Zhang Cui wants to open a clothing store.
“Now that I carry more clothes, I often have big bags and small packages. Firstly, it’s inconvenient, and secondly, if it rains or something, I can’t put them away.”
Winter clothes are indeed in high demand, take up a lot of space, and are expensive.
Zhang Cui takes everything, cheap or expensive. Sometimes, when she encounters a generous customer, she's willing to buy even the most expensive items.
The downside is that people might think it's cheap stuff and not be happy to pay such a high price.
"Because of this, a lot of people tried to lower the price for me, which made me so angry that I wanted to slap them across the face. I could see and touch the quality and style of the clothes myself, so why did they have to bargain so ridiculously?"
Zhang Cui still feels angry whenever she thinks about it.
"No one in our family knows anything about this. My aunt is thinking of opening a shop, but she doesn't know if it's the right time to do so."
She was genuinely undecided, since opening a shop was not like setting up a stall.
Two large bags of clothes and a piece of oiled paper cloth were all it took.
If you were to open a shop, aside from rent and utilities, the cost of acquiring the clothing would increase several times over.
This isn't something that can be done for a few hundred dollars; it's worth several thousand. She's been selling clothes for almost two months now, and she doesn't know if she'll earn enough to open a shop.
She initially asked Zhou Dawu, and the man had no objections.
"Go ahead and drive it if you want. Anyway, all the money in the house is with you."
He had no objections and offered his unwavering support.
“Your second uncle is a scoundrel, your aunt wants to hear your opinion.”
Zhou Sui smiled faintly. If her second uncle heard this, he would probably jump up and down in anger.
Looking into Zhang Cui's eager eyes, she could tell from her words that Zhang Cui clearly wanted to open a shop, but she was just one step away from it.
What's missing is a reason for Zhang Cui to make a final decision.
Under Zhang Cui's expectant gaze, Zhou Sui slowly spoke.
"Didn't my second aunt say that the wholesale stores in our city sell things at high prices?"
"If you want to avoid getting goods from wholesale stores, there is another way: if you need a large quantity, you can go directly to the large market for wholesale, where the prices are only slightly higher than at the factory."
"If we could get our goods from there, wouldn't we make a lot more money?"
Zhou Sui had never run a large clothing business before, and she only learned about the ins and outs from others.
The clothing wholesale market is also a series of wholesalers, with the factory being the most important source. Below the factory are the wholesalers, who have the largest volume and the lowest prices.
There's a second batch after the first batch. When the clothes reach the second batch, their prices increase again.
Besides scattered wholesalers like Zhang Cui, there are also some small-town wholesalers in the second batch.
For example, there's a market in town where they wholesale clothes, and their prices are a bit higher than those of second-tier wholesalers.
Some clothing stores in town sometimes get their goods from him. Although it's a bit more expensive, it's convenient and saves on transportation costs.
People like Zhang Cui can save a lot of money by skipping second-tier wholesalers.
Hearing this, Zhang Cui made up her mind. "That's right. Once I open a shop, I won't need to go to the city and squeeze with those people. I can go to other provinces and get whatever clothes I want."
“Sui Sui, are there any storefronts around your area? I’d like to rent one nearby so our whole family can be together. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Zhang Cui's idea was simple: she just wanted a storefront. If they could be next to each other, they could help each other out. That would be great.
Zhou Sui shook her head.
"No storefront left? I remember there was one across the street, wasn't it rented out?"
Zhang Cui said with some disappointment.
"It's not that we don't have storefronts, it's that you can't rent a storefront near us."
"Why?"
Zhou Sui explained, "In our area, apart from residential buildings, most of the businesses are food stalls."
"Opening a clothing store might be novel, but there might not be many customers."
If people go in to look every day, but don't buy much, that might be quite a blow to Zhang Cui.
"Think about it, if you wanted to go shopping for clothes, what place would be the first place you'd want to go?"
Without hesitation, Zhang Cui blurted out, "North Street, opposite the department store."
There are shops selling clothes and accessories there, and many young people love to shop there.
In addition, there is a department store across the street, so after shopping at the department store, you can also take a stroll along North Street.
"But those places are all clothing stores. How can I, a novice, compete with them?"
Zhang Cui felt that setting up a stall was no problem for her, but if she were to actually open a shop, she would have a lot to learn.
"No need to argue. Just follow your current steps. As long as the clothes are stylish and of good quality, you won't have to worry about not having customers."
The two talked for a while before Zhang Cui left.
The next afternoon, Zhang Cui went to the north street of the department store. The street was not very long, and she slowly began to walk along it.
"Sis, wanna buy some clothes?"
"Come in and take a look. We have new styles that are cheap and good-looking."
As she walked along, the shop owner sitting at the entrance called out to her.
Of course, the tone wasn't exactly enthusiastic; it was just a habitual shout when someone passed by.
They sounded so lazy, they didn't even bother to lift their eyelids.
Zhang Cui ignored them and walked around, looking at the street. There were about twenty shops on the street, but only half of them were open.
In less than ten minutes, Zhang Cui had walked the entire street.
Several storefronts were indeed empty. Zhang Cui pretended to want to buy clothes and asked a young girl selling clothes about it.
The rent on this street is indeed expensive.
Zhouji Snack Shop is just across the street from here. It's such a spacious building with a yard, and it only costs 300 yuan a month.
The houses here are less than half the size of the houses in front of Zhou's snack shop.
It costs two hundred yuan a month.
This house, once filled with clothes, looks completely crammed in, even somewhat cluttered.
Zhang Cui looked at several empty storefronts, all of which were about the same size.
She always felt that the storefront here wasn't quite to her liking.
"Young lady, this is the perfect place for you to sell clothes. This street has the most customers every day."
The landlord was still explaining things to Zhang Cui, but Zhang Cui had already lost interest in listening.
"Sis, let me think about it. Can you give me your contact information? I'll call you when I've made up my mind."
The landlord picked up a pen and wrote a string of numbers on a piece of paper. "Okay, I own several storefronts on this street. Go back and think it over. You can take any of them."
Zhang Cui couldn't help but feel envious after hearing this. She thought renting a storefront was too expensive, but this person owned several storefronts. She wondered how much rent they must collect each month.
She put the paper with the number written on it into her pocket, adjusted her collar, and walked towards Zhou's Snack Shop.
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