Chapter 30
Li Yukong was still trying to think of a solution, but when he heard this, he was surprised. "You want to talk business with me?" He thought of the goods that the other party had sold at noon, and his eyes were red with envy. He watched them coldly from the side. From the time these people set up their stall to the time they closed, they had sold at least three hundred pieces of clothing. Even if they made one dollar per piece, they would have made a profit of over three hundred yuan. He didn't believe that they would just add one dollar to the price. He was indeed the owner of the clothing store, but business was not very good. The town was sparsely populated during normal times, but it was crowded during the market. Even if he worked every day for a month, he might not make as much as anyone else at the market.
Subconsciously, Li Yukong felt that the other party was making fun of him and deliberately coming here to humiliate him. He couldn't help but get angry, "Are you really going to let me buy your clothes too?"
"Yeah." Qin Xiang took out some clothes from her cart. Seeing that he seemed even angrier, she smiled and said, "Don't be so angry. Let's go inside and talk."
It was getting late, and the temperature outside had dropped. Qin Xiang didn't notice it when she was busy, but now she felt a bit chilly. If she hadn't had to, she wouldn't have wanted to set up a stall at the market; it was so cold.
Li Yukong hesitated for a moment, stared at her with a bad look, and nodded, wanting to hear what she wanted to say. "Come in."
Qin Xiang followed him in and discovered that the clothing store wasn't big, only about 15 square meters. The walls were simply painted white, but the clothes weren't even hanging on the walls. There was only one small window, and while there was a light, it wasn't very bright.
Qin Xiang was in a hurry and didn't want to stay any longer, so she said directly, "Did you see how popular I was selling clothes just now?"
Li Yukong looked at Qin Xiang with an unfriendly look when he mentioned this. "Why, you made money on our territory and you want to show off here? You really think I have no one left, right?"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yang, who had been following Qin Xiang, glared at him and said, "Speak properly."
Li Yukong was immediately deflated and felt a little humiliated.
"I think you may have misunderstood. I'm here to discuss business sincerely." Qin Xiang handed over the clothes in her hand. "My clothes are of good quality, right?"
Li Yukong glanced at it with some disdain, "What's the point of having good quality? It doesn't look that good."
They are all in the clothing business, and they can tell the quality of clothes at a glance, but he couldn't help frowning. Although this piece of clothing is not good-looking, it sells really well.
Qin Xiang was not annoyed, because what the other person said was the truth. If the style of the clothes was also nice, the clothing factory would have sold them long ago and she would have no business doing it.
She went on to say, "My clothes are not good-looking, that's because you have seen nice clothes, but this is a big rural market, and the people who come to the market are all rural aunts, young wives and young girls. Although everyone's life is better than before, they rarely go to the city, and their acceptance of new styles of clothes is not so strong. We know that jeans are popular in the south, but do they know? Relatively speaking, they buy clothes not only for daily wear, but also for work. They are reluctant to buy clothes that are too beautiful but the fabrics are not very good. They pursue practicality and durability. You have opened a store here all year round, and the clothes in your store are indeed better than mine in style, but does that mean that what you sell is definitely better than mine? Do you know why my clothes sell so well? Because the workmanship is fine and solid, strong and durable, and the price is affordable and does not require cloth coupons."
Established garment factories do face many drawbacks during their development, and some challenges are difficult to overcome. However, the craftsmen at established garment factories may have been experienced for decades, or at the very least, they are successors with family-based skills. Their workmanship, for example, cannot be compared with the styles of Nanfang Zhizhong.
We may not be able to compete with these old-fashioned clothing factories in terms of styles, but when it comes to quality, there is absolutely nothing to say.
Li Yukong hesitated after hearing this. He'd been running the shop here for half a year, and the clothes he bought wholesale from the neighboring city were a bit better than those in Ningcheng, but that was about it. Most of the people who came to see the new styles were younger. The older people were standing at the door asking about the prices and wouldn't even come in.
"So how do you want to do this business?"
Qin Xiang said, "To be honest, I'm not from here. I came here on a whim. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow morning. But I have a source of these clothes. If you want to do this business, I can sell them to you. That way, when the next market comes, the sales volume I've generated today will be yours."
She pointed at the store entrance and said, "If you pay in advance, I'm sure you can get a place like this. It's a good location and has a lot of traffic, right?"
Li Yukong finally understood that this was Qin Xiang's plan.
Li Yukong also suspected that the clothes were made in a nearby garment factory. But knowing was useless. State-owned factories were unwilling to deal with self-employed individuals like him. He had asked before, but because he didn't know anyone there, no one would respond. Plus, the styles weren't very good, so he could only go to the wholesale market in the next city.
