1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 161 Wool sweaters are popular, and money is made.
"about there."

Lin Xiyu secretly rejoiced.

With such a grand display, this person will now be branded as "this cat," and no one will dare to compete with her for him anymore.

"That's not necessarily the case."

Gu Bin saw through her little scheme and smiled slyly: "If you don't keep a close eye on things, there will definitely be plenty of people trying to steal your girlfriend. Even if they don't openly try to steal her away, they can still do it secretly by sending her a love letter, organizing an event, attending a party, or dancing a ballroom dance."

Lin Xiyu blushed when she heard about ballroom dancing, feeling like she was being subtly mocked again.

"If you want to keep an eye on your boyfriend, you need to come often."

Gu Bin continued slyly, "If you come to Fudan University and study with me in the library, I can tutor you."

I'm afraid of having you around.

Lin Xiyu muttered to herself, "I just can't keep studying."

"What did you say?"

Gu Bin suppressed a laugh and pretended not to hear.

"A feast for the eyes."

Lin Xiyu sighed with great distress: "I'm afraid I don't have that much self-control. I'll be too busy looking at you to keep up with my studies."

"hehe."

Gu Bin heard what he wanted to hear and laughed even more heartily.

-

The wool sweaters were more popular than expected, and my cousin called me excitedly before the end of the month.

The call went directly to the girls' dormitory at East China Normal University, where the person praised the dormitory extensively.

Lin Xiyu's aesthetic sense is no joke; even the cheapest items she finds in the 10% off section can bring unexpected surprises.

My cousin kept excitedly praising it, which attracted the attention of the dormitory supervisors.

There are no telephones in the girls' dormitory. To answer a call, you have to go to the gatehouse downstairs, where the dormitory supervisor will call you over a loudspeaker.

The timing of her cousin's call was unfortunate; Lin Xiyu was washing her hair when she heard her name called. Without even drying it, she wrapped herself in a towel and rushed downstairs.

The landline phone wasn't well soundproofed, and my cousin's loud voice came through the receiver, audible to everyone in the guard room.

The two dormitory supervisors kept staring at her, as if they wanted to stare a flower out of her face.

"Sis, is there anything else? If not, I'll hang up."

Lin Xiyu mistakenly thought the towel on her head was the cause of the trouble, which made the dormitory supervisor feel a little uneasy. Seeing that her cousin had no intention of stopping, she had no choice but to interrupt her herself.

"Xiyu, all our relatives and friends love the wool sweaters you sent. My mom's colleagues almost bought them all. Now I don't have any gifts to give as gifts."

My cousin finally got to the point: "Go to the wholesale market again this weekend and buy as much as you can. I'll wire you some more money tomorrow. I added 20 yuan to the price of each sweater, and that's half of your commission."

Earning 20 yuan per sweater, 100 sweaters would be 2000 yuan. After deducting 250 yuan for shipping, half of that would still be over 800 yuan in profit.

The thought of making money made Lin Xiyu feel confident again, and the previous awkward moment vanished.

"Excuse me, can you buy a cheap wool sweater?"

After she hung up the phone, she understood why the two dormitory supervisors had been paying special attention to her.

So they came for the wool sweater!
She breathed a sigh of relief and gave the two aunties a sweet smile: "Yes, I asked around and found out where there is a wholesale market where I can buy cheap wool sweaters."

"Could you also bring us a few items?"

The two dormitory supervisors are also from out of town, and they want to take some items back to their hometowns as gifts when they go back for the Chinese New Year.

"It's feasible."

Lin Xiyu pretended to be in a difficult position: "It's just that I bought too many and they're too heavy for me to carry by myself."

"We help you."

The two dormitory supervisors were overjoyed when they heard there was hope.

"Okay."

Lin Xiyu's eyes lit up, thinking that this was a good excuse to get rid of Gu Bin and not let him come along, so she readily agreed: "Which day of the weekend are you free? Let's go together."

"Saturday."

The two dormitory supervisors were overjoyed: "We work the night shift on Friday, and we get off work on Saturday morning."

"Row."

Lin Xiyu had no objections, gave a few more careful instructions, and left the gatehouse happily.

-

With two dormitory supervisors accompanying him, Gu Bin indeed gave up his plan to go shopping with her.

Early Saturday morning, after the dormitory shift ended, the three of them left the school together and took a bus to the suburbs.

With the experience from last time, Lin Xiyu was much more adept at purchasing goods this time.

As soon as the doors opened at 7 o'clock, she sprinted to the front and grabbed a few new wool sweaters that she liked.

