Zhang Huaxiu's parents were already asleep, while Wu Xiuyue was still packing her things. Hearing the noise, she prepared to wash her hands and heat up some food for her sister-in-law.
"Sister-in-law, our boss's wife needs to see you." Zhang Huaxiu pulled her sister-in-law aside, revealing Shu Yan who was following behind her.
"I wouldn't come here without a reason, but I've come to ask for your help today." Shu Yan got straight to the point. "A lot of the goods in the shop are sold out, which is also due to my lack of preparation. I may have to rush to Hangzhou tonight to restock. That's all. It's just that I'd like to ask you to help deliver my two kids."
On weekends, the children can stay at home by themselves. Jingjing is well-behaved and can take care of her younger brother, but as for school? Shuyan is really worried about letting the two children go to school by themselves.
Even with surveillance cameras everywhere in the future, there are still so many child traffickers. In this day and age, there are far too many missing children. In just this short time in Nancheng, Shu Yan has already heard of several children going missing. You can't take chances with these things, or you'll die with your eyes open in disbelief.
"I thought it was something serious. Just have Xiuxiu pass on a message. It's all on the way anyway." Wu Xiuyue gestured for Shuyan to sit down. "Are you hungry too? I was just about to cook for Xiuxiu. You can eat something with us."
"That's not how it works. You're already busy, and I only asked for your help because I had no other choice. Anyway, thank you in advance. I'm not eating. I need to go back and tell the kids, then pack my things and head to Hangzhou. I'll leave the two kids in your care. I'll be going now."
"What trouble! You're being too polite. You're leaving tonight? Is it alright to leave the two kids sleeping at home? Why don't you have Xiuxiu come with you to pick them up? They can squeeze in with my son tonight." Wu Xiuyue saw Shuyan to the door.
"No need, the two kids can sleep on their own. Tomorrow I'll have them wait for you at the roadside shop, and I should be back by noon," Shu Yan said gratefully.
Having a child makes her feel very restricted, and Shu Yan regrets starting her business too soon. She should have found a place where she could properly take care of her child before starting her business.
"No need, no need, I'll come directly to your house to pick them up." Wu Xiuyue escorted Shu Yan all the way to the stairwell.
Both children were already asleep, dressed in their pajamas, looking clean and refreshed. Jingjing is so sensible; she not only took a bath herself but also helped her younger brother. She's already been able to help her so much. It's amazing that her ex-husband's family still dislikes such a sensible daughter; they really don't know how lucky they are.
"Mom." Ye Jingjing was woken up by someone. She didn't cry or make a fuss. She gave Shu Yan a faint smile.
“Jingjing, Mom is going to Hangzhou to buy goods tonight and definitely won’t be back tomorrow morning. I’ve already spoken to Zhang Chenghan’s mom, and she’ll pick you up for school tomorrow morning. Here’s 10 yuan. Take your brother with you to buy breakfast tomorrow, and keep the rest for your lunch. I remember there’s a noodle shop near the school, so go there to eat. Don’t go anywhere too far from the school.”
"I understand." Ye Jingjing obediently took the money and put it away. "Mom, are you leaving now?"
"Okay, I'll be leaving soon." Shu Yan slapped her forehead. She had really forgotten; she hadn't called the driver yet. She wondered if he had been booked by someone else today.
After putting her bag away, Shu Yan went to the convenience store, but it was already closed. She then went to the hotel where she had stayed, where there was a public telephone. She decided to get a telephone installed at the hotel later, otherwise it would be too inconvenient.
"Looking for a room?" the innkeeper asked upon seeing Shu Yan.
"No, I need to make a phone call." She first called the driver's home phone, and his wife answered. She told Shu Yan that the driver had already left, so Shu Yan could only use the pager. After waiting for about seven or eight minutes, Shu Yan received a call back.
Who is it?
"It's me, the owner of the women's clothing store on Chengnan West Road last time. Driver, are you driving tonight?" Shu Yan asked with a smile.
"Why are you calling so late? You need to arrange the car rental in advance," the driver said casually, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"A few items are out of stock, I'm going to restock. What? Is your spot already full?" Shu Yan asked anxiously.
She later went to Hangzhou again, again in the same driver's car. It was the middle of the night, and she didn't have the guts to hire a stranger's car to go to Hangzhou alone.
"I'm going to Hangzhou today, but my car has been booked by two people. If you want to share a ride, you'll need their permission." The driver didn't really care; he charged the same amount regardless.
"Then please ask around for me, Master. If it's possible, I'll go with you." Shu Yan felt they would definitely agree.
There was no reason to disagree; one more person meant one less expense. Sure enough, the driver immediately called to say that the other party had agreed.
Where are you? Should I pick you up on Chengnan West Road?
Shu Yan: "No, I'm on Fuqian Street near Nancheng University, you know?"
Driver: "I know. Where are you? Tell me your address and I'll come pick you up."
"Shall I wait for you at the bus stop on Fuqian Street?" Shu Yan thought for a moment, Fuqian Street seemed to be the easiest bus stop to recognize.
"Okay, I'll be there in about half an hour."
Shu Yan quickly went home, took a shower, changed into casual clothes and flat shoes, and tied her hair into a neat ponytail. With about ten minutes left, she quickly poured out all the money she had collected that day and counted it.
Today's promotion involved large denomination banknotes. Shu Yan quickly counted them—over 6,000 yuan. This wasn't 2019; 6,000 yuan in 1992 was a lot. Of course, because of the promotion, it might not be this high in the future. Conservatively estimating, even at 1,000 yuan a day, she could earn 500-600 yuan. After deducting rent, utilities, and labor costs, she'd still have over 400 yuan left, making at least 10,000 yuan a month—truly a highly profitable industry.
