I emptied my family's possessions to join the army, and my abstinent superior doted on me.

Chapter 66 An Encounter with Qian Xiaozhen

In the late 1970s, Xinshi, as the largest city on the southern coast of the motherland, was at least five or six years more developed than the inland cities.

In particular, as exchanges with Hong Kong gradually became closer, various foreign and Hong Kong goods naturally entered the New Town Market.

As soon as she entered, Hua Cheng hurriedly introduced her to the person inside.

"This overseas Chinese store has three floors. The first floor is for daily necessities, the second floor is for clothing and shoes, and the third floor is for electrical equipment. Which floor would you like to visit first?"

"Let's start with the first floor."

"it is good."

Qian Lai was truly amazed.

She hadn't expected that Xinshi would have such a large foreign trade market by the late 1970s. And it seemed to be bustling with frequent transactions.

The cost of living here is not low.

A pressure kettle from abroad costs around two or three hundred yuan. But back then, in Nancheng, even a senior workshop foreman like Qian Jiangang only earned forty-five yuan and sixty-eight cents a month.

Based on this calculation, it would take Qian Jian Gang half a year of saving up without eating or drinking to buy a pressure kettle.

Moreover, in addition to the Great Unity, foreign exchange certificates were also required to buy goods.

However, these foreign exchange certificates are not something that ordinary people can accumulate in a short time.

Looking around the lobby, almost every counter was occupied by people making transactions, seemingly unconcerned about the price.

"Brother Cheng, is the purchasing power of the people in Xinshi really that strong?"

Hua Cheng smiled, as if he had been waiting for her to ask this question: "There is a reason why the Overseas Chinese Store is built in the embassy district."

Initially, most of the customers of the Overseas Chinese Shop were staff members of consulates of various countries and their families.

Their wages are already higher than those of locals, and foreign exchange certificates are a perk they receive. Therefore, this group of people doesn't care too much about prices.

Later, because the export goods were stylishly designed and of good quality, the customer base gradually expanded.

Some wealthy local families are also increasingly choosing to shop here.

Take diapers and feminine hygiene products, for example. Most buyers have seen or used them abroad before coming to overseas Chinese stores to purchase them.

Ordinary families can't afford diapers that cost more than ten yuan a small pack.

Especially baby diapers. Most families still use old thermal underwear as diapers for their children, right?

What he said makes sense.

If that's the case, if you want to make a name for your diapers, you can choose Overseas Chinese Store.

However, figuring out how to get buyers to recognize this new brand requires careful consideration. It may take a considerable amount of time.

On the other hand, to achieve high sales volume with low profit margins and enter ordinary shopping malls, it is necessary to put in a lot of effort to gradually change consumers' perception of "urine mustard seeds" and make them accept "disposable diapers".

This process may take longer.

"It seems we need to figure out our product positioning first."

"Of course, this is just the first step."

Hua Cheng thought this girl was very smart. With just a few pointers from him, she could figure out the problem on her own.

As they talked, the two walked to the hygiene products counter.

This place is indeed dominated by foreign trade brands and agents.

Qian Lai selected three samples from the many products. One of them was the brand that Sister Mi had shown her, which was manufactured by Tang Guili.

She rubbed the product against her skin and found it to be indeed more delicate and soft than ordinary sanitary products, but it was incomparable to products from later generations.

Seeing that the two were well-dressed and must have purchasing power, the merchant even took the initiative to demonstrate the water-absorbing properties to them.

With this comparison, Qian Lai felt even more confident.

"Come on, I'll take you upstairs to have a look." Hua Cheng saw that her brows had relaxed and knew that she had already made up her mind.

Actually, Qian Lai wasn't interested in the clothes, hats, shoes, and socks upstairs. Her mind was completely occupied with rethinking the product positioning.

What troubled her most was the major hurdle of company registration.

Lost in thought, he followed Hua Cheng up to the second floor.

"Xiaoran, all the clothes here are imported. If there's a style you like, I'll give it to you."

