Chapter 149, 1984 - Tang Mingmei's Clothing Store Opens...

"Grandma, I think you might become a great calligrapher in the future."

Tang Mingli took Madam Fu's arm and couldn't help but say these words.

Madam Fu paused, looked at her, and smiled, "You want me to become a calligrapher?"

"It's not that I hope you can, it's that I believe you can become one."

These two are not the same; she didn't want to put pressure on her grandmother.

But Madam Fu interpreted it as her granddaughter-in-law's expectation of her.

Well, maybe she really should try harder. There are plenty of examples in history of people achieving great things later in life.

She patted Tang Mingli's hand and said, "Let's work hard together."

Tang Mingli nodded; she did indeed need to work hard.

"It's a deal then, no complaining allowed."

Tang Mingli smiled, "I won't complain."

How can practicing calligraphy be bitter?

She has been practicing at home for several years.

She just didn't expect that her grandmother's efforts would be like this.

The next day, while she was still asleep, her grandmother knocked on the door.

She thought she had overslept again, scratching her head and sighing, "I don't know what happened, last night felt so short. I feel like I only slept for seven or eight hours, how come it's already noon?"

Looking at her adorable, slightly confused granddaughter-in-law, Madam Fu smiled and said, "Silly child, it's not even noon yet."

Tang Mingli paused in her scratching motion.

Why would Grandma come upstairs to knock on the door before noon?

Madam Fu's next words cleared up her confusion.

"Didn't we agree to work together? I've made a plan..."

While urging Tang Mingli to wash up, Madam Fu followed behind and explained her plans.

Tang Mingli brushed her teeth, her heart growing colder with each word she heard.

According to Grandma's plan, from now on, every morning from eight to ten o'clock and every afternoon from three to five o'clock will be calligraphy practice time.

The reason for setting aside a few hours at noon was because she has a habit of taking a nap.

Looking at her grandmother, who was full of fighting spirit, she couldn't bring herself to say anything discouraging. She could only laugh and cry at the same time and say, "Grandma, you've made such a good arrangement."

However, the plan changed after only two days.

Tang Mingmei's shop opened, and she invited Tang Mingli and the Fu family.

Since Mr. Fu was in the army and Mrs. Fu had to work, and Mr. Fu didn't want to join in the fun, Tang Mingli and Mrs. Fu became the representatives.

Tang Mingmei's shop is located in the Xicheng District, a location that certainly can't compare to the location where Fu Ci started his business, Liren Clothing. But perhaps because more and more people are setting up stalls and selling goods here in the last two years, it has accumulated quite a bit of popularity.

After observing the flow of people for a while, Tang Mingli felt that Tang Mingmei's choice of this location was reasonable, and couldn't help but praise her.

This was the first time Tang Mingmei had received such a serious compliment from her cousin, and she felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

"This is the first time you've ever complimented me."

"Really?" Tang Mingli was surprised.

The original owner lived with his uncle's family for several years, but never uttered a single word of praise.

Tang Mingmei nodded and reflected, "But it was also my own fault. I used to always give you a sour look."

Tang Mingli chuckled, "I don't remember anything from the past."

"That's because you're so generous," Tang Mingmei said with deep emotion.

During the chat, another guest entered, and Tang Mingmei went forward to greet them.

Tang Mingli retreated into the shop and sat next to Madam Fu, watching her busy cousin and her daughter.

Madam Fu was also observing. Although she didn't understand business, seeing so many customers coming in one after another in no time, she said to Tang Mingli, "Your cousin and aunt are quite good at doing business."

Tang Mingli agreed, but it was also an opportunity provided by the times.

After a while, Tang Mingmei walked up to Tang Mingli and Madam Fu, looking apologetic, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect to be so busy on the first day of business. I thought that we would just pray to the gods at the auspicious time and that would be it."

Tang Mingli smiled and said, "Being busy is a good thing. Good business on the first day of opening is a good omen. You should keep busy. We can sit here, have food and drinks, and watch the excitement."

"Okay, you guys sit down for a while. My dad will bring the kids over for lunch, and we'll have lunch together."

Tang Mingli nodded: "Go ahead and do what you need to do."

The reason I say that is because another customer has come in.

The constant stream of customers throughout the morning reassured Tang Mingmei and Li Hong.

To open this store, he not only invested the money he had earned from setting up a street stall over the past year, but also took out his savings accumulated over the decades. It was a desperate gamble.

As it was almost lunchtime and the streets were getting quieter, Tang Mingmei finally had time to sit down and have a sip of water. She casually remarked, "I wonder what time it is now."

Tang Mingli raised her hand to look at her watch and told her, "It's eleven o'clock."

"It's already this late, why hasn't my dad come yet?" Tang Mingmei said, glancing towards the door.

Li Hong guessed, "Xin'er might have encountered something fun on the way and was having a great time, which delayed her. No worries, we'll just wait."

Li Xin has reached an age where she is curious about everything in the outside world. Whenever she is taken out, she can sit there for a long time out of curiosity if she sees ants carrying food.

When talking about her daughter, Tang Mingmei couldn't help but smile.

My daughter is becoming more and more lively and adorable.

