"Sold out?!"
"No, there are still 1,200 pairs of socks left."
"How much do you earn?!"
"A little over eight thousand two hundred yuan."
"What?! So many?!"
"It's alright, not too much."
"It's much drier than the summer in our Kyoto."
"..."
Bai Jianmin and his team from the Baigou Village production team had just returned when they immediately went to the brigade headquarters to hand over the accounts and remittance slips from the county town to settle the remaining money. Bai Lian was stunned once again after hearing this.
The entire production team earns only about twice as much money in a year as they did with the goods they brought back this time.
After a year of work, a household only earns two or three hundred yuan. This is if there are three or four able-bodied men in the family. If there are only two or fewer able-bodied men, the household will earn less than two hundred yuan a year.
Now, if they go to the capital and bring back some goods to sell, it's equivalent to the entire production team working for half a year.
He, the production team leader, seemed to have no other way to make money. Everyone worked for him, barely managing to survive and eat their fill. The children could only manage to get a primary or junior high school education at most.
"You've come back just in time. We brought back clothes and socks. Every household in our production team has three thousand pairs of defective socks. We'll give them to you at 14 cents per pair. Any extra will cover our travel and lodging expenses."
The price of 그 sold to one's own production team is definitely different from the price sold to outsiders; the purpose is not to make money.
Bai Jianshe and the others nodded in agreement. The brigade leader's decision was sound; their own families would also benefit, and everyone would get the same price.
"Besides, we sold them to the neighboring production team for 18 cents a pair. We should earn some money for our hard work, right? Several production teams came to buy them, and they bought up all the remaining 6,000 pairs. They didn't leave us a single pair."
Actually, their production team hadn't produced 3,000 pairs of socks before; it was at least double that. But when other production teams heard about it, they insisted that they give their socks to them first, especially after Bai Qing personally went to their door.
"Captain, then each of our families can only get a maximum of twenty pairs."
Bai Jianmin and his family never expected that they wouldn't get this benefit themselves. If they had known, they wouldn't have sold so much in the county town.
“I’ve already called Beijing and asked your aunt to send us another two thousand pairs. As for the postage, we can split the cost among whoever is wearing socks.”
Bai Lian had already solved this problem. The day after Qiao Jiuru received the call, she and Su Huaiyuan went to the post office to mail the socks to them.
"Captain, we still have 1,200 pairs of socks on hand."
Bai Jianmin pointed to the remaining socks on the ground; there were still two large sacks of them.
"Whoever has it now can take it first, the rest can wait for it to be sent over."
Bai Jianmin and his team have been working so hard for so long, so of course they have the right to purchase first. This is a benefit that Bai Lian gave them.
"Hehe, the captain is wise."
"Uncle, you're so kind."
"Captain, please be fair to me!"
"This captain feels sorry for us."
“Then, Captain, my family will have another thirty pairs.”
"I also have thirty pairs."
"The socks won't get damaged if they're left lying around. Auntie probably won't buy any more socks next time. We usually have two or three pairs at home to rotate, and I'm even thinking of getting fifty pairs."
“You’re right, I might have thirty pairs, or I might have fifty.”
“I will also change fifty pairs.”
...
To make money, you can't compromise yourself. These socks are only a little over a cent a pair, so of course you should buy more. Just like they tell customers, they won't get worn out if you leave them lying around; the socks will only wear out if you wear them.
Eight pairs, you have fifty pairs, I have fifty pairs, and in no time we'll have four hundred pairs.
Moreover, Bai Jianshe and his team gave the money directly, without keeping any accounting records.
After Bai Lian saw that they had paid for their socks, he continued to talk about another matter.
"The clothes we brought back haven't sold yet. We're waiting for you to come back to discuss how to sell them, and what price we should ask our production team to pay if they buy them."
Bai Lian knew absolutely nothing about this business; even the price for this batch of socks was agreed upon beforehand with Qiao Jiuru and Bai Jianmin.
