"I thought my tailor shop was doing quite well before, but looking at your trading company now, my business is nothing compared to this!" Su Taohua exclaimed, watching the stream of customers, as if the goods in the shop were free.
Su Xiaotian couldn't help but chuckle, "Aunt Taohua, if so many people came to your shop, how could you possibly manage?"
Making clothes takes time; even for a skilled tailor, a single outfit would take half a day.
Su Taohua smiled at Su Xiaotian's words.
She was simply feeling that her own business wasn't as successful as the children's, hence her remark.
"Aunt Taohua, have you ever considered expanding your business?"
It would be uninteresting to remain a small tailor shop forever. If you could invest money, it would be better to hire more people.
"This child, I'm already struggling to manage as it is, and I've already hired one person!"
"Hiring one person versus hiring three to five people doesn't make much of a difference," Su Xiaotian said with a smile. "Why don't you try hiring a few more people?"
"What if I hire more people and there's no business?"
While her tailor shop did good business, it was only enough for two people to manage. If she hired more people, she wouldn't be able to attract enough work.
"You could make ready-to-wear clothes and sell them here," Su Xiaotian suggested to Su Taohua, pointing to the crowd in the clothing section.
Su Xiaotian's words were like a bolt from the blue. Su Taohua understood immediately.
It wasn't the time anymore when everything required coupons. She could choose fabrics herself and make ready-to-wear garments.
Just like the silk shirts, silk skirts, and silk scarves she collaborated with Xiaotian to make, if they were well-made, many people would prefer to buy them directly.
"Xiaotian, this child is so sharp. Taohua, you should give it a try!"
Yu Ruiyuan felt that Su Xiaotian's suggestion made perfect sense.
In fact, if it were up to her, they could directly open a garment factory and have their own brand.
However, Taohua and Shen Zizhen didn't have enough capital. Opening a garment factory directly might require more money than they had.
Su Xiaomei, who was busy serving customers nearby, overheard the conversation.
She thought expanding the scale was a good idea, and perhaps even opening a factory in the future, but she wasn't sure what her mother thought.
Huo Sinian mentioned that he could find someone to help them buy some electric sewing machines, which were much more advanced than the foot-pedaled ones they were currently using.
Su Xiaomei's idea was just a fleeting thought. There were too many customers, and she really couldn't discuss it today.
Everyone worked tirelessly until nine in the evening before closing.
The Su family children began to tally the day's earnings.
The small bills, some of them crumpled, were not easy to count.
Fortunately, they had enough people.
Gathered around the counter, they all started counting the money.
As for the six sales assistants, though exhausted, they persisted in tidying up the merchandise, putting the disturbed goods back in order, and cleaning the shop.
Yu Ruiyuan and the others had long since given up and found places to sit and rest.
Seeing everyone looking so utterly worn out, Su Xiaotian smiled and said, "Aunt Taohua, please take Uncle Shen, Grandma Gan, and Grandpa Chi to Yiming Pavilion first. I've asked Grandma to prepare dinner. Grandpa, you're tired too, so you should go back and rest!"
Due to the busy business, they hadn't eaten well at lunch, just making do. They couldn't make do again for dinner.
Su Taohua was too tired to move, but her stomach was indeed hungry.
She got up and called out, "Aunt Yu, Uncle Du, Uncle Chi, thank you for your hard work today. Since there's good food, let's go quickly to replenish our energy!"
However, the elders were worried about leaving only the children behind and were uneasy.
Although the public security was said to be good in this era, wealth attracted attention. The good business their shop had today, and the people coming and going, must have seen their earnings.
What if there were people with ill intentions?
"I'll stay behind. I'm not at ease leaving only you children," Grandpa Su said worriedly.
"Father, aren't I here? And Professor Huo. You can go back and rest with peace of mind, otherwise, you won't be able to support yourself tomorrow!" Su Laosan quickly persuaded him.
If the elders stayed, they wouldn't be able to help if something serious happened.
"Yes, Grandpa, we probably won't have fewer people tomorrow either. You go back first, and we'll be back after we finish counting."
Although someone would guard the shop temporarily, the money had to be counted and taken back.
After sending off Su Taohua and the others, half an hour later, the day's gross profit was finally calculated.
The numbers astonished them.
"Xiaotian, did I hear that right? The gross profit today is nearly six thousand yuan?"
"Sister Xiaomei, you heard correctly. Our Rongfa Trading Company's gross profit today is nearly six thousand yuan," Su Xiaotian replied with a smile, seeing Su Xiaomei's surprised expression.
"How much money will we make in a month at this rate!" Su Xiaomei suddenly felt like she would soon be a wealthy person.
"The shop has just opened, so business will be a bit better. After half a month when things stabilize, we can then determine if our shop will be profitable.
The current location of the shop isn't ideal. Although there are some residential areas nearby, it can't compare to the city center.
Su Xiaotian is more focused on the future development potential of this shop.
With economic development, Su Xiaotian believes that this shop will bring them immense profits.
"Our purchase price and selling price have a forty percent markup. Calculated at this rate, with over three thousand two hundred yuan, the net profit today is also over two thousand yuan," Su Si quickly calculated.
The shop currently employs six sales assistants and one night watchman, all earning forty yuan a month. The wages for seven people amount to two hundred and eighty yuan per month.
On average, this comes to ten yuan per day.
This calculation was truly remarkable. Their net profit for today alone was over two thousand yuan. If they could maintain this sales volume, they would make sixty thousand yuan in a month.
He owned twenty percent, which meant he would earn over ten thousand yuan a month.
Good heavens, this was what making money was all about! What had he been doing so busily before?
"Xiaotian, at this pace, it's more profitable than our previous buying and selling," Su Si grabbed Su Xiaotian's arm, extremely excited.
Su Xiaotian chuckled, "Brother Si, your calculation isn't quite right. When we were buying and selling, we made quick money, but for opening a shop, we spent so much time and effort on initial stocking and renovation, not to mention the substantial investment."
Su Xiaotian's words immediately doused Su Si's excitement.
When calculated this way, it seemed less profitable than buying and selling.