Huo Jingyuan noticed Wen Ci’s hesitation. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave them a gentle pat. “It’s alright, I’ll explain things to Grandma.”
Wen Ci let out a sigh.
It felt terribly impolite to leave before even spending a full day with the elders on her first visit. “It’s okay, I’ll just call the department store bosses back.”
She also planned to ask them how many pounds of clothing they wanted. If several bosses placed large orders, she would contact Xu Jinghe immediately.
After hanging up with Wen Yaozu, Wen Ci called the operator and asked them to check which numbers had called her home. She wrote them all down in a notebook.
She started making the calls proactively. The first one was to the capital’s largest department store, Guo Mao. “Hello, this is the boss selling clothes for nine yuan per pound. My brother answered your call earlier.”
“Boss Wen.”
“Yes, speaking.”
Hearing someone call her “Boss” gave Wen Ci a secret thrill. “I’m currently in Hangzhou. May I ask how many pounds of clothing you are planning to purchase?”
The person on the other end was the head of procurement for Guo Mao Department Store. He declared grandly, “As long as Boss Wen can guarantee the quality, we’ll take as much as you have.”
Clothes at nine yuan per pound were incredibly cheap from the department store’s perspective. They could easily handle even millions of pounds of inventory.
If they could monopolize the supply, they could run promotions however they wanted later, with no worry about losing money.
“Uh…”
Wen Ci didn’t agree immediately. Throughout history, monopolies had never been a good thing. Besides, Xu Jinghe’s warehouse only had a finite amount of stock.
Selling it all to Guo Mao at once would be convenient, but it would offend the bosses of other department stores in the capital. That wouldn’t bode well for her future business endeavors.
Wen Ci curved her lips into a smile. “I’m sorry, but we can only supply ten thousand pounds. If Guo Mao cornered the market, it would ultimately be a loss for me.”
Wen Ci was frank and honest.
As a novice merchant just starting out, she lacked substantial capital and powerful backing. She couldn’t afford to offend those established merchants who had been operating in the capital for decades.
Therefore, she could only distribute the goods among various department stores.
Large department stores could get ten thousand pounds, smaller ones five thousand. By sharing the supply equally, she wouldn’t offend anyone.
“Only ten thousand pounds?”
“Only ten thousand.” Wen Ci paused, then explained, “As you know, the quality of this batch of clothes is truly excellent. You simply can’t find this price anywhere else. Ten thousand pounds is quite a lot.”
Ten thousand pounds amounted to at least four or five thousand individual garments.
Selling them in the department store for fifty yuan each would easily more than double the investment.
Huo Jingyuan leaned back on the sofa, his gaze fixed intently on his wife as she focused on her business negotiations. His eyes shimmered, filled with affection.
“A-Ci is doing business?” Grandma Liu walked over to her grandson and asked softly.
“Yes.”
Hearing this, Grandma Liu looked at Wen Ci with even more fondness. The Huo family ancestors had started their fortune through business.
Although her eldest grandson, Huo Jingyuan, wasn’t interested in business, his wife was. In the future, they could allocate some of the family’s business ventures for her to manage.
“Grandma, let Wen Ci figure things out on her own. Don’t step in unless it’s absolutely necessary. She enjoys forging her own path.”
“Understood.”
By the landline, Wen Ci continued calling several other department stores. She uniformly informed them that large stores could get up to ten thousand pounds, while smaller stores could get five thousand.
Then, she did a quick mental calculation. This way, all the goods in the capital warehouse could be sold out. The deposits from the bosses, combined with the money she already had, would be enough to pay off the entire debt to Xu Jinghe. A bright, radiant smile spread across her face.
“Huo Jingyuan, I’ve sold all the clothes!”
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