Chapter 20

After hearing what Zhang Cuixia said, Sang Ran deliberately went to take a look at Su Ya's stall. She didn't go inside, just glanced from afar, but she could already see the clothes inside.
They were almost identical to the types Sang Ran had sourced, and they were even cheaper.
Su Ya was selling the same styles and deliberately pricing them low, right at this critical moment, with her stall less than a hundred meters away from theirs.
If anyone thought Su Ya didn't have malicious intentions, Sang Ran wouldn't believe it.
Not just Sang Ran, probably no one would.
Su Ya was likely still fixated on the original host, hoping that Sang Ran would have a hard time.
After all, she had stolen Sang Ran's fiancé back then. To outsiders, it might seem like a misunderstanding, but anyone who knew the history between them could easily imagine a whole drama unfolding.
Just like Zhang Cuixia's slightly odd expression at that moment.
Fortunately, her mother-in-law was broad-minded. Knowing that Sang Ran and Zhu Chang'an had a good relationship, and considering Su Ya's actions, the general assumption would be that Su Ya felt insecure because her husband had once been engaged to Sang Ran. Now, seeing Sang Ran's business thriving, she wanted to imitate it and squeeze her out. Zhang Cuixia definitely wouldn't misunderstand.
But even if the public, including her mother-in-law, didn't misunderstand, Sang Ran was still annoyed.
There were so many clothing styles out there, her shop hadn't monopolized them all. There were plenty of styles she hadn't bought due to lack of funds or manpower, or those she had sourced in small quantities and sold out quickly. None of those appeared in Su Ya's shop!
About ninety percent of Su Ya's stock consisted of the styles Sang Ran had sourced the most.
This way, Su Ya was making much less profit, but since the clothes were cheap, she still had a decent margin.
However, because of the identical styles and the price undercutting, sales at Liang Yan Clothing Store began to stagnate.
Originally, Sang Ran had planned to deal with Su Ya after sorting out her financial issues. Back then, to get Song Jianguo to be with her, Su Ya had deliberately dragged the original host into the pond with her.
After that, she never dared to face Sang Ran again.
Sang Ran hadn't forgotten about this matter, but Su Ya had never appeared before her. At this critical moment, she couldn't very well go looking for her, if someone noticed, it would inevitably lead to gossip.
Besides, she was in a hurry to make money.
Su Ya wasn't going anywhere, but business opportunities were fleeting.
However, now that Su Ya had brought it up herself, Sang Ran felt it was time to act sooner rather than later.
Of course, reason still prevailed. Sang Ran had to stop Zhu Chang'an. Seeing him puffing his cheeks in anger, she reached out and poked one, earning herself a glare. She chuckled and said, "Don't be angry. If we're going to eat the meat, we have to let others have some soup, right?"
Zhu Chang'an was furious and felt wronged.
At a time like this, his wife was still teasing him. They had just stocked over ten thousand yuan worth of goods. If they couldn't sell them and the inventory piled up, they would lose so much they wouldn't even have pants left.
He shot a dangerous glance in the direction of Su Ya's stall. How dare she set up her stall so close to their street? With such proximity, she was attracting the same customers. Under normal circumstances, he would have gathered a group of brothers to stand guard at her stall, smoking cigarettes and squatting nearby, no one would dare to go over and buy anything.
If someone dared to steal his business, they had to be prepared to face the consequences.
But when it came to Sang Ran, his temper softened. Hiding the coldness in his eyes, he muttered sullenly, "It's not the same. She wants to take the meat right out of our mouths!"
Sang Ran smiled. Zhu Chang'an was overthinking it. In reality, there were plenty of other places besides this town where they could sell their goods. There was no need to worry about the inventory actually stagnating.
But seeing him like this, she couldn't resist teasing him a little. With a playful grin, she asked, "So what are you going to do? Go over and beat her up? Would you really hit a girl?"
"I, " Zhu Chang'an's handsome face twisted. He wanted to say he would, but truth be told, he had never bullied a girl before. His anger deflated, his shoulders slumped, and he hung his head, secretly pursing his lips.
He didn't need to resort to violence to handle this.
But he had a feeling Sang Ran wouldn't approve of his methods, so he kept quiet.
Sang Ran suppressed a laugh and imitated his sulking demeanor, tugging at his hand while patting his back gently. She coaxed him softly, "If you really want to vent your anger, I can teach you how."
Zhu Chang'an's eyes lit up, his phoenix-like eyes widening as he grabbed her hand eagerly. "What method?"
Sang Ran grinned. "Just have someone leak to the Song family how much Su Ya has been earning."
Based on her understanding of the Song family, they would never pass up such a lucrative opportunity.
