Bheela’s Blog -101
23 October 2022
Episode 100 Recap
Oshin goes to the market and sells off all the fabric stocks in 10 days.
Back in the present time, Oshin and Kei go to the same lane where she had once sat on the pavement and learned the tricks of street market selling. Kei can’t believe that his grandma was a street vendor once.
Going back to the past, Oshin gets a new business idea for making and selling children’s clothing, and she starts planning for it.
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https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-100-6138337ec5be
Episode 101
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin sells all their stock of fabrics on the streets, and now she is ready to start anew. She starts her plans by discussing with some vendors. She calls the sewing machine company representatives to her home and talks to them about her ideas. Genzi watches Oshin taking charge of the new business and is amazed.
‘We can make monthly payments?’ asks Oshin to the salesman.
‘Yes, we can make long-term arrangements. We will do our best to help you,’ says the man.
‘Are these machines hard to use?’ Oshin is curious, and she wants to know all.
‘It is easy. Do you know about sewing machines?’ The woman, who is also from the machine company, replies.
‘I would like to learn so I can sew, too,’ says Oshin.
‘I will come over to train you,’ says the woman. She is impressed by Oshin’s keenness.
‘I would appreciate it. Could you find me a couple of other tailors, too?’ asks Oshin; she now turns her focus to arranging for the staffing.
‘We can ask some of our trainees,’ the woman replies.
‘Good, I would like to start as soon as possible. I want to start learning from tomorrow,’ says Oshin.
Genzi watches them as he makes envelopes. He is startled to see another stranger standing at their door.
‘My name is Nakamoto,’ says the man.
‘What can I do for you?’ Genzi is puzzled.
‘Mr. Nakamoto!’ shouts Oshin as she spots the man at the door. Oshin comes close to him and says, ‘You should have called, and I would have gone to see you,’ She bows in greeting, and the man takes his hat out to greet in return.
‘We will be going now,’ the people from the machine company get up to leave.
‘Thank you for coming,’ says Oshin.
‘We are so busy today,’ Oshin turns to Mr. Nakamoto and says, ‘please, have a seat.’
‘Thank you! I have been meaning to give you an answer.’ Says Nakamoto and sits on the chair next to the round table. Oshin sits opposite him and opens her notebook.
‘I know I was asking a lot of you, but I have nobody to turn to but you,’ says Oshin. She has a natural skill of communication by which she makes the other person feel important.
‘I am happy to help,’ says the man.
‘You will accept? I am so glad!’ Oshin chirps with joy.
‘I owe it to Mr. Tanokura to help you,’ Nakamoto replies.
Genzi is somewhat surprised and also confused about what is going on here. He passes by with the excuse of cleaning the area, holding a bucket.
Oshin calls him, ‘Genzi, this gentleman designs and sews garments. He is willing to make patterns for us. I can count on our success now!’ Oshin starts dreaming. She says, ‘Thank you!’ and runs inside.
‘It must be tough to start a new business,’ Nakamoto starts a conversation with Genzi. Oshin returns with a box in her hands and places it on the table.
‘I thought it might be better for us to produce and sell our own line of clothing. Maybe it won’t be as easy as I thought,’ says Oshin.
‘Market is ripe for children’s clothes! People can’t afford to have tailor-made clothes for their kids. They want to buy off the rack.’ The man informs Oshin. He seems to know about the trade.
‘With your help, I have nothing to fear!’ Oshin is enthusiastic as she speaks with a smile.
Genzi watches her. With a mop to clean the glass panes, he walks to the main door and almost bumps into another stranger.
‘I am sure it is hot today!’ says the man and greets Genzi.
‘What are you doing here?’ asks Genzi, surprised to see a third stranger since the morning.
‘The lady of the house asked me to come,’ the man replies.
Oshin listens to their talk and comes out.
‘I want to remodel parts of the hall. Can you give me an estimate?’ asks Oshin, ‘I want to see if we can afford it?’
‘I build this place,’ says the man, pointing to the house, and continues, ‘There is nothing that I can’t do,’ he says with pride, ‘What do you want to be done?’
‘I am counting on you!’ says Oshin, ushering the man into the house. Genzi is thoroughly perplexed to watch the stream of people coming in and how Oshin pushes her ideas into action.
***
‘This is the down payment for the three sewing machines. And this is the estimate for the remodeling. We should have three months’ pay ready for the two dressmakers I plan to hire. It will cost this much for the fabric and thread,’ Oshin shows Ryuzo all the calculations she jots down in the notebook.
