Amanda didn’t want to take advantage of the situation regarding investment: “Fifty Dollars can only buy a few clothes. Don’t mention investment. Your uncle can’t even make a few Dollars. As an elder, I wouldn’t let you suffer a loss.”
Reselling eggs, even a few dozen Dollars would be very helpful.
But reselling clothing? How expensive were ready-made clothes in the county? Amanda thought it wouldn’t even buy two clothes, let alone talk about investment.
The clothing business was incredibly profitable. Not just in the 1980s, but even thirty years later, the difference between the factory price, wholesale price, and final retail price of clothing was several times over. Whitaker Scarlett didn’t really intend to convince Amanda, she just wanted to share the profits with her uncle’s family once she made money.
What she wanted was Amanda’s support. There were only four people in the family. Michael was too young to vote. With her and Amanda against Elizabeth, it was 2 to 1. Elizabeth couldn’t even argue with Amanda; she’d be confused in a few sentences.
Elizabeth and Amanda were extremely worried. “There’s a wholesale market in Harborfield. Can’t you get goods there and sell them in Greenfield?”
Whitaker Scarlett shook her head. “The styles in Harborfield aren’t new at all. Other vendors also get their goods from the Harborfield wholesale market. The same goods won’t be competitive. If I’m going to sell, I need to sell unique items. It shouldn’t be customers choosing my goods, but me choosing my customers.”
Just like the clothing stall she saw at the farmers’ market. The prices weren’t cheap, but the styles didn’t attract female customers. What good was it if the goods piled up? Her capital wasn’t abundant; she couldn’t bring many items on a trip to family. But if the styles were new and beautiful, every item sold would be profit! If the goods were good enough, she would have the right to be picky about her customers. Someone thinks it’s too expensive? If you don’t buy it, someone else will.
People lacked money and goods.
Beautiful clothes would draw money out of customers’ pockets!
Amanda and Elizabeth didn’t understand. They only knew that a young woman traveling alone wasn’t appropriate. The lack of family members was a problem. The Miller Family were newcomers, with no relatives to help. Elizabeth had to deliver eels to the capital and bring back oil residue to sell. Amanda had to manage the fields, housework, and take care of Michael.
The family couldn’t spare anyone to go to Capital with Whitaker Scarlett.
Who could they ask to go with Whitaker Scarlett?
Amanda was very troubled. William had two younger sisters. Amanda had always thought her sister-in-law Elizabeth was honest but clumsy and unlikeable. William’s other sister, who had married in a neighboring county, had little contact with her family, almost completely cutting ties.
In the seven or eight years since Amanda had married into the family, she had never seen Michael’s second aunt, Katherine.
Could she rely on such relatives?
As for her own family, that was even less likely. Besides, there was no reason to ask her relatives to help Whitaker Scarlett, Amanda herself didn’t trust her own family. They might get jealous of Whitaker Scarlett’s earnings and steal her business!
Whitaker Scarlett didn’t think traveling alone was a problem.
Yes, she was very pretty, and train stations and trains were always crowded and complex places. But Whitaker Scarlett wasn’t a naive “country girl” who had never traveled far. She would maintain sufficient vigilance, ignore strangers’ advances, avoid walking alone at night, and refuse drinks and food from strangers. No one would rob her in broad daylight!
Winter was approaching, and if she didn’t hurry and sell this batch of winter clothes, she would miss the opportunity.
Whitaker Scarlett carefully counted her money. Excluding a small portion for the eel business, she had 600 Dollars in cash. This wasn’t like the thin banknotes of later generations. With the largest denomination being ten Dollars, 600 Dollars was quite thick. She had to keep her belongings safe while traveling. Elizabeth sewed a pocket on the outside of Whitaker Scarlett’s underwear… Whitaker Scarlett was shocked by this method of hiding money. In her previous life, she often traveled on business by train, but she never carried large sums of cash, as payments were made directly between companies after deals were finalized.
Hiding 600 Dollars in her underwear pocket?
Whitaker Scarlett couldn’t accept it. She had Elizabeth sew two inner pockets inside her jacket:
“Let’s keep the money separate.”
