Chapter 25
After the reform and opening-up policy was launched, the central government issued various policies to support local development. To keep pace with the reform and opening-up policy and generate revenue for the county, the Qingshui County government eventually formed a transportation team by combining with a former transportation company and a supply and marketing company. This team took on long-distance haulage and earned money. Over the years, business flourished, and factories from surrounding counties and cities began to use the team for their cargo needs. The increased profitability boosted the morale of the factory's drivers.
Truck drivers are a highly sought-after profession these days, but driving long distances is not only arduous but also dangerous. Since there are only a few legitimate positions available, they hire non-staff members like Qin Yang to work alongside regular employees, not only to allow for alternate driving but also to increase road safety.
After Qin Yang learned to drive, he was able to join the fleet because he knew a few tricks. He was arranged to work with Aunt Hu's son Sun Tieshu. This cooperation lasted for several years, and they traveled between Qingshui County and major cities in the north and south all year round.
The truck they often drive is also quite old. The front is the driver's cab and the passenger seat, and the back is a connected seat. Usually, when two people take turns driving, the other can sleep and rest in the back.
Because Qin Xiang was there, they had to make other arrangements for the break. It would have been fine if it was just her third brother, but Qin Xiang didn't want to let Sun Tieshu suffer, so she bought him a pack of cigarettes.
Seeing her being so polite, Sun Tieshu felt embarrassed and said to Qin Yang, "Qin Yang, look at your sister. She's so polite. She's not someone else. Why is she so polite?"
Qin Yang stuffed the cigarette into his arms and smiled, a rare moment. "Just take it if she gives it to you, Brother Tieshu. This girl might need to trouble you again in the future, so consider it as a bribe in advance."
Sun Tieshu was also a straightforward person. He didn't refuse after hearing this. He was also happy that the brother and sister were open and honest. No wonder his mother said that the brother and sister were worthy of getting along. He smiled and said, "Okay, your sister is my sister. Just tell me if you have any problems in the future."
In fact, before leaving, his mother had told him to take care of others while he was away. His mother was also embarrassed about renting a house.
Sun Tieshu got in the car and said to Qin Xiang, "You can just rest in the back when you have nothing to do. We are heading directly to Hangzhou this time. We will be there in two or three days if we travel day and night."
Qin Xiang didn't have much idea about the road these days. She just believed whatever others said. With her third brother around, she really didn't worry about other problems.
It’s a pity that I can’t go to Guangzhou, but if I think about it carefully, it would be nice to go to Hangzhou to see the situation.
Generally speaking, the economic development in the south has been better than that in the north after the reform and opening up. Hangzhou's economic development has also been very rapid in the past two years. Not to mention the clothing and knitting industries, even the nearby Urumqi is developing a small commodity economy in full swing.
Qin Xiangdong only had 1,100 yuan in capital to scrape together, so he probably wouldn't be able to wholesale much if he really went to Guangzhou. It would be a good idea to start slowly by importing some small items like socks and underwear from Hangzhou.
With this thought in mind, Qin Xiang felt much more at ease. Sitting in the back, she would either plan her own trip and what to do after returning, or listen to her third brother and Sun Tieshu chatting about all sorts of things.
Qin Xiang was fascinated by their talk about the changes across the country, and would occasionally ask a few questions.
Sun Tieshu sighed, "I heard from your third brother that you wanted to set up a stall. You are really brave."
Qin Xiang laughed when she heard that. "I have no choice. I'm not a self-employed person and I don't have a job. I can't just stay at home and eat and drink for free."
"That's right." Sun Tieshu, who is almost thirty years old this year and very talkative, talked almost non-stop the whole way with Qin Yang. "Now that society has developed well, as long as you work hard, you can have enough to eat. Many self-employed people have made a lot of money and become millionaires. On the contrary, those who work in factories with fixed salaries have to live a tight life every day."
That being said, it's definitely not possible for him to give up his job as a truck driver to become a self-employed person. Putting aside the fact that truck drivers earn nearly 100 yuan a month and have other benefits, even in terms of respectability, there's no comparison between self-employed people and truck drivers.
So Qin Xiang just listened to whatever Sun Tieshu said, but didn't take it seriously.
Starting from Shandong Province and heading south, the roads at that time were not like those in later generations where you could take the highway all the way. Some places were still dirt roads, full of potholes and extremely difficult to walk on. Fortunately, Qin Xiang did not get carsick, otherwise she would have been exhausted all the way to Hangzhou.