Ryuzo seems disinterested. He fans himself using a paper fan to get some cool air. He finally speaks up, ‘Oshin, Are you really serious? You think you can do it?’ He taps his fan on the dining table to make his point. He doesn’t believe a new business could be started with the amount they got after clearing the fabric stock.
Oshin, on the contrary, is super excited. She says, ‘Mr. Nakamoto will help us with the patterns.’
‘It is not that easy!’ Ryuzo cautions.
‘I will be paying him a set sum per pattern. We will make about 10 garments from each pattern.’ Oshin explains the details of the business plan she has chalked out.
‘You have already discussed this with Mr. Nakamoto?’ Ryuzo is alarmed.
‘Mr. Nakamoto is so nice. He says he owes you favours,’ Oshin is still hopeful. This angers Ryuzo.
‘I have not given my approval yet!’ Ryuzo shouts.
‘That is why I am discussing this with you now!’ Oshin smiles, and she won’t give up.
‘You are not satisfied with the money I earn? Do you want the money that badly? Why not go and do hair for the people again? There is money in it!’ Ryuzo’s ego gets hurt whenever Oshin shows some brilliance and tries to help the family. Oshin has a natural gift for business. But Ryuzo takes this as an insult to himself.
Oshin lowers her head. She doesn’t want to hurt Ryuzo anymore. So, she keeps quiet.
‘I have failed in business already. It is all my fault, and I blame no one. But I never want to go through it again. If it were just me, I wouldn’t mind. But I have you and our baby to think of. I don’t want my family to suffer. That is why I went out and got a job, so give up this silly dream of yours.’ Ryuzo makes his position clear to Oshin. Genzi peeps in and listens to the conversation and is in deep thought.
‘I am grateful for all your efforts. And I am not doing this only for the money, and I am not dissatisfied with what you earn,’ Oshin pleads and clarifies.
‘You are being idealistic! It is all a pipe dream!’ Ryuzo raises his voice again.
‘Why? Why can’t I help you earn money?’ now Oshin, too, starts getting impatient.
‘A woman should do women’s work! You will soon be a mother. Besides, you have never used a sewing machine before. You don’t understand!’ Ryuzo uses his last weapon to show Oshin her place! He walks off, leaving Oshin sulking.
Oshin looks down at her notebook, exhausted and upset with the words Ryuzo repeatedly uses. At that moment, Genzi enters. He looks at Oshin and understands. He knows in his heart that Oshin is slated to reach great heights.
***
‘You sure are skillful!’ comments the saleswoman from the machine company. They have already delivered the sewing machine, and the woman teaches Oshin to operate it using her feet. Oshin picks up quickly.
‘Using a machine makes everything so easy! It won’t take long to make children’s clothes with this,’ says Oshin, full of excitement. She doesn’t give up, although she knows that Ryuzo disapproves.
‘A skilled worker can turn out three or four garments a day,’ says the woman, showing Oshin parts of the machine.
‘I had this cut-out for me to practice on!’ Oshin brings a cloth that has a pattern cut out.
‘It takes a man to tailor a suit, but a woman can easily make women’s and kids’ garments,’ says the woman from her long experience in the business.
‘I would better try it first!’ says Oshin showing a collar pattern cut from a cloth piece.
‘I know how to sew dresses,’ says the woman.
‘Will you teach me?’ asks Oshin eagerly.
‘There isn’t much to learn,’ the woman laughs and continues, ‘besides, you already know how to sew kimono. Stitching garments will be easy for you; you will be good in no time.’
‘I hope so!’ Oshin is all smiles. She holds the collar piece close to her and starts dreaming!
***
‘I think this might suit you!’ says Ryuzo; he is at a store counter where he joins as a salesperson. He shows the material and the design to a customer.
‘Never mind!’ the customer isn’t impressed and goes out of the store. Ryuzo looks on, disappointed.
***
Oshin starts working on the dress pattern that Mr. Nakamoto cut for her. She practices hard on the new machine and enjoys looking at her work taking shape. Oshin goes to the kitchen and finishes the dinner preparation in the meantime. As the soup is not yet done, she keeps it on low flame and returns to the table to complete the button work on the dress. We can see Oshin’s belly growing as the weeks pass by.
