Chapter 39
"Director Zhu, what brings you here today?" Tong Shu was handing things to residents and collecting money at the iron gate when she saw Zhu Cheng appear and greeted him.
Zhu Cheng smiled and said, "I went to your little workshop and saw that the quilts and clothes you make are just as good as the ones I bought at the big department store before." After saying that, he held out his hand to show Tong Shu a pair of black gloves. "Your aunt insisted on giving them to me. These are indeed much better than the ones that were issued from above. It's just that I feel a little embarrassed to keep taking things from your family."
"Please don't be so polite, it's just a small token of my appreciation."
Zhu Cheng nodded.
"Where did you get the parts for those two machines in your house?" Zhu Cheng asked, forcing himself to be brave.
Tong Shu's heart tightened, but she remained calm and replied, "They were all retrieved from the water. My dad used to do this. When I went out to buy goods and passed by the industrial park, I would exchange a few waterlogged machines and bring them back for my dad to dismantle."
"That's how it is."
"Yes, the two machines currently in Building 3 were brought back from W City. Don't be fooled by their new appearance; my dad painstakingly polished them bit by bit with a file." Tong Shu lied without batting an eye.
Zhu Cheng understood. In that case, it would take a lot of effort and time to get these two machines back into service.
"Director Zhu, why are you asking this?" Tong Shu asked, her eyes darting around.
Zhu Cheng's old face flushed slightly as he said, "It's like this, the radio was just repaired last night, and the supply ship made contact with the south of the city this morning. The situation there is very bad..."
"Section Chief Li knows about our community's small workshop business and wants to exchange it for a large quantity of cold-weather supplies. He needs them urgently, but I don't know if your two machines and five or six people can handle it..."
Hearing Zhu Cheng say this, Tong Shu felt a little relieved, as long as he didn't suspect that her family's belongings were of dubious origin.
“That’s easy. We’ve stockpiled a lot of cotton before, and our community has also sent us quite a bit. We don’t need to worry about the raw materials. If we want to speed things up, we can find a few more older women who know how to sew. With more people working together, we can definitely finish it.”
Zhu Cheng was relieved to hear her say that: "Then I'll go find you a few more workers. Section Chief Li said he's going to send someone to the south of the city in three days. We'll bring them a batch of supplies then. Let's make as many as we can. Every extra cotton-padded coat we make can save another life!"
Tong Shu nodded seriously: "I understand. I told my aunt during dinner today, and she knows how to arrange it."
----
After the radio was repaired, the small Kowloon community became busier than ever.
Every place that Wen Shaocheng and his men inspected contacted the supply ship from the north of the city after the radio connection was established, hoping that the north of the city would lend a helping hand.
The number of workers in Tong Shujia's small workshop has reached more than ten. Small sewing machines of different models are arranged haphazardly on the makeshift workbench. A group of female workers are so busy that they don't even look up. Zhang Ming and Lao Zhuangtou's hands never stop stuffing cotton and vacuuming and packing.
Shuli was busy all morning. When she came back for lunch, she said to Tong Shu, "I still think there are too many people. There are always things that we can't do everything perfectly. If someone notices something is wrong one day, then it will be a thankless task."
Tong Shu also had some concerns about this. Fortunately, Zhu Cheng was a very considerate person. He would often come to Tong Shu to comfort her, and at the same time, he would fight for the Tong family's interests with the supply ship. This morning, she received a message from Zhu Cheng saying that the government had built several greenhouses in the technical school campus. In addition to planting some short-cycle crops, a lot of cotton was also planted. Although it was still a long time before it was ripe and she didn't know if it would survive, at least there was something to look forward to.
"The government is collecting old clothes and quilts that have been soaked in water. Once the preparations are complete, they will take more people to work in the newly built factory. The wages of these people are currently paid by the supply ship. Our family does not provide meals; we will only cover the wages and three meals a day for the previous group of people," Tong Shu told Shu Li.
Shuli breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. It's not that we're short of food, it's just that we're afraid people will notice something."
Shu Hua is now delivering meals to the workers in Building 3. Tong Shu had already informed Shu Hua that the meals these days should be prepared according to the standards delivered by the supply ship, so as not to arouse suspicion from the newcomers.
As for selling water, ever since Tong Shu rented out the wooden boat, there has been a constant line of people waiting to rent it. They can usually get 2-3 pieces of ice a day, and sometimes even 4 pieces, which is enough for the shop to meet the needs of the residents who come to buy water. The Tong family is happy with this arrangement, but it keeps Qin Xiaoxiao busy.
Seeing that the second animal's faith points were almost full, Tong Shu's obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in again. Unfortunately, she had injured her foot and could not help with anything except selling things at the convenience store. She was so anxious that a blister appeared on her tongue.
"There's no use in rushing. My mom and the others will deliver this batch of supplies today, so just wait patiently." Wang Jie handed Tong Shu a can of herbal tea.
"Nonsense, I don't want to drink herbal tea on such a cold day." Tong Shu rolled her eyes at him.
Wang Jie was speechless: "...It's called herbal tea because it reduces internal heat, okay? Otherwise, I'll scald it with hot water for you?"
