Watching Ye Beiping's retreating figure, Grandpa Qin sneered and muttered, "Heh, famous? How come I didn't know?"
Indeed, in the 1970s, Wenzhou's leather industry was not particularly well-known. It only became famous in the 1990s when a large number of self-made entrepreneurs suddenly emerged in Wenzhou.
Then, they used the accumulated wealth to invest in various fields, and it was only after the millennium that the Wenzhou business system gradually began to emerge.
However, it cannot be denied that Wencheng began manufacturing leather before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and that a large number of leather craftsmen emerged after the founding of the PRC.
These state-owned factories supported almost a third of the people of Wenzhou.
Following the direction pointed out by Grandpa Qin, Ye Beiping asked several people and finally arrived at a market.
There are all kinds of products there, almost all of which are local Wenzhou leather goods.
For example: leather shoes, leather bags, belts, leather coats, etc.
You can hear people shouting slogans to sell their goods everywhere on the street, and there are even people in the middle of the road introducing their own products to others.
If Ye Beiping hadn't known that he was in 1979, he would have thought he had traveled to a market in 2000.
As Ye Beiping passed by these stalls, he could hear people with various accents talking to each other.
It seems that this is a market channel for out-of-towners to purchase goods.
"No wonder these officials turn a blind eye; it turns out this market distributes Wencheng's goods all over the country. It's a great solution for stockpiled goods and serves as another sales channel."
Just as he finished muttering something, he heard a familiar name from ahead.
"The Jiangnan Leather Factory has just received some new leather shoes. Come and take a look! They're stylish and affordable."
Jiangnan Leather Factory?
Upon hearing this name, Ye Beiping unconsciously stepped forward.
This way of hawking is still quite novel in this day and age; in other cities, it would probably have gotten him arrested long ago.
"Hey buddy, wanna take a look at these leather shoes? These are the latest styles from the Jiangnan Leather Factory. We get them directly from them, and you can get a discount if you buy a lot."
Suddenly, someone blocked Ye Beiping's path and began to introduce himself enthusiastically.
They seemed to completely ignore the person's clothing before launching into their product introduction.
I guess most people come here specifically to buy leather shoes and bags, so they don't really care about what people are wearing.
Ye Beiping walked to the stall, looked at it, and frowned slightly.
These styles were simply outdated in his previous life and wouldn't have caught his eye at all.
If he were a customer, he would never choose such leather shoes.
But considering it was the late 1970s, and these kinds of shoes weren't something every household could afford, I suppressed my urge to complain.
Picking up a pair of smooth leather shoes, Ye Beiping casually asked, "How much are these?"
The vendor, seeing Ye Beiping's interest, immediately began to introduce the product.
"These are genuine leather shoes, only thirty-five yuan. You have excellent taste."
Ye Beiping touched it and confirmed that it was indeed genuine leather.
Even now, you can't make fake cowhide like that. Putting aside how much the equipment for the entire production chain would cost, in terms of craftsmanship, you can roughly tell the difference between real and fake by looking at and touching them side by side.
Therefore, it is almost impossible for fake leather shoes to appear in this era.
Soon, Ye Beiping touched the inside, frowned slightly, and said, "Isn't this fake?"
"wrong?"
The vendor frowned, his gaze towards Ye Beiping becoming strange. He snatched the leather shoes from Ye Beiping's hand and sneered, "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. What's wrong with that?"
Ye Beiping did not argue about this situation.
There are two types of cowhide used for making leather shoes: yellow cowhide and water buffalo hide.
Because cowhide is soft, delicate, and has good elasticity.
Buffalo hide is relatively hard, and its elasticity is nowhere near that of cowhide.
In terms of pores, cowhide is also finer.
However, Ye Beiping immediately figured out the trick after touching the inside of the leather shoes.
Although the shoes I just wore were made of cowhide, cowhide is also divided into different grades.
A pair of leather shoes that sells for thirty-five yuan is actually made of split leather.
What does "split skin" mean?
Split leather is typically used for secondary leather products, while top-grain leather is specifically used for shoes, insoles, and belts.
In other words, split leather is more prone to wear and tear than top-grain leather, and it is also cheaper.
In the 1970s and 80s, every family would wear a pair of leather shoes for three to seven years. Shoes made of split leather simply couldn't last that long; they would probably wear out in just a few months.
This phenomenon wasn't limited to the 1970s and 80s; even a decade or two later, some cheap leather shoes used not just two layers of leather, but three or four layers, simply to save costs. This was because synthetic leather and similar materials emerged, driving down prices significantly. If manufacturers didn't cut costs, they simply couldn't compete with synthetic leather sellers.
Besides, most people can't even tell the difference between different layers of leather. Younger people, let alone cowhide, have never even seen a cow, let alone distinguish between cowhide and artificial leather.
Ye Beiping didn't dwell on the vendor's guilty conscience. He simply smiled slightly, picked up another pair of more exquisite leather shoes, and asked, "Boss, how much is this pair?"
The vendor, who had been slightly angry and guilty, was secretly pleased when Ye Beiping called him "boss" and said, "Forty yuan."
boss?
Just kidding, this name isn't something just anyone can use.
Ye Beiping was used to these two words. Even if someone opened a small shop of only a few square meters, they were still a boss, and anyone who set up a stall on the street was definitely a boss.
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