This time she was prepared to go with Wang Dazhu. With the company seal, it proved that she could open her own business freely. Therefore, Chen Lishu directly bought two sleeper tickets.
There was no direct train, and as usual, the two transferred to another train mid-way.
On the evening of the fourth day, the two finally arrived at the Yangcheng train station.
Although it hadn't been a long time since her last visit, the changes in Yangcheng were almost visible to the naked eye.
Under the illumination of neon lights, the streets were like daylight. Under the colorful lights, the prosperity of the city was already beginning to emerge.
After finding an inn for Wang Dazhu, Chen Lishu called Li Yuanchao early the next morning.
At that time, Li Yuanchao had just returned from the commercial street. The busiest time of the day after the market opened was between four and five in the early morning. Those in the know would choose this time to pick their preferred goods and wholesale them.
He was about to have breakfast and then take a nap, planning to go to the store to keep an eye on things at noon, when the old woman downstairs called him to take a phone call.
"Chao Zai's phone—"
Li Yuanchao, without even finishing his meal, hurried downstairs.
"Since you've been busy with business, you don't even have time to eat anymore," Li's mother complained unhappily.
Li's father picked up a piece of food and said, "The child's career is just starting. It's good to be busy. If he were idle, we would have something to worry about."
"Hello?"
Hearing Li Yuanchao's voice, Chen Lishu smiled, "It's Chen Lishu. I'm in Yangcheng now."
Li Yuanchao was surprised, "You've come to Yangcheng?"
"Yes, I arrived last night."
"Where are you?"
Soon, Chen Lishu told him her location. "If it's convenient, just tell me the address, and I can take a taxi to find you."
What surprised Chen Lishu this time was also the taxi service in Yangcheng. Unlike her first visit, although there were taxis then, they were all stationed specifically at hotels and places frequented by foreign guests and overseas Chinese.
Now, red taxis were visible everywhere on the streets. As long as you waved your hand, they would stop and charge by the meter, which was very convenient.
"That thing is too expensive. You just wait where you are. I'll come and find you right away."
After speaking, Li Yuanchao hung up the phone, rubbed his face, skipped breakfast, shouted to his parents from the stairwell, and turned to head towards the address Chen Lishu had given.
When Chen Lishu first saw Li Yuanchao, she almost didn't recognize him. He had changed a lot compared to before. His hair was neatly combed back with mousse, he was wearing a shirt and a suit jacket on top, and jeans on the bottom. He was carrying a black leather bag in his hand. At first glance, he really looked like a businessman.
"You haven't had breakfast yet at this hour? Let's go, let's eat first, and then we can chat while we eat." As soon as they met, Li Yuanchao greeted her with a smile.
"That works too," Chen Lishu nodded and, with Wang Dazhu, followed Li Yuanchao to a nearby breakfast shop.
"Why didn't you let me know in advance that you were coming so suddenly?" Li Yuanchao asked after they sat down and ordered several breakfast items.
"I made the decision to come on a whim. I've been listening to you talk about the changes here over the phone, and since school is on holiday, I couldn't resist coming to see for myself."
Soon, the breakfast arrived. Wang Dazhu looked at the variety of breakfast items. Although there were many types and they were all quite exquisite, the portions were too small and not very filling. If he were to eat his fill, the few items Li Yuanchao ordered wouldn't even be enough to wet his appetite.
So, for the first time in his life, Wang Dazhu ate his food demurely, lest he couldn't stop himself.
Chen Lishu saw this and called the waiter to add three more baskets of steamed buns for him.
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
The feeling of eating unsatisfactorily while being hesitant was indeed unpleasant, so when the buns arrived, Wang Dazhu could finally eat heartily.
"Actually, I also want to order a batch of spring clothes in advance this time, so I want to go to the market to see the styles." She was quite interested in the jeans Li Yuanchao was wearing.
The price of jeans was still very high at this time, at least over a hundred yuan per pair, which was equivalent to two or three months' salary for an ordinary worker.
However, the quality was also really good, durable and resistant to dirt, wearable in all seasons. A pair would last for several years without a problem.
"I'll take you to the market later. Let me tell you, the water in here is very deep. Without someone familiar guiding you, it's easy to lose money because you don't understand the tactics. Things like 'fixed price, no negotiation' are just talk. If you see something you like, we can discuss it further then."
It was best to have Li Yuanchao guide her. Not only was he familiar with the ways of the market, but he also handled the language barrier. Once the other party spoke quickly, Chen Lishu would basically not understand anything.
After breakfast, the three of them went to the commercial street that Li Yuanchao had mentioned.
Although she had prepared herself, Chen Lishu was still astonished by the prosperity here.
On a street only a few hundred meters long, there were over two thousand shops. Both sides of the street were completely occupied by small shops, each only a few square meters, squeezed together. Pedestrians passed by shoulder to shoulder, and in the crowd, there were also people pulling small carts to sell goods.
The shops were filled with various clothes, shoes, hats, and handicrafts, almost all of which were made by these individual business owners or people they hired.
Due to limited space, in addition to the walls being covered with items, the shop owners simply put a partition on the outer perimeter.
The prices of the goods were not expensive, and the sounds of bargaining could be heard everywhere.
As the three walked along, Chen Lishu suddenly stopped at a stall.
It was a shop selling leather clothing, and there were quite a few styles of clothes.
Seeing her stop, Li Yuanchao stepped forward a couple of paces and greeted the shop owner with a smile. He spoke in authentic Yangcheng dialect, and when the shop owner looked at them, he didn't ask for too much when quoting the price.
"The price naturally varies with the quality. There are those from sixty, seventy, eighty, or even over a hundred and two hundred yuan. It depends on which style you fancy."
Chen Lishu understood these words and said with a smile, "Can you take it down so I can have a look?"
Although the boss had to deal with many customers every day, his attitude was still good. He quickly turned around and took down one piece of each style.
Chen Lishu touched the quality. Honestly, she wasn't very good at judging this, but the feel was good, quite soft.
Li Yuanchao didn't know much about leather clothing either. He asked in detail how to distinguish the quality. Seeing that Chen Lishu was listening blankly, he explained it to her again in Mandarin.
Afterward, Chen Lishu asked about the inventory they had and their production capacity. Then, she thanked the boss and left.
As the saying goes, comparing three shops is better. Afterward, they visited several other shops selling leather clothing and bags, and they had a preliminary understanding of the quality and prices of leather clothing. Li Yuanchao was the best at bargaining. Coupled with the fact that he himself had a shop on this street, he was well aware of the inner workings and easily helped Chen Lishu order one hundred pieces of leather clothing, with both men's and women's styles. The final transaction price was over six thousand and less than seven thousand yuan.