At eleven o'clock in the evening, everyone had left and Xiao Xuxu had already fallen into a sound sleep.
Manyuemei was cleaning up the mess, while Gao Mingcheng was sweeping the floor with a broom, sweeping away the fruit peels on the ground.
It was late at night. A cold wind blew, causing the branches to sway. Fine drops of cold rain hit the windows, creating a natural sound.
After the couple cleaned up, the living room soon looked brand new.
Manyumei couldn't help but smile when she saw the spacious and tidy house.
Having a great time tonight!
"Mingcheng, it's so nice to get together like this occasionally!" Many beautiful girls looked at Gao Mingcheng with smiles in their eyes. She knew that the reason why she could have such a good life today was inseparable from Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng smiled and said, "Just be happy! All we have to do in life is to be happy and at ease! Well, it's getting late, let's go to bed!"
"Um."
The couple turned off the lights in the living room and walked towards the room hand in hand. There was a night light in the corner of the room, emitting a gentle glow.
…
After a night of cold rain, the temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees.
In the morning, many beauties wrapped themselves up tightly and said, "It looks like it's going to snow again."
Gao Mingcheng looked up at the gloomy sky and hummed.
This year will be colder than previous years. During the New Year's Day, it will snow heavily every day. The snow on the ground is so deep that your feet will sink into it.
"Let's go to the store. The colder the weather is, the better the clothes sell." Gao Mingcheng held Xiao Xuxu and walked towards the store side by side with Xuanyue.
Soon after arriving at the store, someone came to ask if he had any leather jackets for sale.
Gao Mingcheng said no, but then asked the man if there were many people who wanted to buy leather jackets now.
"Not many, but there are quite a few who want to buy one! We have saved some money and want to buy a leather jacket to wear during the New Year! It will give us face!" the man said with a smile.
Gao Mingcheng also smiled and said, "It's really prestigious to be able to wear a leather jacket. But I can't buy one this year. I'll go get some next year!"
In fact, leather jackets had already become popular in the 1980s, but they were too expensive, so Gao Mingcheng did not purchase any.
Just think about it, a suit made of medium-quality fabric in his store costs more than two hundred yuan, and a women's all-wool windbreaker costs one hundred and ten yuan. As for wool sweaters, cotton-padded coats, trousers, down jackets, etc., the prices are mostly around one hundred yuan.
Even this is considered mid- to high-end clothing in their county.
And a leather jacket?
To buy a leather jacket in a big city, a normal one will cost two to three thousand yuan, while a good one can cost six to seven thousand yuan, or even tens of thousands!
Many times, trendy elements start in big cities and then slowly spread to smaller cities.
In Gao Mingcheng's memory, it was not until the 1990s that men in their county began to pursue wearing leather jackets.
The man who wanted to buy a leather jacket looked a little disappointed when he heard that he could only buy it next year.
But it is not convenient to go out at this time, and most people would not go to the provincial capital just to buy a leather jacket.
In the end, he could only choose a wool coat in the store.
This all-wool men's coat was imported from Guangzhou and costs 480 yuan.
This price is not affordable for ordinary people. Even Gao Mingcheng only purchased ten pieces of goods.
But this man bought the wool coat without blinking an eye, because compared to leather jackets that cost thousands of dollars, this wool coat that cost less than five hundred dollars was not too expensive.
We sold a woolen coat at the very beginning, and everyone in the store was very happy.
Gao Shufang smiled and said, "Second brother, I remember this coat is the most expensive piece of clothing in our store, right?"
Gao Mingcheng nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's the most expensive one. Most of the other good-quality clothes are only two or three hundred."
The shop had already opened today, so Gao Mingcheng asked Hu Yinchen if she wanted to choose some clothes.
The prize that Hu Yinchen won yesterday was to choose a piece of clothing.
However, there are rules for doing business, that is, people can only choose the prizes after the business opens, otherwise it will bring bad luck.
Hu Yinchen also understood this rule. She went to choose clothes only when Gao Mingcheng asked her to. Because she was planning to choose one for her husband, she went to the men's clothing section.
She did not dare to go to Guangzhou to choose goods, but chose local goods. These goods came from Gao Shouwang's workshop. The materials used were ordinary, so the prices were naturally cheaper. The most expensive cotton coat was only ninety-eight yuan.
However, Hu Yinchen chose a thin cotton coat for about 60 yuan. She also helps sell clothes in the store, so she is quite familiar with the prices. Among the prizes in yesterday's lottery, the highest red envelope was 66 yuan, and the prices of other items were mostly around this number, so she naturally would not choose a piece of clothing that cost more than 100 yuan.
