The Stunningly Beautiful and Delicate Darling in the 1980s Military Compound - Chapter 85

Under Song Mingyue’s repeated insistence, Chen Che finally told the truth.

“Then let’s have a daughter. A daughter would be prettier, but a son is fine too; I’m not picky.”

I’m not picky.

This remark made Mingyue want to laugh; it was truly something only he, with his straightforward, “straight-male” personality, would say.

But if it were up to her, Mingyue also wanted a daughter. That way, when the child grew up, she could dress her up beautifully and make her the prettiest little princess in the world.

While on the road, Mingyue suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, has Jiang Manman returned to your unit yet?”

Chen Che replied calmly, “No, she has been repatriated. She should still be on the way.”

Mingyue was a bit surprised. “Back to Pingcheng? For what reason?”

“The same reason as last time. Her mental state isn’t quite right, so it’s good for her to go back and get treatment.”

Chen Che spoke vaguely. In truth, Jiang Manman had been insisting that she was a “reborn” person. No one could believe such a tall tale, and eventually, the hospital determined she had mental health issues. Naturally, her unit dared not keep her, so the best outcome was to send her home.

Mingyue sat on the back of his bicycle. The breeze blew her skirt hem high. Even though Chen Che didn’t say anything more, Mingyue could guess the rest.

She asked him, “Do you believe what Jiang Manman said?”

“That she was reborn? That I’m going to sacrifice myself next year?” Chen Che smiled warmly. “Whether I believe it or not isn’t important. But Yueyue, even if something really happens to me in the future, you must live your life well, do you hear me?”

“Stop! Stop right now!”

Mingyue insisted he pull over. She was so angry she was on the verge of tears. For the first time, she realized that pregnant women really do experience mood swings—the kind you just can’t control.

Especially since she also knew how the future would unfold, she calculated the timeline—she would likely be preparing to give birth at that time. It was the last thing she could bear to hear.

“I’m going to pretend I never heard what you just said. Say it again, properly. Hurry up!”

Chen Che looked at her, his face full of affection. He walked over, patted her head, and immediately apologized: “I misspoke. I will definitely be fine. I still have to wait for our child to be born and spend the rest of my life growing old with you, our Yueyue.”

“Chen Che, you have a military rank. Your word must be as heavy as nine tripods. If you say you will stay with me until we are old, you must fulfill it.”

Chen Che nodded. He was still uncertain about the future, but in this moment, he was willing to tell a “white lie” to comfort his girl.

They chatted about a lot, and Chen Che continued to show concern for her business, asking how the search for her storefront was going.

Fortunately, the clothes she had sourced could be worn into late autumn; otherwise, in this weather, the stock might not have sold at all. However, time was truly tight. There was no time for major renovations, and they were out of money, so they had to make do for now.

Mingyue said, “I might open on Sunday. I plan to hire a few singers to perform.”

When she first heard this plan, Zhang Jingjing couldn’t understand it. “What kind of singing performance? Usually, when people have a celebration, they hire someone to blow trumpets. Why don’t we do that instead?”

Mingyue immediately shot down the idea. She asked Zhang Jingjing, “Do you know what ‘potential customers’ are?”

Zhang Jingjing shook her head; she had never heard the term.

Mingyue analyzed it for her: “Our shop currently targets women who aren’t short on money. These types of girls usually pursue trends. They might not necessarily like the sound of blowing trumpets, but they are definitely listening to Hong Kong pop music right now and know popular songs. If we hire someone to sing those, wouldn’t it be easier to attract them?”

As for those who liked the sound of trumpets, most were just there to watch the commotion, and even if they came, it wouldn’t do much for business.

Mingyue told Chen Che about the idea as well, unable to resist boasting, “Isn’t this idea brilliant? Am I smart or what?”

“Hmm. Very smart.”

In addition to hiring singers, Mingyue also set up a promotion: as long as customers spent a certain amount in the shop, they could receive a discount and a gift. The top spender would win a black-and-white television. At this time, a TV was still an advanced household appliance.

In cities like Moshi, many families had bought TVs, but in the countryside, a television was definitely a rare item, so this prize was quite valuable and would surely entice more people.

However, Mingyue hadn’t bought the TV yet for the simple reason that she was short on cash. Buying a television currently required a ration coupon, which was released in limited quantities at specific times and had to be “snatched” up. Mingyue had already secured the coupon, and as soon as she made some money, she would go buy the set.

In one’s first venture into business, integrity is paramount.

