Chapter 48, Cheers!
Lin Qingqing's honeymoon wasn't as long as Xie Wei's; she went back to work after three days.
After the chaos of the first half of the year, the Women's Federation office is not as busy as before. Li Dongmei may look young, but she is very reliable and handled things without any problems during Lin Qingqing's three-day leave. So after returning to work, Lin Qingqing only spent the morning getting to know Li Dongmei's work situation over the past few days, and then went to the garment factory in the afternoon.
In fact, after the garment factory was running smoothly, Lin Qingqing intended to step back from management, so Xie Baoshan was usually in charge, and she only went there when there was something to do.
She went there in the afternoon to discuss with Xie Baoshan the things she had promised Xu Lina and Xie Shan. She had also thought about it over the past few days and realized that Xu Lina and Xie Shan alone were not enough. To gain recognition and market share in the shortest possible time, more people needed to join.
Therefore, Lin Qingqing planned to have the garment factory workers go back and mobilize their relatives and friends to advertise for the factory. However, simply giving away clothes wouldn't work. One or two pieces of clothing wouldn't be enough to motivate people to work hard, while giving away too many clothes would increase the factory's production pressure, and people wouldn't be able to wear them all. Selling them would easily become speculation.
Finally, Lin Qingqing decided to adopt the micro-business agent model, but due to the limitations of the times, the form was different. Modern micro-business involves agents getting goods from the headquarters and selling them themselves; no employment relationship is formed between the two parties.
Now, to avoid the risks of speculation and profiteering, Lin Qingqing decided to recruit agents on a contract basis. Agents would receive a commission for each order they secured. This way, agents faced no risk and could earn extra income simply by working hard. For the garment factory, this meant gaining a group of employees who didn't require a base salary.
Moreover, the agents are not limited by location; they can even exclude Yutian Commune and invite people from other communes, or even counties, cities, and provincial capitals.
After listening to Lin Qingqing's idea, Xie Baoshan pondered for a long time and said, "What if they don't bring any orders?"
“No orders mean no commission. For us, it’s just the loss of a sample garment,” Lin Qingqing replied.
Xie Baoshan fell silent after hearing this. As Lin Qingqing said, the benefits of this method were obvious, while the downsides were merely the loss of a sample garment and the commission they would have to pay the agent for any orders they brought in. But with orders, the garment factory could survive and even expand, so such an expense was insignificant.
After consideration, Xie Baoshan agreed to Lin Qingqing's proposal and convened a meeting of leaders at all levels of the garment factory to discuss the matter.
The factory director and deputy factory director both agreed, and the others...
Naturally, no one objected, and so the matter was settled. The next morning, Xie Baoshan convened a general meeting of all employees to announce the matter.
Hearing that there would be commissions for getting orders, many employees were eager to try. Although agents could only be people outside of Yutian Commune, everyone has relatives in their family.
On the second day of the meeting, many people from Xingfeng Brigade went to visit relatives in other communes. Some relatives who lived far away wrote letters to them to discuss the agency arrangements. Not only brigade members, but also many educated youth from the brigade wrote letters to their families. For a time, stamps from Xingfeng Brigade were in high demand.
On the third day of the meeting, people began arriving at the Xingfeng Brigade Garment Factory, all there to discuss agency partnerships. After screening, the garment factory selected three agents, all from nearby communes.
On the fourth day of the meeting, Xu Lina sent back a letter, bringing Xingfeng Garment Factory its first order. Although the order was small, only fifty pieces of clothing, it was a reassurance. Those who were initially worried and anxious breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the order.
Secretary Zhao, who had initially had reservations about the garment factory's decision, fell silent after reading Xu Lina's letter.
As this was the first order from outside the county, Xie Baoshan attached great importance to it and personally led a team to the county town, successfully signing the contract. Following the signing of the county town order, good news also came from other communes one after another. Although they were all small orders, they accumulated and put considerable pressure on Chen Xiufang, the production director, who then asked Xie Baoshan to recruit workers.
...
When Xingfeng Garment Factory launched its third round of recruitment with great fanfare, Lin Qingqing had already handed over her work.
Nominated by Lin Qingqing and decided upon after discussion at a brigade meeting, Chen Xiufang was appointed as the deputy factory director. As for the Women's Federation, it was much simpler. Li Dongmei had been busy with various tasks at the Women's Federation for the past six months, and the leaders of the commune's Women's Federation remembered her. It was only natural for her to take over the work after Lin Qingqing left.
After handing over her work, with only two days left before Xie Wei's vacation ended, Lin Qingqing stopped going to the brigade headquarters and the clothing factory and stayed at home preparing the things she would bring with her to the army.
If it were according to Lin Qingqing's style from her previous life, she would definitely only bring a few clothes and buy the rest when she got there. But these days, you need ration coupons to buy everything, and they didn't have enough coupons to buy all the daily necessities, so they brought everything they could.
So I quickly packed it into two large woven bags and a few smaller bags as well.
