Shop assistant Li saw that her expression didn't seem like a lie and realized something was wrong. She went behind the counter and took out a box to show her, "Look. That person came in and said you were your sister-in-law, and I thought you weren't able to come."
Chen Lishu bent down to look and saw that it was filled to the brim with hair clips.
Her sister-in-law? Zhang Qin and Liu Yuemin had both been at home recently, and there was no way they would have had time to make so many hair clips.
She must have been impersonated.
At first, Chen Lishu didn't think anything of it. But after she had visited all the shops and found that the situation in each shop was basically the same, she couldn't help but start to suspect.
"Third sister-in-law, what do we do now?"
Gu Xingye looked at the bag full of hair clips at his feet, feeling both angry and anxious. If they couldn't be sold, it was all money. "If I find out who did this wicked deed, I'll beat them up!"
Chen Lishu also stared at the bag containing the hair clips, then said slowly after a long while, "I think I know who did it."
Gu Xingye gritted his teeth, "Who?"
"Sister-in-law number two went back to her maiden home twice recently."
During busy farming seasons, everyone almost never took leave to earn work points. But Liu Yuemin, who usually only visited her parents twice a year, had gone back twice in a few days. She claimed it was a family matter.
Moreover, whether it was the hair clips or the places supplying them, besides her own family, she couldn't think of anyone else who would know about it so clearly.
"You mean sister-in-law number two?" Gu Xingye was surprised, then shook his head, "Impossible. Sister-in-law number two is family to us, after all. Why would she do this? Third sister-in-law, don't overthink it. Perhaps someone saw you delivering goods and copied you."
Chen Lishu also didn't want to believe her suspicions were true. After all, although Liu Yuemin had many minor flaws, the nature of this matter was completely different.
"I hope so," Chen Lishu sighed, bent down, picked up the bag, and turned around, walking towards the supply and marketing cooperative not far away.
Gu Xingye followed her movement.
The shop assistant looked at Chen Lishu returning with some confusion.
Before she could ask, Chen Lishu smiled and said, "Sister Liu, how about this? Although you still have surplus hair clips, these things have no shelf life. As long as you keep them, they will eventually sell. If you can keep more, I'll sell them to you for 0.13 yuan each, what do you think?"
She had accumulated nearly a thousand in the past two months. Their place was just a county town, with a limited population and thus limited demand. Although hair clips were consumables, people nowadays used things carefully. Once they bought one, they wouldn't change it for a year or a half.
The craftsmanship for hair clips was not complex, and she never intended to monopolize the market. A price reduction was inevitable sooner or later. She just didn't expect this day to come so soon, and even so unexpectedly.
"0.13 yuan?" Sister Liu hesitated, but then thought that what Chen Lishu said was indeed true. Hair clips, after all, wouldn't expire if kept and sold slowly. She could even earn two more cents.
"Alright, then keep a hundred for me."
"Thank you, Sister Liu," Chen Lishu said, quickly counting out a hundred and handing them over. Sister Liu accepted the goods and gave her thirteen yuan.
"Third sister-in-law, why are you lowering the price? When they sell out, can't you just deliver them again later at 0.15 yuan?" Outside the supply and marketing cooperative, Gu Xingye finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
Chen Lishu patiently explained, "If the market is saturated and we don't lower the price, they will become unsalable. Besides, if I lower the price first and let the supply and marketing cooperatives stock more of my goods, even if the other party lowers their price later, they might not be able to get the orders."
Gu Xingye pondered carefully and finally understood. Whoever makes the first move seizes the initiative.
"What were you thinking, third sister-in-law? You're truly amazing." He looked at Chen Lishu with even more admiration.
Chen Lishu smiled, and they returned the way they came, visiting all the previous shops again. Seeing her lower the price, those shops bought some goods to varying degrees.
Soon, nearly a thousand hair clips were sold at 0.13 yuan each, and she had more than 121 yuan in her pocket.
Since Gu Xingye was there today, and he was a rare source of labor, Chen Lishu took him to the Qingshan Garment Factory.
"Little Chen is here," Chen Xiangfa said happily upon seeing her. His gaze fell on Gu Xingye behind her. "Is this your man?"
Gu Xingye's face immediately turned bright red. Fortunately, his face was dark, so it wasn't very noticeable.
Chen Lishu smiled and explained, "Grandpa, this is my uncle."
"Oh, oh. Look at this misunderstanding."
Knowing it was a misunderstanding, Chen Xiangfa also felt a bit embarrassed. He invited them into the house first and poured them a cup of water in an enamel mug.
"Is business doing well lately? Your sister-in-law came to get some goods a while ago. We were chatting, and she mentioned your man had written to say he was coming back and couldn't get away, which is why I misunderstood."
Chen Lishu and Gu Xingye exchanged a glance. If the supply and marketing cooperative was a coincidence, how could they explain this garment factory? And they even knew that Gu Xingdong had written.
Chen Lishu smiled and didn't explain much.
Soon, Chen Xiangfa got up to find Liu Xiaoting. When he returned, he told them to go to the backyard.
After bidding farewell to Chen Xiangfa, their expressions were not very good.
They walked to the small door at the back in silence. Liu Xiaoting was already waiting there. She was startled when she saw Gu Xingye behind Chen Lishu.
"This is my uncle, Gu Xingye," Chen Lishu introduced with a strained smile.
Liu Xiaoting nodded, "Here are thirty catties. You asked for too much last time, and this is all that's left now."
The "last time" she mentioned was probably when someone impersonated her sister-in-law.
"Thank you, Sister Liu."
Chen Lishu gave her three yuan. Just as she was about to take the bag and leave, Liu Xiaoting hesitated and called out to her, "Our factory has a batch of export surplus goods, that is, clothes and pants that were returned due to minor flaws. They are five yuan each. Would you like to take a look?"
Having seen Chen Lishu as a reliable person so many times, she decided to mention it. Although they were export surplus, the quality was generally very good.
However, those with conditions would definitely buy the perfect ones, and for those without, five yuan was too expensive. After all, the cost was there, and the factory would rather keep them in storage than sell them cheaply.
Chen Lishu's spirits immediately lifted when she heard there were clothes for sale.
"Can I see the goods first?"
Liu Xiaoting glanced at them and emphasized again, "Five yuan each. Are you sure you can afford them?"
Chen Lishu nodded, "I'll check the situation first. If there are no major issues, I'll definitely buy them."
Liu Xiaoting thought for a moment, "Please wait a moment, I'll go and speak to the director."
After about ten minutes, Liu Xiaoting's figure appeared in the distance, waving to them. "Both of you, come in with me."
Gu Xingye subconsciously looked at Chen Lishu. Seeing Chen Lishu nod, he followed her step by step into the factory.
This was Chen Lishu's first time entering a garment factory. Upon entering, there was a rather spacious courtyard. In the courtyard, there was a diamond-shaped flower bed, and a few trees were planted by the wall. On the other side, there were basketball hoops and a ping pong table, presumably the recreational area.