment and blinked: "I actually have a partner, but my partner would never say such cheesy things to me."
After saying this, Qiao Lu suddenly thought of the first time she met Xu Haizhou.
She could tell that the man was shy when facing her, and was very cautious in what he said and did. Qiao Lu was surprised that a man who looked so innocent could say those cheesy words to her on the first day they met...
Now that I think about it, what's so sweet about it?
Does that mean that love makes people brave?
Yu Fan sighed: "I was the one who pursued him, and he is younger than me. He is still in school. Let's wait for the college entrance examination. We will announce it to the public when he is admitted to the university."
"Ah?" Qiao Lu was shocked by her words: "Your partner is a high school student? Isn't this... a little too young? Is he an adult?"
Yu Fan is too careless to "harm" underage boys!
"We have been together since he was in the first year of high school. He was not yet an adult at that time. He just turned 18 this year." Speaking of this, Yu Fan drank jasmine tea slowly and rocked the chair: "Actually, I like him very much, and he likes me too, but he is too reserved and timid, so I think I will never be like your man and say something like I will support you for the rest of your life."
While sighing, she rested her chin on her hand and yearned for something: "If he could stand in front of everyone and say to me without hesitation: 'From now on, I will support you.' Oh - how happy that would be."
Qiao Lubo's calm gaze fell on her profile, wanting to say something, but finally said, "Everyone has their own blessings, and everyone expresses love in different ways. Maybe he is reserved, but his love for you is not necessarily less."
"But I like your man the way he is." Yu Fan was stunned after she finished speaking. She waved her hands and explained in a panic, "I mean, I like your man the way he is, not that I like your man."
Qiao Lu was also stunned for several seconds, not sure whether the words were intentional or unintentional.
After thinking for a while, he just said, "It's okay, I understand what you mean."
Although she was not sure what Yu Fan was up to, Qiao Lu had always been reassured about Xu Haizhou.
Besides, it’s useless to think too much about this kind of thing, you have to rely on your own awareness.
Yu Fan fanned himself awkwardly with his hands and stuck out his tongue. He almost made a big mistake.
"I'm glad you understand. I was afraid you might misunderstand me."
…
Xu Haizhou and Li Hongjun arrived at Li'an Bus Station on the morning of the fourth day and hurried back in the autumn wind.
After I got home, I lay down on the bed and took a nap. When I woke up, it was already around one o'clock in the afternoon. I went to the bathroom to take a shower, and after I got ready, I rode my bike to Baiyun Street.
Before the person arrived, the laughter came first. Li Hongjun's exaggerated and wild laughter could be heard from a long distance.
"Sister-in-law! We are back! I want to tell you something very interesting, hahaha!"
Seeing the visitor, Qiao Lu happily stood up to greet him. The little guy put down his paper and pen and quickly ran towards Xu Haizhou: "Dad! Dad, I miss you!"
Xu Haizhou bent his waist slightly, his tall back bent down, picked up his son and kissed him again and again: "Dad misses you too. How have you been at home with Mom these days? Have you watched TV these past two nights?"
"Yes! I watched it! I also invited everyone to watch it together. Brother Kang Kang and his friends said they were jealous of me. They envied my father for buying a TV for me and my mother."
The tone is so proud and joyful.
Why do we make money? Isn't it to give our wife and children a good life?
Xu Haizhou poked his nose gently: "Just be happy. I bought it to make you and mom happy."
“Hehe~”
"Hahaha, sister-in-law, hurry up, forget about Haizhou for now, I want to tell you about a really funny thing we encountered in the Special Administrative Region!"
He took the sack and took out the clothes one by one with Xu Haizhou, while pricked up his ears: "You talk, I'm listening."
“Hahahaha——” Although this happened two days ago, Li Hongjun still finds it funny: “It was the day we first arrived in the Special Administrative Region. We went to the factory to purchase goods. On the way back, we met a fat lady who was dressed very grandly. She had a gold necklace around her neck. You know, she didn’t look like an ordinary person.”
"Well, what next?" Qiao Lu paused, leaned her hands on the small table and waited quietly for his next words.
