Chapter 22 The third chapter boldly typed the prefix of "China"

In 1989, Fei Xiaotong, a famous sociologist, came to Changshu Garment City to investigate. When he saw that farmers around the ancient city built a super clothing market in their vegetable fields and ponds in just a few years , colorful and lively scenes every day, I couldn't help writing down the 8 characters of "Changshu shopping mall, a shopping paradise". Compared with the shopping malls at that time, today's clothing city is far more than several times and tens of times.In Changshu today, whether you are a local or a foreigner who comes here, if you ask him where is the most worth seeing in Changshu, and where has left the deepest impression on you, what you can hear is no longer Guo Jianguang singing. Yangcheng Lake and the big crabs in Yangcheng Lake with "reed flowers blooming and rice fragrance", and Mrs. Aqing's "Chun Lai Tea House". (However, if you come to Changshu for the first time, you must try the Yangcheng Lake crab, which is unique in the world. The teahouse is also a major feature of Changshu. It is taken from the water of Shanghu Lake where Jiang Taigong was fishing, and then soaked in Yuzhong Shengxian’s stay. The piece of pollution-free tea on the top of Yushan Mountain, drinking seven or forty-nine pots of it, and then blowing it all over the world, that feeling is definitely not found in some teahouses in Beijing that rely on tap water to deal with guests.) What you hear It must be "Clothing City".

Yes, there is a famous saying among the cadres in Changshu. They say that "Shajiabang was born during the Anti-Japanese War, and a clothing city was born during the reform era."The former "Shajiabang" and today's clothing city are always two monuments in the minds of Changshu people, and they are also two monuments built by Changshu people in the Chinese revolution and China's construction. The history of the revolutionary struggle of "Shajiabang" provided the Chinese revolution with a guerrilla warfare model suitable for the southern Jiangsu region; the establishment practice and successful experience of the clothing city provided a model suitable for the conditions of townships in China's modernization today. Under the economic model with socialist characteristics.

With these two points alone, Changshu people are able to stand tall in front of 1.3 billion Chinese. However, they also have their bad days.Changshu Garment City is truly "No. 1 in China" in terms of scale, sales, and its prestige and influence in the Chinese garment industry.However, in order to obtain a brand with the prefix "China" for the clothing city, the cadres in the city and shopping malls went to Nanjing and Beijing many times, but the result still failed. The units and enterprises headed must be the state or units and enterprises directly under the state.In a word, you Changshu is the local "little brother".In this regard, Changshu people need not be upset.

In fact, they are not depressed.They still hang a huge and powerful "China Garment City" written by Wang Guangying, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Li Ximing, another vice chairman, at the most prosperous and eye-catching exits of the clothing city. "5 big characters.It is said that when the State President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng visited Changshu, and the officials from various ministries and commissions of the Central Committee inspected Changshu, they not only did not express doubts but smiled when they saw the striking words "China Garment City".

The Changshu people put down the weight in their hearts. In fact, they have no worries.After the clothing city has become a well-known market, they have been working on it as a "high-yield demonstration field" to implement Deng Xiaoping's socialist road with Chinese characteristics and market economy in the local area. This is to always implement the 100% market rule—— This law is autonomy, equality, fairness, and competition, allowing people to make money safely and with peace of mind. People in Changshu understand that the brand with the prefix of "China" is important, but what is more important is its content.A sign without content will fall down sooner or later. (It is worth mentioning that after the success of the Changshu clothing market, the surrounding big and small markets and "tigers" of all sizes also set up "so-and-so clothing city" and "so-and-so textile city". Highly typed the prefix "China", but in the end most of them ended in failure.)

Admittedly, at the moment when there is a "market craze" in China today, it seems necessary for those who have suffered from failure to come back and earnestly learn from the experience of Changshu people in running a market.I have used the following literary language to summarize their experience as follows: From wanting to make money yourself to letting others make money first; From being able to make money yourself, let others make as much money as possible; From being able to enjoy yourself on the money you have earned to doing more things, let others earn permanent money and earn appreciation money;

In the end, you can make money together with yourself and others. Some people may consider this kind of "stupid" business experience, which is precisely the difference between Changshu people and people from other places in running the market.In addition to the "ethical" style of tolerance and legacy of "everything is safe" cultivated by their unique and long-standing regional culture, the deeper meaning is that their leaders have put their foothold from the very beginning on "the first Enriching the people and rejuvenating the country".Therefore, they firmly grasped the essence of the "China" brand, which is:

One of the elements of establishing a first-class market: fairness and freedom. The group of Changshu people in Qinnan Township at the "crossroads" of the bus station started to run the clothing market for the sake of making money for themselves; those Changshu mayors and secretaries sitting in the office at the foot of the beautiful Yushan Mountain At the beginning, it was also for the sake of making money in the city that it worked hard to support Qinnan Township to run a market.Those who don’t want to or don’t take the initiative to make money in order to revitalize one’s economy are lies, and they are not true Communists.But the same money-making has different goals and realms.The first spirit that Changshu people embody when they set up the clothing city is: from wanting to make money themselves, let others make money first.This is very difficult and painful for farmers who regard profit as their life.However, in the 20 years since the establishment of Changshu Garment City, the farmers in the original Qinnan Township where it is located, including the people in Changshu City, have experienced the confusion and pain of whether to make themselves rich first or let others get rich first. process.In the process, they have made many valuable sacrifices.