Gao Mingcheng took a look and smiled, then called Zhang Jinling to go and choose something, as she had also won a piece of clothing yesterday.
Zhang Jinling went to choose a woolen sweater. She was still wearing a sweater she had knitted before. After putting on the sweater, she felt a lot more fashionable and warmer.
The joy of last night continued to today, and the store was instantly filled with laughter again. The peaceful atmosphere also easily attracted customers to come.
There were customers coming in non-stop all day long, and Gao Mingcheng went to the warehouse on the third floor to get goods, and he made four or five trips!
The closer it gets to the end of the year, the better the business in the store becomes. There are even couples coming in to choose suits for their weddings.
Winter suit fabrics are more expensive, costing more than 300 yuan. The bride-to-be also requires a shawl when renting a wedding dress, otherwise she will be too cold.
"Okay, you are getting married in five days, right? You should come to pick up the wedding dress the day before the wedding. The wedding dress must be kept clean, otherwise you will have to pay for it if it gets dirty." Gao Mingcheng said as he collected money and made an invoice.
"Okay." The guest nodded in agreement.
After the guests left, Gao Mingcheng went to the warehouse and took out a pile of rabbit skins that had been nitrated.
He picked out some rabbits with clean fur and put them together. He said to Xuanyuemei, "Go find a piece of thick cotton cloth and make a shawl with these rabbit skins."
Xuanyuemei said immediately: "There is no thick cotton cloth in the store. I will go buy some cloth now!"
They acted immediately and went to buy cloth in a hurry.
Gao Shufang took out the tools for making clothes and began to cut the rabbit skin. After cutting, because it was going to be made into a shawl for people, the rabbit skin had to be pieced together. In this way, the furry surface was ready. Later, thick cotton cloth would be used to make a base. After sewing the two together, a furry shawl was ready.
There were many people selling goods in the store, so Xuanyuemei and Gao Shufang were busy making shawls. One was not enough, so they simply made two!
At the end of every year, people often hold wedding banquets. Although wearing a wedding dress to get married in winter seems a bit crazy, it cannot stop the newlyweds from pursuing beauty and fashion!
There are several wedding dresses available for rental in the store, including thin ones for summer and satin ones for spring and autumn. As for winter, the bride can wear a base shirt inside, and then wear the wedding dress and rabbit fur shawl, so it won’t be too cold. Anyway, during the wedding ceremony, people will be in an excited state, and the blood will flow faster in the body, so they won’t feel cold.
When the business gets busy, time flies by. When a heavy snowfall comes, Gao Mingcheng realizes that there is only half a month left until the Chinese New Year.
On this day, the store received another letter from the capital.
It was written by Deng Wanwan.
Deng Wanwan had already said that she would come back to celebrate the New Year this year. This letter she wrote was to set the date of her return.
In the letter, Deng Wanwan said that it was difficult to buy train tickets during the Chinese New Year and many people took the train, so they decided to come back early, and if all went well, they would arrive in the county on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.
They chose this day to arrive home for a reason.
There are two types of Chinese New Year: the Minor Chinese New Year and the Big Chinese New Year.
The date for celebrating the Little New Year varies from place to place, and even in the same place, it may be different.
For example, in Jiangxi, in ancient times, all families with a scholar or above would celebrate the Little New Year on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, while ordinary people would celebrate the Little New Year on the 24th.
This is what is called "officials are three and civilians are four."
Even now, some people still follow the old custom. In addition to these two days, some villages will celebrate the Little New Year on the 26th, 29th and other days.
After reading the letter, Xuanyuemei began to count the days and said, "If that's the case, Wanwan and the others should be getting on the train soon!"
Nowadays, there are fewer trains and they run slowly. To get back to the county from the capital, you have to change trains several times. If you are unlucky and fail to buy a suitable ticket in time when changing trains, you will have to stay there for a day or half a day.
Therefore, it is really a long journey and not easy to come back from the capital!
Gao Mingcheng had experience traveling far away, so he nodded and said, "Well, they should be on the bus today or tomorrow. Hey, I plan to go to the capital after the New Year to see the house that Fan Licheng bought for me. If there is no problem, I will pay the money to transfer the ownership."
"Just thinking about this long journey makes me worried!"
Gao Mingcheng sighed heavily. He really missed the high-speed trains and airplanes of future generations!
There are planes now, but it’s not easy to get on a plane!
Not to mention that plane tickets are difficult to buy and expensive, even if you buy one, the journey from his small county to the airport to catch a plane is very long!
