The first floor of shop No. 43 is very dark, with a moist plant smell. After getting used to the moment of darkness entering the store from the brightly lit street, you can see the panoramic view of the shop.
The store is pitifully small, with not even a single shelf. There is a wooden counter on the square tile floor facing the street, with a cash register. Sun Shangxiang has been here several times and knows that this is just a cashier place. The real store is where the cash register is.
The corridor next to the stage leads to the back room - No. 43. The shop is narrow but wide in depth.
Next to the counter stand two Chinese and American kapok trees, also known as money trees, planted in porcelain pots.
The cashier at the counter recognized her and came over to greet her with a smile on her face.
"Shang Xiang, are you here to buy something for the chief?"
"Buy it for yourself." Sun Shangxiang said a little proudly, "I'm about to go to the "Lingao Times" for an internship, and the chief asked me to prepare some things."
"Oh, that's great." The saleswoman clapped her hands and said with envy. She is also an unassigned student who was eliminated from the maid training class. Now one is serving people and the other is being served. Naturally, she is envious of the life secretaries.
"It turns out that everyone said that you suffered a loss by serving the female chief. I said that female chiefs also have the advantages of female chiefs, and they can promote people. You see, I was right - now you are a serious cadre.
'That's it. Besides, can the female leader keep you by her side for the rest of her life? She will find a good husband for you in the future. Maybe she will be married by a certain leader."
"Look what you said," Sun Shangxiang felt pleased with what she said, "I don't dare to think so much. I just need to work hard to repay the kindness of the Senate and the chief."
Sun Shangxiang's family is a minor official, and since he was a child, he has been influenced by his family members and relatives who talk about kindness and virtue. There is no sense of violation when talking about this.
"That's it. That's it." The salesperson nodded repeatedly, feeling even more ashamed. After all, he was the person next to the chief, and his conversation was unusual.
"I'm in." Sun Shangxiang didn't want to talk to her anymore. She had inquired about this salesperson: she came from a humble background, her appearance and figure were not rated high, her academic performance was very poor, and she was too old. She was dismissed without even being qualified to be selected.
She was directly eliminated. According to Chief Sun, having multiple friendships with her was a "waste of time and emotions."
"Okay, okay, you go in."
Go through the corridor. Behind is a long paved room with a special cave behind it. The skylight casts bright light, which does not feel narrow and dark at all. Various goods are displayed on open shelves along the wall. The types of daily necessities supplied in No. 43
There are many. The most important part of them is all kinds of clothing materials. It is a dazzling array: the entire wall from the ceiling to the floor is filled with all kinds of goods samples. According to Li Mei's instructions, the textiles, whether they are trophies, imported or high-end
As long as there is stock of self-produced textiles, a sample must be prepared in No. 43 for the elders to choose from.
Ready-made clothing is also available here, but the variety is very small and there is no choice. The most important products are underwear and socks of various sizes made according to modern specifications. As for outerwear, there are only "men and women's veteran uniforms" and "men and women's uniforms".
There are three types of "work clothes" and "maid uniforms", the colors are only blue, black and gray. Or the natural white color of cotton - speaking of it, the maid's uniform is the most exquisite coat here. So the elders and maids have to change their image in addition to clothing.
If you have inventory, you can only buy materials to make clothes yourself.
"Shangxiang, what do you want to buy today? Come on, sit down and take a breath." The salesperson greeted him very enthusiastically - this is a special store, but like other cooperative system store clerks, the salesperson's main income comes from commissions. Sun Shangxiang
I have come here more than once to select and buy various clothing materials and daily necessities for the chief, and the purchase amount every time is very high - Cheng Yongxin and those who she said "don't understand the taste of life, never leave life secretaries, Yangma, race"
"Different from the crude male director of the museum," she cares about enjoying life and is willing to squander her circulation coupons. Therefore, although she has not long been a life secretary, she is already a popular figure in No. 43.
Sun Shangxiang sat down in front of the large glass window at the back of the shop near the backyard. Someone had already brought the teacup. Without opening the lid, she knew from the faint aroma floating in the air that this was Luoshen tea specially for the elders.
Chief Cheng drinks it every day. It's sour and delicious. She accidentally mentioned it last time, so this time she switched to this kind of tea.
In fact, she didn't particularly like drinking tea, but she felt very happy about it. She took the tea and specifically said: "I'm sorry."
"There is newly arrived silk and satin from Hangzhou. I heard that it was woven from Hangzhou for the Ming Emperor. The color is very rare. Would you like to take it out and take a look?"
"No, I won't buy clothes today." Sun Shangxiang said, "I want to look at the stationery."
"Selected for the chief?"
"No, it's for my own use. The chief asked me to do an internship at Lingao Times and asked me to buy some needed things."