"The young girl runs so fast, we old folks can't keep up."

The two dormitory supervisors were stunned. One of them was jostled by the crowd and almost lost her footing, falling to the ground in a sorry state.

"It was the same last time I came."

Lin Xiyu's ears turned slightly red, and she generously distributed the new wool sweaters to the two dormitory supervisors.

Is this a new model?

"It's a bit expensive."

"Wearing such a nice wool sweater is too extravagant for country folk. We should get the cheaper, discounted ones. You can keep the new ones for yourself."

The two dormitory supervisors glanced at the price and shook their heads, feeling a pang of regret, when they saw it cost seventy or eighty yuan per piece.

"Okay, if you don't want it, that's fine. There are better deals in the discount section later. Let's browse slowly."

Lin Xiyu had originally planned to buy some new wool sweaters for her family, and when she saw that they didn't want them, she readily agreed.

"Xi Yu, you have a good eye. We need you to help us pick out a few more items."

Upon arriving at the discount section, the two dormitory supervisors stared wide-eyed, as if they had discovered a treasure, their eyes shining with excitement.

"Row."

Lin Xiyu wasn't pretentious; she picked out styles and colors they liked for them, and then the two of them chose the ones they liked themselves.

"Xi Yu has such good taste. This color suits your skin tone so well. You look great in it."

"This one is great for my daughter too. She's such a pretty little girl, she should wear yellow."

"Why is there such a big difference between people? The one I picked looks so tacky, but Xi Yu just picked one casually and it looks better than the one I picked."

"That's why they handle the sourcing; that's real skill."

"It's so cheap, that's great! If only we could buy them and resell them to make some money."

“I think so too. If you make ten yuan on a sweater, a hundred sweaters would be a thousand yuan, which is more than our combined monthly salary.”

The two dormitory supervisors became increasingly excited as they picked through their selections, and they even started thinking about reselling them for profit.

"Why don't we talk to her?"

One of the women, surnamed Zhang, rolled her eyes and had an idea: "From now on, we'll work for her and have her bring us along every time she goes shopping so she can help us pick out clothes."

"Isn't this not good?"

Another woman, surnamed Huang, hesitated: "Helping someone once is fine, but if I keep asking for help every time, I can't refuse. I'm too embarrassed to ask."

"We won't let her help for nothing."

Aunt Zhang is quick-witted and more astute than Aunt Huang: "Look at all that she bought. She can't carry it all by herself, so she definitely needs help. We can help her carry the goods, and she can help us pick out clothes. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

“That works too.” Aunt Huang was in her early forties, in the prime of her life, with a lot of brute strength. She wasn’t good at anything else, but she was an expert at carrying goods.

The two whispered amongst themselves, thinking no one could hear them, but Lin Xiyu heard everything clearly and was secretly overjoyed.

My cousin was in a hurry and wanted a large quantity, and she was worried that the goods were too heavy to carry, so someone delivered them to her door.

"Xi Yu, can I talk to you about something? We've been thinking about it."

The two dormitory supervisors whispered among themselves for a long time before finally making up their minds.

"Row."

Lin Xiyu agreed without waiting for the two to finish speaking.

"Xi Yu is so straightforward, no wonder she's a businesswoman who makes a lot of money."

The two dormitory supervisors were overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling.

"If you want to do business, you'd better find a buyer first."

Although Lin Xiyu wanted to win them over and have them work for her, she still kindly advised, "It's safer to place orders only after you have a stable sales channel."

"We understand this principle."

Aunt Zhang has her own plans: "We've thought about it. This time, we'll buy a few items and send them back to our families so they can take them to the market in town to sell. If they sell well, we'll continue doing this long-term; if they don't, then we'll stop."

"Auntie, where are you from?"

Lin Xiyu took the opportunity to chat with them about everyday things and build a good relationship.

Without thinking twice, Aunt Huang quickly replied, "She and I are from the same hometown, Puyang, Henan."

"Henan is great!"

Lin Xiyu smiled and said, "It's next to Shandong, so the climate is similar. Wool sweaters are very practical and can be worn for several months of the year. They're so cheap and have nice patterns. If you sell them at the market, they're sure to fetch a good price."

"I think so too."

Aunt Huang was delighted to hear this and couldn't stop smiling.

-

With the help of two dormitory supervisors, Lin Xiyu was finally spared the same embarrassing situation as last time.

She spent almost all the money she brought, and bought 400 sweaters in one go, filling eight large woven bags to the brim.

The two dormitory supervisors worked very hard, making three trips back and forth to help everyone move all their belongings.

