She chose to work at the sock factory because she was optimistic about its future development. Those who could afford to live in apartment buildings were people with a certain level of economic strength. Heavy industry was still very profitable, and the employees of the company had stable incomes and purchasing power. As long as the supply of goods was sufficient, they would have purchasing power.
But how can such a large store operate with only seven people?
With the end of the year approaching, my cousin's family suffered a major blow when the factory laid off workers, and my cousin's name was the first on the list.
He didn't argue with the factory manager; he just grabbed his work clothes and went home.
"It's alright. I was just worried about the store, but now it's easy to handle. We'll register it tomorrow." Qin Xiaoyu stayed at her cousin's house for dinner and, seeing their gloomy faces, simply laid out her plan.
"shop?"
“Yes, I’ve thought of a solution. When we first opened the hairdressing school, there was a rule that a skilled master could only take on a maximum of five apprentices. The school’s expansion was accomplished by me increasing the number of masters. Now we’ll split the store into a department store, a grocery store, and a hardware store, with each person managing one. Each person can hire seven workers, and that’ll get it running.”
“Xiaoyu is so smart, but with so many shops, if you open another one, especially a private one, will anyone come to buy things?” My sister-in-law was still worried.
"Sister-in-law, think about it. What kind of entertainment is there now? After five o'clock at night, apart from people going to hotels for drinks, almost no one goes out. The night is so long. If the shops are open, why worry about no one shopping? The key is to make sure the goods are plentiful."
“There’s no need to list hardware separately. It’s fine to browse other things, but who goes to a hardware store for no reason?” My cousin shook his head.
"With this building complex, how many families will need to renovate? Hardware is a huge expense. The workers are working day and night. Are we supposed to wait until daytime to buy materials?" Qin Xiaoyu thought more thoroughly.
"Little Fish is right. It's really annoying to have to wait a whole day to buy a hinge."
After leaving her cousin's house, Qin Xiaoyu went to find Qi Si first. He had the widest network of connections, and he could handle things like getting licenses with just two phone calls.
"Have you decided on a project? I told you to work with me, but you wouldn't budge. You insisted on going through all the hardship yourself." Qi Si retorted, unconvinced.
"Fourth Brother, hey, I'm here to pay for the meal." Little Fatty barged in, reeking of alcohol.
Qin Xiaoyu understood why Xiao Pang had come to this room instead of paying for his meal at the front desk. She was afraid that Xiao Pang would be embarrassed and hesitant to speak up, so she got up and went to the window to look at the flower buds of the crab claw lotus.
"This meal is on me, you can go and get back to work." Qi Si was a sensible person.
Last time, he was implicated by Qin Xiaoyu, but Xiao Pang didn't cut off his power, saving the seafood worth several thousand yuan in the freezer. He still owes her a favor.
"Fourth Brother, look at how I'm doing now, sigh, it's really..." Little Fatty took out a cigarette case from his pocket and handed it to Qi Si, only to find that there wasn't a single cigarette inside.
"Take mine." Qi Si opened the drawer, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and threw it on the table.
"Fourth Brother is still the best. I'm constantly having to watch my step and can't make a living like this anymore."
"These people I invited today, I think..." Qi Si clicked his tongue and continued, "...don't seem to have really made an impression."
"Isn't this infuriating? They've eaten my food, drunk my drinks, and I still can't get things done. Do you know how ruthless that old Cui is? He charges me 300 yuan a kickback per unit, 300 yuan! How much do I even earn?" Little Fatty took two deep drags on his cigarette.
"That's a bit overpriced, a hundred would be more like it." Qi Si nodded.
"I've invested all my money in this batch of color TVs. I originally wanted to make a fortune and earn enough to get married. But look at me, almost thirty and still all alone. I feel sorry for myself." The fat man became more and more upset as he spoke, wiping away tears.
"What color TV?" Qin Xiaoyu understood the situation. Color TVs were still subject to purchase restrictions; you couldn't buy them at department stores without a ticket, and supplies were scarce. Some people used special channels to bring them back from Guangzhou and then resell them to stores, making a profit on the difference. Now it seemed Xiaopang was stuck with this batch of color TVs.
"They have everything, Hitachi, Toshiba, and the prices are really good, but the commission is really high." The chubby guy sighed deeply.
"Give me the color TV, and I'll sell it to you." Qin Xiaoyu smiled sweetly.
"Alright, Fatty, you've met your benefactor. With just one word from my sister, you have nothing to fear." Qi Si slammed his hand on the table.
Xiao Pang had heard of Qin Xiaoyu and knew that Qi Si's fortune was built on her, but when he met her, he was a little skeptical. Such a frail little woman, so beautiful, he couldn't tell how capable she was.
"Little Fatty, if you hesitate any longer, I'm not interested," Qin Xiaoyu said, putting him in a difficult position.
"No way! We'll do what we agreed on right now. Where's your shop? I'll hire a few trucks to haul the goods over."
"Okay, I'll give you the address. We have a deal: I'll settle accounts with you after I sell ten units. I won't take any commission. Just give me your selling price. Consider it a favor to you, and I'll help you out. How about it?"
"No kickbacks?" Little Fatty was a little confused.
"My sister's shop hasn't even opened yet, this is the first one, so she doesn't want any kickbacks," Qi Si explained.
"Not open for business? How can you sell anything?" Little Fatty cried again.
"Don't worry, if my sister can't sell them, I'll buy them all, okay?"
"Alright! With your words, brother, everything's settled!" Little Fatty instantly sobered up and disappeared in a flash.
"Brother, I just remembered, I forgot to ask him if he had a receipt?"
"Of course we have them. How can we sell it without an invoice?"
"Okay, as long as there's a proper invoice, I'll have my sister-in-law get things ready and open the shop as soon as possible."
“I have a friend at the second-tier station. Go see him tomorrow; he’ll arrange the sourcing. You can’t just sell one type of product. Also, you’re short-staffed. Just borrow people from me; I’ll provide as many as you need.” Qi Si wrote a note with a flourish.
"Brother, you are truly my benefactor." Qin Xiaoyu felt a warmth in his heart. With that "brother," he had staked everything on her.
"Don't try to fool your brother. You know best how capable I am. Without you, I'd just be a street thug, maybe even freezing to death one day. You're my benefactor!"
Although Qin Xiaoyu had Qi Si's help, she was still very cautious in her actions. Her ideas differed from Qi Si's; she didn't want to play it safe. If she wanted to develop, she had to withstand the test of time and not exploit loopholes.
The shopping mall was quickly put up for business. Qin Xiaoyu, being careful, hung a uniform large sign on the upper floor with only the two characters "Hengchang". Below that were separate signs for Hengchang Grocery Stores, Hengchang Department Stores, and Hengchang Hardware.
This way, there is both separation and unity; those in the know, without being told otherwise, understand that all these shops belong to the same company.
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