Chapter 326 The Best Advertisement: "Her First Lipstick." ...
A month later, at 7:30 p.m., a unique "victory celebration" was held in the giant warehouse of Feiyan Special Zone Factory.
The daytime hustle and bustle had subsided, and the warehouse was brightly lit. Hundreds of young female workers from provinces and cities such as Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi had just finished their night shift. They wiped the cotton lint and sweat from their faces, changed into old cotton clothes that were not exactly presentable, and stood in a group with tired and curious expressions on their faces.
Holding a list in his hand, Wang Youyou spoke in Mandarin with a slight Shanghai accent, loudly reading out each name into the microphone:
"Xu Chunhua, Assembly Workshop! Monthly Quality Model Worker, awarded a box of 'Flying Swallow Oriental Charm' skin care cream and a lipstick!"
"Zhang Dongmei from the textile workshop! You've exceeded your target by 150% this month! Your reward is the complete 'Flying Swallow Oriental Charm' gift set!"
"Textile workshop, Xie Mingyun..."
...
Whenever a name was uttered from the crude loudspeaker, it would elicit a small, somewhat suppressed gasp and whispers from the dense crowd.
When the young female workers were called by name, these young women, who were thousands of miles away from home and leaving their villages for the first time, blushed instantly. Urged and encouraged by those around them, they lowered their heads and jogged forward.
Qin Xiangxiang picked up the beautifully bound kesi (silk tapestry) box with both hands and handed it to the female worker in front of her. Even though it was a welfare item for the female workers in the factory, the packaging was not cheaply made. The pretty kesi patterns shone with a gorgeous light under the lamp.
The young female worker didn't dare to look at Director Qin in front of her. After taking the gift, she walked stiffly off the stage, her body light and airy, like a ghost.
A young woman named Ah Ling held the bright red lipstick in her hand. When she saw her blurry reflection on the smooth lipstick tube, tears welled up in her eyes without warning.
She choked up and said, "I... this is the first time in my life that I've had something that I can't buy with my own money."
Her words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples all around.
Many of the female workers empathized, their eyes welling up with tears. They came from rural areas and had left their homes. It wasn't that they hadn't seen these things before. When they were young, there were female educated youth sent to the countryside who had hair oil, beautiful face cream, and even clam oil...
The girls from the countryside, curious, wanted to touch it, but were met with a barrage of scolding from the adults: "That's not something you should have. She's from the city; city girls are particular..."
"Girls in the countryside have to work in the fields, so it's better for them to be a little rough around the edges."
"You must be hardworking, diligent, and honest. You must be able to endure hardship and do the work so that a man will want you in the future."
"If she can't get married, she might as well die early to avoid wasting the family's two ounces of rice and being a money-losing daughter."
...
Many girls live in fear at home from a young age, afraid that they are a burden on their grandmothers, as if eating even a grain of rice from the family would cause them to owe their families a great debt.
The fact that their families could feed them like dogs was already a great kindness; how could they dare to ask for anything more? The life of city girls was a dream they could only see but never touch, a dream they could never reach.
Now they have left their hometowns and families, and toiled away amidst the sounds of machines. They can earn hundreds of dollars a month, much more than the men in their families.
This money gave them peace of mind, so they didn't have to worry about not being able to get married, not being able to get a dowry, or not being able to give birth to a son, and being strangled to death by their families.
No more living in fear of being a freeloader.
The money they earn from their sweat and labor allows them to support themselves and no longer need to rely on their families or marry men for a living.
At this moment, the box of cosmetics in front of them is also reminding them that they are not only capable of supporting themselves, but also realize that they are young girls who love beauty.
In the future, they can live like the girls in the city.
Everyone's eyes shone with anticipation, filled with hope and longing for the future.
"Now, Director Qin will give a speech."
After distributing the female workers' bonuses, Qin Xiangxiang didn't give a long speech, but simply said a few words:
"It's not much, just a token of my gratitude for everyone's hard work over the past month."
"Young women should dress themselves up nicely; it makes them happy and gives them more energy to work."
"We'll evaluate every month from now on, and there will be rewards every month. We'll have internal prices on our own factory's products, and there'll be plenty to go around."
Only then did the female workers dare to glance more at "Factory Director Qin" on the stage. This famous figure was someone many of them had never seen the TV series "Factory Director Qin," and at most knew some of the stories in handwritten copies of "Factory Director Qin," such as the thousand-year-old female corpse gazing at each other...
However, at this moment, in the eyes of the female workers, Director Qin was no longer the unattainable legendary Director Qin from the handwritten novel, but a "family member" who understood their inner secrets and gently cared for them in a foreign land.
Qin Xiangxiang's actions also raised some questions within the factory:
"This is a factory, not a theatrical troupe. What would the female workers do with those things? This kind of bourgeois sentimentality will corrupt the workers' hard-working and simple lifestyle!"
"Is this reward necessary? It's quite an expense..."
