Shen Qing shook her head: "No. I'm struggling to survive right now, how could I possibly be thinking about remarrying? I'm just a little angry because I've been getting some malicious gossip because of my status as a 'widow'."
Chunju, however, said to herself, "I heard there's a matchmaker here who specializes in bringing widows and widowers together. Once things at the factory are settled, you should start thinking about your own happiness."
Shen Qing: "..."
The next day, Shen Qing got up very early, had breakfast, and then took Su Lan and Chun Ju to the factory.
Old Xu was going to pick up Cheng Zhiwen, so after dropping them off at the factory, he quickly drove off in his carriage.
Shen Qing assumed he was taking Cheng Zhiwen on business and didn't think much of it. As soon as he entered the accounting room, he quickly taught Su Lan how to do the accounting.
Over the past few months, Su-lan has been learning abacus and arithmetic from the shopkeeper. Now that her calculation skills are good enough, it's time for her to learn bookkeeping.
Shen Qing found the simple voucher paper that had been printed before, and then gave Su Lan the factory and shop's account books for the previous month, teaching her to start with payment and receipt vouchers.
After explaining these things, she went to the workshop.
After walking around the spinning machine a few times, he quickly determined the future direction.
Currently, not only is there no hope for the export of rayon, but the local market is also likely to be taken over in the future. It is imperative to quickly develop new materials that are not available in Europe as a major source of profit.
These ten looms, which cost twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver to buy, cannot simply be thrown away as scrap metal. They must be repaired, and it doesn't matter how long it takes. Once they are brought back, they can be used to make rayon or other silk fabrics.
As for what new material to make, Shen Qing had no idea for a while.
In today's fabric market, expensive fabrics include pure silk, kesi silk, and fur; mid-range fabrics include rayon and imported cloth; and cheap fabrics include coarse homespun cloth.
The available materials cover the clothing needs of almost all social classes.
What other materials do people need?
Shen Qing picked up a tree branch and squatted in the yard, using the branch to write down the materials currently available on the market.
The sound of a horse-drawn carriage could be heard from afar.
With a creak, the courtyard gate opened.
The man's steady, powerful footsteps grew closer. Shen Qing knew it was Cheng Zhiwen, but she didn't look up, too lazy to pay him any attention.
Cheng Zhiwen squatted down beside her and glanced at the words written on the ground: "Thinking about new materials?"
"Um."
"Aren't you planning to export the new materials?"
Shen Qing glanced at him sideways: "The new materials are for export."
"Since you're going to export, shouldn't you consider what kind of materials Westerners need?"
Shen Qing paused, stopping his circling motion with the tree branch, and fell into thought—what kind of material do Westerners need?
There are three classes in the West: the upper aristocracy, the middle elites, and the lower poor.
Upper-class nobles wore various silks, fine gauzes, furs, and so on.
Mid-level elites wear various cashmere products, like Cheng Zhiwen.
The poor at the bottom of society wore all kinds of coarse cotton cloth.
If we're talking about targeting a specific consumer group, Shen Qing would choose the lower-income segment.
Firstly, because the base number is huge.
The second material does not require overly complicated or sophisticated processes.
But she had never met the real Western underclass people of this era. All her impressions of the Western underclass in this era were only from various films and television shows.
Furthermore, the judgment may not be accurate, because film and television works are often fictionalized.
Therefore, Cheng Zhiwen probably had a good understanding of what kind of materials the lower classes in the West needed in this era.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing squatted down, turned around, and looked at him with a smile: "Boss Cheng, shall we sit inside?"
Cheng Zhiwen gave her a fake smile: "I think it's fine to squat here, there's no need to go inside."
"How can that be! How can we let you squat here, Boss Cheng!" With that, Shen Qing immediately stood up and pulled Cheng Zhiwen up as well.
She pushed him inside, saying, "Come in and have a cup of hot tea!"
Cheng Zhiwen curled her lips in a mocking smile: "You were acting like enemies just now, what? Now you need my help and you're giving me the cold shoulder?"
"If you can help me make a comeback this time, I'll even call you 'Dad'!"
Cheng Zhiwen laughed heartily, her cheerful laughter echoing through the factory.
"Come on! I can't afford a daughter as big as you..."
"Then I'll be your mother? And call you 'son'?"
"It's starting again, isn't it?"
The two entered the accounting room amidst their bickering. Su Lan looked up and saw Cheng Zhiwen, and happily exclaimed, "Master, Uncle Cheng!"
Cheng Zhiwen glanced at Shen Qing: "Why is she the master and I'm the uncle?"
Su Lan thought she had said something wrong, so she pursed her lips, lowered her head, and dared not say anything more.
Shen Qing swung the account book beside her and lightly slapped Cheng Zhiwen's arm: "You talk too much! If I don't call you 'Uncle,' am I supposed to call you 'Master's Wife'?"
"You're the master, and I'm the mistress? That's fine."
"Okay, I'll grant your wish!"
Shen Qing smiled and looked at Su Lan: "From now on, when you see him, call him 'Master's Wife'!"
Su Lan covered her mouth and chuckled.
Shen Qing poured a cup of hot water for Su Lan, and then made tea for herself and Cheng Zhiwen.
After taking her seat, she put away her jokes and asked seriously, "What kind of clothes do ordinary people in the West wear these days?"
Cheng Zhiwen also regained his serious demeanor when discussing business: "Most of them are cotton products. Men wear cotton suits and shirts, and women wear cotton skirts and blouses."
Shen Qing nodded: "That's about what I know. I'm wondering what kind of material would make them willingly spend money to buy it, and even have everyone scrambling to buy it."
Cheng Zhiwen, speaking in perfect English, said, "Improving quality of life."
He knew Shen Qing could understand.
Shen Qing did understand, and murmured, "Materials to improve life... what are those?"
"Everyone has clothes to wear and there's no shortage of materials, but the question is what kind of materials can make us warmer and more comfortable, and directly make life better because of the materials we wear."
Having lived in both England and the United States, Shen Qing believed that what he said must be true, and treated his words as gospel, thinking in that direction.
I need warmth and comfort.
In other words, it needs to be warm, but also lightweight. It can't be warm if you're wrapped up in layers; that wouldn't be comfortable.
Warm, lightweight...
Shen Qing recalled the winter of her first year of high school, which was the coldest winter in history, with snow disasters in the north and persistent low temperatures in the south.
Her stepmother bought her and her sister each a down jacket.
That was the first time she wore a down jacket. She felt as if she were enveloped in a gentle ball of fire, warm and light.
down jacket!
The appearance of these three words made Shen Qing stand up excitedly.
She walked to the table, took out her notebook that she usually used for drafting, and listed the components of the down jacket on it.
The outer waterproof fabric, the inner down-proof lining, and most importantly, the fleece!
However, the most essential down is the easiest to obtain; you can buy goose or duck feathers from farmers in the market, select them, and process them.
The most troublesome parts of the entire down jacket construction are the outer waterproof fabric and the inner down-proof lining.
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