Migrant workers grow into curtain factory owners

Confessor: Zhou Yong, 31 years old, curtain operator

Photographer and recorder: our reporter Ye Zi

Time: October 21

Location: Hongshan Square, Wuchang

31-year-old Zhou Yong gave reporters the impression of being honest and sincere. When he told reporters, he not only brought his business license, but also his ID card for his place of residence. The ID card proves that he is an out-and-out farmer.

As one of the millions of migrant workers in the city, Zhou Yong combines the sincerity of a farmer and the shrewdness of a businessman.

From starting out as a vegetable vendor to owning his own curtain factory today, Zhou Yong’s entrepreneurial experience embodies the bitterness and excitement of millions of migrant workers who have come to the city to work hard.

Maybe his wealth is nothing in Wuhan now, but his entrepreneurial passion has witnessed the development of this city, and the prosperity of Wuhan has become more colorful because of the efforts of countless Zhou Yong.

I have had the potential to do business since I was a child, and I went out to work to pay off my debts.

In 1974, I was born into a peasant family in Wufeng, Hubei. When I was in the second grade of elementary school, my father said to me earnestly, "Study hard, and from now on you will rely on reading to get out of this small ravine." But I have liked to be naughty and mischievous since I was a child, and I don't have much interest in learning. Looking back today, I feel a little ashamed of my father.

I think I have a "talent" for business since I was a child. There are chestnut trees all over the mountains and plains in our hometown. In the autumn of the second grade of elementary school, I went to the mountains to pick up chestnuts after school, and soon I picked up a schoolbag. I carried it to school the next day and sold it for 1 cent per chestnut, sometimes in one day. You can earn more than 1 yuan. You must know that it was 1983, and the daily pocket money of a child in the mountains was only 5 cents. I could earn more than 1 yuan a day, which was considered "rich".

But my father thought that I was not doing my job properly. Therefore, when I was in the third grade of elementary school, he transferred me from the elementary school in the mountains to the best elementary school in the plains.

But not long after, I discovered another business opportunity. Someone in the new school sells hair cakes for 5 cents each, but no one in the primary school in the mountains sells hair cakes at all. So, every time I went home, I would buy 10 steamed cakes and take them to the school in the mountains to sell them for 1 cent each, so that I could earn 5 cents at a time. Of course, we have to walk about ten miles of mountain roads in the middle.

When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, I started to "change my career" to the fruit candy business. At that time, 500 grams of fruit candies cost 0.65 yuan. I bought them and sold them by the piece, at 1 cent for every 8 candies, so I could earn about 2 cents for every 500 grams. Although the profits are not as high as chestnut, I feel very proud. After all, I can make money after "changing my career".

My father knew that I didn’t study hard and was indulged in “business” all day long, so he found a person with a high reputation in our local area to talk to me. From then on, I determined to study hard and get into college.

"To be honest, it is one thing for a person to make a decision, but it is another thing to insist on it or not. Anyway, my determination to study hard died soon after." Zhou Yong said that his mother later Tell him that his father was very sad when he saw him going back on his word.

In 1990, I was admitted to the accounting major of a TV university in our county. Many of my classmates at school are city dwellers, and some of them have always looked down upon their classmates from the countryside. However, I'm a cheerful person and don't mind that. Unexpectedly, there was a classmate from the mountains in our dormitory who somehow offended a classmate from the city. That night, a group of social youths from the city came to our dormitory and I was beaten for no reason.

What makes me angry is that the school handled this matter very unfairly, and ultimately asked our dormitory classmates to compensate each other for their medical expenses.

After being wronged, I naively believed that as long as I had good martial arts skills, no one would dare to bully me. So, I secretly went to a martial arts school in Hunan to practice martial arts with my family behind my back.

Martial arts schools focus on two-sided sparring or multi-person sparring. As a new student, I was pulled out for training every time. Of course, he would be beaten black and blue by the opponent every time. Three months later, I couldn't bear the torture anymore and secretly ran home. After hearing my experience, my father let out a long sigh—he no longer had any hope in me.

In 1991, my father opened a local tea factory. After I returned home, I went to help my father’s tea factory. Perhaps my father did not have the qualities to run a business. At the end of the second year, our family owed more than 10,000 yuan in foreign debt.

I began to think about going out to work to make a lot of money and help my family pay off this huge sum of money. But there is no way out.

I earned more than 10,000 yuan from selling tea, my first pot of gold

In the spring of 1993, a fellow villager said he could help me find a job in Yingcheng. After hearing this, my father I was so happy that I sold a few trees at home to collect 120 yuan for my travel expenses.

A fellow villager introduced me to work in a wood products factory in Yingcheng. The daily wage is 8 yuan. If there is no work to do, there is no money. In the first month, I earned 120 yuan. Although the work was very hard and the salary was very low, I did not think of going home. I knew clearly that my family owed more than 10,000 yuan in foreign debt, waiting for me to make money to pay it off.