The selling price in the wholesale market is definitely higher than that directly from the factory.
But if I buy goods from this woman, can I make a profit?
Qin Xiang seemed to understand his concerns and said, "You may have heard that I sell them for eight yuan each, fifteen yuan for two, and twenty-one yuan for three. I'll give you six and a half yuan each. From now on, if you don't sell them here, whether you sell them for eight yuan each, fifteen yuan for two, or nine yuan each, it's up to you to set the price. Your price is still the most favorable, and you'll keep them when you sell them. There's more than one big market around here, right? Even if this is the only batch, even if someone else sells them later, at least you can make money from this batch before everyone else."
Li Yukong looked up at the woman in front of him and was indeed moved.
To be honest, he doesn't care even if the profit on a piece of clothing is only one dollar. For the clothes in his store, he will add at least four or five dollars of profit to the price of each piece, and for some, he may even add ten dollars.
But at the same time, his sales in this small town were not very good, and even the business of the store next door was just average, so the two companies were still competitive.
But today he was indeed shocked by the booming business of this small stall.
And the fact that they were able to leave him a dollar profit meant that she was getting the goods even cheaper than the six and a half dollars...
Should I make more money by selling more at a lower profit margin, or should I keep the store half-dead?
Li Yukong thought about it and was still shocked by the heated scene. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll buy it."
Qin Xiang was not surprised. She asked with a smile, "How much can you order?"
Li Yukong frowned again. "I don't have that much money. Can I buy it on credit?"
Qin Xiang thought to herself, I bought the goods on credit myself, if I give them to you on credit, I would be crazy.
She shook her head. "No, I told you I'm leaving the day after tomorrow morning. I need cash."
Finally, Li Yukong didn't want to lose the profit, so he said, "Give me one night, and I'll get the goods tomorrow morning. And I want the same goods as you got today."
"Okay." Qin Xiang nodded and stood up and said, "How much goods do you want? I'll ask my third brother to deliver it to you tomorrow, and you can just give him the money then."
Her third brother is simply a walking killing weapon. With her third brother coming, they will be safe.
Li Yukong glanced at Qin Yang, then thought for a moment and said, "I want three hundred pieces."
Three hundred pieces was a lot, and the capital required was nearly two thousand yuan. He couldn't possibly handle that much on his own, so he had to find someone to help him. Of course, there were risks, but since he'd chosen to be self-employed, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He had to take a chance to make money. There was a big market in another town tomorrow, so he could just walk a little further and sell at the woman's price. He'd learned how to shout, so why worry about not being able to sell? Three hundred yuan a day would be enough for him to do nothing for a month.
Qin Xiang was not surprised and nodded, "Okay, three hundred pieces, I'll arrange a few patterns and pants for you."
When Qin Xiang came out of the clothing store, she saw a woman from the clothing store next door coming out. She nodded to her in a friendly manner, then told her third brother and Mi Hongjun to leave.
It's almost five o'clock now. It gets dark early in the first lunar month and it's getting a little dark now.
But they were all very excited.
Qin Yang was better off. No matter how excited he was inside, he couldn't show it on the surface.
But Mi Hongjun was so excited. He looked at the remaining clothes on the cart, then looked at Qin Xiang, and was full of admiration. "Sister Xiangxiang, you will be this in my heart from now on."
He gave a thumbs-up and said excitedly, "You're really amazing. I just counted outside, and there are only a few dozen pieces of clothing left out of the 500. That's a net profit of over a thousand yuan for the day."
Qin Xiang was also very happy and said with a smile, "As long as he doesn't regret it, we can still sell 300 pieces tomorrow. The profit is 1.5 yuan per piece. If we take advantage of the situation and go to a big market, we can sell another 200 or 300 pieces, which is another fortune."
In fact, supplies are too scarce these days. Even if individual business owners want to get things without tickets, they can only go south. If there are more people selling things and more choices, her business today would not be so good.
All I can say is that it was the right time, the right place, and the right people. As long as Li Yukong's price wasn't too outrageous and was within the acceptable range for people at the market, it would still sell well.
Although the profit is a little small, every penny earned is worth it.
At this time, Qin Xiang also felt hungry. After calculating the time, they had not had time to eat lunch.
When they got to the area near the Chengnan Garment Factory in Lening City, Qin Xiang waved his hand and said, "Call Brother Sun and go to the state-owned restaurant for dinner. I'll treat you."
When you make money, you will feel more confident.
After arriving at the guesthouse, they called Sun Tieshu and the four of them went to a nearby state-owned restaurant, ordered four dishes and a soup, and had a big meal.
