Chapter 103 University Graduation
Wen Jiajia graduated from university in 1981.
She was 28 years old that year, and Wen Chun and Wen Xuan were already 13 years old. They had graduated from elementary school and entered junior high school two years ago.
They were considered to be a relatively lucky class because the year they graduated from elementary school, Hai City began to implement a six-year elementary school system.
She only escaped primary school but not secondary school. The original 522 became 633. Wen Jiajia thought she could graduate at the same time as them, but who knew she would have to study for another year.
The two sisters are now studying in the affiliated high school, and are still inseparable from Wen Jiajia's university circle.
Since they entered junior high school, my aunt has had her life much easier. They can go to and from school by themselves every day, and my younger sister has also entered kindergarten, so my aunt has nothing to do but make money.
Zhong Huisheng does not make money from food. Wen Jiajia's idea of making salty dishes was rejected by her because she did not have a dedicated kitchen and was afraid that the customers would have problems with the food.
Besides, Zhong Huisheng didn't want to stay in the kitchen all the time, so he chose other ways to make money.
What do you do? Make clothes.
Only then did Wen Jiajia know that her cousin could actually make cheongsams, and she made them very well.
Many older people in Haishi like cheongsam, so her handmade cheongsams are quite popular. When she first started, her sales were not very high, but she still made 40 or 50 yuan. After her reputation was established and her name spread, she became very successful. She could earn nearly 100 yuan every month, and sometimes even more than 120 yuan.
If you talk about busyness, my aunt isn’t that busy.
I basically spend 4 hours on this every day, which shows how high the labor cost of making clothes is.
After saving money for two years, my aunt successfully bought the Shikumen house without using any of her savings.
But she had to worry about the decoration. Wen Jiajia had seen the house and found that it was in a state of severe disrepair because several families lived together. Fortunately, there was no rush to move in, so the cousin was not in a hurry to decorate it.
Currently, the two are considering whether to return to Linhe.
My cousin said, "Chun'er and Xuanxuan are both going to be in the third year of junior high school. It's not a good idea to transfer them at this critical time. They started school earlier, and they already have a harder time studying than their peers who are one or two years younger. If they transfer now, it will have a huge impact on the children."
Since the college entrance examination was resumed, Zhong Huisheng has paid much attention to the studies of the two children. In the past, Wen Jiajia would keep an eye on their studies, and later Zhong Huisheng did the same.
It is also because of her supervision that the two children can maintain their grades among the top three in the class.
Wen Jiajia sighed, "You're right. My younger sister is still young and won't be affected. Wen Chun and Wen Xuan are at a critical stage. I'll go discuss this with Wei Dai. He writes to me every week to ask about it."
This person is waiting for their family to return to Linhe.
But before Wen Jiajia could ask, Wei Dai came with a message asking them not to go back for the time being.
Why? Because he was promoted again and then transferred to the provincial military region.
Because there were many things to do after being transferred there, he asked Wen Jiajia and others to stay in Haishi for a while until he had sorted out things there before going there.
Wen Jiajia was very happy. She had been prepared to travel between Lin and the provincial capital in the future, but she didn't expect Wei Dai to also go to the provincial capital.
This way, you can save yourself a lot of trouble.
It’s just that the yard in Linhe cannot be renovated. Of course, Wen Jiajia has no money to renovate it now. It costs a lot of money to build a garden.
In 1981, Hai City had not yet entered a period of rapid development, but a number of individual shops had quietly appeared on the streets.
There is a clothing store near her house that even sells jeans.
Wen Jiajia couldn't help it and ran to buy a pair to wear.
Well, after many years, I put on jeans again, and the feeling is pretty average, stuffy and hard.
There are also food restaurants, especially breakfast shops, where Wen Jiajia was able to satisfy her craving for food.
One month after graduation, Wen Jiajia didn't feel hot and went around Haishi all over.
Everyone went to work, and she was the only one wandering around.
This was the era of guaranteed job assignment, and people said, "guaranteed job assignment, eating royal food, one radish one pit." It was the wish of all students to be assigned a good unit.
Because guaranteed job assignment also has its drawbacks, not everyone can be assigned to a good unit.