Zhou Yong said that when he went to work in Yingcheng, he mainly felt that he would not have much future in his hometown. After arriving in Yingcheng, he had no clear goals, so he has been struggling on the poverty line. It took many years for him to understand that a person's achievements are closely related to his ideals and aspirations.

In June 1994, I went back to my hometown. Tea is produced in my hometown. When I returned to the factory, I brought a batch of tea to Yingcheng to sell. At first, I carried my schoolbag and hawked along the gates of Yingcheng, earning more than ten yuan a day. Maybe it’s because the tea in my hometown is really good, or maybe it’s because the customers take care of my young age. In short, more and more people come to me to buy tea. Soon, I started selling tea on a cart. When business was good, I could earn about 80 yuan a day. By November 1995, I had paid off all my family’s debts.

Destiny began to change in 1996. That spring, I fell in love with a girl from Yingcheng. In order to get close to her, I went to work in a chicken factory close to the girl's workplace. Although the monthly salary is only 200 yuan, I never regret it. In July of the following year, we got married. My destiny has changed forever because of my wife.

Soon after we got married, my wife discussed with me that we should try our luck outside. Finally, we decided to go to Wuhan to join my wife’s aunt in search of development opportunities.

I went to Wuhan with 800 yuan, sold vegetables, fruit, and opened a hotel. I started doing business in the dark and made little money

In the summer of 1997, my wife and I brought Came to Wuhan with 800 yuan. With the help of my aunt, we found a stall at the back of the Qiaokou market. Every morning at 1 o'clock in the morning, I get up and go to Huangjing Hall to buy potatoes, peppers and other vegetables to sell. But no matter how hard I try, I can only earn about 15 yuan at most if I work in the dark all day long.

How can I make more money? Through investigation, I found that selling fruits is more profitable than selling vegetables. So I tried my best to find a stall selling fruits at the entrance of Qiaokou Vegetable Market, and I could earn more than 20 yuan a day. A year later, someone suggested me to sell fruit candies. So, I rented a shop next to Tangjiaxiang Market in Qiaokou, selling fruit candies. I could earn at least about 200 yuan a day, which increased my income.

People tend to get dizzy when they have money. In the autumn of 1998, I started trying to diversify my business. I rented a storefront on Chongren Street in Qiaokou and opened a housekeeping service station. Unexpectedly, I lost more than 7,000 yuan in less than two months. Then, I rented a house and opened a hotel, but I lost more than 4,000 yuan in less than three months. Two consecutive investment failures made me lose confidence in myself. Do I not have the talent to do business?

After self-reflection, I began to adjust my mentality and redesign the path to wealth creation. First of all, I will do whatever makes money. Of course, I will not do anything that is not allowed by the state, no matter how profitable it is.

In the summer of 1999, I sold watermelons and earned more than 6,000 yuan in just over a month. In October of that year, I rented a shop in Tangjia Alley to sell fruits, melon seeds, fruit candies and other non-staple foods. By the end of the year, I had earned another 7,000 yuan.

Zhou Yong said that for most farmers, it is of course a happy thing to make so much money in a year. But what he was thinking about was: how to make his annual income close to 100,000 yuan.

Get involved in the curtain industry, figure out the market positioning, and open my own factory

In 2000, I began to invest all my funds in the clothing business. But due to lack of experience, after one year, I made no profit but lost money. At this time, a friend wanted to develop in Shenzhen and was willing to transfer his curtain production workshop to me at a low price.

I didn’t expect that in one year, I would lose more than 10,000 yuan in the curtain production workshop. This shocked me because when my friend was running the business, he could earn at least 100,000 yuan a year. Is it really as if every other line is separated by a mountain?

I called my friend in Shenzhen for advice. He suggested on the phone that I should learn more about the market and become familiar with all aspects of the industry, so that I can turn losses into profits. After listening to my friend's advice, I began to humbly learn from the employees in the curtain production workshop and began to investigate the market situation.

In 2002, after a long-term inspection of the curtain market in Wuhan and listening to opinions from many parties, I felt that the curtain industry was highly profitable and had great market potential. So I closed the clothing store and started running the curtain business wholeheartedly.

In October of that year, I invested a sum of money to establish Wuhan Qiming Curtain Factory based on the original curtain production workshop. Later, industry experts were hired as consultants to segment the Hubei curtain market and find the correct market positioning. In the end, I decided to mainly produce curtains for enterprises and institutions, supplemented by household curtains. Due to accurate product positioning, in less than a year, my products quickly occupied the market and were sold to Hunan, Henan and other places.

After several years of hard work, my company now has a place in the Wuhan curtain market. Over the years of doing business, I have taken many detours. The small success I am able to achieve today is not only due to my own efforts, but also to the help of my friends. I will continue to work hard in the future. Next year, I plan to open a branch factory in Yichang and focus on developing the curtain market in prefectures and cities.

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