The shop was under renovation, and with each expense, Wu Xiuyue felt particularly anxious. Every night, she would come to Shuyan to talk to her, otherwise the pressure would be even greater, and she couldn't sleep at all.
"There's really no need to worry. Look at me, I didn't know anything before I opened this business. At least you can ask me questions now, and Xiuxiu can help you too. What are you afraid of?" Shuyan comforted her when she saw her anxious appearance.
"I just can't help thinking about it." Wu Xiuyue knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she just couldn't control herself.
"I understand. When I first started my business, I was also very worried, afraid that the money would go down the drain. But look at me now, I'm doing just fine." Shu Yan had no other choice. External forces couldn't help with this. She could only be okay once the store was up and running, and she started making money.
That's completely different. Although I don't know how much money Shu Yan has, someone who can buy such a big house in one go is definitely not short of money. Investing tens of thousands of yuan to open a shop is nothing to her, and she's not afraid of losing it. She's different; the money to open the shop represents her entire family's savings. If she loses it, she'll have nothing left.
Besides, how many years has she been at home? She spends all her time taking care of the children and doing housework, and has never run a business before. When she found out about Shu Yan's income, she impulsively went into business, and now she deeply regrets it.
Shu Yan couldn't help with this either; she could only wait and see.
"I have another matter to discuss with you today. The shop was originally a clothing store, so it didn't need much renovation. It'll be finished soon, but I don't know where to source the goods, so I need your help." Wu Xiuyue said this with a hint of unease.
"No problem, you can come with me to buy the goods." Shu Yan readily agreed.
Since she was going to buy goods this weekend, Shu Yan asked Wu Xiuyue to go with her. Along the way, Shu Yan talked to her a lot about buying goods.
“It costs 80 yuan to go to Hangzhou, which is too expensive for just the two of us. We should get four people together next time,” Wu Xiuyue said softly.
“It’s not always possible to gather enough people. Sometimes I can’t find anyone, so I go by myself. But you can ask around near Fuqian Street. If you can find someone to go with, it’s definitely worth it.” For Shu Yan, 80 yuan is not much. She can earn it back by bringing back more goods from the empty seats. But for Wu Xiuyue, who is new to business, 80 yuan is an astronomical figure.
Just as the two were about to get off the bus, the driver suddenly called out to Shu Yan and handed her a bag, saying, "Mr. Fang asked me to give this to you."
"Mr. Fang, which Mr. Fang?" Wu Xiuyue asked curiously.
Fang Zeyu called Shu Yan this afternoon to say that he had something to do and couldn't accompany her to Hangzhou, which surprised Shu Yan. Of course he was busy with work and couldn't go with her, and she didn't need him to go with her.
"A friend of mine." Upon opening it, she found some fruit, snacks, and a box of chocolates. Shu Yan took out the chocolates and glanced at them, somewhat surprised that Fang Zeyu would send such a gift.
"Oh! It's imported from abroad, this friend is no ordinary person, is he?" Wu Xiuyue teased.
Shu Yan smiled but didn't say anything.
Since she didn't want to talk about it, Wu Xiuyue wisely didn't press the matter. However, she was wondering which man with the surname Fang was around Shu Yan. After thinking for a long time, she couldn't think of a suitable candidate. Maybe it was a friend she met in business.
Wu Xiuyue couldn't possibly have guessed it was Fang Zeyu, given his less-than-stellar reputation in the university town. Although Shu Yan was divorced and had a child, she was now beautiful and accomplished; even if she couldn't find a first-time husband, she could find a divorced man with good prospects.
After resting at the hotel for a while, Wu Xiuyue felt that Shu Yan was being a bit too extravagant. It didn't matter that Shu Yan had money; if she came by herself, she would never have stayed at a hotel.
Around 3:30, Shu Yan woke up Wu Xiuyue to go buy goods. Wu Xiuyue stared in disbelief at the people outside the market, "Are there so many people running clothing stores?"
If you're not in this industry, you won't pay attention to it. But once you're in it, you'll find that there are competitors everywhere.
"This wholesale market is famous throughout the country. Many places come here to buy wholesale, so naturally there are a lot of people." Shu Yan looked around but didn't see her older sister. She was a little disappointed. Her older sister hadn't called her, so she didn't know what was going on with her. "Let's go."
Shu Yan pulled Wu Xiuyue to squeeze inside, but gradually Wu Xiuyue started pulling her to squeeze inside. In terms of squeezing people in, Wu Xiuyue was clearly many times better than Shu Yan.
As for the matter of grabbing goods, I had already explained it to Wu Xiuyue in the car. At first, I was just watching from the side, but I found that she was grabbing things very fiercely, with a feeling that she was the only one who could do it. When Shu Yan saw someone take out something, she was about to remind her when she saw Wu Xiuyue step on her foot from below. The person pulled her hand back in pain.
The two of them came out panting after grabbing the goods. Wu Xiuyue saw her spoils and laughed, "This is even better than when I was a kid and went to the supply and marketing cooperative with my mom to grab meat."
Shu Yan gave her a thumbs up, "You're amazing."
Just like when her older sister took her, she took Wu Xiuyue to meet the owners of various shops and asked them to take good care of her.
Wu Xiuyue felt that Shu Yan was too easy to talk to. When she was getting the goods, she was there to negotiate the price. Originally, Shu Yan thought the purchase price was cheap enough, but she managed to get it reduced by several cents.
"You're amazing!" Shu Yan exclaimed sincerely.
Wu Xiuyue raised her chin. "I go grocery shopping every day. If I don't bargain, I'll be ripped off."
