Chapter 130 Foreign Trade Quotas: The Feiyan Textile Factory is Becoming Increasingly Valuable…
"Printing a salted fish on clothes? Is that even possible? Would foreigners wear clothes like that? Aren't foreigners supposed to be very fashionable? How could they possibly like something like that?"
Li Jianzhi chuckled to himself, thinking that no matter where you are, there is always "the resentment of the working class." Who wouldn't want to lie in the sun and take a vacation like a salted fish?
He replied, "Not all foreigners are glamorous. Most ordinary people wear ordinary T-shirts or shirts in their daily lives, especially these kinds of T-shirts, which should be very popular among ordinary people."
"Moreover, this is a salted fish painted by a master. We can both see the artistic sense, and foreigners can also see the artistic sense. You see, there is a kind of lazy feeling of sunbathing in this painting. I guess maybe people in Northern Europe would like it because they don't often get much sun there."
Qin Xiangxiang: "...What you said seems to make some sense, but I still think you're talking nonsense."
Li Jianzhi: "Anyway, foreigners don't really like those bright red and green flowers and rich colors. Why don't you try this kind? Or something with a row of Chinese characters printed on it?"
"Foreigners have seen many other patterns, but Chinese characters are the least common."
"For example, if you print 'Stealing a half-day of leisure from a busy life' and tell people the meaning behind it, I estimate that many foreigners will want to buy one to wear at home."
"Anyway, you're exhibiting at the Canton Fair, so try everything."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Then I'll give it a try."
Qin Xiangxiang imagined the scene for a moment, and she suddenly realized that if such a salted fish were printed on her chest, it would actually look quite artistic.
“What you said makes some sense… but I hope you’re not lying to me, otherwise I’ll lose face big time at the Canton Fair.”
"Once the salted fish T-shirts are finished, I'll get one for you and one for Little Fatty."
Li Jianzhi: "..."
Wearing a military uniform to work, and a casual T-shirt after get off work—how wonderful!
Qin Xiangxiang felt it was a waste to give the recipe to Xiaopang, so she simply took it to the factory canteen and asked the chefs there to copy it down so she could learn from them. The factory canteen had the widest variety of ingredients, and the chefs could really put the recipe to good use.
"Xiao Lou spent this day at our factory, which can be considered a good deed for our factory."
"Let's all take a closer look at this recipe and see if we can find a way to improve the taste of the food in the cafeteria."
Professional matters should be handled by professionals.
"Director Qin, the buns made with this filling are delicious. Let's sell them as breakfast at the factory from now on and include them in the breakfast menu."
"Director Qin, this braised meat tastes great, and the braising sauce is very fragrant! You can use it to braise meat, tofu, and soybeans. Just a spoonful of this braising sauce is perfect with rice."
...
Qin Xiangxiang tasted the braised meat made by the canteen chefs according to the recipe, and she couldn't help but praise it repeatedly: "It's delicious! From now on, the factory should add braised meat to every meal."
"Great! This braised meat smells amazing!"
"The workers in our factory are going to be very lucky from now on."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "A serving of braised pork costs two cents. You can use less meat, but try to give people more braising sauce. This is absolutely delicious with rice!"
"The factory manager is right."
"Is this braised meat just called braised meat? Should we give it a proper name?"
"Our factory director, Qin, has a kind heart, so how about we call it Kind-Hearted Braised Pork?"
"Braised pork with a kind heart? That's good."
Qin Xiangxiang: "No, no, no—braised meat is called braised meat."
From that day on, the canteen of Feiyan Textile Factory added a braised pork dish. At noon, people who entered the canteen would feel their stomachs rumbling as soon as they smelled the aroma of the braised pork.
"Braised pork!"
"This braised pork smells so good! But it's so expensive, only two cents for such a small portion. Susu, how about we buy one portion and share it?"
“Sure! Let’s just buy one serving of braised pork and two vegetable dishes.”
...
Gao Rong was working the early shift that day. After her shift ended at four o'clock in the afternoon, she waited at the factory until five o'clock when the canteen opened for lunch. She bought two portions of braised meat before riding her bicycle home.
"Gao Rong, what did you bring back? It smells so good!"
"Braised pork, the braised pork from our factory, is so delicious. The broth is so good for soaking rice, it's so fragrant you could bite your tongue."
After tasting the braised pork, the Gou family all praised it highly. "Gao Rong, next time you work the early shift, bring some braised pork home too."
Gao Rong said, "Okay, before I go to the factory, I'll have Mom give me the money for the groceries. I'll just be your errand runner."
Holding her child, Gou Xiaomei said sourly, "Working in a factory really does give you a lot of advantages."
Gou Xiaomei and Gao Rong didn't get along very well at home. Gou Xiaomei used to look down on her sister-in-law Gao Rong, feeling that she was not good enough for their family. Gou Xiaomei herself married a military officer. Although her husband hadn't reached the rank of accompanying a soldier, his monthly salary was not low, and he sent her money every month.
However, after Gao Rong, her sister-in-law, started working at the textile factory, the situation immediately changed. Gao Rong is now a full-time employee, earning at least fifty yuan a month, and she is gaining more and more status in the Gou family.
Gou Xiaomei initially thought that her sister-in-law was greedy and liked to take advantage of others, and that she would definitely slack off and not work after entering the textile factory. However, the sister-in-law actually worked diligently in the workshop and earned a high salary every month, which made Gou Xiaomei secretly resentful.
And this sister-in-law, Gao Rong, is extremely stingy!
The older brother, Gou Qiang, and his sister-in-law, Gao Rong, freeload off their parents, never contributing a penny to household expenses. Even their food costs are covered by Commissar Gou. When it comes to buying things for the household, Gao Rong doesn't contribute a single cent. She's like a greedy pig, making her spend money is harder than climbing to heaven.
