Zhang Huaxiu was quick to act, reporting for duty on the third day. Shu Yan spent a day with her and found her to be a very observant person. In one morning, she cleaned the warehouse, went to the market to buy a tool, and then cleaned out all the clothes hangers.
"Don't bother, come and eat first." Shu Yan called Zhang Huaxiu over and gave her the spot facing the electric fan. It was almost October, but the weather was still unbearably hot.
"Okay." Zhang Huaxiu wiped her hands and came over. There were two dishes and a soup: stir-fried cabbage, braised pork, and a tomato and egg soup. The workers didn't eat with them, so it was enough for just the two of them.
Seeing that she kept picking at the cabbage, Shu Yan used a clean chopstick to cut off most of the meat for her, saying, "Eat more, and order more if you're still hungry."
"Thank you, that's enough, that's enough, I can't eat this much." Zhang Huaxiu's bowl was mostly filled with meat, and she swallowed slightly.
Conditions are gradually improving, and eating meat is not as difficult as before. However, the Zhang family has not been doing well recently. Her parents' factory can only pay half of their wages, her sister-in-law stays at home taking care of the children and has no income, and she herself has not brought a penny home for half a year. Her older brother's salary is not very high either. How can they expect to eat well? It's good if they can eat meat once a week, and it's all reserved for their little nephew.
It's not just their family; most people in the factory are like this. They're said to have secure jobs, but in reality, they live a very frugal life.
"I forgot to tell you about the rest days last time. We have two days off per month, and you can arrange which day to take as you see fit, but you have to let me know in advance. Special circumstances will be dealt with separately. If you don't take a day off, you'll get a subsidy. If you're not late, don't leave early, and don't ask for leave, you'll get a 30 yuan attendance bonus. That's about it." This was what Shu Yan thought of a couple of nights ago. It was her first time being a boss, so she hadn't thought things through completely.
Zhang Huaxiu never expected such a good thing. The monthly attendance bonus of thirty yuan, plus an additional subsidy for not taking two days off, adds up to several tens of yuan more per month. With a salary of two hundred and forty or two hundred and forty yuan, the base salary plus the attendance bonus alone is quite substantial.
Shu Yan had to leave early to pick up her child, leaving Zhang Huaxiu alone at the shop. Suddenly, she remembered the issue of meals. There was no fast food available, and stir-fried dishes were expensive. Lunch, consisting of two dishes and a soup, cost her ten yuan, averaging five yuan per person. Based on this calculation, Zhang Huaxiu's daily food expenses would be ten yuan, or three hundred yuan a month? That's higher than the salary of many people in Nancheng. This was clearly unrealistic. Even thirty years from now, the food allowance for an average company would only be four or five hundred yuan.
Since we agreed on meals, we can't go back on our word now. Shu Yan thought for a moment and said, "There's one more thing, about meals? I need to pick up the kids early tonight, and I might not be here at noon either. How about this, how about I give you a food allowance of sixty yuan a month, and you can eat by yourself?"
Zhang Huaxiu's eyes lit up. Sixty yuan was a lot of money for food subsidies. She used to give fifty yuan to her sister-in-law for household expenses.
"Okay." She'll bring her own lunch tomorrow, have a quick bite to eat in the evening, and then eat something more at home. It'll only cost sixty yuan, enough to feed the whole family.
The next day was the weekend. After dropping her child off, Shu Yan went to check on the progress of the renovation at the new house. The balcony and bathroom were finished, and the cabinets were almost done. The foreman said that at this rate, they would be able to move into the new house by the Chinese New Year.
Despite saying that, Shu Yan didn't plan to move in so soon. She wanted the place to be ventilated for at least three months, or even half a year. There was no rush; safety came first.
"Madam, we're keeping this area in the living room open, right?"
“Yes, I want to make a photo wall here, and I’ll keep this corner for the children to have their heights engraved. We don’t need the original design anymore.” Shu Yan nodded.
There are three rooms. The master bedroom is for Shuyan, the second bedroom with the balcony is for her daughter, and the smaller one is for Tianbao. Girls have more stuff, so the room needs to be bigger. The balcony can be used to grow flowers or something. The boy just needs a room to sleep in.
The decoration of the store is different from that of my home. My home is where I live, so I used the best materials and decorated it very carefully. The store is rented, so the materials are just passable. The two fitting rooms and the glass wall, which took the most time to build, are already under construction.
With Zhang Huaxiu overseeing the shop, the matter of purchasing goods had to be put on the agenda. Tomorrow was the weekend, so when Shu Yan went to pick up her children, she asked for leave from their classes, bought some food and left it at home, and instructed Ye Jingjing to take good care of her younger brother. She would be taking the 10 p.m. bus to Hangzhou to purchase goods.
Shu Yan chartered the car in partnership with the owner of a clothing store on Chengnan West Road. When the owner of the store next door asked Shu Yan to share the ride, Shu Yan was a little surprised, since they were competitors and she didn't expect her to ask her.
It was a coincidence that they had been sharing a ride with the original boss to pick up goods, and they couldn't find a fourth person for the time being. The price would be higher if three people shared a ride, and since they couldn't stop Shuyan from picking up the goods anyway, they might as well go together and save on transportation costs.
"Shuyan, what kind of clothing are you planning to sell in your shop? I think selling children's clothes would be great, or maybe clothes for students, the business would definitely be good." The shop owner next door, Ale, said as soon as Shuyan got into the car.
“Yes, your street doesn’t have a specific target audience for students, right? You’d definitely make money if you opened one there.” Another woman, Zhu Hong, sells children’s clothing in Jiufang Alley, so they don’t compete with them. She spoke very sincerely.
