Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 126: The 1980s Villain’s Biological Mothers (19)

　　Once Mu Shuhui decided to do something, she got right to it.

　　She first went to a clothing factory and asked the workers about the business.

　　She didn’t know until she asked, but nearly everyone she spoke to had a worried look on their face.

　　As economic reforms opened the door to more private businesses, the state-owned factories were finding it increasingly difficult to stay afloat. The factories were sitting on piles of unsold goods with nowhere to sell them.

　　Many of the women selling clothes on the streets bought their stock directly from the factories, then took it outside to sell at their stalls.

　　Mu Shuhui asked around about the prices and learned that the factories all had minimum wholesale quantities.

　　Take the slow-selling pants, for example. They retailed for four or five yuan a pair, while the factory required a minimum order of five pairs, at three yuan each.

　　Orders of fifteen pairs or more brought the price down to two yuan each, while thirty pairs or more cost only 1.50 yuan apiece. Basically, the more you bought, the cheaper each piece became.

　　A lot of people would take the pants home and alter the sizes or trim the pant legs before selling them. The factory-made clothes were decent quality, and there was a steady market among middle-aged customers. With a low profit margin but high sales volume, they could still make a little money.

　　Mu Shuhui visited two factories to look at their unsold stock, but honestly, she wasn’t impressed by any of it.

　　There was a reason these factories were declining. They simply couldn’t keep up with the times.

　　Most of the trendy clothes in the department stores came from the southern regions. There were more styles, the designs were more fashionable and modern, and the prices were about the same. Naturally, customers were flocking south to buy their clothes.

　　Having made up her mind, Mu Shuhui decided to take a trip south.

　　There was no one to look after the two children, so she took advantage of their school break and brought them along.

　　She bought two train tickets with sleeper berths.

　　Since Mu Youran was still so young, Mu Shuhui took the lower berth with her daughter, while Mu Rufeng slept on the upper berth.

　　Mu Shuhui knew she could protect the children if anything happened. It would also be a good chance for them to see more of the world and broaden their horizons.

　　When they got off the train, the station was absolutely packed. Mu Shuhui grabbed one child with each hand, while the two children stayed close by her side. Only then did they manage to make their way out of the sea of people.

　　There were all kinds of businesses here, enough to make her head spin. There were even people offering guided tours and others working part-time as bodyguards.

　　Since she had two children with her, Mu Shuhui hired a bodyguard. He was a large, burly ex-soldier with sharp eyebrows, piercing eyes, and an honest-looking face. He even showed her his ID and letter of introduction, which made him seem fairly trustworthy.

　　The rate was ten yuan a day. He could mainly help carry their things and keep an eye on the children, so Mu Shuhui paid him for one day.

　　Having a bodyguard made things much easier. The man was incredibly strong and could carry one child in each arm without breaking a sweat.

　　That left Mu Shuhui with more time to browse the various clothing stores. The entire market was focused on wholesale, with merchants coming from all over the country, making the place incredibly lively.

　　Mu Shuhui went through more than a dozen shops in a row. Either the prices were too high or the quality wasn’t good enough. Overall, things weren’t going particularly smoothly.

　　The burly bodyguard suddenly spoke up. “Um, my older sister works at a clothing factory. It’s a pretty big factory, so the quality is guaranteed, and their wholesale prices are a little lower than the ones at this market. Why don’t you go take a look there?”

　　Mu Shuhui turned to look at him, and the bodyguard quickly explained, “I’m not trying to drum up business for my sister. I just saw that you’re having a hard time bringing two children around. Some of those shopkeepers deliberately quoted you higher prices because you’re a woman, and some of the styles they were pushing on you are already outdated.”

　　He sounded sincere, with clear, honest-looking eyes that made him seem trustworthy.

　　Thinking back on the shops she had just visited, Mu Shuhui realized that some of them really were exactly as he had described. She might not find anything suitable even if she kept looking.

　　“Thank you, Comrade. Let’s go take a look, then.”

　　The clothing factory wasn’t far from the market. After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at an impressive-looking gate.