If Su Ya could open a shop here, she must have had help from her family. Otherwise, the Song family would already have a presence in that shop.
Since Su Ya had deliberately tried to provoke her, Sang Ran would return the favor.
But for now, the most urgent matter was to handle the upcoming distribution channels.
Zhu Chang’an noticed that she seemed to have a plan in mind. Though he felt a little regretful, he obediently nodded, "Alright, I'll go and inform them right away."
Zhang Cuixia watched the two of them discussing without interrupting. Her children were grown up now, and though she was strong-willed, she didn't need to control everything. Otherwise, they would never truly mature. Seeing her son leave immediately, she quickly grabbed him, "You just got back, and there's still so much inventory to deal with. Also, Sang Ran's grandfather, the doctor said he can be discharged from the hospital. I was thinking of bringing him home today"
"Thank you, Mom," Sang Ran said gratefully.
Zhu Chang’an didn't leave either and snorted coldly, "Let her gloat for one more day."

Su Ya was indeed gloating.
To make money and steal business, she had someone go to Liangyan Clothing Store the day before their departure and buy one of every piece of clothing as reference.
Then, she went to Shenzhen with her older brother.
The outside world was vast.
She felt like a country bumpkin entering the city. Even with the perspective of someone from two or three decades in the future, Su Ya had always lived in a small circle and had never truly ventured out.
This trip ignited even greater ambition in her.
She didn't just want to make money, she wanted to be the boss!
Unfortunately, Su Ya didn't have enough money yet, so she first followed Sang Ran's method: buying goods wholesale and selling them retail. After a few rounds, once she had earned enough, she could buy a shop.
Strangely enough, despite being a seemingly vulnerable woman and a young man carrying a large amount of goods, they encountered no danger along the way and returned smoothly.
The goods weren't plentiful, most were imitations of what Sang Ran had in her store, with a small portion selected by Su Ya herself.
But perhaps her taste was too ahead of its time, as the items she chose weren't very popular. At the same price, Sang Ran's selections sold much faster.
This made Su Ya feel a twinge of jealousy.
Still, looking at the clothing store whose business she had almost completely taken over, Su Ya was quite satisfied. She even looked forward to seeing Sang Ran's panicked and fearful expression when she returned.
After seeing off another customer, Su's older brother counted the money they had earned that day, his eyes gleaming. "Sis, we made a lot again today! We've already recovered our capital, and there's plenty left over!"
Su Ya glanced at the clothing store, smiled faintly, and gently smoothed the beautiful sleeveless maxi dress she was wearing. "Just listen to me, and we'll earn even more. Tomorrow, send someone to check what goods they've brought in this time."
"Got it!" Su's older brother nodded with conviction.

Sang Ran wasn't concerned about any of this. Since a trip to Shenzhen took at least five days, she knew her goods would still sell well during that time.
And if they didn't sell here, she could hire a craftsman and rent them out to sell elsewhere, there would always be buyers.
Especially since this was her third trip. The vendor, seeing her large and frequent orders, had given her better quality goods than before. Though they were autumn clothes, which took up a bit more space than summer wear, she didn't have to worry about them being unpopular.
Zhu Chang’an didn't immediately carry out Sang Ran's instructions. Instead, he helped bring Sang Ran's grandfather home from the hospital.
After staying in the hospital for a long time, Sang Ran's grandfather had recovered significantly. He could walk briskly now and hardly needed his cane anymore.
Grandpa Sang couldn’t stand being idle. Seeing them busy with the shop, he pitched in to help. When he heard about what Su Ya had done, the old man sighed, shook his head, and said, “Bad people will face their own judgment from heaven. Don’t follow her example.”
Sang Ran smiled. “We won’t.”
Zhu Chang’an pursed his lips but didn’t argue.
Whether heaven would deliver judgment was anyone’s guess, but they certainly would.
As the first privately-owned clothing store in town, especially with all-new stock, Sang Ran and Zhu Chang’an drew plenty of attention when they returned with a large shipment of goods.
Even if people weren’t buying, they’d come by for a look.
Sang Ran picked out a black trench coat to show them, saying, “We’ll start selling these new items tomorrow. The quality is even better than before, definitely worth it.”
Onlookers craned their necks for a glimpse and exclaimed, “Oh, this piece is lovely! What style is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it! It’s what people wear on TV, so stylish! My husband is tall; he could pull this off!”
Sang Ran explained, “This is a trench coat. You can wear it from early autumn through winter.” She found a men’s trench coat, previously, the shop had only stocked women’s clothing, and after hearing customers’ complaints, Sang Ran made a mental note. This time, she’d bought plenty of men’s wear, mostly in matching couples’ sets.
Most men had their wives pick out their clothes, and women loved having matching outfits.
