Among the family members who accompany the troops to the family compound, only two-fifths have jobs, and the vast majority of them are those who migrated from rural areas and have no jobs.
Zhang Cuilian is one of the luckier ones, as she works at the Women's Federation of Qingyanshan Farm. Wu Meili and Ji Hehua are in a more difficult situation, as only their husbands work at home.
Ji Hehua also wanted to make some money to supplement the family income, so she asked curiously, "How much can a pair of soles sell for?"
Qiao Baozhu didn't hold back and said directly, "One dollar."
Zhang Cuilian and others gasped and were shocked by the price.
Wu Meili looked unconvinced. "One dollar for a pair of shoe soles? I guess I met a liar! The rubber shoes I'm wearing only cost two dollars and eighty dollars a pair. I've never bought cloth shoes, so I know they can't be more expensive than rubber shoes, right?"
Zhang Cuilian glared at Wu Meili and said, "Do you know how to talk? Didn't Baozhu say that her mother has been sewing shoe soles for several years? Why are you questioning her?"
Wu Meili was stunned for a moment, then she realized that she had said the wrong thing. She grinned at Qiao Baozhu embarrassedly: "Sister Baozhu, don't bother with me. I don't think before I speak."
Wu Meili was afraid that Qiao Baozhu would be angry, so she waved her hands to apologize: "I don't mean to disbelieve you, I just wonder why this pair of soles can be sold at such a high price."
Ji Hehua, who was sitting behind Wu Meili, also nodded and said in Mandarin with a Jiangnan accent, "A pair of corduroy shoes in the service center only costs three dollars and eighty-five cents.
"The recycling price of this shoe sole is so high, the requirements must be very high."
Qiao Baozhu nodded, stood up and took out a pair of new cotton shoes made for her by her adoptive mother from the cabinet.
"Look at the soles of these cotton shoes. How do they compare to the ones you usually make?"
Wu Meili was quick to snatch the cotton shoes and looked carefully through the window.
Zhang Cuilian and Ji Hehua seemed to have long been accustomed to her impetuous behavior and did not care about her rude behavior. The two of them gathered together to look at another pair of shoes.
"The soles of your shoes are thicker than mine, and they're made of white cloth, with dense stitching."
Wu Meili held a shoe sole in her hand, and she didn't think it was anything special. She simply took off her own shoes and compared her soles with Qiao Baozhu's new soles.
"When I make shoes at home, I use whatever scraps of cloth I have. If I don't have any cloth strips, I can use newspapers to paste the soles. The soles made by your old lady are all made of white cloth, and they are pasted in several layers. They look more delicate than mine."
After the comparison, Wu Meili had to admit that Qiao Baozhu's mute mother was really good at needlework.
"Since they can be sold at a high price of 1 yuan, they must have very high standards. These thousand-layer cloth shoes are comparable to the cloth shoes with a pair of European white plastic soles."
"In the shoe cabinet on the second floor of the department store, a pair of European brand cloth shoes costs eight dollars."
Wu Meili took a deep breath and said in amazement: "My God, what kind of cloth shoes cost eight yuan a pair? These city people are really rich and willing to spend money."
"The soles are made of white plastic, which is lighter and softer than the soles I make myself. But there is one downside to this shoe: it's too slippery."
Some people are not used to wearing them and think the prices are ridiculously high. They think the cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles in old shoe stores are better to wear.
Two layers of pure cotton white cloth are bonded together to form a layer of garb, and three layers of pure cotton white cloth are bonded together to form a layer of core.
The forefoot is made of six layers of lining and seven layers of sandwich, and the heel is made of eight layers of lining and eight layers of sandwich. The entire sole is glued together without glue, and is completely hand-sewn with needlework. The forefoot has thirty-six layers, and the heel has forty layers, stacked layer by layer, so it is called a thousand-layer sole.
After hearing this, the three of them looked at the shoes in their hands and exclaimed: "The forefoot has thirty-six layers, and the heel has forty layers. No wonder the soles look so thick."
Ji Hehua was more thoughtful than Wu Meili, and asked quickly, "Are we going to pay for this white cotton cloth ourselves?"
Qiao Baozhu nodded: "Of course, because we produce the materials ourselves, we can sell them at a high price."
One foot of white cotton cloth costs 2.4 yuan, and according to the requirements of the shoe store, one foot of cloth can only make a few pairs of soles. With this calculation, the recycling price of one piece is indeed not very high.
"I happen to have two feet of white cotton cloth at home. I will make a pair of soles in a few days. Baozhu, when you return to the city, remember to show it to Auntie to see if I can sell it for a good price."
Zhang Cuilian has worked in the Women's Federation for many years and has long been a cadre. Usually, any mediation work is handled by the young people below. When she is at work, she drinks tea, reads newspapers, knits sweaters, and chats.
If you can make money by sewing shoe soles, if you can make a pair every two days, you can earn an extra fifteen yuan a month.
Zhang Cuilian's heart warmed up when she thought about the fact that her family would have an extra 15 yuan in the future.
Ji Hehua is also looking forward to it. "I haven't touched the nine feet of white cloth for making new quilts for my two daughters yet. I can try making two pairs of soles first, and then make some money to buy two more kilograms of cotton for the children."
Seeing that both of them had white cotton cloth at home, Wu Meili smiled bitterly and said, "Look at how I live. I don't have anything I need at home. If I want to make soles for shoes, I have to buy cloth now. Isn't this ridiculous?"
Zhang Cuilian was stunned and looked at Wu Meili with a puzzled look on her face: "What did you do with the cotton cloth that the three of us bought together a few days ago?"
Wu Meili sighed: "My brother-in-law came yesterday and said that it was winter and he had no cotton pants to wear, so he asked me for his brother's old cotton pants. I thought that old cotton pants were not warm enough, so I gave him the white cotton cloth and some cotton coupons."
Zhang Cuilian rolled her eyes speechlessly after hearing this: "How many years have you been wearing those cotton pants? Some places don't have cotton anymore. It's cold to wear them now. What are you going to do when the coldest days of winter arrive?"
Ji Hehua also looked at Wu Meili with disapproval: "Sister Cui Lian is right, you only think about others who don't have cotton pants to wear, but you don't have any either."
Wu Meili waved her hand disapprovingly and said carelessly, "I'm fine. When I make some money from making shoe soles, I'll make myself a pair of thick ones."
Looking at Wu Meili's carefree and heartless appearance, Qiao Baozhu finally understood why she was so popular in the staff quarters.
I also figured out why Wu Meili, who had the ability to make money, lived a very tight life.
It turns out that she has to support a whole family.
"Okay, you guys should deliver the shoes according to the boss's requirements with 36 layers on the front sole and 40 layers on the back sole. After I inspect them and they pass, I will pay you directly. If I fail to pass the inspection, they will definitely not be acceptable even if they are delivered to the boss. So please be rigorous, sisters-in-law, otherwise you will have to use such good soles by yourself."
Everyone nodded in agreement and promised Qiao Baozhu that they would do a good job of sewing the soles. Since Qiao Baozhu was willing to advance the payment, they couldn't do anything shabby.
Zhang Cuilian thought of a few good neighbors in the family compound. She asked Qiao Baozhu cautiously, "Can I get a few more female comrades to do it with us?"
Qiao Baozhu nodded and said with a smile: "The more the better. It would be even better if we could set up a shoe sole sewing team."
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