The Pentium Era - South to North

Zhang Chen reassembled the dismantled vertical clothes racks and divided the jeans into two rows, upper and lower, as he originally expected. One row was placed on the grid on the two walls. Halfway through, he felt that it was not possible. This stall , it is still necessary to focus on women's clothing. These men's trousers can only be sold as a pass-through at most, otherwise the stall will look very messy.

Moreover, we can’t look like this. The two walls are all jeans. The color of the entire stall is too dim and too monotonous. It must be sold with something. The dozen or so clothes left in the store are all short-sleeved. Sleeveless summer clothes and summer jeans look like out-of-season items.

Zhang Chen simply gave up. He sat there and thought for a while, and then he thought of the shop selling plaid cotton and linen in the Dongxin Road Fabric Market. Yes, a plaid cotton and linen shirt paired with jeans is a perfect match.

Long-sleeved shirts and jeans are the most suitable clothing to sell in the coming autumn.

Zhang Chen stood up and told Xiao Zhao, don't let the sample come out, it won't work well, just let it be messy for two days. You hang all these men's pants on the hangers, and I'll go out for a while.

Zhang Chen rode his bicycle and headed towards Dongxin Road. It was not yet one o'clock, and the noon sun was very poisonous. It hit his face and arms, and soon a layer of tan appeared on his face, and then it looked like It feels like peeling off this layer of skin, and it hurts like a burning pain.

Zhang Chen did not choose to go through Genshan West Road and Shaoxing Road. Instead, he chose a shortcut from Qiutao Road. The shortcut was not easy to walk. It was all uphill and downhill and small roads, and could only accommodate one car. Zhang Chen Riding a bicycle in the morning is no problem.

He passed through a rice field where late rice had been planted, but was blocked by a train track in front of him. At the crossing, the red and white crossbar had been lowered, and the alarm bell kept ringing, but there was no train. come over.

Zhang Chen stood on the edge of the railway track and waited for more than ten minutes. He cursed in his heart, "Damn it, I wanted to take a shortcut, but I didn't expect that it would waste more time."

After another five or six minutes, I saw a freight train carrying coal, slowly coming from a distance. The wind picked up, and the people standing around Zhang Chen fled back. Zhang Chen stood across the way. In front of the pole, I felt inexplicable, wondering what they were trying to escape from?

When the train came over and passed by, a layer of soot fell on his head and body. Those people looked at him and smiled, and Zhang Chen finally understood what they were hiding.

Damn you! The crossbar rose, Zhang Chen cursed at the departing train, and then started pedaling his bicycle.

Zhang Chen arrived at the Dongxin Road Fabric Market and walked to the stall selling plaid cotton and linen fabrics. He quickly spotted five fabrics. He asked the boss, how to sell this fabric?

"Four yuan," the boss said.

Zhang Chen was surprised, so cheap? The cotton and linen fabrics in the Sijiqing Fabric Market all cost seven or eight yuan. Then he immediately understood that the fabrics here were all bought from the warehouse as Asan said. Of course they were cheap. Their cost might only be one or two yuan. One meter.

Zhang Chen pointed at the five fabrics and said, "I want this, this, this."

When the boss heard this, he came over quickly.

Zhang Chen continued: "Give me five meters each."

He estimated that a shirt would need one meter per piece, and the fabric would need to be pre-shrunk. If he made four pieces each in sizes S, M, and L in a ratio of 1:2:1, it would take five meters.

The boss glared at him, walked back and sat down at the table, and said to him angrily: "We don't do retail here."

Zhang Chen looked at the fabrics. Each bundle was very large. Each bundle was two to three hundred meters long. Five bundles of fabrics added up to more than a thousand meters. How could he use so many fabrics? Don’t just send away one god of plague and welcome another god of plague.

Zhang Chen has never done any fashion design work before. Although he has spoken out loud to Xiao Zhao before, Xiao Zhao must have agreed on what he does. Most of what Xiao Zhao and Caidi said was polite. The problem is These clothes are sold to customers and need their approval. If they say they can do it, then it really works.

Zhang Chen walked over, took out cigarettes from his bag, and threw one on the table in front of the boss. The boss pushed the cigarette away, but his face became a little more cheerful. Zhang Chen discussed with the boss, and he said, I took it back for proofing. After this is done, they will naturally come to you to buy. Even if they finish buying from you, there will be no problem.

When he said the last sentence, Zhang Chen felt that he lacked confidence. The boss looked back at him, then turned back, and simply ignored him, letting him stand there and say anything.

Zhang Chen had no choice but to walk angrily. He walked to the door of the market and stood there. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this fabric was great for making cotton and linen shirts. There was nothing more suitable than this. Zhang Chen still wanted to think about it. Heart, he walked back again.

When the boss heard someone coming, he turned around and saw it was him. He clicked his tongue and didn't bother to pay attention to him.

Zhang Chen said to the boss: "Boss, I really want to take it back for proofing, and I will definitely come to you for a larger batch. So, you can double the price first and sell it to me for eight yuan a meter."

When the boss heard this, he stood up and walked over. Zhang Chen said to him, "Boss, we agreed, I will buy it for eight yuan now. If I come back later, I will take the whole bundle away from you." , you have to pay me back four yuan.

In fact, Zhang Chen himself had no idea when he would be able to take away the whole bundle. He felt that even eight yuan was only an increase of more than four yuan to the cost of a shirt. For this batch of clothes, even if he had one point If you don’t make money, it’s good to use them to test your vision and design skills to see if customers will buy it.

The boss thought for a moment and said okay, I will do as you say.

Zhang Chen bought the fabrics and saw that it was not yet three o'clock. He decided to go back to Sanbao to find Xiao Zhao and Caidi and discuss making clothes in advance, so that he would feel at ease.

