In 1987, in a supermarket in Inner Mongolia, one of the girls standing behind the unremarkable counter often attracted attention.
The girl sat in a special chair, although at first glance there was nothing strange about it, but as long as you looked closely, you would find that the girl was not tall enough to reach the counter.
There are inquiries and contempt in the eyes next to her, but the girl is calm and self-assured, and she is articulate in introducing her products to the inquiring guests.
The girl's name was Zhu Xiaohong, and she was 17 years old at this time, but she was only 86 centimeters tall.
A disabled girl who strives to improve herself
Zhu Xiaohong is the eldest daughter in the family, and in 1970, the day she was born was the happiest day for the family.
But this baby girl was born extremely thin, only less than three pounds. What is even more surprising is that although Zhu Xiaohong's face is normal, her hands and feet are not as small as those of ordinary children.
Holding this baby as fragile as a little mouse, Zhu Xiaohong's family was a little worried.
The doctor also brought a more distressing news for the whole family - Zhu Xiaohong suffered from congenital hypochondriasis and may not have the opportunity to walk freely in this life.
Zhu Xiaohong's family is relatively poor, and raising a disabled child will only increase the burden on the family, but the parents are reluctant to discard their own flesh and bones.
After bringing this little child home, as the doctor predicted, although Zhu Xiaohong grew up day by day, her growth was extremely slow, and her development was far slower than that of her peers.
Because of her abnormal body, Zhu Xiaohong has not been likable since she was a child, and people at her age will be praised for her cute age, and no one pays much attention to her at all.
Fortunately, Zhu Xiaohong's parents and grandfather did not give up on her. On the contrary, in their eyes, they also feel that Zhu Xiaohong looks very good, and he can also be regarded as loving and protective of her.
Because of illness, Zhu Xiaohong stopped developing in her teens, and her height suddenly stopped when she grew to 86 centimeters.
Although physically, Zhu Xiaohong was mutilated. However, she did not give up learning.
Although unable to take care of herself, Zhu Xiaohong was stopped by the school. However, she also had a patient grandfather.
Grandpa usually prepared many books at home, and a local teaching Zhu Xiaohong to recognize words and teach her all the knowledge that normal children should learn. Zhu Xiaohong is also a smart child, who learns quickly under the guidance of her grandfather.
Although Zhu Xiaohong is no longer an illiterate person, her twisted body still allows her to cling to the shade of her family.
At the age of 17, Zhu Xiaohong realized that she was already an adult. Her body still looked very strange, she had hands about the length of a normal woman, but behind her knees were curved.
Unable to walk, she had to be carried by people wherever she went. But she still wants to have a career of her own.
After all, her parents will grow old one day, and her brother will start a family, and sooner or later she will learn to plan for herself. Therefore, Zhu Xiaohong decided to start her own business.
At that time, people's aesthetics had begun to be liberated, and fashionable women on the street began to make up, and Zhu Xiaohong also smelled business opportunities from them.
When she mentioned to her family that she wanted to sell cosmetics, her parents were a little hesitant at first, afraid that she would not be able to take care of herself alone, but under Zhu Xiaohong's repeated pleading, she finally agreed.
Her parents helped Zhu Xiaohong rent two counters in the supermarket to use for business. With the sales position, there are still goods to sell. After consideration, Zhu Xiaohong found that Harbin's supply is more diverse and the price is more fair, so she plans to go to Harbin to buy goods.
Inner Mongolia is far from Harbin after all, and Zhu Xiaohong cannot travel alone, so her younger brother takes on the responsibility of accompanying and taking care of her sister.
On the crowded green-skinned train, Zhu Xiaohong's sisters and brothers need to spend a full 12 hours on it. There was no place to rest, so I stood under my chair and slept.
And every time in the crowd, Zhu Xiaohong is lifted up by the family who sent the station and transported from the top of other people's heads. In order to save time, every purchase is rushed.
They needed to take a late bus to Harbin, arrive in the early morning and rush to the wholesale market, and at the end of the tired day, the sisters and brothers took the train back to Inner Mongolia.
Every purchase was extremely hard, but thanks to the help of her brother, Zhu Xiaohong still persevered, and she was very grateful for it.
The business of the makeup cabinet was not too good at the beginning, and Zhu Xiaohong, who sat behind the counter, often attracted the eyes of others, which made her a little embarrassed and a little annoyed.
As if exposing her flaws to others, like a monkey to let people watch, this greatly hit her self-esteem, but also once made her want to give up.
Fortunately, her grandfather carefully enlightened her, telling her that only if she had the ability to stand on her own and had money on hand, she would be able to get a happy life in the future.
So, she cleaned up her mood, relying on her own efforts to make money is an honorable thing, should not be inferior because of their own imperfections.
Later, under the unremitting efforts of Zhu Xiaohong, her business gradually got on the right track. She is becoming more and more familiar with cosmetics and has a clearer grasp of the psychology of customers.
The people who passed by the counter didn't just sweep by with curious eyes, more people came to ask about cosmetics, and Zhu Xiaohong developed them into their own customers. Zhu Xiaohong sat at this small counter for 6 years, and earned her first pot of gold in this way.
