Back to 90s small fishing village

Since entering the year 2000, things seem to be developing much faster than before.

Before Xu Ping'an and the others could figure out how to play with computers, a new trend had already emerged on the Internet - online shopping.

"Since the emergence of online shopping, the sales of small physical stores like ours have really been declining day by day..." Looking at the reports sent from the jewelry store every day, Xu Pingli sighed for a while.

"I can't do it anymore. I release a new product every week, and my brain cells are no longer enough..." Xu Caimei raised her hands in surrender.

"Hey, it's okay. There's no need to work so hard - I thought that continuing to introduce new products would keep customers in the store, but now it seems that it doesn't work either." Xu Pingli sighed.

"I said no at the beginning," Li Meiyan came over, "Although what we sell are small trinkets, they are not cheap. In the end, these trinkets are just for wearing fresh. If you buy a cheap one, wear it for two days and then throw it away. .

"Even though we release new products very quickly, our reputation is not that great, and the price is so high, naturally no one buys it."

"But we have no room to lower prices - although we now have more and more pearls at our disposal, the farms are also employing more and more people. Is this a cost?
Coupled with the cost of commissioned processing, transportation costs, shop rent, and some operating costs, we really have nothing to make money. Originally, we pointed to the jewelry store to have a stable income every month, but If this continues, we will really be unable to make ends meet. "

"Since you said it is so urgent, I will add a little more intensity to you - several people have proposed to leave their jobs. It seems that it was agreed upon, and seven or eight people left at once." Li Meiyan said.

"Why?" Xu Caimei and Xu Pingli asked at the same time.

"They didn't say it, but I think they are all pearl divers like Cai Mei - I usually listen to their chats and know something about it. Recently I heard that the purchase price of natural pearls has increased a lot. It may be related to this. .”

"That's not surprising..." Xu Caimei nodded, "It's okay to leave, so that we can take a breather. Before we come up with a new way, we can only tighten our belts."

"How about we also try to open an online store?" Xu Pingli suggested.

"Let's first understand the required funds and conditions. We just expanded our business some time ago, and now we don't have enough money." Xu Caimei said.

"Okay." Xu Pingli nodded.

After explaining the matter about the breeding farm, she took a long trip to Shenzhen alone.

Because her application for an agent was rejected last time, Zhao Fengmin was determined to create a new high-end jewelry brand on her own.

But right now, I don’t have a capable designer on hand, and the one I know well won’t be available until the end of the year at the earliest. In view of Xu Caimei’s outstanding performance in the past, I would like to ask her to help with the design.

"How's it going, Caimei? Have you settled down over there? I'm afraid we'll have to be busy for about half a month this time." Zhao Fengmin said.

"Well, it's all done."

Xu Da is also here, and they will work together this time.

"The theme of our design this time is prosperity - it is expected to be released next spring. There is still plenty of time, so we can think about it slowly." Xu Da said.

"Although I can only be considered an amateur at best, I will try my best to help." Xu Caimei said.

Two weeks passed quickly and their first draft was ready.

"This is a work that combines the wisdom and imagination of all of us. Caimei also helped to modify many details. We are confident that we can make it a god in one draft!" Xu Da handed over the manuscript with great enthusiasm and was extremely excited.

To be cautious, Zhao Fengmin found a familiar professional designer and asked him to help read the draft.

"It's vulgar and unoriginal. If you want your new product to be delisted as soon as it's launched, just design it this way." The designer said without mercy. "Why do you say that? I think it's pretty good." Zhao Fengmin asked reluctantly.

"If it is a design for the general public and used purely for daily decoration, I might say it is good, but you have to understand that what you are doing is high-end design and it needs to reflect artistic value. No one will spend such a high price. The price is just to buy an artificial tree that is simply piled with gold and silver and take home.”

"..." When hearing such feedback from Zhao Fengmin, several people responsible for the design fell silent.

"But what they said is right. Otherwise, why would artists' works be more expensive than ordinary handicrafts? It can only be said that we may not be interested in doing this." Xu Da sighed, "It's just that it's not in vain. Is it your intention for Cai Mei to come here specially?"

"That's nothing. The most important thing is the design. So what are you going to do next?"

"We can only wait until our friends take over. If that doesn't work, we can only ask for more money later to find someone to rush the work." Zhao Fengmin sighed, "Well, in short, thank you for coming all the way to help. sister."

When she got home, her butt was still hot from sitting, Xu Caimei received another call. It was Xie Chunyu, who asked her to meet in the city and said he had good news to tell her.

When she arrived at the city's coffee shop as promised, Xie Chunyu was waiting for her.

Looking at Xie Chunyu with a bulging abdomen and a happy face, Xu Caimei asked: "How many months has it been?"

"Seven months."

"You called me here this time to make an appointment with your godmother?" Xu Caimei joked.

"Well, it's not a bad idea to be my godmother, but I'm here to talk to you about business -" Xie Chunyu took out a stack of forms from her bag and handed it to Xu Caimei. "I heard that you were studying design by yourself some time ago?"

"Yes."

"There is an opportunity to study design in the city - go to a French design school to study design. Go there at the end of the year and stay for half a year to a year. It depends on your own time."

"This is a good opportunity."

"That's right, so I'm here to talk to you, but there is a prerequisite - by the way, Caimei, are you still learning English?"

"I'm studying. I've memorized the few college English books you gave me."

"That's good, this time it requires IELTS scores in English, and French speaking is required at least to the level that can carry out basic daily communication." Xie Chunyu said, "These two points have stumped many people, but It’s not like there are no competitors at all, so if you want to go, go for it.”

"Thank you, Chunyu."

"You're welcome. By the way, the registration deadline is at the end of this month, and the qualification review will be in two months. You should hurry up and take the IELTS and study French, so don't fall behind."

After all, time was tight and the task was heavy, so the two of them exchanged a few hurried greetings and then left.

Back at the breeding farm, Xu Caimei told Xu Ping'an about the incident.

"Do you want to go?" Xu Pingan asked.

"The situation in the breeding farms is not optimistic now. We always have to find a new way. To do e-commerce, for us, we can only strive for small profits but quick turnover; but if we can take the road of high-end pearl jewelry design, although it is very It’s difficult, but once you succeed, it’s a big turnaround. I’m willing to give it a try.”