This day, just as Li Yuanchao was about to go out to scout for more, his brother-in-law suddenly came to find him.
"I know you're anxious, so I asked some friends in Pengcheng. They said a clothing factory there just received an order for a batch of denim jackets and wool overcoats. If you're interested, they can sell the leftover stock, but you'll need to pay a partial deposit first."
"Brother-in-law, you're truly my savior," Li Yuanchao said gratefully, then turned to call Chen Lishu.
Chen Lishu had class and didn't hear from Zhao Qiuyue about someone named Li Yuanchao looking for her until she got home that afternoon. Knowing it might be about the goods, she put down her bag and went downstairs to return the call.
There were many inconveniences at school for taking calls. Since she had moved out and had a fixed location, Chen Lishu had the number of a phone booth near the residential area.
Li Yuanchao was anxiously waiting for Chen Lishu's call. When he heard an old woman downstairs calling him to the phone, he immediately dashed downstairs.
"...denim jackets and wool overcoats. Although they're leftover stock, the quality should be fine. The other party only gave general information. If you agree, we'll need to discuss the specifics further when I get there."
Denim jackets also started gaining popularity from the south, and were rarely seen in the north. However, Chen Lishu knew that in a year or two, they would become fashionable. Paired with flared pants and frog-eye glasses, and perhaps a permed hairstyle, denim jackets would be the most eye-catching attire on the street, for both men and women.
Wool overcoats were even more so; their style would never be outdated. Given the scarcity of wool fabric, each coat could sell for at least twenty to thirty yuan.
"Inform them for now that I will send someone to accompany you there in the next couple of days."
After hanging up, Chen Lishu glanced at the time; it was already past three in the afternoon. She wondered if Lin Qi was at the small courtyard and, after a moment's thought, picked up the phone and dialed the number for the phone booth at the street corner.
Lin Qi had just returned from delivering fabric by bike not long ago. He was preparing to check on the situation at the two shops when he suddenly heard someone calling him to the phone. He quickly locked the courtyard gate and went over.
"There's a clothing factory in the south with stock. Arrange your current affairs, come to the provincial capital to pick up your passbook from me, and then book a ticket to the south."
Due to the underdeveloped communication system, remittances not only incurred high fees but also took a very long time to arrive. Chen Lishu felt it would be more convenient to have Lin Qi pick up the passbook directly.
Lin Qi readily agreed, "Okay, Sister Chen. I'll book the train for noon tomorrow to head over."
...
Lin Qi arrived in the provincial capital on the afternoon of the third day. Chen Lishu gave him a few more instructions and then handed him the passbook.
The passbook contained the earnings from her three shops over this period. The initial capital had already been recouped. Excluding the portion shared with Nan Haitao, and after accounting for the over two thousand pieces of stock, there was now over fifty thousand yuan in the passbook, which was certainly enough to order the denim jackets and wool overcoats.
Initially, Chen Lishu had wanted Lin Qi to rest for a night before leaving, but he insisted that sleeping on the train was just as good. He booked a ticket for that same evening and departed.
Fortunately, starting in August, some trains had been sped up. Although the ticket prices were a few yuan more expensive than the slow trains, it saved over ten hours traveling from the provincial capital to Pengcheng.
...
Jiang Weiguo finally received the five hundred pairs of flared pants he had ordered from Liu Xiaoting. As soon as he got the goods, he eagerly put them in his shop.
Because he had obtained a sample beforehand, this batch of goods was almost indistinguishable from the flared pants in Chen Lishu's shop.
Chen Lishu sold hers for eighteen yuan; he directly priced his at seventeen yuan and even put up a small blackboard outside the shop with the conspicuous words 'Flared Pants Seventeen Yuan Each'. As soon as they were displayed, they immediately attracted two customers who were originally heading to 'Shu Se' Clothing Store.
...
One day, after class, Chen Lishu arrived at her shop to find the once lively store rather deserted. Not only were there no customers, but Wang Aixiang was also sitting behind the counter, sighing. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Sister Aixiang, what's wrong?"
Wang Aixiang looked up, saw her enter, and quickly reported, "The 'Meili' Garment Shop down the street somehow got a batch of flared pants. I went to look, and they're exactly the same as ours, but they sell them for one yuan less, only seventeen yuan. Everyone is going over there."
Chen Lishu thought it was no big deal. Flared pants and floral shirts had been selling for some time, and it was already late for similar styles to appear, so she wasn't surprised.
Chen Lishu took a pragmatic view; she couldn't expect to dominate the clothing business alone.
"What are you worried about? We'll just sell them for seventeen yuan too," Chen Lishu said with a smile, unfazed.
"Competition is actually a good thing. It can stimulate consumer spending. Although we'll earn one yuan less per item, we'll sell more with lower prices. Besides, even at seventeen yuan each, we still have a good profit margin."
Hearing Chen Lishu's explanation, Wang Aixiang was finally relieved.
Although it was a price reduction, Chen Lishu didn't want to directly advertise a price cut. Instead, she wrote "Discount" on the display. For any purchase of flared pants or shirts from the store, one item would be 95% of the original price, and two items would be 90%.
Not long after the bright red promotional paper was pasted on the display window, four pairs of flared pants were sold.
Jiang Weiguo had been keeping a close eye on the goings-on at Chen Lishu's shop. At first, he was overjoyed to see the shop's business slow down, especially with the constant stream of customers at 'Meili' Garment Shop due to the lower price. Jiang Weiguo couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
This was the consequence of going against him.
However, before he could savor his happiness for too long, the words "Discount" suddenly appeared on the window opposite.
Ninety-five percent for one item and ninety percent for two meant that buying a pair of flared pants was equivalent to paying sixteen yuan.
His price was seventeen yuan, and Chen Lishu directly lowered hers to sixteen, clearly intending to compete with him. Jiang Weiguo narrowed his eyes, wondering who could outlast whom.
Jiang Weiguo took some time to visit his shop and directly told the person in charge of the shop, "The 'Shu Se' Clothing Store at the street corner is now selling for sixteen yuan a pair. We'll sell them for fifteen."
He had stocked them on the eleventh, and even selling them for fifteen yuan still yielded a profit of four yuan per item.
When Chen Lishu learned that 'Meili' Garment Shop had lowered the price of flared pants to fifteen yuan, she raised an eyebrow. Logically, a single price reduction should suffice to stimulate consumption. However, she had a feeling that the opponent's rapid price changes seemed intentionally targeted at her shop.
"Sister, I noticed earlier that the Yimin Store opposite, the one that caused you trouble before, Jiang something..."
"Jiang Weiguo."
Wang Aixiang nodded, "Yes, that's him. He seems to have some connection with that 'Meili' Garment Shop."
Wang Aixiang then shared what she had discovered with Chen Lishu.
After hearing Wang Aixiang's account, Chen Lishu was thoughtful.
There was already a conflict between them. If that shop truly had a connection with Jiang Weiguo, or was even owned by him, it would be understandable why he was so persistent in lowering prices.
Wang Aixiang asked, "What should we do, Sister? They've lowered the price to fifteen yuan. Should we follow suit?"