In the blink of an eye, Da Wa and his friends have been in Shanghai for about a month, and it is time for the National Day holiday.
Da Wa did not forget the task Ning Tang assigned to him, which was to send some skin care products or Shanghai specialties back.
So, on the second day of the National Day holiday, Da Wa prepared to invite a group of friends to go shopping and stroll around Shanghai.
Unexpectedly, Erniu and Sanwa were both busy. Sanwa had to go for training, and their coach said that they had given Sanwa a holiday last time, so he would not be allowed to go this time. Erniu had to participate in a program in the school's National Day Gala, and this kind of thing should not be the turn of a freshman like her, but it was a coincidence that one of the programs was short of people, so Zhou Yu let her take over. Fangfang, on the other hand, would not go unless Erniu went, and said that she wanted to watch Erniu's performance.
So? Only Da Wa and Da Hu were left.
The two brothers strolled around casually at first. There were many people setting up stalls everywhere these days. After they walked for a while, they had a bag of candied lotus seeds and a bag of persimmon cakes in their hands.
Sugared lotus seeds are made from lotus seeds that have been carefully harvested and coated with syrup. When you eat them, you first taste the sweetness of sugar and then the crisp fragrance of the lotus seeds.
The persimmon cake is covered with a thick layer of icing. As soon as you smell the sweet fragrance of the persimmon cake, your tongue will lick the icing. It tastes soft and glutinous and smells sweet.
The two of them walked and ate as they went. Their stomachs were filled but their eyes were not full enough to see.
During the National Day holiday, many people went out shopping with their families. Even the two guys, Da Wa and Da Hu, had a hard time moving in the crowd, which shows how many people there were.
The eldest child was shocked. "This? There are too many people."
"Isn't it? There are much more than Hailang Island." Dahu replied.
Hailang Island is vast and sparsely populated, and cannot be compared with the crowded Shanghai city.
"By the way, Big Boy, what did Aunt Ning ask you to buy?" asked Da Hu.
The eldest child thought for a moment, "...I forgot what to buy specifically, but I'll just buy whatever looks good." He added, "Oh, by the way, let's buy two more skirts for Erniu."
Da Hu blinked his eyes. "Buy a skirt for Erniu? Why? Doesn't she have anything to wear?"
"No." Da Wa said, "First, the season is about to change. My roommate is a local. He told me that Shanghai is much colder than Hailang Island. I am worried that Erniu doesn't have thick clothes to wear. Second, buy her two fashionable clothes. Last time we went to their school, we saw the female classmates coming and going. Wow, they were all dressed up neatly. Erniu can't be worse than them."
When registering, the sarcastic female teacher kept targeting Erniu. I guess there was another reason, which was that she thought she was rustic.
The students at the music conservatory dress more fashionably than those at ordinary schools. When Da Wa and his friends went there, it was almost time for the new semester and there were already quite a few students in the school. They were dressed very fashionably.
The boys wore bell-bottom pants and sunglasses, while the girls wore high-waisted pants or vest skirts.
The eldest child was so overwhelmed that he couldn't even look at them, and he didn't know where they got these trendy clothes from.
Da Wa felt a little itchy for the toad glasses that other people wore, and rubbed his hands, "Da Hu, let's go get two pairs of those dark black glasses and wear them, too?"
Da Hu shrugged, "Please don't do that. My mother will beat me to death if she sees me."
"Oh," said the eldest child, "Don't let her see it? Just put it in the dormitory."
Da Hu was also a little tempted, "Then, let's buy one?"
"Let's go." Big Boy took a step forward.
Da Hu quickly followed his footsteps, "Do you know where to buy it? Let's go? So fast."
The eldest boy waved his hands and said, "Of course, I have already asked my classmates about it."
Da Hu was happy. So you have been planning this for a long time?
The two of them went to the Qipu Road Clothing Wholesale Market recommended by Da Wa's roommate. The entire clothing wholesale market was arranged in a T shape. Looking around, there were stalls selling clothes everywhere.
Most of these small stalls are made of bamboo frames supporting a canopy, with a few chairs put together underneath and a piece of white cloth spread on top, with all kinds of colorful clothes piled on top.
If you look closely, you can see that there are not only stalls selling clothes. Occasionally you can see a few book stalls and dried fruit stalls. However, most of them are selling clothes. Even the toad mirror that Big Baby wants is sold by a stall.
Da Hu saw a white dress with a stand-up collar and cuffs decorated with pearl buttons. It looked very fashionable. He pointed it out to Da Wa and said, "Let's buy this one."
