Chapter 83
This year, Jiao Huilan's clothing store has shown significant improvement. She sold nearly 30,000 sets of pajamas and more than 20,000 other clothes. Adding the fabrics and the inventory sold, all added up, she sold □□ million.
Not to mention Zhenzhen Food Store. The county leaders are supporting the good mother-in-law. Now, large and small state-owned enterprises and factories, and various departments within the system, are buying New Year gift packages at the food store.
After a year of accumulation, Good Mother-in-law has become a symbol of quality in the eyes of the people in the county.
In the words of Gou Zi Niang:
"Everyone in our county recognizes my mother-in-law! No matter how famous those brands are outside or how well-known they are internationally, when you come to our Xinyao County, you still have to look after my mother-in-law!"
She was not lying. Zhenzhen Food Store has a wide variety of products, including many independently developed snacks that are not available in China.
A good mother-in-law has advanced management skills and pays attention to hygiene, which makes her seem high-class.
In addition, whether it is snacks, cooked food, or chili sauce, the taste of Hao Po Po is very good, which makes people in the county associate Hao Po Po with good taste.
It is only natural that Zhen Zhen made a lot of money.
A few days before the Chinese New Year, a customer suddenly came to Jiao Huilan's clothing store.
This is a middle-aged man wearing a black down jacket, suit pants, black leather shoes, and framed glasses.
"Hello, who is the owner of the clothing store?"
Jiao Huilan was stunned for a moment, then walked over to him and said, "Hello, I manage this store, but my mother-in-law is the boss."
The man handed her a business card. It was the first time Jiao Huilan received a business card, and she felt a little nervous for some reason.
"Hello, Mr. Qiu Hongda! I am Jiao Huilan."
Qiu Hongda smiled:
"Hello, I am the general manager of the Jingshi Aili Clothing Exhibition and Sales Store. Our exhibition and sales store has more than 30 employees, and there are 700 to 800 external employees, that is, employees of related cooperative units."
"Oh oh." I don't understand.
"Our showroom is quite large, and we do clothing shows all year round. Our prices are cheap and our sales are huge. I accidentally saw someone wearing your cotton padded pajamas, so I asked my fellow villager who works in Beijing for the address and came here on my own initiative. I want to ask if you are interested in cooperating and selling your clothes in our showroom. The price is negotiable."
After more than a year of experience, Jiao Huilan has become more steady in her work, but she is not good at making decisions.
What's more, this person speaks Mandarin.
She rubbed her hands and said nervously:
"I'll ask...my mother-in-law to talk to you."
Qiu Hongda was stunned and thought to himself, Jiao Huilan’s mother-in-law should be over 50 years old now, right?
Qiu Hongda thought of those difficult old ladies in his hometown who spoke in dialect and whose words were incomprehensible, and he felt inexplicably confused.
Soon, a middle-aged woman wearing a white down jacket and a red scarf came.
"Hello."
Qiu Hongda was stunned. "Are you Ms. Jiao's mother-in-law?"
Zhen Zhen took off her scarf and brought him a stool. "Please sit down. Aihong, pour Mr. Qiu a cup of fruit tea."
Tao Aihong hurriedly went to pour tea. Just as Qiu Hongda was about to refuse, he saw Tao Aihong coming in with a cup of fruit tea full of fruit grains.
The fruit tea smelled strange and fragrant, which was not found outside. Qiu Hongda sat down with the teacup, took a sip, and almost went to heaven!
This is so delicious!
"What kind of tea is this? It's delicious!"
"Thank you. I made it myself. It's not officially on the market yet. I'll send you a few bottles when it's on the market," Zhen Zhen said politely, and then said, "How do you want to cooperate? What's the order quantity? You've seen our business, with people coming and going. No matter how much we have, it's not enough to sell."
Of course Qiu Hongda saw it. The store was packed with people. It not only sold clothes but also fabrics.
During the Chinese New Year, not as many people buy fabrics as ready-made clothes, but there is nowhere to go.
