Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 570 "Inspection"

The underground air-raid shelter shopping mall was still as crowded and stuffy as ever.

Overall, however, it's much more comfortable to walk around underground in the summer than in the winter. After all, it's underground, there's no sunlight, and it's much cooler than outside, unlike in winter when you're wearing heavy cotton clothes and blowing hot air conditioning.

Moreover, even if there are many people and it's crowded, it doesn't feel as stuffy as winter when people are wearing less clothing.

Once down to the bottom, Xiaohong looked up at the sign for Fangcaodi and asked Xiaowei, "Which way should we go first?"

Xiao Wei was also examining the sign. These days, signs made with colored lights were extremely rare; it looked quite novel. And a dance hall? He'd never been to one before. In this era, even kissing could be considered pornography; a dance hall was a mysterious and exciting place.

Xiao Hong pinched Xiao Wei: "You're not allowed to look, and you're not allowed to go."

Xiao Wei turned to look at Xiao Hong and asked, "What am I going there for?"

Xiao Hong snorted and turned her head away, ignoring him.

Xiao Wei led Xiao Hong slowly inside. Coming from this side, they could see the counters in the corners on both sides. Liu Liu, with her sharp eyes, nudged Xing Hai, who was engrossed in playing a handheld game: "Xiao Wei and Xiao Hong are here."

Xinghai looked up: "Where?"

Xiao Wei also saw Liu Liu. Since he saw her, he decided to come over here first, to the shoe section, the south half of the court.

Xinghai, pulling Xiaohong along, finally noticed the two of them. He stood up with a smile, and Xiaowei asked, "How's business? How's it going?"

Xinghai found stools for the two of them and said, "It's alright. We were a little panicked at first, but we've gotten used to it now."

Xiao Wei glanced at the displayed samples; several young people were trying on shoes. He asked, "Aren't you two going to help them try on shoes?"

Xinghai turned his head and glanced at them, saying, "Some need to be accompanied, some don't. These few have already picked out a pair of shoes and came here today with the money to buy them. No need to persuade them, just try them on. One of them is a regular customer, we know him quite well." He whispered, "I'll give him ten yuan for every pair of shoes he brings."

Xiao Hong silently raised her hand and gave Xinghai a thumbs up.

Xiao Wei smiled but didn't say anything. Actually, giving back ten yuan for a pair of shoes was a bit high in this day and age, but whatever, the profit was that high anyway. Besides, Xinghai had managed to come up with this trick in just a few days, which was commendable.

Looking inside, Xiao Wei asked, "Which stall is Brother Liu running?"

Xinghai pointed inside and said, "It's over here, the shoe store. His sister-in-law thinks selling clothes is too much trouble."

Selling clothes is definitely more troublesome than selling shoes. These days, to be honest, there aren't many styles of shoes, but clothes are starting to become more and more colorful, especially in summer. Moreover, selling shoes is more stable. In winter, a piece of clothing can cost several hundred, but in summer it's at most a few dozen. Shoes are different; regardless of winter or summer, the price and profit are stable, and there's less chance of problems.

Brother Liu's counter was at the very edge; there were only two large stalls on this side, offering a much better view than the stalls crammed together in the middle. Between the two stalls sat a row of shoe shiners, all looking quite busy.

Xinghai said, "Shoe shining is a good business now. It costs three yuan to shine a pair, and five yuan in winter. If you do it well, you can earn several thousand yuan a month."

Looking at the busy shoeshine men, Xiao Wei said, "Really? Business is so good, and they only earn so little?"

Xinghai glanced at Xiaowei and said, "Don't we have to pay management fees? This stall makes a lot of money every month."

Xiao Hong asked, "How much?"

Liu Liu said, "It's about one or two hundred a day, I don't know if that's the truth, but that's what everyone says."

Xiao Wei said, "Three yuan to shine a pair? Three hundred yuan for a hundred people? Are there that many people shining shoes every day?"

Liu Liu nodded and said, "Yes, I counted them specifically. Over there, that young woman, she does the most work. She works non-stop from morning to night. The most she ever did in one day was more than two hundred."

Xiao Wei glanced at Liu Liu: "You've got a lot of free time, haven't you? Just stood here counting all day?"

Little Red chuckled.

Liu Liu blushed and said, "Xing Hai told me to count them. She has a lot of work to do, so I counted her, and the two next to her."

Xiao Hong said, "Are you sure you're not just attracted to her looks?" The girl looks alright from this angle; she has big eyes and smiles a lot. Attractive women always have an advantage, no matter where they are. Even a perfectly honest and upright person would subconsciously choose her first, at least because she's pleasing to the eye.

Xinghai said, "Business wasn't very good at the beginning of those days. I felt that shining shoes was quite profitable, so I asked Liuliu to count the profits for two days. After that, business picked up, so I stopped paying attention to it. I was a little unsure of myself those days, and to be honest, I was a bit panicked."

Xiao Wei said, "It's normal. Everything takes time. Just do your best and take it slow. There's no rush."

Xiao Hong asked, "Who manages the goods? Have you received any slow-selling items?"

Xinghai chuckled a few times and said, "Yes, I didn't really know at first. Luckily, I didn't take many. They're still lying around there, more than twenty pairs." He pointed to the counter: "In that corner, the bottom two pairs. I thought they were pretty good at the time, but nobody asked about them."

Xiao Wei turned his head to look and saw it was a three-knot style. This style was indeed too old-fashioned; young people today would never look at it. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Wei said, "How many pairs? Sell them to me at cost price, so they won't be stuck here."

Xinghai blushed and said, "No need, we can sell them slowly. It's not like we haven't sold a single pair; we've sold two pairs before."

Xiao Hong asked, "The supplier won't let us exchange it?"

Xinghai said, "We'll exchange it, but this is the only company that produces this kind. Wouldn't the exchange be the same? A refund is out of the question."

Xiao Hong was stunned for a moment and said, "He only produces this kind? Wouldn't he go bankrupt?"

Xiao Wei said, "No, they're dealing with several provinces. These kinds of shoes are still quite popular in less developed areas or rural areas. They're sturdy and durable, they're just not very good-looking."

Xinghai said, "Yes, people in the village like my fourth uncle and my dad usually dress like this. I'm used to it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to go up here."

Xiao Wei said, "I'll make up the cost for you. Take the shoes back and share them with your family. That's what I meant when I said I'd buy them—it's a way of showing filial piety to the elders. But this is a one-time thing; you'll have to pay for the next one yourself. Can we change the shoe size?"

Xinghai chuckled and said, "We can arrange it, but we won't give a refund."

Liu Liu held out her hand: "Seven hundred and twenty yuan, thank you for your patronage."

Xiao Wei took out his wallet, counted out 720 yuan, tossed it to Liu Liu, and said with a smile, "Alright, you've even learned how to use the right words now. Thanks for your patronage. When you guys go home, go ask around about the shoe sizes at each store, then take them to the store before restocking and send them back. I won't be running around."

Xinghai asked, "Who are they all going to?"

Xiao Wei said, "You six families, my uncle and my fourth uncle, the rest you can decide for yourself, anyway, they're all from the village."

After the young man tried on the shoes, he didn't change back. He came over to pay wearing the new shoes. Liu Liu took the money, found a bag for him, packed up the old shoes, and handed them to him. After the man left, Liu Liu took out a notebook from under the counter to keep track of the accounts. She said, "Actually, I think these people are pretty stupid. They could sell him for 220 if they came on their own, but they ended up paying 240 when they came with Da Cheng."

Xinghai glared at Liu Liu and said, "Aren't you talkative?" Liu Liu stuck out her tongue.

(End of this chapter)