Zhou Qiqi returned to the factory with a heavy heart. As soon as she reached the office door, she saw Zhao Damei standing there with a bamboo basket covered with a cloth, talking to Zhang Guoqiang.
Both of them wore slightly unnatural smiles, and the air was filled with the enticing aroma of meat.
"Qiqi, you're back just in time!"
As soon as Zhao Damei saw her, she greeted her warmly, a blush creeping onto her face.
"I bought a pheasant from the hunting team in our village, and stewed it with some wild mushrooms that the kids picked in the fall. It smells delicious! Come on in and have some while it's hot!"
Zhou Qiqi waved her hand and smiled, "Sister Da Mei, I've already eaten, you guys eat."
She looked into the office and saw Zhang Guoqiang with an open enamel mug in front of him, filled with golden, fragrant chicken and brown mushrooms. He was holding half a cornbread bun and eating it with relish.
The atmosphere between the two was indescribably warm and harmonious, just like that of a family.
Zhou Qiqi chuckled inwardly, feeling a little regretful that she had come at the wrong time and interrupted someone else's "good time".
Without saying a word, Zhao Damei took out an identical enamel mug from the bamboo basket and shoved it into Zhou Qiqi's hand:
"After you've eaten, go downstairs and take it home to heat up. The chicken is stewed until very tender, and the soup is delicious and warming."
Zhou Qiqi glanced at the two empty enamel mugs in the basket and immediately understood that they were meant to be given to Zhang Guoqiang's family to take care of the children.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that Sister Da Mei was truly thoughtful to the core, considerate and thoughtful in everything she did, always thinking of others.
She stopped refusing and accepted it with a smile: "Thank you, Sister Mei. Then I won't be polite. I'll take it back for Zhouzhou to try this delicacy tonight."
Seeing that she accepted it, Zhao Damei's smile became more reassuring. She didn't try to keep it any longer, only saying:
"Sister Ping is a kind person. She gave me two hours off, but I'm on a paycheck, so I can't always worry about my own family. I have to go back and watch the stall."
As she spoke, she quickly packed up the basket, said goodbye to the two of them, and left.
As soon as Zhao Damei left, Zhang Guoqiang, who had been sipping his soup politely just moments before, seemed to have been unleashed. He picked up the half-bowl of cornbread soaking in chicken soup and began to wolf it down, slurping it down with great relish!
After a few bites, the bowl was empty, and even the inside of the bowl was scraped clean. It was as if they wanted to lick the enamel mug clean before they were done.
Zhou Qiqi looked at him, who seemed to want to swallow the bones whole, looking both satisfied and a little silly, and couldn't help but chuckle. She knew perfectly well that the "fragrance" wasn't just due to the chicken soup.
She held back, not revealing her thoughts, knowing full well but not speaking out.
After returning home, Zhou Qiqi didn't hear the phone ring. The office was very quiet, and she thought the phone was lost.
While clearing away the dishes, Zhang Guoqiang explained that he had asked Sister Wang, a very kind-hearted person in the logistics department, to move the factory's notoriously slow telephone to her office so she could answer calls.
"Otherwise, it'll keep ringing non-stop, and we won't be able to get anything done!"
After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Guoqiang felt much more energetic.
Zhou Qiqi took out the scarf sketch she had drawn earlier and discussed with him the details of selling it with a sweater dress.
Materials, labor, and pricing all need to be recalculated.
She suggested that the price could be increased slightly, but the overall price should still be cheaper than buying the sweater dress and scarf separately, which would be a good deal for customers and could boost sales more quickly.
As Zhang Guoqiang took notes, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Master Zhou, your composure is truly remarkable!"
He gave a thumbs up.
"At this critical juncture, you can still sit still and think about how to sell scarves and increase sales without losing your composure. You are born to be a businessman!"
Zhou Qiqi chuckled at his praise.
She wasn't born to do business; she just had countless smart "predecessors" standing on her shoulders.
She hadn't watched those period dramas about business warfare in her past life for nothing; she remembered quite a bit about various promotional tactics and crisis management cases.
This is just a matter of following the example and applying it in light of the actual situation.
After discussing these details, perhaps because there were too many smart people "standing" on her shoulders, Zhou Qiqi felt her shoulders were heavy and sore, and couldn't help but raise her hand to rub them.
Just as they were kneading, Old Wang, the factory's experienced worker, rushed over.
He was one of the people who went to stake out the factory with Zhang Guoqiang last night. He's a long-time employee, has a deep affection for the factory, and is particularly concerned about this matter.
His son had previously dealt in items on the black market and brought back information about it.
This news was exactly the same as what Shen Huaichuan had heard.
A batch of high-priced Australian wool suddenly appeared on the black market. It was exactly the same as the kind used in their "Guanghua" series, and the quantity was not small.
Zhou Qiqi's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face; only her eyes darkened.
Qiu Fengxian's movements were frighteningly fast!
While she was having lunch at the state-run restaurant, Shen Huaichuan had just sent Qin Lei news that Australian wool was fetching high prices on the black market. Less than two hours later, even the factory's experienced workers had heard about it!
The news spread so fast it was as if someone was shouting through a megaphone, as if afraid she wouldn't know!
This is clearly a trap set for her to fall into.
Zhang Guoqiang also realized something was wrong at this moment, and his brows furrowed tightly.
But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
When Zhou Qiqi finally understood Qiu Fengxian's scheme to deliberately leak information and force them to buy materials at a high price, a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.
"This...this Qiu Fengxian is too insidious? He deliberately put the materials on the black market, what is he trying to do?"
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