“Boom, boom, boom…”
The disco music with its heavy beat played on and on. Tian Tian frowned, rubbed her ears, and glanced at the clothing store next door.
At the entrance of that store, Hong Jie stood in a form-fitting gold velvet dress, giving Tian Tian a smug smile.
This person… Tian Tian rolled her eyes, thinking she had a screw loose. First thing in the morning, blasting disco music loud enough to tear the sky apart. It did make her and everyone else in the shop’s ears hurt. But she had to endure it too!
Doing something that harms others without benefiting herself—if that wasn’t having a screw loose, what was?
“Oh my, what are you looking at? Never seen a pretty lady before?”
Tian Tian didn’t bother with her provocation. She just told everyone to perk up. Today was the day the new styles launched—no time to waste on this kind of person.
“Sister Tian, aren’t we going to teach that woman a lesson?” Hui cracked his knuckles, looking thoroughly annoyed.
“Hui, why so crude? Sister Tian, I’ll go give that woman next door a good scolding. She definitely won’t dare play it that loud again.” The speaker was Cai Tianlan, the daughter of Zhou Haoting’s youngest maternal uncle.
She was someone Tian Tian had brought in to help. Besides her, there was another one named Cai Tianmei, also from the Cai clan and sort of a cousin to Cai Tianlan.
So she agreed with Cai Tianlan’s idea, her face eager to give it a try.
Tian Tian rubbed her forehead. She was starting to see it clearly—these Cai family members weren’t afraid of causing trouble at all.
“Fine. Once there are fewer customers this afternoon, you two can go over and get revenge.”
There was no way they were just going to endure it. They were all young people with hot tempers. If they didn’t let it out, were they supposed to wait for it to turn into health problems?
Next door, Hong Jie saw Tian Tian and the young people glaring at her but doing nothing, and only grew more arrogant.
Her shop had a few helpers too, but they were all her relatives. One of them tried to advise her: “Ah Hong, that’s about enough. Those people next door are locals. If you really offend them, we might get retaliated against doing business here.”
Hearing this, Hong Jie curled her lip in disdain. “What are you afraid of? Are locals so amazing? If Brother Hei hadn’t gone back to Hong Kong recently, I would’ve already called his boys over.”
“That’s not how you put it. That Brother Hei isn’t a proper person. Guys like them, nine times out of ten, will only take advantage of you. If you really want his help, you’ll probably have to bleed a lot. Better to just do business honestly.”
Hong Jie grew impatient. “What do you know? My business is none of your concern.”
Tian Tian was standing at the entrance, looking toward the bus station. She happened to overhear the two arguing. As for the “Brother Hei” they mentioned, she felt like she’d heard that name somewhere before.
But the crowd coming from the bus station immediately drew her attention.
—
“Boss Tian, these are the new styles you mentioned?”
The speaker was one of Tian Tian’s regular customers, a woman who owned a clothing store in her hometown county. They had met while selling batwing sleeves. Tian Tian had even visited her store.
“Yes, Sister He. Don’t be fooled by how simple these clothes look. They’re quite unique! The key is the affordable price.”
Sister He looked at the white T-shirts in front of her—long-sleeved and short-sleeved. The fabric was soft and very skin-friendly. But the style could only be called ordinary. Nothing like the eye-catching batwing sleeves or jeans. However, the various chibi-style text and English printed on the clothes were quite special—very rare in this era. Besides, most of the phrases were pretty fun.
Tian Tian observed the other woman’s expression. Seeing her shift from indifferent to bright-eyed, she knew the deal was as good as closed.
The main products these past few days were cultural T-shirts. They came in long-sleeve and short-sleeve, men’s and women’s styles, and three sizes: large, medium, and small. The target audience was young people.
Although not as novel as the batwing sleeves, they had the advantage of being cheap, and the printed phrases were rich and varied—guaranteed to catch the eye.
“Oh, right. Here’s another batch. These all have phrases related to getting rich printed on them.”
Tian Tian took the opportunity to introduce a special line.
They were also simple white T-shirts, but the words printed on them were all related to wealth—things like “Get Rich,” “Wealth,” “Good Fortune,” “Sudden Riches,” and so on. Around the chibi-style fonts, there were added designs like gold ingots, mahjong tiles, fish-prawn-crab dice, and pai gow tiles.
This kind of clothing had appeal for certain groups. After all, it was a good omen.
Sure enough, Sister He’s eyes lit up when she saw them.
“How many of these do you have?”
Tian Tian pulled a small notebook from her pocket. “There are a thousand of these.”
“I’ll take them all.” Sister He waved her hand grandly, looking very commanding. But the next moment, her eyes flashed with shrewdness.
“Boss Tian, buying this many—how are you calculating the price?”
“Ten yuan each.”
“Eight.”
“Too cheap.”
Tian Tian shook her head. “These designs—I won’t say they’re one of a kind, but in all of Guangdong Province, they’re absolutely rare.”
