That’s right, this time Qian Qing was eyeing the accumulated raw materials, namely fabrics, of this small village-run factory that was about to go bankrupt.

Compared to clothes, fabrics are more widely used because people are used to making their own clothes, especially in rural areas. That is why sewing machines are called one of the three major items. In fact, in life, having a sewing machine is equivalent to making many clothes by yourself. How much does it cost to buy a foot of cloth? How much does it cost to buy a piece of clothing?

So don’t underestimate the sewing machine because it is expensive.

Qian Qing had thought about getting some fabrics to sell, but the fabrics sold in Shisanhang were basically all imported and expensive. State-owned factories would not wholesale to individuals. Fabrics were not like other things. They were still in short supply and they had no problem selling them.

Qian Qing had this idea since she heard that the village-run factory producing hair ornaments could not continue. She could ask Qian Yu if he wanted the inventory. She didn't know if they had any stock of the raw fabrics. If they did, Qian Qing planned to take them all.

If you take these things back home, you won’t have any trouble selling them.

You still need cloth coupons to buy cloth in the oil field, which is why she sold the pillowcases so quickly last time.

When Qian Qing, Qian Yu and Ding Jie arrived at the village-run factory, the sun had just risen. They saw that the factory's big iron gate had been opened, but there were only a few workers coming to work. Judging from their attire, they were probably residents of nearby towns.

Qian Qing went in and found the factory manager, who became particularly enthusiastic when he heard that they were there to inspect the goods.

"What are you looking at? The hair bands we produce are very pretty. There are many colors, you can choose whatever you want."

Qian Qing took the hair band and looked at it. No wonder this factory was going bankrupt.

The hair band is still made of old coarse cloth from earlier years, with a rubber band inside. I don’t know how the stitches at the joints got twisted, and they’re not even!

It has the texture of old coarse cloth, but it has many colors and feels dry to the touch.

If you want to sell hair bands, you naturally sell them to young girls and wives. They spend a few cents or one or two dollars to buy hair bands, so they naturally have to be picky about the style. If such hair bands are not sold well, it is a foregone conclusion.

Qian Qing's expression became more and more serious as she flipped through the documents. The factory director was extremely angry.

But he couldn't do anything!

The factory's purchasing department had some problem and brought back a batch of old coarse cloth as raw materials. The factory's working capital was tied up in this batch of raw materials, so he could only consume it desperately, hoping to finish it quickly. Sell the things and get money back.

Qian Qing thought about it for a moment and said bluntly: "We can't sell this kind of hair band even if we take it back."

She opened the hair tie and showed it to the factory manager: "Look at the wiring here and the interface. Don't think I'm being honest. People who care about quality won't buy it, because they can tell at a glance that this hair tie is of poor quality. People who care about pattern won't buy it either, because this style is not new, and the fabric you use is outdated."

The factory manager has been exhausted recently and has been running to the bank to collect overdue payments, hoping to get a loan to tide over the difficulties. If Qian Qing hadn't told him, he wouldn't have realized that the wiring inside is actually like this!

He immediately became furious and wanted to go to the workshop to give him a lecture.

Qian Qing saw that he was not being hypocritical, so she kindly reminded him, "Why did your factory buy such a batch of fabric? This kind of fabric is no longer popular now, and many people don't use it to make clothes."

The factory manager explained to Qian Qing in a somewhat depressed tone that they got the fabric from a large state-owned factory. Because it was a government-owned factory, there was a quota, and it was not like they could buy whatever they wanted or as much as they wanted.

According to the purchasing department, their factory was only allocated this quota when it went to buy fabric, so the purchasing department bought it back on its own initiative.

Qian Qing's brows furrowed as she listened. This statement seemed to be sound, but upon closer inspection, it was seriously flawed.

When purchasing, the cloth quota changed without consulting the factory manager, and the factory manager made the decision on his own. He also took a gamble and put all the working capital in the factory at risk, tying up all the money. The factory manager went to the bank and found that the cloth was of poor quality when he came back, and the workmanship was also poor.

