Chapter 165 Is it reasonable for lard-filled dumplings to order sandals from a textile factory...?

Shipping magnate Law Hon-sing, whose ancestral home is Mingzhou, Zhejiang Province, grew up in a shipping family on the Huangpu River in Shanghai. His father ran a small ferry company on the Shanghai-Ningbo route, while he grew up with his grandmother in Mingzhou. Later, his family fell into poverty and he moved to Hong Kong Island. His family was destitute and he started as a dockworker.

Coming from a family with a strong academic tradition, he persevered in self-study after falling on hard times, quickly mastering Hong Kong dialect and English, and gradually building his fortune in Hong Kong. He revived his father's shipping business, starting with a mortgaged old ship, making money by operating special routes during wartime, buying up ships at bargain prices during past shipping crises, pioneering container shipping and optimizing routes to Europe and America, and is now one of Hong Kong's formidable shipping magnates.

Luo Hansheng has a deep attachment to his hometown, especially the childhood he spent with his grandmother.

However, things have changed, and people are no longer the same, which is disheartening.

The only consolation is that I can hear the familiar local accent from my childhood here. Being enveloped by that accent feels familiar and comforting.

Luo Hansheng was curious about the Feiyan Textile Factory on the island. He had heard of this textile factory, which had shone brightly at the Canton Fair. In addition, the destination of this batch of Nordic spruce wood was Feiyan Textile Factory, so he came to check it out.

When he arrived at Feiyan Textile Factory, he first saw a lot of "unique" sandals.

Unlike the colorful plastic sandals that were popular at the time, these sandals had rubber soles, were made of cowhide, and various woven fabrics, creating a variety of styles that he found very novel.

And these shoes can even treat athlete's foot?

He runs a shipping company, and the crew members on board are often plagued by athlete's foot and fungus. Wearing non-breathable rubber shoes can be extremely uncomfortable.

So Luo Hansheng wanted to order a batch of special sandals or slippers for sailors to use during their rest time.

"These are work sandals, not for sale." Dean Zhou also began to find the middle-aged man in front of him strange. He had hinted to the man that if he needed them, he could find employees of Feiyan Textile Factory to exchange them privately.

They are a textile factory, belonging to the production department. They are not qualified to sell to the public, and they are not qualified to produce sandals either.

These sandals are employee protective equipment; if outsiders need them, they should ask an employee for a replacement.

"I want to order a batch for the shipping company's crew."

"Are you a purchasing agent for the shipping company?" Dean Zhou sent someone to find factory manager Qin Xiangxiang. He never expected that their sandals would attract a purchasing agent.

Zhao Qiaoqiao yawned and led Lin Xiuqin to the back. "Our factory hospital is indeed in poor condition. That's the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy... Only the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy is relatively complete. The only major Western medicine and medical equipment we have is an old-fashioned X-ray machine."

"However, the scenery here is quite nice, and movies are shown every week. There are also many unmarried male employees. Marrying a male worker would be a good choice... There are also several unmarried military representatives in the factory; they are active-duty technical officers."

“Many of our factory's employees are military family members from both the Army and Navy. Our factory director, Qin Xiangxiang, is also a military family member; her husband is a naval officer surnamed Li.”

...

Lin Xiuqin listened to Zhao Qiaoqiao's words absentmindedly, her mind still focused on the middle-aged man she had just seen. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she was in a state of utter confusion.

What if this man really is a shipping magnate or a Hong Kong businessman?

Lin Xiuqin was spitting blood! The story of Hong Kong Island and Hong Kong businessmen takes place after 1978, at least after the resumption of the college entrance examination.

Going out now to proactively contact Hong Kong businessmen is like an old man eating poison; it's like he's tired of living.

Actively approaching overseas businessmen is a very sensitive act. Not only will you not gain any benefits from getting close to them without any kinship, but you may also be reported by someone unexpectedly.

But if we miss this opportunity... However, it's useless to get to know Hong Kong businessmen now, since the individual economy is not open up and Hong Kong businessmen's investment is not accepted. Even if we build up our connections now, it will only be beneficial in seven or eight years.