There is a bitter and sweet married life
Zhu Xiaohong, who has tasted the sweetness, has been busy taking care of her own business, although she has met many people because of her work, but she has been alone for so many years.
It's not that she's used to being alone, it's that no one can really touch her heart.
Don't look at Zhu Xiaohong as a disabled person, you think she must not have time to take care of her appearance. In fact, she also has a heart that loves beauty.
Because of the cosmetics business, Zhu Xiaohong often deals with distributors, and when she comes and goes, they become acquainted.
Seeing that Zhu Xiaohong was interested in makeup, the dealer taught her hand in hand and personally made up a makeup for her.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Zhu Xiaohong was also very surprised, and for a moment she couldn't believe that she could look so good, and even her face was reluctant to wash. Since then, Zhu Xiaohong has fallen in love with makeup.
On weekdays, she always dressed herself beautifully, and after earning money, she often bought various styles of clothes for herself.
Although she is not good at herself, as long as she appears in front of others, she always shows her best appearance.
Such an optimistic, strong and exquisite Zhu Xiaohong is of course worthy of being liked by others. In 2001, Zhu Xiaohong met a man from Shandong under the introduction of a friend.
At first, the two were just friends, but after a period of contact, the man was attracted to this charismatic woman and launched a passionate pursuit of Zhu Xiaohong.
In the face of this tall, honest man, Zhu Xiaohong also has a good feeling, and she feels dazzled by the first time she experiences love and is sincerely immersed in happiness.
But once the love between the two was revealed, it ushered in a voice of opposition. Zhu Xiaohong's family did not trust this young man who suddenly broke into their lives.
In the eyes of Zhu Xiaohong's family, this man is young, has sound limbs, and does not worry about a good marriage.
Although her daughter is capable, she is after all a disabled person who needs to be taken care of everywhere, and it may not be able to affect the lives of others.
In this way, it seems that this unequal relationship is questioned as well.
And the man's family is even more difficult to accept this, they can never imagine that their good son is so blind, pick a woman who may not even be able to pass on the family lineage.
But the opposition of the two families did not dissuade the couple, who were in a good mood. The longer they spend together, the more aware they are of each other's shining points, which are beyond the definition of the world.
In the end, unable to resist the son's insistence, the man's parents reluctantly agreed to the marriage. And sincerity of heart is the spirit, Zhu Xiaohong's family also saw the sincerity of the young man and sent their own blessings.
Zhu Xiaohong and her husband entered the palace of marriage in 2005. For many years, she had dreamed of someone who could enter her heart and accompany her through the years to come, and now she had finally achieved her wish.
After marriage, their husbands sang and sang, and their lives were very happy. The husband and Zhu Xiaohong's family are also very harmonious, and the family is more and more convinced that their marriage is a match made in heaven.
Although she had long been reluctant to have her own child, when the good news of pregnancy struck, Zhu Xiaohong was still very surprised.
She did not dare to think that she had actually obtained so much happiness at once, not only her lover was on her side, but also a small life of her own would come to her in 10 months.
Although she is not suitable for pregnancy because of her frail health, the desire and love for the child still makes Zhu Xiaohong endure pain to conceive this hard-won life.
Because Zhu Xiaohong's body was too small, her belly became larger with pregnancy, which gradually made her body unbearable. Her cervical spine was bent and she was very uncomfortable sitting or lying down.
By eight and a half months, Zhu Xiaohong's body could no longer withstand the development of the fetus. When she was taken to the hospital due to sudden pain, the doctor solemnly told the accompanying family that she had to undergo a caesarean section.
Outside the delivery room, Zhu Xiaohong's family was anxiously pacing, while Zhu Xiaohong in the delivery room was also enduring the pain of being disemboweled.
Because her spine had been deformed, it was impossible to inject Zhu Xiaohong with anesthetics at this time. Otherwise, it may cause Zhu Xiaohong's paralysis in the second half of her life.
The awake Zhu Xiaohong lay on the operating table, she felt as if her belly had been cut, her stomach had turned purple due to bruises, and although her perception had become numb from pain, she still felt a pain like a drill heart when stitching.
After being pushed out of the operating room, Zhu Xiaohong's body could not bear to faint because she could not bear it, so the doctor carried out emergency rescue for her.
When she finally woke up and wanted to see the child she had given up her life to give birth to, the family refused to hold it, only saying that the child was still in the incubator.
Although her heart was worried, she believed it when she was extremely weak. In the days that followed, Zhu Xiaohong, who missed her child, begged her mother again and again to let herself look at the child, but they only told her not to worry, everything was fine with the child.
With a beautiful imagination of her daughter, Zhu Xiaohong actively treated and her body finally recovered. Under the sincere comfort of her husband, she also gradually believed that the child would soon be discharged from the hospital to meet her.
However, in her earnest hope, an inadvertent slip of the tongue completely knocked her mood down. It turned out that her child was long gone, and her beloved daughter only survived for 9 days.
