Chapter 279 Should mooncakes still strive for superiority in this regard? ...
Vendors like Cai Baozi, like Gu Zhihuai, were also educated youth who returned to the city. Every day, they rode a tricycle with steaming hot steamers on it, initially avoiding the city management personnel.
Later, it was discovered that people didn't care about him. When they saw him riding his bike away, they would chase after him, not to catch him, but to buy him a few steamed buns. After that, Cai Baozi became bolder and bolder.
These food vendors selling steamed buns can at most be considered small business owners. They don't resell industrial products, so they're not considered speculators; they don't hire workers, they just work hard to make steamed buns and earn a little money.
Even if he gets arrested, it's not a big deal, especially since they don't arrest educated youth like him who return to the city to run small businesses much these days.
With Cai Baozi setting up a fixed stall in the open space diagonally opposite the Shangpu Textile Factory, more and more people gathered. Some people saw that Cai Baozi was acting as if nothing was wrong, so they also started selling wontons and sugar cakes next to him... and that's how it developed.
Residents in the vicinity all know that there is a "food hub" diagonally opposite Feiyan No. 2 Factory, where there are all kinds of delicious food.
In just a month or so, a food street spontaneously formed near Feiyan No. 2 Factory. Workers who had finished get off work would flock out, buy food, and squat in twos and threes with nearby residents, eating and chatting, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
"This Cai Baozi is really good at making steamed buns. I'll buy a few to eat tomorrow morning!"
"Your family is rich and so particular. My family will have rice porridge for breakfast tomorrow."
“Sigh—the man doesn’t come home tonight, so I’ll just have a few steamed buns with the kids and won’t cook.”
"Grandma's wontons are delicious too, the wonton wrappers are as thin as paper."
...
Previously, the walls outside Feiyan No. 2 Factory were piles of garbage, a place where children would hunt for treasures. Now, it has been transformed into a green belt and a food street, attracting more and more people. In addition to workers, there are also primary and secondary school students who come from afar, as well as citizens from other districts.
A cluster effect inexplicably formed.
Secretary Li was somewhat worried: "Director Qin, more and more people are gathering outside our factory. Will this affect the factory's appearance? Should we drive them away? Hygiene is also a big problem."
Qin Xiangxiang spent a whole day observing (slacking off) and discovered that a natural "food street" had indeed formed outside the factory, which was probably the only benefit that "broadcasting" brought her.
Qin Xiangxiang tasted them one by one, buying Cai Baozi's meat buns, Grandpa's sugar-coated fried dough, and Grandma's wontons.
"Hmm, the filling of these buns is more fragrant than the ones in our cafeteria this morning. They must have their own unique recipe."
"Grandpa's sugar-coated fried dough is so good. How many years has he been making it?"
"Grandma's wonton wrappers—that's also the oil seller's specialty."
...
Qin Xiangxiang wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, quite satisfied with the scene of food gathering outside the factory. In the future, she hoped to tear down one wall of the factory and turn it into a "food, drink and play" street.
“Don’t rush these people. It’s convenient for residents and our factory workers to eat here. The prices are reasonable and the food is delicious. These educated youth who returned to the city need a way to make a living.”
Seeing this, Secretary Li tacitly approved the existence of the food street outside the factory. The street quickly prospered and even became a distinctive feature of the area.
When many people from other places come to Shanghai to visit relatives, some locals will say, "I'll take you to Feiyan No. 2 Factory to eat something delicious!"
"You absolutely have to try Cai Baozi's steamed buns."
...
However, as the food street flourishes and is filled with the aroma of food, it also breeds a crisis.
Firstly, the garbage problem is getting more and more serious. Vendors and customers are generating more and more garbage, and even with the help of the street authorities and the families of textile factory workers to clean up, it is still not enough.
The abundance of food scraps has also bred a rat infestation, with reports from the surrounding area indicating an increasing number of rats.
"A rat's nest was found near the warehouse."
"Factory manager, we can't let rats gnaw on our high-end textiles."
...
Having survived the previous crisis of preventing dampness and mold during typhoons, the current abundance of food has led to a rodent infestation crisis, which is also a major problem.
Rat infestation is even more disgusting than moisture and mold prevention. Not to mention rats gnawing, even a rat's urine can easily destroy a lot of high-end textiles.
"I can't let the mice ruin my precious things."
Qin Xiang wanted to preserve the food street outside the factory, but also didn't want the textiles in the warehouse to be infested with rats. Therefore, he couldn't adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach; instead, he needed to manage the area meticulously.
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, she made a startling decision:
"Let's tear this wall down!"
Qin Xiangxiang had planned to tear down the wall long ago, and now it was just a matter of bringing the time forward. It was already the end of 1978, and the reform and opening up was just around the corner. It was the perfect time to tear down this wall, build uniform and clean shops on the original site, attract some high-quality vendors, cooperate with them, and manage them in a unified manner.
Sufficient buffer zones should be left between the newly built commercial area and the core production workshop and warehouse. In addition, high walls and some glass doors should be built inside the factory to facilitate access. Rodent and insect control should be strengthened throughout the factory.
"Unified management of mobile vendors can reduce the trouble of cleaning up garbage, and fixed locations for garbage cleaning can help each other supervise each other."
