Su Ruyi followed Wang Huiting on the bus to Dakang Road Wholesale Market. Though located far from the city center, the surrounding area was exceptionally bustling. Traffic began congesting two or three stops before their destination.
After disembarking, they found themselves engulfed in a sea of people.
True to its reputation as the province's largest wholesale market, the scene was intensely lively and noisy. Three-wheeled carts laden with massive piles of goods constantly rumbled past.
"Let's find our target area and head straight in," Su Ruyi suggested, feeling somewhat intimidated by the spectacle after such a long absence from such places.
The sweltering weather made matters worse – even before stepping inside, Su Ruyi felt nearly overwhelmed by the mingled odors.
Wang Huiting, however, was brimming with excitement, her cheeks flushed with anticipation.
"Sis, it's so vibrant here!"
Despite her preparations, this was Wang Huiting's first wholesale market experience, leaving her slightly disoriented.
Fortunately, Su Ruyi's experience complemented Wang Huiting's natural sense of direction, and they quickly located the specialized accessories wholesale section.
The dazzling array of merchandise left Wang Huiting utterly bewildered about selection.
"No rush, let's walk around first to get our bearings," Su Ruyi advised.
Their circuit took nearly an hour in the vast, crowded space.
Initially uncertain, Wang Huiting soon found her footing, cleverly shadowing other buyers to overhear prices.
Though most price discussions were discreet, Wang Huiting managed to gather substantial information, developing a basic understanding of market conditions.
"Sis, everything's so cheap here! Hair clips that sell for one or two yuan in our county only cost ten to twenty fen wholesale!"
Without online shopping and with underdeveloped logistics, many industrial products sold at higher prices in small counties than in cities.
Wang Huiting was ecstatic, like a mouse discovering a rice barrel, already envisioning substantial profits.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Su Ruyi cautioned. "Those low prices come with large order quantities. Our small purchase is essentially retail – we won't get those rates."
Some stalls outright refused retail sales, enforcing minimum order requirements.
Small items were particularly troublesome – selecting piece by piece created too much hassle for sellers, requiring package breaking.
Those willing to sell small quantities charged significantly higher prices.
Su Ruyi's previous success stemmed partly from substantial capital.
Unafraid of losses, she could always gift unsold items – inventory stagnation meant little to her.
Thus, her large orders secured cheaper wholesale prices than competitors, creating pricing advantages.
Bulk purchasing also offered more selection options.
This virtuous cycle sustained her thriving business until boredom led her to hire financially struggling classmates as sales assistants, paying commissions per item – ultimately earning more than direct sales.
These classmates merely lacked capital and were constrained by poverty-induced mental barriers, but given opportunity, they outperformed expectations.
Therefore, Su Ruyi recognized remarkable business aptitude in Wang Huiting's independent decision to start selling.
This era predated the information explosion decades later. Qing Province remained relatively isolated compared to southern cities, still influenced by outdated perceptions that considered private business undignified.
Many people want to escape their current circumstances but don’t know which direction to take, often settling for just finding a job.
Looking at the present from a future perspective, it might seem easy to start a business and succeed, but in reality, it’s not that simple.
Capital and vision can hold a person back, which is why those who manage to build wealth in this era are the ones who dare to take risks and aren’t afraid of failure.
Hesitating and overthinking make it difficult to seize opportunities.
Some of these risk-takers end up making a fortune, while others fall hard and never recover.
Even decades later, only a few can catch the early trends; most people follow the crowd only after someone else has succeeded.
Su Ruyi’s business acumen was shaped by her upbringing.
Where she came from, people either went out to work and eventually became bosses or started with small local businesses before opening factories. The atmosphere was highly focused on making money, with far less obsession than elsewhere about securing a stable government job.
Wang Huiting, however, didn’t grow up in such an environment. In Liulin County, having an iron rice bowl was still a source of pride. For a young girl like her to not only have ideas but also put them into practice already put her ahead of many others.
“Oh, right.” Wang Huiting snapped back to reality and added, “But even if it’s a bit more expensive, it’s still cheap. There are so many patterns here, many of which I’ve never seen before.”