Qian Qing asked him cautiously, "The purchasing department in your factory must be quite well-known, right?"

The factory manager didn't say anything despite his reckless personality, which shows that either he has a strong backing or he is just a very powerful person.

The factory manager was just casually complaining to the customer, and was a little surprised to hear Qian Qing ask this.

"How do you know?"

Qian Qing grinned a little helplessly.

"…You don't usually listen to the radio, do you?"

The factory director blushed. As a factory director, he should have heard more news. However, he was already old and would retire soon, so he usually just listened to the radio's commentary tunes.

Qian Qing saw that there was no one around, so she simply lowered her voice and told him her guess.

"The radio said that now individual businesses are allowed to contract factories. Now it is said that some factories have been contracted out to private individuals, or some former factory leaders have also contracted out to private individuals when they saw that the factory could not be maintained."

"That's just my guess. The purchasing department of your factory might have had the same idea, so they tied up your factory's funds. Then they used inappropriate raw materials to drag down the factory's production."

"During the time you were out at the bank, the factory's production targets were also not up to standard. This shows that the purchasing manager must have made an agreement with some of the factory workers, and must have made a promise that he would increase their wages if he took over the factory."

This policy is naturally good, but it will also bring some problems, such as now.

If you want to contract a government-owned factory, you just need to first destroy the factory that was originally able to maintain operation. Then you can take over the factory yourself. Originally you were working for the government, but now you are working for yourself. The cost is not high, so it can be said to be a huge profit.

The factory manager's eyes widened, unable to believe what he heard.

"How dare he!?"

Qian Qing shrugged. Why should he be afraid? After all, it was just a "mistake" on his part. He purchased the wrong raw materials, and it was not his fault that the factory collapsed in the end.

Qian Qing looked at the factory director who was almost jumping up and down in anger, and didn't want to say anything more.

If a purchasing agent dared to do this, there must be someone behind the scenes who was plotting. The factory is old, and if it wants to turn the tide, it will depend on whether it has the luck.

"Well, I can't take your inventory, but I have a suggestion for you."

The factory manager was furious, anxious and panicked. His mind was full of the expression of the purchasing department when it reported to him, and he was helpless about what to do now that the factory was being targeted. When he heard Qian Qing say that she had a suggestion, he quickly took up the conversation.

"You say!"

Qian Qing: "Sell me this batch of raw materials, and I'll convert them into cash for you. I certainly can't offer a high price, but after selling this batch of raw materials, won't you have money to go around? Hurry up and get some good fabrics in to speed up the work, so that cash can circulate in the factory. Maybe you can still hold on."

Qian Qing spoke these words from the bottom of his heart. If all these fabrics were piled up here, this small village-run factory would sooner or later go bankrupt. It would be better to collect funds as soon as possible and find other ways.

The factory director now looked at Qian Qing as if he were a benefactor.

"No problem, come and have a look!"

He took Qian Qing to the warehouse, and Qian Qing saw lots and lots of...cloth.

Qian Qing suppressed her shock and asked, "How many are there?"

The factory manager smiled bitterly and said, "There are a total of 1,000 horses. About 300 were consumed, so there are still 700 horses left."

A piece of cloth was 10 zhang, and 1 zhang was 10 chi. The supply and marketing cooperative charged at least 50 cents for one chi of cloth.

All in all, one piece of cloth could be sold for fifty yuan.

"Director, let's be frank. I have limited funds. How much do you plan to sell each horse for?"

Factory Manager: "We buy at a subsidized price, 25 per piece."

Qian Qing did the math and mercilessly lowered the price: "I'll take all this stuff for 10,000 yuan, and we'll do the transportation ourselves."

Qian Yu and Ding Jie were both stunned. No way, you only have less than 3,000 yuan in your hand, and you dare to negotiate a business worth tens of thousands?

After this discussion, how are you going to pay?

The factory manager's heart was bleeding. Qian Qing's blow had cut his capital almost in half.

