Chapter 169
Qin Xiang felt the voice was unfamiliar, but when she looked up and saw a smiling face, she finally recognized it. "Auntie Ma, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to see you here."
Isn’t this the Aunt Ma who used to sell tea eggs at the intersection? Qin Xiang just chatted with her casually and found out that Aunt Ma’s daughter worked at the Hangzhou Second Garment Factory.
Aunt Ma said cheerfully, "I quickly rented a stall when the night market started. Selling here is much better than at that intersection."
Qin Xiang lowered her head and took a look at the stall. In addition to tea eggs, Aunt Ma also sold some snacks for children. It looked quite complete.
While they were talking, someone came over to buy snacks. Seeing this, Qin Xiang said, "Then you go ahead and do your work, Auntie. I'll go inside and take a look."
Aunt Ma turned to her and said, "Okay, go take a look around first. Come over and we can chat when you leave."
Qin Xiang didn't refuse and led the group into the night market. Tan Xiu was surprised and said, "Boss, I didn't expect you have acquaintances here."
Qin Xiang laughed upon hearing this. "I came here once last year to buy socks, and I happened to meet Aunt Ma and chatted with her. I didn't expect the old lady to have such a good memory and still remember me."
Tan Xiu smiled, "Because you're so beautiful, it's hard to forget you."
Qin Xiang just smiled and said nothing. There were so many beautiful people in this world. Although she was pretty, her appearance was not particularly eye-catching. The fact that Aunt Ma remembered her only showed that she had a good memory.
"There are so many people here, don't separate. If you do get separated, go wait for that lady there."
Summer is hot, and people are reluctant to go out during the day except for work. However, it is different at night, when the temperature is relatively low, making it more suitable for outdoor activities. Therefore, there are quite a lot of people at the night market.
After Qin Xiang finished her instructions, she slowly began to observe the things on sale at the night market. There was everything from food and drink to entertainment. Of course, Qin Xiang was still focusing on the clothes, but the clothes at the night market were all gathered in one place, and it took them a while to walk there from the entrance.
After I got there, I found that there were a lot of stalls selling clothes, and there were a lot of light bulbs hanging. The lights were bright, and the owners didn't even need to shout out their wares, and many people went over to look at the clothes.
There are disadvantages as well. There is no place to try on the clothes at the night market, and in the hot summer you can only hold them in your hands and try them on.
The styles of the clothes are obviously better and more novel than those in the north. The quality of the clothes is uneven, some are good and some are bad.
Qin Xiang picked up two pieces that she thought were eye-catching, and tried to bargain. In the end, she spent 48 yuan to buy two skirts.
After wrapping up the clothes, Tan Xiu whispered, "This clothes is not cheap."
Qin Xiang nodded. "It's really not cheap. It's not much different from what we have in the store. And the quality varies."
After they walked around for a while, Qin Xiang bought a few more things that she liked. When they reached the end of the night market, they prepared to turn back.
On the way back, Qin Xiang bought some snacks and ate them separately. When they arrived at the entrance of the night market, they found that Aunt Ma was still busy there. They said goodbye and went back to the hotel together.
After returning to the house, Qin Xiang asked Tan Xiu and the others to try on the clothes they bought. They were all pretty good, with novel designs and styles.
She looked at the tag and was stunned.
These are all clothes from Hangzhou No. 2 Garment Factory.
Isn’t that the factory where Aunt Ma’s daughter works?
She still remembered that when she came here last year, most of the clothing styles at the Second Garment Factory were imitations of those in Hong Kong City.
I didn’t expect that after not being here for such a long time, the Second Garment Factory has also changed.
Did they change designers?
Qin Xiang suddenly became interested in the Second Garment Factory, so the next day she did not participate in the search for a storefront, but took Zhao Ping shopping.
There are already some clothing stores in the city center, whether they are individual clothing stores or clothing counters in department stores, and the Second Garment Factory occupies a large share.
This is not surprising. The Second Garment Factory is already huge in scale, and the clothes it produces now are of good style and quality, so it is difficult for them to sell poorly.
On the contrary, the First Garment Factory and some other factories are relatively unknown and rarely produce eye-catching clothes.
After a day of wandering around, Qin Xiang had a general understanding.
We went directly to the night market in the evening, but unfortunately Aunt Ma had not arrived yet.
Hangzhou was a bit hot and stuffy in the afternoon. Qin Xiang and Zhao Ping found a small shop nearby to eat something. When Aunt Ma appeared, Qin Xiang went straight over and said, "Aunt Ma."
Aunt Ma was spreading out the things on the cart. She looked up and saw her and smiled, "It's you. I was too busy yesterday to talk to you. Are you doing well recently?"
"Very well." Qin Xiang nodded. "You don't look much different. You're still as strong as ever."