The eldest child took a look and thought the style was quite novel, so he went up to ask for the price, "Boss, how much is this?"
The owner of the clothing stall was a middle-aged man in his forties, skinny and with eyes rolling around. He made a five-sign with his hands, then turned it over and made a eight-sign with his hands, "This one is fifty-eight dollars."
The eldest boy listened with his ears pricked up, reached out to pick up the dress and looked through it. Suddenly, his face changed, and he pretended to put the dress down casually, "It's a bit expensive, we won't buy it."
After saying that, he ran away.
The master shouted from behind, "Don't go, the price can still be negotiated."
Big Boy ignored him and walked quickly to a public toilet. He washed his hands carefully and his expression relaxed a little.
Da Hu was completely confused. "What's going on? What is it? The clothes are pretty good. Although they are a bit expensive, he said he could negotiate the price."
Zeng Xinlan is very careful with money, and Da Hu has learned some from her. He heard that the vendors outside are all very cunning. They first quote a high price, and then let you bargain with them. In the end, they give you what you think is the 'middle price'. You think they have lost money, but in fact they have made a profit.
Da Wa shook his head and whispered, "Did you notice that the dress is a foreign style? My roommate said that we can't buy this. This is called 'foreign garbage' or 'foreign rags'. They are all shipped across the ocean from foreign countries and then smuggled in by those small vendors. And..." He swallowed deeply, "And when I was looking through the clothes just now, I found a blood stain on the fabric at the waist, about the size of a coin."
Da Hu's expression suddenly changed, "What do you mean?"
Da Wa looked around and saw that there was no one around. Then he whispered, "Those clothes might have been taken off a dead person!"
Da Hu's face turned pale with fright. No wonder Da Wa said he didn't want to buy it anymore. He left in a hurry and even went to wash his hands.
But he raised a question, "How do you know?"
Da Wa said, "My roommate's parents are both in the customs department. When the lights were turned off at night and we couldn't sleep, we chatted and he told us a lot of things like this. He knew I was coming to buy clothes and told me that a large amount of this kind of 'foreign garbage' has flowed into the market recently, so he told me to be careful and not buy any."
Who would have thought that I was so unlucky that the first thing I picked was this.
This kind of "foreign garbage" that is stained with blood and comes from dead people or unknown places, even if Big Boy has ten times the courage, he would not dare to buy it.
Da Hu was still a little scared, "Should we still buy it?"
"Buy it." said Big Boy.
You can't be scared just because you come across "foreign garbage" once. There are still many treasures to be found in the clothing wholesale market.
The eldest child reminded himself in his heart that he should remember to tell his roommates whose parents were customs officials about the discovery of the "foreign garbage" when he got home. This kind of thing should be handled by professionals.
After this incident, Da Wa and Da Hu became much more careful when choosing clothes. They would not buy those styles that were obviously worn by foreigners, but instead bought some styles that looked like they came from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Before buying, I asked carefully where the goods were imported from.
Generally, no one would lie about this. After all, foreign products are still very popular, and not many people would associate them with "foreign garbage".
After a stroll, Da Wa and Da Hu were carrying large and small bags. They bought a denim jacket, a pair of denim pants, and a dark blue hooded cotton jacket for Er Niu, a gorgeous patterned scarf and a dress for Ning Tang, a leather coat for Shen Lie, a pair of bell-bottom pants for San Wa, and they also bought the frog-shaped mirror that he had been longing for for a long time.
After buying these things, most of Da Wa's money was spent.
Before coming, Shen Lie gave him three hundred and fifty yuan, and he saved fifty yuan himself, which made a total of four hundred yuan. After buying these clothes with the four hundred yuan, he only had one hundred and fifty-six yuan left.
As he counted the money, Da Wa sighed, "This is such a waste of money."
And this is just about buying clothes, but I've already spent a lot of money. As for skin care products and Shanghai specialties, I haven't bought any of them yet.
Da Hu also bought a lot of ?, and sighed, "That's it?"
The eldest child muttered, "If only we could make money, we wouldn't have to spend it so carefully."
There were several pairs of clothes just now, and he liked them all, but unfortunately he was short of money. He couldn't ask his family for money or borrow money from his classmates for the rest of the semester.
Making money is good, but where can you make money?
Da Wa was mumbling to himself when suddenly an idea came to him, "Hey, why don't we start a business too?"
"We?" Da Hu exclaimed, "Doing business?"
