Chapter 164 The shipping magnate doesn't seem like a local at all.
Qin Xiangxiang made a pair of leather sandals for her deadbeat husband. After Li Jianzhi put them on, he felt like he was on a "Miracle Weight Loss Guy's World Tour." Although Da Miao wasn't with him, he had his chubby son.
"Think about it, you're truly a wonderful wife sent from heaven!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "...Tsk."
"Heaven has been kind to me!"
Even the usually reserved Li Jianzhi couldn't resist. He put on the new sandals his wife had made by hand, wore an imported watch, and strolled leisurely around the family compound, like an air force comrade who had accidentally caught a big fish and was wandering around outside with the fish in his arms, refusing to go home.
"Comrade Li, your shoes are really nice."
My wife made it for me.
"Making shoes by hand, what a virtuous and capable factory manager, Director Qin!"
When Chen Ruifeng, who was at the family compound, saw the "silent and aloof" Li Jianzhi dressed like this, he felt a little teary-eyed. He went back and said to Zhao Yangyang, "That guy surnamed Li is really good at scheming!"
"Qin Xiangxiang in our courtyard is truly virtuous."
"In ancient times, people thought that if they were to marry, they should marry Yin Lihua; now, people think that if they are to marry, they should marry Qin Xiangxiang."
"Director Qin is such a virtuous and kind family member."
...
When Qin Xiangxiang returned to the family compound and heard these words, she felt her vision go black.
—Public opinion has been damaged!
Gao Rong also brought home two pairs of "textile factory safety shoes". Gou Qiang put on the textile factory safety shoes, and the couple also bought an imported Rolex watch.
The two sold the old watch they had bought from Chen Ruifeng and added three or four hundred yuan to buy a new one.
"This thing is great, it holds its value! I've worn it for several years and it's still worth the price!"
Gao Rong also agrees that Swiss watches retain their value and agrees that she should spend her savings to buy a watch.
The couple usually lived in the textile factory, and their child was raised in the staff quarters. They would occasionally go back to Commissar Gou's house for a meal. Commissar Gou and his wife were very satisfied with their son and daughter-in-law.
Having my own grandson by my side, and my son and daughter-in-law often coming home for meals—there couldn't be better.
Clothes make the man. Gou Qiang wore work sandals and an imported Swiss watch on his wrist. Commissar Gou felt that his son made him look good.
"I'm quite satisfied with my husband, Gou Qiang. He found a good wife, and she works very hard."
"They had a grandson, yes... The couple also recently bought an imported watch. Yes, they already had one, and they just bought a Rolex."
"Oh, not at all, he's actually not very good either."
...
Commissar Gou, who was previously jokingly referred to as having raised three locusts, has now risen to prominence and status.
In contrast, Jiang Changtian and his wife, who lived in the middle unit on the first floor, appeared to be in dire straits.
Jiang Changtian looked at "Gou Qiang," this useless good-for-nothing kid, who looked all dapper, wearing soft sandals and an imported watch. He had no skills and no looks, yet he was "glamorous" and always grinning like a fool.
Jiang Changtian's monthly salary was not low, but he supported his family on his own, sent money back to his hometown, and raised his children and wife. He used to live a very good life, was successful in his career, and was always in high spirits.
But no matter how good life is, it depends on who you compare it to. This building is for the families of regimental-level cadres. Every family has a regimental-level cadre in them. Apart from the sea allowance, the basic salary of each family is roughly the same. The difference in wealth is mainly based on the difference in the support provided by parents and children back home.
Ever since moving to the middle unit on the first floor, Jiang Changtian's resentment towards "Gou Qiang," a good-for-nothing, has grown daily.
Li Jianzhi on the second floor is indeed an outstanding individual, young and handsome, with a wife from the city, so the comparison isn't as strong.
Chen Ruifeng, who lives on the third floor, also has a wife from Shanghai, but at least he is a cadre.
And Gou Qiang... why can such a good-for-nothing live such a good life?
He can wear an imported Rolex watch, and his wife Gao Rong earns a monthly salary of fifty or sixty yuan. Feiyan Textile Factory has generated foreign exchange orders worth three million US dollars!
Jiang Changtian was starting to feel a subtle jealousy towards his neighbor's good-for-nothing son, Gou Qiang.
His wife, Xiao Ye, was unwilling to go out to work... Whenever he mentioned going out to work, she would say, "You swore you would support me for life," leaving Jiang Changtian speechless.
"Brother Changtian, my dear sister is here. Let's prepare a good meal."
Xiao Ye's younger sister, Xiao Zhi'er, came to the family compound. Xiao Zhi'er saw a report about Feiyan Textile Factory in the newspaper and learned that the factory director, Qin Xiangxiang, lived upstairs from her older sister and brother-in-law. She then had the idea of working as a female worker in the textile factory.
Xiao's mother said, "The factory manager is upstairs; he happens to have connections!"
"Your sister and the factory manager are both military family members, so they're easy to talk to."
“After you go there, you’ll have a proper job and it will be easier to find a partner. You can marry a military officer like your sister.”
...
With this in mind, Xiao Zhier came to the family compound, planning to get into Feiyan Textile Factory through her sister and brother-in-law's connections, and then find a partner from a well-off family to marry.
Xiao Ye advised, "Are you really going to be a factory worker? You need to be able to endure hardship. Textile factory workers work three shifts a day, it's so tough."
"Mom says textile workers get high wages and can wear nice clothes! The factory benefits are good!"
Xiao Ye: "No matter how good the factory benefits are, they are useless. No matter how good the salary and benefits are, they are not as important as finding a man. Those salaries and benefits are all empty."
