Ji Xia chuckled to herself. Liu Hongju thought that only Sun Xiaoyu made clothes and could only make a few sets a day!
However, the department store still had two orders that hadn't been delivered, and they couldn't gather enough goods to give to them in a short time. They didn't want the small workshop to know about their situation, lest they blame them for not delivering the goods.
She thought about it and sighed helplessly: "I still have to go to school, how can I have time to worry about this?"
"You can let your partner manage it. You just need to focus on drawing. We'll take care of setting up the stall, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Chen Jing said the same thing to me last night. However, it's harvest season in the countryside now, and it's hard to find people. He said he'll find a few trustworthy people in a while to avoid leaks, which would be bad for everyone."
Liu Hongju had originally intended to recommend her relative, so she agreed upon hearing this.
It's hard to say what might happen if someone secretly reports this, so it's best if Chen Jing and Ji Xia have a plan.
Liu Hongju was overjoyed and excitedly recounted the bustling scene at her stall yesterday: "You didn't see it yesterday, but as soon as we set up our stall, it was surrounded by people in no time. We gave away a few high-quality items at the beginning, whether it was corsages or hair ornaments, they were very popular..."
“Even little kids like this. Yesterday, several little girls and their mothers gathered around, asking if there were any for children to wear.”
Upon hearing this, Ji Xia's heart stirred. She carefully put away the letter she had written and asked in a low voice, "Are there many children over there?"
"That's the shoe factory dormitory. Do you think there are a lot of kids there? There are three or four kids in each family, carrying one in their arms, another on their backs, and two or three more with them..."
"Some women really like what they see, but they can't bring themselves to buy it. They keep asking if there are any clothes for their children..."
Ji Xia understood that the family planning policy had not yet been implemented, unlike the one-child policy of later generations. At that time, the idea of having many children was still prevalent!
In most families, two or three children are considered relatively few. Some families, if they have daughters, will have seven or eight more and still want to have more.
There are at least two or three female employees working in the factory, if not four or five.
My family isn't well-off, so I can't bear to buy new clothes for myself, but I'll buy one or two sets for my child.
Ji Xia remembered the few small clothes she had made for Zhang Hong last time; there were quite a few large pieces of fabric scraps in the factory!
Many of the fabrics they selected were substandard, so when cutting them, they naturally had to cut off the problematic ones and set them aside.
Some of these fabrics have dyeing issues, some have watermarks, and some have loose threads.
But when it comes to children's clothes, bright colors, color blocking, and sewing patterns onto damaged areas are all ways to reuse waste materials.
With that in mind, she took out her sketchbook and casually drew a few children's clothes: a monk's robe for babies and autumn/winter outfits for girls and boys.
Whether it's for boys or girls, there are always some cute patterns, such as cute sheep and ponies, chicks and ducks for boys and girls, flowers and grass, and you can also make small cloth bags for children to carry from scraps of fabric.
He casually drew a few pictures and showed them to Liu Hongju. Liu Hongju was amazed and said, "These clothes are so beautiful, I like them. Why don't we make some children's clothes? These children's clothes will definitely sell well."
Ji Xia smiled and said, "I'll go back and discuss it with Chen Jing to see if we can get some children's clothes."
I'll try making children's clothes from scraps to see how it goes in the market. If it works, I can buy some suitable fabric for children's clothing next time.
After get off work, with children's clothing on her mind, she made a special trip to the small workshop.
In the small workshop, Chen Jing was inspecting clothes next to the quality inspector, while a shy and bashful girl of about seventeen or eighteen stood beside him.
Ji Xia recognized her; she was Liu Xiaojiao, Liu Xiaogang's second sister, whom Chen Jing had brought back last time.
When she saw Liu Xiaojiao's eyes, filled with tenderness and love, Ji Xia felt a pang of sadness, as if someone was eyeing something that belonged to her.
Ji Xia couldn't help but call out, "Chen Jing—"
"Why!"
Chen Jing turned around abruptly and was startled to see a woman standing very close to him, causing him to jump back several steps.
"What are you doing? You're scaring me! You're so close, I thought I'd seen a ghost—"
He scolded Liu Xiaojiao harshly, leaving her with red eyes and her head bowed, too ashamed to respond.
Chen Jing then came out with a dark face, barely suppressing his anger: "You're off work? I was thinking of picking you up for dinner, but who knew there would be so many quality issues today."
"Nothing's wrong. What's wrong with you today? Why are you so angry?"
Ji Xia soothed her gently, without mentioning Liu Xiaojiao's expression at all.
Chen Jing had no romantic thoughts in his mind and complained to her, "Hey, it's all because of Xiao Gang. He said his sister is so capable, but everything she made today has to be redone. She's been working on it for so many days, and the workmanship is still so bad. Today's output is not up to par."
Ji Xia lowered her eyebrows, a hint of worry appearing between them: "Last time I offended Manager Hu, so this time I must ensure the quality is up to standard, lest someone find an excuse not to pay."
"I know that all too well. Oh well, this batch of goods she made can only be kept at the stall; she doesn't dare to send them to the department store."
Chen Jing gave Liu Xiaojiao a severe scolding. Ji Xia quietly looked behind him and saw Liu Xiaojiao looking at Chen Jing's back with a wronged expression, her eyes red from being scolded.
Ji Xia didn't offer any comfort, but instead took out her design sketches from that afternoon and said to Chen Jing, "Today, Hongju told me that quite a few people asked her last night if she had managed to get any children's clothing, including some pregnant women. I was thinking that with so much scrap fabric, maybe we should get some children's clothing?"
Chen Jing became interested upon hearing this, and called Sun Xiaoyu. The three of them returned to the office and discussed children's clothing and baby clothes.
The small workshop mainly produces women's clothing, and the fabrics used are usually brightly colored or pretty. They can also make clothes for children.
They used a huge amount of fabric, and the warehouse was piled with several sacks of it. They couldn't possibly make all the finished products from scraps.
After looking at Ji Xia's drawings and suggestions, Sun Xiaoyu nodded: "I think it's a good idea. Anyway, the scraps of cloth are just sitting there. Like last time, baby clothes can be paired with bibs, belts and hats. A set can be sold for three or four yuan, which is practically free money."
Chen Jing frowned and said, "That Liu Xiaojiao isn't good at her job. We can't let her work in the general merchandise department anymore. Let her do these children's jobs instead. Anyway, we can sell them at the commune's stalls. The price can be lower, and the workmanship can be worse, which is acceptable."
The three discussed for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, Sun Xiaoyu put away her draft and said with a smile, "It's time to eat, why don't we stay and eat together?"
Ji Xia didn't want to keep him; she wanted to give Chen Jing a warning so he wouldn't be attracting so many women all the time. Hearing this, she shook her head and smiled at Chen Jing.
"I just passed by the state-run restaurant and saw that they had scallion oil chicken on the blackboard. I suddenly have a craving for chicken. How about we go and try it together?"
"Great! Besides, we haven't seen a movie in ages, how about we catch one while we're at it?"
Chen Jing had recently found another sales channel, and feeling relaxed, he quietly took her hand under the table.
Ji Xia caught a glimpse of someone staring intently at Chen Jing from outside the door, and couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile: "Great! I want to watch a movie too."
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