There is one thing that local farmers and Changshu people remember deeply, and that is the problem of stalls in the clothing city. In the early days of its establishment, when the market was transformed from a "road market" to a standardized market, the market built by everyone raised funds not only had debts, but also no one wanted the stalls, so the stalls at that time could only be allocated to farmers and cadres.This happened in the first few years after the establishment of "China Merchants City" in 1985.By the end of the 1980s, the situation in the clothing city was completely beyond the expectations of Changshu people.Especially after entering the 1990s, no one can imagine the booming business of the Garment City and the speed of its own development.Business people describe it as: whoever occupies a booth is like sitting on a golden mountain; whoever has a foot in the clothing city is equivalent to running into his own bank.At that time, tens of thousands of clothing merchants from all over the country flocked to Changshu like a tide. In the past, the stalls that could not be rented out for 50 cents a day can now easily cost tens of thousands of yuan. Even tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.Many farmers who had to borrow money to beg for their wives the day before woke up as millionaires overnight...

The possession of market stalls and retail outlets has caused sharp conflicts between local people and foreign businessmen on the issue of interests.The stalls and stores of the locals are shared, or they come through the "back door" with approval, and the cost is low.The bosses from other places paid high prices or rented them several times or even dozens of times higher, and bought them from local villagers and cadres who had stalls but no one to engage in business.This unreasonable situation will inevitably frustrate those businessmen who come from afar, and ultimately affect the normal development of the market.

In the spring of 1994, a decision-maker proposed that from now on, all the stalls and shops that will be built will be auctioned and rented publicly, and the "head sharing" of villagers, especially cadres, by villages, towns and government agencies will be stopped. The decision maker is Xu Guoqiang who was appointed by the municipal party committee and the municipal government to serve as the "top leader" in the clothing city.People in Changshu in the clothing city are not unfamiliar with Xu Guoqiang, because when he was also the "top leader" of the clothing city, he was also the "top leader" of Yushan Town, the supervisor of the clothing city, and he was also the "top leader" of Yushan Town The supervisor in charge of the town is the deputy secretary of the Changshu Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.Sending such a high-ranking official to work in the clothing city shows how much the municipal party committee and the municipal government attach importance to it. When Xu Guoqiang announced this decision in the clothing city, the clothing city exploded.However, although few of those foreigners knew Xu Guoqiang, they couldn't help but say after hearing about this decision: "This is a good decision maker who understands the market economy." By doing this, isn't it intentional to make things difficult for us locals?Well, if he insists on doing it we'll give him a hard time. On a scorching hot day in July 1994, Secretary Xu Guoqiang came to the "China Merchants City". A group of villagers really surrounded him, and then some people who didn't know the truth followed suit, forming a momentum of siege by hundreds of people.From noon until eleven or twelve o'clock at night.The villagers wanted to know why the golden rice bowl in the hands of Changshu people was given to outsiders? "The reason is very simple: fair competition is what business is all about. In the past, the practice of distributing stalls according to the number of people is not in line with the laws of the market economy, and will definitely affect the development of the clothing city. If the clothing city cannot develop, we Changshu people will suffer the most. Myself." Xu Guoqiang said. The villagers asked: "A few years ago when the market started to be moved, houses were demolished, land was requisitioned, and some ancestral tombs were even relocated. We were the ones who suffered. Now that we can make money, we have given out the golden rice bowl and shared it with everyone. What's the point of this?" "This is called doing things in accordance with the laws of market economy." Xu Guoqiang replied, "In the market, the market must be built first, and then there can be a market. If the stalls are allocated according to the old method, it is neither fair nor conducive to the formation of a market. The market has also caused many unhealthy tendencies. If the market is compared to a cage, then the merchants are birds. If there are cages but no birds, or if there are birds but no cages, it means that we have no market. Besides, the booths are publicly auctioned and rented. It is everyone, it is good for foreign businessmen, and our local businessmen can also compete fairly!" After hearing these words, the villagers who had been noisy for a day suddenly fell silent.Suddenly, someone stood up and asked: "Secretary Xu, we can give up the booth for