Bheela’s Blog -100
15 October 2022
Episode 99 Recap
The Tekiya gang Boss reaches the Tanokura house and returns the money bag Oshin had left on the market street. Oshin invites him to her home and learns some market tricks.
The Boss, Ken, turns out to be from Yamagata, Oshin’s village. He remembers his dead sister as Oshin reminds him of her.
Ken arranges a permit for Oshin to sell on the street market, and Oshin convinces Genzi to join her. Ryuzo is still against the idea.
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https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-099-b6c89e2a2f87
Episode 100
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin doesn’t know how Ken managed, but he calls to say she could open her street shop again. Oshin decides to start that very night. She wants to sell off their remaining fabric stock and use the money to begin a new business.
She packs one lot of fabric into cloth bags, and Genzi helps her too.
‘Welcome home!’ Oshin greets Ryuzo as he enters the house.
Ryuzo removes his hat and keeps his bag on the table. He is looking around at the packed fabric.
‘Ken is allowing me to be a side-walk vendor!’ Oshin chirps cheerfully, holding a cloth bag full of fabric.
‘Are you still dreaming of that nonsense?’ says Ryuzo; he is not happy with this venture of Oshin.
‘Why are you talking like that?’ Oshin is puzzled by Ryuzo’s remarks.
‘You can’t trust that man! Who knows what he is up to!’
‘He is an honest man. He returned our money!’
‘He is probably setting you up for a big fall, don’t get involved with him!’ says Ryuzo. His cautious mind prevents Oshin take any risks.
‘He is not like that,’ protests Oshin.
‘That is how those men make their living!’
‘You can’t be so suspicious of people like that!’
‘You just don’t know about these things.’
‘You were so polite to him when he was here!’ Oshin won’t give up.
‘I didn’t want him to get angry at me! I didn’t realize that you are fool enough to trust him,’ Ryuzo now starts shouting, and he loses his patients. He turns to Genzi and says, ‘You, too! Bring those fabrics back inside,’
Genzi nods out of fear and starts to pick up a bag. Oshin quickly holds Ryuzo by his arms and pleads, ‘Please, I want to believe in Ken. Don’t doubt him without giving him a chance. I want to believe in him. He has done a lot for me. Just this once, please!’ Oshin uses all her persuasive powers to convince Ryuzo.
‘I suppose you won’t understand until you get hurt again, will you? All right, go ahead! I got myself a job anyway. You can do what you like with the fabrics we have. They are here because of you anyway. Go, find out what this world is really like. It will be worth it,’ Ryuzo calms down and gives in. Oshin can change his preconceived ideas about life, one at a time!!
‘Genzi, please look after her,’ says Ryuzo
Oshin is happy with gratitude; she wants to say something, but words fail her.
‘I will be going now! Genzi, let us hurry!’ She smiles and looks lovingly at Ryuzo.
***
Ken walks through the crowd to reach the spot where he has provided a space for Oshin to sell the fabric. The two goons of his gang are there to help Oshin and Genzi spread the material on the floor on a plastic sheet.
They all greet Ken by bowing to him, and he bends at them to return the greeting.
‘I didn’t expect to be here so soon!’ says Oshin; she is excited to see Ken.
‘One of the vendors got sick; you are in his place,’ Ken replies.
‘Thank you for all you have done for me,’ Oshin is grateful.
‘It is only natural that we help each other out. You don’t feel like a stranger to me. If my little sister were alive, she might be troubled like you, too. She was my only sister. She didn’t like my gangster ways. She wanted me to quit. But I am not that bad.’ Ken is emotional but quickly hides his feelings by turning his back on Oshin.
‘You help people go into business. I will always be grateful!’ says Oshin to Ken; she tries to cheer him up.
Oshin then turns to the gang boys and says, ‘Thank you for your help.’ She then sits down to begin her sale.
‘These are all fine fabric. What a waste to sell these like this. I need to sell, and I will sell these all. Let us do this.’ She starts by encouraging the helpers and Genzi. Ken watches as he sits on a stool close by.
‘Come and have a look!’ Oshin shouts, and she beats a stick on the fabric to create noise. She continues, ‘It is free to look. Touch them and feel them! They are all imported, and they are all half-price! It says, “Made in England.” It is the real thing,’ Oshin tells her customers, who start gathering around her.
The goons show their Master how Oshin is smartly selling her products. Ken feels proud of Oshin’s skills.
‘Please come, make yourself a suit of fine English clothing! You will be popular among ladies.’ Oshin starts negotiating with several customers at the same time.
Ken also helps by attracting people to Oshin’s stall; he tells his people, ‘Go ahead and buy up!’
Oshin soon starts enjoying the results of her efforts. She joyfully calls the customers and pays attention to each customer’s needs. Amazingly, she has this natural gift for doing business. (These subjects and market practices are taught in fancy B-schools, which Oshin learned by being in the market hands-on herself.)
Ken encourages her from time to time. Meanwhile, Ryuzo can’t stay at home. He comes to the market and walks in the middle of the crowd. His eyes look for Oshin, and then he spots her.
He watches Oshin’s selling styles of talking to the customer, shouting to attract new ones, and doing her job without any sign of tiredness.
BACK TO THE PRESENT TIME
Fast forward to the present, Oshin walks with Kei on the same street at Asakusa market in Tokyo. It is the same place where she sat on the road pavement and sold the fabrics. Now, the vendors don’t sit on the roads anymore. Each has its semi-permanent stall. They have tarpaulined booths, display benches, and stools to sit on.
‘It is the first time I heard about you selling on the streets. I don’t think you were as good as these vendors!’ Kei teases his grandma, showing a vendor.