"Our store has a good flow of people, and we can sell thousands of good clothes a month. I am very optimistic about your pajamas set. I can pre-order 100 pieces to try it out."
Zhen Zhen laughed:
"I'm sorry, we don't have enough pajamas to sell, so I can't spare a hundred for you."
Qiu Hongda's eyes widened. "Not even a hundred pieces?"
"No, we opened a clothing store, and people would report us if we were to do something unfavorable. We dare not expand the business for fear of attracting complaints and causing trouble for our business."
Qiu Hongda understood her concerns. He thought that if a small workshop like this received an order of 100 pieces, it would definitely set off firecrackers to celebrate.
Who would have thought that they would not have any trouble selling their products.
Only then did Qiu Hongda realize that he had underestimated this small workshop.
Maybe they make more money than their store.
"Can you make a reservation? You can find a remote place, close the door and do it secretly. No one will find out. Even if they do, the national policy has been relaxed. How dare they say no?"
Of course Zhen Zhen dared to commit the crime against the wind, he was just looking for an excuse.
Jiao Huilan's clothing store wants to expand in scale, and in addition to producing and selling its own products, it would be best if it could have other sales channels.
Zhen Zhen said:
"How about this, you take a look at the styles you like, pay the full amount and place a reservation, and we'll deliver it to you after the Chinese New Year."
Qiu Hongda thought about it for a moment and agreed.
Zhen Zhen could see that this exhibition store was doing pretty good business.
They don't need this little money at all.
Qiu Hongda didn't look at it carefully just now, but now that he has looked carefully, he finds that the styles of this store are quite good.
The clothes are prettier than those in big cities, and the workmanship is solid, in line with the local climate characteristics.
In simple terms, it looks good and keeps you warm, and you won’t look shabby even if you wear it abroad.
The more Qiu Hongda looked at them, the more satisfied he was. He wanted to order this one and that one as well.
Since this was their first collaboration, he didn’t dare to order too much for fear of a bad response.
"By the way, if we cooperate well next year, I can help you hold a special sale."
"Special sale?" Zhen Zhen was puzzled.
"We only sell your products. You stock up and we promote them in advance. They will definitely sell like hot cakes!"
Zhen Zhen understood. This was a good suggestion. Nowadays, supplies are scarce. Their clothes are of good style and warm. Zhen Zhen is confident that they can sell hundreds of thousands of them in a single sale.
"We'll discuss it later. If you really want to hold a special sale, I have a way to increase sales several times over."
Qiu Hongda really didn't dare to underestimate her and agreed immediately.
Qiu Hongda selected 7 styles and ordered more than 700 pieces of clothing, which should bring him a profit of more than 2,000 yuan.
Qiu Hongda had to catch the train to another city. Zhen Zhen brought him a bag of snacks and asked him to eat them on the way. He was very moved when he left and repeatedly expressed his willingness to cooperate.
In fact, Zhen Zhen didn't care about this little money, but Jiao Huilan was very excited and kept shouting:
"Manager Qiu is really courageous!"
Zhen Zhen didn't know whether to laugh or cry:
"Where did this manager Chou come from? When used as a surname, this word is pronounced qiu!"
Jiao Huilan's face turned pale. She had been calling people to chou the manager all day, but no one corrected her. Thinking about it now, it was so embarrassing!
Jiao Huilan cried, "Mom, I have a low level of education. I need to take extra classes when I have time."
"It's just talk and no action!"
"Then can I borrow Daya's dictionary?"
"Goodbye," Zhen Zhen thought for a moment, "How about this, you go to Wang Ling's bookstore and borrow some popular novels. When you come across words you don't know, look them up in the dictionary, and then borrow some textbooks. Reading is about persistence. If you read a page every night, the difference will be there."
Jiao Huilan took her mother-in-law's words as an imperial decree and rode her bike to Wang Ling's store that same day.
Wang Ling's store has a lot of old books. When Jiao Huilan wanted to apply for a card, she stared at her:
"My aunt has helped our family a lot, can I accept this little money from you?"
