TPW – Chapter 109

Although she didn’t have much in savings, her determination to cling tightly to Xu Haizhou and his wife’s coattails was unwavering.

Especially over the past year, just following behind them and sipping the meat broth was delightful—so satisfying! Even if she had no experience starting a factory, she was willing to take the risk!

Even if all her savings ended up going down the drain, as long as her little shop kept running, she would make it back sooner or later.

Money? It’s just paper. It’s meant to be spent.

“Director Song from the Commerce Department said it would take at least this much.” Xu Haizhou gestured with one finger.

“Ah, a hundred thousand?” That was truly an astronomical number.

“Yeah, about that much—maybe even more. We need to purchase supplies and some equipment. You guys don’t know, but aside from the building, the place has been pretty much emptied out.” Qiao Lu shrugged and pouted as she spoke.

Yu Fan asked, “Then you guys must still be short, right? How much savings do you have?”

Xu Haizhou said, “We can scrape together at most thirty thousand. We still have to keep some cash on hand. We can’t ignore our shop here.”

“Hey, speaking of which, you guys could take out a loan,” Yu Fan suddenly thought of something and quickly pulled out a small box from under the table, inside were several stacks of old newspapers.

“Loan?” The couple looked at each other, faces full of surprise.

“You can get a loan now?” Qiao Lu thought the term ‘loan’ didn’t even exist in the 1980s.

“Yes.” She flipped through the stack of newspapers, searching for about five minutes. “You guys forgot, I read the newspaper every day. Let me find it… Ah! Here it is—take a look.”

Xu Haizhou took the paper, and Qiao Lu leaned in: “This… What does it mean? It says the country is encouraging loans for entrepreneurship? Then we can totally take a loan! I don’t think we’ll lose money. What do you think?”

From the 1980s to the 1990s, national policies encouraged private loans. Many of the first generation of rich individuals earned their first pot of gold this way and ultimately became wealthy and successful.

Opportunities brought by the era, combined with national encouragement—both were essential.

And because the policy had just been relaxed, loan approvals weren’t too strict. As long as you met the basic requirements, you could get a loan from banks or credit unions.

“This policy is great. Haizhou, find some time to ask Director Song for more details. Once we confirm the acquisition of that land, let’s go get a loan—what about fifteen thousand?”

Li Hongjun was dumbfounded, looking at her in disbelief: “Fifteen thousand? Sis-in-law, you’ve got guts! What if it’s a loss?”

Fifteen thousand! Some families didn’t even have a thousand in savings, and Qiao Lu wanted to take out a loan of fifteen thousand. Even if you gave him ten times her courage, he’d only dare to borrow one or two thousand.

“Whoever invests the most loses the most. You in or not? If you’re not in, then a loss has nothing to do with you.” Qiao Lu raised an eyebrow, signaling for Li Hongjun to give her a clear answer.

“Tsk—” He was clearly torn.

He feared losing money, but also feared Xu Haizhou and his wife would strike it rich and leave him behind, making him jealous of their success.

That couple really had a knack for business. Every time they came up with a marketing scheme, their “Purple Dragonfly” shop made a fortune. Now the brand was well-known among the younger crowd in all of Lian.

Starting a factory… given how driven that couple was, they might actually pull it off.

“Then… I’ll chip in six or seven thousand, just a small share. How’s that?” He had originally planned to save more money to renovate his new home, but now it looked like that plan would be delayed again.

“Sure. Invest less, get fewer shares—it’s only fair.” Even though they could get a loan now, Qiao Lu saw no reason to turn down Yu Fan and Li Hongjun’s investment.

With money on the line, everyone becomes responsible. This factory would effectively be a joint venture between the four of them. A team effort was always better than going it alone.

“Then Haizhou and I will ask around and give you both a definite answer later.”

“Great! I’ll contact my friend right away.”

As the three locked eyes, Li Hongjun scratched his head sheepishly and said, “Alright, once you’ve confirmed everything, let me know. I… I’ll go get the money.”

Tsk—time to bleed financially again. He had worked so hard to save that money!

After the Reform and Opening Up, the country had been exploring the issue of state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform.

The first person in the country to contract an SOE was a man named Ma Shengli. In 1984, he took over a paper mill with over 800 employees.

After assuming leadership, he made great strides in product structuring and sales incentives. His results were exceptional, achieving unprecedented success.

From then on, the country began to strongly encourage private entrepreneurship.

Ma Shengli’s success set a precedent for many eager businessmen.

And so, Xu Haizhou and his wife went to the bank to apply for a loan. When the staff heard it was for opening a factory, they were very welcoming.

They handled the paperwork quickly and thoughtfully explained the key points of running a factory. The couple took detailed notes.