But walking at night is also full of danger, so both of them stayed awake throughout the night and took turns sleeping during the day.
So Qin Xiang sat in the passenger seat during the day, and could sleep soundly in the back seat at night.
After a safe journey all day, Sun Tieshu even said to Qin Yang, "Maybe God knew that there was a beautiful girl in our car and kept us safe all the way."
However, just as he finished speaking, a flashlight beam shone in the darkness and hit Qin Yang's eyes directly. Qin Yang subconsciously raised his hand to block the light, but he did not brake to stop the car as Qin Xiang had expected. Instead, he turned the steering wheel and the car rushed forward.
The car sped out more than ten meters, and Qin Xiang vaguely saw through the rearview mirror a group of ten or so people chasing the car. Looking closely, it seemed that each of them was holding a stick.
The incident was so sudden that Qin Xiang couldn't recover for a long time, her heart pounding like thunder. If she couldn't guess what these people were doing, she would be a fool.
Sun Tieshu cursed, "You're really asking for your life! The country is cracking down on this, yet you still dare to block the road so blatantly."
Qin Yang, who was driving, pursed his lips and said nothing until he could no longer see the group of people. Then Qin Yang turned around and looked at Qin Xiang, "Are you okay?"
Qin Xiang shook her head blankly, "It's okay."
She looked at her third brother's calm expression with a complicated look.
In her previous life, she knew long-distance bus drivers would be subject to roadblocks, but she hadn't imagined it would be this dangerous. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if her third brother hadn't reacted quickly enough and stopped the car. How much of the cargo would have been left? Even if she called the police, the roads weren't covered in cameras like in later generations. How could the cargo be recovered after the criminals fled?
If you resist, what will happen?
And she is in the car. What if the other party uses her to threaten the third brother?
At that moment, Qin Xiang suddenly regretted following the train to save herself some trouble. While there was a chance of encountering bad guys on the train, as long as she was vigilant, she would be fine. At worst, there were always train police to call for help. But in this desolate wilderness, if she ran into danger, she would be a burden to her third brother.
After another two hours of driving, Qin Yang and Sun Tieshu switched driving positions. Sun Tieshu said, "You should take a nap. I think the second half of the journey will be fine. It's just our bad luck. I would not have taken this road if I had known."
"Yeah, call me when you're tired." Qin Yang agreed but didn't take a nap as Sun Tieshu asked. He turned around to look at Qin Xiang who was looking out the window and said, "Are you scared?"
Qin Xiang turned her head to look at him and nodded honestly, "I'm scared."
Qin Yang laughed, "Then please don't do it anymore, okay?"
"Not good." Qin Xiang said seriously, "Third brother, I'll take the train back by myself when I come back."
Qin Yang was stunned for a moment, then instantly understood what his sister was thinking. He thought for a moment and said, "You won't necessarily encounter danger on the road. The country is cracking down on it now, so this kind of thing has become much less common. Even if you do encounter it, don't be afraid, just like tonight, as long as you react quickly you can always escape. Those people value their lives the most and won't get too close. Third Brother has seen a lot of things like this, and it won't be any more dangerous just because you're in the car."
But hearing is one thing, and experiencing it in reality is another. She was afraid that her existence would bring different dangers to her third brother.
Qin Xiang didn't argue, nodded and said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."
She closed her eyes, and the group of people she had just seen flashed before her eyes. Although she couldn't see them clearly, she could imagine them. This was something she had never experienced in her previous life, and it was really impressive.
As dawn approached, Qin Xiang fell into a drowsy sleep. When they passed a town, Qin Yang woke her up and said, "Xiangxiang, get off the car, stretch your legs, and have breakfast."
Qin Xiang opened her eyes and found that the car had already arrived in a town. The town was quite lively, with a truck parked on the road and a breakfast shop next to it. They had steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and even southern rice noodles.
"Come back to your senses and have breakfast."
When Qin Xiang got off the car, Qin Yang had already fetched some water for her to wash up briefly, and then bought a bowl of rice noodles. "It's so cold, have something warm on this cold day."
The brother and sister and Sun Tieshu sat there and ate breakfast, exercised for a while, and then prepared to get in the car and leave.
At this moment, a young man suddenly came over, looking slyly. He glanced at Sun Tieshu and then at Qin Yang, and finally came up to Qin Xiang and asked, "Sister, are you going south? Can you give me a ride?"
The young man looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was handsome, but he looked immature. His clothes were washed a little white. He looked at her expectantly. Qin Xiang shook her head. "I don't have the final say. I'm just a freeloader."