Don’t think that the food is small. The amount of food these days is still very sufficient. The four of them ate their fill. Sun Tieshu was stunned when he heard Mi Hongjun talking about the grand occasion of the shipment at today’s market.
It's hard to imagine what the situation was like at the time. Sun Tieshu had never been to the countryside and had no idea what a big market was like. When Mi Hongjun said that, he slapped his thigh in regret and said, "If I had known earlier, I would have gone with you. What a loss."
Qin Xiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You are a master driver, and you still have to drive. The most important thing is to have a good rest."
As she spoke, she looked at Qin Yang and said, "Third brother, help deliver the goods to Li Yukong tomorrow morning. When you come back, you can have a good rest. We have to travel early the day after tomorrow."
Qin Yang raised his eyelids but didn't say yes or no, and Qin Xiang knew that her third brother refused.
Qin Xiang was somewhat helpless. Sun Tieshu rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Let Qin Yang rest in the guesthouse tomorrow. I'll go with you to see it. You drive first the day after tomorrow."
Qin Xiang said quietly, "...Brother Sun, if you follow me, you have to work."
Sun Tieshu was now eager to join in the fun, and no matter what Qin Xiang said, he agreed immediately, "Isn't it just work? Brother Sun, do you still lack strength?"
As he spoke, Sun Tieshu raised his arms and shook the muscles on them. His tall and strong figure looked quite intimidating.
Qin Xiang nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Brother Sun, when the time comes, just help keep an eye on the goods and make sure no one steals them. I'll also give you the same salary as Xiaomi."
Sun Tieshu originally wanted to join in the fun and take Qin Xiang's money to make himself feel comfortable. Besides, he had already accepted a ten-yuan bribe from Qin Xiang this morning, and it would be awkward to take more. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I don't want this money."
Seeing that Qin Xiang still wanted to insist, Sun Tieshu hurriedly said, "If you continue to be polite, our friendship will be ruined."
Qin Xiang was helpless and did not insist, but she thought that when she returned, she would just give the remaining clothes to Aunt Hu. She couldn't let others work in vain.
After working at the market for so long, everyone was tired. After eating, they hurried to the guesthouse.
When they arrived at the guesthouse, they saw Deputy Director He wandering back and forth. Seeing Qin Xiang and the others return, he was immediately delighted, "Comrade Xiao Qin."
Qin Xiang knew what Deputy Director He meant at a glance. He probably wanted to ask her about her gains.
Before she could say anything, Deputy Director He saw the clothes Qin Xiang was wearing. They were the same batch of goods from their factory. It must be said that this person is beautiful and looks good in anything. Even the clothes that are a bit old-fashioned look really good on Qin Xiang.
Deputy Director He sighed, "This is quite nice, why don't they want it?"
Qin Xiang smiled. "This dress is nice, but it can't compete with the newer styles in the south. People always have to keep up with the times. You want to ask about my achievements today, right?"
Deputy Director He nodded. "Yeah, I've been thinking about this since I got off work. If I don't go over and find out, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight."
Since they were all lesbians, there was no need to be shy. Qin Xiang said with a smile, "Deputy Director He, let's go to my room and talk so I can show you the rest of my stock."
When he heard there was some leftover stock, Deputy Factory Director He's heart skipped a beat. "Are they not selling well?"
Although they hated to admit it, they had visited department stores and knew their factory's clothes weren't very fashionable. But if their factory's clothes were even rejected at a rural market, they would still feel bad.
Qin Xiang wanted to keep her in suspense and only invited her, "Go over and take a look first."
Several people entered the guesthouse and went up to the second floor where Qin Xiang lived. The remaining goods were packed into a bag and now casually thrown on the ground. Qin Xiang said, "That's all."
Deputy Director He went over to take a look and was immediately delighted, "Is this all that's left?"
She casually picked through the items and found that there were only 20 to 30 pieces left. There were more than 2,000 pieces of goods in stock. If she continued at this pace, she could finish them in a week at most. Then, maybe she could sell a batch of other squeezed goods.
Qin Xiang nodded, "That's all. The others are all sold out."
She saw clearly how Qin Xiang operated in the morning, and she didn't expect the effect to be so good. She looked at Qin Xiang and said with emotion, "I didn't expect the rural market to be so good."
Qin Xiang laughed. "Yes, now that the household contract responsibility system has been implemented, everyone's life is better than before, and we have extra money to buy clothes for our families. Of course, the key is that the clothes are cheap, don't require tickets, and are durable."
Deputy Director He was delighted. "Then I can mobilize the workers' families to go to the market tomorrow to sell the goods."
