The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 233 Clothing Factory Opening, Bell-Bottoms Roll Off the Production Line

December 1978, 10.

The Haibin Daily published a lavish report with the headline "Warmly Celebrate the 29th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China! Unite and Strive to Build a Modern Socialist Power."

All the newspapers that day were related to National Day, except for a small section on the last page that introduced the opening of a small collective enterprise called Taishan Road People's Clothing Factory.

The People's Garment Factory benefited from the nation's good fortune; the factory's birthday is the same day as the country's birthday.

Cutting tables, sewing machines, raw fabrics, needles and thread—all the necessary materials were in place.

In this way, the factory opening will be a natural progression.

In addition, today is truly a good day. The weather is fine, and the autumn sky over the seaside is as blue as freshly dyed work cloth.

Qian Jin stood at the entrance of the new factory building, looking at the red lanterns hanging on the sycamore trees on both sides.

When the wind blows, the lanterns and leaves sway together, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground.

This attracted the attention of passersby:
Nowadays, even during festivals, red lanterns are rarely seen. The country lacks relevant production plans, so factories do not produce them, resulting in very few red lanterns available on the market.

But the red lanterns hanging on the trees along the roadside during National Day did create a festive atmosphere.

The sound of gongs and drums could be heard in the distance; it was the art troupe from Taishan Road performing.

There were large red banners everywhere, especially on the main streets and in factories.

The content above is similar; the four big characters "Happy National Day" are today's theme.

"Director Qian, over here!"

Qian Jin saw Wei Xiangmi and her men rushing over and waved vigorously.

Wei Xiangmi wore a brand new Dacron shirt today, with a shiny leader's badge pinned to the collar.

With a slight shift in social attitudes, this female director, who has always presented a serious and amiable image, has now also gotten her hair permed.

Wei Xiangmi had already seen him, so she smiled at him.

I also noticed the newly hung sign on the cement pillar at the factory entrance.

"Taishan Road People's Garment Factory"!
The eight large, gilded characters gleamed in the sunlight, the paint still slightly damp, emitting a faint smell of banana oil.

Wei Xiangmi reached out her hand to Qian Jin from across the street.

Qian Jin straightened the collar of his Zhongshan suit, feeling his palms were a little sweaty.

When Wei Xiangmi shook hands with him, she noticed the sweat: "Hey, Chief Qian, are you nervous or something? Your hands are sweaty?"

Qian Jin chuckled awkwardly, "It's hot, it's still hot."

In this situation, he was actually a little nervous.

It's not a clothing factory.

The garment factory will definitely have a great opening, then the business will flourish, and it will expand its scale and eventually create a famous brand.

What he's worried about right now is leading the team in the future.

More than forty female workers were crowded at the entrance, wearing brightly colored polyester shirts, like a flock of chirping sparrows.

At the very front, Zhang Hongmei, holding a wooden ruler, was scolding a young female worker who had been stealing face cream...

The old master still holds onto old ideas.

A generational gap has formed between us and young people, which is not a good thing.

He knew that there would definitely be some unexpected problems in the garment factory in the future. He hadn't considered this in advance, so he was somewhat nervous when he discovered the problem.

"Crackling..."

Firecrackers suddenly exploded, and red paper scraps fell like raindrops.

The female workers screamed, covered their ears, and shouted loudly in unison.

Zhang Hongmei and other experienced workers kept shaking their heads as they watched.

Hey, young people these days!

How can we entrust the new society created by the blood and sweat of our martyrs to you with peace of mind?
The smell of gunpowder mixed with the sound of firecrackers filled the morning air.

And so the garment factory started operations.

Qian Jin didn't invite any leaders. After all, it was just a small collective enterprise starting work, and he figured setting off a string of firecrackers would be enough.

However, the Taishan Road Labor Commando Team has many members and extensive connections.

This network of connections is neither related to Qian Jin nor something he can control. The team members, especially the female members who were newly recruited into the garment factory, invited their friends and family to visit the opening ceremony of their new factory.

So there were quite a lot of people there at this time.

Wei Xiangmi had discussed it with Qian Jin beforehand, and the two of them would go on stage one after the other to say a few words. At this time, a wooden platform was temporarily set up at the entrance.

Qian Jin stood on a makeshift wooden platform at the station, his voice amplified by a loudspeaker, producing a buzzing echo.
"Comrades, today is National Day, and it's also the opening day of our Taishan Road People's Garment Factory!"

He paused, looking at the expectant faces below and the huge crowd, and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride: "Although we are a collective enterprise, we must produce better products than state-owned factories!"

As Wei Xiangmi spoke through the loudspeaker, his gaze swept across the factory building.