The young man felt a little regretful, but was afraid of Qin Yang, so he ran to get close to Sun Tieshu.
Qin Yang came over, looked at Qin Xiang and said, "Don't look for a partner this young in the future."
Qin Xiang was amused. "Why?"
"It doesn't look strong until the hair is fully grown."
Qin Xiang couldn't stop laughing.
According to her age before rebirth, she was already over 40 years old. Not to mention this 17 or 18-year-old boy, even her 24-year-old third brother was still young in her eyes. It was just that because she was reborn into her youth, she subconsciously put herself in the position of a younger sister in front of her third brother. If you really calculate it, her mental age is more than ten years older than her third brother.
But he couldn't say this, he could only laugh alone. Qin Yang felt strange when he saw her looking at him with a kind look, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No." Qin Xiang couldn't help laughing, lowered his head to eat, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
The young man over there seemed to have hit a wall with Sun Tieshu, and left with his head down.
Qin Xiang sighed, "It's great to be young."
Hearing this, Qin Yang raised his eyebrows and laughed, "How old are you? Aren't you only twenty?"
Qin Xiang was stunned.
Yes, twenty years old.
In later generations, people are still in college at the age of 20, in the prime of their youth and beauty, and may be enjoying their college life, but she has already been married.
After breakfast, we each found a place to go to the toilet, then got in the car and continued on our journey.
The closer they got to Hangzhou, the more excited Qin Xiang became. Fortunately, there was no danger on the road ahead, and they finally arrived in Hangzhou safely.
As soon as Qin Xiang entered Hangzhou, he noticed how different this place was. Not only Qingshui County, but even the city itself couldn't compare. Perhaps it was because the Lantern Festival was approaching, the streets were packed. People here also dressed more openly than in the north, with brighter colors.
Qin Xiang glanced at the cotton-padded jacket and coat she was wearing. They were made by her mother from scraps of cloth and specially commissioned by a tailor in the county when she and Wang Junsheng got married. Back then, many young women and young wives envied Qin Xiang for having such beautiful clothes. She hadn't thought much of it before, but now, looking at what others were wearing and then at her own, she felt so inferior and rather tacky.
Qin Yang saw her eyes fall on the clothes of the people outside, so he turned his head and asked, "If you like it, Third Brother will buy it for you."
Qin Xiang came back to his senses, "Third brother, you might have forgotten why I came here. I'm here to buy some goods, so I definitely want to see what's popular here."
"Okay." Qin Yang agreed, but he had already made up his mind to buy beautiful clothes for his sister.
Sun Tieshu and Qin Yang had been to Hangzhou more than once, so they didn't have much feeling about it, but Qin Xiang had only been to Hangzhou in the later life in his previous life, and had never been there in the 1980s.
If you think about it, in her previous life, she didn't follow Wang Junsheng until he graduated from university and arranged a job in the provincial capital. After arriving there, she was unemployed and could only stay at home as a housewife. It wasn't until the late 1980s, when Wang Junsheng's work life was not going well, that she gritted her teeth and went out to work to support the family. At that time, she only had a high school diploma, which was enough in the 1980s, but due to her limited horizons, she couldn't find many suitable jobs. She had done all kinds of hard work.
It wasn't until the early 1990s, when Wang Junsheng's business ventures took off and he refused to let her go out to work, that she quit those jobs and started working as a handyman in Wang Junsheng's company, helping him with some chores. But she spent most of those years in the provincial capital, with few opportunities to leave. It wasn't until the company grew larger that it gradually expanded nationwide. By then, it was the late 1990s, and development in various regions was no longer what it had been a decade or so before.
Looking back now, Qin Xiang only felt disgusted. All her efforts were really wasted. She couldn't help but wonder, if she had left Wang Junsheng behind in her previous life and gone out on her own, would her life have been different?
While he was distracted, the car entered Hangzhou City. Sun Tieshu began to explain the arrangements for the next few days, "We will go directly to the supply and marketing company here to deliver the goods. We will stay here for about two or three days to have a good rest. Sister Qin Xiang, if you want to buy anything, you should do it during these few days. We can't delay our return trip too late."
Qin Xiang nodded. "Okay, I understand. Thank you, Brother Tieshu. If I really can't finish it, you and my third brother can leave first. I can take the train back then."
Qin Yang disagreed. "It's too dangerous for you to go alone. Get as much as you can in the next two days. If you can't get any, you have to come back with me."
Qin Xiang was helpless. "But I'm busy dealing in goods just to make money. If I can't get the right thing, then all my work will be in vain."