I folded all the money neatly and put it in a bag, keeping it close to my body. I still need a lot of money for today's purchases.
Fuqian Street was still bustling at night, with many people having late-night snacks outside. Shuyan arrived at the bus stop not long before the driver came over.
"You're in too much of a hurry. Next time you'd better tell me in advance. It's impossible for there to be empty seats every time."
"It's mainly because I lack experience; I won't do it again next time." Shu Yan smiled and nodded to the two people in the car, "Are you also going to Nancheng to buy goods?"
"Yes, you own a shop on Chengnan West Road?" They had just heard the driver making a phone call.
"Hmm, what about you two?" Shu Yan looked at their clothes and appearance. They weren't particularly fashionable, but they looked quite comfortable.
“We’re in the north of the city, a bit far from you,” one of them said with a laugh.
The area north of the city is different from the west side of the city. The area mainly sells affordable clothing, which is much cheaper than the west side of the city. Savvy housewives and students love to buy clothes there.
Shu Yan was still a novice in the clothing industry, so she took the opportunity to ask them for advice. Since they weren't doing business on the same street, there was no competition between them, so they didn't hold back and answered many of Shu Yan's questions.
“You must also be buying goods frequently, right? How about we carpool together in the future?” The two of them used to have four people carpooling with them. Now one of them couldn’t continue driving and went back to his hometown, and the other didn’t need to buy goods for the time being, so in the end, the two of them had to charter a car to go by themselves. Now that there is another person like Shuyan who has no competition and helps out by contributing a little extra money, it is definitely a very worthwhile thing.
“Sure.” Shu Yan was worried about not having anyone to share a ride to Hangzhou. Her shop was under renovation, and she often went around asking people for rides, but unfortunately, they all already had companions.
They arrived in Hangzhou at just past 1 p.m. The three of them found a place to sit down. After a busy day, Shu Yan was exhausted. "It's still a while before the market opens. How about we get a room and take a nap?"
She actually wanted to go by herself, but it wouldn't be right to leave them behind.
"Don't go. The market will open in a little over two hours. Why waste your money?" Actually, Shu Yan's age is equivalent to her parents' generation. They are very frugal and hardworking people. How could she possibly afford to rest in a hotel?
Around 4 a.m., the clothing market opened, and the three of them rushed in to grab the goods. With the experience from the first time, Shu Yan managed to grab quite a few clothes she liked. Around 5 a.m., Shu Yan arrived at the place where her older sister had taken her to buy the goods.
Yesterday's business gave Shuyan a lot of confidence. This time, she wasn't as conservative with her ordering, especially jeans and denim jackets, which sold really well. Shuyan ordered thirty or fifty pieces at a time.
"How about it? This stuff sells well, doesn't it? I told you last time, but you didn't believe me." The wholesale shop owner laughed when she saw that Shu Yan wanted so much.
“I believe you, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken it. It’s because it’s my first time opening a store, and I wasn’t sure I could handle it, so I only took a small amount. I also wanted to discuss something with you this time. My place is a bit far from here, so next time I’ll just call you and you can ship the goods directly to me?” Shu Yan asked the two people on her way here. They both come twice a week. She doesn’t have the energy to stock up like that; once a week is her limit.
"Of course, no problem," the proprietress readily agreed.
Shu Yan said the same thing to several other stores, mainly about a few popular items that sell out quickly. She could just make a phone call to ship the goods, saving her the trouble of making a last-minute trip to Hangzhou to buy them like she did today.
On the way back, Shu Yan was too exhausted to even speak. She slept all the way back to Nancheng. Around nine o'clock, Shu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and called Zhang Huaxiu and Yingying, who were cleaning, to come and get her clothes.
"I brought a lot of clothes with me, hurry up and sort them out with me." There will be more people coming to buy clothes soon, and there won't be time to sort them out.
"Boss lady, you've brought a lot of new styles again." Yingying opened the bag and saw that they were new styles she had never seen before.
"Take what you see, quickly sort them, I'll put them together." Shu Yan took a sip of hot water and joined the sorting team.
All the new styles were hung up, and the clothes that sold out yesterday were restocked. During this time, customers kept coming in, so Shu Yan simply had two people hand out flyers near the clothing store, while the rest of the staff helped out inside.
After a while, seeing that there were no more customers, Shu Yan told Zhang Huaxiu and went straight to the warehouse, where she spread out a snakeskin bag on the ground and lay down.
She's really going to collapse if she doesn't rest soon.
After resting for an hour, Shuyan finally felt a bit better. She asked Xiuxiu to buy lunch while she started keeping track of the expenses at the cashier.
"Boss lady, business is booming!" Ah Le swayed as he entered.
"Not bad, not as good as yours." Shu Yan closed her ledger, casually put it in the drawer, and smiled lightly, "What brings you here today?"
Ever since she learned that Shu Yan had opened a women's clothing store, A-Le stopped coming over. She would come and go without saying a word when they bumped into each other. Shu Yan was too lazy to pay attention to her. If she didn't want to talk, she didn't want to. She wasn't going to stick close to her.
“I saw your shelves were all sold out yesterday. I can’t compare to you. We’re neighbors, so I’ll share some tips with you.” Ah Le leaned against the cashier, his eyes scanning the store.
"You know I don't know anything. You're the senior in this industry, so I should be the one looking out for me." Seeing Xiuxiu return with the food, Shuyan didn't want to keep up the pretense. "We're about to have lunch. Have you eaten yet? Want to eat something together?"
"No, you guys eat, I'll just look around."
Shu Yan didn't expect her to be so shameless. She pretended not to understand the implication in her words that she wanted to see the customer out, and continued to look at the clothes in the store, even touching them directly.
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