Aunt Ma said happily, "Well, at my age, it's just like that. What brings you here this time? If you want to buy some clothes, just tell me and I can help you get the goods from the factory."
Qin Xiang was in high spirits after hearing her say that. What a lovely old lady.
She smiled and said, "Auntie, I'd like to ask for your help in introducing me. I want to discuss cooperation with your daughter."
Aunt Ma looked up in surprise. "Are you buying a large quantity? If not, she might not have time to see you. If it's just a small order, I can help you get the goods directly."
Qin Xiang nodded, "Auntie, I want to discuss at least a one-year purchasing cooperation, and the purchase volume will not be small."
Hearing this, Auntie Ma looked her up and down, then turned around and pointed to a building not far away. "I live on the third floor upstairs, the first one up the stairs. She's having dinner at home now. I'll take you there now."
Unexpectedly, Aunt Ma was so enthusiastic. Qin Xiang hurriedly asked, "Then your stall..."
Aunt Ma packed up her things without caring and said, "It's okay. I don't rely on this to make money. Let's go. I won't be setting up the stall today."
Having said that, he put the things away neatly and safely.
Qin Xiang looked at them helplessly and winked at Zhao Ping, who hurried off to buy some gifts. Before Qin Xiang and Zhao Ping had walked twenty meters, Zhao Ping had already come over with two bags of things.
Aunt Ma took a quick glance and didn't think it was strange, so she took them home directly.
This is the family building of the garment factory. It was only then that Qin Xiang realized that her family was all in the garment industry. Aunt Ma said, "I also worked in the garment factory before I retired, but my daughter took over my old man's job, and it has been more than ten years."
From the conversation, Qin Xiang learned that Aunt Ma's husband died in his early years while trying to save the factory's equipment, so her daughter Yao Yufeng took over and rose from a small female worker to workshop director. Now she is the deputy director in charge of production.
Ma's tone was full of pride. "She's really capable. So many state-owned factories are going downhill, but she was able to lead everyone on a different path. Don't underestimate her because she's just a deputy. In fact, in many matters, the main ones have to listen to her."
Qin Xiang nodded and said seriously, "That's really not easy for Sister Yao."
But who knew that Sister Ma couldn't help but sigh, "She is really strong, but she is almost forty and still hasn't found a partner. I will never be able to close my eyes even if I die."
Qin Xiang was a little surprised and didn't know how to comfort Aunt Ma. She didn't expect that this female factory director was a real strong woman.
Fortunately, Aunt Ma didn't need her comfort. When she got upstairs, she said, "We'll be there soon."
Auntie Ma opened the door and went in. Yao Yufeng seemed to be about to go out. Auntie Ma frowned and said, "Where are you going so late at night? I brought two children here and want to discuss cooperation with you. Don't rush out."
Yao Yufeng glanced at Qin Xiang and the other two and said, "I have to go to the factory to check it out. I'm worried."
"Why are you worried? He's not a child. The workshop director is watching him. There's no need for you to go."
Yao Yufeng was helpless and glanced at Qin Xiang and the others, "Come in."
Then he put the bag back.
The house the Yao family lived in had three bedrooms and a living room, which was definitely not small in those days, but it seemed that there was no one else in the house except the mother and the two of them.
Yao Yufeng said, "Let's go to the study and talk."
Qin Xiang nodded, "Thank you, Deputy Director Yao."
The three of them went in, and Yao Yufeng said, "Sit down."
Qin Xiang also knew that the other person was busy, so she spoke directly, "I'm sorry to bother you at night. I came here to discuss cooperation with Director Yao."
Yao Yufeng said calmly, "I don't manage sales. I'm the deputy director in charge of production."
Qin Xiang nodded. "That's right, but no leader in the factory would turn away a customer, right?"
Yao Yufeng tacitly agreed to this matter. "Then you tell me first. If it's feasible, I can introduce you to the deputy director in charge of sales tomorrow."
Qin Xiang's goal was simple: to stock up. She now had ten branches. While things were on track and she had a wide selection of clothing, there were simply too many styles. While she had a fair amount of clothing manufactured in Ningcheng, the variety wasn't enough. A store with only a dozen or so styles wouldn't be enough to choose from. Only with more styles could customers have more options.
The last time Qin Xiang came, she hadn't liked the imitation clothes the factory was selling. But this time, the styles were fresh and new. The factory must have made some adjustments, changed its development plans. Since they were already a major player in Hangzhou, Qin Xiang thought it would be a good thing to bring some back.
Qin Xiang wrote down the item numbers of the styles she had bought and showed them to her. "I went shopping today and I plan to buy some of these styles."
Yao Yufeng asked, "How much? If the quantity is small, you can go directly to the store at the factory gate."
Qin Xiang laughed, "I now have ten storefronts and three shops in the wholesale market."
As soon as she said this, Yao Yufeng showed a look of surprise, as if she couldn't believe that this young girl in front of her had such ability.
