The other two stores have to bring in goods little by little. The hardware counters are empty, with only three color TV display models on display.
My cousin's wife was getting a little dizzy from looking at the sight of her hands tied up.
"Will this work? This thing is so expensive, who would buy it?"
My cousin's worries are not unfounded. Hitachi color TVs cost 1,700 yuan, while Toshiba TVs are even more expensive, costing 2,300 yuan.
Keep in mind that at that time, the average annual income was only seven or eight hundred yuan, and it was still one person supporting a family.
Qin Xiaoyu remembered that the hairdressing school opened on New Year's Day, so the store also chose to open on the same day.
A burst of firecrackers shook the heavens and the earth, and red paper scraps flew everywhere.
Qin Xiaoyu stood at the doorway, wearing a beige wool coat and high boots, her face red from the cold. It was 1985 now; another year had passed, and she was poised to reap even greater rewards.
Chinese people love to watch a good show, and the sound of firecrackers attracted a crowd, mostly children. Qin Xiaoyu had already had flyers printed, listing discounted prices, and gave each child a few pieces of candy. An elderly person watching the festivities received a small bag of brown sugar as a lucky charm.
Unsurprisingly, the first day's sales were zero. After five o'clock, the entrance was deserted, not even a dog was there.
"Little Fish, this shop is a bit out of the way, why would anyone come to buy anything?" My cousin-in-law said worriedly.
Tang Long returned with another load of stuff and was carrying it into the house when he heard this and stopped.
"Mom, my aunt knows what she's doing, don't discourage her."
Qin Xiaoyu smiled bitterly to herself. Your aunt isn't very good at figuring things out either. Actually, well, she's worried too.
For three consecutive days, Qin Xiaoyu's shop remained closed, and Zhou Xing's mother grew impatient because she had not returned to the Zhou family home.
Zhou Xing's mother arrived with her younger sister, while her cousin-in-law and a saleswoman were carrying newly arrived goods into the house.
"Auntie, what brings you here?" Qin Xiaoyu bent down to pick up her little sister, but gave up after a moment's effort. The child had grown too fast and gotten a bit chubby; she couldn't lift her at all.
"I'm worried about you not coming home. How's business?" After asking, Zhou Xing's mother probably understood that the place was deserted.
"Take your time, it's just opened." Qin Xiaoyu smiled. She printed more flyers and planned to have someone go out and distribute them.
"Yes, yes, it's normal not to have customers when you first open. Don't get upset. If business is good, just keep up the good work. But if, and I mean if, you don't do well, we'll just find another place." Zhou Xing's mother was quite good at comforting people.
As they were chatting, laughter and chatter came from the doorway, and several women rode in on bicycles.
"Little Fish, we've come to see you!"
"Oh, what brings you here?" The familiar faces were regulars, former students of the hairdressing school.
"Your master has been talking about your shop, so we couldn't sit still and came over. Which room is it? Let's go take a look." A few women chattered away, and Xiaoyu made her first sale. Although she didn't buy much, her cousin-in-law was satisfied.
Zhou Xing's mother didn't want to bother them, so she went back to the military region without having lunch.
The hardware store gradually started displaying its merchandise, but not a single color TV had been touched. Little Fatty came to look at it and left with a worried expression. Qin Xiaoyu felt that the promotion was still insufficient, and besides, there were no TV programs during the day, so watching TV wasn't appealing.
"Little fish."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Qin Xiaoyu looked up abruptly and saw Zhou Xing walking in. She was used to seeing him at home and didn't think much of it, but being alone with him made her feel a little awkward.
It's torture to pretend to be a stranger and keep a safe distance from someone you know so well, so Qin Xiaoyu would rather he not come.
"I'm bringing you something. I'll leave as soon as I drop it off." Zhou Xing was carrying a large, heavy black box in his arms.
"What's this?"
“VCR. I’ll connect it to the TV for you, so you can watch TV dramas during the day, which will attract a lot of customers.” Zhou Xing said, already taking action. Soon, the picture appeared on the TV, and he adjusted the volume, playing the theme song of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.
"Look, Huang Rong is wearing a pink dress." Several children were peeking in from the doorway, lifting the cotton curtain.
"Come in and take a look, just don't wander off," Qin Xiaoyu called out to them. They hesitated for a moment, then cautiously crept in one by one.
With the advent of the VCR, color televisions finally came to life.
The next day, many people came to Qin Xiaoyu's shop, but they weren't there to buy anything; they all stayed inside the hardware store watching TV.
Most of the people who come are women and the elderly, who have nothing to do in winter and this is a good way to pass the time.
Whenever she came by, she would just buy some daily necessities, and gradually the grocery store started operating. My cousin's wife's face became more and more cheerful every day.
But she hadn't sold a single color TV, and Qin Xiaoyu was starting to get restless. Qi Si had taken on everything, but she wasn't about to let him actually take responsibility.
Little Fatty couldn't contain himself and kept running to the store every day. Zhou Xing also got a lot of videotapes of Hong Kong and Taiwan comedies, and the hardware store practically became a small screening room, packed with people and filled with laughter.
"We've practically worn out the demo units, and we haven't sold a single one," the chubby boy said with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, I'll buy the prototype myself," Qin Xiaoyu reassured her.
Now that the shop's business is basically stable, she still needs to stay at the Zhou family's house every night. In order not to make Zhou Xing's mother wait for her, she simply had a key made.
Every day when she parked her car downstairs, she would see two lights on upstairs being turned off hastily, one for Zhou Xing's mother and one for Zhou Xing.
It feels so good to have someone waiting for you.
When Qin Xiaoyu entered the room that day, she was taken aback. There were still people in the living room. Commander Zhou was asleep on the sofa, his head resting on the back of the sofa, gently snoring.
Qin Xiaoyu was a little anxious when she saw this. Although the heating was very warm in winter, the elderly were still prone to catching a cold if they slept like this.
She walked over quietly and called out softly, "Uncle Zhou."
"Ah, ah!" Commander Zhou woke up with a start and, upon seeing Qin Xiaoyu, quickly sat up straight.
"Go upstairs and get some sleep, don't catch a cold." Qin Xiaoyu reached out to help him up.
"I'm waiting for you to cut my hair." Commander Zhou was now fully awake.
"Oh, okay. Please wait a moment, I'll go prepare some water."
"Your hair has been washed, let's cut it like this." Commander Zhou was already prepared. Qin Xiaoyu quickly fetched the tools and settled Commander Zhou in.
Although she hadn't cut hair for a while, Qin Xiaoyu's skills were still excellent, and her hands were very nimble. She felt a little guilty and would tell Xiao Chen tomorrow to remind her to cut Commander Zhou's hair; it wouldn't be right for the old man to wait until midnight.
"Little Fish, how's business at the shop?" Commander Zhou asked, trying to make conversation.
"good."
"I heard from Zhou Xing's mother that you bought a lot of color TVs? Did you sell them?"
"No, sales aren't very good." Qin Xiaoyu didn't say more, and Commander Zhou didn't ask any further questions.
After he finished cutting his hair, he turned and went upstairs. After taking two steps, he suddenly said without turning his head, "Little Fish, don't call me Uncle Zhou anymore, call me Grandpa."
"Okay." Qin Xiaoyu agreed, then mentally compared the two, wondering if there was any difference between her uncle and her great-uncle.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