Qin Yang: "Then whatever you paid, Third Brother will compensate you when the time comes."
"That's not good. Can I expect you to cover my losses all the time while I'm doing business? That's impossible." Qin Xiang rejected the proposal and could only agree to finish the job as much as possible. After all, the rent is one day's stay, and it will be a cost if you stay longer.
The car slowed down after entering the city, and it was already noon when it arrived at the supply and marketing company. The car drove into the warehouse, Sun Tieshu handed over the work to the people there, and prepared to leave.
Qin Yang said, "Let's find a guesthouse nearby. I'll go with you this afternoon to see what goods you want to buy."
Qin Xiang nodded. They were more familiar with this place than she was, so it was right to follow the third brother.
There are guesthouses and some private hotels nearby, but I stayed in a guesthouse out of habit. After all, it is public property and is much safer than a small hotel.
At that time, identity cards were not yet popular, and a letter of introduction was still required to stay in a guesthouse. They booked two rooms and stayed there. Qin Xiang lay on the bed, feeling exhausted all over.
I got up and washed my face. Qin Yang came over and knocked on the door. "Come on, let's go eat first. I'll take you out for a walk in the afternoon."
Qin Xiang smiled, "Third brother, you guys are tired from the journey, I can go out for a walk by myself this afternoon."
Qin Yang glanced at her without saying anything. Qin Xiang no longer mentioned going back alone. It was obvious that her third brother was not worried about her.
Compared with Qingshui County, where there are relatively few self-employed individuals, there are many more of them here. The streets are lined with self-employed individuals’ storefronts, some selling food and drinks, some selling clothes, and there is even an entire street selling food and drinks.
Qin Xiang was not picky about food and followed them to eat her fill. Sun Tieshu wanted to go back to sleep, but Qin Yang was determined to follow Qin Xiang.
Qin Xiang didn't walk far. He found a newsstand and bought a map of Hangzhou. After taking a look at it, he felt helpless. There were some knitting factories and garment factories in Hangzhou now, but it would take a few more years for a large-scale wholesale market to develop.
This reminded her of the nearby Wu County. Small commodities have developed now, but they are still in their early stages.
The development of various industries is not the same, and reselling goods is not an easy task. If she can't find a good and cheap source of goods in Hangzhou, then she really has to go to Wuxian.
Seeing her frown, Qin Yang couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter? Tell me about any difficulties you have."
Qin Xiang shook her head, "It's okay, let's go over here and take a look."
She pointed to a location on the map where a knitting factory was marked, and there were also some clothing factory marks in the surrounding area.
Qin Yang has been here several times, but unfortunately, the goods in their fleet are mostly food and daily necessities, and there are relatively few items such as clothes.
After looking at the distance, they saw that there was still enough time and there were many buses here, so the brother and sister decided to take one.
When we got there, there was indeed a large knitting factory and a salesroom dedicated to receiving customers. However, after we went in and explained our purpose and the quantity of goods we wanted, they ignored us.
However, an older woman who was about to go out said with a Jiangsu accent, "She doesn't want to bother with you because she sees that you don't look like a rich person who can't afford to buy big stuff."
Qin Xiang was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. So that's how it is.
I knew I had too little money, but I never expected to be despised like this.
The older sister was waiting to pick up the goods, so Qin Xiang chatted with her for a while.
Qin Xiang learned that this elder sister came from Jiangsu Province. Because it was close and convenient to travel back and forth, she often came here. Qin Xiang said sincerely, "Sister Liu, it's getting late now. How about I treat you to dinner tonight and make friends?"
Liu Minhua was taken aback for a moment, then realized that the girl wanted to ask her something. However, the other party was not from Jiangsu Province, but from the north, so there was no conflict with her. She thought about it, but still shook her head. "I know what you mean. This knitting factory is considered large in Hangzhou. There are some smaller knitting factories nearby. If you don't have much money, you can try those small factories. Here..."
She pointed and said, "If you don't have three to five thousand yuan, no one will bother you. But the small factories over there are different. They even have counters next to the stores. You can go there and take a look."
Qin Xiang was very grateful for the information and still wanted to treat Liu Minhua to a meal. Liu Minhua felt that the other party was sincere and agreed after some hesitation, "Okay, let's eat at the Chengping Hotel later. I'm tired after a few days and don't want to go far."
Qin Xiang looked at the map and knew that it was not far from where she lived, so she agreed immediately.
