Chapter 259
Qin Xiang was a little surprised, "I'm going to present the awards?"
She laughed and waved her hand, "Professor, forget it. I prefer to be a spectator."
Professor Sun laughed. "This is a requirement from the other two schools. Many people would like to take this opportunity to get to know you. If possible, they would also like you to give a speech about your entrepreneurial history and your struggles."
Qin Xiang was speechless, a little embarrassed. "This is so bad. Everyone has to wait for the government to assign them jobs after graduation, and I'm going to give a speech..."
She didn't know what to say. Intellectually, she thought this was an opportunity for everyone to get to know her and also an opportunity for her to expand her network. Maybe there really would be someone willing to work as a designer in her factory after graduation instead of accepting the job assigned by the state.
But... at least she should be humble and explain the interests involved to the professor, so that she won't say anything she shouldn't and cause trouble for the school.
Professor Sun was very open-minded. He immediately understood her concerns and laughed. "Alright, go ahead. The two schools raised this issue, and we've held a meeting to discuss it. The country is promoting the development of the individual economy. Schools are places to cultivate talent, so it's not a bad idea to encourage individual development."
He had already said that, so if Qin Xiang continued to be modest, it would be a bit too modest. "Okay, I understand. I'll think about how to say it at noon."
Professor Sun said meaningfully, "Qin Xiang, I know you're eager to hire some designers, but the choice is up to the individual, understand?"
Qin Xiang knew that he meant well and told her not to be too eager for quick success. If it were someone else, they might not bother to tell her that. She was not the kind of person who didn't know what was good for her, so she nodded immediately, "Professor, I understand."
After talking to Professor Sun, Qin Xiang hurried to the cafeteria. Guan Yuping and others had already prepared food for her, so she sat down and ate the ready-made meal.
They didn't ask why Professor Sun wanted to see her. They were all discussing who was most likely to win the grand prize.
The prize money for the special prize is high, and everyone wants to win it.
Guan Yuping asked, "Do you know who won the award?"
Qin Xiang was helpless. "I'm not a judge, how would I know who will win? Don't worry, we'll know tonight."
After dinner, she returned to the dormitory. It was too late to write the speech now. Fortunately, she had given a speech when she returned to Qingshui County before. Now she could almost finish it after some revisions.
There was another exam at two o'clock in the afternoon, and it was already five o'clock by the time I finished taking two subjects.
A few people hurried to the cafeteria to eat. At this time, there were fewer people in the cafeteria. Some majors had finished their exams and started their summer vacation.
While they were eating, they saw a lot of students coming in, some of whom looked unfamiliar.
Qin Xiang suddenly saw a familiar face and immediately smiled, "Senior Cao, Senior Ding."
Ding Zhihao and Cao Guanglin also saw Qin Xiang and came over to greet her. Qin Xiang introduced everyone and said with a smile, "Why are you in the cafeteria? Don't tell me you haven't eaten yet."
"I haven't eaten yet." Ding Zhihao said, "I heard that the food at Tsinghua University is delicious, so we might as well come over and try it. After we finish eating, we'll go straight to your auditorium."
There are quite a few students majoring in design in the three schools, but there are only about thirty students shortlisted for the selection. However, there are far more than that number coming now.
The Academy of Fine Arts has the largest number of students majoring in design, and many of them come at once.
Ding Zhihao, perhaps sensing Qin Xiang's confusion, explained, "Everyone thinks this is a good opportunity to learn. Even if you don't win an award, it's still good to come and see other people's designs and listen to the professor's comments."
He smiled as he spoke, "And when they heard that you, a hardworking and ambitious beautiful female classmate, sponsored this competition, even more people wanted to come and watch."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the Academy of Fine Arts, both boys and girls, couldn't help laughing.
Qin Xiang was also amused. He was just joking, so there was no need for her to take it seriously. She said, "Okay, okay, we at Tsinghua University welcome you. We're all design majors, so we can discuss this together."
She glanced at the time and saw that it was already late, so she urged, "It's getting late, let's go eat quickly."
Those who want to get food get food, and those who want to eat eat food.
Several boys chased after Ding Zhihao and asked, "Senior Ding, why don't you introduce us more?"
"What are you introducing?" Cao Guanglin couldn't help laughing. "Qin Xiang has a boyfriend."
He pointed to the library not far from the cafeteria window and said, "See? That new library at National Tsing Hua University was donated by her boyfriend. They're a strong man and a strong woman, and they're a perfect match when they stand together. Why would I stand with you? Go and get a gigolo."
