Wang Chaoying immediately showed a look of surprise. “Sister Caiqing, you know how to make it?”
Su Caiqing replied very calmly, “I do. With this kind of clothing, you can figure out how to make it just by looking at it. We need to act quickly on this. Others will definitely notice how popular Xingzi’s clothes are and start making them to sell as well.”
Su Caiqing had a strong intuition that Xingzi’s clothing would become very popular. In this gradually opening era, people who had long been suppressed in their desires and enthusiasm would begin to express themselves. They would develop an interest in anything novel and attractive. And with the increasing spread of television sets, this kind of trend would undoubtedly become nationwide.
For people in the country, Blood Suspicion was like opening a window to keep up with global trends.
Hearing that others might start making it too, Wang Chaoying became anxious. “Then we need to start right away!”
Su Caiqing said, “That’s why I invited you here, to discuss this matter. I’ll quickly prepare the pattern, and you go contact the factories to prepare for production. At the same time, we also need to secure sales channels.”
Wang Chaoying immediately replied, “Leave that to me! I’ll go back and call the garment factories.”
Su Caiqing nodded. “Alright, I’ll finish the pattern within two days. By the way, about funding, how much deposit do we need to place with the garment factories?”
Wang Chaoying said, “If I remember correctly, the Chaoyang Garment Factory requires a deposit of 0.5 yuan per piece for orders starting at 100 pieces. For 500 pieces, the deposit is 0.3 yuan per piece. As for the Fendou Garment Factory, 100 pieces is 0.8 yuan per piece, 1000 pieces is 0.4 yuan, and 2000 pieces is 0.2 yuan per piece.”
Jiyang had several garment factories, along with dyeing and spinning factories, forming a complete industrial chain.
Su Caiqing said, “Write me a table. Later, take me to visit each factory so we can evaluate their efficiency and quality.”
“No problem! Let’s go tomorrow. I’ll be off work then.”
“Alright. Let’s eat first, then continue talking.” Noticing that they were both too absorbed in discussion and had even stopped eating, Su Caiqing quickly brought their attention back to the meal.
After dinner, the two discussed further details. Huang Zili came to pick up Wang Chaoying, and she was reluctant to leave, almost wishing she could stay at Su Caiqing’s home.
After seeing Wang Chaoying off, Su Caiqing immediately began drafting the pattern overnight using the remaining materials from her previous clothing work. She simply couldn’t wait. Such a clearly profitable opportunity was right in front of her, and she intended to seize it firmly.
The next day, Wang Chaoying took her to visit several factories. Because Wang Chaoying was the daughter of the machinery factory director, and these factories were all familiar with her family, they received a warm welcome.
After running around all day, the two finalized Fendou Garment Factory as their production partner.
“Alright, Sister Caiqing, how many pieces are we planning to make this time?”
Su Caiqing said, “I’ve prepared four sizes: S, M, L, and XL. We’ll produce fifty thousand each of S and M, and thirty thousand each of L and XL.”
Wang Chaoying nearly choked. “That’s one hundred and sixty thousand pieces in total! Can we really sell that many?”
Originally, Wang Chaoying had thought that producing twenty to thirty thousand pieces would be enough. Otherwise, wouldn’t everyone end up wearing the same Xingzi shirt?
Su Caiqing replied confidently, “Don’t worry, we definitely can. I’m only limiting the quantity because of the factory’s production capacity. Otherwise, I’d want to produce even more.”
Considering the current transportation capabilities and the speed of information dissemination, Su Caiqing had deliberately held back from setting an even larger scale.
Wang Chaoying couldn’t help but exclaim, “I used to think I was quite bold, but now it seems you’re even bolder than I am.”
Su Caiqing shook her head. “This isn’t boldness. This is a conclusion based on my own observations, not a random decision. Next, you should move as quickly as possible to register a clothing brand. All our products must carry our label.”
“I understand. It’s like building a brand—just like people choose Phoenix and Forever when buying bicycles, or Seagull when buying cameras.”
Su Caiqing smiled. “Alright, alright, I know you’re clever.”
The two divided their tasks. Wang Chaoying registered a brand name called “Caiying” under both of their names. Su Caiqing completed the pattern and coordinated with the factory on production matters, personally overseeing the fabric selection, choosing a soft and flowing blended material.
Together, they pooled their funds to pay the initial deposit. Once the payment was made, the factory’s production lines began manufacturing the Xingzi shirts.
Watching the skilled female workers in the garment factory cutting fabric, sorting it, and sending it to the sewing workshops, where threads and cloth seemed to fly through the air, Su Caiqing was reminded of distant memories.
Wang Chaoying said, “I never expected this decision was only made three days ago!”
Su Caiqing smiled. “This kind of opportunity is all about speed. The earlier you start, the greater the advantage. Let’s go—we still need to find sales channels!”
Although the brand had been registered and production had begun, not many shops were willing to carry the shirt.
