When Director He came downstairs after receiving the message, he saw that Ling Huanwu had brought the goods so quickly, and his face darkened. "Comrade Ling, I already told you that if there were no problems with your next batch of goods, we would cooperate again. Why did you bring the same old batch again!"
He assumed Ling Huanwu had ignored his words, and his expression darkened.
Ling Huanwu smiled and patted the goods on the truck, raising her voice, "This batch of goods is definitely better than the last one, Director He, you've come at the right time, I'll find a model to wear them for you to see!"
As she spoke, she opened the bag and found a set of oversized work clothes.
With a single glance, Zhou Jiuzhen immediately understood and began to unbutton his military uniform.
The young women from the neighboring supply and marketing cooperative, who happened to be arriving for work at the same time, stopped and craned their necks to watch what was happening in the store.
As the man undressed, the muscles in his forearms tensed with the movement, revealing the clear texture of the skin beneath, a sight that made one dizzy.
The muscles weren't the kind of bulging, knotted blocks, but rather smooth, firm lines, like meticulously polished steel bars.
The moment the military green shirt was taken off, everyone's eyes fell from top to bottom on the man's narrow and powerful waist and abdomen.
The little girls' eyes widened, they covered their mouths, and they were already screaming themselves hoarse inside.
The perfect curve cinched by the belt, with the faint outline of the abdominal muscles visible through the thin fabric, was a mark left by years of intense training that even a year of lying down couldn't erase.
Ling Huanwu was equally dumbfounded, because there were still several scratch marks on his back from a few days ago, and she didn't know if those scratch marks were still there.
Her face flushed red, she hurriedly grabbed the newly disassembled work clothes, wanting to put them on him immediately. However, Zhou Jiuzhen glanced at a large group of young girls not far away, who were even faster than her and quickly put on their clothes in a few moments.
It was as if they were afraid that if he waited even a moment longer, his male virtues would be ruined by those young girls.
Director He looked at Zhou Jiuzhen's clothes, his gaze lingering on the five-pointed star embroidery on the collar of his work uniform. He lowered his voice and scolded, "Nonsense! You think just because there's a five-pointed star embroidered on it, this batch of clothes is different from the previous ones, or better than the old ones..."
It wasn't until Ling Huanwu pulled on the elastic band of the sleeve, causing the sleeve to bulge, and then squatted down to tighten the elastic band of the trouser leg, that the style of the entire outfit changed drastically from before.
Ling Huanwu rolled up her trouser legs, revealing Zhou Jiuzhen's taut calves, and explained the purpose of the elastic band as she did so.
Similarly, she rolled up Zhou Jiuzhen's sleeve, revealing his forearm with clearly visible veins, signaling him to move and demonstrate the practicality of the clothes during work.
Zhou Jiuzhen obediently performed a whole set of punches on the spot, leaving the people around him dumbfounded.
Especially the group of young women coming to work, they all seemed to have lost their souls, their legs numb as they walked to work, their souls left behind.
Director He watched the whole thing, his smile never fading. "Xiao Ling, you've given me a huge surprise! I'll have someone put the clothes on the rack right away."
Zhao Jingxiang, his eyes wide, stopped Director He, saying, "Didn't we already agree to distribute this batch of goods? How can we take their goods again?"
"Hey, Director Zhao, what do you mean by 'we need their goods again'? Their goods are different from yours, you've seen them yourself!"
Director He shrugged, his eyes lingering between the two batches of goods. "How about this, we put both batches on the shelves together and see which one is more popular, okay?"
These words were so well-chosen that Zhao Jingxiang was unable to refute them for a moment. He could only glare at Zhou Jiuzhen, who was smiling as Ling Huanwu wiped his sweat, and reluctantly agreed.
*
As soon as the last latch was removed from the wooden door of the supply and marketing cooperative, a dark mass of people surged in like a tide.
I heard early this morning that a sign was hung at the entrance of the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative that they would be putting on the same style of work clothes as those in the department store. The sign clearly stated: "The same style of work clothes as those in the state-owned department store costs two yuan more per foot of cloth coupon, while the ones from the Wantan Island Cooperative cost five mao more and require an additional two inches of cloth coupon."
The customers had no idea about the Wantan Island Cooperative; as soon as they entered the supply and marketing cooperative, they rushed towards the same work clothes worn by state-run department stores.
"This work uniform from the state-run department store is much more cost-effective! I heard it was produced by the city's garment factory, so it's much cheaper to buy it at the supply and marketing cooperative."
"Hurry up! I heard it's a limited edition, and if we're any later, they'll be gone..."
The crowd shouted and jostled towards the counter on the left.
When Ling Huanwu and Zhao Jingxiang arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, they saw customers frantically grabbing the batch of work clothes that Zhao Jingxiang had brought for distribution.
Zhao Jingxiang stood behind the counter, glancing smugly at Ling Huanwu's booth across the street. There was only a newly hired saleswoman there, not even wearing a decent uniform, clumsily hanging up clothes.
Seeing this scene of differential treatment, Ling Huanwu knew that it was entirely Zhao Jingxiang's doing.
From the initial promotional display at the opening to the subsequent recruitment of shills to spread the word among the crowd, and even the removal of the sales staff from the final booth, it was all an attempt to completely humiliate their cooperative.
"Comrade Ling, no offense," Zhao Jingxiang said loudly, "work clothes are all about being sturdy and durable. What's the point of fancy designs? At this price, you're probably going to be stuck with these clothes!"
Ling Huanwu didn't respond, but silently placed a dark blue work uniform in the most conspicuous position.
"Jiuzhen, could you help me hang my clothes on the wall?"
Zhou Jiuzhen didn't say much, but understood immediately. He took a chair, put on their shrink-fit work clothes, rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs, and stepped onto the chair to hang up his clothes.
Zhou Jiuzhen was already tall, and now that he was standing on the chair, his upright military posture and smooth back lines immediately attracted the attention of a group of aunties at the opposite booth.
He moved the chair around, carefully hanging up the clothes.
In an instant, guided by the aunties' gazes, almost all the customers picking out clothes at the opposite booth turned their attention to Zhou Jiuzhen, who was hanging up clothes.
"Why do the work clothes that this handsome young man is wearing seem to shrink? Look at how his sleeves and trouser legs don't fall down when he's working!"
"There's a five-pointed star on the collar, it looks even better..."
Just as everyone was discussing this, an auntie wearing a traditional Chinese jacket squeezed through the crowd, frowned, and tentatively asked, "Your work clothes are more expensive than the clothes from the city's garment factory, and you need more cloth coupons. Why is that?"
“Auntie, look here.” Ling Huanwu pointed to the cuffs and gently pulled them, and the rubber bands hidden inside immediately tightened. “When doing farm work, I’m afraid dust will get into the cuffs, so I can tighten them by pulling them up; when I’m working normally, I find them too tight, so I can loosen them and they’re just ordinary cuffs. The trouser legs have the same design.”
The aunt and the man were stunned for a moment, then reached out and touched it: "Is this rubber band sturdy? Don't let it break after wearing it for two days."
"Don't worry, the rubber bands are wax-treated, making them three times more durable than ordinary ropes," Ling Huanwu said, picking up a sample next to her for him to see. "Look at these stitches; they're all double-stranded, 30% denser than the single-stranded ones used in the market."
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