"The smart thing for a woman is to marry the best man in the world."
Xiao Ye exclaimed, "Your brother-in-law is the best man in the world!"
"Only men who are incompetent need women to go out and earn money."
Xiao Zhier pursed her lips. "Sister, there are very few men like brother-in-law in the world."
"Of course! He's the best man in this residential compound. None of the other male cadres can compare to your brother-in-law."
Xiao Zhier: "But Qin Xiangxiang on the second floor, her husband married a factory manager."
"I'll say it again: only incompetent men make women go out to work!"
Xiao Zhier nodded. "Sister, you've had such a happy life. You married your husband at a young age, had a son, and never worked. Your husband got promoted quickly and has a high salary, so you don't have to worry about making a living at all."
"That's—" Xiao Ye smiled smugly, though her upturned lips twitched slightly halfway through. It was really good when she was young. There were always happy events in her family. Her husband was promoted quickly and his salary increased rapidly, which made her feel unparalleled joy. She walked forward, stepping on the heads of the female relatives around her. She was proud of her husband.
However, the smooth sailing days eventually came to an end. After her husband was demoted, life became difficult. Although their material living standards were much higher than when they first moved into the family compound, and even though he was demoted, his treatment was still better than when he was in the battalion commander's building, he still didn't have the same energy for life.
She could no longer stand out among the female relatives; she hoped her husband would continue to rise through the ranks three times in a row. Her husband's promotion was a source of pride for his wife.
"Sister, I want to get a job at Feiyan Textile Factory. Could you ask my brother-in-law to talk to the people upstairs and ask them to look out for me?"
"Alright."
When Jiang Changtian learned that Xiao Zhier was going to work at Feiyan Textile Factory, he praised her repeatedly: "Many military dependents work at the textile factory. The conditions and benefits are very good. Recently, they even made work sandals. They use the factory's fabric to make the sandals, which are loose and breathable."
"I asked your sister to go, but she still doesn't want to."
You've probably done too much!
Xiao Zhier blushed as her brother-in-law praised her.
"These are work sandals issued by our factory. Look...aren't they pretty?" Zhao Qiaoqiao, who started working at the factory hospital, lifted her foot to show the people around her the work sandals she was wearing.
Now the sandals in the factory have undergone various improvements. This is a textile factory! There are many skilled female workers, especially Master Meng, who is the best at creating patterns. In addition to using wavy yarn for the uppers, there are other cotton and linen woven mesh patterns. These are all crocheted by everyone's skillful hands. The woven sandals are especially beautiful!
"We have a wide variety of woven sandals with soft rubber soles. Only our textile factory can make shoes like these! Other workers don't have this skill."
Lin Xiuqin held back for a moment, then said something insincere: "It's really beautiful."
What she really meant was that these woven sandals are just ordinary, mass-produced items, nothing special, at most they're just handmade.
Zhao Qiaoqiao took Lin Xiuqin to visit the factory hospital of the textile factory. As soon as Lin Xiuqin entered the room, she heard a sentence with a slightly strange accent.
"Can your sandals really cure athlete's foot?"
This person speaks with a Minnesota accent, but his spoken Mandarin sounds like he's from Guangdong or Guangxi, with a hint of Hong Kong accent, similar to Hong Kong-accented Mandarin, but he deliberately uses the Minnesota accent.
Dean Zhou said, "Wearing these has its benefits. We added Chinese medicinal herbs, and they are indeed suitable for the workers on the ship. However, these are protective equipment for our factory workers."
"Labor protection supplies? You don't sell them?"
"This cannot be sold; the supply and marketing cooperative does not have it."
...
Lin Xiuqin's ears twitched. She found the conversation very strange, because the person speaking didn't sound like someone from this place at all.
Who is this?
"Could it be a crew member? It seems like a crew member; he has a crew member's certificate."
This middle-aged man was tall and slender with a thin face and deep smile lines at the corners of his eyes. He was wearing a dark Zhongshan suit, and his eyes were exceptionally sharp, clearly indicating that he was no ordinary person.
His skin showed the deep vicissitudes of being weathered by the sea, but he had a strange smell about him.
Lin Xiuqin felt she could smell a faint cigar aroma wafting by!
Yes, that's the taste of a cigar.
This person could never be a crew member! Could he be a spy? No, he doesn't seem like one. He's more like an overseas person who's temporarily staying in Hong Kong, someone who has at least lived on Hong Kong Island.
Hong Kong Island? Ships... Shipping magnate XXX?!
Lin Xiuqin was stunned. Was this possible?
She remembered a shipping magnate whose ancestral home was in Minnesota. He returned to Minnesota in the 1980s and invested in building schools and other facilities...
Lin Xiuqin was full of doubts because she also felt that she was just guessing wildly. This person was probably a shipman, not a shipping magnate. After all, it was only 1973, and Mingzhou Port was not open to the outside world. But this year was a special year. Many people came to Mingzhou to conduct research and confirmed the natural deep-water conditions here. They decided to build a deep-water port here. It wasn't until 1978 that the 10,000-ton coal deep-water terminal was put into use.
Lin Xiuqin was right; the man in front of her was Luo Hansheng, one of Hong Kong's shipping magnates.
The reason he is standing here is because of a shipment of North American spruce. His shipping company was transporting a shipment of North American spruce to the port of Shanghai. At that time, the mainland was looking at the conditions of the natural port near Minnesota and wanted to hear the shipping magnate's opinion. He wanted to return to his hometown to take a look, so he came here by chance.
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