By then, the daylily will be too cold.

"What? A shipping company wants to buy sandals?" Qin Xiangxiang was a little confused. How come the sandal craze isn't stopping? They're a textile factory! Textile factories don't produce sandals!!

But the current situation is too ambiguous. After producing a batch of canvas, they found that various types of canvas are also excellent for making sandals and flip-flops, especially flip-flops. The combination of rubber and canvas makes them soft, sturdy, and durable.

Now the question is, with canvas uppers and rubber soles, which manufacturing industry does this belong to? Textiles? Footwear? Rubber?

It's mostly unrelated to textiles; it's a shoe factory job.

Qin Xiangxiang didn't really want to take on the work of producing sandals. She just wanted to get some benefits for herself, such as producing some work shoes and sandals every year as employee benefits.

"Mom, what do we eat at the cafeteria this evening?"

"There should be borscht available today, right?"

Previously, the island's regular canteens did not serve borscht. After Qin Xiangxiang came to the island and became the director of Feiyan Textile Factory, she specially optimized the canteen's menu and added borscht. This soup was very well received as soon as it was introduced!

Because this borscht is affordable, can be used to soak rice, and has a meaty flavor in the tomato soup, even picky eaters will enjoy it.

That day, Xiao Pang and Huang Shuyun came to the textile factory to play and help take care of their two-and-a-half-year-old sister, Xiao Suisui. Since Li Jianzhi didn't go home at night, their biological mother, Qin Xiangxiang, didn't plan to go back to the affiliated hospital and instead stayed in the factory's break room with the children.

Huang Shuyun gestured to Xiaopang, who understood: "Xiaolou said she wants to eat my cooking! I'll be the chef today!"

"Xiao Lou, try our Li-style dishes."

"I'll write the recipes for our family from now on."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." Little fatty, who lent you your confidence?

Will this "Li Pu" ever be published someday?

It was a terrible idea from her own deadbeat husband.

Fortunately, this is called "Li Genealogy" instead of "Qin Genealogy". Besides, this Li Genealogy is truly outrageous.

Qin Xiang wanted to meet the buyer, and several children came along to play. They liked the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy at the factory hospital. Every time they came to the hospital, they would weigh themselves and ask for some Chinese medicine snacks.

In the summer, the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy will prepare cooling mung bean soup or herbal tea to provide relief from the heat.

Children also like to come here to play hide-and-seek.

Qin Xiangxiang met the "purchasing agent" at the factory hospital. She immediately sensed something was wrong; this shouldn't be a domestic purchasing agent.

Qin Xiangxiang: "May I ask who you are?"

“Luo Hansheng.” Luo Hansheng nodded. “Director Qin, that batch of Nordic spruce wood from your factory was transported by my shipping company.”

Qin Xiangxiang: "!?"

My timber has finally arrived!

If the shipment from Northern Europe to Shanghai goes smoothly, it takes about 28 days. However, the transfer back to the island adds another two or three days.

"Thank you, comrade. Is this an overseas shipping company?"

Luo Hansheng nodded and handed Qin Xiangxiang a business card. Qin Xiangxiang glanced at it and felt it was very thorny.

Xingzhou Shipping Company, Luo Hansheng.

Traditional Chinese characters and English.

Qin Xiangxiang guessed that the other party was most likely a Hong Kong businessman, possibly one of the shipping magnates. This was a bit tricky, since these days it was a very sensitive time, especially when it came to private contact with foreign capital. Generally speaking, one had to rely on the Canton Fair as a window platform and accept the supervision of the Canton Fair.

In her dream, her mother was sent to the countryside because she had left behind letters communicating with overseas countries... Even though it was 1973 now, the situation was better than in previous years because of the implementation of the 43 Plan, the resumption of exchanges with countries such as the United States last year, and the decision to open the Port of Minnesota to the outside world as part of the plan to build a deep-water port.

