Chapter 93 Indeed, good things are valued for their rarity!
Qin Xiangxiang made new clothes for the whole family in one go. Sui Sui was small, so she made two sets! She never saved on cloth coupons and even exchanged some with others. Qin Xiangxiang also bought the cloth herself in Mingzhou, which can be described as being very selective.
“Sister-in-law, it’s not like we’re celebrating a holiday. We’ve already used up all our cloth ration coupons to make a new outfit. You don’t really need to make one for me.”
"This dress is so beautiful."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "You don't need to worry about that at all. How could a textile factory manager be short of cloth? It's like saying a cook starves himself to death."
Li Jinling said, "Once the factory is built, I will definitely work hard and I will also urge others to work."
Li Jinling felt embarrassed to eat and drink for free at her elder brother and sister-in-law's house. She hoped that the textile factory would be completed soon so that she could be among the first batch of female workers, receive a salary, and perhaps even be allocated an apartment. She could then buy some gifts for her brother, sister-in-law, nephews, and nieces.
"Sister-in-law, our factory must be recognized for excellence!"
Qin Xiangxiang thought to herself: I have nothing to say to you people who are always talking about praising others.
Little Fatty put on his new clothes and ran to his parents' room to look in the mirror. He smoothed his hair and said, "The other kids in the yard say I look the best!"
Li Jianzhi also changed into the clothes his wife had made by hand and stood behind Xiao Pang, responsible for supervising his son to prevent him from making any rash moves.
"Little Fatty, Dad is so grateful to have you." With his chubby son by his side, Li Jianzhi felt that he had become exceptionally young and handsome. Indeed, there is only a difference when there is a comparison.
Little Fatty: "Dad, do you think I'm the prettiest kid in the whole neighborhood, just like Grandma Zhao?"
"They said I made you look really good."
Li Jianzhi thought expressionlessly: A Waterloo in his weight loss journey.
He unbuttoned his shirt to show his son his eight-pack abs, hoping the boy would take that as a goal, saying, "I'll show you Dad's muscles."
The chubby boy pulled open his clothes and said, "Dad, I'll show you my muscles too. They're bigger than yours! One of them is better than eight of yours."
Li Jianzhi: "Tsk, it can be used to extract oil."
"Little Fatty, Daddy has a question for you. What's your name?"
"My name is Li Xiaopang."
"Your name is Li Qingfeng."
"My name is Li Xiaopang."
"The homework book says Li Qingfeng."
Qin Xiangxiang put on her new clothes and took her sister-in-law out for a walk. Every time she wore new clothes, she was happy to go out for a walk and buy some fried yellow croaker. The two of them ran into Gao Rong and Gou Qiang downstairs.
The two have been dating for a while now, their parents have met, and they are ready to discuss marriage, with the date expected to be around National Day.
Grandma Gou was resting in her wheelchair, while Little Sister Gou, who was pregnant, stood beside her with her belly sticking out. Only Commissar Gou's wife was busy at home.
Gou Qiang wore an imported watch and walked with an air of superiority. The people at the transportation company had no idea where the watch came from; they only knew that his family had bought him an imported watch for his wedding.
Gao Rong's family members felt the same way; they all thought Gou Qiang was very respectable.
Gao Rong was also wearing a new outfit today, a new outfit made of "Dacron".
In the future, the price of Dacron will be far lower than that of pure cotton fabric. However, it is currently 1971, and with very limited production from chemical fiber factories, Dacron made of polyester-cotton blend or pure polyester is a rare commodity that is difficult to buy even with long queues.
Scarcity makes things valuable!
It can only be bought in big cities, and you have to queue overnight. Anyone who wears a full set of Dacron fabric will be the envy of others.
Compared to cotton, the patterns and designs of polyester fabric are much more attractive.
Gao Rong and Gou Qiang are preparing to get married. In preparation for the wedding, Gou's family had someone buy her a new dress.
A light yellow polyester dress.
It's very eye-catching in the courtyard.
"This material is so beautiful."
"Dacron that can only be bought in big cities."
"Gou Qiang has really gone all out to get a wife!"
Grandma Gou said to Qin Xiangxiang, "My granddaughter-in-law is wearing Dacron, and you, the textile factory director, can't even afford fresh, good fabric?"
The intelligence chief, Sister Gao, who was passing by, said, "Xiao Qin works at a cotton textile factory that makes military cloth."
Grandma Gou: "Making military-style cloth is good, but... then we'll have to wear green and white from now on?"
"Men are fine, but women still need to wear something colorful, like my granddaughter-in-law, who is pale and tender, like a little yellow flower by the roadside. Dacron clothes are light and comfortable."
Gao Rong smiled; she was clearly a little vain to have worn the new clothes.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Dacron is cheaper than cotton. It only costs half the price of cloth coupons. Besides, you old ladies are making clothes for your new daughter-in-law. Why don't you buy some better quality ones? This set of Dacron has many flaws. The dyeing is uneven and there are color differences. It must be a defective product that was cleared out."