public auction, but what about the ones in the hands of the cadres?" "Treat everyone equally." Xu Guoqiang answered with certainty on this point. "But as far as we know, a few days ago, when some cadres heard that Secretary Xu decided to implement public auctions for all stalls, they rushed to buy several stalls for themselves." A villager reported. "Who? Tell me your name. As long as you find out, no matter who it is, you will quit." Xu Guoqiang took out his notebook with a very serious expression. "The village secretary." "Check! If it is true, not only should he be ordered to hand over all the stalls, but he should also be dealt with seriously according to the severity of the case." Xu Guoqiang especially emphasized. The crowd was excited.Someone came up with an offensive sentence: "Secretary Xu, what if someone exposes your injustice or you have a booth?" "There is a penalty of ten. If anyone finds that I, Xu, or my relatives have tampered with the allocation of booths and stores, whoever has the right to prevent me, Xu Guoqiang, from entering the clothing city!" "If town and city cadres come to ask for a booth, what will Secretary Xu do?" "Treat the same. In short, no one is allowed to go through the back door." "..." Three days later, Xu Guoqiang came to the "Zhaobai" again, and immediately announced the three things he had promised to the masses that day: the former party secretary of Hujing Village was suspended for inspection, and all 10 booths he took were returned.The new booths in the market and the auction and rent plan of the new store will be submitted to the masses for discussion; specific solutions will be taken for practical problems involving villagers' environmental sanitation and labor resettlement. A long-standing problem, a conflict of interests, has been resolved with the joint efforts of all parties, and the clothing city has also achieved a qualitative leap: a large number of merchants have obtained booths and stores in fair, just and open auctions. After the right to manage, people "built nests and laid eggs" here one after another, which brought unprecedented prosperity to the clothing city business.Here are a few figures to illustrate: Before 1992, Changshu locals accounted for the majority of operators in the market, and foreigners accounted for only a small number; today, foreigners account for 70% and locals account for 30%.It should be noted that this does not mean that there are fewer local merchants, but that the total structure of merchants has changed. Foreigners make much more money in the Changshu market than locals.Secondly, before 1992, the annual turnover of the market was more than 1 billion.Now it has reached more than 20 billion.The tax and profit of Garment City have also increased from 40 million yuan in 1992 to 200 million yuan now. Some people are now commenting on the "auction and rent stalls and stores" of the year, which revitalized the entire Changshu clothing city.And Xu Guoqiang said that this is just a game of our municipal party committee, including the comrades who run the market, insisting on following the laws of the market economy. For more than 20 years, the cadres in Changshu have paid a real price and worked hard to ensure the absolute "fairness and freedom" of this market.In the early days, they did this. Some people wrote "complaint letters" to all the central and provincial leaders and ministries, which also led to a big debate about "socialism" or "capitalism".The result of the debate proved that they were on the right track.It should be pointed out that at that time, some people raised doubts about the "completely free" market, which itself should be said to be a kind of progress.History progresses through this repeated understanding. Some time ago, two Beijingers suddenly broke into my office.They said to thank me as soon as they met, which baffled me.My friend from Beijing laughed and said that we started our clothing business in Changshu clothing market after reading your masterpiece, and now we have made money, so we came to express our gratitude.I was also suddenly happy after hearing it.A while ago, my other reportage on Changshu Garment City, "Commercial City in Changshu", was published in "Chinese Writer", this is already the third group of people who have found me. "Your article is not nonsense." Beijingers are so straightforward that sometimes it is unbearable, and one of the young men said to me, "We were completely 'deceived' by your article when we went to Changshu to start a clothing business. Now it seems that we have misunderstood you writers. We used to think that most of your articles were made up. Through doing business in Changshu this time, we are going to "rehabilitate" you. At least—what writer are you writing about Changshu The article is not made up." The few of us laughed together. The other said to me uncontrollably: "We used to do building materials business in Beijing. The building materials business has been difficult in the past two years. At the beginning of this year, we were worried about what to do! At this time, I saw your masterpiece. You wrote about the Changshu clothing market in such a mysterious way that we were fascinated by it. But at first we didn’t believe it all. We went to Changshu after trying it out. Bullying is a common problem in all