"The female workers get rewards, so what about us male workers? What kind of rewards do we get?"
...
After the simple monthly celebration party came to an end, many people still remembered the lights that night. The female workers' sense of belonging and enthusiasm for production were at an all-time high, and production efficiency unconsciously increased by another 20%.
Furthermore, the defect rate of the products has also decreased significantly, by an astonishing 30 percent.
These figures seem to be proving to those who disagree: We deserve it!
On weekends, many female workers who were on leave would use cosmetics in their dormitories to "lightly apply makeup" to themselves. Wearing clothes from the Feiyan Textile Factory, they would walk in twos and threes on the streets of the special economic zone. They were simply the best spokespeople for "Feiyan Oriental Charm" and "Feiyan Elegant Clothing".
Their very existence is more convincing than any giant advertisement on the street.
Mrs. James, a Hong Kong businesswoman who had been following the Fei Yan Textile Factory closely, was deeply impressed. She was amazed by the vibrant and energetic spirit of the young female workers and exclaimed excitedly:
"There's absolutely no need to hire any celebrities; the smiles and changes in these female workers are the best advertisement!"
...
More and more female factory workers like these are appearing on the streets of Shenzhen, attracting increasing attention. One photographer even took a series of photos specifically of these women:
When the female workers received the cosmetics, their young and pretty faces were filled with shyness, excitement, and light in their eyes.
This series of print ads is titled: "Her First Lipstick".
When these advertisements appeared on the streets of the Special Administrative Region and Hong Kong and Macao, their genuine and touching power resonated with the public, causing the brand awareness of "Flying Swallow Oriental Charm" to soar.
Although it caused a huge sensation, the impact was limited to the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong and Macao. However, even so, it brought a flood of new orders to the burgeoning Feiyan Textile Factory.
Wang Youyou looked at the report in front of her with trembling hands, and sincerely admired Factory Director Qin: "Factory Director, your move was really brilliant!"
"Our Flying Swallow Oriental Charm product has only just been launched, and it has already won so many orders... Think of how much foreign exchange we can earn this year! This is 20% more than expected, no, 50% more!"
Qin Xiangxiang was speechless: "What's so great about it? I didn't think that much about it. I just felt that female workers at such a young age could dress up nicely and not look so drab."
"When you see yourself looking young and beautiful in the mirror, your heart brightens, and you are filled with hope for the future, which helps you walk the path ahead better."
"Women dress up for those who appreciate them; this 'self' should refer to oneself, to pleasing oneself."
In the early spring of 1984, the TV series "Echoes of Spruce" was broadcast on Shanghai TV.
That night, a strange scene unfolded in a Shanghai alleyway. After 8 p.m., the alleyway suddenly became incredibly quiet, completely silent.
Shanghai is one of the cities with the most television sets. Countless family windows are illuminated by the same soft glow as families gather in front of the television to watch the TV series "Echoes of Spruce."
"Grandma, we've come to see 'Factory Director Qin'."
"I never get tired of reading Director Qin's story!"
"Quick! It's starting, switch to Shanghai TV!"
...
What happened next was even more surprising.
When Zeng Yao's character "Factory Director Qin" first appeared on screen, everyone was stunned. This...this is Factory Director Qin?
The woman in the picture has bright eyes and white teeth, and a slender figure. When she faces the rigid old system, she reveals an impatient yet wise and firm look in her eyes. That beautiful impatience is like Lin Daiyu's "Pinpin", and the audience is instantly struck by it.
"This...this is Factory Director Qin?"
"I never knew the factory manager could be this beautiful?"
The appearance of this beautiful factory director Qin broke people's stereotype of model workers and female cadres as "wearing gray-blue uniforms, with short hair, looking bitter and resentful, and always ready to fight." She presented people with a "remarkable woman" who combines beauty and wisdom.
This extraordinary woman's image seems to have subtly established a role model for women of the new era in the minds of Shanghai residents.
"This is such a hassle, but someone has to do it."
"Are we workers destined to be covered in dust and dirt?"
...
The words spoken by "Factory Director Qin" quickly became a sensation throughout Shanghai.
The clothes worn by "Factory Director Qin" in the drama, every shirt and every long skirt she wore, became objects of imitation for fashion-conscious women.
"I'm looking for the clothes that Factory Director Qin wore!"
"I also want to buy the things that Factory Director Qin used!"
...
In major department stores in Shanghai, young women are increasingly coming to inquire about products that have been used by Factory Director Qin, and sales are booming.
Even the same enamel mug sold out instantly.
Faced with such a popular scene, various controversies also arose:
"These aren't workers."
"That's petty-bourgeois sentimentality!"
...
However, these controversies were drowned out by the voices of many younger people:
"I never knew model workers could be so beautiful!"
"I also want to be a woman like Factory Director Qin, who is both capable and beautiful!"
...
However, at the same time, a huge question also hung over everyone's heads.
—What kind of person is Director Qin?
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