Qin Xiang nodded. "Of course, but I found another way today and sold 300 pieces of clothing. I have to deliver them tomorrow morning. If the workers' families don't like it, then our factory can actually find those clothing stores in the market. If that doesn't work, we can find those who often set up stalls in the market and have extra money to sell to them."
As for the workers, they still have stable jobs at this stage, and even their families are mostly reluctant to engage in self-employment. If Deputy Director He really thought it was feasible, he shouldn't have let her set up a stall in the morning, but should have let the workers' families sell directly.
After all, if the workers' families sell the products, it can increase the workers' income, improve their living standards, and solve many problems in the factory.
"What?" Deputy Factory Director He was surprised. "You sold another 300 pieces?"
Qin Xiang nodded and said, "It's a clothing store in town. The price has been agreed. I'll deliver it tomorrow."
Deputy Director He took a breath and couldn't help but give a thumbs-up, praising her. "Young lady, you're quite capable." She paused and smiled, "Are you interested in working in our factory? With your abilities, I think I can convince the other leaders to let you join as an exception."
Qin Yang, who had been silent the whole time, was moved by what he said and looked at Qin Xiang, but Qin Xiang shook her head. "Thank you, Deputy Director He, for your kindness. I won't come to the factory anymore. I'm not from Ningcheng and it's not convenient for me. To be honest, the main reason I came up with this idea is that I want to make money but I lack the capital. I can help the factory and provide myself with an opportunity to make money. It can only be said to be a win-win situation. So I have to ask Deputy Director He for help tomorrow so that I can get the goods smoothly. I will sell them for one more day tomorrow and go back the day after tomorrow."
Deputy Director He felt a little regretful when he heard her refusal. She was a good candidate for sales, beautiful and eloquent. If she came to the sales department, he was afraid that she wouldn't be able to sell the clothes once she put them on.
She had just casually suggested it, and if they had actually agreed to help her out, then forget it. It was a one-size-fits-all situation, and hiring someone wasn't easy.
Deputy Director He nodded and said, "Okay, you should go see Director Feng tomorrow. I'll go there early tomorrow morning and tell him about this."
After that, she continued, "You have helped our factory a lot today, and you have also helped me a lot. Remember to come to me if you have any problems in the future."
Qin Xiang didn't want to be polite after hearing this. She thought, "Deputy Director He, tomorrow morning I will settle the payment for today's goods first, and then buy another batch of goods on credit. If tomorrow's sales go well, I want to take another batch of goods with me when I leave. I will settle the payment for the goods then, and I won't owe a penny."
Deputy Director He was stunned for a moment, then realized her plan. "Are you planning to go back to Qingshui County to sell it?"
"Yes, the rural market is so vast. Why not make a fortune now? When everyone sees this market and rushes in, I won't be able to make even this small profit from small profits and quick turnover. It's just that I hope there will be more styles so that customers can have more choices."
Deputy Director He pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "Then what do you say? We should focus on the rural market in the future?"
Qin Xiang understood what she meant. The other party was willing to help her get the goods. Qin Xiang had a good impression of her. She also wanted to build a good relationship with Deputy Director He. No matter what, it would have an extra way out in the future. She thought for a moment and said, "Of course you can, but you have to find the right market for the rural market. Rural areas are indeed backward now, but they won't be backward forever. Nowadays, people buy more practical clothes, but what about in the future? When living conditions improve, even rural people who value clothing quality more will pursue style. Our factory is obviously a long-established clothing factory. Can we continue to produce these old styles of clothes without seeking updates?"
Looking at the young girl in front of him, Deputy Director He's eyes became more serious. "You mean, even if we are targeting the rural market, we still have to keep up with the development of the times and update our products."
No one who can be a leader is a fool. Qin Xiang didn't believe that Deputy Director He hadn't thought about product reform. She nodded, "Yes, the country has changed dramatically since ten years ago. We can't expect people today to maintain the same aesthetic standards as before. I saw some new things in Hangzhou this time. I heard that there are many new things in Guangzhou that have come from the port cities. With such rapid development in China, I believe that the southern trend will sooner or later spread across the country. It has spread in the cities, and the countryside is not isolated from the world. It's only a matter of time before it spreads. With more exposure to the outside world, one's ideas and aesthetics will always change. Therefore, the most fundamental thing is not to ask customers to adapt to our products, but to understand their needs and produce what they need. Clearing out inventory is a way to solve current difficulties, but it is not a long-term solution. Once the tone is set, it will be even more difficult to change it later."
There was one thing she didn't say: if the garment factory continued on this path, it would be courting its own destruction.
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