cities. The view is no exception. There are fair stalls and free buying and selling. Many places only use these things as gold-lettered signs to attract customers, but few really do it. Hey, people in Changshu really talk about fairness and freedom!" "Tell me, how do you experience the fairness and freedom of Changshu people from your experience?" The guy from before snatched the conversation away: "After we saw your work, we ran there before the Spring Festival. Although we are not familiar with the place, the people there are very enthusiastic. When we went, we were going to return empty-handed. , and saw that a commercial building was auctioning and renting booths. At first we thought it was just for show, those with good locations and moderate prices, in the end they must not be occupied by the locals themselves. But this time in Changshu, our buddies count It’s crazy, the two of us got the best booth as soon as the auction ended. No, after the Spring Festival, we’ll go south to Shajiabang, and coincidentally, it’s the peak season for clothing sales. After two months, How much money do you think we made?" "Eight thousand is not a problem, is it?" The old man held out two fingers slyly. "Twenty thousand?" "Add a 0." "200,000! Come on, it's time to treat me!" Amidst the laughter, two Beijing clothing merchants who had just returned from Changshu made an agreement with me that they would "see you" at the Wangfu Hotel when they became "millionaires". I know it's not far off. The second element of establishing a first-class market: harmony. I omitted the two important market elements of weather and location, because in contrast, "human harmony" occupies the core of all elements.Besides, I don't need to say too much, Changshu's unique climate and location have been prosperous since ancient times.Man is the creator of everything, and at the same time he can also be the leader of destroying everything. When a person transforms himself well, he is a winner. In the clothing city, a boss from Shangqiu, Henan insisted on inviting me to his new residence in Changshu.I laughed and asked him if he had "haired".When he said that Changshu came to do business, he was sure, but I invited you to my new residence because I heard that you came from Beijing to write about the clothing city, so I wanted to tell you what was in my heart.This is something to be desired.However, due to time constraints, I was unable to visit his new residence.However, he provided me with very good material. "You asked me what my name is? Of course I can tell you. But I only dare to do this in the land of Changshu. If I really dare not do it in other places. Why do you ask? Hey, someone. I will blackmail you. Who will blackmail me? There are many, there are those from the management department and the underworld, but the local people are even more difficult to deal with. You know, business people are just trying to make more money, but In many places, you don’t dare to make enough money. As soon as you make money, someone will follow you. You can’t bear it any way. For example, industry and commerce, public security, taxation, etc. come to you and knock you down. You have to pay as much as you want; if the underworld seeks you, you have to give it honestly to save your life; if the locals seek you, you have to hand it over, otherwise you will have no place to stand. Changshu It’s different here. We in Henan have a lot of people who come out to do business together, and we have visited a lot of places. Everyone has experience. If you make money in some places in the south, you have to run home quickly, or there may be some black forces I'll be watching you anytime. In those places, you have to turn around to see if anyone is watching you when you go to the toilet with money. We have also been to the Northeast, where you outsiders want to make money at his door. It starts to squeeze you, but in the end you still can’t stay. Many places in rural Henan are poor, and it’s not easy to run out to do business and make some money. What would you do if you encounter the above situations? You have to go back home. In the past few years, a group of fellow villagers who went out to do business with me basically did not stay in any place. Only in Changshu, our group of people almost all took root. You ask how many people from Henan are doing business in Changshu now? There are about 1,300 to 400 people in Shangqiu County where I live, of which 2 to 300 are clothing business owners with stalls and stores, and another 1,000 Many people are selling vegetables and opening small restaurants around the clothing city. Most of these people are brought by me. Now there are 20 merchants in Shangqiu alone who have bought houses in Changshu City and put their homes They are all settled here. Ask why? It’s good here. Changshu is a place of prosperity. In the past, it was unthinkable for us Henan people to settle here. At that time, we Henan people were only qualified to come here to beg for food. It is different now. We have made money here and have our own home. If you say I don’t want to thank Changshu people from the bottom of my heart, who else should I thank? They have opened a market and created two 'Paradise': one is a 'paradise' for making money, and the other is a 'paradise' for living and working in peace and