- 6.
The knocking stopped, and John finally left
after apologizing profusely.
Excited, I cooked three dishes and took them
to Chloe’s room, eager to talk. She had also
cooked three dishes.
We laughed, looking at each other. Chloe
said, “I never thought I’d see the day he’d
grovel like that.”
Six dishes were too many for the small table. I
grinned, feeling like my life was finally
beginning, after a lifetime of waiting.
We opened two sodas, clinking our glasses
together. “Mr. Xu agreed,” I said, my voice
filled with joy. “This feels like a new
beginning.”
Free from John, escaping that soul–crushing
relationship, on the cusp of starting a
business—everything was falling into place.
The next day, after our shift at the breakfast
stall, we met with Mr. Xu.
He explained the workshop’s operations, how
to inspect finished products, and suggested
Chloe and I take a mechanical engineering
course.
We didn’t need to become experts, just
understand the manufacturing process and
حل محله
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We could see how much Mr. Xu cared about
his workshop. The day before he left for his
hometown, he asked us to check on it every
day.
I smiled and waved him off. “Don’t worry,
we’re shareholders now.”
Chloe and I followed his advice and enrolled
in the course.
We kept selling breakfast, dreaming of
expanding the workshop into a factory.
Two weeks later, the workshop produced its
first batch of TVs, and Mr. Xu returned.
We discussed sales, and he raised a concern.
“Raw material prices have increased
significantly, but the market price for TVs in
Miami is only $260. If we raise our prices, we
won’t be able to sell them.”
Chloe nudged me. “Remember how much TVs
cost back home? I think it was around $470.”
I nodded. “They were shipped from Miami. Of
course, the price went up.”
Suddenly, it clicked. I slapped the table. “We
can ship the TVs up north!”
We quickly calculated the shipping and
trucking costs. We could sell each TV for over
$100 more up north.
We closed the breakfast stall for a week,
rented a truck, hired a driver, and drove north.
We sold the entire truckload of TVs.
Back in Miami, we counted our profits–over
$10,000.
We shared the good news with Mr. Xu, and
we were all thrilled.
I told him about our plan to buy a truck, hire
two drivers, and continue shipping up north.
Mr. Xu agreed and gave us $30,000 of our
$40,000 investment to get started.
Three months later, our plan had not only
earned us enough to expand the workshop
but also established our reputation in the
northern market.
We offered a $20 discount to northern
retailers who bought from us directly.
Г
Mr. Jones from the textile factory found out
about our TV business and wrote to me,
asking if there was a way he could get
involved.
I told him about our plans to expand the
workshop into a factory and offered him an
investment opportunity.
Mr. Jones and four other managers pooled
their money and invested $50,000.
Mr. Xu found a great location, and we moved
the workshop, officially becoming a factory.
In less than six months, Chloe and I had
become co–owners of an electronics factory.
At the ribbon–cutting ceremony, Mr. Xu
beamed shaking his head “Amy do vou have
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beamed, shaking his head. “Amy, do you have
some kind of foresight? Everything has gone
so smoothly. We’ve built a factory in under six
months!”
Chloe laughed. “When I came to you, I never
imagined we’d be making money. I just
wanted something of my own. I never
dreamed we’d achieve this.”
I smiled, deflecting the praise. “It’s all thanks
to teamwork.”
After the ceremony, we went to a restaurant.
The air inside was stuffy, so I stepped outside
for some fresh air.
And there, outside the restaurant, was John.
It wasn’t entirely surprising. Four months ago,
he’d come to Miami looking for me, then
disappeared for a few days after I’d given him
the cold shoulder.
He’d kept showing up in Miami, appearing
before me, wanting to say something but
never quite managing to.
Four months of this silent dance.
I’d ignored him completely, though I’d
occasionally find takeout containers or bags
of new clothes hanging on my doorknob.
Eventually, I moved, splurging on a 500-
square–foot apartment.
This was the first time I’d seen him in almost
a month.
Г
Mr. Jones had been cryptic in his letter,
hinting that John had taken a leave of
absence from his teaching job, saying he was
going to look for someone, that he’d be back.
He also mentioned that Sarah had been fired
from the factory, reported by John himself.
Apparently, she’d been having an affair, and
the factory didn’t tolerate such behavior. Now
Sarah was desperately trying to save her
marriage.
John seemed to be waiting for me. As soon
as I stepped outside, he walked towards me,
his voice low. “I need to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said coldly,
turning to leave.
Г
He grabbed my arm, but quickly let go.
His voice was hoarse, his head bowed as if he
couldn’t bear to meet my gaze. There was a
tremor in his voice, almost a sob. “Just let me
say this, and then I’ll give up.”