Her great-aunt, whom she had never met, also lived on Hong Kong Island, but naturally, she couldn't be compared to the shipping magnate with his vast fortune.

Qin Xiangxiang sighed, feeling as if she had just woken up from a dream in the 1970s, still preparing to be a mama's girl, and secretly memorizing the words in her great-aunt's letter, planning to follow her uncle's example after the reform and opening up, contact her great-aunt's family, and ask her great-aunt to buy her a house in Shanghai.

Now, Qin Xiangxiang, born in 1973, has already handled foreign trade orders worth millions of US dollars. Whether or not she maintains contact with her great-aunt's family in the future is no longer of much importance. They can be treated purely as relatives, without considering material interests.

"I would like to order a batch of work sandals and slippers for the crew."

Qin Xiangxiang shook her head: "Mr. Luo, there's nothing we can do about it. We're a textile factory, and textile factories don't produce sandals."

Luo Hansheng was speechless: "Then where did you get those sandals you're wearing?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "...Our factory produces work sandals for our own workers."

"The hot and humid climate on islands makes it easy to develop athlete's foot."

Luo Hansheng looked with great interest at the pair of handmade sandals on Qin Xiangxiang's feet, which were even more beautiful than those worn by Hong Kong actresses. These handmade sandals gave him a sense of the exquisite taste that belonged to the tailors of the Mingzhou Red Gang in Shanghai. The clothes worn by Director Qin in front of him were also exquisitely tailored, and his words were spoken with a Shanghai accent, which made him feel very close to him.

He quickly understood the factory manager's "shrewd calculations." The textile factory couldn't produce sandals, but it bartered cloth for rubber and leather to produce "work shoes" for its own factory, taking the shrewd calculation style of Ningbo merchants to the extreme.

This cleverness is admirable, and it also shows a human touch, bringing benefits to his employees.

Money must be counted, and so must human relationships; the abacus beads are manipulated on both ends.

Luo Hansheng's eldest daughter is determined to go into business. She is about the same age as the factory director Qin in front of her. She received a British elite education from a young age and does not understand her father's feelings for his hometown at all. She also does not agree with her father's care for his fellow villagers. She believes that they should move towards an international business style instead of the old-fashioned business style.

At Feiyan Textile Factory, Luo Hansheng heard many familiar local accents. He wanted to buy a batch of special work sandals for seafarers, as a way to contribute to his hometown.

Luo Hansheng contacted local businesses while working at the factory, expressing his wish to order 10,000 pairs of sandals from Feiyan Textile Factory.

Qin Xiangxiang was speechless: "..."

Is it reasonable to order sandals from a textile factory?

Whether it's reasonable or not isn't something she can decide; it has to go through the provincial government's decision. If they can get special approval for the production line, then they can open another shoe manufacturing workshop.

This couldn't be decided in a short time. Luo Hansheng heard that the Feiyan Textile Factory canteen served borscht in the evening, so he said he would try the canteen's food.

"Factory manager, aren't we entertaining foreign guests? Should the canteen increase the food supply?" the canteen chef asked Qin Xiangxiang.

"Judging from his accent, his ancestral home is Mingzhou. How about we make some lard-filled glutinous rice balls?" Qin Xiangxiang got excited when it came to food. Regardless of whether Luo Hansheng wanted to eat it or not, she really wanted to.

Little Fatty got even more excited: "Mom! I want to eat too!"

The chef agreed, "Okay, the factory happens to have the ingredients."

Little Fatty: "Mom! I want to make glutinous rice balls! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

"Add more lard and more sugar!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

"You made it yourself, so you can eat it yourself!"

"Xiao Lou eats too!"

When it was time for dinner, Luo Hansheng saw the glutinous rice balls that Xiao Pang had cooked. He felt a sense of familiarity with them and pointed to the glutinous rice balls with lard, saying that he wanted to try them.

The chubby boy was very generous: "Uncle, you want some? Have one!"

Luo Hansheng took a bite and immediately burst into tears: "This is exactly the taste of Grandma's!"

Fatty: "?"