As usual, there was another compliment. Sun Shangxiang kept a reserved smile and kept in mind the teachings of Chief Cheng and his mother: "Always pay attention to your identity and don't be too friendly with lower-class people."
"I want to buy a pen, a notebook and some stationery. Here is the list..." Sun Shangxiang took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"It's easy to say, I guarantee you'll be satisfied. We have the most complete range of goods here, and there are many new styles that I haven't even seen outside." The salesperson said and hurriedly called people to pick up the goods.
The stationery shelves still have to go further, but the big customers naturally don't have to work hard. Now someone is bringing various samples to her for her selection at a reasonable price.
She first needed a few pens. Cheng Yongxin gave her a list of pencils for shorthand and pens for writing. There was nothing much to say about pencils. There was only one octagonal pencil available locally. As for the fountain pen, in
The right to invent this time and space belongs to Dr. Zhong, and Dr. Zhong has already considered the sales strategy of pens, which are divided into three grades: high, medium and low.
The salesperson figured out that Sun Shangxiang was in love and would naturally look down on the low-end ones, so he selected several mid-range and high-end ones and sent them to him.
"Look, this i-generation is the latest product, with smooth water flow and very smooth writing..." She handed over a pen tray with several pens with different pen barrels displayed on it.
Strictly speaking, due to the limitations of Lingao Industrial's material and process capabilities, the performance difference between mid-range and high-end pens does not exist: in fact, they all use the same refill and nib. The only difference is the casing and cap.
The materials and decorations. The mid-range ones use mostly high-grade wood and are decorated with lacquerware and glass inlay techniques. The high-end ones focus on various traditional Chinese crafts and materials, such as carved lacquer, gilding, silver inlay, enamel, tortoise shell, ivory...
…It can be called a show of wonder and beauty.
Since it is all handmade, the output is very low, and it basically meets the needs of the veterans. Except for No. 43, only the cooperative's main store has samples for sale, and it cannot be seen elsewhere.
The first thing the salesperson brought out was a mid-range product. The Taibai i-generation was a work pen designed specifically for naturalized civilian cadres by Chung Li-shi. The pen barrel and cap are made of specially machined hardwood with special treatment, and are equipped with small copper parts, which means it is durable.
It is also generous. It is very popular among naturalized cadres. In Fangcaoyuan Academy, a Taibai i-generation fountain pen is the most popular prize among the students. It is also often used by the elders on weekdays.
However, this simple and elegant style obviously did not impress Sun Shangxiang. So the salesperson came up with another one:
"This is the Golden Dragon i generation. Even the chief likes to use it."
Several i-generation pens displayed on the pen tray were decorated with different craftsmanship and materials, which immediately caught Sun Shangxiang's attention.
She knew that it was almost a special pen for the elders. Chief Cheng had an "elegant version" of the Golden Dragon I generation. It was an ivory pen inlaid with silver and pearls. Sun Shangxiang thought the color was too plain. She had only seen a few naturalized pens.
The adopted children and apprentices of senior civilian cadres and senators have such pens.
In fact, Sun Shangxiang is not a person who likes to write and write. Things like pen and ink are not something she likes at all. Since ancient times, "a woman's lack of talent is a virtue". Although she read basic books and knew the characters when she was young, it was just to avoid being blind.
If she is blind, she will be able to take care of the family in the future - she can use more capital to earn a red dress. She is not a "smart and studious" woman. Although she obtained the equivalent of a junior high school diploma in the maid school, it was the result of fear of cane.
It's not true.
Now she was strongly attracted to the pen and couldn't help but reach out and touch it gently. The salesperson was familiar with this feeling and did not bother her. He just smiled and tilted the pen tray to make it easier for her to touch.
He whispered in a seductive voice:
"There are only twenty or thirty pieces of each style of these pens, which are very rare..."
In the end, Sun Shangxiang chose an enamel underglaze red model. She liked this red color, which reminded her of the "red dress" her mother called her.
"The color is really nice." The salesperson complimented her, "Sister Shangxiang, you are really discerning. You are very elegant."
Sun Shangxiang lowered his head in embarrassment: "How much?"
"Six hundred and ninety circulation coupons."
Sun Shangxiang was shocked: It's so expensive! But when he thought about what Chief Cheng said, don't be afraid of the price, just buy the best, he felt at ease.
The pen is placed in a brocade paper box. In addition to the pen itself, the box comes with three spare nibs - the nib ball of a general pen is made of alloy steel with a variety of rare metals added. Lingao currently does not have the ability to manufacture the nib.
The lifespan is very short and can only be maintained by regular replacement. In addition, the box also comes with a set of exquisite pen maintenance tools.
Compared with pens, notebooks were no longer refined - she still knew when enough was enough. She bought two large and one small books with white and thick paper. She also bought other stationery of the grade commonly used by elders. As usual, she recorded Cheng Yongxin's accounts.