Liu Minhua was called to pick up the goods. Qin Xiang did not stay here and immediately went to find a small factory nearby with Qin Yang.
There are indeed quite a few factories nearby, some producing knitwear and others making clothing, but each one is different. Not to mention anything else, the styles of the items are all very different.
The knitting factory had a rather arrogant attitude, but it had reason to be. Their socks were incredibly diverse and fresh, and even their underwear had patterns and colors not found in other factories. The socks produced by this small factory here were limited in variety, with outdated styles and few new patterns. After comparing them, it was hard to choose such a small factory again.
Qin Xiang and Qin Yang visited several small factories and faced the same problem.
Thinking about the development of state-owned factories in the coming years, Qin Xiang knew these small factories wouldn't last long. Failure to keep up with the times meant they had trouble selling their products. Without sales, they had no funds to upgrade equipment and develop new products. It was a vicious cycle. These small factories would soon be eliminated from the market.
But elimination is a matter of the future. Even if the other party is not doing well now, it is still a big tree that she cannot afford to offend or even want to climb.
While chatting with the sales staff at the store, Qin Xiang discovered that they still retained the arrogance typical of state-owned enterprise employees. On the one hand, they hoped that more individual business owners would come to wholesale, but on the other hand, they looked down on them, believing that they worked so hard and still had to beg the factory workers. After all, whether they sold their products or not, the government would cover their losses, and their jobs were guaranteed.
Qin Xiang looked around and saw it was getting late, so she didn't say which store she wanted to order from. If she had just ordered socks, 1,100 yuan would have been a lot, but Qin Xiang had just arrived, and she wanted to take advantage of the time she had Liu Minhua dinner tonight to learn more about the situation here before making any plans.
Qin Yang didn't understand this, so he asked, "Aren't you buying anything today?"
"Wait a minute, I'll ask Sister Liu when we have dinner tonight." Qin Xiang said as she prepared to go to the appointment with Qin Yang.
Qin Yang admired Qin Xiang's courage very much. He was not afraid of Qin Xiang traveling around the country, but he was a little scared when he was asked to go to these factories and deal with people.
What is even more rare is that Qin Xiang can explain these things very clearly. When Qin Xiang asked the salespersons in those knitting factories, the other party could not even explain some of the questions clearly, but Qin Xiang could know them.
There are actually quite a few types of things like socks and underwear, with all kinds of fabrics and styles. To Qin Yang, these don't seem to make much difference, but his sister can tell which one is better from the same styles produced by different factories.
Isn't it just the price that's different?
Qin Yang followed obediently, and suddenly felt that Qin Xiang might be right to take this path.
They went to the Chengping Hotel, but Liu Minhua hadn't come out yet. The brother and sister were looking at Hangzhou from the street. Qin Xiang saw an old lady selling tea eggs nearby, so she bought two and started chatting with her while eating them.
The old lady asked, "Are you from out of town?"
Qin Xiang smiled and nodded, "Yes, now that the national policy is good, I came here to see if there are any suitable goods to bring back and make some money."
"Well, there have been quite a few people reselling goods in Hangzhou over the past two years." The old lady nodded and said proudly, "Although Hangzhou can't compare to Guangzhou's development thanks to its port, it's still pretty good. The products produced by some large factories are no worse than those over there, and the styles are also very new. Many companies in the surrounding area come here to purchase."
Qin Xiang felt a sense of wonder when she heard this from an old lady selling tea eggs. She smiled and said, "Auntie, you really know a lot. Do you know which garment factory sells the best-selling clothes?"
"Of course," the old lady said with a bit of pride. "Don't look at me as a tea egg seller, but my daughter is amazing. She's the workshop director of the Hangzhou No. 2 Garment Factory. How can a mother like me not know what's going on in Hangzhou? The clothes of our Hangzhou No. 2 Garment Factory are the best-selling ones because of their good styles."
This sentence made Qin Xiang's heart excited. "Your daughter is the workshop director of the garment factory."
"Of course." Seeing her eyes shining, the old lady frowned, "I can't give you a backdoor. That's not okay."
Qin Xiang laughed and said, "We are all law-abiding citizens. How can we possibly use the backdoor? It's impossible. We have to rely on our own abilities and work hard."
This made the old lady very satisfied, and she agreed, "Young people should really have this kind of thinking. It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Look at me, at my age, I'm still selling tea eggs."
As she was talking, Qin Xiang saw Liu Minhua coming over and said to the old lady, "Auntie, what's your name? Although there's an age difference between you and me, we really get along well. I'll come back to buy tea eggs from you later."
