Chapter 299 Is there nothing left to film in this TV series? Should we film me?

After agonizing over it for two days, Qin Xiangxiang finally decided to buy it.

It's just a matter of becoming an apprentice. You'll get used to it after a couple of times. Just go through the motions and you'll get through it.

This small villa with a garden on Fuxing West Road was in a location that perfectly suited Qin Xiangxiang's taste. It was located deep in a quiet alley. There was a dedicated gatekeeper's room at the entrance of the alley, guarded day and night, ensuring safety and privacy—a peaceful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle.

It's about ten kilometers from the workers' new village where I grew up, requiring a 30-40 minute bus ride. However, it's only about five or six kilometers from the Shangpu Textile Factory and the East China Textile University campus, making it relatively comfortable and convenient.

The key feature is that it has a garden! And the house is spacious enough!

This is a house purchased with remittances from overseas Chinese, requiring foreign currency settlement. Just over 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, fresh and new, vanished just like that. I ended up with an extra house; it felt like a dream.

After completing the formalities, the family chose an auspicious day to move in, which was in the spring of 1981.

In April, the plane trees lining Fuxing West Road have sprouted new green leaves. The desolate and barren gardens that were once deserted when I was looking at the property are now awakened by the spring and are full of vibrant life.

Aunt Rong took great care of the garden. In spring, at the entrance of the garden, the old wisteria vines bloomed with waterfall-like purple flower spikes, which hung down from the frame to form a natural curtain.

The rose branches that had previously seemed withered were now sprouting tiny, bright red buds. The experienced Aunt Rong had already removed some of the buds, and these fresh buds were growing vigorously, ready to burst forth, foreshadowing a profusion of flowers soon to come.

The air is filled with the sweet fragrance of wisteria and the slightly bitter, refreshing scent of new spring plants, making it feel as if you are breathing in the fresh greenery of spring.

"This will be our home from now on!"

Qin Xiangxiang really liked the garden, and the children liked it too. At this moment, Qin Xiangxiang was glad that the house purchase included an old lady, at least the garden had good aesthetics, was free, and was well maintained.

Aunt Rong is old and doesn't like climbing stairs, so she lives in a side room on the first floor. Qin Xiangxiang and Li Jianzhi, a married couple, live in the master bedroom on the second floor. Their four children live on the third floor, which has three bedrooms and a garden sunroom.

The older brother, Li Qingfeng, has his own room, and the older sister, Li Qinghui, also has her own room. The twins, Qinghe and her younger sister, Qinglan, share the largest bedroom on the third floor, which has now become a paradise for the children.

In the spring, Qin Xiangxiang placed a recliner on the second-floor terrace and leisurely lay there with her eyes closed, taking a nap. However, her good mood didn't last long, as Aunt Rong woke her up with a loud and energetic shout:

"Director Qin, come down here! Today we're learning 'needle snatching'..."

"Think about it, then get down!"

...

Ah, disturbing my peaceful sleep.

Qin Xiangxiang was forced to sit in the garden and began the "suffering" she had chosen. People with the surname Rong are probably all more demanding, just like the quality inspector Rong in the factory. Aunt Rong was more demanding and less polite than Master Lu.

At least Master Lu didn't force Qin Xiangxiang to sit properly.

Aunt Rong had strict requirements for basic skills, not only in terms of posture, frame angle, and splitting silk... but also in terms of shoulders being relaxed, back being straight, and breathing being even. She would often sit for two or three hours at a time to practice.

What's even more terrifying is that Aunt Rong, as an old-fashioned craftswoman, holds a bamboo ruler in her hand, and every time she taps her secretly slumped back and crooked wrist precisely—it doesn't hurt, but it's mentally and physically exhausting, and makes her want to cry.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Aunt Rong, even when I was a model worker, I never sat this straight... This is more tiring than standing at attention in the military!"

The garden was in full bloom, but Qin Xiangxiang was forced to do embroidery, experiencing both pain and joy.

Meanwhile, Li Jianzhi and his son, Xiao Pang, took over the large kitchen of the small villa. The garden full of flowers was not only beautiful but also edible, and the father and son developed "Wisteria Cakes," "Magnolia Pastries," and "Rose Cakes"...

These small tea snacks were used to provide a welcome break for the master and apprentice who were struggling to learn their craft.

Li Jianzhi: "Now I realize that I was given the 'Huang Rong' script."

“Dad, you’re Huang Rong, and Mom is like ‘Missing Brother’. She can find someone to teach her skills wherever she goes.”

"That's right!"

Qin Xiangxiang was incredibly miserable and secretly planned to slack off. Aunt Rong asked her to embroider, and she was prepared to do a shoddy job to get by, not just to get by, but to make sure no one could tell she was slacking off—

After this chaotic mess, her subordinates unconsciously separated the silk threads into twelve shades from light to dark, creating a natural transition between the layers of petals.

Qin Xiangxiang was stunned: "??!!"

A look of shock and amazement flashed in Aunt Rong's eyes: "You have ten parts of strength, but you are only willing to give one part. This is simply a waste of your talent. From today onwards, your practice will be doubled!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "????!!!"

Back in her bedroom at night, Qin Xiangxiang's hands were stiff, as if she had returned to ten years ago when she was still working the night shift as a sewing machine operator at the Shanghai 316 Textile Factory.

Her soul seemed detached from the world, as if she had no hands to control, yet her body worked automatically. After the work was finished, she was left with nothing but exhaustion.

