At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Xingling was pulling a bicycle with a large sack tied to the back seat, and Ma Dali was pushing the bicycle from behind.
The weather wasn't that hot, but both of them were sweating profusely.
Chen Xingling let out a breath and said, "Just a few tablecloths... I thought they were just pieces of thin fabric and wouldn't go anywhere. But once I got in the car, I found out there were more than I thought."
Fourth brother and his wife were not familiar with many places in Yucheng, so she asked Shang Ma Dali to go through the streets and alleys to inquire, and bought a batch of ready-made embroidery products at a price of one or two cents more than the current purchase price.
Ma Dali pushed the big sack and smiled innocently.
"No matter how light they are, if there are a lot of them, they will naturally fall apart if they are piled up one by one. How is it? Is it okay?"
Chen Xingling nodded: "Not bad, keep pushing. We're almost home."
Ma Dali couldn't help but ask: "How much has been acquired in the three parks now?"
Chen Xingling replied: "Two dozen handkerchiefs, two dozen curtains, plus these five dozen tablecloths, the total number is close to a thousand."
"The patterns are all different, right?" Ma Dali asked.
Chen Xingling replied: "Some are the same, some are different. Tablecloths vary in size, but the patterns are similar. I think tablecloths are more beautiful and more practical, so I buy the most."
"Most of the embroidery in the whole city of Yu has been collected by you." Ma Dali explained: "During the Chinese New Year, many people are resting and not working. What you collected are people's inventory before the New Year."
"The price is OK." Chen Xingling said, "It must be packed before the Lantern Festival and then sent on board."
Ma Dali couldn't help asking, "Are we in a hurry? Is your fourth brother going to get on the boat?"
"Yes." Chen Xingling explained: "My fourth brother has already gone back to the shipping company to find out clearly that there is a ship going to Country M after the Lantern Festival. He applied to go with the ship, and the leader has agreed. Although my fourth sister-in-law has the nationality of that country, she is not an employee of the freight company, and there may be unnecessary trouble at the customs. Therefore, my fourth brother will go with the ship, and my fourth sister-in-law's eldest sister will go to the dock to pick up the goods and help sell them first."
Ma Dali felt a little dizzy after hearing this and asked, "Then - does your fourth sister-in-law's eldest sister know how to sell it?"
Chen Xingling replied: "I will make the guide price clear to my fourth brother and write it down on paper. My fourth sister-in-law said that her eldest sister runs a grocery store and plans to sell the embroidery in the store in Chinatown."
Ma Dali couldn't help asking, "Do you think it will sell well?"
"I think it should be good." Chen Xingling said honestly: "First of all, the prices there are higher than ours, so it's okay to sell at a higher price. In addition, their labor is more expensive than ours, and their craftsmanship is not as good as ours. They definitely don't have exquisite handmade embroidery like this. Of course, things are valuable because they are rare. We can't win by quantity, we can only rely on quality. If we want to make money, the price difference must be good enough, otherwise we may not make any money."
"That's right." Ma Dali muttered, "But about a thousand should be enough."
Chen Xingling smiled bitterly: "I invested a lot of money!"
She spent almost all the money she had on this batch of goods.
Fourth Brother only had the two taels of silver he earned from catching big blue crabs last time. She was too embarrassed to ask Fourth Sister-in-law for the money, so she advised her not to take it out for the time being because the construction of the factory and housing would require a large investment.
Ma Dali asked, "Do you have any money with you? Let me know when you need it."
Thanks to the support of his good friend, he finally had some savings. As a good friend and partner, he would lend a hand when it was necessary.
Chen Xingling chuckled: "Even if I don't have money, I still have Aqi! I'm his wife, even if I don't make money, he still supports me."
Ma Dali laughed out loud.
Chen Xingling reminded: "The factory will start operation in two days, and then we will have money coming in and out again. Don't worry, you can make less money, but don't worry about not making any money."
"Your fourth brother, you also want to make money?" Ma Dali asked jokingly, "Do you have a clear conscience?"
