"Prices are clearly marked! No retail sales! No bargaining!"
"There are shopping baskets at the entrance. Just pick out your items and bring them here to pay."
Okay, the negotiation failed.
Jiang Xiaoman shrugged and obediently led Jiang Cancan to move the pile of promotional summer clothes to the cashier, and then filled a shopping basket with off-season cotton socks.
These cotton socks were probably leftover stock from someone's warehouse clearance sale. They were very cheap, costing only a few cents a pair. Although the colors and styles were very old-fashioned, the country folk didn't care about such things; as long as they were sturdy and durable, that was enough.
"Boss, we've chosen, please pay us." Jiang Xiaoman brought the socks over.
“And these towels! I saw it says 5 for 10 yuan, and all the towels at home are worn out…” Jiang Cancan ran over carrying a large bag of defective towels.
"Holy crap! Jiang Cancan!" The female boss looked up, suddenly saw Jiang Cancan's small face, and couldn't help but look down with a questioning expression, as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but lean over to take a look, and immediately burst out laughing: the boss was actually watching the program "Young People Singing for the Motherland"!
"I know you! You must be Can Can's nephew, right? Oh dear! Sorry, I didn't see you earlier! Come on, come in and have a seat!" The owner suddenly seemed like a different person, warmly ushering the two to the small sofa behind the cashier. He then took two bottles of sparkling water from the small refrigerator inside, handing one of them, a peach-flavored one, to Jiang Can Can. "I remember Can Can said on the show that her favorite fruit is peaches, right?"
"Yes! Because we only grow peach trees at home." Jiang Cancan smiled and pursed her lips.
"Ahhh~ She's even cuter in person than on TV!" The female shop owner's eyes lit up, but then she couldn't help but feel sorry for her shop's "customer positioning." "Why is Can Can coming to the wholesale market to buy clothes? Is she short of money? Humph! I've always felt that the TV station is unfair. They give those guests so much appearance fee, but they don't just provide you with a few boxed lunches, do they?"
"No, the director is great. I get a 200 yuan subsidy every day for going to class, and I've saved up 2,000 yuan already!" Jiang Cancan was very satisfied with her current "salary and benefits".
"Only two hundred? Is this director a reincarnation of Huang Shiren?" The female boss couldn't help but complain. She glanced at the items they had chosen and piled to one side, her eyes darting around, and she immediately thought of a good way to "take care" of Jiang Cancan—
"Oh dear! I didn't see clearly! You guys are all picking out my clearance items~"
"This hat is one yuan! I wrote the wrong price for socks, it's not five yuan a piece, it's five yuan a bag!"
"And these clothes, they were all unwanted and stored away in the warehouse. I bought this big bag for only twenty yuan, so I'll just sell them to you at cost price."
Seeing the shop owner's attitude of practically giving things away for free, Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Does Miss like our Cancan too?"
"Yes! I've been following your school's account since the very first episode. You guys mostly post videos of the school, and there are so few solo videos of CanCan. Oh, right, I remember now! You came to me to buy things, actually for your school, right?"
"Mmm~ Most of them are for my classmates, but some are for my sister and my grandma. My grandma hasn't bought new clothes in years, and my sister has been wearing my and my older sister's hand-me-downs since she was born. She's never bought herself any new clothes." Jiang Cancan pointed to two dresses and a tracksuit placed separately in the shopping basket.
“You’ve come to the right place to buy clothes! There’s no one in the whole wholesale market I don’t know! Your grandma’s clothes, right? Wait for me to call and ask.” As she spoke, the shop owner picked up her phone, found the number, and dialed. She spoke in the local dialect and spoke a little fast, so Jiang Xiaoman couldn’t hear clearly. She only vaguely heard the shop owner say something like “give me the cost price” and “it’s family.”
Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, the shop owner wrote them a note with a name and phone number on it: "Leave your things here with me later, and go to the basement to find Brother Wang. His shop specializes in selling leftover and discontinued clothing for middle-aged and elderly people. It's similar to what I sell here, except the styles are a bit outdated. Actually, if you look carefully, some of the quality is even better than the new styles, and the prices are reasonable too!"
“I told Brother Wang that you are relatives from my hometown, and that he could just accept a small amount of money as a token gesture. But don’t let it slip when you get there.”
