Chapter 86: Winning a Big Order
"General."
When Mu Ze came back with the dozen or so deputy generals, he happened to meet Su Shengsheng. He returned to the tent with the cloak she asked him to pass on.
"Miss Su is here. Please let me return the cloak to the general."
Xie Xuan's gaze instantly shifted from the sand table to outside the tent, "Where is she?"
Mu Ze was slightly stunned by his question. "General, are you referring to Miss Su? She has already gone to the military camp of Cheng Shoubei."
Xie Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and his hand unconsciously touched the corner of his sleeve, "Please ask her to come over later."
Mu Ze looked at Xie Xuan with a puzzled expression, feeling a little bewildered, and could only agree to leave.
In this dynasty, there was no ban on women entering military camps.
But all the people here are brave and good at fighting. As soon as you step into the tent community, you can feel a heavy and murderous atmosphere.
Su Shengsheng fell one step behind her aunt, and saw that her aunt was also very nervous.
As the two men entered the military tent, they could tell at a glance who was the commander-in-chief and who was Commander Cheng.
It's because this Cheng Shoubei and her talkative classmate Cheng are exactly like two peas in a pod.
Jiao had already met the commander-in-chief, and seeing that he was extremely respectful to the person in the first place, she knew that this person was Cheng Shoubei.
She brought Su Shengsheng and bowed, saying, "This humble woman pays homage to the garrison commander and the general commander."
The men of the Su family had to work during the day, and when they returned at night, the general office had already finished its shift.
Therefore, only they can come.
Cheng Shoubei recognized Su Shengsheng, his youngest son's female teacher, at a glance.
Seeing that she was only 28 years old, but could do so many amazing things, I couldn't help but feel curious.
However, he had just opened his mouth to ask a few questions when he was interrupted by Mu Ze who walked in from outside.
"Miss Su, the general asks you to come to the tent for a chat after you finish your work here," said Mu Ze.
?
Su Shengsheng was full of confusion. The cloak had been delivered, what else could the general do?
But seeing that Chief Cheng and the officials of the Consulate General were all staring at her, she did not dare to ask any more questions and could only respond softly.
The Consul General happened to have just seen Su Shengsheng handing a package to General Mu.
Now that people have just arrived, I'm afraid those who have left will come over to pass on the news...
He rolled his eyes, interrupting the long speech that Cheng Shoubei was about to launch: "Thank you, General, for sending the young lady over. I believe you have something important to discuss. We have almost finished the search, but I'm afraid time is a bit tight. In order to get winter clothes for the soldiers in time for the Cold Clothes Festival, I can only give you five days to prepare the stock."
When Jiao heard this, she was shocked.
Firstly, according to the commander-in-chief, all the winter clothes and fabrics for the 130,000 soldiers should be handed over to their embroidery room.
Secondly, the general manager didn't even ask how much goods they had in stock, nor did he bargain, and just made the decision.
They were new to the embroidery industry and didn't know the rules of the competition.
In order to avoid getting the cooperating cloth shops to become too familiar and making it difficult to bargain, the government usually does not announce the winners in advance.
One reason is to lower the price and force them to be eliminated.
Secondly, if you always use one company, it will always cause public outrage and you might even be impeached.
Therefore, we always start selecting candidates just before distributing winter clothes.
This time, due to the reduction in troops, the number of people has been fluctuating, and it is only now that we have figured out how many soldiers need to have custom-made winter clothes.
In this way, no one will store too much inventory, and even if they are not selected, there will not be much loss.
Each cloth shop that participated in the competition in previous years had its own idea of how confident they were.
Only one dark horse emerged this year, and the Consulate General also came here to try its luck and see the situation clearly before making a choice.
Today, I heard that Xie Xuan wanted to meet the female manager of the Su family. Although I don’t know if it was because of the gift-giving incident just now, it is undoubtedly because she has a background.
The Consul General simply opened the door and gave a small gift first.
I thought that if the female manager of the Su family didn't dare to accept the job, it meant that she had no foundation, and I would give up.
Jiao was filled with panic, "Five days to prepare the goods? This..."
When Cheng Shoubei heard this, he was also surprised.
Although he understood that the general was afraid of keeping Xie Xuan waiting for a long time, he didn't want to ask any more questions.
