svetikya Chapter 172 If the sky falls, I'll hold it up.
Chapter 172 If the sky falls, I'll hold it up.
"This is what you call information asymmetry, this is what you call fashion."
Xiao Lan smoothed the stray hairs at her temples and said confidently, "The young women and wives in the city, for the sake of beauty and to look like the stars in the magazines, will pay any price, not just 50 cents, but even a dollar. As long as the products are well-made, and as long as we say they are 'Guangdong goods' or 'Shanghai goods,' we won't have to worry about selling them."
Xu Yuecheng's Adam's apple bobbed as he mentally calculated the costs.
A pound of cloth costs five cents. If you can make ten hair ties, that's five dollars in income.
These sacks are going down...
The way he looked at Xiao Lan changed.
If he was initially captivated by her body, now he's truly impressed by this woman's ingenuity.
No wonder he could fool Liu Quan so much that he lost his bearings.
"Fine, you're right."
Xu Yuecheng flicked his cigarette butt away. "But this piece of cloth weighs several hundred pounds. With just your two hands, even if you worked day and night on the sewing machine, how long would it take? Don't end up breaking your back before you even make any money. What will I use then?"
He started making inappropriate, lewd remarks again.
Xiao Lan wasn't annoyed. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs high, and acted like a boss lady.
"Who said I was going to do it myself?"
She looked out the window at the poplar trees rushing past, "These days, there's no shortage of people who want to make money but don't know how. I've made up my mind, I won't touch a needle or thread when I take this batch of goods back."
"What should we do then?"
"Find someone to process it," Xiao Lan uttered.
Xu Yuecheng raised an eyebrow: "Who are you looking for?"
"In the factory compound, which of those women who stayed at home taking care of their children didn't have a sewing machine as part of their dowry? They were idle anyway, and they still had to beg their husbands for living expenses."
Xiao Lan held up two fingers and gently rubbed them. "I cut the fabric, match the elastic bands, and pay by the piece. For each hair tie, I give two cents for labor. A diligent person can make twenty or thirty a day, which is forty or fifty cents a day. That's more than a first-class worker's salary in a month. Tell me, would they do it?"
"Fine! They're practically fighting to do it!"
Xu Yuecheng slapped his thigh, realizing he understood the situation perfectly.
You don't need to employ workers or provide meals; just pay a processing fee, and you can turn these large sacks of goods into money.
That's quite a clever tactic!
"It's not just intestines."
Xiao Lan's train of thought became increasingly clear as she spoke, her eyes sparkling. "Those slightly larger scraps of fabric, pieced together and reinforced with stiff interfacing, can be used to make detachable collars. Nowadays, men wear Zhongshan suits and Lenin suits, and the shirts underneath get dirty easily, which is a hassle to wash. Making a detachable collar to wear underneath, with only the collar showing, makes it look like you're wearing a new shirt. It saves fabric and looks presentable; it'll definitely sell well!"
As Xu Yuecheng listened to these business acumen stories, the fire in his heart burned even brighter.
This woman is not only a bewitching enchantress, but also a treasure trove.
He was holding the steering wheel with one hand, and suddenly freed the other hand to grab Xiao Lan's hand that was gesturing.
"Xiao Lan".
Xu Yuecheng's voice turned cold. "What's wrong with your brain? Why didn't you show off when Guangzong was around?"
Xiao Lan's heart skipped a beat.
She took Xu Yuecheng's large hand in return, her fingertips tracing a circle in the rough lines of his palm, her voice soft and seductive:
"Isn't that because... no one was backing me up back then? Even if I had this idea, I needed someone to help me get the goods and someone to keep things under control, right? Guangzong is a coward, he's afraid of this and he can't do that, only you are someone I can rely on."
This flattery made Xu Yuecheng feel extremely pleased.
"That's right."
He snorted smugly, his mouth practically agape. "As long as you stick with me, I'll hold the sky up even if it falls. Go ahead and do this business. If anyone dares to be jealous or cause trouble, let them come find me, Xu Yuecheng, at the transport team!"
"I'm relieved to hear that."
Xiao Lan's eyes sparkled, and she leaned closer to him. "Shall we go back and unload the goods in that empty room in the backyard? My room is too small; we can't fit them all in."
"become."
Xu Yuecheng readily agreed, "Perfect, I have a spare key, I'll give it to you in a bit. From now on, this will be our base, you can do whatever you want with it." She can be on top, and he can be on the bottom, it's fine!