But he had no choice. Although he knew that this amount of fabric would be easy to sell in the countryside, especially in some towns in the north, transportation was a problem. It was even more difficult to transport such a large amount of goods in an unfamiliar place. Moreover, he had no control over the time. By the time he sold all the goods, the factory might have changed hands.

"Ten thousand is ten thousand!"

With this 10,000 yuan, if he keeps a close eye on the shipment, the factory can still be maintained for a while.

Qian Qing remained calm, as if she really had 10,000 yuan in her pocket.

"Then let's make a deal. The 10,000 yuan will be paid in four installments, and the goods will be shipped in batches accordingly. Please understand that there are only a few of us, and it will take time to ship the goods. But don't worry, we will definitely pay for the goods within a month."

The factory manager gritted his teeth and agreed. Apart from Qian Qing, did he have any other choice now?

Qian Qing spent 2,500 yuan of her own money to get the first batch of 175 rolls of cloth. She also accepted 200 coarse cloth flowers from the factory manager and left her address and the contact number of the oil field office.

Under her guidance, Qian Yu bought goods worth 500 yuan, mostly headbands and socks.

Qian Qing went to the station to ask about the train schedule. When Lin Xiaohui's train arrived, Qian Qing, Qian Yu and Ding Jie loaded nearly 200 rolls of cloth onto the train.

This trip to the south can be said to be very fruitful.

When they arrived at Y City, Zhou Hao unloaded the mountain of cloth from the car, and he found two carts for her to load all the goods.

After returning to the oil field, Qian Qing felt relaxed for a rare time. Zhou Hao gave her a massage while asking questions hesitantly.

"Wife, if you don't explain, how come you only paid 6,000 yuan and got so many things?"

The amount of clothes Huang Sanping brought back a few days ago was already large enough, so how come there is so much cloth here?

Qian Qing was confused: "Don't worry, I didn't steal, cheat, or rob anyone. I earned it with my personal charm... No, I owed it to you."

Isn't it just a debt? She became penniless overnight, and her accounts were all filled with huge and frightening deficits.

Zhou Hao tucked her in and gently put her to bed. It was rare that he felt a little uneasy.

His wife works so hard, will he be able to keep up with her in the future?

*****

Qian Qing prioritized the tasks at hand. The most urgent task was to sell off the fabrics in hand. The cash in hand was the most important thing, and one could not keep putting pressure on the goods.

So she didn't choose to put it out on the stalls at the night market. A piece of cloth is more than 30 meters long, and everyone buys it by the length. Once it is put out, there will definitely be a crowd of people scrambling to buy it. Qian Qing is short of working capital now and has no time to waste on this.

So she decided to transport the goods to the town to sell, and this is when her tricycle came in handy.

Ding Jie pulled a tricycle with dozens of rolls of cloth loaded on the back, and the two of them went to the town where Qian Yu was setting up his stall.

When they arrived in the town, Qian Qing saw Qian Yu setting up a stall on the roadside from a distance, and a large group of people surrounded her stall.

"Don't crowd, don't crowd. Hair bands are sold one by one, and socks are sold in different sizes. The big ones are sold for two pieces per pair, and the small ones are sold for one piece and five pieces per pair!"

Qian Yu greeted the guests and Huang Sanping collected the money. For a moment, the atmosphere became more harmonious.

Qian Qing didn't say hello to Qian Yu before she came. She and Ding Jie squatted beside the stall, each holding a bag of dry crispy noodles and eating. Finally, after this wave of customers left, Qian Yu saw them squatting beside the stall like two hamsters.

"Why are you here?!"

Qian Qing poured the dry crispy noodles from the bag into her mouth: "We are here to sell goods too."

As he spoke, he lifted the tarpaulin on the tricycle, and a big loudspeaker appeared in his hand from somewhere. He stood aside and started shouting.

"Cloth without tickets! All kinds of patterns and colors are available, and one piece of material is forty yuan--"

Forty dollars for a piece of cloth! Instantly a crowd of people came over.

If you can't buy a whole piece, can't you buy a few feet? It's only 40 cents a foot without a ticket! Anyone who misses this price will regret it!