"Right." The eldest child clapped his hands. "Look, selling clothes makes a lot of money. They're so popular. Let's go buy some clothes and sell them."
Da Wa was a handsome man with a sweet mouth. When he was buying things from the "traders", he inadvertently talked a lot of nonsense.
From what they said, I learned that it is not difficult to purchase these clothes. One only needs to get up early, go to a nearby distribution point to buy the goods, and then sell them in the wholesale market. One can make a lot of profit from the difference between the two.
For example, the denim jacket that Da Wa bought for Er Niu cost thirty-eight yuan. Of course, the profiteer couldn't tell Da Wa how much he earned, but Da Wa was sharp-eyed and saw that the profiteer secretly made a twenty gesture to the profiteer at the stall next to him.
The purchase price is 18 yuan, and the selling price is 38 yuan.
This? They made twenty dollars for a denim jacket!
When Big Brother thought about this, he suddenly became angry and no longer liked the clothes in his hands.
They were simply taken advantage of!
The more Da Wa thought about it, the more he felt that it would be a good idea for him and Da Hu to become profiteers and set up a clothing stall to sell goods.
Today, we have gradually bid farewell to the days of relying on coupons to buy daily necessities. Life is getting better day by day, and everyone's pursuit of beauty is getting higher and higher, and clothes are one of the manifestations of this.
From Hailang Island to Shanghai, the changes in passers-by's clothes along the way are the best reflection of this.
Da Wa took a deep look at the Qipu Road clothing wholesale market, where the crowds were surging, and made a firm decision, "We can definitely make money by selling clothes."
Da Hu doesn't think as much as Da Wa does. He has only one advantage: he is obedient, especially he listens to Da Wa. In other words, he hits wherever Da Wa points.
It has been like this since childhood. If there is a need to cause trouble, it is the eldest brother who comes up with the idea and the two brothers carry it out together.
Even if Da Wa asked him to jump into a fire pit, Da Hu would jump in without hesitation, not to mention that it was just a small clothing wholesale business. He immediately said, "Okay, I'll listen to you." He then said, "Then what should we do next?"
Da Wa waved his hand and said, "The first step is to borrow money."
Da Hu was stunned. "Borrow money?"
"Right." Big Boy rolled his eyes at him and said, "How can we not borrow money? We both don't have much money. It's estimated that we only have about 300 yuan. How many clothes can we buy with it? If we want to set up a stall, we can't just put out a few clothes. If I were a customer who wanted to buy something, and saw your small stall with only a few cats and not many styles and types, I wouldn't buy from you."
Da Hu nodded, thinking it was true. "You're right?" He asked again, "Who should we borrow money from?"
The eldest boy chuckled and said, "Looking for my brother and sister."
In Shanghai, we are very familiar with them.
Of course, it is possible to find Ning Jun, but there is no guarantee that Ning Jun will not report the matter to Ning Tang and Shen Lie.
Ning Tang will definitely not say anything, and might even support him. But if Shen Lie gets to know about this, it will be a belt and rolling pin combo.
He could imagine what his father would say when he beat him: "You little brat, I told you to go to college, but you started a business and became a rich man. Are you itchy? Does the family need your little money?"
Thinking of this, Big Baby shuddered.
Da Hu raised his thumbs up, "Brothers and sisters, you are the one who cheated me."
Big Boy glanced at him and said, "Is this called cheating them? I'm letting them..." He remembered the new words he learned in the textbook, "Let them invest and help them make money."
After making up their minds, the next day, Da Wa took Da Hu to find Er Niu and San Wa.
It is called sending clothes, but in fact, it is borrowing money.
First I went to the Navy Swim Team training base and asked the guard to call Sanwa out.
When San Wa arrived at the gate, he saw two young men, arm in arm, wearing sunglasses that covered half of their faces. They waved their hands at him and shouted in unison, "San Wa!"
Sanwa hesitated and asked, "Who are you?"
The eldest boy rolled his eyes under the mirror and took off the toad-shaped glasses on his nose. "I, your brother."
"Oh no." Sanwa slapped his thigh, "You two, come and find me, why are you wearing those big sunglasses? Who did I think you were?"
Da Hu made a pose, "What do you know? This is called a toad mirror. It's a trend. Do you understand?"
The eldest child rubbed his hands, smiled, and said in a long voice, "Third child——"
Sanwa shuddered, crossed his hands and rubbed his arms, "Brother, don't laugh like that."