Wang Huiting remained optimistic. Based on her earlier observations, she found several stalls where she could purchase small quantities.
These stalls also served individual customers, though most didn’t allow picking and required buying items in pre-packaged bundles. If a bundle had a high rate of damage, it could be exchanged.
Throughout this process, Su Ruyi didn’t interfere, letting Wang Huiting figure things out on her own, only chiming in during price negotiations.
But Wang Huiting hardly needed her help. She was even more formidable than Su Ruyi, boldly haggling a quoted price of ten yuan down to two and fearlessly enduring scolding as she patiently inched the price up.
Having lived too long without worrying about money, Su Ruyi found it hard to match Wang Huiting’s patience in haggling over mere cents.
Su Ruyi was content to step back and even gave Wang Huiting 200 yuan as startup capital—not as a gift, but as an investment.
This boosted Wang Huiting’s confidence even more. All her savings amounted to just over 50 yuan, including some money her older sister had given her.
She had never been one to save her pocket money, usually spending whatever she had. It wasn’t until her trip to the provincial capital, where she got the idea to start a business, that she began saving—hoarding New Year’s money, breakfast allowances, and earnings from selling recyclables.
But even with her efforts, after two years, she had only managed to save about twenty yuan.
“Sis, you’re my real sister!” Wang Huiting exclaimed excitedly. “Sis, don’t worry, I’ll definitely sell these. I won’t let you lose money. I’ve been observing for a long time—these items will absolutely sell.”
“Just don’t let it interfere with your studies.”
Wang Huiting nodded emphatically, full of confidence:
“Don’t worry, there’s still over a month before school starts. I’ll have most of it sold by then.”
Su Ruyi didn’t dampen her spirits by warning her not to be overconfident or mentioning how tough business could be. Since the decision was made, there was no point in holding back.
With the extra money, Wang Huiting became even more meticulous, painstakingly selecting patterns without growing tired of the process.
Sometimes the stall owners grew impatient and grumbled, but she brushed it off and continued, refusing to let shyness push her into making hasty choices or switching to another stall out of embarrassment.
Unless she encountered a truly off-putting customer, she could usually let things go in one ear and out the other.
"Sis, what do you think of these?" Wang Huiting didn't forget to ask Su Ruyi for her opinion.
Although Su Ruyi had previously styled herself in what was now considered the 'retro Hong Kong style' of this era, her aesthetic sensibilities were ultimately different from those of people today. Moreover, not being a genuine teenager herself, she didn't fully understand young girls' tastes, so there was bound to be a discrepancy in aesthetic preferences.
Therefore, she only selected a few classic 'retro Hong Kong style' pieces and refrained from commenting on the others.
"These styles are suitable for working women. When I sell them at textile factories and movie theaters later, they're sure to sell well."
Wang Huiting immediately identified her target customers—these earrings and hair accessories featured exaggerated designs and vibrant colors, which would be too flashy for students to wear.
Seeing that Wang Huiting had a clear plan in mind, Su Ruyi felt even more at ease letting her take the lead.
After some haggling, Wang Huiting spent all her money.
When she received the goods, she meticulously inspected each package without minding the trouble.
Some vendors couldn't stand it and grumbled impatiently:
"Dealing with you young girls is such a hassle. No one picks through goods like this. If everyone did this, we wouldn't get anything else done all day."
Wang Huiting didn't take offense and smiled, saying, "Boss, we're running a small business—we have to be careful. It's not like you, who's handling big deals. These small sums probably don't even catch your eye."
Wang Huiting had a round face and eyes that curved into crescents when she smiled, radiant and endearing, like a sunflower full of vitality, making it easy for people to take a liking to her.
The vendor snorted coldly but didn't say anything more.
Most businesspeople prioritized harmony for prosperity.
As for the more difficult vendors, Wang Huiting hadn't bothered with them from the start.
"Sis, I'm done here. Let's go." Wang Huiting hugged a large bundle of goods, completely satisfied.
Su Ruyi looked around and said, "No rush. I want to check something out, but I'm not sure where to find it."
