Chapter 154 Better safe than sorry. Prepare in advance, better safe than sorry. ...
After signing the order, Yamamoto returned to the Feiyan Textile Factory's booth, hoping to receive a photo from the display board.
The translator relayed Mr. Yamamoto's words to Qin Xiangxiang and the others: "This Mr. Yamamoto hopes to obtain a copy of the above photo to keep as a souvenir when he returns to his home country."
The people at Feiyan Textile Factory looked at each other, puzzled as to why the other party wanted photos. Could it be that there really was a treasure at Mawangdui?
Li Jianzhi: "Give this newspaper to them."
Qin Xiangxiang: "..." What a heartless man! But this method is good.
She was just thinking about which photo to choose, after all, Mr. Yamamoto was a big customer, but she was also not too keen on dealing with people like Ritsumoto.
Qin Xiangxiang told the translator that she would give away newspapers, and after the translator relayed this, Yamamoto agreed.
After seeing Mr. Yamamoto off, Qin Xiangxiang breathed a sigh of relief; this was another successful start.
She whispered to Li Jianzhi, "Being a bathing crab is really fun."
"I didn't expect there would actually be someone willing to pay for this." Qin Xiangxiang had heard the theory of the "bathing crab" from Li Jianzhi, but the practice of making "bathing crab" has existed since ancient times.
Li Jianzhi: "This is not about being ripped off, but about the premium of brand IP."
From the perspective of luxury goods, this poplin shirt is already quite reasonable. In the future, luxury clothes and bags will cost only three or four hundred yuan in materials, but will be sold at counters for thirty or forty thousand yuan. This is a markup of nearly a hundred times, and this is the style of luxury goods.
The concept of luxury apparel brands is not yet prevalent in China, but the operation of luxury apparel brands is already very mature abroad.
Furthermore, "Mawangdui" is a unique IP concept, just like "Sanxingdui" later on. The same applies to Liben Animation IP; Liben understands the premium of IP. It's like how, for future anime fans, a tin badge costing three to five yuan to produce—basically a "smack"—can be sold for tens of yuan by the official channels with a special IP.
This is also called the "millet" economy. Some rare "millet" with a cost of only a few dollars can be speculated up to tens of thousands of dollars and become so-called "sea view millet", but the actual cost is only a few dollars.
Whether it's worth it or not cannot be calculated based on cost; some people are willing to pay for the IPs they like.
Li Jian knew he had never bought millet, but he knew comrades and classmates who were obsessed with eating millet. Some of them would buy tens of thousands of millet a year, and millet shops in Shanghai were all the rage.
These IP products are actually not too bad. The ones that really fleece people are celebrity photocards. Just one celebrity photocard costs several hundred yuan. His comrade's child kept asking his parents to pay for celebrity photocards. Buying several celebrity photocards would cost several thousand yuan, while the cost of these photocards is much lower.
Qin Xiangxiang thought, "Could we find more of these kind and benevolent Mr. Yamamoto?"
Mr. Yamamoto's foreign trade orders amounted to more than one million US dollars, which was enough to alleviate their factory's urgent needs. Feiyan Textile Factory was just lucky; they always managed to meet a super big customer in the first round of orders.
Moreover, this time it's a high-end textile product with a high unit price, so they can actually have an easier time and don't need to work overtime to do so much.
Assistant He: "We just need to sell a few more scattered orders. It's already quite remarkable that we were able to sign contracts worth over a million US dollars directly."
Having achieved their basic goals, the people at Feiyan Textile Factory relaxed. Not long after, a designer named Isa from the Kingdom of Ranke arrived. She loved Bohemian-style clothing and couldn't resist the sight of Feiyan Textile Factory's wave-like yarn.
Isa was very excited, clutching the flowing gauze dress in front of her. She lowered her head and carefully sniffed the scent of the dye. Then, her expression became more and more excited, and she gestured wildly to Yang Zhixia and the others.
The translator quickly relayed her words: "Comrade Isa wants to know what kind of fabric this is? Is it made of milk and sugar? What kind of dye was used?"
"What dyeing method was used to create this amazing pattern? It's absolutely fascinating."
Yang Zhixia quickly explained, "This is our original East China Sea Wave Yarn. It works on the same principle as seersucker, but the texture is more unique. We've also chosen natural dyes..."
Frankish designer Isa ordered a batch of tulle dresses and tulle orders.
This is another major customer besides Yamamoto.
Besides Isa, American merchants also ordered some poplin and voile, with the American merchants clearly preferring voile.
...
After this spring's Canton Fair, Qin Xiangxiang's Feiyan Textile Factory secured a record-breaking foreign exchange order worth 2.88 million yuan with its ice-patterned poplin and wave-like yarn, becoming the textile export factory with the highest order price, shocking all textile foreign trade companies.
Manager Meng couldn't stop smiling. This batch of orders was signed directly at the Canton Fair, which was truly remarkable.
"Director Qin, only half a year has passed, and your Feiyan Textile Factory has invented the East China Sea Wave Yarn, truly riding the waves!"
Manager Meng also knew that Feiyan Textile Factory's previous foreign trade orders had been snatched up by other textile factories, leaving Feiyan Textile Factory with very few orders. This was something he could have predicted, since domestic factories had to follow orders and were all working to generate foreign exchange for the country, so it didn't matter which factory completed the orders.
The previous batch consisted of ordinary T-shirts, which didn't require much technical expertise and could be made by most textile factories.
