"Chen, my friends told me your cashmere sweaters are good and reasonably priced, so everyone in our group of friends who came to check things out wants to buy one. Can you give us a better price?"
After Peter finished speaking, he looked at Chen Lishu with some trepidation. He had heard from others at the hotel that bargaining was possible when buying many items, but he wasn't sure if it was true.
Chen Lishu smiled, "We're friends, so of course I can. How about a 10% discount for you?"
"Really? Thank you so much," Peter said excitedly. "There are five of us, and we also want to bring some back for relatives and friends. I want ten pieces."
Chen Lishu had only expected him to buy three or four pieces at most, so she was surprised when he asked for ten.
After packing the cashmere sweaters Peter needed, he paid and curiously asked, "Chen, with such good quality clothes and low prices, why aren't there many customers in the store? If you advertised in newspapers or on TV, many more people would see them."
Chen Lishu explained with a smile, "Advertising costs too much. Just one page in a newspaper costs seven hundred yuan, and TV advertising would be even more expensive."
She had considered this issue before, but after learning the prices, she abandoned the idea of advertising. Moreover, advertising in newspapers was too ostentatious, and the store didn't have a phone. Communication wasn't very developed, so even with advertising, the effect wouldn't be significant. It would be more cost-effective to develop more salespeople to promote the products.
After sending Peter off, Chen Lishu thought for a moment, picked up two cashmere sweaters, greeted Wang Aixiang, and then turned to Zhang Xue, saying, "I'm going out for a bit. Are you coming with me or waiting for me here?"
Zhang Xue quickly replied, "I'll go with you."
Soon, the two of them left the store. Chen Lishu's target this time was the department store.
The emergence of the individual economy had the greatest impact on supply and marketing cooperatives. Some supply and marketing cooperatives in the city had already changed their operating models, no longer sticking to unified purchase and sale but adopting a responsibility system of 'profit contracting and bonus sharing for exceeding quotas.' The "Provincial Capital Daily" had even published a special report on this.
Chen Lishu was not yet sure about the current situation of the department store, so she wanted to find out first. If possible, she planned to stock up on some goods along the way.
After asking two staff members, she finally found the manager in charge of the clothing section, Manager Yang.
"Hello, my name is Chen Lishu, and I am a staff member of the Wool Spinning Factory responsible for cashmere sweater sales."
She introduced herself not as an individual but as a staff member of the Wool Spinning Factory, which would be more convenient.
Manager Yang smiled and shook her hand, "Hello, hello, please have a seat."
Chen Lishu glanced at Zhang Xue, and they both sat down on the chairs beside them.
"Your section chief visited two months ago, and I explained the situation in detail to him then. Our department store has always cooperated with cashmere sweater factories in Shanghai. To be honest, there's no significant difference in the quality of cashmere sweaters produced by the two factories. Our price is thirty-five yuan, which is slightly cheaper than Shanghai's, but we don't dare to take the risk without customer recognition."
The arrival of someone from the Wool Spinning Factory was within Chen Lishu's expectations. After listening to Manager Yang, she pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, Manager Yang? I see that the cashmere sweaters displayed in the department store are at least fifty to sixty yuan. I'll place the cashmere sweaters here for you without any fees. We'll settle the payment for each piece sold."
"This..." Having sold goods for so many years, Manager Yang had never encountered anyone who gave away goods without charging.
"The price will still be thirty-five yuan as before. If you agree, I only have one condition."
Manager Yang became curious, "What condition?"
"Place our factory's 'Peony' cashmere sweaters alongside other cashmere sweaters, with an external selling price of fifty yuan. Unless customers ask specifically, I hope the store staff do not mention it proactively."
Manager Yang, who had been somewhat casual, straightened up involuntarily after hearing Chen Lishu's words.
Seeing the young woman before her, Manager Yang realized she was quite shrewd. If things were done according to her proposal, cashmere sweaters of the same quality but at a lower price would naturally have an advantage. Combined with deliberately blurring the lines by placing them together, there would be no doubt about their sales.
"For a contract of thirty-five yuan, we will naturally offer you a better price. Thirty-three yuan per piece, what do you think?"
Previously, the personnel from the Wool Spinning Factory had only quoted the price stipulated by the higher-ups, so the price was fixed. Chen Lishu, however, was different. As the sole agent for the Northeast region, she not only had an advantage in pricing but also had more discretion than the factory's sales staff.
After listening to Chen Lishu, Manager Yang smiled, "With such 'favorable' conditions, I really can't think of any reason to refuse."
Chen Lishu returned his smile, "Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation."
Soon, the two parties signed an agreement, and Manager Yang stated that they could send a hundred cashmere sweaters over first.
As they walked out, Chen Lishu saw Zhang Xue staring at her intently and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Lishu, I find you truly amazing. When you were discussing matters with Manager Yang just now, you were completely different from the you I usually know."
Chen Lishu chuckled, "How am I different? It's still me, one nose and two eyes."
Zhang Xue shook her head, "You're different. When we were at school, I felt you had a good personality and spoke gently, but just now..."
Zhang Xue frowned and thought for a moment, "I can't quite explain it, but it's very different. It's as if you were radiating light all over, and you seemed more confident. I couldn't even look away."
Chen Lishu couldn't help but feel amused, "It's not that exaggerated."
The two of them went down the stairs. Just as they were about to lift the cotton curtain at the door that blocked the wind, the curtain was swung from the outside, hitting Chen Lishu and Zhang Xue.
The person also felt that they had bumped into someone. As they emerged from behind the curtain, they quickly apologized, "Sorry, I bumped into you."
"It's okay," Chen Lishu waved her hand, as the person hadn't done it intentionally. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the other person say uncertainly, "Is that you?"
Chen Lishu looked up and saw a man in his twenties standing in front of her. He was quite tall, but Chen Lishu had no recollection of him.
Liang Chunsheng saw Chen Lishu's unfamiliar gaze and knew she had forgotten him. He smiled and introduced himself, "It's me, Liang Chunsheng. You and another female comrade surnamed Wang visited my home before. Hongqi Street, fabric."
Chen Lishu suddenly remembered that this was when she first came to the provincial capital to sell fabric, and he had bought fabric from her.
She recalled that she had considered hiring him at the time, but unfortunately, Liang Chunsheng was determined to wait for an arrangement from the factory, and then she lost contact with him.
Chen Lishu nodded politely, "I remember now. Have you started working?"
Liang Chunsheng smiled wryly and shook his head, "The number of educated youths returning to the city increases every year, but there are only so many positions in the factories. It's one carrot, one hole. I've waited for so long without any news that I've given up hope."