Chapter 151 The Vicious Fat-Loss Guy!
Qin Xiangxiang said to the factory workers, "I want to use natural dyes, such as indigo, tallow tree leaves, gardenia fruit, madder... these are the natural dyes that have been used before for color mixing and printing."
The young foreman in the factory stared blankly. "Now that we have industrial dyes, are we going back to our ancestors' dyeing methods?"
"It's not all industrial dyes that are good. Natural dyes have their advantages. Look at the ancient dragon robes, they were dyed with gardenia yellow and other natural materials. These were high-quality materials for the emperor."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "We've already learned the patterns from Mawangdui, so why don't we learn the dyeing methods of our ancestors? This is called using the past to serve the present!"
"And this is called thrift! In ancient times, tallow tree leaves were a commoner's dyeing method, and many rural areas still use the ancient method to dye their plants. Sappanwood, tallow tree leaves, and oyster shell dye are all common and cheap things found by the roadside."
"This is also turning waste into treasure!"
Qin Xiangxiang decided to use natural dyes under the banner of "using the past to serve the present". Her suggestion was unexpectedly approved by several master craftsmen, such as Master Meng and Master Rong. They had seen the bustling metropolis of Shanghai in their youth and knew what good things were.
Meng Qiaoyun: "Okay, I like the color produced by gardenia yellow. I dyed it myself when I was young. Gardenia yellow and indigo can also be mixed to make green. I really like the green that looks like red bean paste."
Master Rong: "I'm tired of all those industrial colors. Today, let's go back to simplicity."
Liao Yumei: "I've modified this loom. The seersucker yarn it produces—let's not give it those annoying foreign names, because this loom is made from old parts from fishing boats, and the fabric it produces has a textured surface. From now on, it will be called Wave Surge Yarn, East China Sea Wave Surge Yarn, representing the wisdom and courage of the East China Sea fishermen!"
Qin Xiangxiang was stunned. She was truly in awe of the wisdom of this Shanghai craftsman. This seersucker was introduced to Shanghai at the beginning of the century and was named after its English name. In the end, it couldn't shake off the word "foreign".
Now, the seersucker in their factory is no longer just pure cotton seersucker, but has become a polyester-cotton blend material, renamed Donghai Langyong yarn, which is absolutely wonderful, truly wonderful.
“Okay, then let’s start researching natural dyes. Indigo, tallow tree leaves, madder, gardenia yellow, sappanwood red… there are many natural dyeing methods that can produce all sorts of different colors. I need to find someone from Mr. Ma’s side and send a few art students to help us mix the colors.”
Qin Xiangxiang guessed that art students should also know about Morandi, so she asked them to mix some Morandi colors with low saturation, especially tallow tree leaves, which can be lightly dyed into gray and heavily dyed into ink color, and can also be derived into light yellow, dark brown and gray-green.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "A plain-colored poplin shirt would look better. Embroidery could be added to the chest and cuffs, with patterns from Mawangdui, vines and leaves. We should also add our Feiyan Textile Factory logo to the shirt."
In terms of shirt tailoring, it uses the high-end shirt-making techniques of the boot country, plus natural dyeing and unique embroidery prints. Qin Xiang thought about how happy she would be to wear this.
"Ordinary polyester-cotton blends can also be printed with patterns from Mawangdui..." Qin Xiang's heart sank. He thought of selling them to Li Ren. Of all the countries in the world, Li Ren had the greatest desire for "Mawangdui". They would blindly buy a lot of products related to Mawangdui, just to find the secrets of Mawangdui from the slightest clues.
The "Mawangdui" IP is exploiting them.
The US isn't particularly interested in things like Mawangdui, but seersucker is all the rage there right now.
"Other textile waste, such as waste yarn and waste cloth, can be made into coasters, bookmarks, small bags, and ethnic dolls, and can all be printed with patterns from Mawangdui."
...
A few days later, Qin Xiangxiang put on a new poplin shirt made by her own factory. She chose a bright gardenia yellow color, which reminded people of refreshing orange soda in the sea breeze.