Feeling bad about it, Lin Xiyu gave each of them 50 yuan as a reward for their hard work, which made the two of them beam with joy.

The wool sweater was shipped through the post office, and the shipping cost alone was over 600 yuan.

Lin Xiyu pondered to herself that in the future, when the volume of goods increased, it would indeed be a bit of a loss to ship them through the post office. It was time to think of a way to find a vehicle and handle freight at the train station.

-

My cousin received 400 wool sweaters at once, so I stopped urging her to order more.

Lin Xiyu then focused her energy on studying and began a new round of practice problems.

Time slips by unnoticed, and another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In late December, with New Year's Day approaching, freshmen will face their first final exams since entering university before the holiday.

The atmosphere of studying suddenly became tense. The top students were all staying up late to study, and even Li Qing temporarily gave up her bet with Wang Fan and focused on studying at school.

Lin Xiyu put in her best effort to get good grades and win a scholarship.

First prize is out of the question, second prize is a bit difficult, but third prize is still within my reach.

Gu Bin is double majoring in law and computer science, which means he has to take two exams at the same time, making his coursework very demanding.

Lin Xiyu didn't want to waste his time, so she hadn't contacted him proactively for a long time.

During breaks from studying, Gu Bin would occasionally call to chat with her for a while, offering some words of comfort and telling her not to put too much pressure on herself.

It's okay if you can't compete with top students, as long as you've tried your best and have no regrets.

Lin Xiyu always agreed readily, but after hanging up the phone, she would rush into the library, forgetting all about his words.

Even if you can't win, you have to fight!

Without hard work, even a third-class scholarship is a pipe dream.

She has a highly talented and hardworking boyfriend; who can understand her heartache?

If you don't want to be compared to someone else, you have no choice but to study hard and burn the midnight oil.

Even if it means vomiting three liters of blood, I will still give it my all.

-

On New Year's Day in 94, the Dongmen Small Commodities Wholesale Market officially opened.

Just as Gu Bin had predicted, the East Gate was well-located in the city center, and the prices of small commodities were affordable. As soon as the wholesale market opened, it attracted a large number of customers, and the flow of people was extremely busy.

"New clothes and hats, bustling with activity, small stalls and shops showcasing prosperity, every household has all the daily necessities, from needles to thread."

This humorous poem truly expresses the people's love for the Dongmen small commodities market. The landmark name "Old Dongmen" has gradually become synonymous with the small commodities wholesale market and a shopping paradise that Jinan people talk about with great relish.

-

The Laodongmen Wholesale Market has two floors. The lower floor sells all kinds of daily necessities. Although each stall is very small, the variety is very complete.

The stall owners put that classic line into practice with their actions.

Here, there's nothing you can't buy if you can't imagine it.

-

The second floor of the market mainly sells clothes, and the stalls are spaced further apart.

My cousin bought a stall on the second floor. It's in a good location, right at the southeast corner of the staircase. You can see it as soon as you go up to the second floor.

The second floor has not only simple stalls but also well-decorated shops.

These shops are located on the outermost layer of the second floor. After going up the stairs, there is a special passage that can circle the entire mall and allow you to visit all the shops.

The shops that Wang Fan and Gu Bin bought are among them. After renovation, they rent them out to other merchants at a reasonable price, and they can earn a considerable amount of rent over the course of a year.

My cousin didn't rent out the stall; instead, she arranged for one of her employees to temporarily help sell clothes.

She was calculating her options carefully; her cousin would be on holiday by January 7th or 8th at the latest after finishing her exams.

Once my cousin comes back, someone will be there to watch the shop; there's no need to waste money hiring someone.

As for after the New Year, if she can't find a suitable buyer, she'll sell the shop. Given how booming the small commodities market is, there are plenty of people willing to take it over. Who knows, she might even make a small profit after paying off the money she spent on the shop.

-

Lin Xiyu was unaware of her cousin's scheme. On the night before New Year's Day, Gu Bin suddenly appeared at East China Normal University and dragged her out of the library.

"What are you doing? I still need to do my practice problems."

Lin Xiyu looked resistant: "I haven't finished memorizing all the English words yet."

"Still studying? Studying any more will make you stupid."

Gu Bin didn't give her a chance to escape and dragged her out of the campus.

"Hey, hey, where are you going?"

Lin Xiyu struggled all the way.

Do you even know what day it is today?

Gu Bin sighed helplessly.

"What day?"

Lin Xiyu was a little confused. It took her a while to realize that it was the second day of the holiday and tomorrow was New Year's Day.