Chapter 29
In fact, Qin Xiang knew that taking advantage of the small profits and quick turnover at the big market could only make a quick buck.
At this stage, large markets are mostly for locals to sell their own goods, such as chickens, ducks, geese, and vegetables and grains. After selling them, they buy what they need. Self-employed individuals are also targeting wealthy urban residents, not rural residents. Those with limited capital but a little extra money can at most buy needlework and thread.
After a couple of years, as more individual businesses emerged and saw the rural market, it became harder to make money at the market. To sell, prices had to be lowered. If they were too high, people used to frugality would find it hard to accept these things. For the women and girls who attended the market, clothes of similar price with novel designs and mediocre materials might not be as attractive as clothes of ordinary design and quality.
As for garment factories, have you really never thought about the rural market before?
It’s actually quite difficult.
In the past, rural residents who wanted to buy clothes had to go to either the county department store or the supply and marketing cooperatives within the commune. These purchases required money and receipts, making it extremely difficult and inconvenient. As suppliers to these businesses, garment factories were often in a position where department stores had to beg them. But once the policy changed and new styles from southern China appeared on the market, the department stores were no longer interested in their products.
The first thing they think of is not to look at what the problem is and try to find a new way to solve the problem. They just stand still and follow the old path to ask why.
Ultimately, it's because the factory is state-owned, not privately owned. If the goods were their own, wouldn't they be anxious to find a way to sell them? Even if it meant risking their reputation by setting up a stall, they would still find a way to sell them.
Of course, the most important point is that the factory has always focused on the city, on department stores and supply and marketing cooperatives. They have never thought about learning from those factories in the south to sell directly to individual businesses, let alone the purchasing power of rural people.
It doesn’t matter if others look down on it, as long as Qin Xiang does, she can use this time to make some money and accumulate capital.
Mi Hongjun was pulling the cart, and Qin Xiang was following behind. When he turned around and saw Qin Yang following, he was immediately surprised. "Third brother, you don't have to follow us. We can go by ourselves. You and Brother Sun can go back and rest."
Qin Yang glanced at Mi Hongjun, whose hair had barely grown out of him, and felt uneasy. If he were in Qingshui County, it would be fine, as it would be convenient for anything, but this was Ningcheng, a place he was unfamiliar with. He looked away and said, "It's okay. I'll rest tomorrow. I'm not tired and I'm used to it."
Qin Yang said this but had no intention of going back to rest.
Qin Xiang thought about it and decided that if he wasn't allowed to go, she might be worried, so she nodded and said, "Okay, if you're tired, come back and rest. Xiaomi and I can do that too."
Upon hearing this, Mi Hongjun, who was pulling the cart, grinned at Qin Xiang.
Qin Yang's face darkened. "Pull the cart well."
It was already past nine o'clock, which was actually a bit late. The three of them hurried all the way and finally arrived at the market place at around ten o'clock.
The big market here is held on the 2nd and 7th day of the lunar calendar. Villagers from all over the town like to come to the market to sell their extra things and buy what they need.
When they arrived at the entrance of the town, they saw a lot of people going to the market, crowded together, and it was very lively.
Qin Xiang looked at so many people and thought that they couldn't get in, so he stopped the car at the entrance and asked his third brother to help find the market manager to pay the stall fee.
Large markets like this always have management staff. Qin Yang followed the crowd in, found out where to sit, paid a fifty-cent management fee, and came back with a number plate for her. "Pay the money, and you can choose your seat. There are no more seats inside."
Qin Xiang looked around and saw people peeking in this direction, so he said, "It's not bad here either. I can see everyone coming in and out."
Qin Xiang quickly told Mi Hongjun to open six large bags filled with clothes and socks. The cart had a flat surface, so Qin Xiang spread the borrowed cardboard on top, dumped the clothes on top, and tied a large cardboard with a promotional message to the side of the cart. Then, feeling it was in the way, she took it down, remembering that compulsory education hadn't started yet and many people might not be able to read. It would be easier to shout.
Qin Xiang took out a loudspeaker, turned it on, and began to shout, "Factory clearance sale! All jackets and pants are eight yuan each, two for fifteen yuan each. No cloth coupons needed, no cloth coupons needed. Don't miss it if you're passing by. Quantities are limited, first come, first served."
After shouting this, Qin Xiang almost burst out laughing. This kind of rhetoric is very common in later generations. Whenever someone sells something, they like to use the sign of clearance. Isn't that what they shout?
