Shen Mingzhi returned to her dormitory and took out her notebook to write down what she needed to do to contact Professor Zhang.
The next morning, she arrived at the factory early and used the only hand-cranked telephone in the factory office to contact Professor Zhang. The operator transferred her several times before finally getting through to the Haicheng Daily Chemical Research Institute.
"Professor Zhang, this is Shen Mingzhi from Baoli Cosmetics." She raised her voice, as if afraid of a bad phone signal, "I'd like to ask you about the export situation in person."
Professor Zhang's voice came from the other end of the phone: "A Mr. Zhou from Singapore is coming to our provincial capital next week. Baoli, please make the necessary preparations."
Shen Mingzhi gripped the receiver tightly. "Would you like to inspect our factory?"
"Well, if your production equipment is up to standard and your products are good, he will place a large order, at least 50,000 pieces," Professor Zhang said with a smile.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Shen Mingzhi thanked Professor Zhang and then went to find Director Sun after hanging up the phone.
"Fifty thousand boxes?" Factory Director Sun was so excited he almost jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking over the enamel mug in his hand. "That's half a year's output for our factory!"
After her initial joy, Shen Mingzhi calmed down. "Factory manager," she said, "international quality control standards are very strict. We must rigorously control the work appearance of the workers on the production line and maintain a clean and hygienic environment. I believe Professor Zhang recommended this client to us because our factory's imported equipment has a significant advantage."
Factory Director Sun nodded: "Of course. I'll have the factory make preparations. You should contact the technicians we sent to the island as soon as possible so they can return and start production as soon as possible."
“Okay.” Shen Mingzhi immediately agreed.
A week later, Mr. Lin arrived as promised.
He was a lean, middle-aged man, dressed in a sharp suit, and looked like he had just returned from overseas.
After touring the production line, he said to Shen Mingzhi, "Ms. Shen, the production line equipment is quite good, all imported, so the quality is not a problem. However, the face cream and similar products are still a bit outdated. Perhaps we should consider new products?"
Shen Mingzhi, who had already planned to produce women's foundation, primer, and sunscreen, immediately said upon hearing this, "Mr. Lin, we've sent technicians abroad. Once they return, samples of our new products will be ready, and we can send them to you for review."
Mr. Lin smiled and shook hands with her, "Then I look forward to your new products and hope they will surprise me."
Although he hasn't placed an order yet, Mr. Lin came because of the advanced equipment in the factory.
After seeing Mr. Lin off, Shen Mingzhi turned to go back to the factory, but as she turned around, she found Jiang Shaozhen standing under a tree not far away.
He was wearing faded blue overalls and holding a document in his hand.
Only when Shen Mingzhi noticed him did he dare to approach.
As he approached, Shen Mingzhi frowned and asked, "Why are you here again?"
Jiang Shaozhen approached and handed her the documents. "My dad managed to apply for support for Baoli. This is the list of support projects from the Municipal Construction Commission, and Baoli is listed first."
Shen Mingzhi paused for a moment, took the document, and immediately opened it. Sure enough, she saw that Baoli Daily Chemicals had been listed as a "key technological transformation enterprise" and would receive a low-interest loan of 500,000 yuan.
"You..." She looked up at him.
Jiang Shaozhen looked at her, and said cautiously and earnestly, "We're handling this officially. Baoli does meet the requirements; we just helped submit the materials."
Shen Mingzhi knew it wasn't that simple. Competition for these support programs was fierce; without strong connections, you simply couldn't get a spot.
"Thank you," she said softly, "but this is what the factory owes you, not my personal money. If the factory has anything good in the future, I'll give your mother a share first. I'm busy with work here, so I'll be going now."
Jiang Shao Chen's eyes dimmed for a moment, then returned to calm. "I know. Are you free tonight? The child has a fever."
Shen Mingzhi's heart tightened. "Is it serious?"
"He has a low-grade fever; we've already taken him to the hospital," Jiang Shaozhen said. "My mom took care of him all night and is now asleep from exhaustion. The children have been crying a lot these days because they haven't seen you; even Zhouzhou, such a well-behaved child, has started throwing tantrums."
Shen Mingzhi clenched the documents in her hand. She had been very busy during the day, but when she returned to her dormitory at night, she missed Niannian and Zhouzhou.
"I'll go after get off work."
...
Three days later, a brand-new filling machine arrived at Baoli Chemical.
Shen Mingzhi stood at the factory gate, watching the workers unload the goods, and a huge weight was finally lifted from her heart.
This machine was urgently allocated from Haicheng through Professor Zhang's connections, at a price 20% lower than the market price. Knowing that she was going to produce a new product that would make women more beautiful, he immediately bought one for her.
"Comrade Shen, you're really something!" Factory Director Sun gave a thumbs up. "You even managed to get your hands on such in-demand equipment."
Shen Mingzhi laughed and said, "I don't have that ability; Professor Zhang helped me. By the way, this machine is very delicate; we need to send two teams of maintenance workers to keep an eye on it day and night."
Factory Director Sun said, "That's a must. This machine is like our factory's own child; the whole factory has to protect it!"
Shen Mingzhi couldn't help but chuckle and shook her head. This machine was related to the livelihoods of all the factory workers, and also to whether she could gain a foothold at Baoli.
The machine installation and debugging went smoothly, and production could begin that very evening. Shen Mingzhi personally supervised the filling of the first batch of face cream to ensure everything went perfectly.
At 2 a.m., Shen Mingzhi finished her inspection and prepared to return to her dormitory to rest.
As she walked out of the workshop, she was surprised to find Jiang Shaozhen standing in the open space where the factory used to do morning exercises.
"Why are you here again?" she asked as she walked over.
Jiang Shaozhen handed her an aluminum lunchbox. "Aunt Wang insisted I come, saying the food at the factory isn't very good, and she wanted me to bring you some good food to nourish your body."
Shen Mingzhi took the lunchbox, the aroma of steaming braised pork wafting towards her. She was indeed hungry, so she didn't refuse, "Thank you."
"Professor Zhang said he introduced you to a new machine. Is the installation going smoothly?" Jiang Shaozhen asked.
"It went very smoothly. The machine is great; it's brand new and works really well," Shen Mingzhi replied simply, then lowered her head to eat her braised pork.
She hadn't eaten in a long time, and was immediately captivated by the aroma, eating several pieces before realizing that Jiang Shao Chen was still there.
Jiang Shao Chen saw her bright eyes fall on him and the corners of his lips curved slightly. "As expected, you really appreciate Wang Sao's cooking. But I'll be busy at the construction site these few days, and I'll probably be busy for a while. If you want to eat, I'll have Wang Xinian deliver it to the factory."
"No need, you go about your business," Shen Mingzhi waved her hand.
My anger towards him seemed to diminish considerably with each time he approached me.
"Then I'm leaving. I'll come back next time to get my lunchbox." Jiang Shaozhen said suddenly as he watched her eat heartily with her lunchbox in her arms, his tone filled with reluctance.
“Cheng…” Shen Mingzhi pretended not to care and didn’t even look up at him.
She only looked up quietly after he had walked away.
Watching his figure recede into the distance, Shen Mingzhi suddenly felt that the braised pork in her mouth didn't taste so good anymore.
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