Chapter 63 The Sixty-Third Day of No More Running Away The Sixty-Third Day of No More Running Away...
Chen Bo was genuinely busy, and Wen Chan couldn't care less what he was doing outside. Anyway, even if he managed to get an opportunity, she would refuse to go no matter what.
In contrast, things weren't going so well for Liu Yan.
The reason is simple: firstly, denim fabric is mostly made from imported materials. The manufacturer initially sold Liu Yan a batch of fabric at a reasonable price, but after the second batch was shipped, the manufacturer suddenly changed its tune, claiming that tariffs had increased and prices in the United States had also risen. Therefore, they demanded at least a 50% increase in price before they would ship the denim fabric.
Another problem was that the stencil maker we hired was not used to life in Beijing.
The stylist, surnamed Zhou, was quite old, in his fifties. When he stood in front of Liu Yan, he looked somewhat embarrassed.
Liu Yan frowned, but didn't get angry. She patiently discussed with Master Zhou, "Master Zhou, this is different from what we agreed on. We've already reached an agreement. If you come to work here, we'll provide you with room and board and double your monthly salary. Three thousand a month is quite a lot."
Master Zhou, head bowed, an apron tied around his waist, his clothes damp with cotton wool, said, "Boss lady, I know you've treated me well, but I didn't expect I wouldn't adapt to the weather here. Besides, we have different ideas. If I stay here, I won't be of much help to you. Why don't you find someone else? I'll forgo my salary this month, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yan's anger flared up instantly.
The effort I put into Master Zhou this week is far more than a month's salary can make up for. Not to mention anything else, just the time and effort I spent just to get him to come from Shanghai to be the clapperboard maker.
Everything is at a critical juncture right now. If Master Zhou is leaving, where am I going to find a skilled master to replace him?
Master Zhou seemed to realize he was being unreasonable, and gave an awkward smile. "If it really doesn't work, I'll give you another thousand yuan. I really don't want to stay in Beijing anymore, I can't stand it."
Liu Yan knew that getting angry wouldn't work, so she took a deep breath and waved her hand at Master Zhou, "How about this, you go down first, but you can continue working for the next few days. I'll try to find someone to replace you, or do you have any candidates in mind?"
Master Zhou said, "We also have Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang here. If you ask me, their skills are good enough for making jeans."
Liu Yan glanced at Master Zhou, who looked somewhat embarrassed, touched his nose, and left.
Liu Yan spent the whole day in the office. To call it an office was a bit of a stretch; it was just a small back room in a courtyard house that had been tidied up, furnished with a desk and chair, and used for answering phone calls. There was nothing else there, not even the warped floor tiles.
After all that happened, she tried to contact Zhao Dan and his wife for help to see if she could find other suppliers. At the same time, she called friends she had met when she was selling clothes before, thinking of using her connections to find a reliable master tailor.
The young men, Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang, that Master Zhou mentioned were recruited by Liu Yan from Shenzhen. They were skilled pattern makers, and the advantage was that they were obedient and would do whatever Liu Yan told them to do. The disadvantage was that they were just beginners and had no ideas at all. For example, they only had a superficial understanding of how to cut and shape the waist, what the sizes of high-waisted, mid-waisted, and low-waisted garments were, and how to make the legs fit the leg shape while still having some room so that customers could wear them comfortably.
Master Zhou has been a tailor for decades, and he knows these skills by heart, but these are his family's secrets, and he would never be willing to tell others.
"Beep beep beep—" There was a knock on the office door.
Liu Yan looked up and realized that it was already dark outside, and she hadn't noticed at all.
When she saw Wen Chan and Lan Linglong at the door, she was even more stunned.
Liu Yan quickly pulled the light cord, and the office was instantly brightly lit, the 30-watt incandescent bulbs shining brilliantly.
Wen Chan subconsciously closed her eyes. "This light bulb is so bright, it hurts your eyes. I'll buy you a replacement later."
Hearing such caring words at a time like this, Liu Yan couldn't help but feel moved.
Lan Linglong placed a stack of aluminum lunch boxes she had brought on the table. "Sister Liu, dinner's ready. I ran into Sister Wen outside, and she said we should eat together."
Wen Chan smiled and looked at Liu Yan: "You don't mind that I came uninvited, do you?"
Liu Yan hurriedly tidied up the documents and drawings on the table. The three of them had no other table to eat at, so they made do at this desk.
"I don't mind. It's more lively to eat with more people, and the food tastes better."
Lan Linglong laid out quite a few dishes, including roast duck, sweet and sour pork ribs, and braised fish, with rice in a lunchbox for each person.
Liu Yan herself wasn't picky about food, and she and Lan Linglong would each order a dish from their table and eat it together with their rice.
Although Wen Chan and Zhao Dan had already transferred money to her, and Liu Yan's food and drink expenses could be fully reimbursed, she never took advantage of it.
She could tell at a glance that Wen Chan had ordered these dishes.
"How can we possibly finish all this?" Liu Yan said, holding the lunchbox.
Wen Chan placed a piece of spare rib on each of their plates. "You can cut back on other things, but you can't skimp on food. The more you eat, the more you can do. I'm not in good health, so I feel uncomfortable if I eat too much. If I were healthy, I would have eaten all of these dishes myself."