As she spoke, the shop owner glanced at Jiang Cancan apologetically and asked, "Cancan, can I take a picture with you?"
"Sure, but I'm not dressed well today." Jiang Cancan didn't expect to run into fans while shopping. To make it easier to carry things, she and Jiang Xiaoman were both wearing slightly worn clothes. The clothes she was wearing were altered from her older sister's clothes.
"Oh, I just remembered! I happen to have a few big kids' dresses here. Wait a minute, I'll go find them and you can try them on." The shop owner rushed to the back and came out with a few plastic bags in no time. The plastic bags looked dirty on the outside, but once you opened the packaging, the clothes inside were still in good condition, just a bit outdated in style.
The shop owner was surprised to find that this style was from several years ago and awkwardly tried to take it back. Unexpectedly, Jiang Cancan pointed at the dress with delight and exclaimed, "Xiaoman, look! I saw this dress at the fair! It was extremely expensive!"
Jiang Xiaoman leaned over for a look and laughed too.
This rainbow tulle skirt was indeed very popular a couple of years ago. When he worked part-time at a supermarket, he would take his kids shopping on weekends, and eight out of ten girls were wearing this skirt. Apparently, the animal on it that looks like a unicorn is a character from some cartoon, something like My Little Pony or something. Anyway, little girls all liked it.
Jiang Cancan would definitely like it too.
However, judging from the workmanship, this rainbow skirt with tulle is not cheap. It is estimated that it would cost at least over a hundred yuan at retail. The price of one skirt is almost equivalent to Jiang Cancan's family's living expenses for a week. No wonder she didn't even dare to ask the price.
"Can Can, do you like this dress? If you do, I'll give you all of these. They're all old styles, just leftover stock, nobody would buy them anyway." What the shop owner didn't say was that the reason she kept these discarded items was because she liked the light tulle; the quality was really good, perfect for making dresses for dolls. *cough*
"No, no! I can't accept such an expensive gift. Brother Jiang Xia will definitely scold me to death if he finds out!" Jiang Cancan waved her hands repeatedly.
Jiang Xia repeatedly instructed her not to accept any gifts from fans privately before the end of the competition, not even a letter or a piece of paper, but to have them delivered through her guardian, either him or Jiang Xiaoman.
He did this to prevent any potential rivals from setting a trap for him. Years ago, there was a very talented singer whose voice was ruined because he drank water that someone handed him during a competition.
Seeing that she insisted on refusing, and her pitiful little eyes secretly glancing at the pretty gauze skirt, the shop owner gave in with a wry smile: "Alright, alright, I won't give it to you for free, I'll sell it to you at the price I paid, ten yuan apiece, is that okay?"
"Thank you, sister! I'll take them all!" Jiang Cancan hugged the dusty plastic bag and grinned foolishly.
Yueyue is growing up very fast. She wants to keep two new dresses from taking apart so that Yueyue can wear new dresses when she grows up! There are a few more dresses. She will keep two for herself and give the rest to her best friend at school.
"Hey! That's right. Next time you need to buy clothes, just come to me. I'll give you the lowest price!" The shop owner patted Jiang Cancan's head with a kind mother's smile.
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."
He now understands why so many people are desperate to get into the entertainment industry; the fans' genuine love is just too addictive!
Chapter 67
I originally budgeted 2,000 yuan to buy clothes, but ended up spending less than 500 yuan.
Jiang Xiaoman had Jiang Cancan put away the rest of the money, and instructed her to do so.
"I heard that the next step is to form groups. In the next few days, pay attention to which contestants Wei Sheng and his assistant Xiao Bai are getting close to. If they come to you to hang out, don't be shy or afraid. Just hang out with whoever you want."
"But don't be too stingy with money. If someone treats you to cake, you treat them to milk tea. In short, friendships should be reciprocal, remember that?"
Jiang Cancan's family didn't have any suitable elders to teach her these principles of life, so Jiang Xiaoman, her "nephew," had no choice but to take the initiative and teach her himself.
"Yes! That's what Brother Jiang Xia told me too. He even bought milk tea for a few girls who wanted to hang out with me." Jiang Cancan nodded.