　　The bodyguard put the two children down and went over to speak with the security guard. After a moment, he came back and told them to wait.

　　Mu Shuhui thanked him, and they were left in a brief silence.

　　Neither of them spoke for a while.

　　The bodyguard scratched his head and finally broke the silence. “My name is Xu Meng. My older sister is Xu Chunhua. She’s a small team leader at the factory. When she comes out, just ask her whatever you need. My sister is pretty easy to talk to.”

　　“Okay. Thank you, Comrade Xu. My name is Mu Shuhui.”

　　“Nice to meet you, Comrade Mu. No need to thank me.”

　　The two of them spoke somewhat awkwardly, still unfamiliar with each other.

　　Xu Meng looked at the woman in front of him and suddenly felt his face grow warm. She was already a mother of two, but she looked so fresh and delicate that if someone said she was her children’s older sister, he would probably believe it.    

　　A little while later.

　　A well-dressed, pleasantly plump woman walked out of the factory gate. She had short hair, and her features bore some resemblance to Xu Meng’s.

　　“Big Sis!”

　　Xu Meng immediately hurried over and explained the situation to her. The two of them then came over together, and he introduced Mu Shuhui.

　　“This is Comrade Mu. She wants to buy clothes wholesale. Big Sis, have a chat with her.”

　　Mu Shuhui held out her hand politely. “Hello, Sister Xu.”

　　Xu Chunhua shook her hand with a smile. “My little brother already told me what happened. It’s not easy for us women to do business. Those old foxes at the market know how to take advantage of people. Good thing you didn’t place an order there. Otherwise, they might’ve mixed in different goods and switched your order around. By the time you hauled everything home on the train, you’d have been in for a nasty surprise. There have been several incidents like that before.”

　　Mu Shuhui had suspected that the market wasn’t entirely trustworthy, but she hadn’t expected them to actually switch people’s goods on the way.

　　She had two children with her, so she had never planned to personally haul a huge shipment back by train anyway. She had been thinking of finding a reliable supplier, signing a contract, and having the goods shipped directly to her. Clearly, dealing with individual sellers still came with too many risks.

　　She thanked her sincerely. “Thank you for the warning, Sister Xu. I really had no idea about any of this. It’s a good thing Comrade Xu brought me here to find you.”

　　“Meeting each other is fate, but I should make one thing clear beforehand. If you buy directly from the factory, the order has to be at least 2,000 yuan. We don’t do wholesale orders below that amount.”

　　Xu Chunhua was simply being upfront. Partly because she could see that Mu Shuhui was having a hard time traveling with two children, and partly because she wanted to help out her younger brother.

　　“All right, that works. Thank you, Sister Xu.”

　　Once Mu Shuhui agreed, Xu Chunhua brought them into the factory.

　　“I’ll take you to the sample room first so you can look through the styles and see if there’s anything you like…”

　　And just like that, Mu Shuhui spent a full three hours choosing her stock.

　　After all, this was a major factory in the south, so the styles were much more up-to-date than those in the north. The quality was also strictly controlled, and the factory could ship the goods directly.

　　It was summer now, and the factory was already preparing to sell its winter clothes. The autumn collection was almost at the end of its season too.

　　Summer clothes had long since gone out of season and were being cleared out. Some were even being sold by weight.

　　Mu Shuhui chose mostly summer clothes, along with about a third of the order in autumn pieces. There were plenty of trench coats, sweaters, Peter Pan collar blouses, and some more fashionable styles of pants. The women’s clothing also came in a much wider range of colors.

　　The summer clothes were even cheaper than what was being sold outside, so she definitely got herself a great deal. Since she was buying in such large quantities, the factory gave her their lowest wholesale price.

　　She had originally prepared 5,000 yuan, but in the end, she only spent 3,000.

　　She had initially thought she might not be able to finish everything in two days and had set aside three days for the trip.

　　She never expected to get everything done on the very first day.

　　By then, though, it was already getting dark. Mu Shuhui treated Xu Meng and Sister Xu to dinner, then found a nearby inn where she and her children could stay for the night.

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