contentment. Let's just talk about me. In the past, I couldn't even imagine that my children could go to the "Noble School" in Wuxi City. Now my two All the children have entered, last year. I paid 60,000 yuan at once, and I have to pay tens of thousands of yuan in tuition and miscellaneous fees every year. It’s nothing, I think it’s a good deal, and things that were undreamed of in the past have now become reality. What's not worth it? You ask if I've been here all my life? Of course. Not only me, but also the next generation will take root here forever. Changshu is now my hometown. It can make money here. The locals don’t bully us, and the living conditions are good. I make my home hereWhat could be better than this? " These are the words that Henan boss Ge Xiaofeng wanted to say after chasing me.These words of his were indeed touching, and I think even Changshu people would burst into tears when they heard them.In fact, everyone in Changshu understands that if what you offer is not a heart, it will be extremely difficult to keep any wanderer from a foreign land, be it rich or poor.However, Changshu people did it today.They did it in the socialist market economic activities carried out in accordance with Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory.It is not only foreigners like Ge Xiaofeng who are educated about this matter, but also Changshu people themselves. I think it should be a kind of self-education in a non-general sense.For thousands of years, due to natural differences in regions, ethnic groups or tribes or even countries in rich lands have always excluded those poor people from poor natural conditions.Such ethnic, cultural, traditional and psychological differences constitute the habit of rich countries rejecting poor countries, rich lands rejecting poor lands, and rich people rejecting poor people, which is a common problem in human society.Such a problem, whether you admit it or not, it also exists in China, even today.However, from the fact that Ge Xiaofeng, the boss of Henan Province, and a group of people around him have successfully migrated from a place with backward natural conditions to Changshu, a rich land, we should be delighted to feel that China's ongoing socialist market economic revolution has brought not only great benefits to the Chinese nation. It is not only prosperity in material life, but also may be historical progress including great integration of nationalities. It should be pointed out that Changshu people's opening of the Changshu market not only attracts Henan people who have made a fortune in Changshu and took root in Changshu, but more importantly, those who come to Changshu and pass through Changshu. The hard-working "bees" who harvested "nectar" in this market and returned to themselves to brew more "honey juice"... There is a saying that a garden without bees is not a good garden.I think that a garden without honey is not a good garden.The Changshu clothing market can attract businessmen from all over the country to flock here. The most important reason is that the clothing wholesaled here is stable and profitable.During the interview, I conducted a detailed investigation on this issue with various businessmen from other places. The result was that 100% of the merchants told me that the profit margin of the commodities wholesaled from Changshu Garment City can be guaranteed at 30% at any time. about.Such a "anytime" contains many seemingly simple but not easy contents, and it shows the "three-dimensional" advantage of the product price there. Commodity prices have always been an important factor in determining the prosperity and decline of a trading market. For clothing products at any time, any space, any place, as long as you do not have any of the conditions of direct wholesale, direct raw material origin, direct production and processing, you will never be able to compete with the Changshu market.It is almost hard to find a place like Changshu, which not only has the geographical advantage of being located between the north and the south of China, but also is a wholesale place with first-class facilities, a place where cotton spinning raw materials are produced, and a place with the highest level of garment processing and production for thousands of years.However, experts in the clothing industry say that this is only the two major advantages of the time and location that contributed to the prosperity of the Changshu market, and there is another factor that may be the most important and the most lacking in the market in other places, that is, "people and harmony". "Two words. The word "renhe" expressed by Changshu people in running the market includes two important aspects, namely policy tolerance and psychological tolerance. When I asked the leaders of the municipal party committee why they were able to do this, they believed that: for a market, policy will determine everything.What kind of policy there is what kind of market.In recent years, with the continuous deepening of reform and opening up and the continuous development of the economy, there has been a boom in the business market in almost all places, but there are not many that have really done well and can persist.One of the important reasons is that some regions are too strict and meticulous in the management of the market, even violating