Everyone is familiar with loudspeakers. When the village issues any notice, the team always uses a loudspeaker. However, this kind of hand-held loudspeaker is quite rare. When the three of them stopped here just now, someone became curious.
Hearing Qin Xiang's words, he was stunned. Eight yuan a piece, fifteen yuan for two? No ticket required?
City dwellers may have heard that some cities in the south have gradually abolished bills, but this is not the case in the north yet. People still need cloth coupons to buy clothes in department stores.
Sure enough, the onlookers saw a lot of clothes dumped onto the cart, in a variety of patterns and colors, including pants and socks. The fabrics looked really good, comparable to those found in department stores, and the workmanship of machine-made clothes was more solid and presentable than hand-sewn ones.
Qin Xiang not only shouted this, but also picked up a smaller jacket and put it on.
It was not yet the end of the first lunar month and the weather was still cold, so she was still wearing a cotton coat. Qin Xiang had a well-proportioned figure, and when she put the coat on, it still fit her well.
Plus, she's good-looking, so any outfit looks good on her. "Don't miss it if you pass by. One day only, one piece for eight dollars, two for fifteen dollars. It's a clearance sale."
Someone came over curiously to look at the coat and asked uncertainly, "Is it really eight dollars a piece?"
Qin Xiang looked at the young wife in front of him and smiled, "Of course it's fake. The prices are clearly marked and we don't cheat anyone. But we only have so many. Once they're sold out, they'll be gone. If you get them first, you can still pick and choose. But if they're gone later, you won't be able to choose."
While we were talking, many aunties and grandmas gathered around us. They may not have enough cloth coupons to buy clothes in the city. Self-employed people sell clothes in the city, and it is rare to see them selling in the countryside.
And this dress is pretty good, it looks sturdy and straight.
The young wife smiled and asked, "Then I'll take two."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "You are my first customer. I will give you a pair of red socks and wish you a smooth year."
As she spoke, she neatly folded the two pieces of clothing picked out by the young wife and handed them to her, and then took a pair of red socks from the side and handed them over.
It was only the fifteenth day of the lunar year and the Chinese New Year had just passed. The red socks made her look festive. The young wife liked them and asked, "Does any man wear these red socks?"
"Yes." Mi Hongjun reacted and hurriedly dug out a pair of men's socks with villains on them. Qin Xiang had already checked the price on the way, and now he opened his mouth and said, "These villain socks are popular in Guangzhou. They are comfortable and durable. They are 50 cents a pair. The ordinary red socks you have are 30 cents a pair. They will bring prosperity to the whole year. The whole family will look neat and tidy if they all wear them."
A pair of socks costs fifty cents, which is not cheap. It is not cheap even if you buy them in a department store, especially since these socks are red, just like the other party said, festive.
The young wife came to the market today just to buy some things. Now she saw something she liked, so she gritted her teeth and bought a pair of socks with a villain on them, ready to go back and give them to her husband.
As soon as the young wife paid the bill and left, the other onlookers finally believed that the clothes really didn't require cloth coupons.
At once, several aunties and grandmas wanted to buy it.
Qin Yang didn't know what to do, so Qin Xiang took a break from her busy schedule and said to him, "Third brother, just watch from the side and make sure no one steals anything."
Hearing this, Qin Yang immediately glanced around and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of it."
With Qin Yang here to watch over the place, Qin Xiang felt really at ease. She asked Mi Hongjun to find goods for everyone, and she collected and made changes herself, and became busy for a while.
"Hey, little girl, how much do we have to pay for three pieces?"
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Two for fifteen, three for twenty-one."
The lady who asked the question obviously knew the two women next to her. When the three of them heard that buying three pieces could save one dollar, they immediately bought three pieces together.
Qin Xiang collected the money and gave the change quickly, and then discovered a problem.
For clothes of the same style and color, older people, whether buying for themselves or for their daughters and wives, tend to buy larger sizes and look for larger sizes when rummaging through the clothes. Younger people sometimes ask Qin Xiang what size she wears and then buy smaller sizes.
This is understandable, as buying fabric for clothes at this time depends on the material. For clothes of the same price, buying looser and larger fabrics will not make you feel you are losing out.
It was the busiest time of the day at the market, and the cart was packed to the brim. Qin Xiang didn't even need to call out. Everyone loved to join in the fun, and seeing so many people gathered around them, they assumed there was something good, so they gathered together to take a look.
Qin Xiang shouted a few times from time to time, and the place was already crowded.
Find clothes, collect money, and occasionally give away some gifts.