Jiao Huilan didn't bother to be polite with her. When Wang Ling heard that she wanted to learn to read, she kindly recommended some popular novels to her and, as her aunt had suggested, gave her a junior high school Chinese book.
Jiao Huilan hadn't touched a book in many years. She held it in her hands lovingly and asked, "Why does reading make people feel at ease?"
Wang Ling smiled:
"Reading brings peace of mind. Since I opened this bookstore, I read novels when I have nothing to do, regardless of whether they are classics or not. I read them whenever I can find them. You know what, I feel that my speech has improved and my horizons have broadened. I don't feel inferior when I see college students now!"
Jiao Huilan envied and admired the truth:
"I'm not as educated as you."
"Education does not equal culture. Just because we don't have a high level of education doesn't mean we can't have culture or make progress. When your store becomes bigger, you will definitely have to negotiate business with outsiders, and culture can be put to good use."
Jiao Huilan was greatly encouraged. She wrapped the borrowed old books in cloth and rode home with a smile on her face.
A few days before the Chinese New Year, Zhen Zhen's store was almost sold out, and Jiao Huilan had nothing to sell, so the two of them decided to close the store early.
Meng Daguo and Meng Eryong had not returned yet, so Jiao Huilan roasted pig's trotters, fish, spare ribs, and braised pork in preparation for the New Year's meal.
Zhen Zhen is a bit of a clean freak. She only likes to eat things that are homemade. She thinks sausages stuffed outside are unhygienic, so she buys the best meat at home and stuffs them with it.
Tao Aihong was stretched and had to stuff sausages at home.
Zhen Ersao also sent some rice and vegetables, which were distributed by Zhen Erge's unit.
Zhen Zhen thanked them and brought some homemade sausages to Zhen Ersao.
Zhen Zhen occasionally spends time with the children, takes stock of this year's accounts, and also goes to the construction site to check on the preparations for building a house next year.
The factory is currently leveling the ground and will wait for the snow to fall before laying the foundation and building the house next year.
Brothers Meng Dajian and Meng Dazhui lead people to work on the construction site every day and are very tired.
Zhou Shufen brought meals to the two of them every day. Knowing that Zhang Qiaohong was having a hard time, Zhou Shufen did not ask her to pay for it and just brought meat and vegetables to the two brothers every day.
Zhang Qiaohong saw this once and felt wronged, so she remained silent.
On the New Year's Day, Zhen Zhen thought that Meng Daguo and his brother would not be able to come back for the New Year. However, when he was about to eat, he heard a knock on the door.
Zhen Zhen had agreed to spend the New Year in the county town this year, mainly because the house had not been cleaned up for a long time and there was not much charcoal stored, and she was worried that the children would be frozen when they returned.
She planned to return to the village and stay for two days after the New Year.
Hearing the knock on the door, Meng Nan kicked Erwa's bench, Erwa kicked Sanwa, Sanwa kicked Siwa, and Siwa kicked Wuwa.
"You four big guys, don't go too far!" Zhen Zhen picked up the chopsticks and pretended to be angry, "You're outsourcing the work, right? Wu Wa is only a little over a year old and can't even walk steadily. You asked him to open the door?"
Meng Nan chuckled, jumped up and opened the door.
"Dad! Uncle!" Meng Nan shouted at the top of his voice, "Grandma, your sons are back!"
Meng Daguo had gone to the island country and had become a lot darker. He patted the back of his girlfriend's head and smiled so hard that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. "You are so disrespectful."
Meng Nan chuckled and took the black handbag from Meng Daguo.
"Dad, you went to the island country and saw the world. Did you bring back some good things for your good daughter?"
Meng Daguo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "How dare I leave out yours? Your second uncle and I brought gifts for you all! Dolls, comic books, chocolates, and even a small radio for you to listen to English!"
"Thank you, Dad!"
The children swarmed over like bandits, ransacked their bags, and vied with each other to see the gifts.
Jiao Huilan came out of the kitchen and saw Meng Daguo standing at the door from a distance.