Seeing her daughter like this, she was incredibly glad she had insisted on divorcing him back then. Who knows what kind of personality she would have developed if she had grown up in an environment like the Li family.

In their family, the maternal grandparents doted on him like a precious jewel. If he were in the Li family, given Li Dazhu's parents' patriarchal nature, they certainly wouldn't treat the child well; they would probably beat and scold him every day.

Even just imagining it made Tang Mingmei grit her teeth in hatred.

But sometimes things are just that mysterious. Just when she thought of the Li family, members of the Li family happened to appear in her shop.

Approaching her was Li Baohua, heavily pregnant, accompanied by Deng Qingyuan, who cautiously reminded her to be careful.

Li Baohua felt a sweet warmth in her heart at her husband's concern and smiled happily, "Don't worry, I'm not a child. I always watch where I'm going. You've been so nervous for months, how come you still haven't relaxed?"

Deng Qingyuan smiled helplessly.

He wanted to, but seeing her belly getting bigger and bigger, he became even more nervous, afraid that she might accidentally fall.

Tang Mingmei witnessed this scene and sighed, "Li Baohua has found a good man."

Although I was unhappy, and for a moment I wanted to kick them out, when you're in business, you can't be picky about your customers.

Tang Mingmei quickly adjusted her mindset and stopped her mother, who was preparing to get up with a cold face, indicating that she should handle the matter.

She stood up and walked towards Li Baohua and Deng Qingyuan.

The two men also saw her, and both were stunned.

Li Baohua, in particular, suddenly wondered if Tang Mingmei owned this clothing store.

As soon as I thought that, I reflexively denied it in my mind.

How could that be? Tang Mingmei, who cherishes her job at the brown sugar factory, would never give up a stable government job to risk opening a self-financing clothing store.

It's probably just a coincidence that I appeared here.

However, when Tang Mingmei greeted her and asked what clothes she wanted to buy, Li Baohua's self-deception was shattered.

She asked incredulously, "This clothing store is yours?"

Tang Mingmei smiled and replied, "Yes, I own this clothing store."

"What about your job at the brown sugar factory?"

"I'm quitting."

"You actually quit your secure job?" Li Baohua's voice involuntarily became sharp.

Upon hearing the words "iron rice bowl," Tang Mingmei couldn't help but laugh.

"We can't even pay wages, so what's the point of talking about being a loyal friend?"

She used to think the same way: having a government job meant that even if she couldn't become rich and powerful, she could still live a peaceful life.

But in the end, you find that things aren't always as you think they are.

The only person you can truly rely on is yourself.

Parents will grow old, and children will grow up and leave home.

As for work, even in a government-affiliated institution, even if you aren't fired, you might encounter situations where the business is not performing well and salaries cannot be paid, forcing you to find other ways to survive.

So what is a secure job? Your own job is your own secure job.

Li Baohua was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a while.

Is the person in front of me still the same Tang Mingmei who once cherished her job at the state-owned factory?

Seeing that Li Baohua was standing there silently, as if she were in a daze, Tang Mingmei asked, "Do you still want to look at the clothes?"

Li Baohua subconsciously replied, "I saw it..."

He choked up as he spoke.

I originally came in to take a look and pick out a couple of looser-fitting clothes for myself.

But I'm not in the mood to watch it now.

So after pretending to look at it a few times, she made an excuse that there was no suitable one and left with her husband.

As soon as she stepped out of the shop, she couldn't help but say to her husband, "I never imagined that Tang Mingmei would have her own shop. Is setting up a street stall really that profitable?"

Deng Qingyuan could not answer this question.

Among the people he knew, there were others forced by life to set up street stalls, but business wasn't good. Forget making money, even breaking even was difficult.

"It must have been her cousin who gave her the money," Li Baohua murmured, convinced that her analysis was correct. "That must be it; her cousin's husband is very wealthy."

However, whether Tang Mingmei opened the shop on her own or with Tang Mingli's help, it made people somewhat envious.

So when she got home, Li Baohua couldn't sit still. While her husband went out to buy groceries, she also went out with her belly full.

She wanted to go back to her parents' home to tell them about Tang Mingmei managing the shop.

When they arrived, Li Dazhu happened to be resting at home.

Perfect timing, she can say it all at once now.

However, before she could even speak, her mother began to mock her.

"What wind was blowing outside today? It blew you here. Normally, if we bumped into each other on the street, we'd turn around and run away."

Li Baohua immediately retorted, "With your sharp and sarcastic manner, you should just turn around and leave."

Such ruthlessness left Li's mother deeply wounded.

"Li Baohua, you're increasingly disregarding me."

Li Baohua scoffed.

But never mind, she didn't want to argue with her mother; she hadn't come here to fight.

She said, "Alright, I don't want to argue with you. I came here today to tell you that your former daughter-in-law, Tang Mingmei, is doing better and better. She even opened her own clothing store."

"Who did you say?" Li Dazhu, who had been silent with a cold face, suddenly turned around and stared at Li Baohua with wide eyes. "Open a clothing store?"

Li Baohua repeated each word carefully: "I said, Tang Mingmei opened a clothing store, and business is booming."

She added that last sentence herself; it was just to annoy the older brother.