Chapter 179 Deception and fraud—it's practically like they were sent to cause trouble...

To participate in a film costume competition, one must first prepare four to six costume samples for evaluation by the director, production manager, and others.

Qin Xiangxiang selected four female workers, one of whom was Gao Rong. They were all meticulous people with excellent sewing skills. Although they did not have any special family-inherited needlework techniques, they were all talented and excellent sewing workers.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "This time, we'll select a few of you to make clothing samples. We'll prepare four pieces in total, and each of you will be responsible for one."

Gao Rong: "Factory manager, we need to make six sets! The more sets we make, the more opportunities we'll have."

"Yes, factory manager, we'll make six sets! I've checked with other factories, and they're also preparing six sets!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." There are always treacherous people trying to harm me.

Apart from her, the factory director, everyone in the factory agreed that six sets should be made.

You can't even slack off.

"Okay, six outfits: three men's outfits and three women's outfits. The men's outfits will be divided into worker's clothes, everyday clothes, and military uniforms; the women's outfits will be divided into worker's clothes, everyday clothes and pants, and a dress."

"I'll make the dresses, Gao Rong, you make the military uniforms..." Qin Xiangxiang assigned the production tasks.

A group of people, led by Qin Xiangxiang, were making clothes by drawing patterns. Originally, Qin Xiangxiang only wanted to make something casually, but when it came to drawing patterns, she had another idea, "Make a nautical-style striped shirt... and then make a dress with wave yarn, and add poplin to the dress."

Qin Xiangxiang made a very beautiful and suitable wavy chiffon dress for herself, secretly planning to save it for herself if it wasn't selected!

Thinking about making it for herself, she put in a lot of effort.

A few days later, all six sets of clothes were finished and inspected by the factory's quality control department.

"They're all very well done! The factory manager's dress is the best, and these workers' uniforms... they're so beautiful. I wish I could have worn uniforms like these when I was young."

The quality inspector examined the workmanship with a magnifying glass and raised an objection: "These clothes are for filming movies, especially this work uniform, isn't it a bit too new?"

"Let's distress this workwear to showcase our distressing techniques."

"Distress the work clothes, leave everything else as is."

Qin Xiangxiang chuckled: "Okay,"

Is it possible for him to be elected? Probably not.

The workers carefully processed and ironed the sample, but the day before it was to be submitted, a cup of tea was spilled on it, and the young girl was so frightened that she almost cried.

"I...I didn't expect what was down there..."

A female worker nearby screamed, "Xu Leilei, are you doing this on purpose?!"

"I'm not, I really am not!"

"What are we going to do about the tea now? If our factory doesn't get selected for the film, you'll be the sinner of the whole factory!"

Tea was spilled on the clothing samples. Qin Xiangxiang, as the factory manager, was called in by everyone to find a solution. As soon as she arrived, she heard the female workers scolding Xu Leilei. Looking at the young female worker cowering and shedding tears, she thought to herself: This is simply a lucky general that I sent to cause trouble.

Perhaps even God didn't want Feiyan Textile Factory to be selected.

Making movies is too much trouble. It's better to wait until the 1980s to find someone to shoot commercials. Commercials are just short clips, and you can see them on TV often.

After this ordeal, Qin Xiangxiang was finally relieved. It was great that the clothing sample had a problem and couldn't be selected.

For the next few months, she also stopped cooperating with the film crew to make movies and kept quiet.

"Factory manager, this is strong tea, and there are tea stains. What should we do?"

"It's too late to rush the work now."

Qin Xiangxiang said calmly, "It's not a big deal. I'll work on it. Even if I'm not selected, it's my fault."

Qin Xiangxiang was so happy that she rushed through the work. She used the fastest speed and the most common materials to make several sample sets, which stunned a group of female workers.

"Submit these tomorrow."

Qin Xiang folded the clothes neatly, thinking that it was better to be busy for a little while than to be busy for several months in the future.

"Our factory manager is so gentle."

"Of course, our Factory Director Qin is reliable and steady... She is the pillar of our factory and can solve all problems."

Xu Leilei's tears were still wet: "Our factory director will definitely be awarded the title of National Model Worker."

"Of course!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..." Absolutely not!

For Qin Xiangxiang, her composure stemmed from the mentality of "if the sky falls, let's have a meal first," especially since the sky hadn't actually fallen yet.

The next day, the film costume samples were submitted. At that time, in the conference room of the guesthouse, director Xie Ankang, production manager, art director and others sat and held a meeting to discuss various matters of the film "Blue Sea Silver Shuttle".

After the release of feature films, the film "Blue Sea and Silver Shuttle" was initiated. This film is a feature film that praises laborers and shows the style of workers in the new era. At the same time, it also shows the close relationship between the military and the people. Therefore, the film's name not only contains textile elements but also naval elements.

Director Xie Ankang is a serious and meticulous artist with extremely high requirements for artistic details. At the same time, he is also very good at finding "human touch" within the framework of the times.

Xie Ankang hated model operas. He wanted to show the "people" of the new era, real people, and to make certain artistic sublimations, wanting to use a kind of "realistic splendor" to show the workers' demeanor.

The production manager said, "The small island factory, Feiyan Textile Factory, best fits the theme of 'Azure Sea and Silver Shuttle,' and I prefer to film at Feiyan Textile Factory."