Seeing that she didn't ask about her daughter anymore, the old lady said, "My last name is Ma. Come over and chat when you have time."
As they were talking, a woman in her thirties hurried over. "Mom, why are you setting up the place again? Didn't we agree to come out when the weather warms up?"
Qin Xiang glanced at the other person, then looked at Aunt Ma, and said, "Auntie, I'll be leaving first."
Given her current abilities, she wasn't up to par with the others. Even if Auntie Ma helped her, she didn't have the funds to go to the factory and wholesale goods. Rather than appearing to be someone trying to take advantage, it was better to leave early and leave a good impression. Perhaps she'd return to Hangzhou in the future, and buying tea eggs a few times would make her familiar with Auntie Ma. When she had enough funds to wholesale clothes, it wouldn't be too late to ask Auntie Ma for help, and it wouldn't be too difficult for her.
"Okay, see you later."
Ma's daughter glanced at the other person and said, "Oh, you know such a beautiful girl."
Aunt Ma rolled her eyes and put her things away. "No, she's so young and came all the way here. She bought tea eggs and chatted with an old lady like me, so we know each other, right?"
Qin Xiang walked a few steps away, turned around and smiled at Aunt Ma, then walked towards Liu Minhua.
Liu Minhua said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting. I just finished checking in my luggage at the train station, and I'm already so busy now."
"We just got here too." Qin Xiang was polite yet enthusiastic, and directly invited Liu Minhua to a nearby state-owned restaurant for dinner. Liu Minhua shook her head and said, "We're all here to make a living. I know what you're thinking. Let's just find a small restaurant nearby to have a bite to eat and chat. There's no need to go through all this nonsense."
In other words, the two of them were from different places, so there wouldn't be any competition. The other person seemed to be smart, so it would be good for them to exchange and learn from each other. Otherwise, Liu Minhua wouldn't have come out for this meal. She had been self-employed for so long, so she didn't need a meal.
After hearing what Liu Minhua said, Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. She was ready to spend a few dollars to get close to the person and ask for some useful information, but she didn't expect that the other person would be so honest.
Qin Xiang immediately said, "Okay, but let's go over and eat whatever Sister Liu likes."
Liu Minhua casually pointed to a nearby restaurant. "Go in and cook two dishes. Afterwards, I want to go back and rest early. I have to continue buying supplies tomorrow."
The three of them entered the small restaurant. Qin Xiang asked Liu Minhua to order the dishes and ordered two more for herself. Then they started chatting about being self-employed.
Liu Minhua knew that this was her first time here, so she didn't hide it and told her about the situation of some factories in Hangzhou. Qin Xiang also analyzed some things from it.
Just like what I saw this afternoon, some small factories are on the verge of being eliminated because their products are not updated quickly enough. And some large factories have a high threshold for cooperation.
Liu Minhua then continued, "Among the garment factories in Hangzhou, the Second Garment Factory has the most innovative clothing styles. It's said that their director has specially assigned designers to Guangzhou to record any new designs, so the clothes they produce are the most popular with individual traders who resell goods. But at the same time, with so many shipments, the barriers to entry for such large factories are high, and the sales department is so staffed that they're reluctant to accommodate retail buyers with small orders."
Liu Minhua pointed at herself and said, "Even though I was able to get goods from the knitting factory, they didn't even bother to pay attention to me at the Second Garment Factory. I had to pool my money with a friend and use my connections to get some goods. Most of the clothes produced by that factory are for department stores in big cities."
"The Second Garment Factory." Qin Xiang felt that this was fate. Wasn't the daughter of the old lady selling tea eggs she met just now from the Second Garment Factory?
Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough money now, and the prices of new-style clothes are correspondingly high. Even if she receives the guests, she won't be able to make much money.
It was too early for Qin Xiang to consider this now. The problem at hand still needed to be solved. She had thought of many solutions on the way here, and now, after listening to Liu Minhua's analysis, she also had her own ideas. "The goods at the Hangzhou Knitting Factory I went to yesterday were indeed good, but they were indeed reluctant to receive me, so I wanted to do a small business with Sister Liu. I wonder if you are willing."
"Tell me first." Liu Minhua has been in this business for almost two years and has seen all kinds of people. Although the girl in front of him was dressed simply, she had a good temperament and gave people a good impression, so he followed her out for this meal.
Qin Xiang said, "Look, you can get the goods from the Hangzhou Knitting Factory, but I can't. But I want the goods from their factory, so can you help me get the goods from the factory, and then I will give you a commission based on the quantity, what do you think?"
