Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 386

Later, upon seeing the three newly built changing rooms, Zhao Da'e invited the people in line to go in and change, which instantly won over many people.

Zhao Da'e breathed a sigh of relief. She never expected that there wouldn't be enough fitting rooms. Fortunately, new fitting rooms were set up temporarily, so the queues wouldn't be too long and customers wouldn't have to wait anxiously.

Xiangzi was setting off fireworks outside. With a loud bang, a bright stream of fire pierced the sky, striving upwards to its highest point before exploding violently, as colorful as blooming petals. After the extreme brightness, a warm, colorful smoke quickly spread.

Zhao Da'e's shop was bustling with activity, making the shop next door, "Old Wang's Clothing Shop," seem rather deserted. The owner of the shop next door was named Wang Dexing, and the clothes he sold were mostly common styles, such as Zhongshan suits. However, these styles were often outdated, and hardly anyone would buy clothes from Wang Dexing. This worried Wang Dexing a lot. He also had a wife and daughter to support, and the money he earned from selling clothes each month was barely enough for food and drink. He couldn't even afford to go out for a drink because he had no money.

Other clothing stores are doing better than Wang Dexing's. They sell more novel clothes, which attract many young people. Wang Dexing's clothes are too old-fashioned, and he only sells to a few elderly people. But it's not easy to earn money from the elderly. They only buy clothes once every few years, and even those who have a little money and are willing to spend it only buy clothes once a year. This makes it difficult for him to run a business.

His companions advised Wang Dexing to stock up on some new clothes, so Wang Dexing had no choice but to tighten his belt and buy some new styles, such as the Northeastern-style overcoat. It was this Northeastern-style overcoat that made him some money. Originally, Wang Dexing thought he could just make do with what he had.

But he noticed a new store had opened next door, called "Goose is Here," a strange name. It seemed to be a clothing store as well. Curious, Wang Dexing went to inquire what kind of clothes the store sold. He found out that it sold clothes for young people, and the prices were twice as high as his own. Wang Dexing thought that no one would buy such expensive clothes, so he didn't pay much attention to it at first, thinking that the owner next door was wasting money and that his store would probably be just like his, with no customers.

As it turned out, the store next door was proven wrong on its very first day of business. The entrance was packed with people, and almost everyone was carrying bags of clothes when they came out.

Wang Dexing's eyes turned red as he watched from the side. The store's sales on the first day of opening were more than the clothes he sold in a whole year!

Wang Dexing didn't believe it and even felt envious and jealous. How come the clothes in the store next door sold so well!

So Wang Dexing bought a men's ordinary shirt, a dark blue striped men's top for middle-aged men.

Wang Dexing compared the style of the clothes he bought with the Zhongshan style clothes in his store.

In terms of price, the clothes in his store are cheaper.

In terms of quality, although this men's shirt feels nice to the touch, the clothes in his store are also of good quality.

It's just a different style. You know, this Zhongshan suit was incredibly popular back then. Almost everyone wore it. It's just that fewer young people bought it; most of his customers were elderly people...

But Wang Dexing doesn't think the clothes in his shop are that much worse than those in Zhao Da'e's shop.

I felt extremely resentful. Why could other stores sell so many clothes as soon as they opened, while my store hardly had any customers all day long?

At Zhao Da'e's place, he was busy introducing clothing styles to customers, helping them pay, printing invoices, and giving change, etc., until almost 8 p.m. when the number of customers had decreased significantly.

Everyone goes to bed early at night and goes home early, so they don't wander around outside.

The store had far fewer clothes than during the day; it had basically sold more than half of them.

By nine o'clock, there were hardly any people left in the store. Apart from the mess on the ground, there were trash and clothes bags left behind by customers.

Zhao Da'e told Qi Bin to close the door and hang up a "Closed for Business" sign. He told them not to clean it today and to leave it until tomorrow before the store reopened.

On the other side, Cai Xiaofeng was rapidly tapping on a calculator, calculating how many clothes she had sold and how much money she had made that day. Zhao Da'e, on the other hand, was carrying the cash. She planned to put it in a cabinet in the office she rented across the street. She had all the keys on her person, and she felt more at ease keeping the money in her own possession.