the laws of market economy, which leads to the result of being vigorous today and closing down tomorrow.However, tens of thousands of customers doing business in Changshu reported that this kind of situation has never happened here.The merchants are most satisfied with this point that the Changshu clothing market has been implementing the principle of acting in accordance with the laws of the market economy from the beginning to the end, especially the thorough marketization of commodity prices: that is, the prices of producers and sellers are completely based on the market " Climate" decides for itself.There, no matter whether you are an individual or a collective, whether you are state-owned or a joint venture, the prices of all commodities entering the market are equally and unconditionally subject to market trends.Changshu clothing market is actually a clothing wholesale distribution center, and its retail sales only account for a few percent of the total turnover.The wholesalers in the Changshu market are almost all foreign merchants.That is to say, because it implements the freedom of market prices, it is these foreign merchants engaged in wholesale that really make money. Then, due to the implementation of complete freedom and deregulation of prices, what is the result it brings to Changshu people themselves?Bottom line: they're less profitable.Many people do not understand this, but it is true. I understand this fact only after I walked among Changshu people, and I admire the millions of Changshu people who sacrificed themselves for the prosperity of our socialist market from the bottom of my heart... It was a Sunday morning, around 4 o'clock, I left the hotel alone and walked towards the clothing city.At this time, Dongfang had just revealed its whiteness. I thought I got up early, and I intended to see the morning market transactions in the mall.As a result, I met several Changshu locals riding motorcycles and they were all ready to go home.I stopped one of them and asked why the transaction was closed so early? "It can't be too late. If it's later, I'll sell each piece of clothing for one yuan less." The owner said. "What's going on?" I asked. He said: "If it is later, there will be more people listed. If you compare goods, you can only sell for less." "Are there still several current prices in a day in a market here?" "Maybe you're not in business?" The owner of the cargo saw that I was confirmed, and sat down to chat with me intentionally.He said that it is very difficult for people who produce clothing on the Changshu site to make money because the competition is too fierce.Almost every household here is a garment factory of different sizes. Because the price in the market is free, people who produce garments want to sell their products as soon as possible, at a good price, and quickly turn over funds.This creates competition for customers.Didn't you just ask me why I sold the goods so early?That is to win customers.It's late and no one wants your goods, won't you be miserable?He said that he is a small family, and the goods produced every day have to be sold in the market, while those large producers directly receive customers to their homes.When you go to the market, you have to pay attention to the time period, and merchants from other places usually ship out on the same day of purchase.Those who are near have a car and leave directly, and those who are far away catch the early morning bus to check in.Therefore, our sellers have to catch up with the time before their transportation, so that we can get a slightly better price, otherwise we will not be able to raise the price at noon or afternoon. I asked him what kind of clothing he was selling, and he said it was children's clothing. "How much is one piece?" "8 yuan." "So cheap? Is there any profit to make?" "Basically no." "No way, what are you doing with it if there is no profit?" "In Changshu we all rely on making clothes for a living. Why don't you do this?" He said that he was telling the truth when he said there was no profit. If you don't believe me, you can visit his home to see it. I asked how this is no profit? It is also the reason why the price is liberalized in the market.He said: "The cost of making a small children's clothing is 7 yuan, and an additional one is the production cost. Isn't this no profit? If you talk about profits, they will all go to the wholesalers and sellers. It's like a piece of children's clothing." Wholesalers bought 8 yuan from me and shipped it to other places and transferred it to the seller. Generally, there is always an additional three to five yuan. This wholesaler will not be less than 30% of the profit after removing various expenses. And 8 yuan from Changshu A piece of children's clothing from Qianbai is at least 15 yuan in the hands of consumers... Are you from Beijing? Hey, your profits are even greater on our clothing. The same jacket can only be sold in Changshu. 