Several people burst into laughter.
The boy who asked this question was a little unconvinced, "We will be great in the future, okay?"
"That's in the future. At least you can't catch up with them now," Cao Guanglin said. "I heard that Qin Xiang's factory is up and running. It might open in a few months. We can't catch up. We're not on the same level."
Everyone couldn't help but sigh that this person was really different from everyone else.
When they were admitted to university, everyone called them chosen ones.
But when I got to university, I found that there were people better than me. I was excellent, but others were not bad either. There were even people who were better and worked harder than me.
Ding Zhihao tried to smooth things over in a good-tempered manner, "Alright, hurry up and eat. It will be almost time after dinner. Study hard. Even if you can't catch up, don't fall too far behind."
Qin Xiang and others went ahead and went to the auditorium together.
The Great Hall of National Tsing Hua University can accommodate thousands of people at the same time. Next to the Great Hall there is a medium-sized auditorium that can accommodate 500 people. Today's award ceremony will be held in this medium-sized auditorium.
When Qin Xiang and the others went there, they saw members of the Art College Student Union busy preparing tables, chairs, and benches, as well as all the necessary projection equipment.
In every design competition, the winning works are projected and commented on by the professors who serve as judges.
The Excellence Award winners are not eligible for this award, but the Special Prize and first, second and third prize winners can have their awards projected on the screen and explained by the professor.
Nine professors from three schools took turns giving lectures, which was a rare learning opportunity.
Qin Xiang and the others had just sat down for a while when other students arrived.
According to the school division, students from Tsinghua University are in the middle, and students from Capital University of Fine Arts sit on both sides.
Although we are students from different schools, we all study the same major. It doesn’t matter what year we are in, as long as we can start a chat with someone we know.
Let’s talk about this competition and the fashion design industry.
Some seniors laughed and said, "When we first got into college, we knew we were going to study this, but we were so worried. What kind of clothes could we design? They could even be worn while sitting down. My parents were even worried about how we'd find jobs. But now, looking back, I'm glad we chose this major."
Another student asked, "So how was your internship?"
The smile on the senior's face turned bitter. "That's it. Everyone got here this way anyway. Just work your way up step by step. It's the same in every company. It's all based on seniority. So what if you're a college student? You have no experience. You just have to work your way up, unless your dad is the factory manager."
The senior's words silenced the people around him.
It was almost six o'clock at this time, and the nine professors from the three schools came over and took their seats.
The host of this award ceremony is also a student of Tsinghua University.
It was just a small award ceremony, nothing fancy. The host briefly talked about the original intention of the design competition and the subsequent handling, and then Professor Sun from Tsinghua University began to announce the list of winners.
The first award to be announced was the Excellence Award. A total of twenty designs were selected for the Excellence Award, and the twenty works were directly projected onto the screen so that the three design schools in the audience could see them clearly.
However, the delivery technology of that period was just so-so, so you can only see the general design, and the specific lines are not very clear.
Qin Xiang and the others were closer and could see more clearly, but the details of the ones behind them were not clear.
Zhao Wenna nervously scanned the area and breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm not there."
At this time Ming Chuanxiu smiled and said, "I have mine."
"And mine." It was Meilin who spoke, and she felt a little regretful.
"Whether you win the prize or not, come to my place after the exam and treat you to a meal."
Qin Xiang's words made everyone happy again.
Then the third prize winners were announced, also by Professor Sun. There were eight students in total, three from the Academy of Fine Arts, three from Tsinghua University, and two from Capital University. This time, Ding Xiang was selected.
As for Guan Yuping, she couldn't help but sigh, "I guess it's over for me."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Maybe he's ahead."
Zhao Wenna's fingers were sweating from nervousness. She looked at Qin Xiang and said, "I'm so nervous."
"Don't be nervous. I've seen your design. It's no worse than theirs. I think it might even rank higher."
Zhao Wenna grinned, but she was worried in her heart. She was confident that her design could win an award, but what award it was was not important, as one level could make a difference of several hundred dollars.
Seeing that she was nervous, Qin Xiang stopped talking.
Waiting for the works to be released one by one.
After the works were submitted, several professors who were interested gave their comments, and the students in the class followed the class, each holding a small notebook to take notes.
After the evaluation was completed, the second prizes were announced. There were four second prizes, two from Tsinghua University, two from Capital University, and none from the Academy of Fine Arts.