Sister He looked at the special yet cute designs on the clothes. After thinking for a moment, she was about to agree when someone shouted at her from the doorway: “Ah He, Ah He! If you want to stock up, come to my shop! Her clothes are way more expensive than mine.”
Tian Tian looked at Hong Jie, who had popped up out of nowhere, and let out a cold laugh.
Seeing this, Sister He quickly snapped back to attention. “Boss Tian, let’s go with this price!”
There was no negotiating it down anyway. Besides, Hong Jie popping up to poach customers like that was utterly useless to her. On her way in, she had passed Hong Jie’s shop and seen that all the goods displayed were batwing sleeves. Because those clothes sold well, every time she restocked, she had just wired the money directly and had Tian Tian ship the goods.
So she wasn’t short on stock at all.
If Tian Tian hadn’t specifically called to invite her to come see the new styles, and if transportation weren’t convenient, she had planned to come back in half a month.
Hong Jie had no idea what Sister He was thinking. Hearing that she wasn’t buying the cheaper goods, Hong Jie was so angry she wanted to call her an idiot. But in the end, she held it in and kept pushing. “Ah He, you should shop around! My goods are good quality and cheap. You really should come take a look before placing an order!”
Hui couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed a clothes pole and darted outside.
“You old woman, keep yapping.” As he spoke, he jabbed the end of the pole toward her, looking like he was ready to poke her full of holes.
Seeing this, Tian Tian held back a laugh and continued filling out the order form, completing the cash-and-goods transaction with Sister He.
The two Cai sisters helped count the goods, but their eyes kept drifting outside, wanting to see how Hui was doing.
Tian Tian found it amusing. “You two go out and help Hui. He’s a guy, after all—don’t let him get extorted.”
As soon as the Cai sisters heard that, their eyes lit up. They dropped the clothes and dashed outside.
The commotion outside grew several decibels louder.
“Um, Boss Tian, there’s something I don’t know if I should say.” Sister He looked at Tian Tian, hesitating.
Tian Tian said, “It’s fine. Just say it.”
“That Hong Jie next door—you’re from out of town, so you might not know. She’s been in Shenzhen for many years. She has several lovers. One of them is involved in the underworld. They call him Brother Hei. I heard he’s a big shot from Hong Kong. That kind of person is not to be provoked. Once you get tangled up with them, they stick to you like a plaster you can’t shake off.”
Tian Tian heard the name “Brother Hei” again. Suddenly, a flash of insight hit her. She remembered now. After the wedge-heeled shoes with hidden gemstones incident, Zhou Haoting had been keeping an eye on He Cheng’s movements. In the end, he learned that He Cheng had internal strife.
Xiao Ming had clashed with someone called Lao Hei. In the end, Lao Hei’s people died, and he fled back to Hong Kong alone.
Now, connecting this “Lao Hei” with what Hong Jie had said earlier, it was very likely the same person.
This place wasn’t far from Renmin Road. He Cheng’s main base was in that area.
This really was… what a small world.
Tian Tian’s expression shifted several times, but her tone remained steady. “Sister He, thank you for the warning.”
She didn’t say anything more.
And Sister He naturally wouldn’t pry. Anyone who could get a shop on the wholesale street was no simple person. Her warning just now was also because Tian Tian was a fellow townsman. And the clothes she’d launched twice now were good quality and reasonably priced. Take them back and add ten or so yuan each, and they still sold well.
Of course she wanted someone like that to stay safe!
Outside, Hong Jie had been driven red in the face by the three young Cai family members. She had already found out that all three were locals, villagers from Tianfu Village. She’d heard this village was especially united—offend one, and they’d dare to mobilize the whole village to cause trouble. So in the end, Hong Jie could only slink back into her own shop in disgrace.
Even so, the Cai trio didn’t let her off. Moving in unison, they planted their hands on their hips and started cursing directly at her shop entrance. Their posture was practically identical to the village’s sharp-tongued aunties—if not a perfect copy, then at least seventy or eighty percent of their skill.
Tian Tian was counting goods and nearly miscounted from hearing the cursing. She held back her laughter for a while before finally finishing the count.
“Alright, leave the goods here for now. I’m going to check the shop next door.”
Sister He was a businessperson who believed in harmony bringing wealth. Now that Hong Jie had come over, she couldn’t just leave without giving her some face. After all, the woman had underworld connections. She was afraid a fool might get a sudden idea and ruin her business.
Tian Tian didn’t mind. She just continued serving the second customer who came in.
—
“Sister He, Sister He, please come in, come in! Oh my, a big customer has arrived. You… hurry up and pour Sister He some tea.”
Hong Jie saw Sister He come over empty-handed. Thinking she had heard her advice and given up on dealing with the shop next door, she smiled radiantly.
But Sister He couldn’t smile at all. No other reason—Hong Jie had already started stuffing batwing sleeve clothes into her hands.
“Look, my clothes are sold with more conscience than next door. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with the price. And I have more colors than next door. Sister He, why don’t you take more back so you don’t have to make trips back and forth and lose money? My goods are very popular!”
