Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 133

A vivid memory he had was cutting rice in the field. Jiang Song, with his lively temperament, often used his favored status to avoid work. He threw away the sickle within three minutes and ran off to play. Father and Mother Jiang’s shouting had no effect. They couldn’t leave the rice uncut to chase him.

“He doesn’t cut the rice, but my sister and I have to cut it?” Jiang Bai said, standing firm. “If my eldest brother doesn’t cut, I won’t either.”

He stood motionless in the field, ignoring all of Mother Jiang’s coaxing. He was determined not to cut if his elder brother didn’t return. Mother Jiang couldn’t treat him like Jiang Ning, scolding or hitting whenever she wanted.

He was that stubborn as a child, and the same way as an adult—focused on his goal and never looking back.

Grandpa Jiang watched his grandson take charge like a young boss. In a short time, the shop went from chaos the night before to neatness. All Grandpa had to do was lie down on his rocking chair and rock slowly.

At seven or eight in the morning, Jiang Bai didn’t expect any business. But not long after, customers came to the shop carrying fresh vegetables they had bought to check out the new clothes.

They were all neighbors who had come out for breakfast and to buy groceries in the morning.

They had heard the night before that the clothing shop had new stock, and the old man looking after the shop had brought a batch of low-priced, high-quality clothes from Jiangnan Garment Factory to sell at their market in Shuibu Town.

Hearing the news, they wanted to check if the shop was open. When they saw it was, they quickly came to see if there was anything they or their family members could wear.

Maybe it was the ironing effect, but the clothes looked quite different from before. After seeing the outfits displayed on the mannequins, the neighbors felt the clothes looked better than the previous batch.

They went over and felt the material—it was good quality. No problem. So, what were they waiting for? They bought it.

They all knew that bargaining wasn’t allowed in the shop, so they didn’t hesitate. They found something they liked, tried it on, asked Jiang Bai to wrap it up, and paid without fuss.

Jiang Bai had braced himself to argue with customers. After all, even when selling eels and loaches at the market, people were picky. Sometimes they thought the loaches were too small, or the eels too thin, always trying to get a cheaper price.

Who would’ve thought that here, people bought things without bargaining at all? The simplicity of it stunned Jiang Bai for a moment before he accepted the money.

Since the shop’s clothes were priced at twenty-nine or thirty-nine yuan, Jiang Ning had prepared plenty of one-yuan coins as change.

Most customers paid round amounts, but some gave odd bits and pieces, and a few even deliberately shorted him by 30 to 50 cents. However, Jiang Bai’s character was very serious, and he was strict in his dealings. If he said thirty-nine, he meant thirty-nine, and he wouldn’t let a single cent slide.

He insisted that the shop operated on small profits with quick turnover, with each piece earning only about one yuan. So when someone shorted him a few cents and accused him of being too fussy, Jiang Bai became fixated.

He’d say, “Excluding labor and rent, I don’t even make a few cents total. If you give me less, I’ll lose money.”

His tone and attitude were so righteous that people who tried to short him felt embarrassed, saying, “How can you do business like this and still make money?”

The neighbors wished they could personally teach Jiang Bai how to run a business.

In any other clothing shop on the street, the price would be inflated, and even after cutting it in half, they’d still make money. Honest Grandpa Jiang chuckled from his rocking chair, “He’s still a student. How could he know how to run a business? He’s just earning a little to make ends meet.”

For some reason, word spread that the shop only made one yuan per piece, and they couldn’t let go of even a penny.

When other shop owners in Wucheng City heard this, they were infuriated. Some who also ran clothing businesses wondered how it could be profitable. They sarcastically said, “You’re running a lousy shop, selling things so cheaply. Why should I go to the Shenzhen market to buy goods when I can buy directly from your shop? It saves me two trips.”

In the mid-1990s, although there were many laid-off workers and unemployed youth, gangs often fought in the market. But around No. 1 High School and Wuzhong, at the end of two streets, there were four schools, and a public security bureau at the T-shaped intersection. No matter how much trouble the gangs caused elsewhere, they never came to the streets near No. 1 High School and Wuzhong. The county leaders wouldn’t tolerate anything that affected college entrance exams or enrollment rates for the two key schools.

So no one thought to send gangsters to cause trouble at the shop.

The Public Security Bureau wasn’t far away.

Besides, the principals of No. 1 High School and Wuzhong were acquainted with higher authorities. If they caused trouble near their gates, they’d be in serious trouble.

Until almost nine o’clock, customers kept coming one after another to buy clothes. There didn’t seem to be many people, but Jiang Bai was never idle.

Every time he ironed two pieces of clothing, another customer arrived at the door.

Eventually, he decided to ignore the customers and focus on ironing, leaving Grandpa Jiang to collect the money.

Finally, at nine o’clock, as his granddaughter had instructed, Grandpa Jiang stood up from the rocking chair and pulled out the tape recorder and loudspeaker she had taught him to use.

Jiang Bai had found the recorder earlier while cleaning but assumed it was for Jiang Ning’s English lessons, so he hadn’t touched it.

At that moment, he watched as Grandpa took out the two devices, tied the loudspeaker to the door, and placed the tape recorder behind it, facing the loudspeaker.

He was curious about what Grandpa was doing, so he watched as Grandpa Jiang turned on the loudspeaker and pressed the play button on the recorder.

Jiang Bai couldn’t come back to his senses for a long time. His mind was filled with rhythmic sounds.

He felt as if he’d been severely wounded, his soul blown away, and his thoughts were muddled. Yet the loudspeaker at the door continued its rhythmic shouting.

“29 and 39, all for 29 and 39. On sale!”

“Jiangnan Garment Factory closed down! Bastard He, the factory director! Bastard He, the factory director, ran away with a young married employee!”

Yes, the voice coming from the loudspeaker was his sister’s, but he couldn’t understand why the voices were mixed together.

What was this?

He stood there, confused, as the loudspeaker kept shouting. People on the street seemed drawn by an invisible and intangible force, and the once quiet flow of passersby now streamed into the shop.

“Hey, new clothes are here!”