Chapter 13 Business

It is now mid-October, 1980.

In about a month, the first individual business license after the reform will be issued.

From then on, individual businesses will be officially legalized and formalized.

In fact, after various policies were opened up in the past two years, some people have already started doing business in the market.

Just like He Saijun’s tailor stall, and the two young men just now were selling wool.

Like them, they do it themselves, don't hire workers, and don't drive up prices, so no one cares about them. The worst that can happen is that the market will just come and ask about the situation and collect some management fees.

It’s just that after being closed off for so many years, many people can’t change their mindset for a while. They feel that doing business in the spotlight is definitely not as good as having a job, which is quite shameful.

Moreover, some things that happened in previous years are still vivid in my mind. Some fears are engraved in my bones, and even if I have an idea, I dare not act on it.

That is why many people with abilities and skills lost out on great opportunities. By the time they realized that the times had really changed and started to pay attention, the market had already been saturated.

In the previous life, the Meng family also did business.

My sister worked with my mother and opened a tailor shop in town.

That tailor shop was transferred from my aunt He Saijun.

Because He Saijun entered the industry early, he had already earned his first capital. He went to the city to buy a store and started a garment business. His goal was getting further and further away.

Of course, there were several tailor shops in the town at that time, and she couldn't make any money, so she had to find another way.

In the first two years after we started the business, my mother and sister had some ideas. They wanted to apply their embroidery skills to clothing making and create some unique features.

That’s right, not only sister Meng Changli can embroider, mother He Jinqiu can also.

My sister's craft was taught by my mother.

Her mother's craftsmanship came from her grandmother, Meng Shulan's great-grandmother.

The He family's ancestors were in the embroidery business for a period of time. All the ancestors in the family knew how to embroider, and there were also related ancestral teachings that had to be passed down from generation to generation.

However, by now, this craft is almost lost.

After all, people are starving to death, so who would have the time to buy cloth and learn embroidery?

Only Meng Shulan's grandmother was persistent and forced the girls in the family to learn it. Unfortunately, only the eldest sister He Jinqiu learned it well. The others, like He Saijun, could only make clothes and make buttonholes, but their embroidery was just at the average level.

Unlike He Saijun, his mother inherited some skills from her great-grandmother and passed on what she had learned to her very talented sister.

What the two have embroidered so far can be classified as works of art.

But it is so difficult to apply art into practice.

Not only is embroidery time-consuming, but in a village like this, it doesn't show its due value when used on clothes.

In the previous life, my mother and sister's ideas were quickly destroyed by reality.

Although everyone thought they were beautiful, not many people were willing to pay for them. In the end, they had to focus on making clothes and compete with several other companies.

The clothes made by my mother and sister are good, at least more carefully made and well-cut than those made by other families.

During those two years, the family business was doing pretty well.

But times are changing and society is progressing. In a few years, with the rapid development of the garment industry, traditional tailor shops that sell cloth and make clothes will eventually be eliminated by the times.

The Meng family's shop was open for three years, but it closed because fewer and fewer people wanted to make clothes.

Later, my mother returned to the village to farm, and my sister went to work in a noodle factory in the town.

At that time, Meng Shulan was working as a Chinese teacher in a high school in the city, earning a meager salary and knowing nothing about business.

It was not until later that she married Han Ning and was transferred to the Cultural Center as a planner through her connections there. She came into contact with more people and things, and only then did she realize that some things, when taken to the extreme, can become soul treasures.

Meng Shulan also remembers that during the years when she was sick and lying in bed, the authorities paid more and more attention to these cultural heritages, and many policies began to support these industries.

At that time, Meng Shulan also told her mother and sister.

Unfortunately, at that time, one of my mother's eyes could no longer see clearly, and my sister had two fingers twisted off by the noodle-pressing machine, so she couldn't even hold a needle.

Such a good craft was ruthlessly buried by fate.

After being reborn, Meng Shulan must save the world, at least not let her sister and mother waste what they learned when they were young.

So, she wants to open a store, and open it now.

Opening a shop with embroidery skills? He Jinqiu and Meng Changli looked at each other, neither of them quite understood what Meng Shulan meant.

Meng Changli said: "Shulan, I can embroider, but I just embroider some clothes to make them look better. How can I make a business out of this? Can I embroider clothes for others? Can I make money from this? It's very time-consuming."

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This shirt she was making for her sister was something she had been preparing for two months ago. She worked on it whenever she had time and was so busy that she only finished embroidering it two days ago.

He Jinqiu also sighed and said, "Yes, this is troublesome. In the past, the He family's ancestors embroidered clothes for the young ladies and wives of wealthy families, and only those people could afford it. Now, it's no longer that society. People dress in a simple and plain way. Who would still do this?"

Meng Changli took over the conversation again, "Besides, is it okay to do business now? Although no one cares if you set up a stall occasionally, but if you don't rely on the supply and marketing cooperative, you will be arrested if you do business on the street every time you go to the market!"

Meng Changli lowered her voice when she said this, for fear of being heard by others.

Meng Shulan said: "Sister, it's okay. I read in the newspaper that many places have started pilot projects. This year, individual businesses will resume. By then, you can apply for licenses and pay taxes normally, and you can also ask for help. You are a legal businessman."

There are only a few months left this year.

That means this will be coming soon!

Meng Changli was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Really?"

Meng Shulan: "That's for sure. Our teacher also said that."

Meng Changli believed this, after all, her sister was well-educated and knew a lot.

But……

"Since the higher-ups have given the go-ahead, it's fine to do something as long as we can make money. But how can we start this business? Can we just set up a stall and help people embroider handkerchiefs?"

Meng Shulan: "Let's open a clothing store first."

"Ready-made clothes? Does it mean making clothes?" He Jinqiu was a little unfamiliar with this new word.

Meng Shulan nodded.

Hearing that it was a clothing business, He Jinqiu immediately shook his head, "That's not good. Your aunt has already opened a business in town. If we come here to steal her business, we will cause gossip."

People in the countryside are like this. Whatever you do, everyone in the village knows about it, and everyone cares about their reputation.

It was the same in the previous life. When my mother and sister saw other people making money by doing business, they had thoughts in this regard. However, because my aunt was around, they were afraid of what others would say, so they never took action. They only took over when my aunt could no longer make money.

Meng Shulan shook her head, "Mom, we make ready-made clothes, which is different from selling cloth and making clothes."

(End of this chapter)