"Hahaha, I don't know what happened, that lady suddenly stopped us and asked if Xu Haizhou was a clothing merchant who came here to get goods. I said yes, and that we both sell clothes. As a result, the lady looked your man up and down carefully, smiled meaningfully, and said: 'Come to my place, I will pay you 200 yuan a month to be my assistant'."
"You know, we were both stunned at the time! Haizhou reacted before me and was about to say no, but I quickly stopped him and asked the lady, "How do you become an assistant? What is the job of an assistant?"
"My mother said, 'It's just to take care of my daily life, stay by my side all the time, serve me tea, go shopping with me, go to the park, carry my bags, etc. The job is simple, the salary is good, and you can give me small gifts during festivals. And two hundred a month, it should be very high for you mainlanders, right?'"
"Oh, I said, isn't that just a nanny? Hahahaha - what assistant? What kind of word is that? It sounds high-end. It turns out that you want to find a male nanny. Hahaha -"
"Puff——" Yu Fan from next door laughed and burst into tears, and the jasmine tea spilled all over the floor.
Yu Fan couldn't help it and ran over quickly: "I say, Xu Haizhou looks like someone who can do housework, doesn't he?"
"No, no, Yu Fan, you only see the surface of things. What does the aunt mean? She said she wants you to be her assistant and take care of her, but in fact she has evil intentions! She wants to support him, hahahaha——"
Xu Haizhou: “…”
He turned his head to look at his wife, her face was calm, the corners of her lips slightly raised, that was a meaningful arc, she was watching him as if watching a good show...
Then he looked at his son, who was holding onto Qiao Lu's clothes and looking at him in confusion: "Dad, what is uncle talking about? Who wants you to be a nanny? What is a nanny?"
Xu Haizhou: “…”
I feel sad.
Holding back her smile, Qiao Lu asked, "What did Haizhou say? He couldn't possibly say nothing."
"No, no, no, Haizhou said, let me show you."
Then, he imitated Xu Haizhou's tone and said in a very serious tone: "...I'm sorry, I'm selling clothes, not my body."
"Hahahahaha - this is so funny, how can there be such a person? He looks to be in his 50s or 60s. I can only say that people in Hong Kong really have fun -"
The old lady asked several more times, but seeing that he was determined, she felt that she was asking for trouble. The old lady was also a person who wanted to save face, so she turned around and walked away unhappily, leaving two business cards behind, saying that if he regretted it, he could come to her. Unfortunately, she was kicked into the ditch by Xu Haizhou.
"Your face——" Qiao Lu raised her eyebrows and deliberately dragged out the ending of the sentence, "Not only do little girls like you, but big sisters and mothers like you too?"
Qiao Lu had noticed one thing before: Xu Haizhou always collected a dozen or twenty more cash than Li Hongjun every day. She knew what was going on.
She looked at her man's face and shook her head: "Tsk, blue-faced troublemaker."
Xu Haizhou: “???” He was shot even when he was lying down. He is really innocent. Who did he offend…
"What's wrong?" Seeing his wife staring at him, he sighed helplessly.
Qiao Lu hooked her finger to signal him to bend down, then she pinched his face and pulled it to the sides: "Nothing, I just wanted to remind you to behave yourself."
Her movements seemed fierce, but in fact she was holding back, causing only a slight stinging pain.
Qiao An covered her mouth and laughed with a look of glee, watching her father's face being pinched by her mother and become deformed. It was really funny.
Xu Haizhou smiled, and when he smiled he suddenly felt that the light around him dimmed. With his sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, his face was truly impeccable.
He pulled down her ten fingers and rubbed them in his palms, his eyes were so doting that they could make people sick to death: "Why am I restless again?"
"Hmph, you are well behaved, but other girls are not. Anyway, you better be careful and don't mess with those pretty girls, otherwise..."
"What else?" To be honest, with Qiao Lu's appearance, is it necessary for Xu Haizhou to go out and "cheat"? His wife hasn't "eaten" enough yet.
But Qiao Lu doesn't think so. In the 21st century, many beautiful women have been cheated on by ugly mistresses. This is not without basis. It is always better to be more cautious.
"Or else you can go kneel on the durian!"
“What is durian?”
“It’s a fruit covered with thorns.”
Li Hongjun: “!!”
Yu Fan: “Hahahaha——”
Xu Haizhou: Ahem, my wife is a bit cruel.