After graduating from high school in 1994, I missed out on college and had to start my career.
My family lives on the outskirts of the city, not far from a bridge leading to the city. At the other end of the bridge is the clothing market in our county.
My sister-in-law rented a stall there when the clothing market was first built, selling all kinds of clothes. I often go to her stall in my free time to pass the time.
There are hundreds of stalls in the market, covering all kinds of clothing, shoes and hats, and there is also a vegetable market next to it, which is very lively.
When my aunt saw that I had nothing to do, she persuaded me: "Liping, you might as well come to the market and rent a stall to sell clothes." Not only is it free to do business on your own, but your income is not lost to working outside the home. ”
When I went home and discussed with my parents, they were very supportive of me to start a small business, especially with my aunt by my side.
So I rented a stall and the transfer cost was 3,000 yuan, and the monthly rent was 180 yuan. Coupled with the cost of purchasing goods, it cost about six or seven thousand yuan, all of which were funded by parents. I promised to pay them back as long as I earned money.
In the market, most of the stall owners sell clothes for young people, ** medium and low grade. But my aunt told me that it was best for us not to blindly follow the trend, but to take the opposite route.
This is because many young people are more inclined to buy mid-to-high-end clothes in specialty stores, while some older rural people are more concerned about affordability. They often come to the general market to shop, so there is relatively little competition in the market for the elderly.
My aunt's stall mainly sells clothes for the elderly. She personally taught me how to increase sales, how to go to the wholesale market in the provincial capital to buy goods, and various business skills.
Fortunately, with the help of my aunt, I learned a lot of business experience. Because my store has a wide range of clothes and I focus on small profits and quick turnover, I attract a lot of elderly customers.
Slowly, my clothing store has accumulated a loyal group of regular customers, and there is a daily cash inflow. I think it's very beautiful and fulfilling to be able to live a self-sufficient life on my own.
When I paid off the money I borrowed from my parents, I felt a lot more relaxed. I think that a person can be self-sufficient at all times by his own ability, and this should be the best way to live, right?
A year after I started my business, when I was 21 years old, I didn't expect that I would meet a soldier because ......of a misunderstanding, and our relationship would develop further
It was the day of the lunar month, because the Chinese New Year was approaching, and there were many people who came to the market to buy new clothes for the New Year.
Usually, the aisles of the market stalls are crowded with people, but during this time, there is an endless stream of people who come to see the clothes, and even the aisles are crowded with people.
I was busy greeting a few customers and trying them on when I saw a young man wearing a military jacket and military boots helping an old rural lady to my stall.
The young man was tall, well-looking, wearing a green-and-yellow camouflage coat, looking energetic, which attracted the attention of many passers-by.
I smiled and beckoned to them, "Do you want to see the clothes?" I have this year's popular coats and padded jackets here, you take your time, and if you have a choice, I will take them down and try them on for you. ”
The young man smiled at me and said leisurely: "Today I brought my grandmother to buy new clothes for the New Year, you have a good eye, can you help my grandma choose it?" What kind of clothes would she wear better? ”
I smiled and looked at my grandmother's figure, picked out two different styles of cotton clothes for her, and helped her take off her coat and try on new clothes.
The old woman finally chose a quilted dress, and she kept standing in front of the mirror and looked at herself carefully, obviously liking the dress.
I thought that young people generally don't bargain when buying things, and the military uniform on his body made me have a good impression of him, so I only gave a modest **, and did not think about making more profits.
After I finished quoting, a few more customers came to see the clothes, so I was busy greeting them.
The old grandmother was still admiring her new clothes in front of the mirror, and her grandson said, "Grandma, if you like, go in the new clothes, and I will help you get the old clothes." ”
The old woman said yes with joy, and walked out of the shop with her head held high, and her grandson followed suit.
After receiving a few new customers, I always felt that something was wrong, and then I suddenly remembered that my grandmother and her grandson had just left in my new clothes, and they hadn't paid yet!
The cotton clothes, my purchase price was 80 yuan, and I only sold them 90 yuan, and I didn't even make any money for freight, and they left without spending a penny, which is really hateful!
I was in a hurry, I couldn't take care of business, so I asked the stall owner next door to help me look at the shop, and I rushed into the crowd to find the grandfather and grandson.
However, the market was crowded, and I tiptoed around, but I could not find the young man in camouflage and his grandmother.
I wondered how they had disappeared so quickly. Did you deliberately come to eat and drink for nothing?
Still, I didn't give up and kept looking around. Finally, in front of the hat stall, I saw a touch of camouflage green.
I hurried forward and saw the old woman trying on her hat, wearing the same cotton coat I had sold her.
Standing next to him was a tall young man in military uniform, who else could be?
He saw me chasing after me and looked at me with some blankness.
I exclaimed, "You guys are faster than rabbits!" Hey, you guys took my clothes and paid for it? ”
The man in military uniform scratched his head a little embarrassedly, looked at his grandmother, and his face flushed: "I thought my grandmother had already paid, so I followed." ”
The old grandmother glared at her grandson angrily and reproached, "Luo Wei, didn't we say okay?" You're going to buy new clothes for your grandma. ”
The young man in military uniform smiled awkwardly, took out his wallet from his pocket, took out two 50 yuan bills and handed them to her, his face flushed.
He said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, it was a misunderstanding, we really didn't mean to." ”
I gave him 10 yuan for change, and said a little dissatisfied: "If it was intentional, I would call the police." ”
The old grandmother hurriedly persuaded: "It's really not intentional, please don't be angry." ”
Seeing that they sincerely apologize, maybe it was really a misunderstanding?