After calculating, Cai Xiaofeng came up with a number. She took a deep breath, her eyes filled with shock. She could earn so much just by selling clothes for one night!

Qi Bin and Zhao Da'e both looked at Cai Xiaofeng with nervous expressions, while Cheng Jinxiang and Cheng Jinxiao were also very nervous beside them.

This is the money we made on the first day of opening the store, and it's probably the most profitable day. After all, it's a newly opened store, and we did a lot of promotion beforehand, distributed a lot of flyers, and there was a fashion show to watch in the evening. Plus, today is Saturday, and many people are off work, so basically a lot of people came to the store to look at clothes.

The store has sold at least a hundred pieces of clothing, and a third of the clothes in the warehouse have been sold. The average price of the clothes after the 50% discount is ten yuan per piece, so the income should be good.

However, this honor is only for today. The turnover in the next few days may not be as high as today. After all, customers rarely buy clothes a second time in a short period of time after buying clothes for the first time in the store, unless they want to buy new clothes for the change of seasons.

Even Qi Bin had considered this aspect. Perhaps the turnover on the fifth and sixth days would be half of that on the first day, or even halved. He had made preparations for all of this.

However, the first day's sales are also very important, as they reflect a store's potential.

Zhou Chunwen asked anxiously, "Sister Xiaofeng, what was today's sales figure?"

Cai Xiaofeng smiled and said, "Today's turnover is 1345.5 yuan, and we sold over a hundred pieces of clothing."

As soon as he finished speaking, almost everyone got excited. Cheng Jinxiang hugged Zhao Dage tightly and exclaimed, "Dage, did you hear that?! He earned more than a thousand yuan in just one night! That's half a year's income for the whole family working on the farm!"

Cheng Jinxiao's lips curled up. With so much money, she could easily earn tens of thousands a month, and her salary might even increase significantly! Working for Big Goose really has a future!

Qi Bin's eyes reddened with excitement. He wiped his eyes and saw that the turnover was over a thousand yuan! He could prove that he had business acumen, that he had not let down Da'e's high regard for him, and that he had achieved results.

Seeing that Qi Bin's eyes were red, Xiangzi came over and patted Qi Bin on the shoulder, saying, "Brother Qi Bin, take it slow. Getting off to a good start is half the battle won."

Zhao Da'e also had a smile on her face. All the planning was for making money, and now she had earned more than a thousand on the first day. How could she not be pleasantly surprised? This was more profitable than selling water! Once she had more money, there would be more things she could do.

Qi Bin said to Xiangzi, "Xiangzi, Xiaofeng, Sister Jinxiang, you don't need to come and help tomorrow. Jinxiao and I can handle things at the shop."

It's normal for the shop to be crowded on the first day of opening, as it's only open for one night. But tomorrow it will be open all day, so there won't be as many people. He and Jin Xiao can manage it.

Zhao Da'e nodded in agreement, "Xiangzi, Xiaofeng, you don't need to come tomorrow. Focus on delivering water. Uncle Qi and Auntie are helping out at the shop, so we don't need that many people for now."

Zhou Chunwen, listening from the side, felt somewhat discouraged. She had thought she could come to the Goose Shop to help out often, but it turned out she could only come for a day or two.

Zhou Chunwen learned a lot today. She has broken through her own limitations and learned a lot. She not only boldly handed out flyers, but also walked the runway. Although she was wearing glasses, it was a great improvement for her.

Zhou Chunwen has become less shy than usual, more outgoing, and talks more often, even taking the initiative to speak.

When the shop opened in the evening, she also helped sell clothes and chatted with customers. She would never have dared to imagine doing this before.

Seeing everyone so happy and excited, Cai Xiaofeng sighed and said, "Although the total revenue is over a thousand, it also includes a lot of costs. We originally sold it at a 50% discount, but we also have to factor in shop rent and labor costs. The net profit at night might only be a little over four hundred yuan."

The road ahead for the shop is long and arduous; there's still a long way to go, and we have to take it one step at a time.

If you calculate based on a few hundred yuan a day, the shop might earn several thousand yuan a month, or even ten thousand yuan if things go well. But that's not certain, because people in a county town are limited. Customers might not buy clothes again for a long time after their first purchase. There are too many uncertainties. The first day, so many customers might have come out of curiosity, but they might not feel the same way next time.