"What? Is someone on the show unwilling to play with you?" Jiang Xiaoman keenly grasped the subtext in Jiang Cancan's words, and her eyebrows immediately furrowed.
Never look down on the squabbling among children.
Children may seem innocent, but it is precisely this kind of arrogance and disdain that comes from the depths of their bones that is most hurtful.
When Jiang Xiaoman was admitted to the county's No. 1 High School with the highest score in the entire township, she was often looked down upon when she first entered the school. People said things like her clothes were too unfashionable, her dialect was too heavy, and she didn't fit in.
If someone doesn't like you, they can find a million flaws in you instead of reflecting on whether they are prejudiced against others.
Jiang Xiaoman's biggest fear was that her fellow contestants would collectively ostracize Jiang Cancan. After all, children who can study art from a young age generally come from relatively well-off families, and in comparison, Jiang Cancan was simply from a different world.
"I don't know. I think they might be angry because Teacher Xu, Brother Wei Sheng, and the other teachers all like me very much." Jiang Cancan pouted. This was a situation she had never encountered before, and she had no idea how to handle it.
"But Brother Jiang Xia told me not to worry about them, since I probably won't see them after the group stage."
Jiang Xiaoman: "...That's true!"
Teacher Jiangxia is truly insightful!
"Then forget about it! Just focus on your training and stay close to Wei Sheng and Brother Xia."
Because she had bought quite a lot of clothes, Jiang Xiaoman found a post office nearby and sent a package back to the village. She then took Jiang Cancan back to the TV station and went back to the hotel to get her luggage before heading back.
Before I even reached the bus stop, I suddenly received a call from Jiang Xia.
"Get me some of that rock honey you sent to Wei Sheng later, and I'll transfer the money to you."
"You want to drink it yourself? Then I'll bring you some. Our local honey is pretty good. That rock honey is too expensive, 150 yuan a pound!"
"It's not for me to drink, I'm planning to buy some as gifts. What's 150 yuan a pound? Last time I went to Brother Jiang's birthday party, I couldn't find a place to stay, and one of the biggest fans in our group booked a room for me. Wow! More than 3,000 yuan a night!"
"I could afford that money if I gritted my teeth, but the problem is that guy probably didn't expect that Brother Jiang would also be staying at that hotel when he booked it! The paparazzi all rushed to besiege the hotel where the birthday party was held, who would have thought that our Brother Jiang would be staying at my hotel, hahaha, Brother Jiang and I live on the same floor! We even bumped into each other in the elevator, ahhh..."
"I'll owe you a huge favor. Buy me six catties of rock honey, the best of the best! I'll send you the shipping address later, just send it directly to her."
Jiang Xiaoman: "..." He probably could never understand the world and logic of fangirls in his entire life.
Just because you bumped into a movie star in the elevator, you owe him such a huge favor?
That's top-grade rock honey, costing 150 yuan per jin!
If I had known, I would have asked for 180; he could have made a profit.
Let's rip off that wicked rich man, Jiangxia!
After taking a bus and then a train, Jiang Xiaoman returned to the county town. She found a cheap hotel near the station, dropped off her luggage, and took a bus straight to the county town's wholesale market.
Their custom is to host a feast for three days after building a new house. On the first day, the family's immediate relatives and hired helpers come early in the morning to help prepare the ingredients and food for the main day of the feast. The host family is responsible for preparing all three meals on the first day, plus a snack in the afternoon.
The second day is the main day, with the most guests arriving, requiring a lot of ingredients, cigarettes, and alcohol to be prepared. By the third day, all the other guests have left, leaving mostly relatives and friends who came to help. However, all that's needed is to prepare a hearty lunch, and after everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, the leftovers are shared with the relatives and neighbors who came to help. Only then is the housewarming feast considered over.
On the way back, Jiang Xiaoman took out a small notebook and calculated all the cigarettes, alcohol and ingredients she would need for the next three days.
Based on the number of relatives and helpers provided by Jiang Youliang, he roughly calculated what he would need. Today, he would first find out the prices in the county town, and then come back to purchase the items tomorrow. After buying them, he would hire a small truck to transport them directly back, saving him the trouble of making another trip to the county town.