Tong Shu was so preoccupied with the fact that the progress bar was just a tiny bit short that she didn't react. She snatched the herbal tea and gulped down a few mouthfuls, then turned around and slumped listlessly onto the dining table again: "Not enough...not enough! We're only 600 points short now. Auntie only has 200 items in this batch, and the convenience store only sells about 300 items a day. It's just a little bit short!!"
"Then let's do it the next day." Wang Jie couldn't understand why Tong Shu insisted on doing everything today.
“You don’t understand.” Tong Shu sat up, her face tense, and said, “Go see what supplies are left in the warehouse in large quantities, and take them to the community to buy and sell them off.”
"...Are you out of your mind?" Wang Jie was about to retort when Tong Shu stared at him with wide eyes, her bamboo pole poised to strike. "...Never mind, I'll take the dried vegetables to sell. You wait at home."
Tong Shu was finally satisfied.
"...What a troublesome person." Wang Jie muttered as he walked away.
Tong Shu collapsed to the ground again, as if she had no bones. The convenience store was too slow at accumulating faith points, and although the workshop had opened up sales channels with the help of Wen Shaocheng, its production capacity simply couldn't keep up. At most, it could only make about ten pieces of clothing and quilts a day, accumulating a dozen or so points, which was just a drop in the ocean.
Besides clothing, we need to think of other things to sell.
Tong Shu took out the banknotes and began to calculate again.
If you want to take it to other cities to exchange for supplies, and the distance is relatively long, you definitely need something lightweight and easy to transport.
Tong Shu wrote down a keyword on the paper: light.
The purpose of opening up sales channels is to trade more resources and exchange them for more faith points. Moreover, based on experience in cotton product production, production capacity is still very critical. We must find resources that can be produced quickly and in large quantities within a day.
Tong Shu then wrote: Fast, Many.
Looking back and forth between the three keywords, Tong Shu made up her mind and quickly called her parents over.
"Dad, what do you think about us making instant noodles?" Tong Shu looked at Tong Songming with bright eyes.
"You want me to make an instant noodle machine?" Tong Songming saw through Tong Shu's meaning at a glance and refused, "Small machines are out of the question, but who do you think you can fool with such a large machine? I can't do it."
Seeing Tong Shu's face fall, Shu Hua thought for a moment and said, "Aren't you overthinking it? Shu Shu probably just wants a few small machines. I think making instant noodles is quite simple. The only difficult part is drying the noodles and shaping the dough. Why don't you think about making a drying and shaping machine?"
“Yes, yes!” Tong Shu perked up again. “Dad, just do it the way Mom said. Or you can ask Director Zhu if he can find some old machines and you can modify them a little.”
Tong Songming thought about it for a moment, felt it was feasible, and nodded in agreement.
When Zhu Cheng heard that the Tong family had a new idea, he quickly went to find the machine. When he was working with the Tong family, he felt that there was a lot of hope for the future.
-----
"Shushu, come and see how these thermal underwear look." Shuli came out of the small island and handed a set of thermal underwear to Tong Shu.
Tong Shu touched the soft outer fabric, then reached inside to touch the smooth inner fleece, praising it highly: "So comfortable, it will definitely keep you warm wearing it. Auntie, are you going to mass-produce these thermal underwear?"
Shu Li shook her head: "It can't be done in bulk. Yesterday, Section Chief Li asked Director Zhu to bring a few dozen pieces of leather to my place. He said they were brought by W City when they came to exchange for supplies. That's all there is. It can only make about twenty or thirty sets of thermal underwear. It's not worth it to exchange them for supplies."
Tong Shu stroked her chin and thought for a moment: "How about we make a set for each of our workers? Anyway, everyone in our family has thermal underwear made of the magical fabric. These leather-lined thermal underwear are a bit too thick and heavy, so we don't need them."
Shuli nodded: "That's what I meant too. They're working in a bare-bones house without air conditioning, just using a few braziers for warmth. I think they're all quite hardworking, so let's take care of them."
“Okay, let’s take their measurements and make them. Warm clothes will make them work faster.” Tong Shu said, then suddenly remembered something and added, “...Auntie, could you go to the supply ship and ask the soldiers there what size Major Wen wears? Let’s make him a set too.”
Upon hearing this, Shu Li's face lit up with a gossipy expression, and she teased, "You seem to care quite a bit about him. I hadn't even thought of him until you mentioned it. But our Shu Shu has good taste; Young Master Wen is indeed very upright..."
"Oh, Auntie!" Tong Shu interrupted her, embarrassed and annoyed. "He's been working so hard to advertise for us! What's wrong with me giving him a set of clothes to repay him?"
“It’s not like he went out alone. He had an adjutant. Why don’t you suggest he take the job?” Shuli persisted.
"Do it, do it, do it all!" Tong Shu acted like a rogue. "Lieutenant Liu do it, Director Zhu do it, and do it for Sister Xu and so-and-so!"
"Hmph." Shuli turned and left, clutching her clothes. "I don't have that much fabric. You'd better find a way to steal some for me."
Without waiting for Tong Shu to reply, he went straight into the island.
Tong Shu propped her face up with her arms, patted her slightly flushed cheeks, and pouted awkwardly.
His aunt should make him a bright red one.
Tong Shu grinned mischievously.
Thinking of Wen Shaocheng's return, she handed him a set of bright red thermal underwear, and Tong Shu propped her head up and laughed to herself for a long time.
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