‘I was good, but maybe not that good. I tried my best to sell what I had. People can do anything if they put their minds to it,’ says Oshin with a smile. She looks fondly at Kei and lets him joke with her.
‘You, a vendor?’ Kei smiles; he cannot imagine his grandmother, an owner of sixteen supermarket stores, staying at a high-end expensive hotel, once a street vendor! From now on, he will definitely look at street vendors with a different eye.
‘Tokyo is full of memories,’ says Oshin. Both of them walk past the street market and sit down on a bench near a tea stall. Oshin sips tea from a cup quietly, still thinking of her past.
‘Were you able to sell the fabrics?’ Kei asks; he is now curious to know.
‘Oh, yes! I don’t know how they heard about us. We were selling in Kanda, but people came from all over. By word of mouth, people came from far away to buy. Even retailers came. What Ryuzo couldn’t sell for months even after all his best efforts, it was sold out in about 10 days,’ Oshin says. Her eyes sparkle as she remembers her first success of sale on the street market.
‘People sure are honest,’ comments Kei; he is surprised to find a gangster would be there to help his mighty grandma!
‘I will never forget those days; I didn’t have to know about business. People buy a good product if the price is right,’ Oshin shares her pearls of wisdom with Kei.
‘That is how you started your supermarket?’ Kei is impatient; he wants to know more quickly.
Oshin laughs to see Kei’s eagerness. She takes a deep breath and says, ‘it wasn’t that easy. I learned that one didn’t need a shop to run a business. It was an excellent learning experience.’
(Oshin, indeed, was a visionary! 100 years ago, she learned that one can run a business without having a shop. In modern times, with the advent of e-commerce, entrepreneurs can operate without having shops or warehouses!! I am proud to say that my daughter is one such businesswoman who runs her business online!!)
FLASHBACK RETURNS
It is a busy market. Oshin continues to sell with enthusiasm. Customers are crowding around her to buy the fine English fabric. Just as Oshin thought, her materials are trading very well. Her entire stock is sold in 10 days.
***
Ryuzo returns home and looks at the empty racks. He is in a reflective mood.
***
The workers and Genzi clap for Oshin. ‘Thank you very much!’ says Oshin, bowing to them.
‘I sure feel good about helping you!’ says Ken; he laughs with joy like a child.
‘You all helped me out! Thank you again!’
‘Oh! come on! You even tipped us,’ says one of the goons. The other one says, ‘We will all miss you!’
‘You can come and see me anytime! Ken, be sure to come by,’ says Oshin.
‘You wouldn’t want people like us to visit your home. It will hurt your reputation,’ Ken is embarrassed by receiving respect from Oshin. He is well aware of his background and his place in society.
‘Don’t you worry! I am still counting on you!’ Oshin brushes aside Ken’s awkwardness. Ken lowers his head.
‘You are blushing!’ the goons start teasing Ken. All of them have a hearty laugh.
***
‘I am home!’ announces Oshin as she enters the house. Ryuzo, who is in deep thought, turns to look at Oshin.
‘I am all done now. And I am sorry that I was so pushy,’ says Oshin; she sits close to Ryuzo.
‘There is nothing to apologize for. I like it! We have more space now!’ says Ryuzo with a half-smile, and he moves to the dining table. Oshin joins him.
‘This is our gross profit!’ Genzi comes and sits at the dining table, presenting a bundle of cash. He says, ‘I will figure out our net after calculating all our expenses. I will show you the books tomorrow.’ Genzi gets up and goes to the kitchen.
‘I tried to give Ken a tip, but he refused. He is so honest!’ Oshin is visibly happy to find Ken in her life, but Ryuzo remains disinterested. He shrugs his shoulders.
‘I now know how much fun selling can be. I have never done it before,’ says Oshin.
‘She sure has guts!’ Genzi comments as he brings tea for them.
‘I have gained a lot of experience. Nothing scares me now,’ says Oshin, and she continues, looking at Ryuzo, ‘Let us buy some sewing machines with this money. It is only enough for a down payment, but we will make monthly payments. Let us start producing some children’s clothes!’ Oshin is full of ideas for the new business, and she looks to Ryuzo for his concurrence.
‘I am starting my new job next month,’ says Ryuzo.
‘It is nice to have a steady income, but it is more exciting to be on your own. That is how I feel now! Maybe we will fall and be poor again. But we can always crawl back up! We can do it if we work together,’ Oshin’s enthusiasm doesn’t reduce; she makes a hand gesture of crawling back!
Ryuzo doesn’t respond; he remains quiet. He looks up slowly and turns to Oshin.
‘Genzi is here to help our baby and us,’ Oshin tries to cheer Ryuzo up and says, ‘I want our child to see us working together! Let us do it!’
Oshin then comes to the main hall, which has a lot of free space as the fabrics are all gone. She switches the light on and looks around.
‘It is so spacious now. We could install at least three sewing machines,’ Oshin tells Ryuzo, who follows her. ‘We can sell retail, too! We will have a display there!’ she moves to the front area and imagines all about her future business.
Genzi and Ryuzo look at each other and find this amusing as Oshin moves and jumps with joy, thinking of her future.
***
Having money in hand gives Oshin great confidence. And this confidence allows Oshin to dream again. She runs around the place, dancing with joy, her hands flying and her spirit flying high with hope.
All businesses start with dreams. Coupled with hard work, great businessmen and women turn their dreams into reality.
We will know more about Oshin’s life in the next episode, number 101!
My sincere thanks and gratitude to all my readers; it wasn’t possible to reach 100 episodes without your continued encouragement!