Yu Meng has been in a good mood lately. After talking with Fok Ying-tung, she opened up about her inner conflicts, and her personality has changed.
She's currently bursting with design inspiration and has produced many new works, but Lu Wanqing isn't satisfied with them all.
“Yu Meng, the dyeing technology used for fabrics on the market is still relatively backward. Your style of clothing is suitable for fabrics with more saturated colors. Currently available fabrics cannot withstand high-temperature steam washing. You can contact the textile factory to see if the dyeing technology can be further improved.”
Lu Wanqing made new demands of her.
As people's living standards improve, they no longer only pursue warmth, but also want to dress fashionably and elegantly.
The style of clothing is one aspect, but the material is also important.
For the same style of clothing, cotton and linen fabrics don't sell for as much as silk, and fabrics with patterns always sell better than those without.
Yu Meng said that she has recently been researching staining issues and believes she can find a solution.
Just then, Chun Tao led a dozen or so pretty girls in, wanting the two of them to inspect the results of her selection.
Those girls were all in their early twenties, some still with youthful innocence, radiating youthful energy.
They were all quite tall, the shortest being 1.68 meters. Chun Tao thought she was really good-looking and was Zhang Leilei's cousin, so she kept her.
Yu Meng and Lu Wanqing listened to their self-introductions like older sisters, asked them some simple questions, and were quite satisfied with them.
"These people are the ones I picked out from hundreds of people. They all have good figures and looks, and most importantly, they are quick-witted. They understand everything I say immediately."
Chuntao gained recognition and became somewhat arrogant.
After Lu Wanqing had asked all the models to leave, she then gave her a warning:
"The model team is basically set up like this. Managing it won't be easy. You'll have to come up with some constraints, otherwise, we'll work so hard to train them, and then someone else will come and poach them at a high price."
Chun Tao hadn't really thought about this issue. Her mindset was still focused on the fact that the model team was the only one who could create something like this. Little did she know that once this model succeeded, it would be copied by others, and then these established models would become highly sought-after.
"Mr. Lu, what should we do?" Chun Tao was at a loss when faced with this problem.
Lu Wanqing offered her suggestion:
"They sign five-year contracts, guaranteeing that their income will increase with their working years. If they want to leave early, they can, but they will need to pay training fees and pay a hefty penalty for breach of contract."
Chun Tao listened and nodded, wondering why she couldn't think of such a great idea.
Her admiration for Lu Wanqing grew even stronger.
Everything is proceeding smoothly.
Huo Xiao also sought out Lin Ye to ask for help regarding the cement issue.
“I thought it was something difficult, but it turns out it’s just this. Don’t worry, I happen to have a distributor from another region. You can ask him for help. He’s very resourceful; a mere 100,000 tons of cement is no problem for him. I’ll also get him to give you the best price.”
Lin Ye patted him on the shoulder to reassure him not to be too anxious.
With the cement issue settled, he immediately went to the Red Star Machinery Factory.
Hongxing Machinery Factory is the largest old machinery factory in Beijing.
This place is home to many skilled master craftsmen who can design the latest machines with just a schematic diagram.
The blueprints Huo Xiao took were drawn by Lu Wanqing based on her memory. They could express what functions the blueprints could perform, but she knew nothing about their internal structure.
Even the experienced craftsmen shook their heads when they saw it.
"Young man, your blueprints are too rough; we can't make it!"
They all shook their heads.
The order Huo Xiao mentioned—five hundred automatic sewing machines—was incredibly tempting. Zhou Bin, the head of the design department, a passionate middle-aged man in his forties, expressed his desire to give it a try.
"It's clear that the person who drew these pictures has a lot of ideas. Automatic sewing machines and overlock machines haven't been designed in China yet. I've only seen them in journal articles."
"If I could see the machine, I'm confident I could develop my own domestically made machine."
Huo Xiao was very pleased to hear this. "Minister Zhou, you can go ahead with the design and development. Our CEO Lu said that the R&D expenses will be covered by the garment factory. However, we will need half of the patent rights for the products that come out."
"Oh? Your CEO Lu also knows about patents?" Zhou Bin asked in surprise.
This patent law was only introduced in 1984, and only people who specialize in invention and creation pay attention to it. He was quite surprised that Lu Wanqing also knew about it.
"No problem, I'll assemble a research and development team right away. Let's sign an agreement first."
Huo Xiao readily signed the agreement with Zhou Bin, agreeing to pay 500,000 yuan upfront for the initial research and development costs.
Once the machines are produced, Huo Xiao will receive 500 units at a discounted price.
If the machines are domestically produced, not only can the cost be reduced to 50,000 yuan per unit, but the machinery factory can also sell nationwide in the future, and the profits can be distributed as dividends.
After the matter was settled, Huo Xiao reported it to Lu Wanqing.
"President Lu, Minister Zhou said that if we can disassemble and study the samples, the whole process can be shortened by half." Huo Xiao relayed Zhou Bin's words.
Lu Wanqing thought for a moment and asked him to check when Xu Ruping's imported machines would arrive. She told him not to worry about the rest, as she would send samples to the machinery factory when they arrived.
Huo Xiao scratched his head and walked away suspiciously.
Two days later, the Shanghai transport team overcame numerous difficulties to reach Beijing.
In that era, roads were not as developed as in later times, and there were many bandits and highwaymen. Transporting goods to other places was very expensive.
Just when the convoy thought they had entered the capital's territory and relaxed their vigilance, a thick fog appeared ahead.
The convoy immediately slowed down, moving at a very low speed through the white fog.
Everything seemed normal, and the convoy of more than a dozen vehicles entered the Longwen Garment Factory without incident.
To everyone's surprise, when they checked the inventory, two machines were missing: a sewing machine and an overlock machine.
The team naturally offered all sorts of explanations for themselves:
“We really kept a tight watch on the whole way and didn’t give anyone a chance to get close to the truck. I don’t understand why.”
"Could the machine have vanished into thin air?" Xu Ruping was furious. A machine cost 80,000 yuan, and more than 100,000 yuan was gone just like that.
She insisted on compensation from the transport team, which led to a very unpleasant argument between the two parties.
Meanwhile, outside the production workshop of Hongxing Machinery Factory, two more machines appeared. The signs on them had been removed, but the instruction manuals were still there, and they were all in English.
There was a note on it that read: "Imported from the United States. Feel free to disassemble and study it." It was signed by Wenwan Garment Factory.
When Zhou Bin saw the machine, his eyes lit up. As for how the machine ended up at the factory gate, he no longer cared about it.
Domestic automatic sewing machines and overlock machines have entered the formal research and development stage.
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