Chapter 68
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the land temple in the suburbs of Taocheng was bustling with people.
It is the first day of the year and it is also a lucky day. Many people come to burn incense and pray for good luck in this year.
The two sides facing the temple gate were occupied by incense vendors, with various incense sticks of different lengths, thicknesses, firecrackers, candles, and gold ingots piled up like a small mountain. A row of large incense sticks over a meter tall were placed against the stalls, and the stall owner was shouting at the top of his voice to attract customers. Pedestrians walked in the middle, and the shouts of vendors on both sides were competing to see who was louder. It was clearly the coldest month of winter, but there was a sense of the bustle of spring.
"This one is three yuan! There are twenty sticks in a pack!"
"Sister, what's the price outside the temple? OK, OK, I'll give it to you for 2.5 yuan!"
"A bag of ingots costs five yuan. How many bags would you like, boss?"
"We have incense candles! Look carefully, they are all here. They are made of butter and red wax, seven big ones and five small ones."
…
Incense vendors drive around at this time every year. There are many temples in spring, from the first day of the first lunar month to after the Qingming Festival. If you plan well during this period, you can make a lot of money.
As soon as Jian Feng parked the truck, Xiao Shi began to sigh.
"It's really lively, much livelier than in the city."
I didn't know until I arrived, I was shocked to see that this small town on the outskirts of the city was actually full of people on the entire street.
Small vendors on both sides of the road sell everything from woven winnowing baskets to wooden low chairs, sundries and dried goods, shoes, socks, pants, hardware and water pipes, buttons and needles...
There is nothing that this place doesn’t sell unless you think of it.
Wang Mengmei jumped down from the passenger seat and almost sprained her ankle. Jian Feng quickly grabbed her and she was able to stabilize her.
Wang Mengmei looked around and said, "There aren't many places selling clothes here."
Xiao Meng interrupted, "Consumption can't keep up. My aunt's family is a tailor. People in the countryside buy their own cloth and cut their own clothes."
Just one sentence made several people nervous.
Wang Mengmei is a little weak, is this okay?
The clothes from the cotton textile factory are not cheap. The batch of goods Jian Feng got were mainly thick cotton clothes, for men, women, old and young. The styles were so old-fashioned that they would be sold as the bottom of the box if they were placed in the city. When Jian Feng got the goods, he negotiated with his leader for a while and lowered the average price from 32 yuan per piece to 30 yuan per piece. There was no other way. The goods supplied by the cotton textile factory were all good materials. They were not originally aimed at the rural market, and the cost was very strict.
Most of the cotton-padded clothes on the market now cost more than 60 yuan each. Of course, this batch of goods cannot be sold at this price.
Jian Feng and his colleagues stayed up all night last night, picking out dozens of defective items, and then sorting the rest into adults and children. The adult ones could be sold for fifty, the children's for thirty-five, and the defective ones for thirty at most.
Several people calculated clearly last night, thinking that they could earn at least ten dollars from each transaction.
But when we got here, everyone's heart started beating. This street was full of vendors, and there was nothing that cost more than 20 yuan. The cheapest thing was a long-whiskered grasshopper made of plastic pipes, which cost only two cents each.
The wind was cold and the number of people at the temple fair gradually increased. Villagers all woke up early and rushed to pay New Year's greetings. The children's pockets were filled with fresh and hot New Year's money. People from nearby villages brought their children to visit the temple fair.
Wearing brand new clothes made them even more worried.
It's already the first day of the new year. Who would spend dozens of dollars to buy new clothes at this time?
Jian Feng gritted his teeth and said, “Put it out first.”
We've come this far, can we go back?
The worst that can happen is that I don't make any money. If I don't make any money, then I don't make any money. Anyway, the goods are purchased and the car is borrowed, and the cost is just some gas money.
A few people parked their cars at the end of a row of vendors, and encountered new problems after parking their cars.
I was so busy sorting and picking up goods last night that I forgot to take the clothes hangers.
Wang Mengmei slapped her thigh in regret: "It's open!"
It was already late last night when she finished cleaning. She was exhausted from the day and just took a nap. In just a short while, she forgot about the clothes hangers she had prepared.
It was a bad start, Jian Feng rubbed his face and said, "Just lay it on the ground!"
The prepared used sheets were spread out, Wang Mengmei stared at them, and Jian Feng and a few others threw them down from the car.
Soon, a pile of clothes like a small hill formed on the bed sheets.
Wang Mengmei threw the discarded clothes into the corresponding piles, one for adults, one for children, and another for defective items.
The fried noodle vendor next door had just set up his stall and came over to chat with Wang Mengmei.
"Girl, how much do you sell these clothes for?"
Wang Mengmei was used to doing business, so when she heard the question, she smiled and replied, "It's only about 40 or 50 yuan per piece. Can you take a look?"
When opening a business, Wang Mengmei was very cautious. She casually grabbed a bright red cotton coat. The red was extremely tacky, and the appliqué embroidery on it was almost like two pieces of skin. The collar was a lapel. In Wang Mengmei's own opinion, the clothes were so tacky that she couldn't even wear them.