This suggestion had caught Liu Minhua off guard. Self-employed individuals like her were essentially profiting from the price difference, having previously bought goods from this place at low prices and then reselling them back home to profit from the difference. Qin Xiang's suggestion, however, allowed her to make a small profit before even leaving Hangzhou. It was a fool's errand to not make money. She had to get the goods from there anyway, so taking more or less wouldn't make much difference. Qin Xiang didn't look like someone who would ask for much, so even if she paid upfront, it wouldn't be a big deal; at most, it would just mean an extra trip.
But she was curious about how Qin Xiang calculated the money.
Qin Xiang had been thinking about this the whole way, so she said, "I looked at almost all the styles in their factory at the store yesterday. What I mean is, I'll make a list and you buy them. No matter what style, I'll give you two cents for each pair. What do you think?"
Two cents a pair might not seem like much, but she had so many socks. Even if Qin Xiang was just asking for a small price, the number she wanted would still be over a thousand pairs, which would cost her twenty yuan.
But Qin Xiang was also worried that Liu Minhua would look down on the twenty yuan. It was obvious that Liu Minhua had been a self-employed person for a long time. Now that self-employed people were making money, twenty yuan might not be a big deal to him.
It was just as Qin Xiang thought. Although twenty yuan was a lot for Liu Minhua, it was not a deal he was particularly interested in.
But she inexplicably liked Qin Xiang, a person with a lot of ideas and the courage to think and act. She just helped out, maybe she would gain a friend, even if they were not from the same place, who knew that she would not need the other person in the future?
Liu Minhua hesitated for a moment, and finally agreed, "Okay, if you trust me, leave it to me."
Qin Xiang was delighted when she heard this and quickly invited Liu Minhua to dinner. She then took out a pen and paper and wrote down the style, item number and quantity she wanted.
This knitting factory in Hangzhou not only produces socks, but also underwear. Qin Xiang bought some of all, regardless of whether they were for men or women, adults or children.
Liu Minhua took a quick glance and was immediately surprised. "You took a look at all these item numbers yesterday and wrote them down?"
"I've written it down." Qin Xiang checked it carefully and taught it to Liu Minhua after finding that there were no mistakes or omissions. "I've just started, and when I looked at it yesterday, I thought about writing it down so that if I needed it in the future, I could just call and place an order. But I didn't expect that no one would bother to pay attention to me. Thankfully, Sister Liu, you were kind enough to help me, otherwise my trip would have been in vain. But this time, I can only buy a small amount to try it out."
Liu Minhua often comes here to buy goods, so she naturally knows which styles are selling well. Most of the styles Qin Xiang wrote about are popular, and some are new styles from the factory, and even she herself is not sure whether to buy them.
She couldn't help but look at the person in front of her. Although Qin Xiang was doing this for the first time, he was smart, had good vision, and was brave. These were the advantages of a person.
Liu Minhua thought for a while and said, "I changed my mind."
Qin Xiang's heart trembled, thinking that she was dissatisfied with the money, but then she heard Liu Minhua say, "I will buy these goods for you for free. You still wait for me here tomorrow afternoon, and we will pay and receive the goods."
Qin Xiang was surprised to hear this. She didn't expect the other party to suddenly refuse to accept the money. Qin Xiang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly thanked her, "Thank you, Sister Liu. I will definitely treat you to a meal at the state-owned restaurant tomorrow."
Liu Minhua didn't refuse this time, "Okay."
Qin Xiang learned a lot from her dinner with Liu Minhua. She didn't have a public phone in Qingshui County yet, so she asked for Liu Minhua's number and agreed to keep in touch. She planned to have another meal with Liu Minhua tomorrow after receiving the goods, as she might need help in the future.
When they were walking back, Qin Yang asked her, "So what conclusion did you come to?"
Qin Xiang pondered for a moment and said, "Third brother, this time I plan to focus on socks and underwear. I only have so much money, so I can think about clothes later."
She can take ordinary nylon socks and pure cotton socks to the big market in the countryside to sell.
Don't think that poverty in rural areas means they have no spending power. No matter how poor, they still need food and clothing, and after the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, life has improved significantly for every household in rural areas. Even if you can't afford to buy bulky outerwear, how can you afford necessities like socks and underwear?
When going to a big market, you naturally have to sell something sturdy and durable. Those trendy stockings may not sell as well as ordinary socks.
