Since 1980, after successively falling off the college entrance examination and being brushed off, and later experiencing the "embarrassing road of learning art" and "dying from teaching dreams", in the blink of an eye, it was the early winter of 1985, and I was twenty-three years old. At that time, my humble life was still like a blank piece of paper, and I could not do anything about it.
Under the rout of one after another, watching the small hair around me, classmates, etc., one by one to establish the employment industry, some small hair, classmates, are already talking about marriage, I obviously realized that the gap between them and them is getting bigger and bigger, and a very strong sense of loss has arisen in my heart, as if I am a lonely person abandoned by this society.
Just when I was in a hurry, by chance, I met SGY, a high school classmate I hadn't met in five years since I graduated. At that time, S classmate went to the township-run enterprise to run supply and marketing after graduation, perhaps with excellent sales performance, a calm and relaxed posture, I was dwarfed in front of him, eclipsed. He learned very gentlemanly about my situation after graduation, his words were full of comfort and sympathy, and when he learned that I was currently "a headless fly", he asked me with concern whether I would like to cooperate with him, and I nodded my head in agreement without saying a word, and at that time there was a "heavenly road" and thought that I had caught a life-saving straw.
The specific content of cooperation is as follows: he previously contracted the "Xiaoyin Riza Ceramic Shop" of the Township Water Transport Management Station (referred to as the Water Pipe Station), because of its personal business development and has no time to take care of it, and wants to subcontract me to take care of the business, the annual rent is 1600 yuan, paid every six months, the subcontract operation contract period is three years, and the operating liquidity of 2000 yuan is temporarily lent to me, and the principal and interest need to be returned after one year.
I was indeed "in a hurry" at that time, and for me, a person with no business thinking and business experience at all, I did not fully consider the past operation of the store. Are the goods being traded marketable? Are there any potential risks in the business activities? How to de-escalate the crisis under special circumstances? Nor is there an in-depth analysis of what should be the annual, monthly, and daily average turnover? What are the cost items of operating activities? What is the estimated cost of operating activities? What is the estimated gross revenue and net profit? Is it reasonable to rent $1,600 a year? Waiting for practical problems, he hastily signed the "Subcontracting Business Contract" and blindly began a game with no chance of winning.
At that time, the "Xiaoyin Daily Miscellaneous Ceramics Shop" was the three-industry store of the township traffic management station, that is, the unit office space was vacated by the two open facades on the side of the road, according to local conditions, because it was ugly and simple. Roughly on the west side of the current Yabao Bridge, opposite the former Xiaoyin Old Hospital, that is, the location of the "Xinhua Bookstore" in the row of commercial and residential buildings facing north, the original environment and appearance have been transformed into oblivion, remember that the store is still close to Xie Boyou's photo studio.
The so-called miscellaneous ceramics, in fact, is the cargo transport ships that traveled to and from southern Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu in that year, ceramic products returned from Yixing, Dingshan and other belts, bowls, pots, plates, plates of various specifications, large and small altar jars and cans, simple packaging, poor texture and easy to wear, the contract agreed to be paid according to 5% of the sales turnover, and at the end of each month by the township water pipe station storage and settlement.
Now that I think about it, my first step of "falling into the business pit" began. Because I am grateful that S classmates not only saved me from the "depths of the water", but also "sent charcoal in the snow" to give financial support, in order to show their trust and generosity among the students, in the face of the stacked and stacked ceramic inventory in the warehouse, tied with straw rope, I did not seriously identify the specifications and good orders, nor did I count the number item by item, I signed and pledged on the "goods transfer inventory list" on the "goods transfer inventory list", Mr. Dong, the physical accountant of the original township water pipe station, witnessed the signature, and quickly multiplied the quantity by the unit price. The total amount of goods obtained is more than 12,000 yuan. So that later there was a disagreement, S classmates took a sentence "no goods to become money, no cash into money, no cash money should have goods" as a classic statement, let me in front of the public to be poor, landless self-tolerance, like a completely deflated ball.
After a month of operation, the township water pipe station, as the actual lessor of the store and the owner of ceramic goods, conducted the first inventory of goods with me. During the whole inventory process, the more I panned, the more anxious my heart became, the more I sweated, I hated myself for being empty-handed, and what kind of "big-tailed wolf" was charged, which caused the dumb to eat yellow and even bitterly unable to say. The inventory amount of this inventory is only less than 10,000 yuan, and the amount of inventory when I took over, there is a difference of more than 2,000 yuan, that is to say, even if I sell all the goods, I can only get six hundred yuan in remuneration, but only in the number of goods inventory, I suddenly lost more than two thousand yuan. Oh the heavens! O earth! How could I be so unbearable? At the end of 1985, people's lives were still in a state of material deprivation, and the per capita wages of urban residents were only about fifty yuan, and in the rural areas of the Lixiahe area where I was at that time, I suddenly owed more than two thousand yuan, which was equivalent to losing the annual income of three or four normal laborers.