To be honest, when her mother came home last night, she'd been talking to her about this girl, saying she looked different and even had bodyguards. At the time, she'd suggested she might be a potential partner and her mother was mistaken. But her mother insisted, saying she was a good judge of character and definitely wasn't wrong.
Unexpectedly, the person was brought back the next day, and he was really capable.
Ten small shops would bring in a lot of money. Add to that the shops in the wholesale market, and if you manage them carefully, you can make a lot of money.
Even though she is the deputy factory director, her salary is there, and she is not necessarily richer than others.
Yao Yufeng looked much more serious. "Okay, come to the factory tomorrow morning and find me directly. I'll have someone take you in."
Qin Xiang was delighted to hear this and immediately agreed, "Okay, thank you, Deputy Director Yao."
Yao Yufeng showed a faint smile on her face, "If we can reach a cooperation, it will be beneficial to both you and me."
Qin Xiang understood without further ado.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qin Xiang hurriedly got up and said goodbye.
Seeing them about to leave, Ma Da Niang tried to persuade them to stay, "Why don't you eat first?"
Qin Xiang shook her head. "No, let's go out and look around. We came here to find a suitable storefront. We plan to open a branch here. If you have a suitable one, please recommend it to me."
This was said to Ma Da Niang and also to Yao Yufeng. The meaning was very clear, telling them that she was going to open a new store and had no shortage of money, so she would definitely have plenty of stock in the future.
Aunt Ma was surprised and gave a thumbs up. "You are really capable. Okay, tell me your request and I will ask for you."
So Qin Xiang told her what she wanted, and Aunt Ma agreed immediately.
When I came out of Yao's house, night fell. The lights in the night market not far away were already on, and the night market became lively again.
The same goes for the surrounding shops, most of them are still open for business.
Suddenly Qin Xiang had an idea, and then took Zhao Ping to look around.
Does the shop without lights on mean it is empty?
It’s a pity that the two of them couldn’t find a suitable shop after searching for a long time.
When we returned to the hotel, Tan Xiu and the others had already returned. "We didn't find a suitable location today."
Qin Xiang was not surprised. "It doesn't matter. I'll continue looking tomorrow. I'm going to the Second Garment Factory tomorrow. Xiaocao will come with me."
Liu Xiaocao immediately sat up straight and said, "Okay, boss."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. You're considered an old employee and will have to lead people in the future. You can't be nervous. I asked you to go because I plan to cooperate with the Second Garment Factory to purchase goods. You will be staying in Hangzhou in the future, so it will be more convenient to deal with us there. I will take you with me tomorrow to introduce you to the people and learn more about them."
Liu Xiaocao nodded, "Okay."
Liu Xiaocao was only seventeen after the Lunar New Year, and because she was young, she was afraid of being looked down upon, so she dressed a little more maturely. However, she was very serious about her work.
Qin Xiang didn't say much, telling them to go to bed early. She washed up and lay on her bed, still thinking about the cooperation issue. She took out a pen and paper and calculated the approximate quantity of orders from the ten stores and three front shops.
The next morning, Qin Xiang got up early, but Zhao Ping got up even earlier. They went out to a snack stall to have breakfast, and then split up into two groups. Qin Xiang took Zhao Ping and Liu Xiaocao to the Second Garment Factory, while Tan Xiu led people to continue looking for a storefront.
It was only nine o'clock when we arrived at the garment factory, and there were already many self-employed people purchasing goods at the store entrance.
Qin Xiang didn't rush into the factory, but instead went to the salesroom. There were a lot of clothing samples hanging inside, each with a product number pinned on it, making it easy for individual shoppers to choose. After choosing, they just had to write the product number on the order form.
She looked around and found that there were quite a few styles of clothes. The styles had also been greatly improved, and it was obvious that they were original this time.
She took out a pen and paper and wrote down the styles and numbers of the items she liked, fearing that she would forget again. She then wrote down the quantity she planned to order.
After looking around, Qin Xiang was very satisfied and went straight to the door to explain his purpose.
Soon, a young girl wearing glasses came out and led them inside. "Our Deputy Director Yao just left for a meeting. Please wait a moment."
Qin Xiang nodded, "It's okay, we can wait a while."
It was almost ten o'clock when Yao Yufeng hurried over, accompanied by a factory leader in his forties. Yao Yufeng introduced him and found out that it was the deputy factory director in charge of sales. Yao Yufeng said, "I've brought the person here. You can discuss the details of the cooperation. I won't interfere."
To be able to reach the position of deputy factory director, Yao Yufeng must have her own strengths, and she would not interfere in matters that she should not be involved in. By bringing people here, the deputy factory director would know that he had a good relationship with her, and that was enough.
After Yao Yufeng left, Deputy Director Cui smiled and said, "I didn't expect the boss that Deputy Director Yao introduced to me is so young."