Su Caiqing said to Wang Chaoying, “You’ll handle Jiyang’s department stores and roadside shops. I’ll call clothing stores in farther places, and I’ll also try Shanghai.”
“Shanghai? Will they accept our clothes?”
At that time, Shanghai was the nation’s fashion trendsetter. Anything bought from Shanghai was considered especially stylish and impressive. Even something as small as a biscuit carried that perception.
Su Caiqing said, “Why wouldn’t they? Shanghai has more fashionable women. They’ll like the Xingzi shirt too, and it can become popular there as well.”
Although Wang Chaoying found it hard to believe, Su Caiqing’s confident tone inexplicably made her feel that it would work.
After a full day of work, Su Caiqing returned home. As she walked along the road, she could already hear the lively noise from her house. Her young son, running around in the yard, spotted her and shouted, “Mom! Big uncle is back!”
Su Caiqing responded, “I know.”
“And Sixth Uncle, Seventh Aunt, and Eighth Aunt are here too!” The little one rattled off the names without missing any.
When Su Caiqing entered the courtyard, she saw several people either standing or squatting around. Aside from Su Dazhuang, whom she recognized at a glance, the others looked unfamiliar.
Back when Su Wumei was still Su Wumei, she had married into the city while her younger siblings were still very young, so their appearances had changed a lot since then.
Seeing Su Caiqing, Su Dazhuang smiled and called out, “Fifth Sister! You’re back!”
The others looked at her with expressions of admiration and surprise, obediently calling her Fifth Sister.
By then, Su Caiqing had cut her hair short and slightly permed it, giving it a more fashionable look than the ear-length styles of others. She wore a white blouse, dark blue trousers, and high heels. She looked both beautiful and stylish.
Not only the younger siblings, even Su Dazhuang felt that in just a month, Su Caiqing had changed quite a bit.
Su Caiqing greeted her older brother and asked, “Why are you all standing outside feeding mosquitoes?”
“Your house is clean and tidy, so we felt embarrassed to sit inside.”
Su Caiqing chided gently, “If it gets dirty, we can clean it later. Having guests standing outside makes it seem like I don’t know how to host properly. Come in!”
Only then did everyone file inside, placing their bags and bundles on the floor while curiously looking around the not-so-large living room.
Su Caiqing poured each of them a cup of water and also drank one herself. “I’ll go cook first. We can talk later.”
Fortunately, both her home and Aunt Wu’s place had small vegetable gardens. She could pick cucumbers to stir-fry with eggs, gather some greens, pick a few peppers and eggplants, and add some meat to make a decent meal.
When they sat down to eat, the large table felt lively, almost like a banquet.
After the meal, Su Caiqing arranged for the two younger sisters to sleep in the lower bunk of the girls’ room, while Su Dazhuang and Su Xiaozhuang slept in the boys’ room’s lower bunk. It was quite crowded.
Thankfully, the rooms were fairly spacious, or it would have been even more cramped.
Getting a larger house seemed increasingly urgent, even though they had only been living here for a month.
Two days later, Su Caiqing gradually learned from the hesitant words of her younger siblings that they wanted to stay in the city to work and earn money, and did not want to return to the countryside.
After thinking it over, she understood their intentions. After all, Su Wumei had changed so much after coming to the city and was earning a considerable income, which had stirred their aspirations as well.
Su Dazhuang became angry. “Didn’t you say you were just coming to visit your sister and then go back? Now you want to stay and latch onto her?! She has seven young children to support. Do you expect her to support you too?!”
He slammed the table heavily, feeling deceived. This wasn’t what they had agreed on before coming.
As the eldest at home, Su Dazhuang usually held authority, so Su Xiaozhuang and the others lowered their heads like obedient chicks, not daring to speak.
Su Caiqing comforted Su Dazhuang, then turned to the three of them. “If you really want to stay, then you must follow my arrangements.”
The three were stunned, exchanging uncertain looks. Su Yaomei reacted the quickest and immediately said, “Of course! We’ll listen to you, Sister!”
The other two quickly echoed her.
Su Dazhuang grew anxious. “Fifth Sister, these aren’t little kids anymore. You can’t just feed them and give them clothes and be done with it. Just Xiaozhuang alone eats three bowls a meal. One person can go through a jin of rice a day—how can you possibly support that?”
Su Caiqing said, “They’re all adults with hands and feet. Why should I support them? They’ll need to go out and work. I happen to be short on manpower here, so it works out perfectly for both sides.”
Su Dazhuang let out a deep sigh. “Fifth Sister, you don’t need to give them a face…”
Su Caiqing shook her head. “Big Brother, you know my character. If any of them refuse to listen, you can take them back next time you come. But if they behave themselves and stay, and manage to build a future in the city, live a better life, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Her words made sense. If he continued to object, it might seem like he was blocking their path to a better future.
After thinking it over, Su Dazhuang reluctantly said, “Then I’ll leave it to you.”