Chapter 177 Movie costumes must be so tiring.
Shanghai 316 Textile Factory, Feiyan Textile Factory, Hongxing Textile Factory... Although they were all state-owned factories, the conditions were different between them. The factory director of a large state-owned factory in Shanghai would not drive a three-wheeled sidecar, but for the director of the island textile factory, having a sidecar was already quite good.
In this era, the three-wheeled sidecar was just as fashionable as the tractor, and it was a vehicle worth showing off to young people. It had amazing speed, could adapt to all kinds of roads, and had a strong load-bearing capacity. It was no exaggeration to call it a god-level vehicle.
Furthermore, these three-wheeled sidecars can also be considered vehicles retired from the military.
Li Jianzhi, a veteran of the navy for over a decade, exclaimed upon seeing his wife's company car, "Nice car! Nice car!"
The guy trying to lose weight was absolutely ecstatic.
A car he'd never experienced in either of his lives.
For the next thirty years, starting from the 1970s, this three-wheeled sidecar was considered a top-tier vehicle on the battlefield and was one of the main military equipment during World War II. The mechanized infantry of the Hansin Empire rode such sidecars, following tank units and using blitzkrieg tactics to conquer half of Europe.
The Japanese soldiers in war films also rode such three-wheeled sidecars. Because they appeared frequently in war films, they were jokingly called "Baka carts" by netizens.
He said: The three wheels carry the Grand Lord.
This type of three-wheeled sidecar, also known as a sidecar, gradually withdrew from the military after the 1950s and became a means of transportation for civilians and police. In the 1980s and 1990s, police patrols used such sidecars, accompanied by two patrol officers.
It wasn't until after the millennium, when four-wheeled vehicles became more common, that these three-wheeled sidecars disappeared from public view.
However, owning such a car in the 1970s or 80s made one an enviable "person".
“My wife thinks this is really amazing!” Li Jianzhi laughed and clapped his hands. “I heard this car can easily carry seven burly men.”
When used by the police, it can even be converted into a prison van if necessary.
Qin Xiangxiang nudged him with her elbow: "Can you stop laughing so hard!"
"I'm happy!"
Qin Xiangxiang sighed, feeling melancholy. It wasn't that the sidecar was bad, but there was a sense of disappointment; it was a convertible.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Forget about cars, even a scrapped jeep would be fine."
Li Jianzhi comforted her, "You'll have it all in the future!"
Human joys and sorrows are not shared. When Little Fatty saw his mother's car, he exclaimed how amazing it was.
Little Fatty exclaimed excitedly, "This is my mom's company car, the factory manager Qin Xiangxiang's car!"
He begged the soldiers to give him a ride around the area, and the soldiers were happy to oblige. These were essentially motorcycles, very easy to drive and quite "cool".
Motorcycles, also known as "motorcycles," are a favorite pastime of men, making a loud roar when the engine is started.
Many children from the family compound came to join in the fun. These vehicles were originally designed for burly soldiers, and could easily fit several children.
Wow! What an awesome car!
"Little Fatty, your mom is amazing!"
"Being a factory manager must be so prestigious!"
...
After riding the car twice, Little Fatty commented to his mother, Qin Xiangxiang, "It's such a fast car, but it's a bit 'numbing' on the bottom."
Motorcycles are all like that; the whole vehicle vibrates.
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
Oh well, it's still a company car that doesn't require much effort, and it's great for cruising around. Qin Xiangxiang can leave it at the factory; a lazy person like her doesn't need to use it often anyway. It'll stay the same as before.
Others needed to use the sidecar, and she agreed to use it as well.
There were also some couples who were getting married at the end of the year or in the twelfth lunar month who begged to borrow a sidecar truck for the wedding procession. She agreed and provided it to the factory workers. The bride would sit on the sidecar truck, and the scene was quite amusing.
At the end of the year, Feiyan Textile Factory settled a sum of foreign exchange wages. It wasn't much in total; most people received only a few dollars or a dozen dollars, and even the most skilled workers received only a few dozen dollars in foreign exchange certificates. But that was already quite remarkable.
With a foreign exchange certificate of one or two yuan, one could ask someone to buy a pound or two of imported candy or even imported chocolate at the Friendship Store. Some families who wanted to buy imported watches or radios would spend money to buy foreign exchange certificates at a premium.
Many naval personnel on long-range missions, as well as crew members on distant shores, had the opportunity to receive foreign exchange certificates. This was not uncommon on islands, but it was something many people envied.
"Our Feiyan Textile Factory on the island is truly remarkable!"
"The Xu family bought imported chocolates; now they're eating foreign things too."
"The Wang family is poor enough, but ever since they moved their ancestral graves and his wife went to work in a textile factory, they've been preparing to build a new house for the past two years."