Chen Xingling said confidently: "I am running a business, what's the point of not making money? There are so many brothers working with us, how can we let them not make money? The money we should charge cannot be less, it can be considered a little cheaper, but we can't not make any money!"
Ma Dali knew she was probably joking because she didn't make a penny when he built the new house.
Unexpectedly, Chen Xingling was telling the truth.
"Da Li, you don't understand... I have many brothers and relatives. You are my partner. Your house is very simple and can be built without much money. Twenty people can build two brick houses in a few days. So only the labor and material costs are counted, and the rest is not required. Because my fourth brother's situation is special, I can earn less, but I can't not earn less."
Favors are favors, but you still have to earn what you deserve.
"Are you afraid that other relatives will be dissatisfied in the future?" Ma Dali guessed.
Chen Xingling replied: "Yes! We are doing business for the purpose of making money. If we can't make money here and there, then what's the point of working so hard? We still have to make a living, right? So, the house for you and me is a different matter, and the houses for other relatives and friends can only be considered cheaper, but we can't make no money at all."
Ma Dali thought her analysis was very reasonable: "If one family doesn't accept it, the other family will be embarrassed to accept it, and it won't work in the long run."
"Yes." Chen Xingling said, "Besides, I'm also afraid that my relatives and friends will say that I treat them differently. If I only charge for the labor and materials, my fourth brother and his wife might be very happy. But if the relatives of other brothers come to me, I will be in trouble. So, I will still solve it with a fixed price. Relatives and friends can get discounts, but I can't do it all for free."
Ma Dali thought about it and praised him: "We are doing long-term business, and it is not good to always sell favors. Sometimes when you are too favoritism, others will not only not appreciate it, but may also ask for too much. Sometimes, you have to do things impartially."
Chen Xingling looked ahead and listened absent-mindedly.
"Hey! Dali, look! The person standing at my door looks like Frost Flower."
After hearing this, Ma Dali quickly turned his head and looked carefully.
"Ah! You're not mistaken! It's really Xiaohua!"
Having not seen their old friend for some time, they were both very happy and laughed, and their pace unconsciously quickened.
After a moment, Jia Shuanghua also saw them, quickly put down what she was holding, and hurried over to help push the cart.
"I said - what have you been doing? I've been looking for you for most of the day! Sanyue told me that you guys have been busy these days, and I don't know what you are busy with. I thought I would come again in the evening, but I had to wait for more than half an hour!"
Ma Dali asked with a smile: "You went to my house?"
"Yes!" Jia Shuanghua explained: "When I first came to Sanyuan, I found that no one was there. I wondered if you two were together, so I went to your house to look for you. After hearing what Sanyue said, I simply came back here to wait. You two are not home all day, and it is difficult for me to even sit and wait for you!"
Chen Xingling and Ma Dali laughed out loud.
The door opened and the bicycle was pushed in.
After a while, the large sacks were unloaded.
The three of them washed their hands and faces and filed into the living room.
Chen Xingling poured everyone a glass of water and asked, "Where did you go during the Chinese New Year? We were so busy that we couldn't go see you. Thinking that school would start soon, we would be able to see each other more often soon, so we didn't rush to look for you."
"Come on!" Jia Shuanghua scolded with a smile: "You are all making excuses! I live on the other side of the shipyard, and it only takes a few minutes to get there by bike! How many minutes are you short? Huh? How many days have passed since the holiday!"
Ma Dali suppressed his laughter: "Isn't this too busy?"
"There's nothing I can do!" Chen Xingling continued to make excuses: "Recently, Dali has borrowed my bicycle to study! I have a few hours, but no bicycle!"
The three of them were chatting and laughing, and then they talked about the issue of changing majors.
Jia Shuanghua shook her head: "Forget it, I won't change. After one semester, I can generally cope with it. I think I've basically got the hang of it now. If I change now rashly, I'll have to adapt to the new major and try to keep up with other studies, which may be a bit overwhelming."
"Then don't change it." Chen Xingling said: "No matter what major you choose, as long as you can learn well and strive for excellence, it's all good. If you can learn foreign languages well, you may be able to leave the teaching industry in the future and find a more flexible job."
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