At first, the art students in the audience were a little unconvinced, but after the four designs were announced, they could not come up with anything else.
Whether it is creativity or layout, there is nothing wrong.
Of course, three of these four works were designed by senior students who have already graduated, and the remaining one was designed by a graduate student.
There are only two first prizes, and Professor Sun did not keep them secret. One is from Tsinghua University and the other is from the Academy of Fine Arts. The winner from Tsinghua University is Zhao Wenna.
Zhao Wenna felt relieved. "First prize is great, too. It's great."
"It's really good. We didn't even think we could win first prize."
Several people in the dormitory probably noticed Zhao Wenna's disappointment and made jokes to comfort her.
Qin Xiang just watched without saying anything. After a while, a classmate from the Student Union came over and called Qin Xiang, and Qin Xiang said, "I'll go over there."
She went backstage and waited for the host to call her. Then she came out and the audience burst into warm applause.
Qin Xiang felt that with the right time, right place and right people, it would be a shame not to dig some people out.
Qin Xiang took the list from Professor Sun and smiled, "I'm quite nervous."
Everyone in the audience started laughing.
Qin Xiang picked it up, took a look at it, and said with a smile, "Is this student who won the special prize a senior from the Academy of Fine Arts... or a senior?"
She kept it a secret for a while before saying, "This is Ding Zhihao, a senior from the Academy of Fine Arts. Congratulations, Senior Ding Zhihao."
As soon as the list was announced, everyone applauded.
This is what everyone expected. In the competition held in Haicheng last year, Ding Zhihao and Zhao Wenna won the first prize together. It seems normal for them to win the special prize now.
The prize money was delivered by Qin Xiang through He Liping, and was also awarded to the winning students during the award ceremony.
Ding Zhihao was very happy to receive the prize. He looked at Qin Xiang and suddenly said, "Junior sister, if it is held again next year, I will definitely participate."
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Of course I will do it. If possible, I would like to continue to hold it in the future."
"good!"
The students in the audience applauded and praised.
Taking advantage of this momentum, Professor Sun said, "Some people say they are curious about Qin Xiang. Our three schools have done some research. Let's ask Qin Xiang to tell us about her entrepreneurial history."
Talking about entrepreneurial history to college students is not exactly the same as talking about it to high school students.
Qin Xiang started by talking about how she had this idea, then went south to purchase goods, how she made her first pot of gold in Ningcheng, how she encountered her first difficulty in Ningcheng, how she planned to return to Qingshui County, and all the way to when she went to university and opened a store in the capital.
"Maybe some of you have heard that I have opened a factory. Maybe you can call me Director Qin when you see me in the future."
As soon as she finished speaking, the students in the audience started laughing, all of them were good-natured laughs.
Qin Xiang continued, "I love this industry, and I want to make it even better. I hope that one day I can bring Chinese clothing to the world and spread our thousands of years of fame. But..."
"But I'm not capable enough on my own. Many people might not understand why I'm organizing this competition. Wouldn't it be better for me to find mature designers and buy their designs? Of course, they're mature and experienced, but they're not necessarily more energetic than us, nor do they necessarily understand what kind of clothing young people in the new era need. Their minds might still be stuck in the old black, white, and gray. Our new-age clothing is colorful and vibrant. I hope more people will join me in this endeavor, do it right, and understand the needs of the times, rather than sitting in an ivory tower or office, drinking tea and reading the newspaper, repeating their old work day after day, trapped in the glory of the past."
There was silence in the audience, and everyone was looking at Qin Xiang. This was the first time for many of them to hear someone talk about their industry firsthand, and this person was someone of their age and lived among them.
While they were feeling complacent about their small achievements, their classmates had already opened nearly 20 branches, and their monthly shipments might be more than that of a state-owned factory.
Qin Xiang laughed. "I hope we can all make progress together. It doesn't matter whether we're self-employed or state-owned. A good company is one that allows us to learn and develop our strengths, to unleash our potential, and to make progress. Don't you agree?"
There was silence in the audience.
Someone suddenly shouted, "Yes!"
Qin Xiang looked over and found that the person who shouted this was Ding Zhihao, who had just won the special prize.
She laughed, and Ding Zhihao laughed too.
Ding Zhihao said, "Junior, I'm going to graduate school. After I graduate, can I come to your factory to be a designer?"
Qin Xiang smiled widely. This senior was really considerate. After the event was over, she would definitely give him a big red envelope for cooperating with her.
