Make a Fortune and Become Well-off [90] - Chapter 184

Aunt Jiang couldn’t leave, so she called her children to come down and help.

Aunt Jiang’s two children were still young. When they saw so many people gathered at the door, they opened their mouths in surprise, “How can we squeeze in with so many people?”

Inside, Tong Jingang was still shouting, “Don’t crowd, don’t crowd, we will still be here tomorrow.”

Aunt Jiang’s son, who was only twelve years old but already over 1.6 meters tall, yelled at the top of his lungs like a little adult, “Don’t squeeze. It’s useless to squeeze. Come one by one.”

Aunt Jiang’s daughter clapped her hands and reassured the crowd, “If you can’t get in, no need to worry. Come to the store first to look at the New Year’s goods, and the clothes will still be displayed tomorrow.”

Quite a few people couldn’t squeeze in, but upon hearing that there were plenty of clothes, they went to Aunt Jiang’s shop to buy New Year’s goods. After purchasing the goods, they asked Aunt Jiang if they could leave their items there while they went to buy clothes, planning to pick everything up later.

Aunt Jiang’s house was a self-built two-story home with two main rooms upstairs. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law lived in one room. Aunt Jiang and her husband used to share a room with their two children, but as the children grew older, they divided the room with a curtain, giving the elder sister a separate space, while the younger brother slept on the floor in Aunt Jiang and Uncle Jiang’s room.

They sold chickens, ducks, and fish, while Aunt Jiang’s side of the business dealt in tobacco, wine, milk, red dates, cereals, fruits, and other items. Everyone managed their own business, and they shared a yard and small kitchen at the back.

Seeing someone wanting to leave their goods behind, Aunt Jiang directed them to the backyard, telling them to place their items in the corridor and said, “You can keep your things here, but you’ll have to look after them yourself. I’m too busy with business, so I can’t help. Make sure to keep an eye on them yourself.”

The person who left the goods behind tied the mouth of their snakeskin bag with hemp rope and said, “Don’t worry. I’m just buying clothes right here at your door. I won’t go far. I’ll keep an eye on my things.”

After that, the person squeezed into the crowd.

“Boss, can you give me two pieces at a cheaper price?”

Those who didn’t bargain got the lowest price. Those who wanted to haggle went to the middle of the street to shop. Tong Jingang was so busy that he was sweating, continuously collecting and exchanging money. Jiang Bai originally wanted to iron each piece of clothing to make them look smooth.

Who knew? The buyers didn’t care if the clothes were flat or not. They only cared if the material was good, whether the clothes were warm, and if they could withstand dirt.

Many of the buyers were men in their thirties or forties with thick, strong hands. They touched and tugged at the material, finding it strong and warm. Unable to bargain, they quickly paid for the clothes and bought two pieces.

During Chinese New Year, they wanted to buy new clothes for their wives and children. If they went to a store on the main street, a single dress would cost 120 or 130 yuan. Even after bargaining, it would still be 100 yuan per piece. That was unaffordable.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived with their bundles, the first thing they heard was that cotton-padded clothes and jackets were starting at 34 yuan. Compared to those stores where clothes took a long time to pay off and cost more than 100 yuan, these jackets were only thirty-nine or forty-nine yuan, less than half the price.

Their only concern was about the quality. But when they heard the loudspeaker announcing that the Jiangnan Garment Factory had closed down and that these were high-quality clothes originally priced over 100, 200, or 300 yuan, their worries disappeared. After feeling the material and finding it strong, durable, and warm, they quickly bought the clothes.

They appreciated not having to bargain—it didn’t feel like a rip-off. When clothes required bargaining, even if they got a good deal and the seller was happy, they might still feel like they paid too much.

This was better. The price was the same for everyone. No bargaining. They could buy two coats for the price of one in a regular store. Their wives and children could each get one. After showing off their purchases, they imagined their wives praising them for getting such a good deal, which made the men feel proud and responsible.

There were also young guys who didn’t think about others at all and just wanted to buy clothes for themselves.

These young men worked outside all year round and were reluctant to spend money. They only bought new clothes for Chinese New Year. When they saw such cheap clothes in Shuibu Town, they hesitated, clutching the money in their pockets. Thinking of their mothers at home, they couldn’t help but squeeze in. Some saw leather shoes and asked, “How much for the leather shoes?”

The employees of Jiangnan Garment Factory finally squeezed in to expose that liar, but as soon as they did, they were so fascinated by the thirty-nine and forty-nine-yuan leather shoes on the stall that they couldn’t walk away.

And when they looked at the clothes on the stall, they were indeed cheap.

Even as employees of a garment factory, all they could get were defective clothes. Really good clothes were not available to them. Even if they searched thoroughly and brought something back from the factory, it would still be a big roll of threads and rags that were not needed. Even their internal employees could only get such good clothes for about the same price.

They knew how to make their own clothes, but they didn’t know how to make shoes. So, they all spent money to buy a pair of shoes.

While buying, they opened the seams of the shoes to check the quality. After confirming there was no problem, one asked Jiang Bai, “Which Jiangnan Garment Factory are you from? I’m from the second factory. Why haven’t I heard about which Jiangnan Garment Factory closed down and the guy who ran away with his employee?”

Wucheng people spoke Mandarin, but they didn’t distinguish between flat and curved tones, m and n, or nasal sounds. In addition, the sound quality of loudspeakers and recorders in this era wasn’t high-definition, and there was a lot of noise. The employees of Jiangnan Garment Factory couldn’t tell whether Tong Jingang was saying Director He, Director Hi, or Director Hai. They couldn’t even tell if he was talking about Jiangnan Garment Factory, Jianglan Garment Factory, Jianglang Garment Factory, or Jiang Garment Factory.

Tong Jingang and Jiang Bai hadn’t expected to meet real employees of Jiangnan Garment Factory, but they were convinced that  they were from Jiangnan Garment Factory. They asked them, “Which Jiangnan Garment Factory are you from?”

Since all of them were Nan, Lan, and Lang, they talked to each other, without knowing which garment factory the other party was from.

Jiang Bai and Tong Jingang were too busy. Before they could say much, Tong Jingang became impatient and said, “Brother, I’m still busy here. Let’s talk about it later.”

There was a crossroads in the middle of Shuibu Town. The crossroads connected the roads to neighboring cities, Tanshan and the cement factory on the left and right, and the roads to Fukou and Wucheng up and down. It could be said that it was connected in all directions and was a traffic fortress, especially at the crossroads. The main road and the network of paths leading to the ferry were full of people, and the entire four streets connected to the intersection were bustling.