If she bought white cloth herself and had it processed at another printing and dyeing factory, there would definitely be a profit in the middle.
Although she already had an idea in mind, she needed to personally verify it. Therefore, Chen Lishu did not show it and did not reveal a single word. Instead, she first ordered two thousand yuan worth of Dacron.
Chen Lishu did not plan to make ready-made clothes with this batch of fabric. Instead, she would sell the fabric directly in the store. Although the profit would be a little less, every little bit counts, and she decided to earn what she could first.
After selecting the patterns, she and Liang Chunsheng directly took the fabric to the store.
"Why did you bring it all to the store? Aren't we making ready-made clothes anymore?" Seeing them moving fabric into the store, Wang Aixiang also hurried over to help.
Together with Chen Lishu, they lifted a bolt of cloth and sent it upstairs.
"The cost of this batch of fabric is too high, so we won't be making clothes for now. We'll just sell the fabric in the store."
After the three of them finished moving all the fabric, Chen Lishu found paper and a pen, wrote "Newly Arrived Dacron" in large characters, and then took it to the door to post.
Yimin Store was diagonally opposite. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Chen Lishu priced the fabric in her store the same as theirs, one yuan and eighty cents per foot, but she did not accept cloth coupons.
Even though each foot of fabric was two inches of cloth coupons less, for families with many children, especially young children, saving two inches of cloth coupons could add up to a lot.
As soon as the promotional paper was posted, customers quickly came to inquire. Although the price was the same as Yimin Store, not only was each foot of fabric two inches of cloth coupons less, but the service attitude was also much better than the salesclerks at Yimin Store who always had a gloomy face as if they had lost a relative. For the same amount of money, people naturally went where it was cheaper and more pleasant.
Soon, news spread from one to ten and then to a hundred. Not only was a lot of fabric sold, but it also drove sales of several more ready-made garments.
With the idea of processing white cloth in mind, Chen Lishu took time out of her classes to visit another printing and dyeing factory in the city. Upon hearing that she wanted to process and dye white cloth, the factory leaders were quite enthusiastic. After some negotiation, an agreement was reached at a price of fifty cents per meter.
With definite news, Chen Lishu then went to the textile factory and shared her plans with Li Zhengxing.
"You're going to buy white cloth and have it processed?" Li Zhengxing was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and found it understandable.
Although he was the section chief of the sales department, he could not influence the factory's pricing, unless it was through private channels.
"This is indeed a good idea." Li Zhengxing had no other thoughts as he received a commission for selling any fabric. Instead, he was somewhat impressed by Chen Lishu's ingenuity.
The factory's finished products were bound to be relatively more expensive, so dismantling them was more cost-effective.
The first time, Chen Lishu bought two thousand yuan worth of white cloth, then took it to the printing and dyeing factory, chose fashionable patterns herself, and after it was printed, she took it to the store to sell.
Within a week, all four thousand yuan worth of fabric was sold out, and she turned a profit of over two thousand yuan.
Seeing the results, Chen Lishu reinvested all the money again. A portion of the finished fabric was shipped back to the county to make clothes, and another portion was kept in the store for sale.
As the business boomed, earning over a thousand yuan a day, Chen Lishu, fearing the jealousy of observant individuals, slammed on the brakes and stopped production immediately.
"You're stopping such a great business?" Wang Aixiang and Liang Chunsheng could not accept it. Who would stop such a profitable business for no reason unless they were crazy?
Chen Lishu was the opposite. Her mind was not clouded; rather, she was very clear-headed. As the saying goes, "The wind will surely destroy the tree that stands tall in the forest." It was better to make a fortune quietly.
"Think about it, who are all the people on this street? They are all individual business owners. How many eyes are watching us? We can figure out our turnover based on the people coming and going from the store every day, can't we?"
After Chen Lishu's explanation, Wang Aixiang and Liang Chunsheng also realized with a belated shock and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Sister, haven't we already attracted unwanted attention?" Wang Aixiang said worriedly.
She had not forgotten the time when the industry and commerce bureau had come to apprehend people. The crime they had defined was something like, yes, typical speculation and profiteering!
Once something was designated as a typical case, it was never good.
Chen Lishu was not sure. "I think as long as we are more careful from now on, there shouldn't be a big problem."
Hearing her say that, Wang Aixiang felt a little relieved.
"Sister Aixiang, please go and take down the paper posted on the door. From now on, no matter who asks, we will just say that the fabric is gone."
Wang Aixiang quickly went to take down the paper as instructed. While she was taking down the paper, two people approached. "Comrade, why are you taking down the paper? We want to come in and look at the fabric."
"It's gone. The store won't be selling fabric anymore." Her voice was a bit loud, and passersby couldn't help but slow down and look curiously.
At the entrance of Yimin Store across the street, which had almost no business, two idle salesclerks heard the commotion, exchanged glances, and soon one of them walked towards Wang Aixiang.
The two customers inquiring about the fabric clearly could not accept this: "My colleague bought fabric here this morning, how can it be gone now?"
Wang Aixiang sighed as she spoke, completely appearing to want to speak but hesitant, as if she had hidden difficulties. "If we had any, would we be turning customers away? Alas, we really have no stock. If you really want to buy, why don't you try Yimin Store across the street?"
These words made everyone think that something had happened to 'Shuse' clothing store. Especially the salesclerk from Yimin Store, who had seen 'Shuse' clothing store snatch away almost all their business during this period. Although they were idle, seeing how well their business was doing, they were indeed envious. She and another store clerk were already preparing to report them.
Could it be that the salesclerk was stunned for a moment, looking at the frowning Wang Aixiang, and had she really been reported already?
Although she felt happy inwardly, after all, Wang Aixiang had just introduced customers to their store, so she tried hard not to laugh and walked to Wang Aixiang's side to comfort her. "Comrade, it's okay. As long as the person hasn't been taken away, your store is still open, right? You just can't sell fabric. In business, you always have to be optimistic."
???
Wang Aixiang looked up blankly. "Comrade, you've misunderstood. Our store..."
The other party immediately gave her a knowing look. "I know, you don't need to say more. From now on, when customers in our store want to buy clothes, I'll try my best to recommend a few more to you."
Seeing her dejected look, she probably had to pay a hefty fine. Tsk, although individual business owners seem to earn a lot, they are not as good as state-run employees, who at least have stable income regardless of droughts or floods.
Wang Aixiang blinked at the salesclerk opposite her. Did Chen Lishu say to keep a low profile? Was she overdoing it just now?