The style is really not something that can be praised, Wang Mengmei’s main focus is on the quality.
"Sister, feel it. These are all large quantities of goods from the cotton spinning factory. Look at the material. It's corduroy and made of good cotton. You can't buy it in the market without tens of thousands of dollars..."
The owner of the fried noodle stall's eyes lit up. She liked the tacky red that Wang Mengmei disliked very much.
I tried it in my hand again, wow, it's very thick, and I was immediately satisfied.
Wang Mengmei seized the opportunity and said, "Sister, we are opening a business. I won't say much. This one is fifty-five. Take it if you want it."
The lady boss of the fried noodle stall did the math in her mind and decided that fifty-five was indeed not expensive, but she still tried to bargain out of habit.
"It's too expensive, girl. Look at the embroidery on it. I'm afraid it will fade. Besides, it looks a little small to me."
Wang Mengmei shook her head and said, "Sister, why don't you just try it on? This batch of goods is one size fits all, it will fit anyone."
The lady boss of the fried noodle stall stretched out her arms and put it on. After putting it on, she felt even more satisfied.
"Should you give me less, girl? Look, I just set up the stall and I haven't made a penny yet."
Wang Mengmei: "Sister, we really don't make much money. These are all from the factory. You know the cotton textile factory, right? These are the prices given by the factory. I won't hide it from you. I get more than 40 yuan for each piece of these. 55 yuan is just enough for our hard-earned money and gas expenses..."
The lady boss of the fried noodle stall was about to take it off: "In our village, we buy the fabric and stuff the cotton ourselves, and it only costs a few dollars? If you want forty, I'll take it."
Wang Mengmei stamped her feet and said, "Sister, this is really not possible. Fifty-two, fifty-two, you take it!"
"Forty-five!"
"Fifty-one! Is fifty-one okay?"
"Forty-six."
Wang Mengmei: "I want to pay for it, sister. How about this? Forty-eight! I won't make any money on this. Take it and don't tell anyone."
The proprietress was delighted: "Forty-eight is forty-eight!"
Wang Mengmei collected forty-eight yuan and got to know the man. She also asked around about whether there were people collecting fees outside the temple fair.
The lady boss held a new cotton-padded jacket in her hand and said cheerfully, "Some temples will collect fees, some won't. Today they collect fees. It's the first day of the new year. Someone will come to collect fees after lunch. Each stall will be charged 10 yuan for sanitation."
The lady boss asked enthusiastically, "Big sister, are you guys going to set it up tomorrow?"
Wang Mengmei nodded: "The task in the factory, will it take three days?"
"It's three days, but there won't be many people tomorrow afternoon, so today is the main day."
Wang Mengmei felt lucky in her heart, fortunately, she could still sell it tomorrow.
When the lady boss heard her say she was from a cotton textile factory, she suddenly thought, "Girl, do you have any long-sleeved tops, the kind you wear next to your skin?"
Wang Mengmei: “Yes.”
The cotton spinning factory has not been waiting for death in recent years, but has made many attempts. It has a large stock of clothes for all four seasons.
The lady boss was eager: "Then bring me two tomorrow? I want to buy one for my child and my husband."
The owner of the fried noodle stall heard this and shouted, "I don't want it! I have something to wear!"
The lady boss was not used to it either. She put her hands on her hips and started to scold him: "You are a dog-bitten Lu Dongbin who doesn't know the good heart. You want it but I won't buy it for you!"
The owner of the fried noodle stall was silent, and the lady boss turned around and said, "Give me... three pieces."
The cotton-padded jacket was of good quality, and she thought of her mother and decided to buy one for her.
Wang Mengmei: "Okay."
The lady boss is very good at handling things: "It's a deal, girl. I'll come early tomorrow to save you a good seat!"
After successfully completing her first business, Wang Mengmei no longer had time to talk to the owner of the fried noodle stall because the stall owners from the surrounding areas came over first and became her first customers.
Among Jian Feng and his group of men, only Xiao Shi was good at talking and could greet people. Jian Feng was a man of few words, but he was tall and strong with a good-looking face. Even when he was standing there, some women came over to him and asked him about the price.
The only outlier is Xiao Meng. Xiao Meng always speaks the truth. One is one, two is two.
Wang Mengmei was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead. She pulled Xiao Meng to the back of the stall and gave him a small stool.
"Just stand there and make sure no one steals the goods."
Wang Mengmei was in charge of collecting the money, Jian Feng and Xiao Shi helped sell the goods, and Xiao Meng kept an eye on people.
As the popularity grew, Wang Mengmei was asked more and more questions. She regretted not getting a large piece of paper to write the prices directly on.
This is what Jian Li suggested to her last night, but she kept thinking that people would need to bargain, so it was useless to write it down.
Now I think it’s better to write the price first, so that I don’t have to bother talking about it.
I originally thought that the business would be stagnant, but since I put the products on the market, there has been a constant flow of people.
Wang Mengmei shouted at the top of her voice: "Don't crowd, come one by one——"
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