Ah!
"How can this be? Cheng-ge, you've already given so much by coming with me. And now you want to give me a gift? No, no, no, I can't accept it." Hua Cheng knew that he needed to take things slowly to get closer to her, so he didn't insist. He just smiled and led her forward.

Soon, his gaze was drawn to a light-colored bohemian-style printed chiffon dress.

Her skin was fair, and the pattern was elegant and the colors were subtle, perfectly highlighting her youthful charm.

"Xiaoran, what do you think of this dress?"

This man certainly has excellent taste.

But Qian Lai knew what he intended to do, so he hesitated and said he couldn't judge.

Just then, the saleswoman took the dress down and walked up to them: "This dress really suits your style. Your boyfriend has great taste. Go ahead and try it on."

“No, we’re not,” Qian Lai tried to explain, but the saleswoman chuckled. “The little girl is shy. Go ahead and try it on.”

Qian Lai hesitated, but was pushed into the fitting room by her.

But then they heard the sales clerk outside say to Hua Cheng, "You two are obviously a couple. You can tell from the way you look at her."

And you're willing to spend a lot of money to buy her dresses. Your relationship must be special, right?
The little girl was too embarrassed to admit it.

Hua Cheng smiled without saying a word.

She quickly changed her clothes and came out.

Hua Cheng and the sales clerk stood at the door, watching her.

"See, I told you so! This girl has such a great presence, such fair skin, and this dress looks like it was made just for you. No one would look better in it than you."

"It really looks good." Hua Cheng's eyes shone with admiration. "The style of this dress is very unique, and the material is comfortable. It makes the wearer look elegant and graceful. It suits you very well."

Just then, they suddenly heard someone shout, "Qian Xiaozhen, come and take a look, the clothes here are all very beautiful."

Qian Xiaozhen!
Qian Lai's heart skipped a beat.

"Brother Cheng, keep an eye on those guys for me. I'm going to change my clothes first."

"No need," Hua Cheng grabbed her arm. "I've already paid. Let's go."

The two followed quietly behind the girls.

"Xiao Zhen, you really know how to spend money, coming all the way here to buy clothes. You're really going all out for this opening ceremony!"

"What do you know? Xiao Zhen's dad is a businessman. Do you think he'd care about this little bit of money?"

"A girl like Xiao Zhen, who is talented, beautiful, and from a good family, is probably the only one in our graduating class."

"No, I'm telling you. Be very careful of Gao Qing from the Economics Department. I heard that when she comes to school, the principal and the secretary personally go to the school gate to greet her."

I also heard from local classmates that she's extremely arrogant and rude, and very domineering. We outsiders shouldn't offend her.

"Lin Xiaoli, don't boost the morale of others while diminishing the prestige of your own people. What's so great about those children of high-ranking officials? They're all all bark and no bite."

Besides, our department has no connection with them, it's such a downer to bring her up."

Qian Xiaozhen glanced back at Lin Xiaoli with disdain, then, like a queen, arrogantly linked arms with Yu Wei, who had stood up for her, and walked forward.

It's true that "one should look at someone with new eyes after just three days."

Who gave her such confidence?

From a despised illegitimate daughter in the south of the city, she has become a powerful and influential figure in a short period of time.
A flood of questions welled up in Qian Lai's mind.

At this moment, the girls had already arrived at the stall where Qian Lai had bought her clothes. The sales clerk also enthusiastically greeted them, holding up the same dress that Qian Lai had worn.

"Girls, take a look at our most popular imported goods. They're perfect for your age."

Qian Xiaozhen seemed to like it very much, picked it up and compared it to herself, looking at her companion expectantly.

Unfortunately, her skin was dull, and the floral pattern made her look rather dowdy.

“It looks great. Our Xiao Zhen is beautiful, she’ll definitely look good in it.” Yu Wei was the first to break everyone’s hesitation, and after that sentence, everyone smiled and nodded.

Qian Xiaozhen asked smugly, "How much is this dress?"

She stood in front of the mirror again and compared herself to the mirror.

"Eighty-seven dollars and ninety-eight cents, all you need is a foreign exchange certificate."

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　　(End of this chapter)