45 yuan, but it costs 120 to 150 miles in Beijing shopping malls!" "The price difference between production and sales is so big, why don't you raise the price, and the profit will come out?" He smiled at me and said: "You don't understand this. It is impossible for any new style or new product in Changshu to raise the price very high. Even if it is possible to take a risk sometimes, it will be sold within three to five days. will fall back." "Why is that?" "Free competition is fierce. You may have heard that as long as a new product appears in the market here, as long as a kind of clothing can be sold at a good price, within three to five days, this style of clothing will overwhelm the entire market If it appears, the previous good price will be wiped out. "Thirty percent of Maori is enough to eat, and seven percent of Maori is starving to death." This sentence is a well-known saying in our Changshu clothing industry. Anyone who violates it may eat it Big loss. Its central meaning is that if you want to do business well here, you must adopt the tactic of small profits but quick turnover. If you violate it, you may eat a fat baby for a while, but in the end it is you who suffers. It’s not like we didn’t have people like this in the beginning, including those big companies. They have released a new product and style. After it is put on the market, each product may have a few yuan or more than the usual profit. At this time, according to the You can’t do this according to the rules, why do you ask? The reason is too simple, almost 90% of the clothing manufacturers in Changshu are farmers, and they generally don’t know how to design clothing styles independently. It is not necessary or cost-effective for small and medium-sized households like us to design new products by ourselves. Besides, the market is changing so fast, and powerful manufacturers like 'Qiuyan' and 'Santa Fe' can spend a day We have to launch several new products to the market, and they have professional senior technical personnel. Can we keep up with them? No. We just learn from them. So over the years, most of our farmers in Changshu Although I don’t design clothing independently, I know which product looks good and which product doesn’t sell well. At the same time, in the process of following others for a long time, I have improved my own set of skills, which is a strong imitation force .If you bring me a Pierre Cardin dress, we can copy it in a few days, and it looks exactly the same. Do you believe it?" I laughed and said, "Why are there so many counterfeit and shoddy products in the market now, probably because there are too many copy masters like you?" The Changshu man waved his hands again and again, saying that you are completely wrong.He said that none of them in Changshu would do such a thing.He explained that people in Changshu would not do fake things like Pierre Cardin, and not all local business people are so honest, in the final analysis, it is because of the influence of the clothing market and its prices.You think, to make a high-end garment like Pierre Cardin, the material and workmanship will be very large, and the cost of such a garment must be very high.You are a farmer, even if you take out an item that is exactly the same as Pierre Cardin, but people still treat you as an ordinary clothing worth tens of dollars and ask you for the price, isn’t it you who suffer the most?Having said that, there are plenty of people in Changshu who can make clothing of the quality of Pierre Cardin.It's just that our unique market price here determines that we will only suffer losses if we make that kind of product and do that kind of counterfeit thing, so we don't do it.Besides, we Changshu people also have self-esteem. Isn’t your “Hongdu Fashion” in Beijing also the handicraft of our Changshu “little tailor” Tian Atong?In my opinion, the workmanship of the "Qiu Yan" and other garments produced here is no worse than that of foreign famous brands like Pierre Cardin.People in your big cities are a little superstitious about foreign goods, but how much is the price difference between foreign goods and our "local" goods?several times!Dozens of times!And you may also know that foreign clothing like Pierre Cardin in the Chinese market is actually produced in China, made by us Chinese ourselves, and the price is dozens of times just because of a famous brand label went to the ground.It's been a long time, and people in big cities have come to understand a little bit. Now big shopping malls in Beijing and Shanghai come to Changshu to buy goods. Isn't this a good explanation?To put it bluntly, what do most of us Chinese wear in clothing?Isn't it just newer styles, better workmanship, and cheaper prices, and we in Changshu have all these three points. It really surprised me that a farmer clothing merchant could have such an incisive "apparel market view" and clothing marketing theory.However, what surprised me even more was the valuable special contribution made by Changshu people in supporting and maintaining the free price of the clothing market, which is not seen or thought of by 1.2 billion beneficiaries every year. 常熟服装城内的“王府井”——招商场总经理马盛元给我讲起了一件事。有一日，乔石同志到他的商场视察，见这儿同样一件衣服，可比北京要出奇地便宜。于是乔石同志就问，为什么这儿的服装卖得这么便宜？马总说，这儿的服装之所以便宜，是因为实行市场自由价格后出现激烈的竞争，生产服装者的利润就是劳动力本身，而劳动力本身计入生产者的利润之后，就形成了常熟市场上的服装价格大大低于其他市场的现象。另外，加上常熟又占有棉纺原料产地和产品直接生产地的优势，这就构成了到这儿批发和购买服装总是能赚钱的根本所在。 劳动力等于生产利润——这就是常熟人民在开拓市场经济的征程上为我们所作的特殊贡献。 本来，作为一个地区的一个市场，当地行政部门为了维护当地的利益，是可以出面对市场价格作一定干预的。比如某一种服装在某一个季节，当地有关部门可以定出一个统一的价格来对待外来客商，这样就能使生产者的利润在一定额度上有了绝对保证。可是常熟没这样做。Why?服装城的负责人坦诚地表示：既然是搞市场经济，就不能搞地方保护主义。我们常熟服装市场实行的是自由价格，完全依靠市场机制来调节，这对服装原料、加工和生产者的我们常熟人而言，可能每出售一件服装、每批发一个产品，少了一块或几块钱的收入，然而我们对社会却多了一份贡献，尤其是对繁荣市场起了积极作用。对这样的利益牺牲，我们常熟人感到值得。