Chapter 279 - "I wish you luck on that." (3)
They had lunch over at Wu Xiuyue’s place. Mother Zhang came over specifically to invite them over. There were chicken, duck, fish, and other meats.
After dinner, Shu Yan and Lin Hui left together. Lin Hui was particularly quiet today.
“Should I open up a shop too?” asked Lin Hui out of the blue.
Shu Yan was taken aback a little. The fabric factory that Lin Hui was working at was doing well and there were no words that they were laying off. Lin Hui was not a front-line worker so, with the exception of the beginning and end of the month, her job was quite cozy. Why did she want to go into business all of a sudden?
Seeing Shu Yan’s confusion, Lin Hui gave an awkward smile. “I am watching you and Xiuyue having your own businesses and making what I making in a month or two in a day. That’s why I thought perhaps I should do the same as well.”
To put it bluntly, she felt that she was being left behind.
When it was just Shu Yan, she felt that Shu Yan had the ability to run a business. Now that Wu Xiuyue, who was worse than her, had opened up her own shop making 400 yuan in just one morning and more than what she makes in a month in just one day, that did not make her very happy.
“Well, it’s not the same. Neither Xiuyue and I had jobs and we had to start our own business. You have seen how nervous we were before we launch our businesses. Look at Xiuyue, she had lost a lot of sleep and hair over her business. Why? Because there are risks in doing business. If she loses, she loses it all. Today is her grand opening; she will not be making so much money going forward. Every field had their own downsides, you didn’t see us merchandizing in the middle of the night.”
That was how people always was. They only see others’ outcome but never the efforts that they had put in. Wu Xiuyue lost over 10 pounds in a month. That ought to show the stress that came with doing business.
It had always been said that businesses were easy in the 90s but there were still those who had lost money. Nobody could guarantee that one would always make money. Lin Hui had a secured job. If she talked her into starting her own business and she ended up losing money, she would blame her for it.
“I know. I am just a little jealous.”
In the past, their entire family was factory workers and it was glamourous whenever they walked out. But now? Those who had their own businesses could make their monthly salary in a day, sometimes their annual salary even. Their entire had to save for years to have enough to buy a house. If one’s business is doing well, they could earn enough to buy a house in a month. Just looking around her and taking Shu Yan as an example. If her clothing shop wasn’t doing well, how would she be able to hire a nanny? And just look at her day-to-day. She didn’t need to take care of her children. All she needed to do was to take a trip to her shop everyday and money came rolling in. There was nobody above her and probably not even life in heaven could beat this.
“The world has been changing and becoming more and more confusing. Truth is, I worry a lot. I felt that I am being left behind.” Lin Hui finally shared what was bothering her the most.
And she wasn’t alone in thinking that. Many other factory workers felt the same way as her.
More and more factory workers had bowed out. Wasn’t this the iron bowl? How were they still the owner of the country when those in business could easily make what they make in a life time?
Time was changing too fast and, some were able to change with it while others were left behind.
In this era, as long as one had the courage, one would be able to seize the moment and be the first batch who became rich. Even the conservative ones who hang onto what was in the past would be able to live out their life peacefully. Nevertheless, people are always greedy and want more.
Lin Hui did let that bother her for too long. She was overreacting to Wu Xiuyue’s income earlier. It was not practical for her to quit her job and start her own business. Nevermind that she had no idea what to do, her family would never agree to it. Just like Zhang Huaxiu, her parents would never had left her bought her position out had her factory not be on the brink of going out. In most of the public’s eyes, an iron bowl was still better than having one’s own business.
Once she had arrived home, Shu Yan didn’t rest for too long before she headed back out for her driving lesson. She wasn’t busy lately and she planned to earn her driver’s license.
“Would you like me to teach you first?” Feng Zeyu was the one who came to pick her up.
He had called her the night before and asked her her plans today. When he found out that she was going to take driving lessons, he volunteered to take her to the driving school.
“No need. I have learned some from the driver.” Shu Yan learned that manual drive wasn’t that difficult. She should be able to figure it out if she could have some hands-on experience.
Looking at how confident she was, Feng Zeyu’s lips curved upward. “Okay, hope you can make it in one shot then.”
“Thank you.”