At that time, the township water pipe station still belonged to the township management agency, and the proceeds of its tertiary production belonged to the category of collective assets and could not be infringed upon, and the nature of the problem was large or small. Although the leaders of the township water pipe station expressed deep sympathy, they could not help it, urged them to make up for the purchase as soon as possible, and tried to digest the problem internally as much as possible. After the leader of the township water pipe station opened the net, I had to lend me the working capital of the S classmate, withdraw one thousand yuan, and issue an IOU of more than one thousand yuan, promising to pay off the operating income in half a year.
Although I am thinking of ways every day, for the "hole" of unprovoked losses all day long worried, half a year soon arrived, S classmates as scheduled to collect the store rent, I will be half a year of business a little income, plus the remaining one thousand yuan of liquidity, in addition to paying half a year's rent of 800 yuan, and settled the arrears of the township water pipe station, not only did not earn a penny, but also owed nearly three thousand yuan (including S classmates 2000 yuan).
At that time, due to the backwardness of science and technology, refrigerators, washing machines, and television sets were almost luxury goods for rural families, but some families had already taken "three turns and one ring" as a condition for marriage. I smelled this rare business opportunity, tried to get private usurious loans, went to Shanghai to kowtow to relatives, and got some "supply coupons" from various channels, such as Shanghai Kaige brand televisions, butterfly brand sewing machines, Phoenix brand bicycles, red light card recorders, Shanghai brand watches, etc., returned to my hometown to quickly open the sales market, using a little difference between the "coupon supply", in addition to the interest of private loans, each trip can earn a hundred yuan, after doing several times in a row, I can finally put together the rent of 800 yuan in the second half of the first year. Pinch your fingers, a whole year of hard work, only paid the annual rent of 1600 yuan, but also confused, unclear debt of more than two thousand yuan.
Still, there is a glimmer of hope. Just when he was full of confidence and ready to continue to take advantage of the chase, S classmate came to ask for the principal and interest of the working capital with the IOU in hand. At this time, although I have seen the true face of some people to some extent, even if the abyss is in the abyss, I jumped into it myself, even if I am full of grievances, I can only do it myself. I and S classmates described in detail their current business predicament, and even almost burst into tears, asking to see the two years of love in the same window, and then give another year of grace to return this money. Classmate S was unmoved, argued with reason, and also directly threatened to meet in court, causing the two sides to immediately quarrel at the door of the store, I felt humiliated to the point of no face, the business situation that was not easy to open, the store business almost plummeted.
In the following days, as long as S classmates returned home from a business trip, they would come to the door of the store to make a fuss, although I said all the good things and accompanied the smiling faces, but I could not solve the dispute. In the end, I had to borrow money from the private people at high interest rates, tear down the eastern wall, make up the western wall, and pay off the principal and interest of the money first, so far, I have owed a full three thousand yuan of foreign debt, and I will still generate high interest every day. It is ridiculous and lamentable that I graduated from high school at the age of eighteen in the eighty years, and six years have passed, neither have i started a family, nor have I established a career, wasted time, achieved nothing, and owed a bunch of debts (usury), and now think about my original life, how failed and helpless!
At the beginning of 1987, the business of the store was deteriorating, not only was it addicted to loan sharks, but I could not support it when it was close to paying half a year's rent. I had to count the inventory of ceramic goods with the township traffic management station, settle the sales account, and pay the half-year rent of 800 yuan that was about to expire, and then roll up the personal remnants of the goods, helplessly "closing the door". After encountering several bad lucks in a row and suffering many rounds of ruthless tearing, this has just come back to God, and once again he has been beaten to the ground and has no skin.
Only I know how to pay off that huge debt later, not only with hardships, but also with shame and embarrassment, but in any case, I finally paid off the unjust debt. At the end of December 1990, I met the S classmate at the BaoyingYao River Vegetable Market, and he actually distorted and fabricated facts on the grounds that he had signed a three-year lease term, paid only one and a half years of rent, and had not paid the rent for another year and a half, and took illegal means to attack me personally and reputationally.
Decades have passed, this farce of "falling into the business pit" is still fresh in my memory, and in the process of this incident, the lessons worth summing up and drawing are really too many, which have affected the principles and guidelines of "handling things for people" all my life, and I have also seen through the sinister rivers and lakes, the people's hearts are unpredictable, and gradually realize that people can only gradually grow and strengthen themselves in the midst of continuous failures and setbacks.
You are not brave, who is strong for you!
(Images from the Internet, infringement is deleted)
Completed on July 20, 2021