chapter 17
In my previous life, I didn’t play the stock market either. The reason I knew about these things was because there was a workshop supervisor at our factory who, in 2008, lost all his money when the stock market crashed and ended up deeply in debt.
In the end, he couldn’t handle the blow and jumped off a building to commit suicide.
At the time, the factory was abuzz with gossip. I overheard many people saying things like, “You should have sold at 6000 points.”
Zhang Jie believed me.
Watching the stock prices climb day after day, he asked if I was a prophet.
“Zhang Jie, do you know a flower called Snow Willow?”
“When it’s cut and dried, everyone thinks it’s dead.”
“But as long as you give it enough water, it can bloom again.”
“I’m not a prophet, just a Snow Willow that’s come back to life.”
My focus was still on running the shop.
Our target customers were young urban women.
They had purchasing power and were willing to try new things.
In just one year, the shop made great progress.
2008 was a year when Taobao soared, and also the year New Life, a new women’s clothing store, exploded onto the scene.
It single-handedly pulled Jiajia’s father’s factory back from the brink of loss and quickly turned it profitable.
Because I had to juggle my studies and work, and often had to run to the factory to check samples, I forced myself to get a driver’s license and bought a second-hand car.
Jiajia’s father kept his promise, always paying the dividends every six months on time.
In the summer of my sophomore year, Song Mu took the college entrance exam.
He got into a 211 university.
My parents were overjoyed, threw a big banquet, and called me insisting I come back to join the celebration.
I wore new clothes, sunglasses, and drove my second-hand sedan into the village.
Everyone was stunned.
Even my parents were.
I hadn’t been home in two years. Every time they called to ask if I needed money, I always said I didn’t.
In their minds, I was probably just barely scraping by as a tutor.
The most shocked were Aunt and Aunt Zhang.
The two of them huddled together, whispering.
Finally, Aunt sneered, “Zhaozhao, students should focus on their studies. You can’t go down the wrong path.”
Aunt Zhang chimed in, “We can’t make dirty money, you know.”
See?
In their eyes, if a woman makes a lot of money, it can only be by selling her body.
Even my parents looked hesitant.
“Where did you get so much money? What are you wearing? That skirt is so short, and the sleeves are gone!”
Everyone was talking at once.
In the end, it was the village secretary’s niece, who was visiting relatives, who helped me out.
Guess what? That niece worked on the assembly line.
She’d seen me before when I went to the factory to pick up goods.
But with so many workers, I didn’t remember her at all.
For a moment, the villagers were in an uproar.
They all asked how I’d made so much money.
And with envy, they said, you really have to study hard.
See? Still in college, and already driving a car, wearing such high-end clothes and shoes.
My parents were beaming.
My dad grabbed my hand and laughed heartily, “I always knew she’d make something of herself. Back then you all told me not to send my daughter to school, but look at her now!”
“My daughter is really something!”
Everyone offered their congratulations.
The elders in the clan tried to guilt-trip me.
“Since you’re making money now, you’ll have to pay for your brother’s schooling from now on.”
“Your house is too old. You should pay for your parents to build a big new house.”
I couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Aunt pulled me aside, her face plastered with a fawning smile. “Your cousin has been sitting at home for years, still can’t find a job.”
“You’re so capable now, you have to help him out.”
“What does he want to do?”
Aunt slapped her thigh, “Of course he wants to work in an office, drink tea and read the newspaper every day. He can’t handle hard work, his health’s never been good.”
“As for salary, two thousand yuan a month is fine. He’s a proper Vocational School graduate, after all!”