Being assigned to a good unit is naturally a cause for celebration, but being assigned to an inappropriate unit in a remote location... you can only wish for the best.
This is the time to look at your daily study situation and your relationship with the class teacher and class leaders.
Someone like Jiang Ruowang, who had excellent grades and already had an appointment with his supervisor, didn't even need to take this step. He was directly pulled into the graduate school by Lao Huang and used his connections to study as his graduate student in the institute.
What about her? Her grades were good, but not outstanding. She struggled more and more as time went on. It was obvious that she was not a theoretical talent. Mr. Huang looked down on her. She did not publish any articles during her studies, nor did she participate in any activities. After all, it took Wen Jiajia a lot of time to keep her grades in the class, not to mention that she had to make money and educate the children in her family.
So Wen Jiajia is not an activist, and it is no surprise that her unit went to the factory in Haishi.
It certainly wasn’t a small factory. It was most likely a large factory like Linhe Medical Glass that was affiliated with the Industry Bureau.
For example, the subordinate unit of the Instrument Bureau is considered a first-class factory and is quite popular, but Wen Jiajia doesn't want to go.
It would be better to go back to Linhe than to go to the instrument bureau factory.
After all, Linhe's Director Shen had offered her the position of director last year, and she was familiar with the environment there. To be honest, Wen Jiajia was really moved for a moment.
But she was ambitious to become the factory director, and going to Linhe would only mean "usurping the throne", which greatly increased the difficulty, so she had to decline.
So Wen Jiajia rejected Director Shen's offer and the job arranged by the school, and officially became an unemployed vagrant. This was the first time this happened since Fudan University resumed enrollment.
The most unfortunate students in the class were all assigned to schools in the suburbs. She was the first student in the entire college to be unemployed right after graduation.
At that time, the counselor looked at her as if she were a fool. Even when Wen Jiajia said that she wanted to go to the South to explore, the counselor couldn't understand.
When Wen Jiajia said she wanted to go to the south, she was not just talking.
In September, after Wen Chun and Wen Xuan started school, Wen Jiajia began to think about taking a trip to the south.
Wen Jiajia said to Wei Dai who came to see her, "I'm thinking about opening a clothing store. Money won't make any money if we just keep it."
Wei Dai was also well-versed in policies. He read newspapers and listened to the radio every day, so he naturally did not think that opening a store was too tacky.
So he nodded and said, "I've been to the south, and the clothes there are indeed better looking than ours. Have you found a store? If not, let's go look for one together in the next two days."
There is no need for Wei Dai to take care of things like the store. This is a property. Wen Jiajia bought it two years ago.
Not only that, but they also bought two courtyards in Pudong and stored them for demolition. The demolition would directly solve the problem of housing for the three sisters.
So it’s better to buy a house as soon as possible, because by the time Wei Dai realizes it, it will be too late.
The store that Wen Jiajia bought was located in a busy downtown area, not very big, only about 40 square meters. She did not do much renovation, because at that time, the general public's desire for material conditions began to rise.
There are rich people, but they are my cousin's market group. People may not necessarily look down on the goods that Wen Jiajia brings back from the south.
The target audience for this store is ordinary people, so she has to adopt the strategy of small profits but quick turnover.
Of course, clothes have low costs and high profits, so you can make a lot of money by selling in large quantities at a low profit.
Going back to the south for the first time, Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai went together.
Wei Dai said, "Lao Bai is right there. If you want to go there again, just go find him directly."
Wen Jiajia was surprised: "Doesn't Lao Bai run a restaurant in his hometown? Why did he end up there?"
Wei Dai: "They said they were going to open a restaurant there. The market is huge. It's right next to the train station. It's a really big restaurant."
Wen Jiajia thinks that Lao Bai is very smart and is at the forefront of the times.
His store is really big.
Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai finally arrived in Guangzhou after their legs were numb from riding the train several times.
First going to Lao Bai’s shop, Wen Jiajia met the person she hadn’t seen for almost ten years.
The old man has become much fatter, and his voice is deep when he laughs: "How come my sister-in-law hasn't changed much from before?"
