Chapter 39 Don't worry about selling
Changheng Street is located in the east of Qingyang County. There are several old blocks in this area, and the shopping malls in the county are located four or five miles away.
Although Changheng Street is not prosperous, there is a lot of traffic.
There is an old street nearby, with restaurants and various small shops on both sides.
Lan Shu's landlord's sister-in-law Xie Xiezi opened a shop on the street.
A shop that changes clothes, closes trousers, and does odd jobs.
Lan Shu only knew that Sister-in-law Xie opened the store before, and she passed by several times when she came and went. Today is the first time she actually visited the store.
Sister-in-law Xie’s name is Xie Xiaoju. The store she runs is only about ten square meters in size.
According to Mrs. Xie, when she and her husband got married, both families were poor. They only received a bride price, and they didn’t have any big things like watches, bicycles, and sewing machines.
A few years ago, her husband bought her a sewing machine after he made money by driving and pulling goods, saying that it was to compensate her for the big wedding.
This sewing machine used to be idle at home most of the time. After the policy allowed business in the first two years, Mrs. Xie found a front room on the street and used the sewing machine at home to do some odd jobs by herself.
Although this small business doesn’t make a lot of money, it still earns more than a dozen yuan a month, which is enough for her and her son’s daily expenses, and it can also be considered as a subsidy for the family.
Lan Shu stayed in Sister-in-law Xie's shop for a while, and observed that Sister-in-law Xie was quite proficient in stepping on the sewing machine.
She casually asked, "Sister-in-law Xie, can you cut clothes?"
Generally, people who can make clothes may not necessarily be able to cut them. Even if they can cut them, it is not easy to control the shape of clothes well.
Xie Xiaoju was asked, and she opened her mouth almost without hesitation to answer, "Yes, I worked in a garment factory when I was young. Although I didn't learn tailoring formally, I usually took care to memorize the pattern."
Speaking of working in a garment factory, Xie Xiaoju was a little proud.
Lan Shu could tell that her pride was entirely a manifestation of her ability and confidence.
It seemed that Xie Xiaoju was afraid that Lan Shu would not believe it, and Xie Xiaoju added later, "Since I bought a sewing machine at home, all the clothes our family wears are made by myself."
Hearing what she said, Lan Shu immediately looked at the rose red shirt on Sister-in-Law Xie's body.
This dress has nothing to say about the workmanship and shape, but the color is too dazzling.
Learning that Mrs. Xie can make clothes, Lan Shu suddenly had an idea!
"Sister-in-law Xie, can you help me make clothes? I will draw the blueprints, and you will do it. It's a piece-by-piece calculation."
Hearing Lan Shu's words, Xie Xiaoju immediately smiled and shook her head, "Sister, what kind of clothes do you want, just bring the fabric, sister-in-law will make it for you, no charge."
Ever since the two young men bought breakfast for her and her son, Xie Xiaoju never treated them as outsiders.
It's just making a piece of clothing. She knows how to do it. It's just a waste of time, and it's not worth it.
Sister-in-law Xie's kindness is appreciated by Lan Shu, but she can't take advantage of it.
And she is not going to wear the clothes alone.
"Let's count the money by the piece." Lan Shu insisted, "Sister-in-law, I want to ask you to make clothes not just for me to wear, I want to sell clothes, clothes of my own design."
Knowing Lan Shu's thoughts, Xie Xiaoju was startled—
"You want to sell clothes? But many people buy clothes in shopping malls. You made them in my small shop, can you sell them?"
Xie Xiaoju was very worried about Lan Shu.
After all, fabrics are needed to make clothes. If the clothes cannot be sold, the money for the fabrics will be lost!
Regarding this, Lan Shu was not too worried.
"Thank you sister-in-law, I'm responsible for whether I can sell it or not. I just want to ask you to help me make clothes. Do you think it's okay?"
Seeing Lan Shu's firm attitude, Xie Xiaoju thought for a while before answering, "Okay then."
Making clothes for Sister Lanshu is actually a good thing for her.
After all, clothes are counted by piece, and she has money to make clothes.
If there is work for her in this small shop, then do it!
Lan Shu is not blind here. After learning about the places where fabrics are wholesaled in the county, the approximate price of materials, the size of each piece of clothing, and the workmanship of the clothes with Mrs. Xie, Lan Shu immediately set off—
She went back to the rented place first, and saw that Xiao Bai was not there, only the bicycle was parked in the yard, so Lan Shu went back to the room to get the spare key, and went out on the bicycle!
She used to be able to ride a bicycle, but the seat position of the '28 Dagong' in this era is too high, making it difficult to ride.
But after she got used to it a bit, she could barely ride out.
During this period of time in the county, Lan Shu had roughly memorized the route, and with a bicycle, she arrived at the fabric wholesale market that Aunt Xie mentioned about ten minutes later.
Here we say it is a market, but in fact there are only a few stores.
After comparing the prices of the fabrics one by one, Lan Shu bought five meters of white cotton fabric suitable for women's shirts, four meters of black 'Dailiang' similar to thick yarn, and four meters and seven meters of light brown cotton.
Cotton is the first choice for windbreaker jackets.
White pure cotton fabric costs 21 meters per piece, "Kailiang" costs 2 yuan per meter, and cotton fiber also costs 2 yuan.
In order to save money, Lan Shu is almost accurate in the fabric consumption of each piece of clothing.
Even so, she spent a total of twenty-three yuan and forty cents, which was almost all the money she had.
After paying the bill, she had only one yuan and sixty cents left, not even enough to pay Mrs. Xie.
Fortunately, she is renting a house at Sister-in-law Xie's house, so she doesn't have to worry about running out of money, and there is still time to pay her wages after selling the clothes.
Go back with the fabric, and the next step is to design the style.
The style Lan Shu wants is very simple, white cotton shirt, but instead of the pointed collar of the shirt, there are two slender straps at the neckline, enough to tie a bow.
The skirt is the simplest black elastic waist skirt.
Only the trench coat is a little troublesome. It needs to be made with a slightly larger lapel, and making the coat takes the most time.
Although Xie Xiaoju didn't understand why Lan Shu sister changed the shirt collar into two ropes, she still cut the clothes according to the requirements and made them out.
Busy from the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon, Xie Xiaoju didn't take a break at noon, so Xie Xiaoju made a top, a skirt, and a windbreaker.
Lan Shu took the clothes back to her upper body and tried them on. She tied the two long straps at the neckline into a bow, tucked the hem of the shirt into the waist of the skirt, put on a windbreaker, let her hair down, and her elegant style was immediately reflected!
In this era, this suit is definitely majestic and fashionable.
In order to verify her idea, Lan Shu went out wearing this suit.
Along the way, she really attracted the attention of many women!
Several women even stopped her to ask where she bought the clothes.
For those who asked about the source of the clothes, Lan Shu only replied that they will be sold at the intersection of Changheng Road tomorrow afternoon.
Although she hasn't started selling clothes yet, Lan Shu already knew in advance that she would definitely not worry about selling this suit!
(end of this chapter)