But Qian Qing didn't have time to measure the cloth one by one, and shouted through a loud speaker: "We only sell cloth in rolls!"

If they really needed to buy them one by one, she and Ding Jie wouldn't be able to sell them all even if they stayed here today.

Some people backed off at that moment, but soon, a street vendor came over to ask the price: "I want a lot, can you give me a discount?"

Qian Qing took out a few hair ornaments from the cloth bag beside her: "Buy one and get one for free!"

Street vendor: ...

Qian Qing didn't think so. She had come here today with the intention of either selling the products in retail or selling them to these vendors. If this vendor hadn't come up to ask, she would have asked Ding Jie to find someone to perform.

In the end, the vendor still took five rolls of cloth, and Qian Qing earned two hundred yuan.

This guy is funny. He took the cloth but didn't hold it down. He shouted from the other side of the street, saying it was 4.20 cents a foot.

Ding Jie admired her very much. There were so many smart people in this world. Her sister was one of them. There were people who would raise the price in front of the upstream supplier and sell to the downstream!

But what I didn’t expect was that quite a few people actually bought it.

At just over 20 cents per foot, the profit margin of the small stall owner was obvious, but people still rushed to buy. Even with the markup, it was still much cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative! And no tickets were required!

With the first successful case, other vendors nearby were eager to buy a few pieces. Some bought them to store and sell them when they went to the countryside. Some also learned from the vendor and cut them on the spot for 42 cents.

Qian Qing saw that Qian Yu had sold a lot of goods on her stall, so she asked her sister directly, "Sister, do you want to buy some too?"

It doesn't matter who I sell it to. If I sell it to Qian Yu, she can get a lower price.

Qian Yu's cash flow was pretty good today, so he immediately took out eighty yuan.

"I want two bolts of cloth."

Qian Qing picked out two good quality ones for his sister and handed them over, and then took out two from the eight big bundles and returned them to her.

"You know the purchase price, so I'm making a profit."

Qian Yu did not stop the girl's behavior. Looking at the street full of people who were busy with the free cloth, he spoke after a while.

"Qingqing, I've thought about it. I'm not cut out for this business."

“I want to make vermicelli.”

Qian Yu was afraid that Qian Qing would misunderstand him, so he took Qian Qing's hand and told her his thoughts again.

During this trip to the south, she clearly felt the gap between herself and Qian Qing. Whether it was doing business and selecting goods, or dealing with people and bargaining, she was no match for them. In addition, Huang Sanping was still around, and she had family responsibilities and couldn't leave these things at home.

Qian Qing was very good to her. The capital was given to her for free, and she also relied on Qian Qing's guidance to purchase goods later.

Qian Yu was very content and understood the girl's painstaking efforts. But she couldn't rely on her sister with a clear conscience. Qian Qing took her along once or twice, but if it happened too many times, would she have to rely on her sister for the rest of her life?

"After I came back, the village sent me a notice. They said that considering the low price of sweet potatoes here, several villages came up with a plan to encourage everyone to make vermicelli."

"I listened to the idea and found it feasible. Five pounds of sweet potatoes can produce one pound of vermicelli, and one pound of vermicelli can be sold for 50 or 60 cents. The things you need to prepare are not expensive. First, you need a flour mill, which can be provided by the county agricultural machinery bureau and costs only three or four hundred yuan. Then you need a slurry cloth, which costs a few dozen yuan. Then you need to carve some bamboo poles to thread the vermicelli. The other things you need are small tools such as a colander and an iron pot. You also need to build a slurry pool and a flat drying area for the vermicelli."

When Qian Yu talked about it, his eyes lit up.

Qian Qing didn't think her sister was incapable of doing it. Her sister was a stubborn person, but she was also able to endure hardships.

If you think about it carefully, making vermicelli is also suitable. Her brother-in-law is a hard worker, and both of them can do it. It's the right time to make vermicelli since it's cold now. It will be finished just in time for the end of the year, so they can sell it for a good price.

The only problem is -

"Sister, aren't you going to separate the family?"