Early that morning, the entrance of the Shuangshui Village Brigade Office was surrounded by a crowd of people, and the villagers gathered there to read a job recruitment notice.
Many villagers were illiterate and asked some educated people to read the contents of the notice to them. After several inquiries and explanations, most villagers finally understood.
Shuangshui Village is going to set up a garment workshop!
When they heard that Shuangshui Village was also going to develop side businesses like other villages, all the villagers welcomed it. After all, throughout the year, they could only dig the soil on the one and a half mu of land in the fields. Although they could have enough to eat, they had no spare money. They could only rely on the few chickens each family raised, save the eggs, and sell them at the market for a few coins, but what good was that?
The garment workshop notice posted by the brigade headquarters this time basically copied the terms in the plan drafted by Cheng Maixiang and Lin Jiayu. In order to get this plan, Cheng Maiqing talked a lot with a group of village cadres at the brigade headquarters, and the cadres finally agreed.
In the plan, Cheng Maixiang proposed that the garment factory should be a public-private partnership. Shuangshui Village would only provide the business premises, and all other costs would be borne solely by Cheng Maixiang. As for the income from the operation, after deducting the costs, it would be divided equally between Shuangshui Village and Cheng Maixiang.
Public-private partnerships were nothing new in the city, and these brigade cadres were not ignorant people, so they had naturally heard of them. However, this was the first time in the countryside, and naturally aroused opposition from the two conservative cadres.
But most of the cadres, especially the young and middle-aged cadres, understood that the villagers had been poor for many years and that it was a rare opportunity to make money, so they all expressed their support. The two cadres were originally against it, but Cheng Maiqing simply brought out the girl's bold words.
This garment factory can be run even without Shuangshui Village. At most, we can spend money to build another house to use as a venue. We can still recruit workers and make clothes without having to pay a penny to the brigade.
It was this sentence that made all the village cadres realize that Cheng Maixiang was willing to cooperate with Shuangshui Village not because she needed the village's help, but because she was kind enough to take care of her hometown. After all, the vacant land had been there for many years and had not earned a penny. Now, with this, she could share two-thirds of the other party's profits. Such a good thing would be hard to find even with a lantern.
"You can get fifty cents for every piece of clothing you make. If you have a sewing machine, you can get an extra five dollars a month for rental. I happen to have a sewing machine at home, and my wife can also make clothes. I'll let her bring her sewing machine to work in the garment workshop!"
A villager read the notice and left in a hurry.
"It doesn't matter if you don't have a sewing machine or can't make clothes," a villager said to the others, pointing to a line on the notice. "Doesn't it say here that if you can embroider, that's fine too. You don't have to provide your own needles, thread, or fabric. You can still get 20 cents for each piece of embroidery. Even if it's not as much as making clothes, it's still a way to make money."
Many villagers echoed this sentiment, but someone suddenly said sarcastically, "It's profitable, but it's a shame that the Cheng family will take one-third of the profits from this garment factory."
One-third? The villagers suddenly felt uncomfortable. After all, they had been accustomed to collective life for so many years. Everyone ate from the same pot, earned about the same amount, and lived a similar life. Suddenly, some people's lives were better than most people, and they still couldn't accept it in their hearts.
Some people immediately backed out, but someone who had a good relationship with the Cheng family spoke up to defend them.
"What's wrong with taking one-third? The Cheng family pays for everything from raw materials to wages in this garment factory. The brigade only provides a house, but they can get twice the money.
Didn’t the notice say that by the end of the year the brigade would distribute the money equally to everyone according to their accounts? Even those who didn’t work in the garment workshop would get a share.
The Cheng family works so hard to benefit the villagers, yet they still get criticized. If it were me, I would simply ignore the village and recruit people from other places. All the money I earn would be mine, and there would be no more arguments. It seems that the Cheng family is really stupid!"
When everyone heard this, they thought it made sense, and public opinion immediately turned to the Cheng family, especially those families who had neither the ability to make clothes nor embroider. When they heard that their family would also have a share of the money earned, no matter how much, it was earned for free, they also praised the Cheng family for their righteousness.
Now those who opposed it had nothing to say and shut up in the face of everyone's unanimous approval. More people went home to discuss with their wives to see if they were qualified to work in a garment factory.
The garment factory incident was a groundbreaking event in Shuangshui Village, and Cheng Maixiang had anticipated the public reaction it would cause. After all, when she showed the plan to her eldest brother, he was shocked. It took Cheng Maixiang's repeated explanations before he finally accepted it.
The garment workshop was located in the two houses at the southernmost end of the village. It was originally a junior high school for children in the village, but later the commune started running collective schools and the place was abandoned. When Cheng Maixiang decided to open a garment workshop, she thought of this place first. Cheng's mother also agreed very much, so she signed an agreement with the village.
At this time, Cheng Maixiang was wearing old clothes and a coarse headscarf, cleaning the house with Cheng's mother and sister-in-law. The house had not been used for many years and was covered with thick dust. Spider webs filled every corner of the house. It took the three of them three or four hours to clean the two rooms thoroughly.
"It finally looks like this!" Cheng Maixiang straightened up, patted her sore shoulders, and looked at the clean and brand new house with indescribable satisfaction.
This is her first career since she came to this world, so she has to have a good start no matter what.
"Aunt, you must be tired. I brought you some water."
Qiaomai ran in from outside, handed over a bowl of water in a servile manner, and then clenched his little fist and tapped Cheng Maixiang's shoulder gently.
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