Art director: "But this Feiyan Textile Factory has only been built for two or three years and doesn't look like anything yet. The shooting effect won't be good."

Production Manager: "The simple conditions make it feel more real!"

Xie Ankang: "Once all the garment samples from the factories are submitted, everyone will naturally know the different styles of each textile factory."

The director has his own "human touch" and requirements for "realistic glamour".

After all the garment samples from the textile factories were delivered, the samples were laid out on a long table in the middle of the guesthouse conference room, which was still decorated with slogans.

Zheng Jianguo, the factory director of Hongxing Textile Factory, appeared here thanks to his connections. He looked confident, his hair was slicked back, and he carried several photos of the Hongxing Textile Factory and its workers with him.

With the technology and facilities in their factory, it's the perfect location for filming!

"Distinguished leaders, Director Xie, please take a look at the achievements of our Hongxing Textile Factory! Our factory boasts Zeng Jinfeng, the province's top-level eighth-grade sewing worker. Her family has inherited the Jinfeng needlework technique, making her a successor of this ancient craft! Look at this; every stitch and every thread here embodies the highest level of craftsmanship! The stitches are even more uniform and dense than those of a machine, perfectly straight as if cut with a knife... This is truly a model of the highest technical level of workers in the new era!"

“Our skilled female worker, Zeng Jinfeng, can also do ‘blindfolded overlocking’ and ‘single-needle embroidery’.”

Director Xie and the production manager exchanged glances, then followed Zheng Jianguo's words to go and see the clothing at the Hongxing Textile Factory.

Zheng Jianguo pulled out a magnifying glass, worried that Xie Ankang and the others wouldn't understand. He meticulously demonstrated the fineness of the stitching and the treatment of the lining in every detail of his garments. Zheng Jianguo was confident that the garment samples from his factory were the neatest and most durable. He spoke with great enthusiasm: "Our factory has gathered the most skilled female sewing workers. For this competition, some small island factories even specifically sought advice from our female workers and hoped that our female workers would help them..."

Several judges nodded in agreement. At this moment, Zheng Jianguo had achieved his goal of establishing a preconceived notion. Everyone recognized the skill level of Hongxing Textile Factory, and that no other factory could compare to his craftsmanship.

However, Director Xie frowned at this moment. He felt that the clothes from the Red Star Textile Factory were "too neat" and that many of them were too deliberate in order to show off their skills, making them seem somewhat lifeless.

They're making a movie, not evaluating sewing techniques.

He whispered to the art director, "This Red Star Textile Factory is great, but it lacks a human touch."

The art director also had a serious expression on his face. He had initially preferred to choose the Red Star Textile Factory, but now he didn't like it. It was too neat and rigid, which made him, an art student, feel uncomfortable.

The art director looked away and flipped through the clothing samples from Feiyan Textile Factory, which he had previously been skeptical of. He was suddenly drawn to a navy blue work jacket. At first glance, the jacket was unremarkable, but its design was very smooth and beautiful. The shoulders and waistline were cleverly designed to ensure a certain level of freedom of movement during work while subtly outlining the beauty of a woman's figure.

The men's workwear next to it is the same. Not only has it been improved in a humanized way, but it also has a hidden double-layer abrasion-resistant layer at the knee of the men's work pants. The maker used a unique stitching technique that makes the marks almost invisible, yet it is extremely practical.

The art director picked up a women's workwear jacket and called out to Director Xie, "Director, come and take a look at this."

Director Xie's eyes lit up. "I can't quite put my finger on what's so good about it, but it's very beautiful and appealing."

Art Director: "Look at this pattern, and the details here, it's simply art! It's full of the wisdom of the workers! It's both beautiful and practical... These are clothes made by real laborers, and look at the technique, it's definitely made by a first-class master craftsman."

“Indeed! Indeed!” A flash of inspiration struck Director Xie. He realized what it meant; the missing element of human warmth was precisely in it.

Clothes in the 1970s were all designed like burlap sacks, loose and baggy, and not very attractive. But in textile factories, where there were skilled female workers, they naturally made some technical improvements.

These are the clothes that female factory workers actually wore.

Director Xie: "The needlework is superb! Was this done by an eighth-level seamstress?"

"Maybe."

Which textile factory is it?

"Feiyan Textile Factory".

Production Manager: "Is it that island factory? I always said this factory was perfect."

Zheng Jianguo's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly went forward to examine the clothes from Feiyan Textile Factory. The workmanship was no worse than Zeng Jinfeng's, and it even had a beautiful and lively feel. The handling of various details was first-class.

Is this a sample from Feiyan Textile Factory? How could Feiyan Textile Factory possibly have skilled veteran female workers?

Zheng Jianguo shouted, "Leaders, this absolutely cannot be a garment from Feiyan Textile Factory. They couldn't produce this kind of craftsmanship. This is the work of He Xiuxiu from our factory. I suspect they cheated!"

"Feiyan Textile Factory doesn't have any highly skilled seamstresses, but this garment has unique stitching techniques and ingenious finishing touches. It was definitely made by a top-level seamstress; no one in Feiyan Textile Factory knows how to do that!"

"Their factory manager, Qin Xiangxiang, lives in the same apartment building as He Xiuxiu from our factory. This dress must have been secretly made by He Xiuxiu after Factory Manager Qin asked her to do it. They're trying to cheat us and get away with it!"