Looking at the sad expression on his face, many beauties felt sad for him.
When I followed Gao Mingcheng on the train to Guangzhou, I almost died of exhaustion along the way!
When she arrived in Guangzhou, she had trouble acclimatizing to the climate there. Not only did she feel unwell, but she also couldn't eat the food there. It was really uncomfortable!
Therefore, when Gao Mingcheng was going to the capital for business this time, Xuanyuemei never thought about going with him.
Xuanyuemei suddenly asked, "Mingcheng, if we drive to the capital, how many days will it take?"
Gao Mingcheng was stunned, then he started to calculate in his mind.
Then he said, "If you are not familiar with the road conditions, it will take about five or six days! It is not cost-effective to drive alone. There are many dangers along the way, and you have to pay tolls, gas, food and accommodation. It is not cost-effective!"
It was precisely because it was not cost-effective that Gao Mingcheng never thought of driving there.
Even though he often drives to Guangzhou to purchase goods, it is not easy for him to drive to the capital alone!
One reason is that the journey is too long and a person’s energy is limited. Another reason is that there are many second-generation people near the capital and the situation on the road is also complicated.
After hearing what he said, many bees stopped talking about driving there.
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky outside was gloomy and heavy snow was falling. There were fewer people on the road and the ground was covered with a thin layer of snow.
The weather has been too cold recently, and once it gets dark, very few people come to buy clothes, so Gao Mingcheng asked everyone to cook dinner early. After dinner, he took his wife and children back to their new home, and asked Gao Shufang and others to close the store early and rest.
Gao Mingcheng said to Luo Li, who was pregnant, "Luo Li, I think you should not come to the store recently. It's snowing today and the road is very slippery. It's not safe."
Luo Li knew that this was Gao Mingcheng's good intention, so she said, "Then I'll stay at home and rest, and let my third sister come over to help with some things, okay?"
"That's fine. If she helps with some small things and the clothes are sold, I will give her a commission." Gao Mingcheng agreed immediately.
Even though there are many people working in the store, they are really useful when business gets busy!
Besides, when they are not busy, Xuanyuemei and Gao Shufang, who can use sewing machines, will also make some small things by themselves. For example, they made a few children's vests with rabbit skin, which look very cute when the children wear them.
By the evening, everyone had finished dinner, and Huang Dazhi had not come to pick up Luo Li, so Gao Mingcheng said to Luo Li: "I'll take you home!"
Luo Li looked at the heavy snow outside and accepted Gao Mingcheng's kindness.
But just as they were about to leave, Huang Dazhi finally hurried over. He walked too fast and almost slipped and fell when he stepped on the slippery steps.
There was already a thin layer of ice and snow on the terrazzo steps.
"Oh, slow down!" Luo Li was anxious and couldn't help but go forward to help Huang Dazhi. Huang Dazhi staggered and barely stood firm, but he didn't dare to let Luo Li help him, for fear that he would drag Luo Li down with him.
He didn't bother to talk to Luo Li, but took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Gao Mingcheng.
Gao Mingcheng was stunned at first, then unfolded the paper.
On the white paper, a portrait of a person is drawn with a pencil.
The man had ordinary facial features, wore a baseball cap, and looked to be about twenty years old. The most striking thing about him was a black mole the size of a soybean on the right side of his neck.
After Gao Mingcheng finished reading it, he asked, "Who is this?"
Gao Mingcheng had a good memory. When he saw this portrait, he recalled his past and present lives in his mind. He was sure that he had never seen this person.
Huang Dazhi said quickly: "This is the person who is asking about the case of Shi Laosan!"
Gao Mingcheng was stunned. He didn't expect it was that incident.
Huang Dazhi had told him about this matter a month ago and asked him to pay more attention to it.
Gao Mingcheng was indeed very careful and always stayed by his wife and children's side because he was not afraid of others looking for him. He was just afraid that others would take advantage of his inattention and attack his wife and children.
But the days that followed were calm and peaceful, without any rumors at all, and gradually, Gao Mingcheng almost forgot about the incident.
Gao Mingcheng's eyes fell on the paper again. He tried to imprint the portrait in his mind. After he remembered it, he looked at Huang Dazhi and asked, "What's going on?"
Huang Dazhi said, "I found someone who had seen this person today. I stayed off work until now to paint this portrait. Ming Cheng, this person came to inquire about me a while ago, but I didn't find out anything. Who knew he would appear in our county again now!"
"I'm afraid they have bad intentions!" (End of this chapter)
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