"What is it?"
"Hula Hoop, do you know it?"
Based on Su Ruyi's memory, Hula Hoops had already started trending by this time. In her hometown county, many children owned Hula Hoops.
But she hadn't seen any in Liulin County. In the provincial capital, she occasionally spotted children carrying them, indicating they were already popular there, though it was unclear how widespread the trend was since they hadn't been there long and hadn't explored much.
The Asian Games were scheduled to take place in Beijing this September, and Hula Hoops would become a wildly popular activity, sweeping through streets and alleys. Almost everyone, adults and children alike, would have one, performing all sorts of tricks with them.
One year during the Spring Festival Gala, a little girl even performed with a Hula Hoop, attempting to break a Guinness World Record.
Su Ruyi had bought a Hula Hoop when she was a child, though by then it was no longer as trendy. She played with it for a few days before tossing it aside.
"Hula Hoop? I know it." Wang Huiting nodded emphatically. "The furniture factory director's youngest daughter has one. I heard she bought it in the provincial capital—it's really expensive, costing ten yuan each. Yunyun wanted to play with it too, but the girl wouldn't even let her touch it. So Yunyun made her own hoop out of branches."
"Is it hard to buy in the county?"
"I haven't seen anyone selling them here. They're all bought from the city or the provincial capital." Wang Huiting recalled Su Ruyi's earlier inquiries about plastic factories. "Sis, you're not thinking of selling these, are you?"
Su Ruyi didn’t hide it from her and said, "Yes, the Asian Games are about to start. They’ll definitely sell well by then."
"But aren’t Hula Hoops expensive? And they take up so much space, making them hard to transport. You’d need to stock a lot to make it worthwhile."
Su Ruyi replied, "I’ve asked the bus conductor—we can load the goods on the roof. Just pay a little extra, and it’s settled. It doesn’t matter if there’s a bit more stuff."
At this time, regulations were lax. Luggage was often piled on bus roofs, and even live poultry like chickens were loaded up there—how much you could fit depended entirely on how much you could cram on.
But Su Ruyi was thinking it would be best to hire a truck. Hula Hoops weren’t heavy, but they took up a lot of space. The bus roof couldn’t hold too many, and if the shipment was too small, the trip wouldn’t be cost-effective.
However, trucks were expensive too—you had to fill one to make it worthwhile. She didn’t have much capital on hand and didn’t yet know the wholesale price, so it was hard to say if she could gather enough goods for a full truckload.
Su Ruyi preferred to work directly with the factory, cutting out the middlemen to avoid extra costs. Moreover, once the Asian Games began, Hula Hoops would be in high demand. This simple, low-tech item had already supported many plastic factories. Sourcing directly from the factory would ensure a steady supply and lower prices.
She also had a backup plan: if the cost was too high and she couldn’t fill a truck, she’d start small and make multiple trips.
Though she’d earn less that way, at least she wouldn’t risk overstocking.
Wang Huiting nodded, her eyes shining. "Sis, Hula Hoops will definitely sell well. So many kids are eyeing them and begging to buy one. But our home is so small—there’s no space to store them. They take up too much room!"
Su Ruyi smiled. "I already asked Aunt Mei about it. The factory has empty workshops."
Li Mei, who was a temporary worker at the furniture factory and now also handled cleaning duties, knew the factory’s situation well.
The furniture factory had once been prosperous and had expanded with many workshops.
Now, with few orders and no funds to stockpile wood, many workshops stood empty.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about the workshops! Since they’re just sitting idle, why not rent them out to earn some money?"
Thinking of the current disarray at the furniture factory, Wang Huiting added, "If we can’t rent from the furniture factory, we can try the textile mill. My friend Lu Qiuyu’s mother is the chair of the textile mill’s labor union—she’ll definitely help us find space. Her younger brother has been clamoring for a Hula Hoop too. If we give him a couple, it should seal the deal!"
The textile mill was larger than the furniture factory, so its union activity rooms were especially spacious and well-built. With business slow, the factory rarely held events now, leaving many areas vacant. Freeing up an empty room would be a simple matter.