Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoyu quickly gave Bald Qiang a meaningful look. While Ding Zhanglong was busy discussing the details of the school uniforms with A Lei, the two of them exchanged all fifty bolts of cloth. They didn't dare to delay and drove off.

"Sis, you're too honest. I told you to switch to linen, and you just switched to linen. I even got a few bolts of wool." Bald Qiang complained to Qin Xiaoyu.

Qin Xiaoyu thought about it carefully and realized it was true. Ding Zhanglong had broken the rules, but she was still keeping her promise. It was truly a great irony.

"How about this, you take all these fabrics, consider it compensation from Man Aihong. I'll make up the difference, and we'll settle the bill, okay?" Qin Xiaoyu calculated that the fabric that Guangtouqiang had just taken out wasn't cheap, so it should be about right.

"Okay! Sis, just say the word and this debt is settled. I admire you so much now. Where did you get this trick? It's fun and useful. Take me with you next time. I want to make money while having fun!" Bald Qiang was still clinging to her.

They returned to the village, and it was almost dinnertime when A Lei's car finally drove into the village.

"Acting really requires talent. I'm exhausted. It's a pity that a PE teacher like me could win an Oscar for acting..." This time, A Lei didn't care about the state of the bed and plunged in.

His performance today was remarkable; Qin Xiaoyu owes him an Oscar.

With nothing else to do in the evenings, many villagers gathered at Director Bao's house, waiting for news from Qin Xiaoyu and the others.

"These are all former garment factory workers who came to hear news," Director Bao explained.

"How many people are currently available to work and have production capacity?" Qin Xiaoyu asked.

"It's almost the end of the year, and the factory has been shut down for so long. Some people probably won't make it. Some have left to find odd jobs in the city. Anyway, there are about twenty people left." Director Bao counted, and there were twenty-one people.

"Clean up the factory and get back to work as soon as possible," Qin Xiaoyu instructed.

"If this allows us to return to work, will you first pay our original wages?" someone asked, followed by a series of similar questions.

"As you saw when we opened the warehouse, it's full of scrap. We're trying our best to save this factory. If you don't agree, we'll leave tomorrow. At worst, this cooperation will end." Qin Xiaoyu took another handful.

Those who were demanding their wages fell silent.

That night, Qin Xiaoyu had to sleep at Director Bao's house. She shared a small kang (a heated brick bed) with Director Bao's daughter, Yuyu. The big flashlight was very useful, providing light for her all night as she drew design drafts.

"You drew it so beautifully." Yu Yu was sixteen years old and looked exactly like her father, with narrow phoenix eyes and a flat face like a person from the Central Plains. She held the drawing and looked at it from left to right.

"Yu Yu, do me a favor and go buy twenty size D batteries." Qin Xiaoyu saw that the flashlight was getting dimmer and dimmer and was afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep going.

"Okay." Yu Yu took the ten yuan and jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed).

Qin Xiaoyu was about to tell her to be careful when she saw the big yellow dog wagging its tail and chasing after her, so she swallowed her words.

Yu Yu returned quickly, carrying sixteen size D batteries in her hand.

"I'll take it all, that's all." She put the change on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Please thank the boss for me. It's so late and I'm bothering him." Qin Xiaoyu took out five cents and handed it to Yuyu.

“He’s overjoyed. You’re a money-making machine. These sixteen batteries are enough for him to sell for a year. Only Grandpa Well at the east end of the village listens to the radio and buys one battery a year,” Yu Yu said nonchalantly.

"Yu Yu isn't going to school anymore, is she?" Qin Xiaoyu guessed, guessing that a girl like that probably wouldn't be allowed to study much at home.

"No, I'll be married tomorrow, early spring." Yu Yu said, blushing as she twisted her thick braid.

"Your husband's family? The people you like?" Qin Xiaoyu asked in surprise.

"I don't know yet. My dad said he's going to find me a husband." Yu Yu's eyes sparkled, full of innocence.

"Don't get married so early..." Qin Xiaoyu didn't continue to persuade her; there was only so much she could change.

Moreover, these things cannot be explained in just a few words. If Yu Yu takes things out of context, she may become biased and it would be counterproductive.

"My dad says if I don't get married soon, all the good men will be snatched up." Yu Yu covered her mouth with a grin.

Qin Xiaoyu designed four sets of fashion in one night, which was enough for the factory's twenty people to work temporarily.

The factory originally had Man Aihong as the technician; she would set up patterns and have the workers copy them. If Qin Xiaoyu wanted to make four sets of fashion items, A Lei would fight her to the death, even if it meant knocking her unconscious and taking her away, he wouldn't hesitate for a second.

So she called over the best female worker in the factory and personally guided her until the sample was produced.

Of these four outfits, three were made from high-quality fabric. These clothes couldn't be sold in the north, as linen only has a market there during the summer. Therefore, Qin Xiaoyu was considering Guangzhou.

The weather in Guangzhou is still quite nice, but it's not as carefree as summer. I wore an outer layer in the mornings and evenings. She designed mostly linen outerwear.

She incorporated shawls into her linen outerwear designs, creating pieces that can be worn alone or layered over shirts. The designs are simple and elegant, without excessive embellishment; the original embroidery has been removed, with only hand-woven lace added to the cuffs and collar.

This elevates the perceived quality of the fashion. Although Gao Daxiong's trademark theory is sound and practical, she doesn't have time to work on it right now; she'll deal with it when it arrives in Guangzhou.

The last outfit was a bit risky; she designed it for those problematic fabrics.

This time, they managed to get fifty bolts of cloth from Ding Zhanglong through a clever scheme, but they won't be so lucky next time. They'll have to figure out how to get the rest themselves.

She designed a pair of long pencil pants.

The biggest problem with that batch of fabric was its roughness; it was also relatively thicker and easier to shape than other fabrics. These days, it's fashionable to iron the creases of trousers very stiffly, and linen generally doesn't hold up well to creases, but this batch of fabric doesn't have that problem.

"Will this work?" Bald Qiang frowned, touching the cloth pants. "Won't these hurt my legs?"

"Have you ever heard of something called long underwear?" Qin Xiaoyu asked with a mischievous smile.

"Long underwear? I'm wearing it."

"That's right, it won't prick your leg, so what's there to be afraid of? Also, this batch of fabric was washed before processing, and it will definitely shrink after washing, so some loss is inevitable. When ironing the finished product, it needs to be starched, which adds two troublesome steps, but if we can save the fabric, the factory is halfway to survival, isn't it?" Qin Xiaoyu's words gave Bald Qiang confidence, and he nodded repeatedly.

Qin Xiaoyu left things here to Bald Qiang and hurriedly headed to the Northeast with A Lei.

Wang Lingling's side is still a mess, production has stopped.

When Qin Xiaoyu and A Lei arrived, the factory was deserted. The gatekeeper asked about their situation and let them in.