Chapter 64 The Sixty-Fourth Day of Not Running Away The sixty-fourth day of not running away...

Chapter 64 The Sixty-Fourth Day of Not Running Away The sixty-fourth day of not running away...

Everyone's guesses are just guesses, and it's hard to say whether that's the case or not, but Master Zhou's decision to leave is a done deal.

Wen Chan told Liu Yan to have Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang try to make the pattern first. If it was passable, they could make do with it for now. As for the denim fabric, she would take care of that.

Wen Chan's solution was simple: place an advertisement in the newspaper, with Zhao Dan's help and her own efforts also needed to be put in.

There are many newspapers now, both big and small. Wen Chan approached the Beijing Daily, requesting to publish a demand for denim fabric, and left Liu Yan's office phone number.

Advertising isn't expensive these days, but publishing an ad like this still costs at least 500 yuan.

But believe it or not, after the advertisement was published, their office phone never stopped ringing. Various factories called to say they wanted denim, but some had too high an appetite. Not only did they look down on their small factory, but they also thought the price was too low. Some hung up the phone without saying a word when they heard that they were a newly established private enterprise.

Jiang Zihan was brought over by Wen Chan to lend a hand, and was responsible for taking notes for Wen Chan.

She was so busy all morning that her hands never stopped, and her wrists ached terribly.

Seeing that Wen Chan had hung up the phone, Jiang Zihan said, "Sister, is this manufacturer crazy? We've already published in the newspaper that we're a private company, and he still called to ask this extra question, wasting everyone's time."

Wen Chan twisted her neck. "Who knows what's going on? Maybe he didn't take this business seriously at all. If it's not his own business, who cares?"

That makes a lot of sense.

Many of the callers were from state-owned textile factories. Logically, since they were calling, they should have denim fabric, but these people would refuse to cooperate with them for one reason or another.

Although Liu Yan and her team didn't have many orders, only half a ton, every little bit counts. Wen Chan had also said that if the cooperation went well, they could consider long-term cooperation. However, many of the people on the other end were impatient to hear such things and even asked Wen Chan if she was married.

It's truly baffling what's going on in these people's heads.

"It's already this late." Wen Chan was surprised when she glanced at the clock on the wall out of the corner of her eye. She really didn't expect it to be past one o'clock.

“Yeah, sis, do you want to keep answering the phone?” Jiang Zihan said, “Why don’t you go eat first, and I’ll wait for the call here.”

Generally speaking, newspaper ads have the best news effect on the first day they are published, but after three days they have little effect. If it's been a week, only scrap collectors will glance at them, and no one else will bother with the newspaper ads.

Feeling sorry for Wen Chan's financial situation, Jiang Zihan thought about finding a suitable supplier as soon as possible.

Wen Chan said, "No rush, let's go eat first. I'll go call Fatty to come over and help."

The fat man has been lending a hand here these past few days. His main job is to help repair sewing machines. No one expected that the fat man had this skill.

The fat man said that when his mother was making clothes at home, he would fix the sewing machine when it broke, and that's how he got the skills.

Wen Chan went to the pattern-making room and heard that Liu Yan and Lan Linglong hadn't eaten either, so she insisted on taking them out to eat at a restaurant.

It's only because there are many self-employed individuals in Beijing these days that it's not so easy to find a restaurant to eat at this hour.

A few years ago, if you missed mealtimes and still wanted to find something to eat, the waiters at state-run restaurants wouldn't pay any attention to you.

They're in a hurry to get off work.

Wen Chan ordered three dishes: shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, stir-fried cabbage, and braised pork knuckle.

The chef at this restaurant is quite skilled. The pork knuckle is amber in color and trembles slightly when it's served. The meat is tender and falls off the bone. The pork knuckle is so soft that it can be easily cut open with chopsticks. Take a bite of meat, then a chopstick of stir-fried cabbage, drizzle with meat sauce, and mix it with rice.

Of the four girls, three had quite large appetites.

The restaurant chef, who wasn't having many customers at the moment, sat to the side with a cigarette in his hand, watching them eat. He chuckled and said, "Wow, you young ladies can eat so much! Would you like some more rice? We're out of rice, just some homemade hand-pulled noodles left."

"Then please download it for us," Liu Yan said.

The chef agreed, slapped his thigh with satisfaction, stubbed out his cigarette, and went to the kitchen to cook noodles.

Liu Yan had pinned her bangs back with hair clips, revealing her large forehead. She had also casually tied her hair into a simple bun. Her eyes shone as she looked at Wen Chan and said, "This morning our efforts weren't in vain. We've figured out a bit of the trick. Although Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang's skills aren't great, they're obedient. The new sample we made is a bit too much of that 'taste' you were talking about."

"Really?" Wen Chan was also happy for Liu Yan.

Liu Yan pointed at Lan Linglong, "If you don't believe me, ask Xiao Lan."

Lan Linglong held an enamel basin. This Shanghai girl had a huge appetite; she had eaten half of the rice earlier. She picked up the teacup on the table, took a big gulp, and burped. "That's right. I was climbing up and down and running around in them just now, and the pants were fine. But there's one problem with the waist. When I'm standing, the size is just right, but when I squat down, half of my waist is showing. If the waist was made thinner, it would constrict my stomach when I'm sitting."