She also changed into a seersucker dress, which is perfect for summer... no, it's a sea-wave-like seersucker dress.
"The East China Sea Waves Surge Gauze Clothing is a summer garment specifically for islands. The surging waves also symbolize the fishermen's resilience."
Qin Xiangxiang walked around the textile factory wearing a new poplin shirt, paired with a vest and wool sweater. She looked stunning and amazed countless people in the factory.
"The new shirts in our factory are so beautiful!"
"I hope I can wear a poplin shirt on my birthday."
"I don't have such grand ambitions, I just want to wear a flowing chiffon dress in the summer!"
...
Meng Qiaoyun smiled slightly at the beautifully dressed Qin Xiangxiang, but she couldn't help feeling a little sad. When Qin Xiangxiang noticed that her expression was off, she ran over and asked, "Master Meng, is something on your mind?"
"Is something wrong with the clothes?"
Meng Qiaoyun shook her head: "I just feel it's a pity. Clothes may look nice, but they don't really have any inherent value. Most people like pretty clothes, which is only human nature."
Qin Xiangxiang nodded and said, "Of course! Our working class can wear nice clothes too!"
Meng Qiaoyun opened her mouth, but swallowed her words in the end. "You are twenty years old, which is the most beautiful time of your life."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Master Meng, please just say what you have to say."
"Anyway, I'm old and I'm not afraid to talk about this. When I was as young as you, I wanted to make a beautiful Shanghai cheongsam, the kind of style from forty years ago. I wanted to make a beautiful cheongsam of poplar silk, and then make a shawl like this by splicing seersucker and fishnet fabric to wear here, and adorn it with an elegant pearl silk flower."
"I may not be a beauty of Shanghai if I dress like this, but you definitely are."
Qin Xiangxiang was stunned. "????!!!"
As expected of "Dream Dare," she dares to think of anything.
"As for life, of course it's better now. It's just that young people like you must like pretty clothes, but you don't have the chance to wear them anymore." Master Meng likes to study various textile patterns, so he naturally likes all kinds of beautiful clothes. However, in recent years, all the clothes on the market have turned into blue, which is too monotonous and gray.
"Of the basic necessities of life, clothing comes first. Everyone loves beautiful clothes, especially us Shanghainese. Even if we wear a detachable collar, we still want to add some flair to our outfits. Have you heard about what happened this year? People were trampled to death while fighting for a piece of polyester clothing."
Qin Xiangxiang nodded. People's yearning for a better life is growing day by day. By the 1970s, life in Shanghai was getting better and better, and many people were pursuing beautiful clothes. This was unstoppable, especially after the brightly colored "Dacron" clothes came out. In order to grab a piece of Dacron clothing, many people went to the mall overnight to queue up, fearing that they would not get a turn. Furthermore, the crowding caused a stampede.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "It will be fine in two or three years. Once the chemical fiber production line is built, everyone will have polyester clothes to wear. And by then, maybe Master Meng will be able to make cheongsams again and even perm hair."
Meng Qiaoyun stared in disbelief: "Think about it, they all call me 'Dream Daredevil,' I think you're really daring too."
Qin Xiangxiang sighed, "Who told me to actually have a dream?"
Feiyan Textile Factory has already produced the textiles for this year's Canton Fair, mainly ice-patterned poplin and wave yarn, supplemented with natural dyes and Mawangdui patterns. Some of the Mawangdui patterns have been reformed, such as removing some mythical beast patterns while retaining vines and clouds, and reproducing "riding the clouds embroidery" in a different way.
There are also improved colored gauze patterns.
Ready-to-wear items include poplin shirts, naturally dyed shirts with embroidered Mawangdui patterns on the chest and cuffs; wave-patterned gauze dresses, dyed using tie-dye techniques to resemble surging waves; and Mawangdui patterned silk scarves…
“These are all high-quality products, and the cost is also high. What if we can't sell them for a good price? The silk printed products in Director Chen's factory are all unsold... Will we be able to sell ours?”
