"Ugh! I've been tricked. They put me in charge of finances, I thought it would be easy? But who knew they had no money? What's the point of managing anything if there's no money?"
Both Liang Yongmin and Wei Huaqiang sympathized with Zhang Hongmei.
"Hey students, can you think of some projects we can do during our breaks so we students can earn money ourselves?"
"Zhang, this is difficult. Someone suggested it before, but there aren't any projects available."
"Liang, you all have jobs, think about whether there's anything we can do?"
Liang Yongmin fell into deep thought; it was hard to say.
"There are some handicraft jobs that aren't suitable for us; we don't have the time. I work in a cotton mill; I can get the fabric, but what about making clothes?"
Zhang Hongmei slammed her hand on the table, wincing in pain, and shook it vigorously. "I can draw clothing patterns. If we don't have time, we can ask any idle old ladies at home; as long as they have fabric, that will do."
"Liang, how much fabric can you get?"
"But what about sales channels?"
"How about this, I have some fabric at home. I'll go back and draw the pattern, then find someone to make it. Shall we go to the building and ask? This isn't a personal matter, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
“Class monitor, I can make clothes. Just cut them out and give them to me. I can finish them in one night.” Lu Yue turned around and volunteered.
"No, I brought it over this morning. Could you find someone who's good at sewing during your break and finish it before lunch tomorrow?"
“Okay, I’ll go ask right away.” Lu Yue immediately got up and went to look for it.
"Liang, can you think of a way to get us as many defective or genuine products as possible?"
"Okay, I'll write the letter right away and mail it today."
"What about me? What can I do?"
"Why don't you ask if there's anyone in our class who's particularly talented at drawing?"
"What's the point of this? Nobody buys paintings anyway."
Zhang Hongmei looked at Wei Huaqiang as if he were an idiot. "You want to teach them how to draw clothes? What are you thinking?"
"Oh, oh. I'll go ask right away."
Zhang Hongmei didn't know if this was feasible, but with food shortages and ordinary people not having much money, she could only try to find a way to make ends meet with clothing.
Honestly, I have to play the role of a designer myself. All I can do is steal the designs from my past life; I can't create anything new. I don't have the brains for it.
After school that evening, Zhang Hongmei knocked directly on Aunt Feng's door.
"Rare guest! Have you just gotten out of school? Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Aunt Feng, I just wanted to ask if there are any aunties or grandmas who would be willing to help sew clothes. They're all pre-cut, so it's fine as long as they're finished."
"Is there really such a good thing? There aren't many families where both parents work, so people would fight tooth and nail for something like this."
"Hehe, I was just asking. I haven't decided yet, but if such an opportunity really comes up, I will definitely ask Aunt Feng."
"Thank you so much. You still think of your aunt when something good happens."
"Auntie, it's not certain yet."
"It's alright, I'm glad you had the thought in mind. Your aunt knows how kind you are."
"Okay, I'll go home now. You go ahead with your work, Auntie."
Zhang Hongmei returned home, cooked herself a bowl of noodles, and then went into her personal space.
But she really had no idea what to do. Suddenly she stood up and spent a long time picking through the warehouse. She remembered the once-famous sailor shirt. Her own shirt belonged to her mother. Back then, Xiao Tai liked it very much, so her mother found it and handed it to her. Zhang Hongmei still remembered that her mother said that she bought it in 1976 and had never been willing to wear it.
But the fabric for that sailor shirt is definitely not available now, and a non-elastic top wouldn't be comfortable to wear.
Then I thought of my own Zhongshan suit, and then I thought of a Lenin suit. If that doesn't work, I'll just combine the two styles.
He took out a piece of cotton cloth, intending to try it out first, but he wasn't even sure he dared to cut it. After gesturing for a long time and still not daring to, he simply decided to go all out and disassemble the jacket of his Zhongshan suit.
It was disassembled into pieces, and then each piece was laid out on a piece of cotton cloth and cut out according to the pattern.
That should work. I'll take it to the school tomorrow and have Lu Yue sew it on. As for the buttons, I don't have any myself, but I'll figure that out later.
The next day when he arrived at school, Lu Yue was waiting for him.
"Class monitor, did you bring it? We'll do it during break time."
Zhang Hongmei handed the cloth bag to Lu Yue, saying, "It's up to you now."
Lu Yue was really capable. By lunchtime, the three of them had actually finished, and they even sewed on the two large pockets of the Zhongshan suit.
"Squad leader, this uniform is so beautiful. You saw it when I tried it on just now, right? I think it would look even better if it were made of blue denim or thick, muslin fabric."
"Wait a minute, everyone. I'll take two minutes of your time. Lu Yue, please put on this dress and give me your feedback."
Lu Yue stood awkwardly on the podium, while the students below whispered among themselves. The younger girls, in particular, all said she looked good, and the middle-aged female students agreed.
"Okay, thank you everyone. Liang, does your cotton mill have thick fabric?"
"Yes, there are green and blue ones."
"That's good. I'll wait for your good news."
Zhang Hongmei saw everyone's feedback and knew that the garment would be well-received.
Lu Yue carefully folded the package and handed it to Zhang Hongmei.
After finishing our meal, we went to the student union office, where all eight of us were already there.
"Does everyone have any ideas?"
Several people shook their heads.
Zhang Pengfei was somewhat troubled. "I thought of a few solutions, but they all seemed unfeasible. We don't have start-up capital or manpower."
"Me too. I was thinking that it would be great if I could open a restaurant, but where would we get the food?" Du Mingqi also felt that his idea wouldn't work.
Yu Hongxia: "I think, shouldn't we find a factory to cooperate with?"
"What can we do? Whatever we do, as long as it's related to a factory, we'll need equipment, right?" Wang Jingchang asked rhetorically.
Cheng Guangxu suddenly stood up and said, “Vice Chairman, I think we can publish books, poetry collections, essays, and even compile exercise books.”
"Okay, Cheng Guangxu's idea is very good. I agree, but poetry collections and essays are for later. We won't publish books, but we'll publish study newspapers. Everyone here is a top student, so we can publish study newspapers and send them to the teachers of each subject in high school and junior high school. This will give many students a real opportunity to practice exercises."
"I suggest Cheng Guangxu write a detailed report. Cheng, which of us do you need help with? I'll find you an assistant to help you refine the report."
“Vice Chairman, then please ask Senior Yang Yongxin for help.”
"Okay, Senior Yang, it's up to you two."
Does anyone have any other ideas?
Several people shook their heads. Zhang Hongmei took the cloth bag from the table and untied it.
"Hao Dan, please try on this dress. I cut it out last night, and my classmates made it during our break today."
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