It can be seen that Deputy Director Cui looks down on Qin Xiang. He thinks that a small individual business owner from the north can't import much goods that are worthy of Yao Yufeng bringing them here personally. Maybe he is a relative of the Yao family.
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Deputy Director Cui, you are too polite."
Qin Xiang didn't like to be polite and preferred to be straightforward. She took out something she had written in the sales department and handed it to Deputy Factory Manager Cui. "This is the quantity of the first batch I plan to purchase. However, as you know, it's already July, and the autumn clothes should be in stock by early September at the latest. So I'd like to know more about the autumn clothes. I noticed that the sales department doesn't have a lot of them."
Deputy Director Cui took a casual look, his eyes widened, and he put away his contempt. "Can you really ask for so much?"
Qin Xiang nodded. "Yes, after all, in addition to my ten storefronts, I also have three shops in the wholesale market. Thanks to policy support, business is pretty good, and the daily shipment volume is also large. So the total amount of goods required is not small."
Quite a lot indeed.
Deputy Director Cui complained in his heart that he could become a major customer of the factory.
Deputy Director Cui had a knack for selling the factory's products throughout the streets and alleys of Hangzhou, so he said seriously, "Then let's talk about pricing."
When it comes to clothing, first look at the style and quality. Only when these two are in place will you consider the price.
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "I wonder what autumn clothes are available?"
Deputy Director Cui stood up and soon brought a booklet to Qin Xiang. Qin Xiang opened it and saw that it was full of design drafts. The styles were all good, mostly autumn and winter styles.
Deputy Director Cui said, "These are already being prototyped and will be put into production soon."
After reading it, Qin Xiang said seriously, "Deputy Director Cui, it seems that the order quantity needs to be changed."
"no problem."
Qin Xiang had already seen many styles in the store, so she could just fill in the quantity. As for the autumn styles, they hadn't been produced yet, and since autumn was still a while away, the quantity was currently low.
Even so, the quantity she ordered was quite a lot.
"This is the first batch, and we'll need to keep replenishing it later. We still need to discuss the price and transportation issues."
There are still fewer types of clothing fabrics at this time. Except for autumn and winter clothes, the prices of summer clothes made of the same fabrics are not much different. Qin Xiang is going to go wholesale, so the prices will definitely be pushed down.
But bargaining is also a science. Qin Xiang directly lowered the price to the lowest level, and then slowly raised it with Deputy Director Cui, and finally set a price at a suitable level.
Once one style is decided, the others will be similar.
The price was quickly agreed upon.
Qin Xiang's mouth was dry after speaking, so she took a sip of tea. Deputy Director Cui said, "Boss Qin is really eloquent and really knows a lot about clothing."
No wonder he has such a big business at such a young age. He really understands clothing, from fabrics to design, and then to production and distribution. There is nothing he doesn't know.
Qin Xiang smiled and said modestly, "I understand it quite well. If you make clothes, you should understand it thoroughly before you start."
Liu Xiaocao, who was standing by, said at the right moment, "Our boss studied design at National Tsing Hua University."
Upon hearing this, Deputy Factory Director Cui was surprised, "I didn't expect Boss Qin to be a college student."
After the resumption of the college entrance examination, the status of college students rose rapidly. It was a great achievement for a family to have a college student. Even for major state-owned factories, having a college student was a matter of great prestige.
After graduating from university, the state will assign you a job and you can become a cadre.
But Deputy Director Cui has never seen a college student become his own boss.
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Because I wanted to make clothes and wanted to learn more, I took the college entrance examination."
Deputy Factory Director Cui laughed and said, "Boss Qin is really too modest."
Although the price had been agreed upon, Deputy Director Cui had a much better impression of Qin Xiang. After all, she was a graduate of Tsinghua University.
After the matter was discussed, someone from Deputy Director Cui's side naturally came to work on the contract.
After the cooperation agreement was signed, Qin Xiang called He Liping using the factory's phone, gave her her account number, and asked her to transfer the money.
Once the payment arrives, we can promptly deliver the goods to the railway freight station. There are direct trains from Hangzhou to the capital, making train freight more convenient than truck freight.
Of course, while waiting for the payment, Qin Xiang was not idle. Yao Yufeng took her to visit the factory workshop and listened to the people in the factory talk about the workshop.
This was a rare learning opportunity, and Qin Xiang almost took out a pen and notebook to write it down.
Yao Yufeng probably never dreamed that Qin Xiang was learning from her.
Two days later, the storefront had not been found yet, but the payment for the goods had arrived. A large batch of goods from the Second Garment Factory was shipped from the factory to the freight station. Qin Xiang finally felt relieved when she saw the goods being loaded onto the train.
And good news came one after another.
Tan Xiu hadn't found a suitable storefront, but then she got some news from Aunt Ma.
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