“I think it’s good too.” Fan Xiaomei nodded in agreement. She sold men’s clothing, so there was no competition between them.
Shu Yan smiled and said, "I'm not sure yet. I'll wait until I see it when I get there."
Selling school uniforms? It seems that competitors are always at odds. Today's students are not like those of twenty or thirty years from now. They are lucky if they have a dollar or two of pocket money. How could they possibly come to Chengnan West Road to buy clothes?
Shu Yan suddenly remembered the previous shop owner, who sold clothes for women in their forties and fifties. Could it be that she listened to these people's opinions? It's unbelievable that selling clothes is like a palace intrigue.
"Oh! You were keeping it a secret, but we were just looking out for you. Your shop has changed owners several times, and business has been so-so. So I thought you should do something unique, otherwise it will be hard to stand out on Chengnan West Road," Ah Le said with a smile.
"My ex opened a senior clothing store in a street full of trendy women's clothing, which was unique enough. Didn't it go out of business?" Shu Yan thought to herself.
Shu Yan had never been to the clothing market before. She came empty-handed with only money. Seeing that the three of them were carrying large bags, she didn't know what was inside. She didn't ask, and even if she did, Shu Yan wouldn't tell her.
They arrived at the wholesale market a little after 1 p.m. and sat on the steps at the entrance. Soon, people began to arrive from all directions. Shu Yan excused herself to go to the restroom and went to find a place where A Le and the others couldn't see her to ask for information.
Just because it's not a place doesn't mean there's no competition. Shu Yan deliberately struck up a conversation with an older person. This person was from Wen County, hundreds of kilometers away from Nancheng. When Shu Yan mentioned that she ran a clothing store in Nancheng, her attitude immediately improved. She had been running her store for three or four years and was one of the earliest people to start a business. She was in her thirties and had a ten-year-old son.
"You started your business three or four years ago, you're really bold," Shu Yan complimented.
“Any courage is forced out of us. I used to be a housewife at home, but my husband was having an affair.” The older woman probably didn’t have anyone to talk to usually, but she couldn’t help but chat more with Shu Yan. “At that time, I really wanted to die, but I had a son to raise. I thought, if I’m not afraid of death, why should I be afraid of doing business? I have to make money to raise my son.”
Shu Yan immediately said with empathy, "That's right, all men are like that. The father of my two children is the same. He made some money and got arrogant. He found a college graduate and looked down on me, his wife who bore him children and took care of the whole family. He insisted on divorcing me."
"You've also encountered something like this, girl? Are you divorced?" The older woman suddenly felt a sense of kinship, as if they were both in the same boat.
"We're divorced." Shu Yan smiled bitterly. "He would do anything to get a divorce and marry a vixen. If we hadn't divorced, I was afraid I would have lost my life. It's better to raise the child on my own."
The older woman opened her mouth, then sighed, "You're even worse off than me. At least my ex-husband had some conscience; he left me the house and money when we divorced. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to open this clothing store."
Shu Yan blinked, not mentioning that she had forced the scumbag to leave with nothing, letting her older sister misunderstand.
"I don't have much education, and I can't find a good job. Raising two children costs money, so I'm planning to start my own business. Today is my first time coming to buy goods, and I've met such a kind person as you, sir." Shu Yan slowly revealed her thoughts.
"Is this your first time here?" The older woman looked her up and down. "You can't do it like this. You need to bring a snakeskin bag and scissors. Look at these people, all smiles now, but they'll be fiercer than anyone else when it comes to grabbing the goods."
"Buying up goods?" Shu Yan really didn't know that.
"Good stuff is all about grabbing; whoever gets it makes money." The older sister pulled Shu Yan aside and taught her, "Here, follow me. When I say 'hurry up,' you quickly grab whatever you can, and hold on tight. If anyone tries to reach out, poke them with your scissors. But be careful of other people's scissors too. A lot of people will cut you with scissors to grab clothes. Look at the scar on my finger; someone cut me with scissors. It'll be chaotic, and you won't even know who hurt you. Getting hurt will be pointless."
Shu Yan was dumbfounded. Was snatching up goods really this terrifying?
At four o'clock sharp, the clothing market opened, and a group of people rushed in. Shu Yan, who was quite a big person, was practically carried in, her feet barely touching the ground.
"I want the red dress, I want them all."
"It's mine, I was here first."
"What are you standing there for? Grab whatever you like!" The older sister nudged Shuyan.
Shu Yan then truly understood the madness of the shopping frenzy; any decent-looking clothes were immediately snatched up, as if they didn't need money to buy them.
After grabbing two batches of clothes with her older sister, Shu Yan glanced at the clothes she had received. Her older sister had a great eye; the clothes were all very fashionable.
"You can't do it like this. Hurry up later, or all the nice clothes will be snatched up by others," the older woman said, glancing at Shu Yan's clothes after paying the bill.
It can only be said that the female bosses who run clothing businesses are all discerning people. The clothes that Shuyan liked were also liked by others, which led to a frenzy of buying. During the process, Shuyan was almost cut by scissors. If the older sister hadn't warned her beforehand, she would probably be injured by now.
After a frenzy of buying, as dawn broke, the clothing store owners regained their senses and began to look at clothes in familiar stores, carefully selecting items.
"This is your first time here, you don't know anything, right?" After helping Shu Yan store the clothes she had snatched, the older woman led her inside. "Don't be fooled by the bustling scene outside and think the clothes here are good. In time, you'll realize that some reputable stores aren't here. What kind of clothing store are you planning to open?"
"Mid-to-high end, I guess," Shu Yan said without hiding anything.
"Then go check out the store I usually go to. The clothes are of good quality and the styles are nice. The key is that we can get a better price if we buy together."
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