She planned to bargain for ordinary cotton and nylon socks directly from a small knitting factory she had her eye on, and asked Liu Minhua to help her get five kinds of lace embroidered nylon socks from the Hangzhou Knitting Factory, each costing 30 cents, and she ordered 100 pairs. She also asked for a pair of red pure cotton socks with figurines on them, costing 25 cents, and she ordered 200 pairs of each for men and women. As for the new long silk stockings that the factory had newly released at a wholesale price of 2 yuan a pair, Qin Xiang thought that she would not be able to sell the stockings in this season, so she finally deducted the price.
As for underwear, women's underwear has more varieties, and I ordered a total of 300 pairs of several patterns and colors, and 100 pairs of men's underwear as well.
Just these things would cost more than 400 yuan. Adding ordinary cheap socks, the total cost would be at least 700 yuan.
Qin Xiang told Qin Yang about her plan. Qin Yang thought of the scene at the country market and asked, "Can it be sold?"
"Give it a try. Ordinary socks are cheap anyway. I compared them and the most common ones only cost 1.5 cents a pair. The cost is also low. I plan to sell more at a low profit and hold a buy-one-get-one-free promotion. I shouldn't have any trouble selling them." Qin Xiang paused. "Of course, I don't want to spend all this money on socks and underwear. Third brother, I want to go to Wu County. The small commodity market there is booming. I want to buy some small accessories, hairpins, and hair ornaments to sell while setting up a stall in the county."
Qingshui County's development is indeed not very good nowadays, but there are still many factories and naturally no shortage of rich people.
And when she went to her second brother's house, he mentioned that the county was planning to open a night market on that street to boost economic development. She already had a stall ready, so she could just tell the administration and open it. She could sell socks and underwear, and maybe even hairpins, too. It was a simple matter.
Qin Yang frowned and disapproved, "It's close, but it might take more than a day to go there and back. I'm worried about you going alone. Getting so many socks and underwear is already a lot, enough for you to sell for a while."
"Don't worry, I'll take the bus there and back. If I can't catch up with you, I can take the train back by myself. There are trains from Hangzhou to the provincial capital, and it will be convenient for me to take the bus back from the provincial capital." Qin Xiang looked at Qin Yang and said, "Third brother, I am determined to take this route. This time I can follow you out and get your protection, but you can't always take turns running here with others. What about in the future? I have to get used to fighting alone."
She wanted to persuade her third brother to join her right away, but she had taken it for granted before. Being a self-employed person was not as simple as she thought. It was different from Wang Junsheng's entrepreneurship in his previous life. When Wang Junsheng started his own business, he had worked in a state-owned factory for several years. Although his work was not satisfactory, he had learned many skills and met some people, which gave him a certain foundation when he started his business.
Reselling goods, however, was a different matter. The technical requirements weren't high enough, after all, she wasn't yet at the level of designing and running her own factory. There were more things to consider, from sourcing the goods to choosing the styles and types, how to arrange them, and even setting up the stall. Qin Xiang couldn't convince her third brother without seeing the profits, but if she was scared off by a potential danger before she even started, then there was really no need to start.
Qin Yang couldn't refute this, but he couldn't leave Qin Xiang alone.
The next morning, Qin Xiang boarded the bus to Wu County. Before getting on, Qin Xiang said to Qin Yang, "Third Brother, I'm not a child anymore. You have to trust me. Besides, the social environment has improved a lot in the past two years. It's still early, so I'll go early and come back early, and try to be back in the afternoon. Don't forget, I still have to go find Liu Minhua to pick up the goods."
It only takes an hour to get there by car from Hangzhou. When Qin Xiang got there, he saw the small commodity market that was just beginning to develop. At that time, the small commodity market was still relatively simple, and the stalls were still the most primitive cement platforms, with stalls crowded together.
Even under these circumstances, the small commodity market was bustling with activity. Not far away, a building was under construction. As far as Qin Xiang knew, it was the second-generation small commodity market that would be put into use by the end of the year.
Today's small commodity market only targets customers in surrounding cities, but in a few years, the products here will be sold nationwide and even worldwide.
Qin Xiang breathed a sigh of relief, pulled the bag into her shoulder bag, and rushed into the crowd with the luggage bag in her hand.
But she had not run two meters when a figure suddenly bumped into her from the side. Qin Xiang became alert and touched her luggage bag. It had been cut with a big hole and the cloth bag inside was gone.
Qin Xiang looked up and saw a short figure looking back at her proudly, then running quickly forward.
"Catch the thief!" Qin Xiang shouted and chased after him quickly.
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