Working day and night, Wu Xiuyue's shop was renovated in 20 days. Chen Fei had ordered the sofas and lamps for her in advance, and now they have all arrived. The clothes racks and mannequins were clearance items that Shu Yan had someone get from the clothing factory. They were of good quality and cheap, so the total cost was not high. The main money was spent on the goods.
This was the first time Wu Xiuyue had ever carried 10,000 yuan with her in her life. Her heart was pounding when she got off the bus, fearing she would be robbed.
"The more you act like this, the more people will know you have money. Relax." Shu Yan was speechless. Maybe 10,000 yuan wasn't a lot of money back then, so she wasn't really nervous about having 10,000 yuan on her.
"I'll try my best," Wu Xiuyue said nervously.
Shu Yan pulled her to the hotel quickly, otherwise they would attract attention. The security situation wasn't good at this time, and there were many thieves.
Worried about the safety of the hotel, Wu Xiuyue locked the door from the inside and even used a table to block it, saying that she and Shu Yan would take turns guarding it.
"You stay here and keep watch, I'm going to sleep." She had been to Hangzhou countless times and had heard of people having their belongings or money stolen. Usually, it was the thieves who were novices, and it was because she looked like she had a lot of money on her that they noticed her.
When Shu Yan woke up, she found Wu Xiuyue dozing off while holding money. After a moment of silence, she told her to sleep for half an hour, and then she would get ready and head out to buy more goods.
"What should I do? I'm so nervous." Wu Xiuyue held Shu Yan's hand.
"The clothing store hasn't opened yet; we're just getting stock. What are you so nervous about?"
"I'm nervous too. I'm afraid I won't choose the right products. What if I can't sell the goods I buy? Then I'll be stuck with them and lose a lot of money." Wu Xiuyue couldn't help but regret not living a good life and instead getting into business.
Shu Yan glanced at her and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Just come with me to get the goods. I've been selling clothes for so long, I know what sells well. Even though we're so far apart, it's fine if we sell the same clothes."
She had done everything she could. If she still couldn't sell well, there was nothing she could do. Before she started doing business, Shu Yan had told her many times that business was risky, with both gains and losses. But at that time, she was only focused on making money. Now that things had come to this, it was too late to regret it.
Hearing Shu Yan's words, Wu Xiuyue felt much more at ease. When it came to grabbing goods, Wu Xiuyue once again demonstrated her prowess. As long as Shu Yan liked something and agreed to buy it, she managed to snatch most of them.
"What a pity, we didn't manage to snag those two dresses," Wu Xiuyue said with a sigh as she finished tidying up her clothes with Shu Yan.
Shu Yan: ...
At least leave some soup for others. Don't you know how valiant you were just now?
When she was buying bulk goods, Shu Yan taught her which items were easier to sell and which ones were best avoided, as well as how to choose colors. For example, she was told that she had to stock the mainstream colors and know which colors were trending this year. This was easy to find out by looking at which colors were most popular in the market. Also, since her area was near a university, she could cater to a younger demographic.
Some items were shipped out, and others were taken back. Wu Xiuyue had already arranged for a date to be chosen, and Xiuxiu took a day off to help with the loading and unloading.
The next day, when Zhang Huaxiu came to work, Shu Yan asked, "How is your sister-in-law doing? If you don't have enough time, could you go and help her for another day?"
"No need, I've already sorted out most of it and said everything I needed to say. If you don't understand anything, just ask me when I get home from work. But I have to go and help out on opening day." Zhang Huaxiu is a veteran of Shuyan's store and knows very well how to match and price items, including promotions.
Wu Xiuyue couldn't bear to give away a TV, since they didn't even have one at home. They bought a bicycle as the grand prize, and the first prize was a radio, but neither of them could compare to Shu Yan's prize.
However, it was the first of its kind on Fuqian Street. People who saw the flyer would come over to take a look. Regardless of how the business was, the scene was lively.
Shu Yan brought over a pair of flower baskets. Seeing Wu Xiuyue and Zhang Huaxiu busy running around, she asked Zhang Huaxiu, "Don't you have any employees in the shop?"
Xiuxiu got angry when she talked about this. "My sister-in-law said that she could manage the new store by herself. If it really didn't work, she would ask my mother to help. But my mother has been a factory worker all her life. How could she know how to sell clothes? Besides, it's not right to ask an old lady like her to sell clothes. She won't listen to me at all. She thinks that hiring sales staff is too expensive."
Wu Xiuyue's personality is not really suited for business, but she is too conservative in her thinking. However, she can open a small shop without much problem, but it is impossible for her to make it big.
Shu Yan didn't want to say much about this, because no matter how well they were acquainted, she was still an outsider.
Lin Hui also came today, bringing a pair of flower baskets. She also bought two sets of clothes from Wu Xiuyue's shop as a way of celebrating her opening. Shu Yan originally planned to buy two sets as well, but Wu Xiuyue stopped her.
"You've helped me enough. I didn't stop Lin Hui from buying clothes, but you own a clothing store yourself, and you're still buying from me? What kind of talk is that?"
Business was pretty good. Shu Yan glanced around and saw that it was Sunday, so there were no classes at school. Many students were bored and wandered around here. They saw the big red banner, so many flower baskets and balloons, and then they came in to browse after seeing the flyers.
