A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

Sunday's sales ended, and everyone else went back to school. Only Ye Wenxi and Ding Jiahe remained in the department store's first-floor exhibition area. The entire building quieted down, with only the buzzing of a few fluorescent lights overhead.

Neither of them had had dinner. They slumped in their chairs, with ledgers, questionnaires, and cash registers spread out in front of them.

Ding Jiahe fiddled with the abacus, making a clattering sound, muttering to herself as she worked:

"It seems that tops are selling a little better than dresses."

"This shirt is sold out in all sizes again, it's such a hot item."

"I'm done calculating." Ding Jiahe stopped the abacus and pointed to the ledger. "The quantity is 12 more than yesterday, and the sales revenue is 940 more. As of today, the total sales revenue is 8,730. The best-selling item is women's shirts, followed by women's dresses, and then men's jackets and men's shirts."

"The men's section focuses on formal wear, while the women's section leans towards everyday styles with a touch of formality."

"In addition, children's dresses sold the best, about 50 percent more than others."

......

Ding Jiahe reported each item one by one, her finger tracing across the ledger.

This is the account book that Ye Wenxi taught her step by step. Unlike the ordinary accounts on the market, it includes new dimensions such as the occasion for wearing the clothes, whether it is a bestseller, and style, in addition to the categories, prices, and styles. It is clear and detailed.

This facilitates subsequent statistical analysis, allowing for the extraction of more specific dimensional combinations from the data to guide product improvement, price adjustments, or the focus of promotional efforts.

Ye Wenxi stared at the several pages of densely packed forms and sighed helplessly.

I really miss the days when Excel was available. When I go back, I'll at least assign someone to do these things.

Unlike most people's management style in this era, Yeh Wen-hsi believes in a business and project management principle: "Without data analysis, there is no management."

In this era where people rely on experience and intuition to make a living, spending money to hire people specifically to do statistics, analysis, and report generation is seen as "extravagance and waste" by others.

But she did the math and realized that going in the wrong direction would waste far more resources and time than hiring a statistical analyst.

"How's it going on your end?" Ding Jiahe leaned closer, watching Ye Wenxi extract and summarize the information from today's questionnaire and do a preliminary analysis.

Today, we collected a total of thirty-one questionnaires. A few customers who were in a hurry didn't have time to fill them out, but Ye Wenxi didn't insist.

Through a rough cross-analysis, she discerned some directions and trends.

"Party and government officials, senior executives of large state-owned enterprises, military officers... they either don't work but spend money without batting an eye, I suspect they are rich second-generation heirs," Ye Wenxi said, tapping his pen repeatedly.

"What is a rich second generation?" Ding Jiahe looked up.

"It's the kind of family that's been rich for generations," Ye Wenxi explained.

"Oh." Ding Jiahe nodded and continued watching.

"In short, there's a common thread: 90% of them already have the purchasing power, and 10% are attracted by our styles and fabrics and are willing to save up to buy them. This includes students and young people who have just started working."

"So... what guidance or advice do you have for us?" Ding Jiahe put down the paper in her hand.

"We have some directions at the moment, but it's not enough. It's not sufficient to conduct more in-depth analysis and provide action support." Ye Wenxi neatly arranged the stack of questionnaires, tied them together with a rubber band, and said, "Let's collect them for a few more days until we have a hundred."

"Ah... let's go, I feel like I can eat two bowls of wontons and two sets of jianbing guozi." Ye Wenxi was so hungry that she felt weak.

"Let's go eat." Ding Jiahe quickly packed her things and stuffed the account book into her bag.

The two of them knew the way well and arrived at the alley behind the department store. They turned in and found the vendor with his stall.

Under the dim light, Ding Jiahe and Ye Wenxi took out the account book and questionnaire and began to look through them.

They each held a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) in one hand and a pen in the other, staring at the numbers on it.

"Looks like this is a repeat customer. Should we add a 'repurchase' label?" Ding Jiahe mumbled, taking a bite of her jianbing guozi.

"Hmm! Good idea!" Ye Wenxi nodded. "We can add more dimensions to this table gradually, no rush."

"By the way, about the garment factory, when do you plan to have me go?" Ding Jiahe wiped her mouth.

