Zhou Fangchun walked up to a fur coat. It was a brown stand-up collar fur coat with long fur, fashionable and stylish, and it felt good to the touch. Clothes in department stores are not rare. Now, this kind of Hong Kong style fur coat and down jacket is popular in Deyang. This trend started from Mandarin.
Zhou Fangchun's monthly salary is less than one hundred yuan, and Mao Guangyu's official salary is not high either. Even if there is some gray income, the expenses for family social interactions are large. Her mother-in-law dislikes her for spending money and keeps an eye on Mao Guangyu's wallet. Mao Xia was raised in a wealthy family, and Zhou Fangchun is not rich enough to buy two coats at once.
"How much for this?" Zhou Fangchun asked snorting.
Shen Zhuyu smiled and said, "This one costs four hundred. Our store is having a promotion right now: buy a fur coat and get a matching fur scarf for free."
Zhou Fangchun's eyes widened. Four hundred yuan? She knew Mandarin clothes were expensive, but she hadn't expected them to be this expensive. Yes, the clothes were good, and the style was unique, but they couldn't possibly be this pricey, could they? What's the average salary in Deyang? Most people only earn twenty or thirty yuan a month. Who would buy them for four hundred yuan?
Is this a rip-off?
Zhou Fangchun didn't believe that there were clothes in Deyang that she couldn't afford.
But she's an official's wife; given her status, she can't possibly negotiate with a self-employed individual.
Zhou Fangchun said disdainfully, "These clothes are nice, but they're too thin. Winters in Deyang are cold, and these clothes are obviously not as warm as a cotton-padded coat. Who would spend four hundred yuan on a piece of clothing?"
Chen Zhuyu's forced smile:
"Don't let its thinness fool you, fur is warmer than down jackets and cotton-padded coats. You won't be cold in winter with this. Our customers know their stuff. We ordered 20 of this style and restocked twice. This is the only one left."
Zhou Fangchun suspected this was a sales tactic, but Mandarin was so popular that people were scrambling to buy it on opening day. One colleague bought a down jacket, and everyone else in the company followed suit. The down jackets were only 140 yuan each, and the long ones weren't much more expensive either. The fur coats were 400 yuan each. Zhou Fangchun became the center of attention in the company after buying one.
But she just felt it was too expensive. Why should the shop owner make all the money? She wanted to bargain, but felt it would be beneath her dignity, so she deliberately put on a picky look and said:
"Only one left? How is that possible? It's not like I've never bought clothes before. I'm not saying this to be mean, other stores have similar styles, and they're cheaper than yours. Your owner is way too arrogant with their prices. What kind of lousy clothes are you asking for 400?"
Shen Zhuyu also thought it was expensive. The wholesale price was 120, but Chu Yu sold it for 300 or 400. The wholesale price of a down jacket was 40 or 50, but Chu Yu sold it for 100 or 200.
But Chu Yu is right, if it's expensive, you don't have to buy it.
Clothes are priced according to the purchase price. That's the typical clothing store. They stock up on clothes and are prone to having inventory. If a style doesn't sell well, they might sell half and keep the other half as inventory. In that case, all their efforts would be in vain.
After deducting store expenses and inventory costs, this price is not high.
Shen Zhuyu's attitude was quite good: "If you think it's expensive, you can go and see other stores. Our store has a fixed price. All clothes are sold at the marked price, no rounding down or discounts."
Zhou Fangchun's face burned. It was the first time someone had asked her to go and look at other people's clothes. Which clothing store saw her clothes and didn't fawn over her? But Mandarin was different; she actually asked her to go and look at other people's clothes.
Zhou Fangchun felt uncomfortable, but she couldn't swallow her anger. It was just 400 yuan, wasn't it?
It's not like she can't afford it!
With a stern face, Zhou Fangchun took out four hundred yuan and coldly threw it to Chen Zhuyu.
"It's just 400 yuan. It's not a lot of money, and it's not like we can't afford it. For people like us, no matter how much money we spend, it will be paid out on time next month. Unlike you self-employed people... who sometimes go hungry and sometimes not. You might make money today, but you don't know if you'll make it tomorrow."
Chen Zhuyu smiled:
"Thank you for thinking of us. We're not exactly starving, but thank you for coming and giving us money. If it weren't for people like you who have status supporting us, our shop wouldn't have made so much money."
Zhou Fangchun was furious. This Mandarin clothing store was really something else; how dare a mere individual business owner talk to her like that!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
But the dress was really beautiful. Zhou Fangchun looked at it from left to right and felt that the 400 yuan was well spent. She hadn't gone out for more than a few steps when she saw Shu Hui. Last time, Chu Yu had scolded Zhou Fangchun, and Zhou Fangchun was still angry. When she saw Shu Hui, her eyes lit up.
"Hey! Isn't this Shu Hui?"
Shu Hui got splashed with mung bean soup by a guest and wanted to go back to change her clothes. She knew Zhou Fangchun had no good intentions, and there was nothing to say between them, so Shu Hui didn't intend to pay her any attention.
Zhou Fangchun still regarded her as the submissive sister-in-law of Zhoujia Village. Seeing Shu Hui's shabby clothes, Zhou Fangchun was full of superiority and scoffed disdainfully:
“I told you long ago that selling roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) is a dead-end business. Your brother and sister-in-law run a shop, but how much money can they give you? You'd be better off finding some work in a factory, or even working as a nanny. That would be better than being self-employed!”
Zhou Fangchun took out her newly bought fur coat and showed it off:
"Have you heard of Mandarin? Their clothes are incredibly expensive. This one little dress of mine cost 400 yuan, which is equivalent to two years' salary for some people! You're just short-sighted and won't listen to advice. If you had listened to me earlier and found a good husband for your daughter, you could have worn clothes that cost 400 yuan each, just like me!"
Shu Hui's expression was a bit complicated. It was just a piece of clothing she bought in Mandarin, and Zhou Fangchun was bragging about it.
If Zhou Fangchun knew that Mandarin was owned by Chu Yu and that all the money ended up in Chu Yu's pocket, I wonder what her reaction would be.
She doesn't need to find a husband for her daughter, and she can afford clothes that cost 400 yuan. Her daughter said that she could choose any clothes in the store, but she refused because she was busy working and couldn't afford nice clothes.
Shu Hui remained silent. Zhou Fangchun thought she was insecure. How could she not be insecure? Shu Hui was wearing coarse cloth that cost only a few yuan per meter. Although she was dressed neatly, the total cost of her clothes was less than 10 yuan. Yet she spent 400 yuan on one go. It's no wonder that women are jealous when they see others living better than them!
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