bookrebus Chapter 740: Tong'an Cloth Shop Opens
Chapter 740: Tong'an Cloth Shop Opens
Liuyang Prefecture.
Before the Yin hour and before daybreak, Xue Li pulled his friend out of bed, helped him to wash and dress, and then dragged him to the cloth shop.
The night was dark and the air was humid. From time to time, dogs barking could be heard all around, which scared the two men so much that they ran faster and faster.
"It's not even Yin hour yet!" The friend held the lantern in one hand and the hem of her skirt in the other, complaining, "Xue Li, are you still human? The cloth shop doesn't open until Chen hour, why are we going so early? Are we going to stand in the cold wind at the door?"
"I can't sleep." Xue Li smiled, with two dimples on her cheeks. "Xiao Ya, let's go earlier and line up at the front. Who knows, maybe we can see Lord Shen."
Xiaoya wailed and pointed at the dark sky, "We called it early? Besides, didn't you meet Lord Shen before? When she stayed at your inn, didn't you say that you led Lord Shen to the other side and you two were alone? Isn't that enough? I haven't even seen Lord Shen in person, and I'm not as impatient as you!"
Thinking of that time, Xue Li's smile deepened, "How can seeing you once be enough? Seeing you any number of times is not enough."
"What you said... seems to make sense." Xiaoya was really tired from running, so she stopped to catch her breath and said, "But...what if Lord Shen didn't come?"
Xue Li continued to smile, as if she had already thought about this possibility.
"If Lord Shen hadn't come, we could have bought cotton cloth woven in Tongan County. If we go too late, we might run out of it. Xiaoya, don't you want to buy some cotton cloth to make clothes?"
"Of course I want to." Xiaoya changed the lantern. "We're going so early, who can compete with us?"
As they were talking, the two turned a corner and entered Xiyuan Street.
The street was not brightly lit, but it did have some starlight.
Looking at the scene in front of her, Xiaoya was stunned, "This, this is really someone competing with us..."
I saw several people waiting in front of the cloth shop.
These people arrived earlier than them, and some of them were even wrapped in their coats and dozing off in front of the door.
......
"Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle--"
After the firecrackers exploded, the smoke gradually dissipated and the entrance of Tong'an Cloth Shop was filled with noise.
Most of these people really wanted to buy cotton cloth, but... a small number came just to watch the fun.
Standing in front of the cloth shop were Mo Qingwan and Wang Guangjin. There were also a dozen or so other shop assistants in uniform standing on both sides of the door.
Mo Qingwan looked up at the sky, put his hands down and said, "Everyone——"
Everyone fell silent at the same time.
Mo Qingwan smiled and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, let's make it short so as not to waste your time."
This earned many smiles from the people. Those who recognized her smiled and responded, "Manager Mo, please introduce the cloth shop to us!"
Mo Qingwan smiled and shook his head, "I'm not the shopkeeper, the young man next to me is, his last name is Wang."
"Isn't this President Wang of the Tongan Chamber of Commerce?" everyone shouted enthusiastically, "We have met President Wang before. No, today we should call him Shopkeeper Wang!"
Wang Guangjin greeted everyone.
He and Mo Qingwan are in charge of the men's and women's clothing areas respectively.
In other words, the men's clothing on the first floor is under his care and management, and he is temporarily called the "shopkeeper", while the women's clothing area on the second floor is under the care of Mo Qingwan, who is temporarily called the "deputy shopkeeper".
But in fact...they are not real shopkeepers.
The real owner of the cloth shop could be anyone around them - among the dozen or so shop assistants, half are talents trained by the Chamber of Commerce, or "potential owners."
In other words, the most capable will prevail.
For the shop assistants, this is a demonstration of their abilities and also a test given to them by the Chamber of Commerce.
Wang Guangjin retracted his gaze and said loudly: "Everyone, Tong'an Cloth Shop is officially open today. Cotton cloth and cotton ready-made clothes are sold here. Male guests please go to the first floor, and female guests please go to the second floor. The cloth and clothes in the shop are clearly marked with prices. Please choose and buy by yourselves! Because we just opened today, each person is limited to buying two pieces of cloth and two pieces of ready-made clothes. I hope everyone will forgive me!"
When people at the front of the line hear the word “purchase restriction”, they inevitably feel disappointed.
I'm also thinking of bringing a few for my relatives and friends!
Two pieces...seems like they are only enough for making clothes at home.
Mo Qingwan spoke at the right time: "The purchase limit at the beginning of the opening is to allow more people to buy cotton cloth and wear cotton clothes. Similarly, it is also to prevent someone from maliciously monopolizing and disrupting the cotton cloth market to make money from the people. I hope everyone understands!"
As soon as these words were spoken, several people in the crowd immediately changed their expressions and lowered their heads silently. The rest of the people reacted and cheered.
Mo Qingwan ignored those people and said to the clerk with a smile, "Welcome!"
The shop assistants were well-trained and spontaneously divided into three groups. Two people stayed at the door to greet customers, the remaining half went to the first floor, and the other half went to the second floor.
"Ladies, please go upstairs..." Xue Li looked up at the second floor and went up the stairs with everyone else.
The steps are not steep at all, they can even be described as low and flat.
As they took one step at a time, when they reached the second floor, their vision suddenly became bright, and everything before them made them feel novel and surprised.
"Wow--"
"Oh my god——"
The feeling that Tongan Fabric Shop gave them was different from all other fabric shops.
On the shelves, countless cotton cloths are arranged by color and stacked layer by layer, making them seem as if they have fallen into a colorful world. The warm fragrance of cotton fat is not greasy at all, and it rushes into everyone's nostrils.
"So many cotton fabrics... So this is what cotton fabrics are like. They feel soft and warm, not cold at all. I heard that cotton is like this."
"There's a little fluff on it, so it must be comfortable if you wear it close to your body!"
"Please, we lined up in front to buy cotton coats, are we supposed to wear them next to our skin? Then we have to wear them outside for everyone to see!"
There were also many ready-made clothes hanging on the wall, all of which were novel in style and pattern that they had never seen before.
Red is generous, goose yellow is pleasant, light blue is gentle, light green is lively, and royal blue is dignified.
With just one glance, everyone chose the clothes they liked.
"Oh! That! That's a wooden man? Why does it look so good in clothes? Do you still have the clothes it's wearing? I want one, too!"
"Yes, sir. I'll get you a new one. You can try on clothes here. Please follow me."
While others were trying on clothes, Xue Li was still standing there, dazed.
Xiaoya came over and whispered, "Those people in the front line don't seem to be short of money. No one is looking at the price. I feel embarrassed to look at it..."
The wooden price tags for cloth are hung on the containers, while the wooden price tags for ready-made clothes are hung directly on the clothes. If customers want to see them, they can see them at a glance.
Xue Li didn't know what she was thinking. She walked straight to the shelf selling pure white cotton cloth, slowly reached out and picked up the wooden price tag.