This seemingly simple tactic hadn’t become popular yet in the 1980s. Every time Zhang Jingjing heard her ideas, she would gasp in amazement: “Mingyue, what is your brain made of? How can you be so smart? I’ve never heard of these things you’re saying, but they make so much sense!”

Mingyue felt a bit of apprehension. A clever idea didn’t necessarily mean it would be executed perfectly. If it were ten years later, she would be completely confident that these marketing strategies would take off, as that was when such methods started to emerge.

But for now, Mingyue didn’t have much certainty. Most people’s consumption levels weren’t high yet, and a television cost a significant amount of money. She hoped they wouldn’t end up losing more than the cost of the TV.

These were all unknowns. Mingyue didn’t know what would happen in the future.

However, all she could do was give her best effort. Even though she was pregnant, she worked just as hard as anyone else.

Since the shop renovation was mediocre, Mingyue simply went to the wholesale market, bought many posters of pop stars, and plastered them inside the shop. She also brought a tape recorder from home to play music.

Many people were attracted by the sound of popular music. Seeing them working inside, they were very curious. “What are you doing in here?”

With dust still on her hands, Zhang Jingjing eagerly introduced the shop to passersby: “We are a women’s clothing store, the first one in Moshi selling trendy styles! We open on Sunday. We’ll be giving away televisions and having performances, so you should bring your friends to take a look!”

Upon hearing about the TV, the passerby’s eyes lit up immediately. “For real? Is it a working television?”

“It’s absolutely true, no fake! Come by on Sunday and you’ll see.”

Hearing this, the passerby hurried home to tell everyone they knew. Seeing how excited the person was, Zhang Jingjing finally felt her heart settle. Fortunately, she wasn’t socially awkward. With the straightforward, bold nature of a Mongolian girl, her interactions with people felt very sincere.

Most of these scripts were taught to her by Mingyue, and based on the results, they were working quite well.

After the walls were finished, Mingyue bought several clothes racks and hung the clothes up one by one. She had worked in the clothing business before and was familiar with store displays. The once messy room, through Mingyue’s capable hands, looked much more pleasing to the eye.

Now, there was one critical issue left: the shop didn’t have a name.

Since Zhang Jingjing and Pei Xiaoyu were there, Mingyue asked for their opinions. They both agreed: “You’ve put the most effort into this, so we’ll definitely listen to you.”

“That’s right, Sister Mingyue, just name it whatever you like. We’re all with you.”

It was simplest to just take one character from each of the four girls’ names. Although Zhao Xing hadn’t returned yet, this dream started with the four of them planning it together, so Mingyue decided to include her name.

The four names combined formed “Ming-Jing-Xiao-Xing.” When Zhang Jingjing heard it, she shook her head. “That’s a mouthful. How about we just call it ‘Mingyue’s Shop’?”

That sounds even more rustic.

A name is a brand; it really needed some thought. At this time, most shops didn’t have creative names—they were usually named after their locations, like “West City Department Store” or “East City Market.”

While these were quite plain, they fit the aesthetic of the time. Mingyue decided that, for now, their shop would be called the “West Street Corner Women’s Clothing Store.”

Everything was settled, and she even made a sign to place next to the shop entrance.

As the opening date grew closer, more people from the neighborhood came to visit. No one could resist the temptation of a television. Beyond the young women, even the grandmothers queued up, promising to come and show their support.

From the time she first thought about starting a women’s clothing business to now, it had been several months. A lot had happened during this time—the girls had worked so hard selling watermelons to finally save up the money, and then she and Jingjing had traveled to Shanghai. Now, she was even carrying a child.

It was only then that Mingyue remembered—although her body was tired, she was truly happy inside. She had almost forgotten about the fatigue.

Effort always yields rewards, and her reward was finally about to blossom.

The night before the opening, the girls stayed at the shop until midnight. Mingyue had rehearsed all the procedures for the next day. This was their first public appearance, and they couldn’t afford any mistakes.

When Chen Che returned home and found she wasn’t there, he knew she must be at the shop. He hopped on his bicycle, intending to pick her up and ask if there was anything he could help with. During this time, Chen Che’s work had become stressful again. He knew she stayed up very late every day, but other than providing moral support, he hadn’t been able to help with much.

He was actually very eager to see the shop; Mingyue had told him about many of the decorative details, and he wanted to see what it looked like for himself.

Just as he left the house, Chen Che saw Old Yu walking in from the main courtyard gate. If he were on duty, he wouldn’t be using this exit. Chen Che thought he was looking for trouble, so he hurriedly asked, “Are you heading to their shop?”

Old Yu looked flustered. When he heard Chen Che mention the shop, he didn’t react immediately, looking for all the world like a thief with a guilty conscience.