Not only did a lot of clothes sell, but even the socks she brought sold a lot.
These are all necessities of life. Now everyone's conditions are better than before. When we see something cheap and good, we grit our teeth and buy it.
As for style, in the countryside, people don't have that much money to wear, so who would care about that? That's something city dwellers care about. In the countryside, even now, a new piece of clothing can be flaunted for days.
Qin Xiang was so busy that she couldn't even straighten her back, but she felt very happy when she saw the clothes being put on one by one.
But there are other things too.
There are actually clothing stores in this town, but the prices in these two stores are not cheap, and people are afraid of that kind of stores. They just stand at the door, hear the price, and leave without even looking at the styles, so few people go in.
At this moment, the two shop owners who usually fought each other to the death were standing not far away looking at the clothing stalls and were in a very bad mood.
A young woman in her twenties and a young man in his twenties made eye contact and then separated. The young man then walked up to the young woman and said, "Don't you have some backing and are powerful? Why don't you let them chase them away? The market doesn't happen every day. If they come again, will our business still be viable?"
The young woman was anxious at first, but when she heard this, she suddenly calmed down. She glanced at the stall and was met with a pair of sharp eyes. She was immediately startled. "We'll talk about it next time they come. You can't chase them away if you want. How can the clothes on the stall compare to the ones in my store?"
After saying that, he turned around and left. The young man, named Li Yukong, gritted his teeth and looked at the small stall that was doing a booming business. He was very envious and jealous, but he couldn't go up and chase him away.
Qin Xiang didn't know about this. She was busy collecting money and helping customers find clothes, and she was enjoying it. However, Qin Yang noticed it.
Seeing a young man secretly stuffing a piece of clothing into his bag, Qin Yang reached out and grabbed his wrist, "Put it back."
The outstretched hand instantly loosened, and he threw down his clothes and ran away.
Qin Yang didn't chase them and continued to stare at them. They didn't often come here to set up stalls, so there was no need to make trouble. The most important thing at the moment was to sell clothes.
Business was booming. Qin Xiang was in high spirits as she watched her clothes dwindle and her wallet grow fatter.
Although she had guessed that this business would be easy to do, she did not expect it to be so easy.
Even if I could make two yuan on a piece of clothing, if I sold all of them, that would be a thousand yuan. And then there were the socks, which sold quite a few too. Even if the profit was small, it was still money, which was pretty good these days.
It's just that she was too busy, so she could only sell the socks individually, otherwise she could tie three socks together and sell them cheaply.
But there is one bad thing about the fair. After two or three o'clock in the afternoon, the number of people gradually decreases, and there are fewer people around the stalls.
But the effect is also gratifying. The bag that was full when I came is now deflated. I guess there is not much left.
It wasn't until four o'clock, when there were only a few people around, that Qin Xiang said, "Pack up and go."
Mi Hongjun looked at the clothes in the bag and said, "Are we leaving now? We still have some. Or we can wait and see if there's anyone else."
Qin Xiang was already very satisfied. She said, "There are not many people at the market now. Those who are still here are selling things at stalls. There is no need to stay any longer. Let's go somewhere else to sell."
She spoke mysteriously, and Mi Hongjun was a little confused. "Where are you going?"
Qin Xiang looked up at a clothing store not far away and said, "Looking for someone to sell it to."
Mi Hongjun and Qin Yang were puzzled after hearing this. They wondered who to sell the show to now that it was over.
After saying that, Qin Xiang asked Mi Hongjun to pull the cart and go directly to the clothing store.
Qin Yang frowned. "When we were selling clothes, those two people over there kept coming out to watch. Their eyes weren't very friendly. You two are competitors. If you go over now, you're just asking for trouble."
Although he is not afraid of this, it is better to have less trouble than more, so there is no need to cause trouble.
Qin Xiang was not surprised by this. She said, "This is normal. If we opened a store here and someone suddenly came in to sell cheap clothes, we wouldn't be happy either."
"Then you still go."
Qin Yang no longer understood what his sister was doing. Seeing Qin Xiang going over, he could only follow behind vigilantly, letting Mi Hongjun pull the cart behind.
After walking for a while, they arrived at the clothing store. The owner of the clothing store, Li Yukong, had actually been keeping an eye on the movements of these people. When he saw them running towards him, his face turned dark and unhappy. They were even heading straight for the door of his store.
Qin Xiang smiled and stepped forward and said, "Boss, I was just selling clothes at the entrance of the town and I want to discuss a business with you."
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