1980s: I was reborn after being scumbag to death

Chapter 13 Business
It was 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 the opening of policies in various parties in the past two years, some people have started doing business in the market.

Take He Saijun’s tailor stall for example, and the two young men just now setting up a stall to sell wool.

Like them, they do it themselves, don't hire workers, and don't raise prices. No one cares about them anymore. 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 mindsets for a while. They feel that doing business in the public eye is definitely not as good as having a job, which is quite embarrassing.

Moreover, some things that happened in the past few 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.

In this way, many people with ability and skills lost great opportunities. By the time they realized that the times had really changed and started to pay attention, the market was already saturated.

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

My sister partnered with my mother to open a tailor shop in town.

That tailor shop was taken over by 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 town at that time, so she couldn't make any money and 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 my sister Meng Changli can embroider, but my mother He Jinqiu can too.

My sister's craft was taught by my mother.

My 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 has almost been lost.

After all, people are starving to death, 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, and their embroidery was just at the level of ordinary people.

Unlike He Saijun, his mother inherited some of her grandmother's skills and passed on what she learned to her talented sister.

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

But it is so difficult to apply art to practice.

Not only is embroidery time-consuming, but in a village like this, it doesn't show its true 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.

My mother and sister make good clothes, at least they are more carefully made and better tailored than those made by other shops.

During those two years, the family business was pretty good.

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 were interested in making clothes.

Later, her mother returned to the village to farm, and her sister went to work at a noodle factory in town. At the time, Meng Shulan was working as a Chinese teacher at a high school in the city, earning a meager salary and knowing nothing about business.

It was not until she married Han Ning and used her connections there to be transferred to the Cultural Center as a planner. As she came into contact with more people and things, she realized that some things, when taken to the extreme, could 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 and could not even hold a needle.

Such a good craft was cruelly 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.

Open a shop using embroidery skills?
He Jinqiu and Meng Changli looked at each other, neither of them quite understanding what Meng Shulan meant.

Meng Changli said, "Shulan, I can embroider, but it's just for everyday clothes, to make them look better. How can you make a business out of it? Do you think you can make money by embroidering other people's clothes? It's so time-consuming."

She started preparing this shirt for her sister 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 daughters and wives of wealthy families, and only those people could afford it. Now, it's no longer that society. Dressing is simple and plain. Who would still do this?"

Meng Changli continued the conversation, "Besides, is it possible to do business now? Even if I set up a stall occasionally, no one will care. But if I don't rely on the supply and marketing cooperative, I will have to do business on the street every time there is a market. Will I be arrested?"

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

Meng Shulan said, "Sister, it's okay. I saw in the newspaper that many places have started pilot programs. This year, individual businesses will resume. Then you can apply for licenses and pay taxes normally, and you can also ask for help. You can be 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 us the green light, it's fine to do something as long as I can earn money. But how can we start a business? Can we just set up a stall and embroider handkerchiefs for people?"

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 already has one in town. If we come here to steal her business, we'll just cause gossip."

This is how people in the countryside are. 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 others making money by doing business, they both 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)