Qin Xiangxiang also plans to collect rent and utility fees in the future, which would be the factory's "tertiary industry" income. This income can be invested in rodent control and pest prevention, and can also increase employment.
Another more important factor is that next year the city will open up to the outside world and allow free movement of people, which means that even those with agricultural household registration can work in towns and cities, and Shanghai's population will experience another surge.
These people moving to Shanghai, as well as tourists from home and abroad, all represent business opportunities!
If Feiyan No. 2 Factory can become synonymous with "local delicacies and snacks", it will definitely attract a large number of tourists. It would be a good opportunity to open a few clothing stores here, specializing in selling factory textiles to the public - without letting any middlemen make a profit!
"From now on, this wall in our factory will be just like the food factory, with the store in the front and the production area in the back."
"We've set up several tailor shops here, all with glass windows. Our factory's tailors will make clothes right here in these glass windows—that way, people outside can see the craftsmanship firsthand!"
"This is the window through which our Feiyan Textile Factory showcases its technology."
"We've set up a convenient tailor shop here for the benefit of the neighborhood residents. They can take on some tailoring and mending jobs, so that our factory family members have something to do."
"There are some industrial machines inside, such as industrial buttonhole machines. Residents make their own clothes and want the buttons holographically sized, and we charge them based on the buttonhole size."
"These industrial machines make life easier for the neighborhood residents, allowing everyone to enjoy the benefits."
Industrial buttonhole machines, industrial ironing machines... These are tools that ordinary households cannot afford to buy but need in their daily lives. They can be rented to residents and charged per use. Factories can use the machines to increase revenue, and citizens can also benefit.
A win-win situation.
When Qin Xiangxiang made this reform decision, no one in the factory understood it. However, Secretary Li probably sensed something and supported Qin Xiangxiang's reform of the factory.
Secretary Li: "The pressure of finding employment for educated youth is increasing, and we can't ban these small vendors... This is an inevitable trend. People need to survive, and if they can't survive, things will fall into chaos."
"In the future, the government may open up more stores to provide these people with a livelihood."
"The changes we've made in our factory will also increase employment."
So, at Qin Xiangxiang's request, she planned to have the factory demolish the wall and build new shops even earlier. Just then, the country decided to open up to the outside world and develop the economy.
Secretary Li exclaimed excitedly, "Factory Director, we've taken the right path, and we might even be at the forefront!"
At this moment, Secretary Li also keenly sensed an unusual crisis—a crisis for their "state-owned factory."
In the past decade or so, in the eyes of many people, state-owned factories were remarkable behemoths, but Shangpu Textile Factory was an "oddball" that experienced "losses" at the forefront.
It was precisely because of this that Secretary Li realized something: with the opening up of market competition, township enterprises and the private economy would develop, and state-owned factories would face increasingly severe challenges.
"With the reform of state-owned factories, the government will require us to be responsible for our own profits and losses! Our factories need to find ways to support themselves! The better the factories perform, the better everyone's lives will be!"
In the future, state-owned factories will diverge. Profitable factories will continuously reform and improve the welfare of all workers; while unprofitable factories will see worker welfare reduced and deteriorate.
Their Feiyan Textile Factory aims to leap over mountains and seas in the torrent of the future, entering a brand new chapter.
"Factory manager, building a store is the most important thing. We need to find good sales channels for our products. I heard that the government will no longer provide unified sales in the future, so we have to find our own sales channels."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Now the government is encouraging businesses to establish 'tertiary industries.' Our factory's coffee corner and cake stall can expand their operations and sell to the public in the future."
Secretary Li: "Huh?! Sold to the public?"
Qin Xiangxiang: "Mm."
Secretary Li: "Factory Director, our factory has suffered a great disgrace."
Qin Xiangxiang: "???!!"
"I have a friend who has been to many places across the country. In most of the textile factories, the mooncakes made there are very unique and delicious."
Just like Feiyan Textile Factory had its own specialty foods such as shrimp chips, sausages, and cakes, other state-owned textile factories across the country had their own factory-specific delicacies in the 1970s and 80s, which were even famous in their localities. Even though the factories had long since closed down and disappeared forty or fifty years later, the delicacies of these factories still existed.
Many textile factories are famous for their mooncakes made for the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
The only exception is the Shangpu Textile Factory, now known as Feiyan No. 2 Factory, and formerly Feiyan Textile Factory, which is mediocre in mooncake making.
"The mooncakes in our factory are no good! Next year, we should start reforming with the mooncakes!"
In Secretary Li's view, this was simply a "humiliation".
“Those vendors outside, factory manager, why don’t you pick a few talented people to make mooncakes? We must wash away this shame next year.”
Qin Xiangxiang was speechless: "..."
Qin Xiangxiang doesn't particularly like mooncakes; she only eats one or two around the Mid-Autumn Festival each year and hasn't put much effort into making them.
However, it seems that Secretary Li's generation places great importance on mooncakes, feeling that the mooncakes produced in their factory are inferior to those from other factories, which is a great disgrace.
The idea that mooncakes made by textile factories in most places are famously delicious in their localities is absolutely a stereotype!
Who says mooncakes made by textile factories have to taste good?
In fact... the mooncakes from Shanghai 316 Textile Factory weren't very tasty either.
In this regard, is it still necessary to be competitive?
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