"Get out!" The foreman kicked out, and the short man ran away in fright.
"Thank you for what happened last time. My brother said he'd treat you to a meal." Qin Xiaoyu had a sudden inspiration and already had an idea.
"Lunch? Sure, it's lunchtime, let's go." The foreman didn't stand on ceremony and walked out of the factory with Qin Xiaoyu amidst the envious glances of others.
"Get in my car." Qin Xiaoyu led him to the car.
"I didn't realize you were such a remarkable girl. You can even drive!" The foreman was already filled with respect for Qin Xiaoyu, who was short but drove a large Jeep.
"Brother, don't laugh at me. It's all for a living. I have a clothing factory here, and it's inconvenient to do business without a car." Qin Xiaoyu pulled him to a nearby small hotel and found a quiet place to sit down.
"I can tell you're not just loitering around. If you need anything, just let me know. I'll definitely help you if I can." The foreman was a shrewd man; Qin Xiaoyu had just offered him a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, which meant she needed his help.
"Brother, I lost a whole train carload of auxiliary materials, and the factory has to shut down." Qin Xiaoyu recounted what had happened.
“I heard about it. The station dispatched personnel to check, but they couldn’t find it. We definitely didn’t unload this cargo. I’m the one who handled all the unloading. I can guarantee that.”
"Brother, the manufacturer definitely shipped this. There's a record of it being transferred at the last stop. How could it just disappear out of nowhere?" Qin Xiaoyu persisted.
"That means it was transferred. Think about it, there's a record at the previous station, so it must have arrived at its destination. Maybe it was loaded onto the wrong train and ended up somewhere else. It can take ten days or half a month, and you never know which station will reply." The foreman, who had probably seen this kind of thing many times, said nonchalantly.
"Ten days or half a month, that would be terrible!" Qin Xiaoyu almost jumped up.
"There's nothing we can do about it. This train carriage isn't like your little car, you can't just drive off whenever you want. It has to run on rails and be dispatched. Without a locomotive, it can't go anywhere." The foreman shook his head.
"Brother, can you help me check? At least we need to know where the goods are so we can figure out a way to get them." Qin Xiaoyu had no choice but to try anything.
Unexpectedly, this foreman was really capable. What the higher-ups couldn't find out, he must have used some connections. Once they investigated, Qin Xiaoyu's heart sank.
I always complain about how slow the train is when I take it, but now, without even noticing, the train car has traveled more than 300 miles.
After obtaining the information about the freight car, Qin Xiaoyu immediately went back to find Ding Xiaojie. After going through several levels of connections, the reply she received was that it would take at least seven days.
She calculated that even if she sent a car to pick up the goods right now, it would take two days round trip, and the factory would have to shut down for two days. Not only would there be a shortage of products and sizes in Shanghai, but the worst part was that Xiao Mengting's store sold out as soon as it opened. This would be a huge disadvantage for her, and would cast a shadow over future cooperation.
When she returned to the garment factory, the lights were still on in Director Xie's office.
"How is it?" Director Xie asked anxiously.
"That'll be troublesome." Qin Xiaoyu slumped into her chair.
"If that doesn't work, we'll use the goods from the third-level station as a temporary measure," Factory Director Xie said resolutely.
"No, we can't just not ship the goods; we can't ruin our own reputation." Qin Xiaoyu shook her head.
"Listen, the workshops have already stopped operating one after another. If production stops completely for two days, how much will we lose? You can calculate it yourself!" Factory Director Xie was so anxious that his blood pressure rose and his face turned red.
"No matter what, the quality can't be compromised. Apart from that, we can negotiate on all other terms, even if it costs more money!" Qin Xiaoyu faced another crisis.
"Director Qin, look who I've brought." Xu Xiaoqing pushed open the door and came in, followed by Master Xu being supported by his daughter.
"Master Xu? What brings you here so late?" Qin Xiaoyu hurriedly greeted him.
"I heard there was a shortage of auxiliary materials? Little Xu came to me and asked if I had any ideas, so here I am," Master Xu said with a smile.
"You have a way?" Qin Xiaoyu couldn't believe it. No matter how skilled Master Xu was, he was only skilled in his craft; he couldn't conjure up any additional ingredients.
"Director Qin, you're getting stuck on this." Master Xu paused for a moment before laughing, "We still made clothes before fused shirts existed."
"Oh right, what's it made of?" Qin Xiaoyu suddenly realized that fusible interfacing was just a substitute product; so that's what's used to make clothes...
"Scrape the slurry," Master Xu said casually. But it was difficult to do.
Most women in the north know how to make this paste, because they need to seal window cracks, but the paste they make is different from others.
Like the paste mixed by Master Xu, it is fine and without lumps, neither too thick nor too thin. When brushed on, it will not bring water stains to the front of the fabric, and it dries quickly and becomes crisp.
Clothes processed in this way can be washed clean of the starch after one rinse, without affecting the fabric, and are still beautiful, making them even more high-end than those with the fusible interfacing left on.
But he's old and slow, and he can't support so many people all by himself.
"Director Xie, do the old folks from the original garment factory all know this skill?" Qin Xiaoyu had another idea.
"Yes, that's the old-fashioned method we used back then."
"Notify the female workers that their elderly relatives used to work for Xiaotaiyang. Anyone who knows how to mix paste can be brought over. Don't worry, their wages will be guaranteed." With Qin Xiaoyu's order, the female workers left the factory one after another.
After a while, a crowd of people, young and old, poured into the garment factory. They heard that there was trouble at the factory and that they were being paid, so who wouldn't want to help?
These female workers nowadays truly treat the factory as their home.
It was a sleepless night. By the time Qin Xiaoyu heard all the machines in the factory running, it was almost dawn.
She was worried that Mr. Xu was too tired, so she asked the driver to take him home to rest.
"Sister Xu, please take good care of Master Xu. I'll visit him to express my gratitude another day," Qin Xiaoyu said to Master Xu's daughter.
"Don't be so polite. I don't need to tell you how good you've been to our family. I feel embarrassed about this, but at least I have a way to repay you, so I'll do my part."
Qin Xiaoyu never mistreated Master Xu's family. After his daughter was laid off, Qin Xiaoyu took a sinecure at the clothing factory, where he received his salary and bonuses. His only job was to take care of Master Xu.
At the time, she thought she had taken advantage of Master Xu, getting all the hard work he had put in, so it was only right to give back.
Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, it was Master Xu who stepped forward and helped her through the crisis.
The truck that went to pick up the auxiliary materials left overnight; we can hold on here for another two days.
Remembering the great help the foreman at the southern goods factory had given him, Qin Xiaoyu had Qi Si go and invite them again. The two drank happily and became friends, calling each other brothers. Unbeknownst to them, Qin Xiaoyu had paved another road for himself.
"Xiaoyu, I've realized that without you, things really can't go on." Director Xie had been working for three days and was so exhausted that he was about to collapse. It was Qin Xiaoyu who managed to coax him into the car and take him home.
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