Lan Linglong couldn't help but laugh: "Sister Wen, you're really exaggerating. I don't believe you have such a big appetite."
"What, you don't believe me?" Wen Chan laughed. "Once you try working two days in a row, you'll know that when people are really hungry, they can eat as much as they want."
In her past life, when she was studying abroad, she worked as a dishwasher. Once, during Carnival, the whole city came out to celebrate and revel. Restaurants made a fortune at this time. No matter what they made or sold, there were always people waving US dollars to spend. The owners' family didn't sleep at all in order to make money. The restaurant was open for two days and one night. Wen Chan also stayed up late to work overtime. When she finally rested, she ate a whole big bowl of spaghetti bolognese.
At that moment, she herself was startled.
A thoughtful look appeared in Liu Yan's eyes.
After saying this, Wen Chan stopped talking and told the two of them to eat more.
Liu Yan didn't know why, she didn't want to talk, she buried her head in her food, and as she ate, tears started to fall.
Lan Linglong heard sobbing and initially thought it was her imagination, but when she looked up and saw Liu Yan's tear-streaked face, she realized what was going on.
She was somewhat taken aback, holding chopsticks and a lunchbox, looking at Wen Chan uneasily and at a loss.
It's as if she's the one who made the mistake.
Wen Chan handed Liu Yan a piece of paper.
Liu Yan took the chopsticks, covered her nose, put them down, and fiercely covered her face. "Damn it, these bastards are all bullying me. Why is it so hard to do anything!"
Lan Linglong felt bad when she heard this.
Wen Chan patted Liu Yan on the shoulder, "If you want to cry, then cry. There's no one else here, just the three of us. After you've cried, let's see if we can solve the problem."
Liu Yan lowered her head, slumped over the table, and her shoulders trembled.
For a long time, the room was so quiet that only her sobs could be heard. Lan Linglong's eyes also reddened, and she lowered her head.
She followed Liu Yan around, and after a month, they had become friends. She thought that with sufficient preparation, she could do things with ease, but she did not expect to run into obstacles everywhere.
After crying, Liu Yan's eyes were swollen.
Lan Linglong tidied up the lunchbox and put it aside before Wen Chan asked what had happened.
In fact, she already knew that Zhao Dan had called her to tell her that something had happened to Liu Yan, and Zhao Dan was too far away to help. He was trying to find another denim supplier, but he was afraid that Liu Yan would be affected, so he asked Wen Chan to come and help.
"There's no need to rush with the denim. Our textile industry is so developed, and jeans have been quite popular in recent years. We can look for domestic manufacturers; we might find a good supplier." Wen Chan said, "But what about Master Zhou? Why did he just leave like that? Did you sign a contract?"
Liu Yan wiped her nose, took out the contract from the drawer, and handed it to Wen Chan to look at.
Liu Yan is quite intelligent; she even knows how to sign a contract.
But after Wen Chan saw the contract, she understood why Master Zhou dared to leave so easily. The contract didn't specify how much compensation the other party would have to pay for breach of contract.
Wen Chan: "Didn't you write down the penalty for breach of contract?"
"He was reluctant when we asked Master Zhou to come, but he refused after we signed a penalty notice," Liu Yan said with a wry smile.
Wen Chan sighed inwardly. This was true. Individual business owners still faced discrimination. Although everyone knew that doing business could make money and that private enterprises paid higher wages, capable people still preferred to stay in factories or state-owned enterprises. Not only were these jobs prestigious, but the benefits were also far superior to those in private enterprises.
You should know that many workplaces still allocate housing to employees.
The salary Liu Yan offered to Master Zhou was already quite high, but he still looked down on it.
"Did he say why he was leaving?" Wen Chan asked. In the current situation, it would be better to keep Master Zhou here if possible.
Those with technical skills either work in factories or have gone to Guangzhou and Shenzhen to seek their fortune.
Liu Yan shook her head, but a hint of something else flashed in Lan Linglong's eyes.
Wen Chan keenly noticed this and asked, "Xiao Lan, do you know something?"
Lan Linglong said, "Master Zhou and I are both from Shanghai. Last time I heard him say that his daughter wrote a letter from Hong Kong."
"Hong Kong?" Wen Chan frowned.
Lan Linglong said, "Yes, he even showed me a postcard. It really is Victoria Harbour. It seems his daughter married a tailor from Shanghai there. She said it's very easy to earn Hong Kong dollars there. Master Zhou told me that his daughter and son-in-law can earn forty or fifty thousand Hong Kong dollars a month. I wonder if he wants to go and live with his daughter."
If that's the case, then it's no wonder.
They offer decent wages, but Hong Kong dollars are much easier to earn than RMB. They pay 40,000 to 50,000 over there, while here it's just over 2,000. The comparison makes it hard not to be tempted.
Moreover, that's Hong Kong, and Hong Kong movies are all the rage now. Countless people are obsessed with the glitz and glamour of Hong Kong, a place where money seems to be everywhere.
Given the opportunity to make a fortune in Hong Kong and to stay with their daughter, who would want to stay in a small private garment factory in Beijing?
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