与其把河塘里的鱼都捞尽，倒不如将它放入活水里自由地养大……这就是常熟人面对自由价格的冲击所坚持的态度。 到现在我终于明白了那位本地货主为什么说“没有利润”的真实涵义。其实，亏本生意是没人做的，常熟人所说的“没有利润”，在一定意义上是对的。作为商品，他们从家里或者从国营、集体厂里拿出的服装就以生产成本投入到市场，确实“没了利润”。但另一个方面，正是他们以仅有的与生产成本等同的价格，将产品投入到流通领域，才确保了市场价格的绝对优势。而一个繁荣、稳定的市场同时又反过来促进了生产者所从事的产业的空前繁荣与持久稳定。 常熟常熟，常种常熟——这个道理，大概只有聪明、精明、高明的常熟人才对此最有深谙的理解与实践。 在乡村采访时，我问一位个体服装生产者从事了多少年服装生意。他说打服装城开张到现在他一直没停过。我又问他的服装从生产出来到销售完每件平均赚多少钱？他说1到5元。我问为啥不多赚点？他说常熟市场是一个相当稳定的市场，尤其是价格。非特殊情况下不会出现某一种商品持久地上扬。同样，只要跟着潮势走，你也不可能一直坐背水。如果你想赚大钱，那或者投入大，或者得动脑研究和推出新产品。如果这两条哪一条都不占，那你就得提高和改进劳动技能，尽可能地降低劳动成本，否则就没有路。他说他10年来之所以还在做服装，靠的就是最后一条路，即努力提高自身的劳动生产能力。 “10年前我带着妻子女儿3个人一起干，一天最多也就生产十几件衣服。现在我一天至少要出产二三百件。靠的就是技术与设备的提高。”老板很自豪地领我参观他用做服装生意赚来的钱而修起的一幢别墅。在常熟，像这样靠双手勤劳致富的大有人在。我想这应该算作是他们在市场经济中所作牺牲的一种回报吧。 正当我和常熟老乡谈得十分投机时，一位操着外地口音的老板急匆匆地前来找他。于是常熟老乡很抱歉地说对不起，他必须马上去帮一下忙。我问什么事？他说他的邻居——这位浙江老板的厂里出了毛病得去看看。浙江老板的厂怎么在这里？常熟人为啥如此热心地对待冲到自己家门口抢饭碗的外地客商呢？……一连串百思不解的问题萦绕在我的脑海中。等老乡回来，我终于弄明白了怎么回事。 这位常熟老乡与浙江老板是在生意中认识的。那是5年前的事，当时这位姓陆的浙江老板初来常熟，不摸门，进货时没直接找当地货主，半途被一位沈阳来的奸商给骗走了十几万元的货款。正当陆老板走投无路时，事情被我采访的这位常熟老乡知道了，他把浙江人接到自己家，安慰说你先不要着急，我这儿正好有一批货你先拿去。浙江老板说我现在连回家的路费都拿不出了，哪还有啥本钱进你货嘛。常熟老乡说，我的这批货你只管拿去再说，货款用不着现在就付，等你回浙江把货卖掉给也不迟。当天他帮助把货托运妥当，并掏钱买了车票将浙江陆老板送上车。几天后，浙江陆老板风尘仆仆赶回常熟，一见帮助他的常熟老板就“扑通”一下跪在地上，泣不成声地说道：“您是我的救命恩人……”俩人从此成了好朋友。后来浙江陆老板在常熟发了大财，又在当地买下了一座服装厂。由于陆老板是外地人，加上对服装生产并不在行，平时一有事总要请他的常熟好友帮这帮那。而每逢此时常熟老乡也总不厌其烦地进行各种指导，为此耽误了不少自己的生意。于是就有人说是你帮浙江老板发了大财，现在该人家重谢你的时候了，你不敲他十万八万的？这位常熟老乡摇摇头说，别人有难帮一把是应该的，不管他是外地人还是本地人，做了好事再去敲人家的竹杠，这不是我们常熟人做的事。后来有一次，那位陆老板真的拿了10万元钱要谢他的恩人。可人家常熟人就是不收，说你们外地人现在能在我们这儿办工厂赚大钱，就说明咱常熟有魅力，引来了“金凤凰”，作为常熟人，这就足够了。 “瞧人家常熟人啥修养？我不在这样天时、地利、人和的地方做生意还到哪个地方？”浙江陆老板听说我是来采访的，非要与我见一面，并不时这样说道。 有一天我正在采访服装城办事处陆关生主任，半途他被银行的一个会议叫走了。“你也去吧，这个会很特殊，有不少外地在常熟做生意的大老板都去。”陆主任的话，无疑引起了我的兴趣，于是便跟他进了一家宾馆的会议室。 走进会议室，见里面座无虚席，原来是市农业银行的行长们在此举行一个特别主题的会，叫做“星级客户”恳谈会。开始我并不明白这“星级客户”是什么概念，后来经银行行长一介绍才得以弄清楚。所谓的“星级客户”指的是在服装城内的农行办事处单户存款在50万元以上的存款户，这是常熟农行给市场大户的一个特别荣誉称号。我没有调查在全国金融系统是否有过这样的先例，但常熟农行的做法令我深为佩服。他们想客商所想，急客商所急的行动，真可谓把工作做绝了。在此次恳谈会上，农行行长在一片赞扬声中，又向来自全国各地的那些口袋里装满钱的大客商们，做出新的三项承诺：延长营业时间，由过去的12小时变成24小时服务；凡“星级客户”享受贷款优先；经商中发生金融问题紧急时可直接找行长…… 主人召开这次会议对我和到会的那些客商们都是在无准备的情况下进行的，看不出半点的做作。正是因为这一点，连我这个跟常熟银行无任何关系的人，听了行长的一项项承诺后，心头不知咋的也好一阵热乎乎的感觉。 散会时，我找了一位福建客商请他谈谈对当地银行过去和现在的种种做法的直接感受。因为这位老板当时就要去交易一笔生意，他只在我的采访本上匆匆写了八个字：“肝胆相照，坚强后盾”。 “作家同志，我指的不单是常熟银行……”已走出了很远，这位福建老板回过头对我说。他后面的话没说完，但我明白其意，并更明白其意的分量。 从服装城形成的那天起，在市委、市政府的统一领导下，工商、交通、公安、金融等那些以往被广大个体经营者称为“见了就怕”的管理部门，放下架子，坚持不懈地以服务者的形象和服务者的姿态出现在市场、出现在经营者之中。他们宣传的是“你经商，我欢迎；你赚钱，我收税；你困难，我帮助；你亏本，我同情；你违法，我查处”的办场原则。他们倡导的是“实行宽容政策，创造宽松环境；上下齐抓共管，不留文明死角”的工作标准。他们力求的是“确保客商进得来、留得住、赚得着、睡得稳……”的完善服务。而仅仅上面这三句话，要把它做到做好，就足见其苦心了。然而服装市场的经营者们说：这里的管理部门说的与做的确实一样。 你不妨试一下去工商、税务部门办套营业手续，你会发现只须半天时间就全能办完。 你不妨试一下在这客商云集的庞大市场里报次案，你会发现不出三五分钟，商场的保安员、“110”警务站的快速行动干警会即刻出现在你面前。 你不妨试一下想存一笔钱，这里的33个储蓄所你可举步即至…… 在一个市场，赚钱者和被赚钱者、管理者与被管理者通常是矛盾和对立的。在我们所知和不知的许多本来不错的市场，搞到后来慢慢衰落与消失了的主要原因，常常就是出在赚钱者和被赚钱者、管理者与被管理者之间的这种矛盾和对立上。常熟服装城并非不是没有这种矛盾和对立，然而常熟人用自己的心和真诚彻底化解了这种矛盾与对立，把在市场商业行为中单纯的相互赚钱的关系，变成了相通互利的社会主义合作发展关系。 “市场至上，客商至上，服务至上。”服装城的主力市场、“招商场”总经理马盛元的话，掏出了他们在管理和对待市场与客商问题上取得成功的真谛。 以“招商场”为例，这个如今拥有好几个亿固定资产的服装城的“王府井”市场，是20年前的前任总经理顾邦君靠那么60万元借款，在湖泾村的“一亩三分地”上一步一步滚起来的超级商场，从创建开始到今天，一直坚持着“招徕商贾，荟萃信息；搞活流通，服务城乡；立足本市，面向全国”的办场宗旨。现今也已当了六七年“老总”的马盛元告诉我，商场现在的实际固定资产约为4个亿，每年“招商场”有2000万元的利润。我一听，心想当这样的老板实在可以高枕无忧了。但马盛元却说，要是我商场的账上钱特别多，我就有些睡不着觉，因为这就说明我办市场的工作出现了问题。你想，我的钱是办市场赚来的，严格说，是因为每天有那么几万十几万来自全国各地的老板们在这儿经商才使我们有了钱，而要是我们钱多了，存在银行里不动，不就说明我们市场的发展及各项服务工作没做好没做周全吗？ “商界有句'不会赚钱的老板存钱，会赚钱的老板用钱'，说的是不是与你一个意思？”我忽然想起哪本书上有这样一句话，便请教起马总。他说你只说对了一半，商界确有一批会赚钱的老板很少把资金存在银行不动，他们努力把赚来的钱投进去是为了自己赚更多更大的钱。但对我们“招商场”就不全是这样了。市场市场，为的是让客商们有经商之市，有赚钱之场。如果办市场的人不把眼光放在如何办好市场，而把目光只盯在自己怎样赚钱上，那这个市场必衰无疑。“当然，我也用不着给自己涂脂抹粉。说我们一点不想赚钱也是假，但最重要最根本的是首先要把市场办好。这个好不是你自己说的，也不是一两个客商一两篇报道说好就好，要看整体，要看是不是留住了客商，是不是绝大多数的经商者赚到钱了，而且还要看赚钱是不是能永久能升值”。 又是一个新鲜观点。我问：“什么情况下赚的钱能永久能升值呀？” “那就得看这个市场是否有长久的寿命，是否有超越于别人的足够优势。” “如果做到了这两点，又如何来理解让客商赚永久钱赚升值钱？特别是升值钱，怎么个升值法？” “永久的市场对客商来说就可以赚到永久的钱。我们常熟服装城自创建以来10年有余，现在的几万个老板十几万个批发商也基本上一直是固定的，特别是对我们本地以及周围地区的几十万农民服装生产商，他们的经济收入几乎是与服装市场共命运。服装市场永久，他们的经济也永久；反过来说，他们的服装和生产业的永久，也促进了服装市场的永久。至于说到赚升值钱，这要看市场本身的发展和内部的运行机制。在我们常熟服装城开办的十几年间，所有经商者凡租赁市场摊位和门市的基本都是年年经营赚钱、摊位和门市也年年升值……”马盛元的这一番解释，方令我对常熟市场有了更深一层的了解。 马盛元告诉我，他还曾因自己的年终奖太多而睡不着过。按他作为一个年创收利润2000多万元的商场总经理，他每年可以拿十几万元的奖金，但马盛元当“老总”六七年中从没拿过这么多。他这样解释自己的行为：一、如果我拿了，心里不平衡，我是个党员。二、如果我拿了，下面那么多经理、科长怎么办？三、如果我拿了，是不是说明我的市场各项工作都做得无可挑剔了？事实不是这样，市场管理上还有很多事要做……所以我不能拿。 这就是一个常熟农民市场管理者的胸怀。 在我采访的那些日子里，亲眼目睹了这样一批有头脑、有干劲、有远见、有胸怀的市场管理者与开拓进取者的风采—— 一个周日的早晨，我无意在商场碰到了徐国强书记。我问他为什么假日都不休息，他说一到上班时间就有许多事推着你去干，周日就有了些空，一空便想下来找干部找客商们聊聊，一聊，事情就出来了，那又得逼你去干…… 市场每天早6点开张，晚上6点关张。商城各部门的管理人员和服务人员也都得从早到晚地跟着商市的时间表走。市场经理们这样说，在他们的日程表上从来就没有星期天、节假日，360天，天天两班倒早已是他们的习惯。 为了给服装城、给万千商贾创造一个舒适的卫生环境，市委书记、市长等市领导班子成员亲自坐镇，组织指挥…… ... 可以有一百个这样的镜头。可以有一百个这样的人物。所有这样的镜头和人物，都是在做一件共同的事，那就是建设市场，发展市场。20年来，常熟人为了这样一件事，他们投入了十几个亿的资金，建起了一个以服装、针织、布匹、小商品市场为主体，融新兴产业、经济交往、房地产业、金融流通、旅游服务、交通运输为一体的现代化“城中城”—— 这个“城中城”，有200条水陆线路，每天联结着除西藏外的全国所有省市区的2000多个城乡商业网点；—— 这个“城中城”，有30多个各具特色、各具规模的专业市场，每天在它的内部和周边完成着日创4000万元的贸易额；—— 这个“城中城”，有千家农户舍出自己的家园，有万台织机敞开自己的胸怀，每天安顿和留住了20多万经商的外地老板与打工妹…… 有一位台商告诉我，前年底他在旅店丢失了证件、护照和钱物，服装城的公安人员仅用半小时就在苏州车站将小偷抓获。这里装备精良、措施严密的保安系统令他来此投资与经商十分放心。 有一位浙江客商告诉我，那年广州的一位老板与他发生一笔货款纠纷，无奈中他求助工商局的同志。工商局的同志二话没说，竟几下南方帮助把货款如数追回。 有一位安徽的“计生”干部告诉我，她所在的县有几万名育龄妇女在外打工，如何做好这些长年在外的“超生游击队员”的计划生育工作，是最令她和政府头疼的事。可她对在常熟市场上的数百名她所在县的育龄妇女十分放心，原因是常熟服装城里的计划生育工作替他们做得比自己还好。而服装城的“计生”干部丁巧玲介绍说，她管辖的12000多名在此经商的育龄妇女，自1992年来，年年保持计划生育率的100％和节育率的95％以上符合政策规定。她仅讲了一个她与同事为了让一位河南女客商做手术，亲自下厨房，上医院当“保姆”近一个月的经历，好不催人泪下…… 常熟人所做的这一切，都是为了创造一个让人放心、让人满意的赚钱与经商的好环境。而有了一个好的环境，便有了正如徐国强书记给市场下的定义那样：能赚钱+环境好=市场繁荣。