The cost of clothes is high; it's impossible to make only one or two dollars per piece. But if we sold them to outsiders at the same price, let alone Bai Lian, even Bai Jianshe and his team wouldn't be able to get past their own scrutiny.
"Captain, no, thirty-five yuan for one piece?!"
They sell them for 55 yuan in the county, but they keep 35 yuan for themselves, so they make 10 yuan per piece.
"No way! If word gets out about this price, won't all those people who want to buy our clothes come knocking on our door?!"
Bai Jianmin was the first to disagree. Who could guarantee that others would keep quiet and not spread the word? He wasn't concerned about everyone making money, but rather about the trouble it might cause later.
“Jianmin is right. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. No one can guarantee that the news won’t get out. This deal isn’t really settled yet. After this one, Aunt Qiao told Mai Nian and the others to keep a low profile for six months. We’ll talk about it again next year when the situation is clearer.”
Bai Jianshe and his colleagues followed Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan for two months this year, learning a lot from being around them. They realized that to earn money, you also need to be alive to earn it.
In the past, those who were reported and arrested for doing this kind of thing would even have to eat peanuts in the worst cases.
"That's right, Auntie also said that if we wait another six months or so, or preferably the second half of next year, we'll definitely be able to work hard."
I agree.
Several others followed suit, expressing their opinions. They genuinely didn't want to earn their own money; they were just afraid of being discovered and causing a scene. So what were they after?!
Bai Lian remained silent for a while, because he also had this worry in his heart, and he didn't dare to take out the clothes for everyone to buy.
“Your concerns are very valid; it is indeed better to sell it to outsiders. Okay, I'll go and discuss it with Uncle Jiu.”
Two days later.
"Captain, these coats are only fifty yuan each?!"
"This cotton coat is great, it's so beautiful! It's only 45 yuan, perfect for buying one for my daughter."
"Mom, this big cotton coat suits you well. It's bright red. I'll buy you one to wear for the New Year."
"This sweater is such a bright color, and it's only thirty-five yuan. I have to buy one for my two daughters who are in school."
“I think this coat is too beautiful, but it’s not suitable for people like us. A cotton coat would be more practical.”
"It's best to buy coats and sweaters for our daughters and daughters-in-law. The colors of cotton-padded coats are really not suitable for our wives to wear. You younger girls can't wear them."
"Let's give up, we old ladies. The styles and colors are very nice, but unfortunately they're not suitable for our age."
"Captain, could you bring back some cotton-padded clothes that are suitable for us old women next time?! We've worked hard all our lives, and we want to wear something nice too."
"Yes, yes, I also earn money, and I also want to wear nice clothes."
...
After discussing with Uncle Jiu and repeatedly setting prices with Bai Jianmin and the others, the final price for the 그 (a type of rice) sold to the production team was five yuan cheaper than the price sold to outsiders.
As for the profits, they will be initially recorded in the production team's public account, and a decision on how to proceed will be made later.
However, Bai Lian also held a meeting with the brigade cadres and agreed that they would slaughter two more pigs before the New Year to distribute pork to everyone. They also needed to slaughter another pig a few days earlier to make some cured meat and send it to Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan's family, Old Feng and his grandson, Cai Qing and his wife, as well as to other pigs that had been sent down from other production teams.
After they returned, they maintained contact with the production team over the years, sending things to the team every year. They remembered the care the production team had given them over the years, and the production team couldn't just ignore their kindness.
The production team didn't have anything good to send, so they could only send some delicacies and cured meat every year.
Bai Lian brought out a hundred coats, cotton-padded coats, and sweaters, which were all bought by the production team.
After all, every household has some savings. Moreover, the production team produces several college, junior college, and vocational school graduates every year, and every household has junior high and high school students. How can we not buy them nice clothes to make them look good?!
Finally, the remaining one hundred pieces of clothing were taken by the neighboring production teams. Which production team didn't have a dozen or twenty people studying or working outside?!
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