She handed the men’s trench coat to Zhu Chang’an and slipped into the women’s version herself. Both had excellent figures, and wearing the same outfit made them look even more like a perfect match.
Seeing the curious aunties growing excited, Sang Ran smiled and tied the belt on her trench coat. “Look, there’s a waist tie too. See how elegant it looks this way?”
Zhu Chang’an noticed everyone’s eyes lighting up. He adjusted his collar and said cheerfully, “Couples can buy these together. I’ve seen people in Shenzhen wearing them like this, they look fantastic! When you step out, everyone will know she’s my wife!”
As he spoke, he tilted his chin up with a hint of pride. His handsome face, free of its usual playful grin, was especially charming.
“Yes, yes, your wife!”
“You two really look like a couple, haha!”
The crowd laughed good-naturedly, but their eyes remained fixed on the clothes.
They marveled inwardly: City folks really do dress so well.

That afternoon, the townsfolk discovered that Liangyan Clothing Store had new stock again!
An aunt who had passed by earlier rushed home and told her friend, “Did you know? Liangyan has new clothes. I just took a look, they’re gorgeous.”
“What’s the use of looking good? Their prices are clearly much higher,” replied the other, whose family wasn’t as well-off as the aunt’s and had to budget more carefully.
The aunt shook her head, "That's not the way to put it. The quality of the clothes is different, and besides, didn’t you buy her clothes just because they look good?"
This aunt was completely captivated by the trench coat. Though she couldn’t wear it herself, she had a daughter who had just gotten married. It would suit her perfectly, and if she wore it with her husband, they’d surely be the envy of everyone.
Struck by the aunt’s words, the other woman paused for a moment before realizing, "You’re right. Should we go take a look tomorrow?"
"Let’s go. But this time, many of the clothes are for autumn, and some are even for winter. We’ll need to bring more money." The aunt clutched her purse painfully, yet her desire to buy remained undiminished.
If it were summer clothes, she might have held back, since her family had already bought some.
The next day.
At 8 a.m., a long queue had formed once again outside Liangyan Clothing Store.
The bustling scene was almost as lively as on opening day.
This wasn’t just because of the new stock. Early in the morning, they noticed a notice posted at the entrance of Liangyan Clothing Store: "Buy one autumn outfit, add five yuan, and get a summer outfit for free! Limited-time offer, first come, first served!"
Seeing such a bargain, everyone flocked over.
Su Ya, whose own stall was empty, rushed over and saw the thriving scene at Sang Ran’s clothing store. She gritted her teeth in frustration, nearly fuming with anger!
Selling for just five yuan!
Though there was still some profit to be made, after factoring in her train tickets, accommodation, and various expenses, not to mention sharing part of the profits with the Su family, five yuan barely left any earnings.
After all, her capital was limited, and she hadn’t been able to purchase much inventory. The wholesale price was already three yuan, and for some items, even more than three yuan.
Reluctantly, Su Ya also lowered her prices to five yuan.
If she didn’t, her shop wouldn’t attract a single customer.
However, that day, for the first time since she started selling clothes, Su Ya only managed to sell fifteen items. To make matters worse, two customers later came to return their purchases, saying they’d found cheaper options elsewhere.
Fearing more returns, Su Ya, her face dark with anger, had her elder brother close the stall early. She then went to observe Sang Ran’s methods for attracting customers.
She crept around stealthily, afraid of drawing attention.
After watching for a long time, Su Ya had to admit that the clothes Sang Ran sourced were exceptionally stylish, even by future standards, they wouldn’t seem outdated. Especially since Sang Ran herself had a great figure and was beautiful; wearing those clothes made her a living advertisement.
Customers would walk in, see her, glance at the clothes in the store, and instantly fall in love.
Her eyes gleaming with an idea, Su Ya decided that by noon, her brother would buy one of every new style available here. Since there wasn’t much stock left at her stall anyway, she’d set it aside for now, make a trip to Shenzhen, and upon returning, emulate Sang Ran’s strategy: buy an autumn outfit, add five yuan, and get a free item.
Su Ya felt enlightened and brimming with confidence again.
But she didn’t realize that she had already been scared off from considering further price cuts.
She thought she had come and gone unnoticed.
In reality, Sang Ran had noticed her long ago.
Watching Su Ya seethe with resentment before turning to leave, Sang Ran thought for a moment, handed the store over to Zhang Cuixia, and left as well.
As Su Ya approached the riverside in Zhu Village where clothes were usually washed, she suddenly heard someone call her name.
Su Ya instinctively turned around and saw Sang Ran, who had been busy attending to customers in the store when she left, now walking toward her step by step. Her heart skipped a beat, overwhelmed by guilt, her hands and feet turning cold: "!!!"