"I plan to have Xiaohe ask another classmate to come and help me over in the next few days. I need to take some time to go to the Light Industry Bureau to give a presentation and discuss the needs for next month. I plan to lay the groundwork for them first and see what they think. Wait for my news." Ye Wenxi said while munching on a jianbing guozi.

"However, shouldn't we inform the military region first? It's not appropriate for you to directly represent the garment company to communicate, is it?" Ye Wenxi swallowed and glanced at Ding Jiahe.

"As long as I don't receive a salary or wear a military uniform, it's fine. I asked the political commissar, and it's okay." Ding Jiahe shook her head.

In fact, it wasn't until the mid-to-late 1980s that strict regulations began to be implemented regarding military personnel engaging in business. Ding Jiahe is currently on leave recuperating from his injuries and has also been awarded a first-class merit.

The only two questions Ding Jiahe's superiors asked were, "How's your recovery going?" and "Do you need any help?" No one else cared.

"Okay, that's fine then. I can trust you with my orders." Ye Wenxi smiled and raised his jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) to clink with hers.

The next morning, when Ye Wenxi and Ding Jiahe arrived at the entrance of the department store, Xiao He and Zhang Yao were already waiting there.

When Xiao He saw Ye Wenxi, her eyes lit up, and she seemed to be set on fire, quickening her pace to greet him.

Ye Wenxi immediately noticed the two dark circles under her eyes, like undissolved ink.

"Didn't you sleep well last night? Why do you have such big dark circles under your eyes?" Ye Wenxi frowned.

"I suddenly had a burst of inspiration before going to bed last night, and I couldn't resist drawing it." Xiaohe rubbed her fingers together, a little embarrassed but also unable to hide her excitement. "Teacher Ye, could you take a look at my design today?"

Xiaohe has been spending all her time at the department store lately, looking at fabrics, touching styles, and listening to customers talk about their preferences, and she has accumulated a lot of knowledge.

Last night, inspiration suddenly struck her, so she decided not to sleep and wrote down everything in her mind, stroke by stroke, on paper.

"Really? Let me see." Ye Wenxi said as she walked.

Xiao He quickly took out two sheets of manuscript paper from her backpack and handed them over with both hands, like a primary school student handing in homework.

Ye Wenxi took it and flipped through it as she walked. The lines of the draft were somewhat messy, and the coloring was incomplete.

Xiaohe designed a patchwork dress. The upper body features a light purple floral print, a white shirt collar, long sleeves, and a belt at the waist. The lower body is a white knee-length skirt, made of double-layered material—a solid inner layer and a sheer outer layer. The fabric is extremely drapey, light, and flowing, and the white skirt perfectly complements the white collar of the upper body.

"How long did it take to draw this?" Ye Wenxi asked, turning her head.

"Fifteen minutes," Xiaohe answered softly, knowing that this was not a suitable time.

"Not bad, your sketching has improved. Keep it up." Ye Wenxi nodded with a smile.

Ye Wenxi usually keeps her designs under wraps. She knows that her aesthetic sense and vision are too far ahead of the times, and if she really let loose, no one would dare to wear what she makes.

So she set a line for herself: something a bit prettier and more fashionable than what's on the market, but not too much more. If it's too much, consumers won't understand it and won't dare to buy it.

Patchwork dresses are almost nonexistent these days. The idea of ​​combining two different textures and colors of fabrics into one garment without looking out of place is ahead of its time.

The printed top paired with the pure white bottom, the light shirt collar with the flowing skirt, and especially the combination of the outer sheer and the inner solid skirt, it's not about piling on fabric, but about the two elements supporting each other.

The balance is just right.

Ye Wenxi flipped through the manuscript twice. For a beginner, this was already a rare display of talent.

"We can keep this one." She closed the manuscript, glanced at Xiao He, and said, "After the exhibition ends, we'll fine-tune the layout and see if we can produce a sample."

"Huh?" Xiaohe opened her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Teacher Ye...you mean this design has been adopted?"

"Yes! Congratulations, your design has been adopted." Ye Wenxi patted Xiao He on the shoulder. "How come you look like you haven't slept all night when it only took 15 minutes?"

"I...I'm so excited I can't sleep," Xiaohe said with an embarrassed smile.

"Hahahaha..." Ye Wenxi and the others laughed.