Rebirth in 1986: Unforgettable Regrets

Mingyue Clothing Factory, with additional machines and new hires, crammed the entire workshop full.

Goods were flowing in and out, with vehicles bustling about the factory.

Zhang Minmin had become a celebrity in her school. Many who had seen the advertisements looked at her with envy. Sometimes, when she was out and about, people would call her out as the girl from the ads.

Floating on cloud nine, Zhang Minmin was even more motivated to score well on exams to win her parents' support for her dreams.

Cai Wanwan also faced a barrage of questions, as the first thing people would ask upon seeing her was if she was the girl from the Mingyue Clothing ad on TV.

Although this caused some inconvenience for Cai Wanwan at work, the envy and praise she received made her feel quite superior.

The only one vexed was Hu Jianguo; ever since the ad aired, besides work, he was almost inseparably glued to her side.

While Cai Wanwan verbally seemed unsatisfied with Hu Jianguo's clinginess, she was actually pleased inside, and their marriage was blossoming.

Previously a ticket seller at the cinema, Jiang Shan had now become a living advertisement there, drawing people eager to see the star of the TV commercial. She would respond with a beaming smile whenever asked about it.

Having this ad had brought her considerable benefits - her cinema salary had seen a generous increase, and she was very content.

One day, after finishing selling movie tickets, Jiang Shan bumped into Luo Juan on her way home.

Jiang Shan hadn't pressed for details but knew Luo Juan had backed out of the contract at the last moment, leading to Cai Wanwan stepping in for the shoot.

"Jiang Shan?" Luo Juan was clearly surprised to see her, and couldn't help but recall the advertisement that had been on air every day.

The first time she saw the ad at her aunt's, she instantly recognized the dress Cai Wanwan was wearing. The ad wasn't long, but the impact on her was profound.

The beautiful clothes and the well-groomed characters looked as if they had stepped out of a painting.

At that moment, Luo Juan was stunned. She wondered if she had done the ad, would she look as gorgeous and irresistible as the characters in the paintings?

Aside from the fetching red dress, there were several other outfits that Luo Juan found especially gorgeous. Right then, a hint of regret crept in.

"Luo Juan." Jiang Shan smiled and, looking at Luo Juan, asked curiously, "You seem to have gained a bit of weight, no?"

Luo Juan used to be very slender, but now she had clearly put on weight.

Her face turning red, Luo Juan instinctively tugged at her clothes. After rejecting the ad offer, she found out she was pregnant. Fearful of her belly showing, she hurriedly married Li Dabao.

"This means you're expecting?" Jiang Shan quickly understood.

Luo Juan nodded, "We got married some time ago."

"Congratulations," said Jiang Shan cheerfully.

Luo Juan cleared her throat and asked, "Jiang Shan, that's a beautiful dress you're wearing."

"Yes, it's the factory's employee discount price," replied Jiang Shan with a grin.

Luo Juan asked with confusion, "You still have to pay for your own clothes?"

"Of course, we had to take it, but the price was really cheap. They gave us the four sets of clothes from the advertisement. I'm just waiting for summer so I can wear them," Jiang Shan explained with a smile. "The money I'd usually spend buying one set of clothes could buy me two sets at the factory price. It's such a great deal."

"I'm just hoping for more good opportunities like that in the future, and that Boss Tang will think of me," Jiang Shan spoke highly of Mingyue Clothing Factory, both explicitly and implicitly.

Luo Juan felt a pang in her heart and asked, "The photoshoot for the advertisement took a long time, right? How much were you paid?"

"We went to Shenzhen, and it took a little over three days but less than four," answered Jiang Shan, "Apart from the travel time, we spent a full day and a half shooting in Shenzhen, and another day and a half back in Wangjiang County."

"US$ 500, didn't you know?" Jiang Shan asked in return. This wasn't something that had been discussed when signing the contract.

"What?" Luo Juan's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing US$ 500, and she asked Jiang Shan, "You earned US$ 500 just for three days of shooting?"

"That's right," Jiang Shan nodded, and asked in surprise, "Luo Juan, didn't you know it was this much money when you refused?"

Luo Juan shook her head. "I didn't know."

When Tang Yue came to her back then, Li Dabao firmly said no to doing the advertisement.

At that time, Tang Yue wanted to talk about the payment.

Li Dabao had responded with 'It's not about the money.'

After that, Tang Yue seemed not to bring it up anymore.

Luo Juan's slight regret grew even stronger.

A few days' work for US$ 500, she wanted to earn it too.

Noticing her expression, Jiang Shan guiltily wondered if she had been too talkative. When she went to the factory, she had mentioned this matter to Tang Yue, who had said, "It's fine, at that time they said they wouldn't do it for any amount of money, so I didn't make a point of discussing the pay."

"Jiang Shan, don't worry about it. Even if she regrets it now, the factory won't use her anymore," Tang Yue spoke indifferently. Changing her mind at the last minute, had it not been for Cai Wanwan, who knew what other issues might have arisen.

"Tang Yue, rest assured, if there's another opportunity like this, just call me. I'm ready anytime," Jiang Shan promptly said, eager to take on the job again.

"Alright," Tang Yue smiled. Jiang Shan was indeed very clever.

By the end of June, the end of term exams had arrived.

After the exams, Zhang Minmin's grades had improved by a large margin, she almost wanted to set off fireworks to celebrate.

Wei Jiajie, Tang Jun, and Zhang Qiang got together on the second day of the summer break. They talked about their grades and the past half-term, feeling happy to be together.

Zhu Yuanchao had nothing much to do during normal days, so during the summer break, he trained Wei Jiajie and the other two.

As the factory's profitability continued to improve, coupled with the orders received from the advertisements, Tang Mingli and Tang Yue discussed and decided to buy the land where their current rental factory was located.

Then, they planned to build a new factory on the large empty space behind it.

The current factory was too small with no proper layout, with the workshops, raw materials warehouse, and finished goods warehouse all in disarray. Building a new factory would allow for centralized management. Most importantly, it could house more machines, and eventually, the clothing factory could expand to a larger scale.