Chapter 273 - 270: Report
Following the script Lin Lan had taught her, Little Xue told a customer, "This is a pure wool sweater, a new style we just got in from the coast. Our boss says that over there, these are the kinds of products they export to earn foreign currency."
"Just look—each one is machine-knit. The stitches on the front and back are all fine, tight, and uniform. You won’t find a single uneven spot..."
The young woman hesitated. "Over thirty yuan... That’s almost my entire monthly salary. It’s a bit expensive."
Little Xue tried to sway her. "At the department store, you’d need ration coupons to buy a wool sweater like this, and I hear they still cost over thirty yuan apiece. We don’t require any coupons, plus we’re having a grand opening sale today and tomorrow with a ten-percent discount. If you miss this chance, you’ll have to pay full price."
When the young woman heard that a ten-percent discount would save her almost four yuan, she hesitated for a moment before pulling out her money to buy it.
After eleven o’clock, the stream of customers thinned out. Li Xiangyang went to a restaurant to order lunch, while Lin Yuezhen rode her bike back to Lexing to pick up Little Douzi and bring him over.
After the workday ended, even more people came to browse the shops. In just one morning, Li Xiangyang had sold eight or nine quartz watches, about ten digital watches, several wall clocks, hair dryers, and radios. He’d even sold a cassette recorder for six hundred yuan. Mechanical watches, conversely, were the slowest sellers.
People felt the products at these private shops were on par with those at the department store. Most importantly, they could buy what they wanted without needing industrial coupons.
Li Jing, who had been keeping a close watch on Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang, also rode her bicycle to Limin Street. She saw Li Xiangyang bustling behind the counter, and Old Li standing off to the side, helping a customer take down a wall clock.
She rode on and saw the Lanyang Clothing Store. Her face darkened as she shot a look at the busy Lin Lan inside. The thought that her capable, handsome brother was actually involved with a widow felt like claws scraping at her heart.
She rode home, had a meal, and impatiently waited until it was time to go to work. Once at her office, she waited until no one was around, then picked up the phone and dialed. "Is this the Administration for Industry and Commerce? I want to file a report. Someone on Limin Street is operating without a license."
Li Jing finished speaking quickly, not giving the person on the other end a chance to ask questions. With a sharp CLICK, she hung up the phone. She dropped into her chair and muttered to herself, ’Xiangyang, let’s see who you find to help you now.’
****
Lin Lan had just found the right size for a customer and was leading them to the fitting room when five officials in gray uniforms and peaked caps from the Administration for Industry and Commerce stepped into the shop.
She hurried over to greet them and asked politely, "Officers, is there something I can help you with?"
A tall male official looked at Lin Lan with a stern expression. "Do you have a business license?"
The other four curiously looked over the clothing in the shop, whispering among themselves.
A nervous customer asked them, "Is this shop not legitimate?"
A female official from the bureau was quite amiable, explaining with a smile, "We’re just conducting a routine inspection to see if they have their license."
"Yes, we got our business license before we opened for business." As she spoke, Lin Lan walked behind the cash register, took the framed business license off the wall, and handed it to the tall official. "Please have a look. Here are our documents."
The tall official looked it over before handing it back to Lin Lan. "As long as you’re licensed, there’s no issue. Just remember to pay your taxes on time."
Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "I will."
The officials looked around the shop one more time, even feeling the fabric of some clothes, before turning to leave and heading for the shop across the street.
Seeing the officials in their peaked caps leave without any trouble, the customers in the shop felt reassured and went back to their shopping with renewed confidence.
When Lin Lan saw them head toward the shop across the street, she worried that Zhou Xiaohong might not have a license, so she quickly sent Little Mei to give her a heads-up.
’Someone’s definitely behind this,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, why would inspectors show up on our very first day?’
’The only people who have it out for me are Liu Jinbao and Zhang Yazhen,’ she mused. ’But they wouldn’t even know what kind of license you need to open a shop, let alone how to report someone to the Administration for Industry and Commerce. It had to be Li Jing.’
The tall official glanced at Old Li, who was sitting inside the shop, then at the business license Li Xiangyang presented. After checking the registered scope of business, he turned and went to Zhou Xiaohong’s shop next door.
Warned by Little Mei, Zhou Xiaohong had already taken out her own business license and placed it in a prominent spot before getting back to her customers.
The officials looked around and saw that, besides these three new shops on Limin Street, there was also a privately-owned restaurant. The group then headed toward it.
In the afternoon, after seeing off a wave of customers, Lin Lan took a sip of water and looked at her ledger. She found that for the clothes sold so far, both men’s and women’s, the blended fabrics were selling better than the pure wool items.
The best-selling sweaters were those made of pure wool yarn, while the blended-wool ones also did fairly well. The cashmere sweaters sold the least.
After just over half a day in business, Lin Lan understood why people would later say that in the early eighties, you could get rich just by setting up a street stall.
The most expensive pure wool Western-style suits and Zhongshan suits, which cost her over thirty yuan apiece, were selling for eighty-nine. She had already sold more than ten in half a day. Wool sweaters bought for thirteen yuan were selling for 39.90, and cashmere sweaters bought for four or five yuan were selling for between ten and twenty yuan...
Perhaps because her stock was from Yangcheng City, the styles were more fashionable than what the department store offered. Combined with the grand opening sale, her revenue for just half a day was already over two thousand yuan, approaching three thousand.
Lin Lan figured this batch of goods would sell out before long. ’I need to prepare for another trip to Yangcheng City,’ she thought.
At six in the evening, Lin Yuezhen and Wu Shufen packed up their stall and came to the shop with Little Douzi.
As soon as he saw Lin Lan, Little Douzi asked, "Momma, Grandma said you must be exhausted today."
A little later, Yao Xiuyun and her colleagues from the police station stopped by. They picked out some clothes, a wall clock, and a hair dryer, and even bought digital watches for their kids back home.
As they were leaving, Lin Lan gave each of them a silk scarf as a gift.
Once Yang Dingbang, Zhao Dehai, and the rest of their friends arrived, Lin Lan closed the shop, and the whole group went to the restaurant where Li Xiangyang had booked a table.
Yang Liqun asked with concern, "How was business today? I saw a lot of people here when you first opened."
Lin Lan smiled. "Not bad. A bit better than selling pastries."
"That’s great!" Hearing this, Yang Liqun was genuinely happy for her.
The group ate and drank their fill at the restaurant. As they left, they agreed to get together again on the day of the Laba Festival.
Dongzi laughed. "Look at you two, acting like a couple of old houses on fire! Both getting engaged on the Laba Festival. My wife and I will have to split up and each take a kid to one of the parties!"
Yang Dingbang slung his arms around Dongzi’s and Li Xiangyang’s shoulders. "Good thing the parties aren’t on the same day! We’ll have ourselves a real drink then."
The three of them chorused, "A real drink!"
When they reached the department store, the group split up to head home. Liu Da said to Li Xiangyang, "Zhang Zemin called. He said a good shipment of stock has come in. I’m leaving for Yangcheng City first thing next Monday morning. Want to come with me?"
Li Xiangyang remembered what Lin Lan had said. "Yeah, I need to go. I’m planning to stock up big this time so I don’t have to make another trip to Yangcheng City before the New Year."
Liu Da nodded. "It’s settled then. I’ll have someone hold a ticket for you."