“Let me tell you the truth, this base cannot be abandoned. You don’t know, in twenty or thirty years, Shanghai will become a smog city, where you can’t see the stars or the moon, just towering skyscrapers of steel and concrete, and the smog will be so bad you can’t breathe. But by then, this place will have eliminated heavy industry, the sky will be blue, the water will be clear, and the air will be fresh. There will be an endless supply of green vegetables; it will be a paradise.” This was part of Qin Xiaoyu’s plan.

She knew that by the 21st century, Northeast China had been abandoned by the times, with a massive population exodus, the disappearance of heavy industry, and a sluggish economy. However, it possessed unique advantages in terms of environment, so she had to preserve this pristine land. This was her home; she could go out and strive elsewhere, but she would never abandon this place.

Qi Si was always very efficient, and the next day Qin Xiaoyu dragged Wang Lei along to find the photographer. He lived in the chemical plant dormitory, was a college graduate, and was quite well-known in the city's photography circle.

"I don't understand what you're saying," Lu Jingye said arrogantly.

"I want to hire you to work at Phoenix Soaring to the Nine Heavens Advertising Studio. Do you understand now?" Wang Lei interrupted Qin Xiaoyu.

“I have a job, I don’t need it.” Lu Jingye ignored him.

"Your job? Half of the workshops in the chemical plant have stopped operating, and the remaining employees only receive half a month's salary, barely enough to survive. What's the point of this job? And this lens of yours, it seems to cost over three hundred, right? Hengchang doesn't carry such high-end goods. Is it from Dafa Mall?" Qin Xiaoyu had sharp eyes and went straight for the lens on the table. The box had just been opened, so it looked brand new.

"Don't touch it, it's a valuable item. If you break it, you won't be able to pay for it."

"Valuable items? Didn't you get them for free?" Qin Xiaoyu smiled.

"What do you mean? I didn't steal or rob anything, please get out!"

"You're doing the right thing by taking money and solving problems for people. A few photos for a lens worth over three hundred is a great deal," Qin Xiaoyu bluntly revealed.

Lu Jingye broke out in a cold sweat.

Bai Weiwei approached him by chance. He always went to the electronic component counter at Dafa Mall to look at new products, learned about their performance, but never bought anything. That's what caught Bai Weiwei's attention.

"Let's let bygones be bygones. Can you help me?" Qin Xiaoyu asked again.

"I don't know if I can do it well." Lu Jingye had already surrendered.

That afternoon, the first set of photos for the model team was taken. Qin Xiaoyu knew from Lu Jingye's demeanor that he was going to give her a surprise.

Sure enough, the photos he developed overnight were far superior to those of Wang Lei. The figures were lifelike, and the essence of each garment was perfectly captured.

"From now on, you'll be our model team's go-to photographer."

Actually, Qin Xiaoyu had another selfish reason: although Wang Lei's photography skills were good, he wasn't exactly a master. Now her wedding photos were taken!

The last internal performance was a big shock to the girls in the modeling team, not because the performance was well received, but because they received a bonus immediately after it ended.

When the model team was established, Qin Xiaoyu announced the bonus system. They were paid according to the design studio's wages, which were already higher than the workers' wages. When walking the catwalk, they were paid five yuan per lap.

This whole event is worth a month's salary for a female factory worker. Dressed beautifully and attracting everyone's attention, why not?

The girls trained even more diligently. Before, Qin Xiaoyu had to urge them to lose weight, but now they did it on their own.

The two girls who left first were sour grapes, and kept making sarcastic remarks: "It's meaningless. If you can't enjoy the good things, what's the point of living?"

"You call your radish soup delicious?" Someone directly refuted him, and from then on, no one dared to say anything.

Now that the first batch of students from the clothing school have started their internships at the factory, Qin Xiaoyu needs to consider expansion. However, the policies from above are always just a little lacking, and the support is not in place, so she doesn't dare to take action yet.

Lei Bingzheng is right. Lei's wife is always getting into trouble. She needs to tone it down. She can't always be ahead of the times. If she takes too big a step, she'll easily get herself into trouble.

"Sister-in-law, have you seen the reports?" Tang Wenwen asked on the phone, her voice lacking confidence. Qin Xiaoye had recently arrived in Shanghai to help her, but the recent financial reports weren't very optimistic; sales momentum was far worse than when she first arrived in Shanghai.

"Have you found the reason?" Qin Xiaoyu asked after a moment's thought.

"The competition is too fierce. Since we set up our counter, more than ten other counters have come in. There are many local clothing factories, and their fashion styles are more down-to-earth, so our sales have been affected."

“No problem, I’ll have A Lei take a look tomorrow.” Qin Xiaoyu knew that A Lei had the most sensitive grasp of fashion. With a mother like that, he had developed a natural flair that no one else could match.

“The problem is serious.” That evening, A Lei reported the situation.

"What do you mean?" Qin Xiaoyu couldn't help but be alert when she heard him say that the problem was serious.

"The problem lies in your product positioning. Anyway, I'll be there soon, and we can discuss the details then."

Qin Xiaoyu's worst fears came true. She convened an expanded meeting in the technical department and then demanded that all autumn clothing be replaced with new ones, starting everything from scratch.

The technical team had been invincible, and had unknowingly become somewhat arrogant. This was their first setback, and Master Liang, in particular, immediately jumped up, offering all sorts of excuses, completely unable to accept reality.

Although they saw the reports from Shanghai, opinions differed and the debate was intense.

Almost everyone opposed Qin Xiaoyu's request to redesign all the autumn clothing items.

"Some of last year's styles were even bestsellers, so there's no need to release all of them as new releases." Master Liang felt that Qin Xiaoyu was just nitpicking.

“Other counters can keep the old models, but the Shanghai counters must stock all the new models.” Qin Xiaoyu’s tone left no room for argument.

"Director Qin, there's simply not enough time..." Xu Xiaoqing also voiced her objection.

“There are no conditions to discuss. Starting tomorrow, each designer must complete one draft per day. The fashion school will also assign homework. If there are any usable drafts or drafts worth revising, you will be responsible for completing them one-on-one.” Qin Xiaoyu always meant what she said, and everyone knew that there was no point in resisting, so they sighed and dispersed.

"Director Qin, the temporary sales slump may be related to many objective factors. I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill," Master Liang stopped her.

"That's what I thought at first too, but after receiving professional advice, I realized there was a big problem. I was too confident and negligent." Qin Xiaoyu reflected on her actions. Master Liang knew there was no turning back, so he sighed and left the meeting room.