When he arrived at the entrance of the market and got on the car, he decided to take a shortcut back. He thought to himself, it can't be so unlucky. He bumped into the train twice a day. If we bump into the train again, I will let you touch me again. coal ash.

Along the way, Zhang Chen glanced at the five pieces of fabric in the basket in front of him from time to time, and several shirt styles immediately came to mind. Zhang Chen thought about it while riding, and the more he rode, the more excited he became. It took more than an hour, The ride was over before I knew it. Even the scorching sun above my head was almost forgotten, and I didn't feel much of its heat.

Zhang Chen didn't even go back home and rode directly to Xiao Zhao and his tailor shop. They were both there. Today, Xiao Zhao was sleeping on the sewing machine table while Caidi was sitting in front of the cutting table, flipping through the magazine with the colorful cover. , neither of them noticed that he got off the car in front of the store.

Zhang Chen crept in. He walked up to Xiao Zhao and slapped the sewing machine's table with his hand, startling both of them.

Xiao Zhao raised his head and looked at him sleepily.

Zhang Chen asked Xiao Zhao: "How much do you charge for making a women's shirt?"

"Twenty, what, you want to do it for Xiao Zhao?"

"Yes, I will make it, but not for Xiao Zhao." Zhang Chen and Xiao Zhao said, "In this way, I want you to make twenty pieces at a time, and you can make it cheaper, fifteen, okay? You know what I'm selling. , it’s too expensive to sell, but if the price is right and it’s sold, I’ll let you help me make it.”

When Zhang Chen was talking, Caidi had already put down the magazine in her hand and came over. After Zhang Chen finished speaking, before Xiao Zhao opened his mouth, Caidi said:

"Okay, anyway, we don't have much work now. However, I have never heard of making clothes in a tailor shop and selling them at the Sijiqing stall. Are you not afraid of the price?"

"I've never heard of it, so I'll let you see it today." Zhang Chen said with a smile.

Xiao Zhao asked Zhang Chen: "Do you want to design it yourself?"

Zhang Chen is right.

"That's okay. When the styles you design yourself come to the market, there's no comparison. The price can be a little more expensive. Have you brought your design drawings?" Xiao Zhao asked.

"I haven't drawn it yet." Zhang Chen said with a smile, "Do you have paper and pen? I'll draw it now."

"What kind of paper and pen do you want?"

"Anything is fine."

Xiao Zhao went to the cabinet inside, took half a piece of kraft paper and a pen, and handed it to Zhang Chen, muttering to himself, why are you pretending to be so cool? Designing a style, is it so fast? You thought it was a fart, bang! Just came out?

Xiao Zhao remembers that when he was in a factory, the designers would only be able to draw a style in two or three days. In the meantime, they would constantly blame the paper or the pen for not being able to write well, saying that it affected their mood and what else they could create. inspiration.

The things that came out in the past two or three days were still pushed by the master who kept pushing them. Xiao Zhao and his master often scolded those designers, "You guys are holding in your shit, it's so stale, and you still can't hold it in?"

Zhang Chen picked up the pen, brushed it, and drew a shirt in a few minutes. He then drew the back of the shirt, and then drew several key details on the side, such as the collar and cuffs. , after the painting is finished, mark the relevant dimensions on the painting one by one, so that it looks clear at a glance.

Xiao Zhao and Caidi looked on with their mouths agape. Xiao Zhao said, your action is too fast. Have you really never done any design?

"I have done many other designs, but never fashion design." Zhang Chen said.

"Then with this skill, you can get high wages in any garment factory."

Zhang Chen smiled. He picked out one piece of fabric from the five pieces on the cutting table and told Xiao Zhao that this style should be made from this piece of fabric. By the way, do you understand what I drew?

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Xiao Zhao said, "Looking at you painting, I understand."

"Good, understanding, not bad." Zhang Chen patted Xiao Zhao on the shoulder.

Xiao Zhao smiled shyly, picked up the piece of fabric and asked, how much is it here?

"Five meters, one piece per meter, one large size, two medium sizes, one small size, make four pieces, is there enough fabric?"

"You can make five." Xiao Zhao said.

"This is cotton and linen. It hasn't been pre-shrunk yet?" Zhang Chen said in disbelief.

"I know." Xiao Zhao handed the piece of fabric to Caidi and said to her, "Soak it in water and then dry it in the sun. It will dry after a while."

Caidi took the fabric and walked away. Xiao Zhao and Zhang Chen said: "The shrinkage rate of cotton and linen will not exceed 3%. If your fabric has been stored for a long time, it will probably shrink by a centimeter or two."

"Can you make a shirt with only 90 centimeters?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.

"Yes." Xiao Zhao nodded.

"What magic weapon do you have?"

"There is no magic weapon. The only way is to make rational use of fabrics. For Caidi's car, only one centimeter needs to be left for the seam. Don't use a whole piece of fabric for the back collar and door guard. You can use scraps of fabric to splice them together. In the past, my master used to make one piece of back Collar, connect eight pieces, and these places cannot be seen, so you save fabric."

Zhang Chen was greatly impressed. This made an extra piece of fabric available out of thin air, and of course the cost was reduced. It seemed that he had found the right person when he found this guy. When this guy stayed here, he really fell into a trap.

"Then add an M size."

Zhang Chen said to Xiao Zhao, and Xiao Zhao nodded.

Zhang Chen then drew two more styles. While Zhang Chen was drawing, Xiao Zhao was standing by and asking about his requirements. By the time Zhang Chen finished drawing, he already fully understood what should be done.

Zhang Chen looked at his watch. It was already past five o'clock. Zhang Chen told Xiao Zhao that I was going to pick up Xiao Zhao. There were still two styles left and I would paint them in the evening.

Xiao Zhao said yes.