For a moment, sadness, heartache, disbelief, and all kinds of complicated emotions struck Zhu Xiaohong. Zhu Xiaohong, who was trapped in negative emotions, did not want to speak, nor did she show a smile, only time and her husband's love took her through this unspeakable grief.
The death of his daughter and the sadness of marriage are also consuming and hitting this man with thick shoulders, and his love for Zhu Xiaohong is unquestionable, but there is always an unbearable day.
In the fourth year of marriage, the husband quietly left the house one day without any warning or any news. At first, Zhu Xiaohong thought that her husband was just upset in his heart, went out to relax, and would come back soon.
However, as the days passed, Zhu Xiaohong's wait never came to fruition. She wished she had woken up the next day to see her husband sitting in the room and saying softly to her, "I'm back." But it never seems like it will ever happen.
This is six years, Zhu Xiaohong has been living, doing business, and studying well, but she is no longer following the tall figure around her.
A business career that is getting more and more courageous
Zhu Xiaohong, who came out of her love wounds, went away and devoted herself to her business, even if there was only one person, she had to live a wonderful life.
Zhu Xiaohong has tried many different businesses over the years, and after selling cosmetics for profit, she expanded her sales, went to different places to buy some shoes and clothes, and her flexible business acumen allowed her to save more than 800,000 yuan in six years in the 90s.
Not only that, after discovering the abundant soybean resources in her hometown, she thought it was a good opportunity, so she quit the cosmetics business in full swing and invested in the industry of reselling soybeans.
However, what Zhu Xiaohong did not expect was that this road was ten times more difficult than she had imagined.
Large bean growers often live in villages, and if they want to collect beans, they need to travel long distances. And the roads in the countryside are potholed and looped. Coupled with the backward traffic at that time, it was not like there are various means of travel now.
All this makes Zhu Xiaohong's new entrepreneurial road difficult and full. But there was no turning back from the bow, and Zhu Xiaohong's dictionary did not have the word "retreat" in it.
Every time she goes out, just like her brother carries her to buy goods every time, the two brothers and sisters cooperate with each other to turn the rugged country lanes into their own road of wealth.
Zhu Xiaohong's attitude towards bean farmers is very good, sitting in a wheelchair to talk about business, she is also very generous, never maliciously undercut prices, nor is she calculating. So bean farmers all remember this disabled but friendly woman.
Every time before Zhu Xiaohong came to collect the beans, the bean farmers would always store the beans in advance, and they were willing to do business with Zhu Xiaohong.
The industriousness and ability to endure hardships soon made Zhu Xiaohong's business flourish again, and later, she did not use the door much. The bean farmer will deliver the beans directly to the door, she only needs to be responsible for acceptance, transit and delivery.
This saved her time and expanded her business. For a while, Zhu Xiaohong could say that she could make some money to the point of being soft.
After they left their hometown with their brother, when they passed through Mohe County, Zhu Xiaohong was attracted by the large blueberry fields. Blueberries grow happily, each with a grape the size.
This also inspired Zhu Xiaohong, who is rich in business acumen, to not do the blueberry business.
After research, Zhu Xiaohong learned that blueberries are rich in an excellent ingredient for beauty - anthocyanins, and this discovery made her excited. Zhu Xiaohong immediately decided to make a fuss about this concept that was not yet popular at that time.
She invested more than a million and spent two years to finally develop a technology for extracting anthocyanins. This excited her, and she immediately put on the agenda the plan to build an anthocyanin factory.
In the blink of an eye, a factory covering an area of 30,000 square meters and an investment of more than 10 million yuan was erected.
However, the early return was not as bright as Zhu Xiaohong imagined, and even gave her a head-on blow. Due to a calculation error, the factory could not operate normally and was forced to stop work.
At this time, there is very little money left in hand. Just as she racked her brains, a phone call from Heilongjiang cheered her up. After learning about Zhu Xiaohong's entrepreneurial history, a boss invited her to run a rose garden business together.
After an inspection, Zhu Xiaohong believes that growing roses is very promising, and she intends to make money while supporting her blueberry entrepreneurial dream. So I gladly joined.
Zhu Xiaohong ran at both ends, she was not afraid of hard work, only afraid of failure. Finally, with unremitting efforts, the factory entered normal operation, and the money invested by Zhu Xiaohong was earned back little by little.
Today, Zhu Xiaohong, as a big boss, is already worth more than 10 million, and her factory is worth more than 100 million.
Everyone envies Zhu Xiaohong's wealth, but what she contains is not only a wealth myth, people seem to have forgotten that she was also a child who was not loved by heaven, and it took decades of hard work and wisdom to make her reach the other side of success.
Resources
[1] Harbin Daily, October 24, 2002, "A Million Pocket Girls in Harbin Lie in the Arms of Others and Break Into the End of the World"
[2] "The Life of the Party," January 5, 2015, "The Extraordinary Life of a "Pocket Girl""
[3] Modern Marketing, September 1, 2017, "Always Do 'First' Her Roses and Blueberries Sell Nationwide"