The wholesale market in their county is a mix of several markets, offering everything from fresh produce to chilled and frozen goods. Jiang Xiaoman strolled around, checking the prices at almost every stall, not just the retail prices but also the wholesale prices. After all, he was buying quite a lot, and he was going to rent a small truck to haul it all back. If the prices were right, he planned to buy even more to share with the school.
Unexpectedly, as I was walking, I suddenly saw a familiar figure in a shop.
"Excuse me, are you Lin Mao?"
"Jiang Xiaoman?!" The boy named Lin Mao looked up, recognized the person, and immediately jumped up with joy.
“I think it looks like you from afar. Do you own a shop here?” Jiang Xiaoman happily put her arm around her old classmate’s shoulder.
Lin Mao's family is from the county town, but his family is of average means, and he used to be considered an unpopular "marginalized group" at school.
When Jiang Xiaoman was admitted to the county's No. 1 High School, he was ostracized by his classmates because of his accent and other reasons. Lin Mao and he were in the same boat, and the two sat together in the last two rows.
However, Jiang Xiaoman's grades soared, and she quickly became the darling of all the teachers. She was moved from the second-to-last row to the second-to-last row. High school is a stage where strength is absolutely valued. No matter how poorly you dress, even if you dress like a beggar, as long as you can get the top score in the whole school, you will still be worshipped by all the students.
And so, the academic superstar Jiang Xiaoman and the academic underachiever Lin Mao drifted further and further apart during their three years of high school. Later, when they were divided into classes in their senior year, Jiang Xiaoman went to the honors class, while Lin Mao fell into the regular class, and the two rarely had any contact.
I heard that Lin Mao didn't get into university and went home to help his parents with their business after graduation. I never expected that he would open a shop in the wholesale market. That's much better than him being a "proletarian"!
"Why are you at the wholesale market? Are you buying things for your family?" Lin Mao was very happy to see his old classmate, especially since he was a top student back then. He ran inside and got him a bottle of iced drink.
“My old house collapsed, but now the new house is finished. We’re having a family dinner, so I came here to buy some frozen goods, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. You know, I live in the mountains, and these things are too expensive to buy in town.”
“Of course! The towns and villages all get their goods from us, then hire trucks to transport them back. In this sweltering heat, they have to buy frozen goods, and they also need to make money from their own shops, so how can it not be expensive?” Lin Mao pointed to the frozen goods displayed in the shop. “You can choose whatever you want. The prices displayed outside the wholesale market are all the same. The government regulates it, but the wholesale price is negotiable. If you want it, I can give you the wholesale price directly.”
"Hey~ Mr. Lin is doing pretty well, you can even make your own decisions now?" Jiang Xiaoman teased him.
"No way, these past few years, online shopping has made it hard for brick-and-mortar stores to do business. The electricity bill for frozen goods is exorbitant every month. Luckily, my shop doesn't have rent, otherwise I probably wouldn't make any money and would even have to lose money. This year, three shops selling chilled and frozen goods have already closed down." Lin Mao sighed.
"That's true. Okay, I'll buy from you then, but not today. I'll pick them out first, and you can prepare them for me at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll find a truck to pick them up and leave."
After finishing his drink, Jiang Xiaoman stood up to leave, but he had already added Lin Mao on WeChat. "Let's chat again, old classmate. I still have a lot of things to buy for my family."
Lin Mao didn't dare to keep him, but insisted on treating him to dinner that night. "Don't come to my house, just the two of us. I'll take you to eat hot pot!"
Jiang Xiaoman nodded, made an appointment with Lin Mao to wait for him at the store at five o'clock, and then hurriedly ran off to buy other things.
Soybean oil is much cheaper in the county town than in the town. Seeing that a 10-jin (5 kg) bucket was only 48 yuan, he ordered 10 buckets from the shop owner. He kept half for his own family and gave the rest to the school. Five large buckets of soybean oil would be enough for the school to eat for two months.
He ordered four boxes of coarse salt, which cost 60 cents a bag wholesale, totaling 200 bags, and only spent 120 yuan!
I bought two large buckets each of light and dark soy sauce, four 10-jin bottles of rice vinegar, and some dried black fungus, white fungus, and dried shrimp for various side dishes. We were short of garlic at home, so I bought a bag of garlic as well. We already had everything else at home, so we didn't need to buy any more.