"Ultimately, the problem is that the fabric is too stiff," Liu Yan frowned. "If we could find stretchy denim, the problem would be much easier to solve."

The style that Liu Yan and her team made before was the kind of jeans that have been common in recent years, namely the kind of jeans that are one size fits all and have loose legs. These jeans are easy to make and easy to sell, but there is a problem: these jeans don't fit very well when worn.

If Wen Chan hadn't told Liu Yan about denim brands or which styles looked good, Liu Yan might have been able to make do. With her connections, she wouldn't have had trouble selling the jeans.

However, Wen Chan broadened her horizons and made her realize that jeans could be turned into a brand, so Liu Yan refused to settle for less and fool herself.

To put it bluntly, if you want to build a brand, you have to have something that sets you apart from the crowd. Otherwise, if others sell the same jeans and you sell the same jeans, why would anyone buy yours?

“No rush. We received over a hundred calls this morning, and there will definitely be more this afternoon and evening,” Wen Chan said. “I’ll ask them if they have jeans made of this kind of fabric. If they do, I’ll write down their factory address and take people there to check it out as soon as possible.”

Jiang Zihan added, "Yes, Liu Yan, don't worry. We were so busy answering calls this morning that we couldn't keep up."

A look of gratitude appeared in Liu Yan's eyes.

She didn't bother with formalities, picked up her teacup, and said, "We're all sisters, so I won't say much. It's all in this tea. Once this is over, I'll treat you all to a night out."

But there's a saying that goes something like this: the more you look forward to something, the less likely it is to happen.

The advertisement was put out, and all day long, Wen Chan, Jiang Zihan, and Fatty took turns answering the phone. This time, their goal was clear: they wanted stretchy denim. If such material was available, the price and quantity were negotiable.

But no one gave them a definite answer.

For several days in a row, the number of phone calls decreased.

That afternoon, Liu Yan went out for a while, and when she returned home, a blister had appeared on the corner of her mouth.

When Liu's mother saw this, she was startled. She went out and got some herbs, insisting that her daughter drink them, saying, "I've never seen anyone get so hot-tempered at this time of year. What did you eat?"

Liu Yan waved her hand, "Mom, what can I eat? I have no appetite."

She stood up as she said this, "I'm going to go and discuss this with Wen Chan."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Mother Liu called out, but to no avail. She watched helplessly as her daughter ran away, and slammed down her chopsticks in annoyance: "This girl is practically growing up in the Chen family's house every day."

"Your daughter is busy making money, isn't that a good thing?" Monk's mother joked as she passed by, munching on sunflower seeds.

Liu's mother rolled her eyes at the monk's mother, "Making money is good, of course, but I haven't seen any money come in. Unlike your monk, who has made quite a bit this month."

Liu's mother's words had a slightly sour tone.

It's common knowledge that the monk and Chen Bozheng's auto repair shop made a lot of money. Just look at the gold ring, gold earrings, and gold bracelet that the monk's mother bought this month; you can tell that the money they made must have been a considerable sum.

Liu's mother was not just envious, she was practically green with envy.

The monk's mother put down the sunflower seed shells and said, "Liu Yan's mother, if you're envious, why don't we merge our families? My monk's earnings will also have to be given to you two."

Liu's mother rolled her eyes and turned to go back into the inner room.

The monk's mother smiled broadly.

"Why are you back so early?" Wen Chan was making calls one by one at home to ask the manufacturers who had previously hinted at it but complained about the small size of their factory's orders when she saw Liu Yan run in.

Wen Chan was somewhat surprised; Liu Yan had made an appointment to go out with someone today.

Liu Yan said, "I received news that this year's clothing fair will be moved up to mid-March."

The clothing trade fair is a large-scale event that Beijing has been holding every year and every season for the past few years. Its main purpose is to showcase the new styles of major manufacturers for the season and promote orders.

It was originally scheduled for early April.

Liu Yan and her team were also thinking of making a grand debut at the trade fair in early April. Their designs were unique and exclusive, so they had no worries about sales.

But now that the time has been brought forward, things are really a bit tight.

"How could it be so fast?" Wen Chan asked. "Is the news confirmed?"

Liu Yan said, "That's what everyone on Xiushui Street says, it can't be wrong."

These middlemen don't just wholesale clothes in Guangzhou and Shenzhen; they also deal in clothes from factories in Beijing. Some of them target leftover stock that is cheap and plentiful. Although the styles are outdated, these styles still have a market in small towns and rural areas.

Therefore, this clothing exhibition can be said to be a regular event that everyone in the clothing industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region regularly participates in.

“If that’s the case, then we might not be able to catch up.” Wen Chan frowned.

Time was too short.

"Sister Yanzi, Sister Yanzi..." Just as Wen Chan was looking at Liu Yan, hesitating about how to persuade Liu Yan to give up this opportunity, several children licked popsicles and ran in. One of the girls with braids said to Liu Yan, "Sister Yanzi, someone outside is looking for you. They are from out of town and are carrying a urea bag."

Out-of-towner, carrying a bag of urea?

Who is this person?

Liu Yan was puzzled, so she went out with Wen Chan.