Although Zhan Chunlan comes from the modern era and has seen a much richer world of goods, she has, after all, lived in this era for more than a decade. This feeling is like someone who is used to the convenience store downstairs in their neighborhood suddenly walking into a large supermarket in a bustling city, where a dazzling array of colorful goods comes into view, and anyone would be amazed.
They first followed Li Xiuxiu to the clothing wholesale market, which made Zhan Chunlan, who usually only saw black, white and gray, suddenly step into color. Pale yellow bell-sleeved shirts, royal blue A-line skirts, rose red knitted cardigans... these styles, which would later be defined as "retro", were now exuding a brand new charm.
Not to mention the jeans hanging in the most conspicuous place, with different styles, from straight leg to flared, each one of which made Zhan Chunlan unable to take her eyes off them.
"The last time you came here, you bought jeans, right?" Zhan Chunlan chatted with Li Xiuxiu as she looked at the jeans.
"Yes, I didn't bring much money with me last time, and it was my first time doing business, so I didn't dare to buy too much." Li Xiuxiu's eyes didn't leave the stalls for a second; she liked every single item.
"I think you two are very smart." Zhan Chunlan admired the two sisters for their forward-looking vision and pioneering courage. "At this stage, it's not advisable to expand too much. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Even if you become successful, you can't publicize it. You should keep a low profile and make a fortune."
"You think so too?" Fan Hongying wasn't actually short of money, but she just never dared to take risks.
"Right now, you should focus on setting up stalls, as it's more flexible. In two or three years, you can buy a storefront. How big you can grow then will depend on your abilities." Zhan Chunlan didn't want her friends to take unnecessary detours, so she wanted to remind them from time to time.
The two nodded, taking her words to heart.
“You can look at the magazines that come from Gangcheng. They have a lot of photos of celebrities. Look at their outfits and find some similar styles. When you get to Jiangcheng, you can put up signs saying ‘Celebrity Style,’ and sell them in sets. It’s not only a gimmick, but the price per item is also higher.” Zhan Chunlan picked up a magazine at a stall, pointed to the photos of celebrities inside, and showed them to Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying.
“Oh right, I also went to those stalls when I came here this time,” Li Xiuxiu said with some surprise, pointing to the celebrities in the photos. “I’ve seen these accessories at those stalls before. No wonder when I was looking at them, I heard several women saying that so-and-so had worn them. I thought they really had worn them.”
“Then you can also pair it with jewelry and hair accessories.” Fan Hongying suggested, “These things are inexpensive and don’t take up much space. Selling them together can attract customers.”
“Okay, I’ll look into it over the next few days.” Li Xiuxiu took her two friends’ words very seriously. She always felt that they were smarter than her and that listening to them would be the right thing to do.
"Actually..." Zhan Chunlan hesitated, feeling it was a bit early to talk about this, but she couldn't help but ask, "Xiuxiu, have you thought about your future development?"
"What do you mean?" Li Xiuxiu asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't the next step just that I open more shops and they grow bigger and bigger?"
"And where do you source your goods?"
"Aren't there many styles here? Most of them are from Gangcheng and are popular internationally." Li Xiuxiu had only been to Guangcheng twice and had already fallen in love with the place. There were so many styles of clothes here. All the ones she liked last time were gone. This time, she was looking at the new styles and was very satisfied with the place so far.
“I also think the quality of the clothes here is quite good. The jeans I bought last time, I wore for a long time, and apart from being a little deformed, there was no problem at all.” Fan Hongying agreed with Li Xiuxiu’s words.
Zhan Chunlan: "You come from Jiangcheng, a long way away. When your business is small, you have to come all the way here to pick up the goods yourself. When your business grows, you can cooperate with these stall owners, but then you will be easily manipulated by them. They will raise prices arbitrarily, sell the wrong goods, or deliberately delay the business. Whether your store can continue to operate depends entirely on their attitude."
"Is it that serious?" Li Xiuxiu was a little frightened. "My shop hasn't even opened yet, and I'm already thinking about these things. Isn't that too early?"
“If you just want to be the owner of a clothing store, of course there’s no problem.” Zhan Chunlan’s tone was serious. “But you are a college student now. I believe that after you graduate from college and start a business, you definitely won’t just want to be a small clothing store owner.”
"Isn't that right?" Li Xiuxiu wasn't actually looking to do business on her own initiative. She was just accompanying Fan Hongying to investigate. She had capital of her own and liked clothing, so she went along with her. But she didn't actually have a clear plan for future development.
"You should at least be the owner of a garment factory to justify your years of hard study and to live up to your status as a college student from the 1970s!" Zhan Chunlan joked.
Zhan Chunlan's words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in Li Xiuxiu's heart. She stood there, stunned, the magazine in her hand slipping to the ground without her noticing.
"The clothing factory... boss?" Li Xiuxiu repeated the word, her eyes gradually clearing from confusion.
"Chunlan is right. We've studied for so many years, we really shouldn't be content with just opening a small shop." Fan Hongying bent down to pick up the magazine, lost in thought: "I didn't really know what I wanted to do before, I just felt that I should do this. After listening to what you said, Chunlan, I know what my goal really is."
The three girls found a bench in a corner of the market and sat down. The bustling crowd and the chaotic sounds of bargaining around them did not dampen their enthusiasm for the discussion at all.
Zhan Chunlan continued her analysis: "The clothes you see now, the shopkeeper says they're from Gangcheng, but that's not true at all. Most of them have patterns from Gangcheng, but are copied by small workshops around Guangzhou. But have you ever thought about why it has to be Guangzhou imitating Gangcheng, and not Jiangcheng creating its own trends?"
Li Xiuxiu seemed to understand: "You mean...?"
"What I mean is," Zhan Chunlan said, her eyes shining, "you can absolutely use the knowledge you gained in university to study clothing design, fabric technology, and production management. Start with imitation; find someone or a factory to make the goods yourself. You just need to come here every now and then to catch up on the latest trends, and then bring those back to Jiangcheng."
"But...isn't this just constantly imitating? I can only follow in their footsteps, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Li Xiuxiu felt that this wasn't quite right. How could she create her own trend this way?
“Of course, you can’t stay like this forever. You have no experience at the beginning, so you can only start by imitating.” Zhan Chunlan was very happy that she had such awareness: “But as long as you learn more and see more, you will have your own insights and ideas about this so-called ‘fashion’. At that time, as long as you are willing to keep thinking, you will think about designing the ‘fashion’ in your mind.”
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