Gao Rong saved all her salary, only spending Gou Qiang's salary at most, and relying on her parents-in-law for the rest.
Gou Xiaomei has tried countless times to sow discord between her and her mother over this matter, attempting to extract money from her sister-in-law, but to no avail.
In Gou Xiaomei's opinion, why should Gao Rong, an outsider, be allowed to take advantage of the Gou family?
This sister-in-law had ulterior motives. Before the wedding, she encouraged her brother, Gou Qiang, to work in the pigsty and forced her parents to buy her an imported watch.
"If my sister-in-law continues like this, she'll drain the Gou family's coffers dry!"
Her mother replied, "It's not that serious."
The more comfortable Gao Rong was living in the Gou family, the more uncomfortable Gou Xiaomei felt about her, and she was planning to cause trouble and make her sister-in-law suffer.
Gao Rong was unaware of Gou Xiaomei's thoughts at this time. She had been riding high lately, winning awards in arts competitions while wearing a red dress, having a film projection team established in the factory, and having braised meat added to the factory canteen... One good thing after another made her feel that her life was getting better and better.
She became a bit more generous, but of course she also picked up the habit of boasting and showing off. Fortunately, she didn't go after other people; when she wanted to boast, she specifically targeted Lin Xiuqin.
Since Lin Xiuqin was the only one not in the family compound, just an ordinary employee at the clinic, and suspected of being a spy, it didn't matter what you said to her. Even if you broke off relations, there would be no loss. So you could just go to Lin Xiuqin to brag and complain without any psychological burden.
"Lin Xiuqin, I specially bought some braised meat from our factory to bring you some!"
Every time Gao Rong comes to Lin Xiuqin's door, she feels like "a weasel paying respects to a chicken—it's all up to no good." She thinks Gao Rong is either there to brag or to show off.
"Braised meat? Where did you get this braised meat?" Lin Xiuqin ate the braised meat, finding it increasingly delicious. Recalling the braised meat recipe mentioned in the original book, she was shocked. Could it be that Zhao Yangyang had already made the recipe?
Gao Rong: "This is the braised meat from our canteen. It's called 'Kindness Braised Meat.' Last time, our family compound helped a mute child. The family gave us a recipe book, which our factory director took to teach the factory's chefs. So, we developed this braised meat dish to benefit everyone."
"Now everyone calls it - Kind-hearted Braised Pork."
Lin Xiuqin was stunned: "??? That family recipe is in the canteen? Your factory canteen?"
Lin Xiuqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She thought to herself that Qin Xiangxiang was indeed a fool. She couldn't even seize the opportunity given to her and actually sent the recipe to the cafeteria. The braised meat recipe that could have been sold by her relatives at their own stall had become cafeteria food.
The menu is now in the cafeteria!!!
unbelievable!
"She helped save a child, and all she got was a family recipe? And Qin Xiangxiang threw it into the cafeteria?" This was the first time Lin Xiuqin had heard good news from Gao Rong in so long.
Neither Zhao Yangyang nor Qin Xiangxiang are destined to be the female lead; even if given the opportunity, they cannot seize it.
"How could that be? He's a master, and he even gave us calligraphy written by Master Huang himself. We heard that our factory manager also has a fine peony painting."
Lin Xiuqin's heart stopped for a moment. She thought that these works would be valuable in the future, but not so valuable now. Master Huang's exquisite peony paintings should be able to sell for eighty to one million in the future.
To get a good price, you would have to wait at least twenty or thirty years. But the recipe for braised meat was the most valuable thing in the 1970s and 1980s. As long as the individual economy was liberalized, you could set up a stall to sell braised meat and immediately make a lot of money from dividends.
Qin Xiangxiang, however, chose to leave it for the cafeteria. She didn't know its value; how foolish! She probably didn't anticipate that the private sector would be liberalized in the future.
"That master even painted a picture especially for our factory director Qin. It looks like a fish, and it was painted with a particularly... well... artistic feel!"
Lin Xiuqin's eyes widened: "??? A custom painting?"
“Our factory is going to participate in the Canton Fair, and our factory manager said that we should print this fish on clothes and sell them to foreigners.”
Lin Xiuqin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Putting aside the fact that such a rare custom painting by a master would be worth tens of millions in the future, the idea of printing the design on clothes and selling them to foreigners... might actually work!
People of this era think it's difficult to do business with foreigners, but in reality, as long as you abandon the aesthetic of bright reds and greens and extravagant flowers, doing clothing business with foreigners is very profitable! The next thirty years, from the 1980s to 2010, will be the golden age of clothing foreign trade.
However, for ordinary people, the period after the millennium when China joined the WTO was the golden age for private garment companies to engage in foreign trade.
Before the millennium, the export of clothing and textiles was subject to a quota system. European and American countries implemented a strict quota system for textiles in their domestic markets, and the vast majority of enterprises could not do foreign trade business. The textile foreign trade quotas were controlled by state-owned textile import and export companies.
Qin Xiangxiang's textile factory can participate in the Canton Fair? This at least means she obtained a certain amount of foreign trade quota from the state-owned import and export company!
Feiyan Textile Factory obtained foreign trade quotas in the 1970s. If it had managed well, wouldn't it have been able to continue to have foreign trade quotas in the 1980s and 1990s?
Having a foreign trade quota is crucial for those who want to engage in textile foreign trade. It's equivalent to having a business license. Without a foreign trade quota, you can only watch helplessly, even if you want to do garment foreign trade.
This Feiyan Textile Factory is becoming increasingly valuable...
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