This is also what worries Cai Xiaofeng. If the shop does well and the boss becomes rich, her salary might also increase.

Zhao Da'e patted Cai Xiaofeng on the shoulder and laughed, "Xiaofeng, you don't need to worry too much. Take things slowly. Like today's unexpected fashion show, we originally planned for five people, but only two showed up. But look at us now, we're doing just fine. We've made it through, and the shop's business is booming. Thinking too much now is just adding to your troubles."

Cai Xiaofeng agreed, realizing she was overthinking things and that worrying too much only added to her troubles. She figured her boss could think of things too, and since he didn't care, she didn't need to worry about it.

Zhao Da'e felt that more than 400 yuan a night was quite a lot. She was an easily satisfied person. Anyway, the shop wasn't just open for one day; it would have to be operated in the future. But the cost would be much lower than at the beginning, making it much easier. She felt that it would be much easier once she solved the problem of the supply channel. Then she would hand the shop over to Qi Bin to manage, which would make things much easier for her.

"Come on, come on, we're here to pay wages! Everyone who helped out today gets a share, twenty yuan each."

When it comes to wages, Zhao Dage is never stingy. Today, the six people who stayed at the store until the end were Qi Bin, Cheng Jinxiang, Cheng Jinxiao, Cai Xiaofeng, Xiangzi, and Zhou Chunwen. Zhao Dage took out six twenty-yuan bills, which is equivalent to one-third of the store's profit today.

When Zhao Da'e paid their wages, Xiangzi and Cai Xiaofeng refused.

Cai Xiaofeng said, "Big Goose, you've paid me wages before, so it's only right that I come to help today. Just consider it as working a day, so I don't need the money."

She earns four or five hundred yuan a month just from the commissions from selling water. Since the shop is just starting out, there are many places where money is needed, so Cai Xiaofeng felt embarrassed to accept the commissions. Besides, she is not short of money now.

Seeing this, Xiangzi also refused, after all, Da'e had already paid him a salary, and it would be impolite to ask for more.

After Cai Xiaofeng refused to accept the money, she felt uneasy when she wanted her wages. Should she take the twenty yuan or not?

Cai Xiaofeng saw the mood on Zhou Chunwen's face and said with a smile, "Chunwen, just take this money. Unlike us who work for Da'e, you're a temporary worker. This money is rightfully yours, so just accept it."

Zhao Da'e naturally placed the twenty-yuan note in Zhou Chunwen's hand and told her to hold it carefully.

"Big Cousin, this money is something you worked hard to earn, so you deserve to have it. You can use it to buy clothes or something, or even some good food. In short, this money is for you to use yourself. Although it's only twenty yuan, it can still allow you to buy some things."

Zhou Chunwen is family, and Zhao Da'e also wants to see her family members doing better. Her older cousin is a girl in the family, and the house and property are basically left to the son, while the daughters usually get married and receive dowry money. Zhao Da'e just wants to help her older cousin as much as she can so that she can be financially independent.

Zhou Chunwen was moved. She took the twenty yuan and put it away like a treasure. Her eyes became more determined. She also wanted to make money. In the countryside, she basically had no way to make money. The small jobs she could find might only pay a few yuan, which was not as good as the jobs in Da'e, where she could earn tens of yuan a day.

Zhou Chunwen really wanted to ask Da'e if she could work in the shop, like her aunt.

Zhou Chunwen hesitated for a while but didn't speak. She didn't want to put Zhao Dage in a difficult position. She knew that the shop might be busy on the first day, but it might not be so busy afterward. They didn't need so many people at all. Having one more person working would just be idling around, and they might have to pay one more person's salary.

Since the goose had just opened the shop, it must have been in debt and had to be frugal with everything. Why spend extra money to hire someone to do the work when there was hardly any work to do?

If Zhou Chunwen had simply asked Zhao Da'e if the shop needed more staff, Da'e might have reluctantly agreed, given the presence of her aunts and other relatives, which would have put Zhao Da'e in a difficult position.

Besides, if she does that, what will happen when Chunhong or other relatives come to ask tomorrow? Should Da'e agree or not?