"Mom, I'm home!"
Lin Laosan dragged his suitcase in, looking exhausted.
Upon entering the main room, four woven bags were seen on the floor. "Mom, are you getting ready to set up a stall?"
"Yes, we bought the storefront, but the renovation will take a week, and then we need to air it out. We can't open for business for at least a month."
Lin Li went to the kitchen and brought the prepared food to the table one by one.
“I heard that you can set up a stall in Xiushui Street in Chaoyang District, and that it is close to the embassy and diplomatic apartments, so there is a large customer base and you can sell at a good price.”
Lin Li licked a bowl of rice for Lin Laosan, "Eat some quickly. While it's still early, let's go sell some and earn some money."
Upon hearing this, Lin Laosan immediately put his suitcase aside, picked up his bowl and quickly ate two bowls of rice. He wiped his mouth, picked up two woven bags, and put them on his bicycle.
"Then let's go there right now, otherwise we won't have any business when it gets dark!"
Xiushui Street is a newly opened free market in Beijing. When the mother and son arrived, there were already many stalls set up along the roadside.
Lin Li and Lin Laosan chose a spot near the intersection and quickly spread out the plastic sheet.
Lin Laosan unloaded his clothes from the car, while Lin Li took out a few bamboo poles and tied them together with hemp rope to make a simple clothes hanger.
These clothes were all brought over from Shenzhen; they included bell-bottoms, batwing shirts, and floral shirts—all trendy items.
"Mom, it's so lively here, there are so many people, business is sure to be booming!" Lin Laosan said happily as he straightened his clothes.
Lin Li nodded, and watching the flow of people coming and going, she moved her hands even faster.
Before long, the stall was set up, and the colorful clothes swayed gently in the breeze.
Lin Li placed a wooden sign in front of her stall that read "Shenzhen's trendy clothing, good quality and low price." She had written it on a scrap of wood that afternoon; the handwriting was beautiful and neat, making it eye-catching enough.
As the sun slowly set in the west, and people began to fill the streets as various workplaces closed for the day.
Lin Laosan stood in front of the stall, feeling somewhat uneasy. This was his first time setting up a street stall, and he was quite nervous.
Lin Li remained calm and shouted, "Look, look! This is the latest style from Shenzhen. Wearing it will make you the most stylish person on the whole street!"
At first, passersby just glanced at it curiously, but no one stopped.
"Mom, why isn't anyone coming to check on us?"
Lin Laosan asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, it will happen slowly!"
Lin Li calmly continued to attract customers, and her voice became even louder.
Looking at Lin Li, Lin Laosan took a deep breath, suppressed his panic, and joined her in hawking his wares.
Just then, a girl wearing a military overcoat passed by, and Lin Li immediately went to greet her.
"Comrade, look at this batwing shirt, it's so fashionable! Hong Kong celebrities all wear this!"
The girl stopped in her tracks after hearing what she said, and Lin Li quickly turned around and picked up a pink batwing shirt.
"Try it, this color suits your skin tone."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then took the clothes and went into the makeshift fitting room.
A little while later, she came out and looked at herself in the mirror.
Lin Li immediately said, "Look how beautiful it is! Wearing this outfit will definitely turn heads!"
The girl blushed, feeling embarrassed by the compliment, and asked, "How much?"
"Twenty yuan, but if you really want it, I'll give you eighteen!"
"That's too expensive, how about fifteen yuan?" The girl started bargaining.
Lin Li pretended to be in a difficult position: "Girl, I'm losing money at this price! Could you add two more yuan, just to be friends?"
The girl thought for a moment, then finally took out her money and bought the clothes.
Watching the girl leave satisfied, Lin Li was overjoyed; this was their first sale of the day.
As time went by, more and more people gathered in front of the stall.
Lin Laosan was no longer so nervous and began to imitate Lin Li's shouts.
"Don't miss out! The latest clothing styles are only available today!"
His loud voice attracted many people to stop and listen.
A middle-aged woman was browsing in front of the stall, picking up a floral shirt.
"Is this garment durable? I don't want it to break after just two days."
Lin Li quickly said, "Don't worry, this fabric is very sturdy. I've tested it myself, and it hasn't deformed even after washing it several times."
As she spoke, she picked up a piece of clothing and tugged at it forcefully to show the woman.
The middle-aged woman said with some skepticism, "Then make it cheaper, eighteen yuan."
"That won't do, our cost price is too high. How about this, if you pick out another item, I'll give you a discount, two items for thirty yuan!"
After hearing this, the middle-aged woman picked out a pair of bell-bottoms and happily paid for them.
As darkness fell, Lin Li ran to a secluded spot and took out two more woven bags, a kerosene lamp, and a flashlight from her spatial storage.
Their business was booming, and their stall was surrounded by people.
Lin Li was busy getting clothes for the customers to try on, while Lin Laosan was responsible for collecting money and keeping accounts.
The two were so busy that they didn't even have time to drink water.
It was getting late, and there were fewer and fewer clothes left on the stall.
Just as the two were about to pack the remaining clothes back into their woven bags and take them home, a young man in a leather jacket stopped in front of the stall.
He picked up a pair of jeans and examined them from all angles.
How much are these pants?
"Twenty-five."
"It's too expensive. I saw something similar at another store for only twenty."
The young man pursed his lips, and Lin Laosan said with a smile.
"Brother, you get what you pay for. Feel this fabric, it's so thick! Other brands definitely can't match the quality of mine."
The young man still thought it was too expensive and turned to leave.
Lin Li quickly called out to him, "Young man, if you really want it, I'll give you a discount, twenty-two, that's the lowest I can go!"
The young man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately bought it anyway.
After it was completely dark, the two of them used the light of their flashlights to put all the remaining clothes into a woven bag, and then, rubbing their hands in the cold wind, they walked towards the courtyard house.
"Mom, business is so good today! We've only been setting up our stall for a few hours, and we've sold most of the clothes!"
"Yes, this is indeed a good place to sell clothes. Come back tomorrow morning. You can set up your shop here while I see if there are any storefronts for rent or sale nearby."
Looking at the flow of people here, Lin Li felt that having a fixed storefront here would allow her to earn a lot of money.
"Yes, me too."
As they discussed it, Lin Laosan rode his bicycle, carrying Lin Li, back home.
As soon as they got home, the two of them couldn't wait to take out the canvas bag containing the money and dump it all onto the table.
They started counting them one by one!
Half an hour later, when Lin Li calculated the final profit, the two of them burst into laughter.
"I'll look for a storefront tomorrow; this business is definitely worth doing!"
"good!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
