Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

The smell of firecrackers hadn't dissipated yet, and the lingering echoes of their crackling sounds seemed to still resonate in my ears.

As Xu Bei greeted everyone with a "Welcome, please come in!", the people whose feet were getting a little cold standing outside flocked to the store entrance.

Xu Li and Xu Juan, who were in the store ready to sell their goods, were the first to feel the impact of the huge influx of people.

Xu Bei, Zhao Fengying, and Song Guodong, who was helping out, also quickly followed them in.

The shop, which wasn't very big, was suddenly bustling with activity and filled with noise.

Especially compared to state-owned stores with fixed prices, uniform styles, and poor service, privately owned shops are a completely different category.

Moreover, many of the goods that Xu Bei brought back from the provincial capital were not sold in the Forestry Bureau, nor even in the city's department stores, which immediately drew praise from many customers who entered the store.

A girl with two braids squeezed in front of the counter, picking up a hair accessory and admiring it. "This sequined hair accessory is so pretty. And it's not expensive at all."

The little girl accompanying her was also holding one, and happily chimed in, "Yes, and this plastic bow hair clip is pretty too."

While busy behind the counter, Xu Li managed to squeeze in a comment, "The New Year is almost here, so buy everything you like. Otherwise, we can't guarantee we'll still have stock when you come back next time."

The two girls immediately exchanged a glance, then smiled and nodded. "Great! We can take turns wearing them." "Yes, they're so pretty, it would be a shame if we couldn't buy them."

While maintaining order at the market and inspecting and selling goods, Xu Bei noticed that many women liked to pick out items while consulting with each other and discussing them incessantly.

"Look at this underwear! It even has elastic ribbed fabric; it's much better than the white cloth my mom bought at the supply and marketing cooperative!"

"Absolutely. The ones I made myself had no elasticity and so many little buttons that sometimes made it hard to breathe, like torture."

"..."

"These underwear are really good quality, and the pattern is nice too. They look better than those from state-run stores. I'll buy a pair for my husband."

"Guizhi, you really dote on your man. Well then, I'll pick one for my deadbeat too. Otherwise, if we see each other while we're in the bathroom, he'll think I'm heartless."

"..."

"These floral socks look so pretty when they peek out from around your ankles; they're much nicer than the plain ones from the state-run stores."

"Yes, that's perfect. None of us in the family have bought new socks yet. We've worked so hard all year, even if we adults can't get a new set of socks and underwear, we should at least get some new ones."

"You can argue with that. It's almost Chinese New Year, you should at least get a completely new outfit..."

However, the most attractive item in the entire store is still the flared jeans.

After all, it's something that's currently popular but not easy to buy in the forest area.

Xu Bei took ten men's and ten women's pairs, clipped them with trouser clips, and placed them on the innermost wooden shelf.

Because people are generally very thin nowadays, aside from the length which might need to be changed, being fat or thin isn't a big problem.

However, the price of eighteen yuan per pack written on the cardboard made many people hesitate.

They only dared to look at it with longing eyes or touch it with their hands, but they didn't dare to ask to try it, let alone spend money to buy it.

After all, a worker's monthly salary is only a few dozen yuan, so this price is indeed a bit expensive.

Furthermore, compared to the colors that are commonly associated with the era, such as black, gray, navy blue, and military green, jeans are somewhat unconventional in both style and color.

Some people are used to sticking to the rules and dare not try things easily, no matter how much they like them.

Then a stylishly dressed woman with permed hair touched the jeans and asked, "Boss, could you find me a size that fits?"

Xu Bei immediately smiled and said yes, then glanced at the woman's waist and deftly took off a pair of jeans that fit her. "Sis, go behind the curtain and try them on."

Since the store sells both general merchandise and ready-made clothing, trying on clothes is a daily necessity. Therefore, Xu Bei had the Zhu family father and son set up a simple fitting room in a corner.

The woman took the jeans and thanked her softly before trying them on.

A short while later, the curtain was pulled open with a whoosh.

The woman, who was originally wearing heavy cotton pants and outer trousers, made her lower body look somewhat bulky.

After putting on these jeans, she felt like she had been reborn.

The pants fit her legs perfectly, with the cuffs flared out and covering half of her cotton shoes.

That fashionable air instantly made the other people in the store, who were wearing cotton-padded trousers, seem like they came from two different worlds.

The woman looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes shining. She gritted her teeth, made a firm decision, and said, "Boss, I'll take these pants!"

That shout was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil.

Some people who were still hesitating immediately surrounded them.

"I want to try it too! I want the same blue one as that girl!"

A man wearing glasses also said urgently, "Boss, get me a men's size, one that fits my waist."

Xu Bei visually estimated the other man's waist size, took off the woman's pants first, and then took off another pair and handed them to the man, "This is size 30, brother, you can try it on first, it should fit."

"Okay." The man chuckled as he took it, then habitually adjusted his glasses. "I'll try it out first."

As a result, when it was his turn to go in and change, before the curtain was even drawn, the boss praised him, "Boss, your eyes are like a ruler, you can see really accurately."

Xu Bei, who was busy answering customers and collecting money outside, heard this and replied with a smile, "Big brother, you still have the perfect physique."

The two chatted back and forth, making each other quite happy, and the deal was quickly closed.

Zhao Fengying, Xu Li, and the others kept looking this way, all of them speechless with astonishment.

Everyone knew that the cost price of these jeans was 6.5 yuan, and considering the shipping costs and the hassle of going to the warehouse, we didn't dare to add that much markup at first.

Xu Bei insisted on selling it for eighteen yuan, and they reluctantly agreed, but they were all uneasy, afraid that if they sold it for too high a price, they wouldn't be able to sell it.

However, to everyone's surprise, half of the twenty pairs of jeans were sold in a short period of time, meaning they not only made back the money they had spent on the purchase, but also made a profit on the remaining ten pairs.

However, since there were still customers and people helping out, the family members, even if they had a thousand words to say, could only hold back for the time being.

Xu Bei could easily see what his mother and the others were thinking, and he smiled.

In the days when transportation was inconvenient and there were not many individual businesses, it was normal for scarce goods to be sold at a higher price. Moreover, since he had just opened his business, he did not believe that he had made such a huge markup.

After everyone had finished their work, there were only two or three customers left in the store, fewer than family members and helpers.

So Xu Bei arranged for two people to stay and watch the shop while the others went to a nearby state-run restaurant to wait for their meal.

Even if Zhao Fengying wanted to stay, she couldn't, since she had to keep the people who came to support her company. So Xu Li and Xu Juan stayed at the counter and didn't follow her.

Just as the group was about to leave the store, the bespectacled man who had bought jeans earlier returned with another man.

"Boss, my colleague also wants to try these jeans. Do you have his size?"

Another customer came in, specifically asking for the most expensive jeans, so Xu Bei naturally had to treat him well.

In particular, he recognized the person he had met once before.

Therefore, he first smiled and said yes, then told his mother and the others to walk ahead first, and that he would follow shortly after...