The couple has never been apart for such a long time since they got married.
Jiao Huilan's eyes were red, "You're back?"
Meng Daguo also missed his wife, but he was too embarrassed to hug her. "She's back!"
Meng Eryong was also waiting for Tao Aihong to come over, but after waiting for a long time no one showed up. He stuck his head inside and saw, to his astonishment, Tao Aihong was chewing a pig's trotter!
That means they don't take him seriously at all.
Meng Eryong snorted angrily, turned around and greeted his mother, "Mom, do you miss your son?"
Zhen Zhen had just gnawed a duck head, and the spicy taste made his eyes burn. Upon hearing this, he immediately wiped away the unwarranted tears from the corners of his eyes and howled with red eyes:
"My Eryong and Daguo are back? Mom thinks about you every day and can't sleep. She's so anxious. She's just worried that you might get into trouble in the island country. You're not familiar with the place and there's no one to help you!"
Meng Eryong felt warm in his heart. It’s better to have a mother!
Meng Daguo stepped in and felt at ease staying with his mother.
"Mom, Eryong and I brought you a bottle of facial oil. My goodness, this facial oil is so expensive, more than a hundred yuan a bottle!"
Zhen Zhen smiled and said:
"You didn't give Huilan and Aihong any?"
"I brought them all! Doesn't mom have frostbite that never heals? I also brought some frostbite medicine from the pharmacy in the island country. Let's try them all and see which one works best."
No matter how expensive the things you bring are, being remembered by others is happiness.
When your children go out, they should remember to bring you things. How can a mother be picky?
Zhen Zhen opened the skin care product package, rubbed some on her face, and said exaggeratedly:
"Expensive means it's different! It's so comfortable to use. It's hard for my Daguo Eryong to bring it back from the island country for me! Mom likes it!"
Meng Daguo smiled innocently:
"Mom is still young, it's a waste to use skin care products."
Meng Eryong chuckled: "Mom, I miss home so much when I'm out here. I haven't eaten home-cooked meals for a long time. I miss it so much."
The two of them picked up their bowls and ate heartily. After the meal, they drank chrysanthemum tea and told them about their experiences in the island country.
It’s no wonder that Meng Eryong’s temperament has changed a lot since he went out.
"Mom, only after seeing the outside world do you feel how insignificant you are."
Meng Eryong sighed again:
"We have a low level of education and don't understand many things. Fortunately, my mother found a local to accompany us. When our child grows up, he must go to college like his uncle and become an educated person so that he can be respected by others when he goes abroad."
Meng Daguo talked about his inspection in Japan again. There was no problem with the instant noodle production line, and the price had been negotiated. It could be brought in once the factory was built.
They also looked at a number of machines.
"There is a multi-shuttle box loom that produces great silk fabrics! Mom, the silk from our country is very popular in the island countries. They use our silk to make kimonos."
The two of them chattered endlessly, excitedly wanting to tell the children about their experiences.
Zhen Zhen yawned after listening for a while, but the five children were very supportive.
Meng Nan: "Dad, tell us how an airplane flies."
Erwa: "Why doesn't the plane fall down?"
Sanwa: "Is there a devil everywhere in the island country?"
Siwa: "How do you communicate with them?"
Wuwa was holding a small stool, his eyes wide open, staring at them intently.
After Meng Daguo left, Jiao Huilan really missed him. She didn't feel comfortable hugging him during the day, so she hid in the quilt at night, and the couple stuck together.
Meng Daguo kissed Jiao Huilan hard and said, "Wife, if there is a chance, I will take you to an island country, so that we can travel and have a honeymoon like foreigners."
Jiao Huilan softened into a puddle of water. "What do you mean by a honeymoon?"
"After we get married, we will go traveling together. We didn't have the idea or conditions to do so before, but I'll make it up to you when your life gets better."
"A great country."
Jiao Huilan was almost rubbed into Meng Daguo's body and could only cry out softly. Her eyes were very red. The two of them were busy until midnight and had not finished yet.
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