Ji Xia shared her sudden idea with him: "The bedding in the department store is so ugly. It's either big or small floral patterns, bright red and bright green, and there are no complete sets. It looks very low-end."
“We have several stores, right? I was thinking, why don’t we create a separate store for bedding, decorate it up, and sell bedding sets, such as four-piece sets, six-piece sets, eight-piece sets, etc.?”
Chen Jing hesitated for a moment: "Who buys blankets and sheets as sets? Don't you buy them as needed?"
"That's a rural style. Big cities are more particular. If we show the effect in the store, some discerning customers will accept it."
Chen Jing still felt it was unreliable, but after looking at the three-piece set that Ji Xia had made, it seemed quite nice.
He remembered that Ji Xia's aesthetic sense was always on point, and hesitated for a long time before asking, "What four-piece set? How many blankets and sheets are in one set?"
Ji Xia gestured towards the three-piece set hanging on the clothesline: "This is a three-piece set. If there are two pillows, it's a four-piece set. Add two throw pillows, and it's a six-piece set; add a bedspread and a double pillow, and it's an eight-piece set."
Wow, this is amazing! I've never seen anything like it – there are so many tricks to buying a blanket!
Thinking about their five shops and a courtyard house, none of them are even renovated yet.
"Try designing it yourself."
"We also have a courtyard house and five shops. What are your plans for them?"
"And you, what are your thoughts on the stores?"
"I plan to streamline this workshop first. Today, I went to display all four styles and greeted everyone I knew in Beijing before and now, to see how things go!"
"However, do you have any ideas about what to do with those shops?"
Ji Xia tried hard to recall the locations of several shops: Xidan, Xiushui, and Wangfujing.
The location of that store in Wangfujing is the best; it has two floors, with plenty of space on the first floor and the second floor being well-prepared.
Most importantly, the area around Wangfujing has a cultural center, foreign guests, department stores, and many century-old shops, some of which are even foreign brands.
However, now is not a good time for private businesses to open shops. We should wait until at least 1980 when the government opens up individual businesses.
Of course, they can prepare the goods in advance. The Spring Festival is the peak season for newlyweds, so they can prepare more six-piece and eight-piece wedding sets, do the decoration in advance, and apply for a business license as soon as New Year's Day is over.
Once the license is in hand, you can open for business and have a great start before the Spring Festival.
However, the bed for a wedding is of course bright red, and then embroidered with some festive patterns. Does that mean it has to be all hand-embroidered? That would be a huge amount of work.
Ji Xia had a headache; she'd better think about it some more!
Even when it comes to renovations, you still need to think about how to decorate. In the end, it would be great to find a college student at the school to help with the design.
"How much did we spend on starting and opening this small workshop? Is there any money left over?"
Chen Jing shook his head: "More than half of it has been used. My second brother gave me 70,000, the commune gave me 40,000, and then I spent more than 10,000 on ordering machines in Huacheng and at Baima Wholesale Market. I didn't spend much on miscellaneous things in Beijing, but I spent more than 40,000 on purchasing fabrics."
“I plan to hire Master Lin to renovate that courtyard house again. I’ll let him take his time and not rush the work, so the wages can be lower.”
"Okay, you decide!"
Back in her office, Ji Xia took out the color swatches of the fabrics she had purchased this time, compared them one by one, and then frowned again.
I remember that bedding styles in later generations were very diverse, including fresh and simple, elegant, pastoral, childlike, cute, and color-blocked designs.
Some of the patterns were custom-made during the dyeing process, but their small workshop certainly didn't have the capability to do that.
It's worrying, especially with the wedding season. How do we solve the embroidery problem? Is it all done by hand? Where would we find so many people? And the cost would be too high.
As for computer embroidery? Don't even think about it, that's at least twenty years from now.
With no solution in sight, she put down the fabric, thought for a moment, and found some obsolete old design drafts and renderings, as well as books on clothing techniques and fashion magazines she had brought back from Hong Kong Island.
This is for Liu Yujuan. Let's see what she thinks tomorrow.
As the female workers finished their shift in the evening, several of them saw Ji Xia's three-piece suit and began to whisper among themselves.
Someone mustered up their courage, turned around, and grinned at Ji Xia, asking, "Sister-in-law, this quilt set looks really nice together. Will our factory make quilts in the future?"
Ji Xia had just come out of the office when she heard this and couldn't help but smile slightly: "It's not confirmed yet. What do you guys think of the matching bed?"
"It looks good, I like it."
"Yes, if the factory makes them too, I'd like to get one at the factory price!"
Most of the female workers in the workshop were unmarried girls, many of whom were educated youth who had returned to the city. They had aesthetic sense, and none of them were truly in dire economic straits.
The girl is a local from Beijing, and she can afford to go to high school. Her family isn't really poor.
Some people were immediately drawn to the three-piece set designed by Ji Xia.
Ji Xia couldn't help but nod in agreement. They all liked it, so her idea had a market.
Such complete sets of beds have long been popular not only abroad, but also in ancient China, where large families paid great attention to them.
As described in Dream of the Red Chamber, there are different curtains and drapes for spring, summer, and winter, and each season has its own way of choosing curtains and drapes to match the season.
For decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the emphasis was on a simple and frugal lifestyle. This aesthetic also reflected a focus on practicality and simplicity. Moreover, after working hard every day, the working people had no time to be fussy about changing their sheets and blankets.
However, after China opened up to the outside world, luxury fashion gradually became popular as living standards improved, making people want to be among the first to try it.
After dinner, she touched the three-piece bedding set. The sun was so strong today that the set dried quite quickly.
Ji Xia accepted the three-piece set, put the cassia seeds into the pillowcase, sealed it, secured it, and put on the pillowcase.
After packing her bedding and the books she planned to take, she said to Chen Jing, "I'm going back to school tonight. Will you take me home?"
"Going back to school tonight? Don't you live on campus?"
Chen Jing looked somewhat resentful. What happened to their promise not to separate?
Ji Xia coaxed him in a low voice for a while before he reluctantly went to push out a bicycle.
Ji Xia rode Rong Ruoshi's bicycle back to school with her luggage and all sorts of materials and tools that she had packed.
The two arrived at the school chatting and laughing. Ji Xia stood in front of the guardhouse window to register him, while Chen Jing stood behind him with his luggage, glancing back and narrowing his eyes.
Lin Chen and Jiang Qingci walked out of the school, chatting and laughing.
Chen Jing recognized Lin Chen at a glance; his custom-made suit and demeanor were truly impressive.
Even though the legend of Prince Charming isn't popular these days, this kind of charisma would make any man feel insecure, especially a man in a relationship.
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