"Then it's settled."
The jeep roared along, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, heading straight for the county town.
As darkness fell, the streetlights along the roadside began to illuminate the scene.
Xu Yuecheng drove very fast, his mind filled with not only the big deal he was about to make, but also a strange restlessness.
Business is business, but some accounts haven't been settled yet.
Last night in the car, the space was too cramped, so he didn't get to enjoy himself to the fullest.
Tonight he's back on his own turf, no one's watching him or eavesdropping, and this woman just dangled such a huge promise in front of him again...
If he doesn't get his money back with interest, then he should resign his title as the head of the transport team!
The car turned onto the familiar main road of the county town, and the outline of the machinery factory compound was faintly visible in the night.
"Hold on tight."
Xu Yuecheng slammed on the gas pedal, and the jeep, like a tiger descending a mountain, rushed straight into the half-closed iron gate.
"Tonight, let's have a good discussion."
**
For the first time ever, four elaborate dishes were laid out on the peeling paint on the Li family's eight-immortal table today.
The braised pork belly was stewed until tender and juicy, the braised carp in soy sauce had a deep reddish-brown sheen, there was a plate of sausages that we only cut during the Lunar New Year, and a large bowl of white steamed buns.
"It has to be my sister!"
While placing a trembling piece of fatty meat on Li Xiaotao's plate, Li Xiaoyue slammed two newly bought jars of fruit onto the table, her face radiating a pride that surpassed even her own recent pay raise.
"As soon as I entered the village today, I heard the loudspeaker at the village entrance blaring 'On the Hopeful Fields.' The aunties and grandmas I met along the way were so warm and welcoming, they practically wanted to drag me into their homes and have me sit on their kang (heated brick bed). Before, they looked at our Xiao Tao as a joke, but now? Humph, they look at her like she's a god of wealth!"
Li Xiaoyue was also a straightforward person. She had heard many stories of self-employed individuals getting rich in the county, but when it actually happened to her own sister, it still felt like a dream.
Tens of thousands of kilograms of melons were all hauled away in one morning, without any middlemen taking a cut.
This kind of scale is something that even the most notorious middlemen in the county town, let alone those in Lijia Village, could accomplish.
The nieces and nephews all looked at their aunt with starry eyes, full of admiration!
"Of course! Don't you even know who gave birth to them!"
Fan Lihong smiled from ear to ear, and all the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.
She held her bowl, her eyes darting between Li Weimin and Xiao Tao. "Before, all those gossipy people in the village said Weimin was weak and Xiao Tao was fierce. Why don't they say that now? Just now, I went to the store to buy soy sauce, and that usually arrogant Aunt Wang grabbed my hand and insisted on giving me a handful of sunflower seeds, asking if we needed help picking the sunflowers. Bah! What a snob!"
Li Xiaotao chewed her steamed bun slowly and deliberately, her expression calm.
"Sister, Mother, this is nothing."
Li Xiaotao didn't stop eating. "This is just the first truckload. Once the road is cleared, we can send all the chili peppers, sweet potatoes, and wild game from our village to the city. Then, our family will truly be able to walk with impunity in the village."
Just then, the courtyard gate creaked open.
Li Youtian walked in with his hands behind his back.
The old man's face was ruddy, and although he tried his best to keep a straight face and appear profound, the corners of his mouth were practically stretched to the back of his ears.
He put his large pipe on the table, picked up his teacup, and gulped down a mouthful of cold water before letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Finished distributing?" Fan Lihong glanced at him sideways.
"It's all divided up."
Li Youtian smacked his lips, his tone carrying a hint of lingering smugness, "Every household was charged by weight, all in cash."
He recalled how those troublemakers, who would usually bang on the table for three cents, were now behaving like docile grandsons in the team headquarters courtyard, their hands trembling as they counted the money.
Li Youtian's vanity was thoroughly satisfied throughout his life.
This secretary has served half his life, and today he stands taller than ever!
"but……"
Li Youtian abruptly changed the subject, his brows furrowing deeply: "Tao'er, this was handled beautifully, and we made money. But shouldn't we tone it down a bit? This fire has burned too brightly; I'm afraid it'll burn my hands. On my way back just now, I overheard people from the next village talking about it, saying that we're... we're engaging in capitalist restoration."