âWho is it?â
âItâs me. The boss of a female attire shop on West City Nan Road. Are you making a trip tonight, master?â smiled Shu Yan.
âWhy are you calling so late? You need to let me know in advance if you need to use the car,â said the chauffeur nonchalantly with a cigarette in his mouth.
âMy shop ran out of some inventory and I need to go get some more. Are you full already?â Shu Yan was worried.
She had taken a second trip to City Hang previously and also used this chauffeur. Itâs the middle of the night. She wouldnât dare to get into someone elseâs car with just her by herself.
âI am going to City Hang tonight but two people already reserved my car. If you want to split, I will need to get their consent first.â The chauffeur didnât care either way. He got paid the same amount one way or another.
âIf you can please ask for me, Iâd love to join them.â Shu Yan felt that they would, for sure, agree to it.
There was no reason for them to decline. One more person meant less expenses for everyone. Sure enough, the chauffeur called her back right away.
âWhere are you right now? Should I pick you up at West City Nan Road?â
Shu Yan, âNo, I am over on Fuqian Street by City Nan University. Do you know where that is?â
The driver said, âI do. Where are you at? Give me your address and I will come over.â
âWhy donât I go and wait for you in front of the bus stop on Fuqian Street?â Shu Yan thought about it for a little bit. The bus stop on Fuqian Street was probably the best landmark.
âThat works. I will be here in about half an hour.â
Shu Yan quickly hurried home and bathed. She changed into a set of casual clothes and a pair of flats. She tied her hair up into a ponytail. She still had about 10 minutes or so, so she pulled out all the money she had received today and counted them.
She had a promotion today so she had a lot of big bills. Shu Yan counted it quickly and she had 6,000 yuan. This wasnât 2019. 6,000 yuan was a lot for 1992. Of course, there was a possibility that it was only because she had a promotion today. There was no guarantee that sheâd make this much everyday going forward. She had conservatively estimated that even at 1,000 yuan a day, she could make at least 500 â 600 yuan. Subtracting rent, utilities, and wages, she would still make 10,000 yuan a month. That was profiteering for sure.
She folded up the bills neatly and placed it close to her body. Merchandising today would cost quite a bit.
Fuqian Street was quite busy at this hour. Many were still dining out after dinner. The chauffeur arrived shortly after Shu Yan arrived at the bus stop.
âThis was too last minute. You should let me know sooner next time. You wonât be that lucky every time.â
âYes, you are right. I wasnât very experienced at it. It wonât happen again.â Shu Yan smiled, nodded and greeted the other two in the car. âYou two are going to City Hang for merchandising as well?â
âYes, we are. You have a shop on West City Nan Road?â They had overheard the chauffeur earlier when he was on the phone.
âYes, you?â Shu Yan looked at their outfits. They werenât very fashionable, but they were pleasing to the eyes.
âWe are over at City Bei, a little bit away from you,â said one of them with a smile.
City Bei and West City Nan Road were not the same. They sell mostly inexpensive clothing there. Their pricing was lower than that of West City Nan Road and their clientele were mostly bargain-hunting housewives and students.
Shu Yan was a newbie in the field, and she asked them many questions. Not being on the same street meant no competition, so they didnât hold back much when they answered her inquiries and Shu Yan was able to learn a lot from them.
âYou have to go get merchandise quite often, right? You want to split the ride going forward?â There used to be four of them. Now one of them closed up shop and went back home and the other one wouldnât be needing merchandise for a while, leaving just the two of them. Now thereâs Shu Yan who was not a competitor and could split the cost, it was definitely a good addition.
âSure.â Shu Yan was just worried about finding others to split the ride. She had asked around quite a bit during the remodeling, but all the ones she had asked already had their own groups.
It was only 1 AM when they arrived at City Hang. The three of them found a spot to rest. After a full day of running around, Shu Yan was exhausted. âItâll be awhile before the market opens up. Should we get a room to get some rest?â
Shu Yan wanted to go, but she felt bad leaving the others behind.
âNah. Forget about it. The market will be opening up in a couple of hours. Why waste the money unnecessarily?â These people were of Shu Yanâs parentsâ generation. That generation was known to be thrifty and hardy; there was no way theyâd shell out the money for a hotel.