"Li Jianzhi, I'm suffering so much—" Qin Xiangxiang cried out and bit the shoulder of the man next to her. Li Jianzhi hugged her back and gently stroked her back.

"When will these miserable days end?"

Li Jianzhi: "Wait until you cultivate yourself into the Lazy Zombie King, just like a lazy zombie."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

“I’m exhausted. I have to go to school, be a factory manager, and learn from Aunt Rong… Such a big factory is waiting for me to manage. The factory is dilapidated, full of old buildings from the Republic of China era. If it needs to be renovated, it will be a huge project.”

Li Jianzhi: "Think of something happy, you've already won without even trying."

"Maybe in a few years the city will do a planning project and designate your area as a commercial and trade center, giving you a relocation fee so you can happily build a new factory."

Qin Xiangxiang was speechless: "...This doesn't make me happy at all."

"Can that area of ​​Lujiazui really become a commercial and trade center?"

Li Jianzhi: "You can have it just by dreaming about it."

Qin Xiangxiang was forced to study hard, transforming herself from someone who only wanted to wear pretty clothes into someone who could make even more pretty clothes by hand.

Aunt Rong admired her talent and took out several old clothes she wore when she was young, representing the pinnacle of Shanghai-style cheongsam craftsmanship, and displayed them in front of Qin Xiangxiang.

Qin Xiangxiang was amazed, and then wondered how to put on the new cheongsam that inherited the old-fashioned craftsmanship and conformed to modern aesthetics more easily and conveniently.

She took these cheongsams back to the factory and taught the experienced craftsmen how to make them. She and the workers then made a batch of cheongsams by hand. When Hong Kong businessman Chen Qidong came to pick up the goods, he was amazed by the quality of these cheongsams.

"Director Qin, give me this batch of cheongsams, I'll take them back and showcase them in our circle—don't worry, I'll definitely get you a high price."

Chen Qidong's eyes gleamed with ambition as he prepared to showcase this batch of cheongsams in a select circle of wealthy individuals in Hong Kong, offering exclusive high-end custom-made pieces.

Chen Qidong: "I hope to leave the name of the maker on each of these cheongsams."

"Director Qin, nowadays, many brands in the international community produce clothing and bags with the maker's personal label, indicating that they are unique and exclusively customized... This is why they can sell at high prices and are high-end luxury products."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

This actually makes tracing the source much easier, but it's such a hassle. She's really afraid someone will be chasing after her to order clothes. Qin Xiangxiang will never become a beast of burden or a craftswoman in this lifetime.

Qin Xiangxiang asked the factory workers to leave their names and mark their unique logos on the clothes they made. The master craftsmen and apprentices in the factory took extra care to embroider exquisite signatures on the linings or corners of their garments.

Three of the sets were handmade by Qin Xiangxiang herself. She embroidered three crooked and barely legible Chinese characters—Qin Xiangxiang—in a very perfunctory manner. These three characters looked like a child's scribbles, which she found extremely ugly. So she quickly embroidered a round swallow outline. Halfway through, she worried that it would be too eye-catching, so she deliberately made the swallow's wings look a bit flat.

"That's fine then."

She made the cheongsam herself, mixed in with a batch of exquisite items, hoping not to attract too much attention.

"Factory manager, Mr. Chen brought a lot of 'Mr. Zombie' videotapes this time, they're really good!"

"It's very interesting to film, no wonder it's profitable!"

...

Feiyan Textile Factory has expanded into tertiary industries, opening a video arcade at its entrance. It's always packed with people, many of whom come specifically to see it. Now that they've added "Mr. Zombie's Comedy," it's even more crowded.

Even more unfortunately, her own mother, Zhou Aodong, also liked the movie and would come to watch it every few days.

"You came up with an idea, and you're offering a HK$100,000 bonus?"

"He's quite clever."

...

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Can't they film something more positive? These zombies! And they all seem to like them so much."

While Qin Xiangxiang stood at the entrance of the video arcade complaining about the public's enthusiasm for zombie movies, Aunt Pan came to find her, her voice full of excitement: "Factory Manager, this is great news!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

Life is full of disappointments, and it's rare to hear of truly joyous occasions.

"I just heard the news that the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television, with Director Xie as the artistic director, has decided to film a TV series based on your life as Factory Director Qin..." Aunt Pan said excitedly. If they were to film Factory Director Qin's story, would she also appear on television?

"What? What? Film me? And make it into a TV series? Director Xie and the others must be crazy. What's so interesting about me?" Qin Xiangxiang was struck dumb. The successive setbacks she encountered made her like a sapling in a storm, unable to accept the blows of reality.

Secretary Li rushed over and exclaimed excitedly, "Factory Director! This is absolutely fantastic news! It's the greatest affirmation of our factory's reform achievements!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

She was wrong. Now she realizes that zombie movies are great, they're really great, but this "Director Qin" is an unparalleled disaster.

"Director Qin? Have you run out of things to film? You're filming me instead?"

"Factory director, you have a great reputation among the people! Of course we have to flatter you. Next year, the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination will graduate. With your current reputation, all kinds of talented people will definitely want to work in our factory!"

"You are a role model for everyone to learn from."

Zhou Aodong was originally sitting in the video arcade watching "Mr. Zombie's Comedy," laughing so hard that tears were almost coming out of her eyes. After she finished watching, she came out and learned that the Broadcasting and Television Bureau was preparing to film a TV series called "Director Qin."

Her expression was strange, and she almost lost her balance.

Factory Director Qin? Who? Her daughter—Qin Xiangxiang?