After packing, Lin Qingqing felt that they had enough; they couldn't carry any more. However, Li Xingfang worried that Xie Weiyuan's customs were different from those of Shicheng, and she was afraid he might find it unpleasant.
Not used to the food there, I also packed two bags of pickled vegetables, some local specialties, and two pieces of cured meat left over from the New Year.
Originally, Li Xingfang wanted to kill the old hen that she had raised for half a year and let them take it away, but Lin Qingqing said that things don't keep well in the summer, and they didn't know what the situation would be like when they got there. The meat might spoil before they could cook it, so she gave up the idea.
Although she had dismissed the idea at the time, on the day they set off, Li Xingfang still got up early to kill the chicken, make a pot of chicken soup, and also cooked two fish, preparing a whole table of dishes to send them off.
Lin Qingqing was both amused and exasperated. Although she felt it was unnecessary, she knew that mothers always wanted to save the best food for their children, so she smiled and said, "How sumptuous! Thank you, Mother."
"There's no need to thank me. Just make sure you have a good meal and a safe journey," Li Xingfang said with a smile.
Since Xie Wei and Lin Qingqing were going to the commune to catch a bus after lunch, Xie Baoshan and Song Yan came home for lunch as a way of seeing them off.
During the meal, Song Yan asked about the situation in the army, mainly about how Lin Qingqing used to live.
"Once I get to the military base, I'll use my marriage certificate to apply for housing. It usually takes two or three days. The housing provided by the military comes with basic furniture. We'll see what else we need to add, and once it's all set up, we can move in," Xie Wei said simply.
Li Xingfang asked, "Where will Qingqing live before the house is finished?"
"We'll stay at the military district guesthouse," Xie Wei said.
"Is it convenient?" Li Xingfang was a little worried and wanted Lin Qingqing to stay at home for a while until Xie Wei had finished setting up the house and everything else before going over.
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "There's nothing inconvenient about it. I stayed at the guesthouse for a while before I came to Xingfeng Brigade. It had a bed and cabinets, and the quilts were even thicker than at home. It was more comfortable to stay there than at home."
The guesthouse was a bit expensive, so Lin Qingqing had considered going to the military base later. But Xie Wei said she wouldn't be staying for more than a few days anyway, so she figured she might as well go with him this time. That way, the two of them could look after each other on the road, and she wouldn't have to travel alone while he worried about her at the base.
Hearing Lin Qingqing say this, Li Xingfang didn't say anything more, but asked, "Is the house fully furnished?"
"The major items are all ready; we'll add the smaller things gradually after we settle in," Xie Wei said.
Hearing that he had made all the arrangements, Li Xingfang remained silent. Xie Baoshan, however, remembered something and asked, "What about your sister-in-law's job? Should we wait for the Women's Federation to take over, or wait for arrangements from higher authorities?"
"We'll wait for instructions from above," Lin Qingqing said.
She has a formal position at the Women's Federation, and according to regulations, she should be able to be transferred there. However, whether she can be transferred depends on the personnel arrangements of the Women's Federation in the military. There must be a position available for her. According to Xie Wei's comrade-in-arms' experience, waiting for a year or two is considered fast, and it is common for it to be two or three years.
In the next two or three years, Lin Qingqing might get promoted, but even if she gets promoted here, there's no guarantee she'll get a position at the same level there. So, if she goes, she'll have to start all over again; if she doesn't go, she'll waste several more years.
Since that's the case, Lin Qingqing thought it would be better to go with the army now, do a good job in the new work assigned by the higher-ups, and strive for a raise in one year and a promotion in two years.
As the team leader, Xie Baoshan naturally hoped that Lin Qingqing could stay at home for a couple more years. After this expansion, the garment factory now had over one hundred employees. Xie Baoshan believed that, at the current rate of development, the garment factory would soon become a large factory with a thousand employees, and Lin Qingqing deserved much credit for all of this.
Lin Qingqing staying at the garment factory is not only beneficial to the factory's expansion, but also to her personal career development.
However, as the eldest brother, Xie Baoshan didn't want Xie Wei and his wife to be separated for a long time, so when Lin Qingqing decided to go with the army, Xie Baoshan didn't try to persuade her.
Now that he heard her say that, Xie Baoshan understood her decision.
As the old saying goes, gold shines wherever it is. Lin Qingqing has the ability to shine, and she won't be overlooked anywhere. Besides, she's young, and going to a new place might just be a new beginning for her.
Thinking of this, Xie Baoshan raised his glass and said, "Then I wish you a safe journey!"
Seeing her husband pick up his wine glass, Song Yan also picked up her tea glass and said, "Once you're settled over there, remember to send a telegram home."
“Writing a letter will do,” Li Xingfang quickly replied.
Lin Qingqing also raised her cup and said, "Thank you, brother, mother, sister-in-law. Don't worry, we will send a telegram back as soon as we get there."
Xie Wei then raised his glass and said, "Cheers."
Seeing the adults pick up their cups, Xie Yuanjiang and his sister also raised their cups of tea and shouted, "Cheers! Cheers!"
Author's Note: Second update.
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