As more and more people arrived, Wu Xiuyue didn't have time to talk to Shu Yan and the others. She had sold some clothes to Shu Yan before, so she knew roughly how to introduce them. Aside from being a little nervous at first and not speaking fluently, she gradually became bolder and spoke more and more smoothly, selling the clothes one by one.
After the group of people left, Wu Xiuyue calculated that she had earned over 500 yuan. After deducting rent and utilities, she still had at least 200 yuan left. In just a short time, she had earned over 200 yuan in less than a morning. Today, she could easily earn over 1,000 yuan, which was more than her husband's monthly salary.
After doing this calculation, Wu Xiuyue smiled broadly, her eyes practically disappearing from her smile, and her enthusiasm soared even higher.
Shu Yan originally wanted to remind her that she was having an event today, and it was Sunday, so it was normal for business to be good; in the future, it might not even be half of what it was today. But then she thought that it wouldn't be good luck to say such things today since it was her opening day, so she decided to ask Zhang Huaxiu to analyze it for her later.
Lunch was at Wu Xiuyue's house. Zhang Ma specially came over and took everyone there. There was chicken, duck, fish and meat.
After finishing their meal, Shu Yan and Lin Hui went home hand in hand. Lin Hui was unusually quiet today.
"What do you think about me opening a shop too?" Lin Hui suddenly said.
Shu Yan was taken aback. The textile factory where Lin Hui worked was very profitable, and she hadn't heard of them hiring. Besides, Lin Hui wasn't a frontline worker. Apart from being busy at the beginning and end of the month, things were usually quite relaxed. Why did she suddenly want to start a business?
Seeing Shu Yan's confusion, Lin Hui smiled sheepishly, "I just saw that you and Xiu Yue are both running your own businesses, and your daily income is equivalent to one or two months' salary for me, so I was thinking about whether I should start a business too."
To put it bluntly, I felt a sense of disappointment.
Previously, only Shu Yan ran the business, and Lin Hui thought that Shu Yan was capable. But now, Wu Xiuyue, who was originally worse than her, can also open a clothing store and sell more than 400 yuan worth of goods in a morning. She earns more in a day than Lin Hui earns in a month. Lin Hui felt uneasy.
"You can't think of it that way. Xiuyue and I are both unemployed. We had no choice but to start a business. You know how worried we were before we opened. Look at Xiuyue, she couldn't sleep at night because of this store, and her hair was falling out in clumps. Why? Because doing business is risky. If you lose money, you have nothing. She just opened today. She won't be able to make this much money in the future. Every industry has its hardships. Didn't you see us rushing to buy goods in the middle of the night?"
People are like that; they only look at other people's results and not their process. Wu Xiuyue lost ten pounds in just one month, which shows how much pressure there is in doing business.
Everyone says business was easy in the 1990s, but some people still lost money. Who can guarantee that everyone will make money? If someone like Lin Hui, who has a secure job, were to be advised to go into business, and she lost money, wouldn't she be blamed for it?
"I'm just envious."
They used to be factory workers, very prestigious and influential. But now? Those who run businesses earn a month's wages in a day, or even a year's wages in a day. It used to take the whole family a long time to save up for a house. If their business is successful, they can earn enough for a house in a month. Take Shuyan for example. If the clothing store didn't earn much, could she afford a nanny? Look at how she lives now. She doesn't have to take care of the children. She just goes to the store every day and earns money. She's not under anyone's thumb. This is what a life of luxury looks like.
"The world is becoming increasingly unpredictable, and I'm actually quite anxious. I always feel like we're regressing," Lin Hui finally said, revealing what she had been keeping to herself.
It's not just her; many workers probably share this sentiment.
With more and more people being laid off, is a job still considered a secure one? Those who easily made their entire lives' worth of money through business, are they still considered masters of the country?
The times are changing too fast; some people adapt immediately, while others are left behind.
In this era, as long as you are bold enough and seize the opportunity, you can become one of the first to get rich. If you are conservative in your thinking and stick to the old ways, you can actually live a plain and ordinary life. It's just that people's hearts are never satisfied.
Lin Hui didn't hesitate for long. She was actually spurred on by Wu Xiuyue's recent income. It wasn't realistic for her to quit her job and start a business; not only would she not know how, but her family would never agree. Like Zhang Huaxiu, if the factory hadn't been on the verge of closing down, her parents wouldn't have agreed to let her buy out her years of service. In most people's eyes, a stable job is still better than starting a business.
Back home, Shu Yan didn't rest for long before going to driving lessons. She wasn't busy lately, so she planned to get her driver's license.
"Would you like me to teach you first?" It was Fang Zeyu who came to pick her up.
He called last night to ask Shuyan what she was planning to do today. When he heard she was going to learn to drive, he volunteered to take her to the driving school.
"No need, I learned a little from the company's drivers." Shu Yan realized that the automatic transmission test wasn't too difficult; she figured she could pass by just touching the car.
Seeing her confident demeanor, Fang Zeyu's lips curled slightly. "Then I wish you success in passing every subject on the first try."
"Thank you for your kind words."
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