"Yes, that’s right, starting a factory," Tang Yue affirmed. "Nowadays, isn’t the country encouraging individual businesses? Think about it, you’re already making such a big profit selling clothes on your own. If you start a factory, producing thousands of pieces of clothing each day, just imagine, if all these clothes are sold, you’ll earn much more than from this small store. Besides, Uncle, I said I can sketch the designs, and I definitely can."
Tang Yue was brimming with pride. In the area of design sketching, she believed she had real talent. Hadn’t she figured things out on her own in the past and won quite a few rewards?
"Thousands of pieces of clothing in a day?" Tang Mingli was instantly interested. The clothes he was selling now were already so profitable; if it were thousands of pieces, wouldn’t that mean earning hundreds of dollars a day?
"Yes, Uncle, aren’t you satisfied with just the money you’re making from this store?" Tang Yue prompted, preparing to stir up Tang Mingli’s ambition.
Now, the Mingyue Clothing Store was on the right track. Tang Mingli only needed to buy stock, and he could hire one or two more people to work in the shop.
"Of course not," Tang Mingli said immediately. "Xiao Yue, starting a factory requires a lot of money, right? Plus, we’ll have to buy a lot of sewing machines, stock up on inventory, and set up the factory. All considered, how much would it cost?"
Tang Mingli did a quick calculation, and the cost seemed staggering. Although nowadays the sewing machine was no longer one of the three major household necessities—people wanted refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines—if he wanted to have a significant number, the cost of sewing machines would still be substantial.
Not to mention the labor costs. With so many machines, he would need to hire people. Once he did the math, the amount of money he needed to invest just kept climbing.
"Uncle, actually, we can consider taking out a loan from the bank if we don’t have the money ourselves," Tang Yue suggested. The store and the house could be used as collateral.
Tang Mingli resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "Xiao Yue, the house and store were bought not even half a year ago. If we really can’t pay it back, then we will have nothing left from these six months."
Tang Yue calmly argued: "Uncle, but if you succeed, your net worth will double, and you’ll earn even more money. You’ll be able to do more things. Of course, that girl who was blind to your worth and your first love will definitely regret not staying with you."
Tang Yue spoke earnestly, her heart was set on one thing—to convince Tang Mingli successfully.
"That makes sense, let me think about it," Tang Mingli said, deep in thought, even ignoring the topic of his first love that Tang Yue had brought up.
He was tempted, but the thought of borrowing so much money was daunting—if he failed to get the factory going, all the money he had earned would be wasted.
But if he succeeded, he would soar to the skies.
Tang Mingli’s mind was in turmoil, but finally, he clenched his teeth and said, "Xiao Yue, I’ll listen to you. If it comes to it, I’ll start from scratch again."
Since he had managed to earn his current store and house with just hundreds of dollars, he figured he could work a bit harder if necessary.
"Great, Uncle, you will definitely be happy with your decision," Tang Yue said immediately with joy, and they discussed the details in depth. She could handle the factory’s design drafts all by herself. As for the money and other matters, Tang Mingli would need to take care of them.
In the following days, Tang Mingli and Tang Yue divided the work and collaborated.
Tang Mingli began looking for a suitable place for the factory, and, of course, he also inquired about the cost of sewing machines if bought in bulk, as well as about bank loans.
Meanwhile, Tang Yue switched to hermit mode, locking herself in the house day and night, sketching design drafts. She had always loved fashion design, and even if she couldn’t attend the fashion shows in person, she did everything she could to find relevant materials and pictures to improve her taste.
At the same time, while waiting for Wu Xinming to come home, she enjoyed learning about the history of fashion. It could be said that the changes in clothing styles from the 1980s to the 1990s were all imprinted in her mind.
What she needed to do now was to turn the ideas in her mind into reality.
Before she knew it, half a month had passed and the summer vacation was half over.
"Big sis, you can’t just stay shut in at home every day." Tang Jun would do his homework, but he would also go out to play. He had become familiar with the area and would often go out to meet his classmates. Every time he came back home, Tang Yue was always inside.
Not just Tang Jun, but even Zhang Hualian and her husband were worried Tang Yue would get cabin fever, so around four o’clock in the afternoon, they would urge Tang Yue to go outside.
The sun wasn’t as intense, and it wasn’t so scorchingly hot outside; it was a good time for a walk.
"Big sis, let’s go play over there. They have delicious ice packs and popsicles. They’re really good." Tang Jun would pull Tang Yue around, mostly talking about food and fun.
Every day at this time, Tang Yue would go out for a walk. After a few days of accompanying her, Tang Jun went off to play with his classmates.
Tang Yue planned to take this opportunity to stroll around Yizhong. If she could bump into Mrs. Mo, that would be perfect. Only by spending time and getting in touch could she learn how to avoid a future impasse.
After wandering around Yizhong for four or five days, not to mention Mrs. Mo, Tang Yue hadn’t even encountered a single acquaintance. Today, she went to Yizhong as usual, wondering whether Mrs. Mo wouldn’t come out to enjoy the cool at this time of day.
Tang Yue was muttering to herself in her mind, standing under the shade of a tree to cool off, when she suddenly saw an old man with white hair fall over.
Instinctively, Tang Yue rushed forward and helped the white-haired old man up, asking with concern, "Old man, are you alright?"
"I’m fine, I’m fine." The white-haired old man smiled and thanked her, "Young lady, thank you."
"Old man, are you... really alright?" Tang Yue looked over the white-haired old man, who was wearing a white Zhongshan suit. It was loose-fitting and matched with his white hair and bright eyes, he was quite eye-catching.
Especially with the old man’s hair all white and short, he looked as though he was wearing a white hat.
"I’m fine." The white-haired old man waved his hand and straightened his clothes, sighing, "I’m getting old, I’m not as useful anymore."
"Old man, you’re aging like fine wine. Are you going to practice Tai Chi?" Tang Yue asked curiously.
The old man looked at Tang Yue in surprise and asked, "Young lady, you know about Tai Chi?"
Embarrassed, Tang Yue touched her nose and said, "I just thought your clothes looked like it. I can’t do it, and I don’t understand it."
Tang Yue’s eyes were clear, and she spoke frankly, without any pretense or feigned understanding.
"You’re very honest, young lady." The old man looked at Tang Yue approvingly and said, "Young lady, do you live nearby? How come I’ve never seen you before? My neighbor’s son, he’s a fine young man and he makes good money. Are you interested in finding a partner?"
"..." Tang Yue couldn’t help saying, "Old man, I’m only seventeen years old."