At this year's Spring Canton Fair, Feiyan Textile Factory surprised everyone by bringing its own ice-patterned poplin and Donghai wave yarn. Qin Xiangxiang, the young factory director, is truly "ambitious and enterprising".
A technician from the Guangdong Provincial Light Industry Bureau came over to look at the silk scarves from Feiyan Textile Factory. Because of the addition of oyster powder, they had a pearly luster and were very beautiful. "They feel even smoother than real silk."
"The technicians in your factory are truly remarkable."
Manager Meng said, "It's not just that the technicians are outstanding, but more importantly, the factory manager manages it well!"
Assistant He said sarcastically, "That's not true. Some factories have level eight sewing workers, but after all that work on importing buttonhole machines, only one level eight sewing worker knows how to operate them."
"That's really amazing, an eighth-level sewing worker."
"But it's different at our Feiyan Textile Factory. With imported buttonhole machines, we don't need level eight sewing workers anymore. Our factory manager quickly figured out how to use the buttonhole machines, and soon everyone learned how to use them. I can operate these machines now."
Manager Meng and the technical staff from the provincial light industry bureau smiled knowingly. Yes, each factory has its own unique methods and talents. Under the leadership of some factory managers, these talents can be fully utilized; while under the leadership of others, their talents become increasingly isolated and their technology is blocked...
Back at the guesthouse, the people from Feiyan Textile Factory gathered in the small conference room for a meeting, all with joyful smiles on their faces.
Assistant He: "Our factory has really made a name for itself with this order worth nearly three million US dollars!"
Yang Zhixia: "This time, we've put the Feiyan Textile Factory logo on all our shirts. Hopefully, we won't lose our orders to others again."
"As long as others can't make ice-patterned poplin and wave-like yarn, they can't steal our orders!"
"This time, it's our factory's own technology!"
"Special thanks to Master Meng, Master Liao, Master Li and Master Rong for their help!"
Everyone applauded. Feiyan Textile Factory had created a miracle! They sold shirts at exorbitant prices at the Canton Fair, and also developed their own exclusive ice-patterned poplin and Donghai wave yarn.
"It's still better to have your own skills!"
"Thanks to Director Qin for thinking of Mawangdui!"
...
A group of people were celebrating happily, but the more experienced Master Rong pulled Qin Xiangxiang aside and advised her, "It's early May now, and the delivery time will be very unfavorable later. Factory manager, the factory needs to prepare in advance."
Master Rong, who has been a quality inspector for many years, is very sensitive to the dryness and humidity of textiles. The plum rain season is coming soon, along with typhoons and rainstorms, which poses a great challenge to the storage of textiles.
Generally speaking, the factory needs to take preventive measures against mold. Once the textiles are on board, the seller is no longer responsible for them. Instead, the shipping company and the buyer are responsible for the textiles, provided that they take the necessary preventive measures.
However, a problem may arise: if a typhoon hits before the textiles are loaded onto the ship, preventing them from being dispatched, and the textiles become damp and moldy at the port, Feiyan Textile Factory will suffer a significant loss.
Due to weather and humidity issues, delivery times are unpredictable. Therefore, this batch of orders will be stored at Feiyan Textile Factory, awaiting the time for shipment and loading.
This also raises a problem: if the island is hit by a strong typhoon, the textiles in the warehouse will get damp and moldy, or worse, if the factory is flooded, the textiles will be ruined.
Ordinary cotton fabric is not usually stockpiled in textile factories, and since it is not valuable, the loss from moisture is not significant. Even if it gets slightly damp, it is not greatly affected by the sale of it in domestic supply and marketing cooperatives.
However, this kind of international trade is difficult. If the textiles get damp before shipment, the other party has the right to refuse the order, refuse to accept the goods and make payment, and it will be impossible for them to even board the ship.
Master Rong warned, "The order price for this batch of goods is too high. If they get damp before shipment, Feiyan Textile Factory will suffer huge losses."
Master Rong's words reminded everyone present: Yes! Textiles must be protected from moisture! Cotton fabrics are more susceptible to moisture than silk products, but silk products either cannot be kept dry or suffer huge losses if they do!
Their poplin and wavy yarn this time are still cotton fabrics, but their prices are comparable to silk products, and they are more prone to dampness, hardening, and mildew.
Master Rong's warning was by no means an exaggeration.
If improperly stored and allowed to become damp and moldy, Feiyan Textile Factory would suffer huge losses.
Master Liao said, "Master Rong is right. We need to find a way to increase anti-mold measures when we get back, or maybe we should learn their silk-making methods?"
"Popular silk must be handled with utmost care."
Qin Xiangxiang then decisively said, "We'll go back and ask the army's engineers to dig air-raid shelters!"
Master Rong: "?????? What?"
Master Rong's words reminded Qin Xiangxiang that it wasn't just about dampness, but also about typhoons and heavy rains. If a super typhoon were to occur, even ordinary warehouses would be damaged.
We must first dig a waterproof, moisture-proof, and backflow-proof air-raid shelter. All moisture-proof measures must be taken inside the shelter in advance, and all employees of the factory must undergo collective training to prepare for typhoon emergency response drills for textile products.
Previously, there was no demand for ordinary cotton fabrics, but now that high-end fabrics have been affected, Qin Xiangxiang is really about to have a heart attack.
Prepare in advance, for better times than never.
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