"You little brat! Aren't you trying to screw me over?" Chen Baifu stood with his hands on his hips, spinning around a few times, so angry he was practically fuming.
Chu Yu scooped out a handful of buttons, completely baffled.
"Sis, what's wrong with this button?"
“Chu Yu, you’re being unprofessional,” Shu Lan said, picking up a handful of buttons to show her. “Our garment factory requires that the diameter of these buttons be 8 millimeters, and there are also relevant regulations on the material and color. This button is a full 12 millimeters, and there are a lot of mixed colors in it. The shape isn’t a regular circle either; some are like ovals, and some are like rhombuses. And look at this one. The shape isn’t exactly lace, nor is it exactly wavy. It’s all weird, and the thickness is wrong. It doesn’t meet our factory’s requirements at all.”
In Chu Yu's opinion, these buttons, which came in various shapes and colors, were not only fine but also quite attractive.
For the state-owned garment factory in 1983, the buttons did not meet the standards, but for Paris in 1983, these buttons were absolutely fashionable.
However, "fashionable" is not a good word these days.
In the early 1980s, people bought buttons for their practical function and had no awareness of using them to decorate clothes.
In addition, due to the shortage of supplies, even small items like buttons could only be purchased at the supply and marketing cooperative with coupons, and there was no room for bargaining.
This directly resulted in people having no other choice when buying buttons.
What good are pretty buttons?
In 1983, a 32mm silver-gray button was particularly popular, as was a royal blue acrylic button, which was an undisputed companion to coats. Women loved to buy these buttons and sew them onto their coats.
Unfortunately, the supply and marketing cooperative's goods were always snapped up as soon as they arrived. To buy them, you not only needed connections but also good luck.
So no matter how pretty the buttons are, it's useless if you have a ticket to buy them. If you can't buy them, you can only settle for the most common and cheapest black buttons.
Chen Baifu was extremely anxious. This was already the third garment factory to come knocking on his door. There must be other products with problems. If things got out of hand, he wouldn't mind taking the consequences. At worst, he could just quit his position as section chief and be sent back to the grassroots level to start all over again.
But if problems are found in the accounts, and he is charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, it will not only be a matter within the factory, but he may also go to jail!
These days, the investigation and punishment of corruption are extremely strict. When Chen Baifu thought about the terrible consequences, he wanted nothing more than to beat up his nephew!
This little brat isn't just embezzling public funds, he's embezzling his life!
Chen Baifu worked diligently his whole life, but his reputation was completely ruined because of him!
"Comrade Shu, I will replace the button for you right away. I will personally deliver the button to your door tomorrow. I hope you can talk to the leaders of the garment factory and ask them not to make a big fuss about this. I, Old Chen, will take full responsibility for everything!" Chen Baifu wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead, his tone urgent.
Shulan didn't necessarily want an explanation from him. She was just an apprentice at the garment factory, not even a permanent employee. No one in her family worked at the factory, and she probably would never be able to become a permanent employee. In the end, the factory's losses had nothing to do with her.
However, her master instructed her to deliberately give him a warning, so as to leave a good impression for future use.
Hearing Chen Baifu say this, Shu Lan followed up by saying, "Section Chief Chen, I'll go back and plead with my master not to report this. You'd better get the buttons back on as soon as possible."
Chen Baifu nodded repeatedly: "Comrade Shu, don't worry, I, Old Chen, keep my word. I'll definitely deliver the buttons tomorrow! I'll also bring you samples of our new acrylic buttons. Our factory has developed two new colors that the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have. These buttons are perfect for clothing factories producing autumn and winter clothes!"
Shulan smiled and said, "Then I'll thank Section Chief Chen in advance."
Shulan is only twenty years old this year. She is not old, but she is quite mature in her work.
In his previous life, Chu Yu had dealt with many seasoned veterans like Chen Baifu, so he naturally understood that people like Chen Baifu were difficult to control. He wasn't the most upright, but he wasn't the most slick either. Although the position of section chief wasn't high, he often had to deal with the "little devils" in various factory departments, so he had to have high emotional intelligence and IQ.
Without a bit of cunning and a straightforward mind, one cannot stay in this position for long. Giving money may not be reliable. Only by making the other party owe a favor and maintaining a long-term cooperative relationship can one truly gain access to Chen Baifu's connections.
"Young comrade, could you lend me your car to help me move the buttons to the warehouse?" Chen Baifu asked Chu Yu.
Chu Yu snapped out of her reverie and smiled faintly: "Of course, Section Chief Chen!"
Chen Baifu then noticed the excessively pretty young girl, and his gaze swept back and forth between Shu Lan and Chu Yu.
"Are you two sisters?"
Shulan shook her head with a smile: "No, she's my cousin. If my mom gave birth to my own sister who's this beautiful, but gave birth to me who looks like this, I would definitely rebel!"
Chen Baifu laughed heartily:
"No, you two sisters are both beautiful. I've never seen such beautiful twin sisters before!"
As he spoke, Chen Baifu pushed open the large iron gate of the warehouse.
The warehouse of Baode Button Factory was like a granary; your voice would echo.
"Okay, this is the place."
Chen Baifu took the two sacks of buttons off, unsealed the sacks, and dumped all the buttons on the ground.
The warehouse was piled high with buttons of all sizes and types, in various colors and materials.
"Section Chief Chen, are these all defective buttons?" Chu Yu asked.
"That's right. Our button factory has a certain defect rate. Substandard products are piled up here. Recently, acrylic buttons have become popular, right? The high price of acrylic buttons is related to their high defect rate. Since the buttons produced cannot be recycled, they can only be dumped here. We need to find a way to dispose of them."
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