Chapter Seventy-Eight
As soon as Luo Chunyan entered one of the women's clothing wholesale markets, she was immediately drawn to a shop on the first floor near the entrance and couldn't move on.
"Meimei, look! They're selling thongs here!" Luo Chunyan exclaimed excitedly.
What are "slip-on pants"? They are a type of women's trousers that were very popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
It's usually black, but other colors are also available for those who prefer them, in all sorts of colors.
Made of stretchy polyester fabric, it can be worn by both slim and plus-size people. The heel is connected by two pieces of fabric about two fingers wide. After wearing it, you can simply step on the connecting piece of fabric under your heel. This way, the pants will not deform or wrinkle, and it can also have the effect of lengthening the legs and making you look slimmer.
As the name suggests, it has another name: "stepping pants".
In that era, it was deeply loved and welcomed by many women.
This popular item was naturally on Ji Wanmei's shopping list this time.
The "step-step pants" trend is just starting to take off. Many Hong Kong and Taiwanese female celebrities often wear these pants in photoshoots on TV. It won't be long before they become popular in smaller second- and third-tier cities, creating a fashion craze for "step-step pants".
Luo Chunyan kept in mind that she wanted to buy her second sister a pretty dress. She knew her second sister really liked these slouchy pants, but it seemed that they weren't sold in their county. She didn't expect to find them here.
Luo Chunyan glanced at the price tag on a cardboard sign at the shop entrance: "Five yuan a piece."
She hesitated a little; five yuan was indeed a bit expensive, but if she bought these thongs a little bigger and gave them back to her second sister, she could wear them for several years.
Luo Ermei is petite, and she can still wear it even when she's an adult, so it's still a good deal.
Luo Chunyan then said, "Meimei, I want to buy my second sister a pair of those thongs."
Ji Wanmei pulled her back, saying, "Chunyan, let's not buy here yet. It's expensive outside, and the shops near the main entrance have all sorts of prices. They try to rip off out-of-towners like us, but give locals wholesale prices."
"The market is huge, let's go inside and take a look. There must be wholesalers of these inside. Anyway, I'm planning to buy some of these 'thigh-tightening' pants to resell. If we don't see them inside later, we can always buy them here."
Luo Chunyan was persuaded by Ji Wanmei: "Alright. Let's go in and take a look first."
Despite saying that, Luo Chunyan was really worried that if she went in and there was nothing for sale, she would miss it, so she secretly turned back and memorized the shop number.
As Luo Chunyan walked into the wholesale market, she truly understood what it meant to be dazzled by the sheer variety.
All sorts of beautiful and stylish dresses, fashionable handbags and hats, high heels, are available.
She felt like she didn't have enough eyes to see everything. After looking at one stall, she would quickly look at the next one, just like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden. She was completely dumbfounded.
Ji Wanmei remained calm and composed. In her previous life, she had founded a clothing manufacturing factory and often visited wholesale stalls like this.
Twenty years later, the wholesale market will be even more prosperous, with a dazzling array of goods.
Moreover, unlike Luo Chunyan, who was only focused on marveling and visiting, Ji Wanmei knew very well what goods she wanted to stock and went straight to the target product category.
She pulled the stunned Luo Chunyan along and led her to the women's underwear section.
The first batch of goods she was going to stock was women's underwear.
This will be the core element that distinguishes their store from all other stores in Pingquan County.
The lingerie section has a wide variety of styles, both expensive and affordable.
Ji Wanmei didn't like the cheap ones, and the expensive ones wouldn't be profitable to buy. After much deliberation, she chose a few basic styles that offered the best value for money, but the shaping and comfort were quite good, and the quality was also quite nice.
Ji Wanmei asked the stall owner to pack a set of each of the three colors—black, white, and nude—and underwear, also to be purchased as complete sets.
Luo Chunyan, watching from the side, was tempted. She wanted a set in rose red, and the wholesale price was cheaper than the retail price, so she whispered a few words to Ji Wanmei.
Ji Wanmei then asked the shop owner to also install a set in rose red, which was also priced at the cost price.
After finishing with the lingerie, Ji Wanmei took Luo Chunyan to find the "step-step pants." These were so popular that there was no need to look for them; many stalls simply displayed them as signs at their doors.
Ji Wanmei noticed that there were a lot of people in that family, which meant that their goods were of good quality and sold well, so she went over to take a look as well.
Upon closer inspection, the women scrambling for goods at the entrance were grabbing those thongs. Each of them was stuffing their hands into a very large woven bag, as if they were afraid that if they were a little slow, someone else would snatch them all.
The stall owner kept shouting, "Cheer up, cheer up! Big shipment just delivered from the factory this morning, 80 cents a pair! 80 cents a pair! Minimum order of ten pairs, first come, first served!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Chunyan's eyes widened immediately: "How come it's only 80 cents a piece here!"
Ji Wanmei said, "See, I told you, those shops on the street outside are all about ripping people off as much as they can. The wholesale market inside is where the real wholesale prices are."
The wholesale price is 80 cents per piece, while the retail price is 5 yuan per piece. You can imagine the profit margin.
Pingquan County is a small place with low prices, so selling it for five yuan a piece is indeed a bit exaggerated, but Ji Wanmei thought that if she took it back and sold it for two or three yuan, someone would definitely buy it.
Ji Wanmei then said to Luo Chunyan, "Let's go get some goods too. I plan to buy a hundred to try it out. If they sell well, we'll come back for more."
“One hundred!” Luo Chunyan was stunned.
She thought Ji Wanmei was really bold, daring to take the goods worth eighty yuan without even blinking.
Moreover, Ji Wanmei paid attention. She saw an older woman with a large bag of goods paying for her work. After waiting a while, she went over and asked her, "Auntie, did the stall owner give you a discount since you're carrying so much stuff?"
My aunt is also a businesswoman and quite straightforward, so she said, "Of course, I often buy goods from him. I take several hundred pieces at a time, and he always charges me 75 cents."
Ji Wanmei smiled slightly. It seemed that the price wasn't impossible to negotiate.
So Ji Wanmei went directly to the shop owner and said, "Boss, I want a hundred of these. Can you give me 75 cents? I'll come back to order again after I sell them all. Please leave me your contact information."
The shopkeeper sized up Ji Wanmei and her companion, noticing that although they were young, they were carrying a large bag of goods. He then said, "Seventy-five cents? You'll have to take at least two hundred. My regular customers always take at least five hundred before I'll give you this price."
Ji Wanmei thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, two hundred it is."
Because she was very certain that if she treaded on the pants and put them back in, they would definitely sell like hotcakes in Pingquan County.
Even if she only makes one yuan per pair of pants, she can earn two hundred yuan from two hundred pairs.
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