The young man in military uniform took back the 10 yuan I was looking for, and said with some anxiety: "This is our compensation." ”
I said solemnly, "I've got a lot of money to look for." ”
I was too busy to get back to the store and didn't want to say anything more.
The next morning, when I opened the store, I saw a man in military uniform who had come to buy clothes yesterday walking into the store with a bag of oranges in his hand.
He smiled and said, "I'm really sorry yesterday, this is our family's orange, which is an apology." ”
I was a little embarrassed to accept: "The misunderstanding has been resolved, don't mind." ”
He insisted: "Please accept it and let grandma rest assured." ”
I had no choice but to accept and thank him and my grandmother.
He introduced himself as Luo Wei, ** garrison, who went home to visit relatives this year.
I was a little shy: "Welcome to come and visit." ”
We chatted and found out that he was an alumnus of our school, two years older than me.
I smiled and said, "Then I'm going to call you Senior Brother." ”
He also smiled: "It's really fate." ”
After Luo Wei left, I was sorting out the clothes in the store alone, but I was secretly laughing in my heart. I think back to yesterday's scene when he sincerely apologized, and I was amused because it was the first time I had met such a sincere customer.
Two days later, Luo Wei reappeared in my shop. This time he said he wanted to buy his mother a new dress and asked me for help.
I smiled and asked, "Are you going to evade the ticket again this time?" ”
He replied earnestly: "As a manly man, how can you do such a thing!" ”
I helped him choose clothes, but instead of leaving immediately, he sat on a small stool in the store and started chatting with me.
At this time, another old customer came, and she smiled and quipped: "Boss, a handsome guy came to your store today to help you out?" ”
My face turned red and I blamed her, "Don't talk nonsense, it's just a customer who is here for a while, don't make such jokes." ”
I saw that Luo Wei's face was also a little red, and we looked at each other, both of whom felt embarrassed to say anything.
A few days later, Luo Wei came to my shop with a large bag of oranges and oranges.
I said, "I haven't finished eating the oranges you gave me last time!" ”
He explained: "These are home-grown, so I will bring them to you by the way, so let's eat them slowly." ”
When there were fewer people in the store, Luo Wei suddenly looked at me and said, "After the New Year, I will return to the army, can you leave me a mailing address, little junior sister?" ”
I looked at him with some surprise, but as he asked, I took out a pen and paper and left him the address of my house.
A month later, I received a letter from Luo Wei from **and his military uniform**.
He said in the letter: "Little junior sister, are you willing to accept the heart of this man? Our comrades-in-arms in the whole company are begging you to give this stupid man a chance, are you willing? If you don't want to, don't bother with me. If you'd like, write me back, I'm waiting to hear from you. ”
I looked at the person on the **, hiding alone in the room and snickering. Then I picked up my pen and wrote him a reply with joy and shyness.
That's how Luo Wei and I met. After more than a year of correspondence, we went from acquaintance to love, and finally signed a marriage contract.
My parents never imagined that I would find a boyfriend who was a soldier, and they didn't even give them a notice.
They used to urge me to go on a blind date every day, hoping that I would find a partner sooner, but when they heard that Luo Wei and I were about to get married, they couldn't believe their ears.
When Luo Wei came back for vacation, he also bought a gift and came to my house to propose.
My mother was ......shocked when she looked at his tall figure, handsome face, and the military uniform on his body, and the heroic military salute he suddenly performed
She ran to the kitchen several times to open the refrigerator door, always thinking of getting something to entertain her son-in-law-to-be, but each time she returned empty-handed, and it took a long time to recover.
My mother said to herself, "What should I take?" ”
Now, Luo Wei and I have been married for more than 20 years. After he was discharged from the army, he was assigned to work in the town.
After the demolition of the clothing market, I stopped selling and opened a "veteran's teahouse" near my home.
This teahouse is frequented by some former soldiers, some of whom are Luo Wei's comrades-in-arms, but most of them are strangers.
Most of the customers have been trained in the army, and they drink tea and chat in the "veterans' teahouse", reminiscing about the military life in those days.
Luo Wei helps me watch the teahouse when I'm not at work, while I occasionally party, have fun, and enjoy the women's happy time with my sisters.
Our son has gone to college and gone to work in the city. Most of the time, there are only two people in the family, Luo Wei and me.
Luo Wei's work is relatively easy, so he does most of the housework. This made him a little dissatisfied.
He said unconvinced: "If you hadn't chased me, I would definitely not have liked such a lazy mother-in-law who doesn't do housework." ”
I glared at him, "Hmph, who's after whom?" I didn't ask for the oranges you sent that time. I don't know who asked for my address and wrote to me? ”
He said angrily, "Can you be a little more gentle?" I think that when we were soldiers in the first country, in the wind and rain, we stuck to the borders of the motherland, endured all the hardships, and suffered heavy physical and mental damage. You should take good care of your husband so that I can enjoy a happy life too, right? ”
I smiled and replied, "Well, you have a point. ”
I sneered: "Isn't it easy to stir-fry and cook?" You men always speak lightly, but when it comes to your own hands, you start nagging. ”
This has become a daily routine for Luo Wei and me, and we quarrel about this issue every day, as if it has become commonplace.
Love used to be so beautiful and romantic, but once marriage is integrated into real life, it becomes bland as water.
Do I regret it, though?
When he casually addressed me as "old woman" and handed me his salary, I was content to think that he had been a soldier at the top of the list, but now he was willing to be in my sole charge.
* The soldier was well respected and I never regretted marrying him.