"If we can't sell them, our factory will be in trouble this year. We'll have to work as hard as we can on the sewing machines to make T-shirts and export ordinary cotton fabric..."
As the opening day of the Canton Fair drew closer, Yang Zhixia and others were waking up in fear because the cost of high-count cotton fabrics was too high. If they couldn't sell them or could only sell them at a low price, it would be very difficult.
"Foreign merchants have never seen poplin before. Would they be willing to buy it?"
"Is this Mawangdui pattern really okay? I think it's not much different from tractor-printed patterns. Will foreign buyers really like it?"
Assistant He was so worried about this that he lost more than ten pounds. He was looking forward to the Spring Canton Fair, but he was also afraid of it.
Last year, the news that tractor-printed silk was not selling well made them very anxious. They felt that the Mawangdui pattern was nothing special. A few vines and leaves were no more advanced than tractor-printed patterns. Tractor-printed patterns were at least something that existed in the new era, while Mawangdui was an ancient artifact from two thousand years ago. What was so special about this pattern?
Assistant He and the Chinese people at that time had a bit of a "selling off one's father's land without feeling the pain" attitude. They didn't pay much attention to Mawangdui at first, but other countries in the world valued ancient culture.
After all, we have five thousand years of culture and countless treasures from the past. How rare are they? They're really not as rare as a "tractor."
In rural areas nowadays, anyone who can drive a tractor is considered the coolest guy in the village.
Wearing a "tractor print" outfit and strolling around the village would be incredibly fashionable! Very stylish and respectable.
Qin Xiangxiang calmly replied, "Don't worry, it will definitely sell."
Master Meng and the other experienced craftsmen remained calm. Having gone through many things, they knew what was good and what foreigners preferred.
Unfortunately, Assistant He and the others became increasingly anxious because they estimated that the cost of poplin was too high. Wave yarn was a little better, but poplin was good, and if it couldn't be sold at a good price... they were in despair.
"This thing is good, but I don't think it's worth spending so much money on."
"The cost is too high!"
"Foreign businesses won't be willing to pay a high price, will they?"
Even Qin Xiangxiang, a carefree and easygoing person, couldn't stand the anxiety spread by this group of people. When she got home, she complained to Li Jianzhi, "They started finding fault with things in the factory every day, and started thinking that this wasn't worth it, and that wasn't worth it either."
“What’s even more absurd is that Assistant He said this morning that even tractor-printed patterns can’t fetch a good price, so our Mawangdui patterns will definitely be unwanted. That’s ridiculous.”
"He said the tractor print is more fashionable and high-end, even though everyone used to say our poplin was better..."
Li Jianzhi: "This might be called 'humiliating pursuit'."
Qin Xiangxiang: "What does 'humiliation and pursuit' mean?"
"To belittle and insult things you like, and spread negative comments about them."
Qin Xiangxiang: "Yes! This is called humiliating pursuit!"
Li Jianzhi also put on a snow-white poplin embroidered shirt. He planned to take a vacation this year to accompany his wife to the Canton Fair in the spring, to see what the Canton Fair was like in the 1970s. This drama queen also wanted to eat Moutai chicken and experience the elevator of the 1970s.
Li Jianzhi had been planning this for a long time, and this time she was determined not to be alone in her empty room.
However, the couple took Sui Sui to the Canton Fair, leaving Xiao Pang at home to study. The couple did not feel any shame and made no preparation to let him stay at school for a period of time.
"Mom, I want to write an essay! I want to go! Woof woof woof!"
Li Jianzhi: "Stay and guard the house, woof woof woof!"
"Dad, I'm leaving. This time, Commander Dad will take care of Commander Xiangxiang and my baby Suisui. There's no need for Little Fatty Warrior to shine."
Li Jianzhi said with ill intent, "This time, when Dad went to eat Maotai chicken, he wrote a special essay to read to you, teaching you how to write essays by example."
Fatty: "That vicious fat-loss guy!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "???"
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