They only learned through the bank staff that if a factory the size of Hongxing Garment Factory experienced structural imbalances or a supply bottleneck, the government could provide financial subsidies!

For a rookie factory owner like Xu Haizhou, this was incredible news!

As for Director Song from the Commerce Department, they didn’t even have to pull strings. As soon as he heard they were serious about taking over the defunct Hongxing Garment Factory, he helped them process all the documents without hesitation.

The leaders had been fretting over what to do with that land. Now that someone was stepping in, both sides benefited. Perfect.

The process was a bit slow though. Besides getting approval from the Commerce Department, it had to be reported to the government, then to the city level. Eventually, a formal document was issued, and they finally acquired the entire operation!

Once the contract was signed and the fingerprints stamped, it was a done deal!

It all happened so fast—it felt like a dream.

In early October, the weather turned cool, and everything was proceeding smoothly.

“Alright, now that the contract is signed and everyone’s investment is in, it’s time to name our factory!”

That evening, they invited Li Hongjun and Yu Fan to their home at Nanhu Garden for a celebratory banquet to mark the factory’s opening and to discuss the new name.

“What should we name it? Fellow shareholders, let’s think!”

Yu Fan was busy playing with Qiao An and Qiao Qiao, giggling with joy, and without turning her head, she said, “You and Haizhou invested the most. You name it.”

“How about you, Hongjun? Got any ideas?” Qiao Lu turned to him.

Li Hongjun stood behind Yu Fan, watching the little one giggle. At her question, he waved a big hand: “You pick. Why ask us?”

“Then I won’t be polite!” Qiao Lu smiled at them both.

Yu Fan and Li Hongjun nodded quickly. “Go ahead and name it—it’s just a name.”

But naming a business is no small matter. It’s something that might last for decades—or even a century—and can’t be changed easily.

Qiao Lu racked her brain and finally looked at her two little babies.

“Mm… I’ve got it. Let’s call it—Anqiao Garment Factory!”

“Anqiao?” All three adults looked toward the little ones—Qiao Lu’s baby in her arms and An’an, whose face was covered in glutinous rice crumbs.

“You really know how to name things,” Yu Fan laughed, “You’re being sentimental!”

Qiao Lu chuckled. “So, what do you think? Any objections? If not, then it’s settled. If there are, we can discuss.”

Of course, she was being sentimental. But if anyone had an issue, she was open to changing it. It didn’t matter too much to her.

“No objections. Anqiao may be your kids’ names, but it sounds nice. I like it. Let’s go with that.” Yu Fan winked and scratched Qiao An’s chin.

Yu Fan had no objections. Neither did Li Hongjun. He nodded, “Sure, Anqiao it is. Sounds nice. A name’s a name—what matters is making money.”

Since it was Qiao Lu’s idea, Xu Haizhou naturally had no objections. In the end, it was unanimously agreed: the factory would be named “Anqiao Garment Factory.”

“Anqiao? Mommy, is that An’an and Qiao Qiao?” Qiao An, clever as ever, quickly realized the meaning.

His pretty deer-like eyes blinked in curiosity.

“Yes.” Qiao Lu kissed his little cheek. “You and your sister make up our new factory. What do you think?”

Qiao An was astonished, mouth agape, still with two sticky rice grains on the corners of his mouth. “Mommy, you’re using me and sister… for the name?”

“Yup. Is that okay?”

“Totally okay, Mommy!” Using his and his sister’s names for a factory—how cool was that?

He took a big bite of soft glutinous rice and grinned with joy.

Tomorrow, he’d tell everyone at school the good news!

With a loan, everything became easier.

After taking over the Hongxing Garment Factory, the first step was hiring an advertising agency to make a signboard for “Anqiao Garment Factory” to hang on the front gate—an important public signal that the place was under new management.

The second step was recruiting employees, especially former ones. Those with experience and quick hands would be prioritized.

But they made one thing clear from the start: “Salaries will be higher than before, but anyone caught slacking will be immediately fired. We don’t care about seniority—only ability.”

Once the hiring notice was posted, the good pay attracted plenty of interest. In just ten minutes, almost half of the former Red Star staff came rushing back to apply.

The crowd was massive. It was a sight to behold.

Life after the factory’s closure had been tough. Sure, wages had been low before, and there were constant delays, but at least there was some income.

After the shutdown, there wasn’t even a cent coming in. Times were hard, and jobs were harder to find. Everyone was desperate for work. When they saw the Anqiao Garment Factory hiring, they raced over.

Any job was better than sitting idle at home—even if it didn’t pay much. But then they heard the boss say something about immediate dismissal if unsatisfactory…

“What? Fired just like that? Then this isn’t a ‘iron rice bowl’ anymore, is it?” They’d thought it would be like the old state-run Hongxing Garment Factory—once you got in, you were set for life… unless the factory collapsed.