Wen Jiajia smiled and said, "Old Bai, you too, uh... you are more generous than before."
"He's fat, so what? He's just as big as a truck. I was shocked when I saw him last time." Wei Dai said in a sarcastic tone, "How did he eat so much? It shows that he has had a good life in the past few years."
Old White's life was good, especially in the past two years, his family had money but not material supplies, so he ate until he was almost 200 kilograms. In this era, there were few people fatter than him in the whole city.
He was also disappointed: "Oh, I have such a good body shape. Unfortunately, the doctor told me to lose weight, saying that I was too fat and not in good health. You see, I never thought that I would need to lose weight one day. This is the meat I ate bite by bite."
Well, Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai are jealous of such a comfortable life.
The next day.
The couple came to the clothing factory under the leadership of Lao Bai.
At that time, there was a crime of "speculation and profiteering", and it had been effective as early as two years ago.
But with reform and opening up, everything is centered on economic development. Private trading and factory operations are allowed, and behaviors like importing clothes from the south and selling them elsewhere are no longer a problem.
The profiteers who were arrested were usually those who engaged in large-scale "private profiteering" or "official profiteering" who gave approval for corruption. Wen Jiajia's small business was not a big deal, and even Wei Dai did not tell Wen Jiajia to stay away from this business.
However, for safety reasons, Wen Jiajia still chooses to use trucks to transport large goods and trains to transport small goods. Although this will cost more, there is no other way, it is safer.
Moreover, you can find the manufacturer directly, and manufacturer direct sales eliminates the need for contact with middlemen.
Wen Jiajia has a good eye and chooses the styles that young people like nowadays. And she only sells women's clothing, which saves her a lot of trouble.
After staying here for a week, Wen Jiajia and Wei Dai returned to Hai City with four large bags of things.
Not only did he buy three new sets of clothes for each person in the family, he also brought back a new radio and camera.
The two sisters were particularly interested in the camera and immediately took it to the yard to take pictures.
Wen Xiaomei was still at the stage of being disgusted by dogs and cats, and her two elder sisters didn't like to play with this little girl. But it just so happened that she liked listening to stories, so she took the radio and went to her room to listen to them.
Anyway, no one was willing to try on new clothes, so Wen Jiajia went shopping in vain.
Well, now that life is better, I don’t even care about new clothes.
Wen Jiajia sent a few more sets of clothes back to her hometown, as well as one set for Jiang Ruowang, one set for the dormitory manager who was very nice to her during college, and one set each for Professor Huang and Professor Huang's wife.
Professor Huang has been tortured by Wen Jiajia every time there are exams in the past four years. Professor Huang is considered a mentor. Wen Jiajia feels that she would be unfair if she did not visit him often in the future.
Then there was Sha Yue and the others, who also sent the package back to Linhe. Sha Yue was now teaching at Linhe No. 1 Middle School, Hao Qingying went to work in the government department of Linhe, and Lin Yunfei was still in Yibo, so she could send a package over.
Wen Jiajia sent the mail in waves, and one of the four bags she brought back suddenly disappeared.
Half a month later, the store was renovated and repaired, and another batch of clothes arrived by truck.
This can be considered the first step in her career. Wen Jiajia is eager to open a store.
Wen Jiajia hired two girls as sales clerks.
Being a self-employed person at this time is actually a very shameful thing.
Yes, it's embarrassing.
The people selling clothes at the street stalls had to cover their faces with newspapers when they met acquaintances.
This is the general idea among people nowadays, and until the 1990s, there were still many people who naturally believed that a stable job was the best.
Of course, Wen Jiajia would not have the idea of being ashamed. What's shameful about not stealing or robbing?
She hired two young girls as employees with a high salary of 50 yuan plus commission, and took them to pack the clothes. Then she chose an auspicious day, set off firecrackers, and opened the women's clothing store directly.
Wen Jiajia stood at the door of the store, looking at the store that was already packed with customers. She was thinking about hiring two more people, and at the same time wondering whether she should open a clothing factory before opening the chemical machinery factory.
It's really profitable to run a clothing business now. Once you open a few stores, you won't need to take out loans anymore.
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