...
Qin Xiangxiang also received some foreign exchange certificates. Even though she was the factory manager, it was only a hundred yuan or so, not much. She hadn't decided what to buy, only planning to buy some candy to celebrate the New Year.
Master Gu Henian had just arrived at their factory and hadn't had the chance to get foreign exchange certificates yet, but his son and daughter-in-law were very excited. They never expected that this small factory would actually receive a small amount of foreign exchange as a year-end bonus.
"The factory placed several million US dollars worth of foreign exchange orders in 1973! Although the foreign exchange retained was small, there was still some left."
"That's truly amazing!"
Gu Henian approached Qin Xiangxiang and suggested that the factory use some foreign exchange certificates to purchase imported paint, "so that the instruments produced would sound better."
Qin Xiangxiang agreed, "Master Gu, you can buy whatever you need. Just find someone to buy it for you. Making good instruments is the most important thing."
Since we've already started, we might as well do our best.
"Factory Director... thank you so much, Factory Director!" Gu Henian was deeply gratified. "I thought... I thought I'd never have the chance to make a good instrument again in my life..."
Having been a craftsman all his life, being able to make a perfect instrument that met his ideal was the greatest comfort for Gu Henian, after all, he was already halfway to his grave.
Gu Henian asked someone to purchase imported paint, and he unexpectedly used these paints to make a batch of very high-quality violins, which could almost be considered "high-end custom-made" in the past.
One of the violins had a unique tone, with a deep resonance, like the sound of the ocean waves, which he named the "Ocean Tide" violin.
Another mass wedding for employees was held in December of that year. The factory was filled with joy and celebration. In the evening, there was not only a movie, but also a performance by the factory's amateur arts troupe.
Xue Haiyang and others not only rehearsed plays, but also sang and dance performances, as well as martial arts acrobatics, which greatly enriched the workers' leisure and cultural life.
Qin Xiangxiang also decided to purchase a batch of musical instruments, such as harmonicas, accordions, and domestic pianos... These were left to Master Gu and others to handle. Master Gu was not only a tuning master, but he could also be the piano and violin teacher for the employees' children.
He also taught the workers how to make musical instruments, so that the family's traditional skills could be passed down.
Lunar New Year's Eve has passed, and a brand new chapter begins. In 1974, a new calendar was hung on the wall. This was Qin Xiangxiang's fourth year on the island, and her daughter Suisui turned three on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
In the 1970s, most people didn't have a holiday for the Lunar New Year. They worked as usual and didn't visit relatives much. But even so, the traditions in their blood couldn't be changed. People still had the habit of wearing new clothes, slaughtering pigs for the New Year, and those who could afford it would visit relatives to exchange New Year's greetings and eat dumplings and glutinous rice balls.
Once 1976 ended, everyone quickly returned to normal. There were temple fairs during the Lunar New Year, and people started worshipping gods, ancestors, and setting off firecrackers again...
But in fact, signs of this had already emerged in 1974, and starting that year, the cultural situation had already loosened considerably.
Only two films were shot in 1971, namely "The Red Detachment of Women" and "Shajiabang". Five films were shot in 1972, all of which were model operas. Starting in 1973, feature film production resumed, and four films were shot in 1973, three of which were feature films.
By 1974, the number of feature film productions had increased since the beginning of the year, and there were also plans to produce animated films.
Qin Xiangxiang was unaware of the events depicted in the movies. After the New Year, she approached Meng Dadan from the factory to try blending sisal with tussah silk. Because the sisal needed to be processed into finer pieces, Master Liao suggested using old fishing boat equipment to modify the factory's machinery...
"Factory Director, big news! Big news from above!" Assistant He, who was well-informed, immediately ran to Qin Xiangxiang to deliver the message, "A director is coming to our province to shoot a movie, and it's a movie related to textiles!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "Make a movie?"
"Yes, this movie is going to showcase the spirit of workers in the new era. It seems that it will be filmed in a textile factory, and it will be a color feature film, so the requirements for costumes are very high."
"We want to showcase the stories of textile workers' hard work, technological innovation, and support for naval construction."
Qin Xiangxiang: "...They're not going to film this in our factory, are they?"
"Factory manager, what are you thinking? There's no such thing as a free lunch." Assistant He shook his head. "But it's not impossible. I heard that the director has high requirements. He hopes that all of our textile factories will submit some actor costume samples. Whichever factory makes the costumes will be chosen for the filming."
Qin Xiangxiang thought, "These artists really have a lot of clever ideas."
Assistant He: "This is for making movie costumes! I think our factory has a chance!"
Qin Xiangxiang: "???!!"
Although Xianyu likes watching movies, she doesn't really want to cooperate in making movies, especially in a textile factory. That would be so tiring.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
