Chapter 358 Revenue
There were a total of 632 pairs of shoes, all of which had been inspected by Zhao Hongying.
The soles were clean and the uppers were flawless. There were a few shoes with slightly messy stitching, but these were just minor flaws and did not affect their sale at all. However, Song Hai's people still picked out a total of eleven pairs.
"Squad Leader Yang, look, these shoes have some flaws, we can't give you a dollar."
Song Hai called her Yang Xiu'e, not Song Lubai.
Song Hai felt that Yang Xiu'e looked silly and honest, and seemed easier to manipulate than Song Lubai, who seemed easy to talk to.
Before Yang Xiue could speak, Song Lubai said, "Let's take these shoes back and alter them. I guarantee they'll look just like the other shoes when they're delivered next time."
Song Hai: "..."
He planned to lower the price of these shoes to 70 cents, so that he could purchase them in two different tiers in the future. However, since the flaws didn't affect their wearability, he still intended to sell them for 1.2 yuan.
Song Lubai's actions thwarted his plans.
To prevent Song Lubai from seeing through his thoughts, he nodded calmly, "Okay, Song, from now on, all the shoes you send over must be of this quality."
Song Lubai smiled and nodded: "That's for sure, don't worry. You've helped me a lot this time, and we'll definitely only deliver the best goods to you from now on."
Yang Xiue wondered, what's the point of taking these shoes back? Why not just give them a discount? Taking them back would be a waste of time. Taking them back to remove the stitches and redo them would only make the flaws more obvious.
But she wasn't as quick-witted as Song Lubai; she only thought about it in her mind and stood there without saying a word.
After checking the goods, Song Hai led a few people into the house to fill out the invoices.
Yang Xiue carefully folded the receipt and put it into the handbag in front of her.
"Squad Leader Yang, Xiao Song, when will the next batch of goods arrive? We just checked, and there are over fifty pairs more women's shoes than men's shoes. Next time, we'll send more men's shoes than women's shoes. There are quite a few bachelors here who don't know how to make shoes. Most men in the city have wages, but most of them don't know how to make shoes, so the buyers will probably be mostly men. We'll make a little more men's shoes in the future."
Yang Xiu'e said, "We plan to deliver every two months. We'll see how your sales are then. If they're not selling well, we'll have to..."
Song Lubai coughed exaggeratedly a few times, and Yang Xiue immediately looked over with concern, "Little Song, what's wrong?"
Song Lubai touched her neck and said, "I don't know why, my throat is a little itchy."
She wanted Yang Xiu'e to stop saying things she shouldn't, so she could only use a method that Song Hai could see right through.
Song Hai said that Yang Xiu'e didn't seem very smart, and he dared to say that if the person he was talking to today was Yang Xiu'e, he could get her for seven cents!
That girl from his village is really cunning.
After talking for a while, Song Lubai and her group took their leave.
Song Hai escorted Song Lubai to the door and watched them walk away before returning to the courtyard and going into his office.
It's mealtime right now, and this is the season when there are no vegetables to eat and we can only eat wild vegetables.
Seeing the dried radish on the table, Song Hai took out a pancake from the drawer, picked up a strip of radish, and took a bite.
It has a slightly numbing and spicy taste, a chewy texture, and is very fragrant with oil. It is salty, spicy, and numbing with a hint of sweetness.
He had never tasted dried radish with this flavor before.
Although the spicy flavor was a bit too strong for someone like him who usually eats bland food, it was the best-tasting pickled vegetable he had ever eaten.
Before I knew it, I'd eaten a dried radish and half a pancake.
He usually eats flatbread simply to fill his stomach, but today, because of the addition of radish strips and pickled vegetables, he found the lunch delicious!
Seeing the half-empty jar of radish strips, Song Hai thought to himself, "Who gives away half a jar of something as a gift?"
After finishing the two biscuits, he carefully put the jar back into the cupboard.
He's definitely going to sell these dried radishes. When he sees Song Lubai again, he'll have to pre-order a batch from her.
On the way, Song Lubai rode her bicycle, humming a song with great satisfaction.
Sitting in the back seat, Yang Xiu'e asked, "Why are you taking these shoes back? Why not just give them to him at a lower price?"
Director Liu, who was sitting on a donkey cart nearby, said, "This time you made him sort the pairs, and you sold them to him at a lower price because there were only a few pairs, so you didn't think anything of it. But what about next time? He picks out dozens or even hundreds of pairs, and you still have to sell them to him cheaply?"
Yang Xiu'e suddenly realized, "He did it on purpose?"
She slapped her forehead in frustration, "I was just thinking that since there were only a few pairs, I wouldn't lose much. I almost offered to give it to him at a discount."
Director Liu said, "You have no experience, while Director Song is a veteran. You're not as shrewd as him."
Yang Xiue poked Song Lubai's waist and said, "Little Song can think of such a thing, and she can even raise the price from 75 cents to one dollar. I don't have that ability."
"Luckily, it sold out, otherwise we would have had to run to several more places."
Song Lubai said modestly, "I was just lucky today, and I also benefited from Director Liu's help. If it weren't for your previous efforts to maintain our relationship, I wouldn't have been able to negotiate with him so smoothly. I could tell that he wanted this batch of shoes, so I kept putting on airs. Luck played a big part today."
Director Liu said, "I've worked with Comrade Song Hai for many years. We weren't familiar with each other at first, but we became close later. He never gave me any leeway on the price. You managed to get a good deal from him today, Song, you're really something."
Song Lubai knew her own limitations and wouldn't get carried away by the two people's flattery.
"He couldn't budge on the price because the supply and marketing cooperative didn't have the power to set prices; his word didn't count."
Director Liu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Xiao Song, you're just being modest."
"It's quite a coincidence, actually. A casual remark I made today turned out to be true. You two really are related."
Who says it's unfortunate? Even Song Lubai didn't expect this.
Since leaving Songzhuang, she had only returned once in all those years, and she had never even heard of Song Hai's name. She never expected to find relatives here.
"Sister Xiu'e, go back and tell the troupe to prepare more cloth for making shoes. Try to get more. Making cloth shoes isn't difficult. Who knows, other troupes might compete with us for business in the future. Although we got off to a good start today, there's no guarantee that if more small units supply shoes in the future, our shoes won't have a market. So you still need to take some time to take the shoes to the supply and marketing cooperatives and stores in the neighboring counties to ask around. We also need to expand our market. If we calculate based on our current output value, as long as the cloth doesn't hold us back, earning 1,800 yuan for the troupe in a year is not a dream."
Yang Xiu'e was deeply moved upon hearing this. "I'll remember it and bring it up when I get back. But Xiao Song, how do you know so much?"
She didn't even know what output value was before.
Song Lubai said, "I've told you all the little I know from reading newspapers, just like my husband Weiyang. I don't know anything else. You should read newspapers more often in the future. If you have the opportunity to study, see if you can go to school. It's a pity that our corps only has literacy classes."
Yang Xiu'e nodded and said, "You young people are so energetic, I have to learn from you."
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