At this point, seeing the Cai trio still standing at the door refusing to leave, Hong Jie added through gritted teeth, “Usually there are lots of customers. It’s just that today those three jinx blocked the door.”
Sister He looked at the goods in her hands. They were indeed decent. And the price was two yuan cheaper per piece than Tian Tian’s. But it was useless! She had already stockpiled a lot of goods. There was no way she’d buy from Hong Jie again. You had to understand—no matter how trendy a style was, once everyone had one, it wasn’t as popular anymore.
Watching Hong Jie rattle on about the clothes and push for an order, Sister He regretted coming over.
In the end, Sister He escaped by pretending to have diarrhea.
Hong Jie believed it completely, smiling as she calculated how much she’d earn once she closed this deal with Sister He. Then she wanted to shoo away the Cai trio, but when she looked up, they had already left without her noticing.
Good, they left. Hong Jie snorted inwardly. She thought to herself that once her Brother Hei came back, she’d definitely make the people next door pay.
Just then, more regular customers came in.
Hong Jie hurried to greet them, energetically pushing the various batwing sleeve clothes in her shop. You had to understand—because these clothes sold well, this time she had placed a big order of five thousand pieces. She’d even negotiated the purchase price down to eight yuan apiece and sold them for twelve. That was quite a bit cheaper than next door. The quality was a bit worse too.
Who wouldn’t like clothes like that? Especially with the high prices next door for comparison. Wholesale customers weren’t stupid—once they compared prices, they’d all come running to buy from her. Because of that price advantage, she had made quite a lot these past few days.
With this batch of five thousand pieces, she’d make four yuan on each one. Just this batch alone would earn her twenty thousand yuan.
Heh heh heh…
Hong Jie was blooming with joy inside, pushing her sales pitch even harder. But in the end, this customer didn’t place an order. Because the big order she’d previously placed with Tian Tian hadn’t sold out yet. She had come this time wanting to stock other styles.
Hong Jie had recently poured all her resources and energy into batwing sleeves, so the other styles in her shop were all old stock. Naturally, the customer left.
After that, quite a few more customers came one after another, but hardly any placed orders for her batwing sleeves. Every one of them said they’d already stockpiled too much.
She was busy until the sun was almost setting in the afternoon. When Hong Jie checked her account book, her head nearly exploded. Why? Because in the whole day, she had only wholesaled a hundred batwing sleeve pieces. Not many people took the other old styles. By her calculations, she’d made a bit over four hundred yuan that day—which sounded like a lot.
But she still had 4,900 batwing sleeve pieces sitting in her inventory! And when she picked up the goods yesterday, she had already placed another order for five thousand more with the garment factory. Because it was a rush order, she’d already paid half the deposit.
That meant she still had 9,900 batwing sleeve tops on her hands!
That number…
Hong Jie suddenly felt dizzy. And she remembered that all those customers who came in and didn’t buy had already placed big orders next door that hadn’t sold out yet.
So, on impulse, she stormed into the shop next door.
“What kind of clothes are these?”
In the shop, Tian Tian was already getting ready to close up and leave. So all four of them were there taking inventory and settling accounts. Seeing Hong Jie pointing at the white T-shirts on the table and demanding an explanation, Tian Tian said slowly, “Do you want to wholesale? How many pieces?”
Hong Jie was so angry at these words that a vein throbbed at her temple. She was the owner of a wholesale shop—why on earth would she wholesale clothes from a wholesale shop?
“I’m asking you—wasn’t your shop selling batwing sleeves? Why are you selling white T-shirts now?”
“If you want to buy, place an order. If not, please leave. Hui, grab your things and close the door.”
Hearing this, Hui immediately let out a sinister chuckle. He jumped up, grabbed the clothes pole, and moved to jab Hong Jie with it.
Seeing this, Hong Jie remembered what had happened that morning and backed away in fright. But Hui was quick—he slammed the door shut with a bang.
“This woman really has problems!”
Hui’s words struck a chord with the Cai sisters. “It’s not like our shop is the only clothing store on this street! Why is she fixated on us?”
Tian Tian said, “Jealousy, obviously!”
Everyone in wholesale could roughly estimate costs and profits. The exact quantities couldn’t be calculated, but the rest was easy to figure out. And the styles were trendy. Who wouldn’t be jealous of something that sold well and made money?
Tian Tian wasn’t afraid of jealousy. Hadn’t she been envied back at the supply and marketing cooperative too? Only mediocre people escaped envy. And she, Tian Tian, was a genius.
Outside, Hong Jie glared at the closed door, so angry her face turned the color of pig liver. She stamped her foot furiously and went back to her shop. Then she shot her employees fierce glares. “What are you looking at? Hurry up and count the goods! If you don’t get off work, I still need to! Feeding you lot is really just throwing money away.”
The employees were very displeased to hear this. But they depended on her for their livelihood, so they could only endure it.
But Hong Jie, the one who provided their rice bowl, wasn’t willing to endure anymore.
Especially when, on her way home, she saw Brother Hei, whom she hadn’t seen for quite a few days.
Leave a Reply