Shu Yan, who never haggles when buying groceries, was struck by a sharp rebuke, feeling as if she had been scolded.
It was the change of seasons, so Shu Yan took Wu Xiuyue to the children's clothing market. Wu Xiuyue bought a jumpsuit and two pairs of pants, while Shu Yan bought more, since neither of the two children had any spring clothes.
"You bought way too much."
"I didn't bring any of last year's spring clothes."
After breakfast, the two returned to Nancheng. Wu Xiuyue followed Shu Yan to her shop, which was her first time there. Upon seeing Shu Yan's shop, Wu Xiuyue couldn't help but exclaim, "Your shop is so beautiful! Can my shop be decorated like this?"
“My design was done by Chen Fei, and his company also did the installation. He will definitely put more effort into yours, and it will be even better than mine.”
"Sister-in-law, are you tired?" Zhang Huaxiu poured two glasses of water.
"It's alright. That wholesale market is huge. If Shuyan hadn't been with me, I wouldn't have been able to get out." Wu Xiuyue was quite excited and didn't look tired at all.
Wu Xiuyue helped take out all the clothes, participating in every step from inventorying and matching to putting them on the shelves. This was a rare learning opportunity.
They arrived in Nancheng at 10 a.m. and sorted the goods until 12 p.m. In just two hours, Shuyan's store sold several hundred yuan worth of clothes. Wu Xiuyue was very excited, as if she had earned that much money herself.
"How are you feeling?" Shu Yan asked with a smile.
"That's great. Now I hope my shop can open soon."
"Your business will be just as good in the future." Shu Yan had the excess goods moved to the warehouse.
"I hope so. I'd be content if I could have even half of what you have," Wu Xiuyue sighed.
Shu Yan raised an eyebrow. Half of what she earned wouldn't be a small amount. She could sell 1,700 or 1,800 a day, so half of that would be 800 or 900. She could earn nearly 10,000 a month. In 1993, many people couldn't earn that much in a year.
Of course, Shu Yan wouldn't say anything to spoil the mood.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw a familiar car parked in front of her. Shu Yan waited for a while, but when she saw that he didn't get out, she was about to go over when the car started to leave.
So you didn't get out of the car because you saw Wu Xiuyue there? She chased after her and knocked on the window, "Stop for a moment."
Fang Zeyu obediently stopped the car and opened the window a little bit. "You're not available right now, I'll talk to you later."
Shu Yan turned and glanced at Wu Xiuyue. "It's nothing."
"No, I'll come find you later." Fang Zeyu insisted on not getting out of the car, but rolled up the window when Wu Xiuyue approached.
Who was it? Why did they leave?
"Friend, I have to go now, it's urgent. Let's go home too." Shu Yan glanced in the direction of the car and sighed softly.
Shu Yan bought three sets for each of her two children and let them try them on; they fit perfectly and looked great.
"It looks nice, but it fits too well. I won't be able to wear it next year," my aunt said from the side.
"It's okay, we can buy it next year." Shu Yan remembered that when she was a child, her mother would take her to buy clothes, and she would always buy one or two sizes too big so that she could still wear them next year and the year after. Her biggest wish at the time was to be able to buy a set of clothes that fit her. Now that she has children, she is not short of money and there is no need to save money on this.
"These clothes are only meant to be worn for a year, it's such a waste to throw them away." The aunt touched the fabric, guessing it wasn't cheap.
"So I didn't buy too many, just enough for changing clothes, and I can give them away if anyone needs them." But probably no one in the southern part of the city wants them.
"Can I give it to someone?" My aunt rubbed her hands together. "Can I have it?"
They were poor in that area. If they had any cloth at home, they would make clothes for the adults first. After the adults wore them, they would alter them for the children, and then the older ones would give them to the younger ones. By then, the cloth was usually very worn out.
Shu Yan bought a lot of clothes for her two children. In fact, none of the clothes had been washed more than a few times. They were like new. They would definitely fight over them when she took them home.
"Sure, if you don't mind, you can have my two kids' autumn and winter clothes from last year." The clothes they had before weren't very good either, especially since Jingjing didn't have any clothes at all; Shuyan had thrown them away long ago.
"I don't mind, how could I mind?" She didn't see the autumn clothes, but she had washed and packed away all the winter clothes, and they were as good as new. She heard that the down jacket cost fifty or sixty yuan.
It's just sitting there anyway, so it would be best if it could help someone.
"You've been collecting all the clothes, so you can pick out some of the better ones later."
Shu Yan thought that coats and pants were fine, but she was worried that others would find the underwear unacceptable. However, her aunt said that the materials were so good that no one would find it unacceptable.
During her break, she went back to her hometown and brought these clothes back to give to her nephew and niece. Her two sisters-in-law were eager to have them.
"Your employer is so kind, giving you this brand new dress. The fabric is perfect, it must cost at least several tens of yuan, right?" The woman touched the fabric, reluctant to put it down.
My aunt picked up a red down jacket. "Guess how much this costs? Sixty, that's the wholesale price. If you put it in a store, it would cost at least a hundred. It'll be very warm to wear in winter. You can divide the rest among yourselves. I'm keeping this one for my eldest sister's granddaughter. That child is pitiful; she lost her mother at such a young age."
Hearing her say that, the two sisters-in-law couldn't fight over it anymore and divided the remaining clothes among themselves.
When the eldest sister's granddaughter saw the down jacket and heard that it was for her, she hugged the jacket and smiled from ear to ear.
“When spring comes and my neighbor’s children have changed their clothes, I’ll ask you for some more.” The aunt touched her straw-like hair, and then thought of Jingjing’s shiny black hair, sighing in her heart that people have different fates.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