Everyone else was stunned, including Sister Gao. For ordinary people, they really couldn't tell whether it was a defective product or not, or whether the color was different. Most people on the street were either white or gray, or blue and green. When this yellow Dacron dress came out, it was a refreshing sight. No one could tell anything else.
Ms. Gao: "No wonder. The colors are nice, but something just doesn't feel right."
"Xiao Qin, you're wearing cotton clothes, but the cotton is really nice. I was wondering how you chose this cotton."
At that time, the quality of cotton fabric was not very good, and there were often flaws such as mismatched patterns. Ordinary people just needed to wear it and didn't care much about the quality.
"Grandma, if you want to show off, don't do it in front of experts. We ordinary people think it looks good as long as it's not patched up."
Grandma Gou was embarrassed, and Gao Rong's joy faded a bit as well. At this moment, she also felt that the coloring was indeed uneven.
Grandma Gou: "Director Qin, if you're so promising, when will we be able to wear the polyester fabric from your factory? Then we'll see if there are any problems."
She was deliberately being sarcastic. I heard from Sister Gao that they produce military cloth, but I doubt they'll ever be able to produce something as good as Dacron.
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Don't worry, we'll see each other next year."
Sister Gao was shocked: "No, Xiao Qin, are you talking about 'Dacron'? Isn't that something only found in big cities? Your place...aren't we a manufacturer of military cloth?"
"We mainly produce military cloth, but I have also applied for some chemical fiber material allocations, which can be used to make polyester-cotton blends, also known as 'Dacron'."
Sister Gao exclaimed excitedly, "Then we'll be able to buy it next year too? I heard this stuff is really hard to find in big cities! You have to queue up overnight to buy it!"
"Little Qin, are you serious?"
“Of course, my sister-in-law is very capable.” Li Jinling chimed in from the side. She didn’t actually understand anything about Dacron and polyester-cotton blends, but anyway, her sister-in-law was amazing.
Sister Gao: "Xiao Qin, from now on, the clothing problem for all the families in our compound will depend on you."
Qin Xiang thought to himself, "If you can't rely on me, then just overthrow me as the factory manager."
When the school year started, Qin Xiangxiang and Li Jianzhi took their son to school together, mainly to familiarize themselves with the place, meet the teachers, and tour the school. Li Jianzhi was very curious about what primary schools looked like in this era.
This military children's primary school is very large and spacious. It was formed by merging several primary schools in the 1960s. The infrastructure is well-developed. An army artillery regiment is stationed behind the school, and students can see various cannons in the school.
Many students live on campus, while only those living on the main island walk around. As a result, there are many dormitory buildings and large public bathhouses.
This large public bathhouse, though called a bathhouse, is actually more like a swimming pool. Young children, regardless of gender, all bathe in the mixed-gender bathhouse—a super large pool.
It's called a bath, but it's more like playing in the water; it's a swimming pool.
Older children have separate shower stalls for boys and girls. Of course, shy younger children who don't want to shower in the mixed showers can also go to the separate stalls to shower and change.
However, the children all like the mixed-gender public bathhouse because they can gather together to play in the water and have water fights. Some girls may be a little shy and timid, but the boys are all quite wild.
"I've arranged for you to be a day student, so remember to come home on time."
"The teachers will bring the children back together. There are several teachers in the residential compound, and they will organize them after school."
Little Fatty: "Don't worry, I'll definitely be home on time!"
If he doesn't come home on time, his parents will probably sneak him some treats again! Little Fatty is angry.
The first-grade homeroom teacher was a round-faced woman with a baby face and short hair. Her surname was Lan. After looking at Xiao Pang's information, Teacher Lan asked in confusion, "Li Qingfeng, he's only five years old? Is there a mistake in the age registration?"
Li Jianzhi: "That's right, the child is just over five years old."
"It's being raised very well."
Qin Xiangxiang sighed: "The main thing is that he eats everything with relish, even pig feed."
She just couldn't understand how someone as picky as herself could have given birth to a son who would eat anything.
The child's father, on the other hand, loves to boil and steam food every day.
Teacher Lan smiled and said, "This child is easy to raise and is very healthy. He is probably the youngest in our first grade. All the other children are six or seven years old, and there are also eight or nine-year-olds."
"Eight or nine years old is too late. Is it because the age was recorded incorrectly that they are only in first grade?"
"Something must have held you up; one of the students injured his arm."
Teacher Lan: "Don't worry, he's young. I'll help him keep an eye on things. If he falls behind, it's okay for him to repeat a grade. Parents, don't worry too much. After all, he's very young, so it's normal for him to fall behind."
Li Jianzhi: "It doesn't matter to him when he studies."
Teacher Lan: "Comrade Li, are you from the Army?"
Based on Teacher Lan's many years of teaching experience, although parents in the Navy are no longer required to improve their children's grades, those in the Army tend to be more concerned about their children's academic performance, while parents in the Army tend to be more hands-off.
Furthermore, parents are polarized: some parents who care about their children's studies care a lot, while others don't care at all.
Qin Xiangxiang: "He's a veteran of the navy for over ten years, and he's particularly skilled at killing fish."
Li Jianzhi: "..."
Fatty: "?"
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