***
Ryuzo returns home after the day’s work dragging his feet. He is tired; obviously, he doesn’t enjoy being an employee. He has been on his own all his life. He removes his hat and enters.
‘I am home!’ says Ryuzo. Oshin is serving dinner, and she turns to look at the door.
‘Welcome home!’ she chirps.
Ryuzo sits on the floor cross-legged and sighs.
‘You must be tired from dealing with customers all day,’ says Oshin lovingly, smiling. She sits behind Ryuzo, resting her palms on his shoulders, and gives him a light massage.
‘I am not good with flattery. Maybe I am too honest with my opinions. I am not good at dealing with customers,’ admits Ryuzo. Oshin laughs and continues to massage, and he feels better.
Oshin holds Ryuzo’s head, spreading her hands and making him turn his head towards a dress that hangs on the wall. It is the same dress that she completed today.
‘What do you think? It is simple but functional and cute!’ Oshin says with a smile showing the garment to Ryuzo. Ryuzo looks at it with admiration.
Oshin gets up and brings the dress close to Ryuzo.
‘It doesn’t take much fabric, so we can sell them at a bargain,’ Oshin says, spreading the dress on herself.
‘Who brought that in here?’ Ryuzo asks. He thinks that it is a readymade dress.
‘I sewed it myself,’ Oshin says promptly, ‘I had Mr. Nakamoto make me a pattern. He sure knows a lot. It is just what I had in my mind,’ says Oshin with excitement.
Ryuzo is totally surprised.
‘You designed it yourself?’ he is stunned.
‘I have other ideas also,’ says Oshin, ‘but I don’t know how to create the patterns. I think we can produce good garments and sell them at a good price!’
As Oshin describes her business idea, Ryuzo looks at the dress, touching and flipping it around. He is indeed impressed beyond words.
‘How much will you have to sell it to make a profit?’ Ryuzo almost talks to himself; his business instincts get awakened by the fantastic dress Oshin created.
‘I just made that one for practice,’ says Oshin.
‘This is good; the style and fabric are just right!’ says Ryuzo, still holding the dress and looking at it minutely. He suddenly gets energized. He gets up and brings the abacus.
Ryuzo starts calculating; he says, ‘let us say you use two yards per garment, 3.1 yen. One yen for labor, including our overheads, costs us 5 yens.’
‘That is exactly right!’ Oshin says with joy.
‘I didn’t work in the trade for seven years for nothing!’ Ryuzo gets his confidence back with this single event. His gloom has gone, and he smiles. He says, ‘we can sell it for 6.25 yen and make a profit. We can sell it to retailers too. We can hope for 30 percent profit!’
‘Really?’
‘Make three or four different simple styles. We can try to sell 10 of each right here. If they sell well, they will prove themselves as products.’ Ryuzo says in excitement. But he is cautious and warns Oshin, ‘but, if they don’t sell, give it all up.’
‘Yes!’ agrees Oshin; she is pleased to see a smile on Ryuzo’s face and his confidence returning.
‘I guess I won’t stop working unit it takes off. But be sure to buy your fabric cheaper!’
They both laugh out loud together.
‘You win! We would have had fewer troubles if you stayed a hairdresser!’ Ryuzo jokes, and both of them keep laughing.
Genzi enters and says, ‘The carpenter is here; he wants to know when he can start.’
‘We haven’t decided yet,’ Oshin hesitates and looks at Ryuzo.
‘Have him put in a display window for now. We have to do it this right!’ Ryuzo takes charge and instructs Genzi.
Genzi and Oshin look at Ryuzo with a pleasant surprise.
‘And if we fail, we fail, no problem! Ha-ha! Ryuzo laughs after many days.
***
Ryuzo is fast asleep, and his hand drops to Oshin’s side. He turns to his side and opens his eyes to look at Oshin.
Oshin’s bed is empty. Ryuzo gets up, he goes out of the room to look for Oshin.
Oshin wakes up early and is intensely focused, drawing a dress design on a piece of paper. Other sheets are also lying on the dining table, on which she has drawn patterns for the kids’ garments. Ryuzo stands behind her and looks at Oshin. He laughs; he knows well that if Oshin puts her mind to something, she will not leave any stone to unearth to fulfil her dreams.
***
Oshin is starting out all over again. But she is delighted with the way things are going. She rotates her pencil around her temple to invoke more dress design ideas and smiles.
What will happen now? Will this business take off?
We will know more in the next episode, number 102, soon!