But the time given was too tight. He couldn't help but say, "There are still thirteen days until the Cold Clothes Festival. The time you gave is too tight."
When Su Shengsheng saw that the general manager had finished speaking and was just waiting for her to express her opinion, she knew that this was a test of their embroidery room.
It is possible that General Xie sent the message to her, causing the Consul General to misunderstand and fear that they would use their connections to get in through the back door, but they did not have the ability to do so.
Giving them five days to prepare is because we are afraid that the embroidery department will be greedy and want to eat an elephant. If they burst their stomachs and still can't eat, the general office will have time to maneuver.
"Mr. General, these five days have indeed been a bit tense..." Seeing that the General was silent, Jiao thought it would be better to take over part of it first.
However, before she could think of her words, she heard the general say, "It's quite a lot. The border is under martial law now, and no one knows when the war will start. We must make sure the soldiers wear winter clothes first."
Jiao murmured and stopped talking, looking embarrassed.
Su Shengsheng noticed that the general was still staring at her. After a moment's thought, she said, "Although the five-day deadline is tight, since Your Excellency values us so highly, if we are fortunate enough to advance some of the funds, we will certainly do our best to recruit more people to deal with it."
To provide winter clothes for 130,000 soldiers, one piece of cloth is 33 meters long and can make clothes for 15 people, which means a total of 8,666 pieces of cloth are needed.
According to traditional embroiderers, it takes three days to weave a piece of cloth. If we start recruiting people right away, minus the two days of preparation, there are only three days left for weaving.
8,666 pieces of cloth require at least the same number of embroiderers.
Su Shengsheng understood clearly that the leader wanted to use this important task to demonstrate their strength and win the hearts of the people.
Otherwise, if the task is not completed, it will be difficult for him to report to his superiors.
Either you have a good appetite and eat it all, or don't blame him for not giving you face.
Su Shengsheng already understood in her mind that if she backed down this time, not only would she have no hope of bidding this time, but she might not have another chance in the future.
Therefore, when the Consul General asked for a deposit of 3,000 taels, she accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you for your kindness, Consul General. The Su Family Embroidery Studio will definitely live up to your trust and deliver on schedule."
Upon hearing this, the Consul General's face lit up with satisfaction. "In that case, please don't keep General Xie waiting any longer. I'll grant you a token, and you can collect the deposit at the Consul General's Office."
Jiao stood aside, looking dazed as she watched Su Shengsheng respectfully accept the token. She had no choice but to hurriedly bow to Cheng Shoubei and take her leave.
After leaving the tent, Jiao finally couldn't help but ask, "Sheng girl, why did you agree so easily? How can this be accomplished?"
The textile machine invented by Su Shengsheng was incredibly efficient, capable of producing 1,500 meters of cloth a day, equivalent to 45 bolts of cloth.
In just one day, they can produce the same amount of work as 135 embroiderers would do in three days.
Even so, to complete the task of producing 8,666 pieces of cloth within five days, at least 39 sets of textile machines were still needed.
Although they now have a deposit of 3,000 taels, and Su Shengsheng only sells each textile machine for 5 taels, time is running out. How can they have enough time to forge so many textile machines?
It has to be said that Jiao had been in charge of the accounts for a while, and she had been calculating on the way here, so even though she took it over suddenly, she still had a clear account in her mind.
As they followed Mu Ze to General Xie's tent, Jiao couldn't help but ask Su Shengsheng in a low voice.
It was like a pie falling from the sky, and she was fed it. She wanted to take it, but the key point was that she was almost buried...
Seeing this, Su Shengsheng stopped teasing her aunt and told her the truth: "In my factory, we already have 68 sets of new textile machines."
Upon hearing this, Jiao was stunned.
Seeing Su Shengsheng smiling, obviously expecting her to be surprised, Jiao feigned anger and said, "Well, you've already planned this, and you're teasing me on purpose!"
Su Shengsheng smiled and said, "Isn't it good for me to force you to buy or sell?"
Jiao felt a little relieved, but still a little nervous: "But the embroiderer hasn't been recruited yet, and there are only five days left..."
Su Shengsheng smiled and said, "When you reach the mountain, there will always be a way. Don't worry, aunt."
As they were talking, they had already arrived in front of Xie Xuan's tent. Jiao Shi could not say anything more and had to keep silent.
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