The two henchmen immediately turned around and opened the courtyard gate, and the group returned to the small courtyard.
Chen Zhang led the Lin family of three into the courtyard, forcing a smile at Liu Xiaogang: "Xiaogang, are you open today too?"
Liu Xiaogang glanced at Chen Zhang with annoyance, only to see that his face was extremely pale and his new cotton-padded coat was all crumpled and torn. What a waste of such a nice coat, which cost eighty-six yuan a piece wholesale!
He smiled faintly and said, "We're not open for wholesale today. But our boss is taking stock of the inventory and checking the accounts before we open. Remember, if you want to buy clothes in the future, we're open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We're closed on the other four days."
"This is your boss? I remember you used to always follow Chen Jing?"
Liu Xiaogang solemnly introduced Song to the gang leader: "Our Brother Song has been in charge of the black market area. Brother Jing has been following Brother Song for several years. Everyone in the underworld knows that."
Boss Song smiled faintly, and his two underlings raised their heads with smug expressions. What Liu Xiaogang said was true. Although Chen Jing was no longer working for Boss Song, he had always followed Boss Song before.
Lin Haodong quickly extended his hand to Brother Song: "Hello, Brother Song, we are from the same brigade. I just came back from university yesterday and am here today to bother you."
His college student status was clearly stated in one sentence. Unfortunately, this might work for government agencies, but it had no effect on Boss Song, who was involved in the black market.
Boss Song gave a curt "hmm" and said to Xiao Gang, "Hurry up and get things done. Once it's done, we'll go over and reconcile the accounts together."
"Okay, boss, we'll get it done right away."
Liu Xiaogang led Chen Zhang and the Lin family of three into the small courtyard, turning back to ask, "Brother Chen, didn't you buy some goods a few days ago? What are you buying now?"
Chen Zhang forced a smile: "It's not that I want to buy goods, it's that their family wants to buy goods. They also want to make some money to prepare for the New Year."
Liu Pianran stood at the back with her head down and remained silent. She had just caused a scene at the brigade and had been grabbed and beaten by Xu Yufen. She had paid off all the outstanding payments, and if the payments weren't enough, she had returned the goods.
Besides the money spent on this new outfit, she also earned about a hundred yuan, which she saved in a notebook and would never let Lin Haodong know.
Granny Lin's shrewd triangular eyes darted around. She had just heard in the brigade that Liu Pianran was doing this and earning two or three hundred yuan a month, which was more than Ji Xia's annual salary. She was immediately tempted.
She forced Chen Zhang to bring them here because she wanted to find a way to make money and take control of it herself.
She laughed excitedly, "Yes, yes, Xiaogang, we also want to make a little money. Which of your products sell best? Send some to us too!"
"That's all?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaogang laughed heartily and readily replied, "There are plenty of good-selling items. Let me tell you, none of the goods we stock are bad-selling. They are all the latest designs created by our designers, and they have been snapped up by the public since they were launched. Even our wholesale market is experiencing a buying frenzy."
As Liu Xiaogang spoke, he showed them several samples: "This is our newly launched Carnival series, also known as the 'Red and Prosperous' series. Looking at this thick, bright red turtleneck wool sweater in the dead of winter makes you feel warm just by looking at it."
"If a young lady wears these clothes, her blind date and marriage will surely be a great success and go smoothly."
"If young wives wear these sweaters, their lives will surely be prosperous and fulfilling..."
As Liu Xiaogang boasted, he showed them seven or eight different long wool sweaters, wool dresses, wool suits, wool coats, and so on, leaving the guests speechless.
Boss Song whispered to his two underlings, "Learn from them. Look how well they talk. No wonder they're so good at wholesale."
Not only were her words eloquent, but these new sweaters were also made from a batch of beautiful wool fabric that Ji Xia had snatched from a textile factory. The styles were both fashionable and elegant, leaving even Liu Pianran dazzled and filled with envy.
Seeing the look in Liu Pianran's eyes, Lin Haodong knew she definitely liked her; he trusted her judgment.
Lin Haodong asked in a low voice, "Xiao Gang, how do we wholesale this?"
"This one? This garment is made of pure wool, the material is very thick and warm. You can see for yourselves. We price according to size and weight. This short style has a wholesale price of 48, but if you buy 20 or more, we'll give you a discounted price of 47; the dress has a wholesale price of 62, and 60.5 for 20 or more pieces..."
After casually mentioning a few prices, Lin Haodong's smile immediately turned a little awkward.
If he could easily pull out a thousand or several hundred dollars, why would he let his own mother go hungry and shiver from the cold?
He glanced back at Liu Pianran, who turned her face away expressionlessly.
All I heard was her muttering under her breath, dissatisfied: "If I had the capital, would I need to shamelessly beg others to lend me goods, sell them, and then pay off the debt? I'm dirt poor, and I still want to do wholesale myself? I'm crazy."
Lin Haodong's smile froze, and he turned to look at his mother.
With a forced smile, Granny Lin pleaded softly, "Xiao Gang, we're all from the same production brigade, could you please make an exception? We can sell the goods first and then pay you back."
"What? On credit? Who does wholesale and then owes money on their goods?"
Liu Xiaogang let out a strange cry and chuckled as he called out to Boss Song and his two henchmen, "Brother Song, Brother Wu, Brother Feng, listen to this! They don't have the money to buy wholesale, they want to buy on credit!"
"Dream on! Buying on credit? I've never heard of buying goods on credit before. If everyone did this, how would we be able to do it?"
One of the underlings got angry and complained, but Boss Song sternly snorted, "Those who came to cause trouble? Throw them out!"
"No, no, comrade, we're not causing trouble. How about this, we'll use my house as collateral. Xiaogang knows my address."
While pleading with Liu Xiaogang, Granny Lin said ingratiatingly, "Xiaogang, please help us, say a good word for us!"
Liu Xiaogang scoffed, "Aunt Lin, you must be joking. Your dilapidated house isn't even worth ten yuan, and it'll probably collapse any day now. As for repaying the debt, I heard that college student Lin owes money to women and your daughter-in-law is paying it off. When he goes back to school, he'll take you away and run off with you. Who's going to pay back the money? Me? Even if I sold my whole family, I still couldn't afford it!"
"You want your daughter-in-law to pay back the money you owe a woman?" Several henchmen stared wide-eyed, and Lin Haodong's face turned red with anger.
Liu Xiaogang exclaimed smugly, "That's right! I heard that he used to go shopping with women, and they always paid for everything. Don't let his fair and delicate face fool you, he's incredibly shameless!"
"Shut up, Liu Xiaogang! Look at your shrewd businessmen! This stuff is unsellable anyway. We don't want it, Mom, let's go!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of the group darkened immediately. Just as Liu Xiaogang was about to lose his temper, a tall, thin young man ran in from the doorway.
Seeing Liu Xiaogang, he was overjoyed: "Brother Xiaogang, it's so great that you're opening today! Do you still have any of the 'Red Hot' series sweaters? I'm selling like crazy! Quick, give me some, I'll take as many as you have!"
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