He laughed so hard that his skin got goosebumps. The last time Big Wa laughed like this was when he pulled out all the mint that Shen Lie had planted and then dumped the pot on his head.
The eldest child chuckled twice again, "Third child, are we brothers? Are we? Brothers?"
Sanwa nodded hesitantly, then shook his head, "Yes, or no, it depends on what you want from me." He asked cautiously, "It won't be a bad thing, right?"
Da Wa rejected it immediately, "How could it be? What if it's a bad thing? Would I, your brother, cheat you?"
Sanwa nodded without thinking, "Of course." He muttered, "You've cheated me enough."
The eldest child waved his hands guiltily, "It was before? It was before." He stepped forward and put his arm around the third child's shoulders, "It's different now. I'm looking for you because I really have something important to tell you."
Sanwa hummed, "Tell me, what's the matter."
"Let's not talk about that for now." The eldest child took out the bell-bottom pants he bought for the third child, "Here, I bought them for you. Take a look and see if they look good."
Sanwa spread out his bell-bottom pants. They were smoke-gray bell-bottom pants with a shallow crotch, tight hips, narrow knees, and the hems flared like morning glories. They were in line with the current trend. He nodded and said, "Not bad, quite fashionable."
Almost all of the other athletes on his team have a pair of pants like this.
Nowadays, if you want to chase girls, it is popular to wear a V-neck shirt, bell-bottom pants, and take a guitar to sing love songs downstairs of their house. After singing "Winter Rain", don't even think about chasing people, there are people who chase you back.
The eldest boy raised his thumbs up, "You are worthy of being my brother, you have good taste." He rubbed his hands, "Even you think it looks good, let alone others. Tell me, if I also buy a batch of bell-bottom pants like this to sell, will they be sold out in no time?"
Sanwa is not a fool. He has lived in Shanghai for several years and has seen a lot. He reacted immediately and exclaimed, "You want to set up a stall!"
The eldest child gave a thumbs up and praised, "Smart!"
Sanwa glanced at him and said, "Don't try to fool me." He added, "If you want to set up a stall to buy clothes, it will cost a lot of money just to purchase the goods. Where can you get the money?"
Da Wa spread his hands and said, "I came to see you."
Really? His dear brother, Sanwa sighed, "Tell me, how much do you want to borrow?"
He knew Da Wa too well. He would not give up until he hit a wall. If he was not lent the money, there was no telling where he would go to look for it.
Da Wa thought for a moment and held up two fingers, "Two thousand yuan."
Sanwa took a deep breath and said, "How dare you speak up."
Big Baby: "Hey, just tell me if you have it or not."
Sanwa said, "Yes, you are lucky. I received the prize money from the organizer of the last competition. I was planning to send it back to mom, but you just caught up." He turned and walked away, "Wait, I'll get it for you."
Da Wa sighed and said to Da Hu, "What do you call this? This is called, the right time, the right place, and the right people. God wants me to get rich."
San Wa came back with the money and happened to hear this. He muttered, "I don't know if you can make money or not. Be careful and let Dad know. Watch your skin."
Da Wa put the money away and said, "If you don't tell me, I won't tell you, and Er Niu doesn't tell me, then who will know?"
Sanwa nodded and raised his head suddenly, "Wait, what does it have to do with me?" He narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me, you are going to ask me for money."
"I originally had this plan." Da Wa said, "Who knew that you are so rich that you will have enough money in no time. Let me go to buy some goods first. If you still need something, I will go and borrow some from her."
Sanwa wailed, "Don't say I didn't warn you. You've never set up a stall before, so be careful."
The eldest boy waved his hands indifferently, "It's a loss, it's a loss, I can make it again."
Since he was planning to do this business, he had already prepared for the possibility of losing money. It was impossible for everything to go smoothly and he would only make money without losing money. Such things were just dreams, and they were unreliable in reality.
Besides, the money he borrowed was from Erniu and Sanwa, their brothers and sisters, and they would not ask him to pay it back for a while.
Thinking of this, the eldest child patted the third child on the shoulder and said, "Third child, work hard, bring home more gold medals, and earn more money."
Sanwa snorted, "So you can use it to do business, right?"
Big Boy chuckled and said, "Maybe he lost."
This? No one can say for sure.
After saying goodbye to Sanwa, Dawa and Dahu went to deliver clothes to Erniu and a handkerchief to Fangfang. They then went to the post office to send back the things they had bought for Shen Lie and Ningtang. The two brothers then began to prepare for the purchase of goods.