It is true that she had some insights when she said so much, and she did want to implicitly convey her idea of recruiting people.
Qin Xiang smiled and said, "Of course. I very much welcome classmates and alumni like Senior Ding to join my factory. Perhaps in a few years, we will all be veterans of the factory, and together we will witness the development and growth of the garment factory."
Ding Zhihao chuckled and said, "I heard you pay your employees high salaries. Do you like giving money?"
Everyone laughed.
Professor Xiang from the Academy of Fine Arts couldn't stop laughing. He coughed and said, "Student Qin Xiang, we're almost done."
Her purpose was so obvious that all the professors could see it.
Qin Xiang nodded and replied with a smile, "Okay, I won't say more. As long as everyone understands what I mean, I just want to say one thing: you are always welcome. I don't have any special qualities, I just like to give more money to outstanding people."
There was laughter from the audience.
The award ceremony ended in laughter.
When Qin Xiang walked out, she was almost surrounded and couldn't get out.
Maybe Qin Xiang was too good at fooling people, and there was actually a senior student who was about to graduate and came to Qin Xiang to ask about jobs.
Seeing that it was only a little after seven o'clock, Qin Xiang said, "Then let's go to the restaurant and chat. I heard there's a new coffee shop over there. I'll treat you to coffee."
When they heard that Qin Xiang wanted to treat them to coffee, many people became happy.
Guan Yuping couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid that everyone will go?"
Qin Xiang whispered, "Everyone needs a place to sit. They sell coffee, not boil water. How can they make so much?"
Qin Xiang had also heard about the coffee of this period. It was said that in the early days of the capital's coffee shops, 200 cups of coffee could be sold in a day. A pound of coffee cost less than five yuan, but 60 cups could be brewed, and each cup cost 40 cents, so the profit was very good.
The school cafe is not very big.
"I understand." Guan Yuping understood and pulled Dingxiang and the others over.
Ding Xiang and Ming Chuan Xiu were a little embarrassed. A cup of coffee cost only 40 cents. "We won't go. Let's go back and rest."
"It's okay, go ahead and study."
What to learn?
There are so many things worth learning from Qin Xiang.
Even though they were roommates in the same dormitory, most of the time Qin Xiang could only be seen during class because she was too busy.
Dingxiang and Mingchuanxiu discussed it and finally decided to go there shamelessly, but they made up their minds that if there was really coffee, they would pay for it themselves and there was no reason to let Qin Xiang pay for it.
But at this time, there are still many simple and honest college students.
Even though Qin Xiang offered to treat them to coffee, most of the people who went were students about to graduate. Some juniors or sophomores said, "We still have time, so let's not get involved for now."
Even so, there were more than twenty people following Qin Xiang to the coffee shop.
The cafe wasn't big, so Qin Xiang and the others sat in the cafeteria. While waiting for their coffee, Qin Xiang introduced the scale of her factory. She also said, "To be honest, I don't lack any workers right now. The only thing I lack is designers. If any of you are willing to come, I would be very welcome."
"I heard your factory is not in the capital?"
"No," Qin Xiang said regretfully. "We originally had our eyes on a piece of land and wanted to cooperate with the government, but our capital city is developing rapidly, and the urban area needs to develop further, so the land we were granted is a bit far away. After comparing several options, we finally chose Yong'an, which is about 40 minutes' drive from our university town. There are staff dormitories there, and they will build some more single rooms later to serve as dormitories for cadres or couples."
Qin Xiang explained it very clearly, and several students nodded frequently as they listened.
But Qin Xiang also knew that it was unrealistic for them to make up their minds to go to her right now, so they could only do it step by step.
Even if she could invite one after tonight, it wouldn't be a waste of her time.
While they were talking, the waiter in the cafe had prepared the coffee and brought it to them one by one.
Everyone took a sip of this luxury product cautiously. Some liked the taste while others frowned.
Everyone still finds these foreign things new and interesting, and no one is willing to give them up even if they don't like them.
Forty cents.
After drinking coffee, Qin Xiang told them about the current scale of her business and her future plans. Seeing that it was getting late, she said goodbye to everyone and left.
Some of them are from the Academy of Fine Arts and Capital University, so we have to hurry over there because everyone is taking their final exams these days.
When walking out, Ding Zhihao walked at the end and said to Qin Xiang, "Qin Xiang, what I said before was not a joke."
Qin Xiang looked at him and was stunned.
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