The newly painted white walls still bear old slogans such as "Learn from Dazhai in agriculture, learn from Daqing in industry, and learn from the People's Liberation Army nationwide," but this is necessary.

These slogans will continue into the 21st century.

The spirit of Dazhai, the spirit of Daqing, and the spirit of the People's Liberation Army are also the spirit of their labor shock brigades.

Others felt nothing for the slogan.

It's mainly because we see too many of these slogans on a daily basis. In the last two years, things have improved because the national propaganda apparatus has shifted, and new slogans have started to appear.

In some years in the past, streets and factories were full of these kinds of slogans.

First-time visitors to the garment factory are drawn to the brand-new factory buildings, the rows of brand-new sewing machines, and the bright fluorescent lights:
"When did a new factory build here? We didn't notice it..."

"Look at all these sewing machines! Where did you buy them? Wow, so many! The labor commando team on Taishan Road is really capable..."

"It's because the team leader is capable; he works at the supply and marketing cooperative and is a high-ranking leader..."

"What brand of light bulbs are they using in their factory? They're so bright, they make the cement floor shine. But isn't that a waste in broad daylight...?"

After the speech, thunderous applause erupted.

This was applause from the team members themselves.

This is the first time in Haibin City that a proper factory has been set up with a labor shock brigade as the main force!
What were the labor shock brigades like in the past?
They were all a bunch of untrained soldiers who were then placed in small collective enterprises, which is naturally different from starting their own businesses.

Although……

The construction of this garment factory had little to do with the team members; it was all done by Qian Jin himself, who provided the connections, methods, and tools.

But just as Wang Dong thought.

Qian Jin is the chief captain, and the chief captain's achievements are the achievements of the assault team. The achievements of the assault team are also, in a sense, the achievements of the team members.

So we all deserve credit!
The massive assault team, now expanded to 140 or 150 people, received enthusiastic applause. Some, like Xu Weidong, were even raising their arms and waving enthusiastically to those around them.

Qian Jin kept looking at the face of the old man on the subway looking at his phone.

Anyone who didn't know better would think this guy won a medal at the Olympics!
Next, the team members lined up to visit the factory.

This is a collective enterprise, so naturally all team members need to understand the situation inside.

Once construction officially begins, visits will not be permitted as they can be made at will, to avoid disrupting normal production.

The warehouse has been reorganized, with separate areas for cutting, sewing, ironing, and finished products.

Zhang Hongmei led five retired female textile factory workers to the cutting area first, and then pulled up a brand new red cloth.

Underneath the red cloth is an electric cutting table.

This online store imports high-end goods!
Qian Jin finally managed to find a second-hand electric cutting table. Electric cutting tables and electric sewing machines left over from old state-owned enterprises in the 1970s are hard to find, since electric things are prone to aging and breaking down.

After the visit, Zhang Hongmei, the chief designer, led the applause.

The old lady had a loud and clear voice, and it seemed she could still dedicate herself to the socialist cause for another ten or eight years: "Now, please let Director Qian demonstrate the new products to us!"

"This is also the direction our garment factory will be focusing on going forward!"

Qian Jin opened his briefcase and took out a pair of neatly folded trousers.

The trousers were navy blue, and when unfolded, the legs stretched out like trumpet flowers in the morning breeze.

Qian Jin deliberately raised his trousers to let the sunlight shine through the wide trouser legs, casting wavy shadows on the ground.

“These are bell-bottoms,” he said loudly. “They’re modified based on the latest popular styles from abroad.”

A gasp of surprise erupted from the female workers.

A girl with braided pigtails couldn't resist reaching out and touching them: "Oh my, these trouser legs are really strange, they're even bigger than my umbrella!"

The female workers were all former female educated youth, so they paid more attention to new clothes in society.

They were the first to get excited, chattering away as they discussed:

“They’re bell-bottoms, Xiaojuan, haven’t you seen them before? My second sister has a pair, and she said all her female classmates from university wear them now.”

"Yes, bell-bottoms are so pretty! I wanted to alter a pair, but I didn't know how. Now, I can learn from the tailor how to alter the hems."

"It's not just the female students who wear them, the male students wear even more! Go look at the drivers these days, who doesn't wear bell-bottoms?"

Master Zhang Hongmei frowned.

She never expected that the new product Qian Jin asked her to announce would be something like this.

This veteran tailor, who had dedicated over twenty years to the cotton textile and garment industry of New China, immediately tucked his wooden ruler into his waistband and asked in confusion, "Chief Qian, have the production specifications for these trousers been approved?"

Qian Jin said, "Don't worry, it's been approved."

Then Zhang Hongmei said with difficulty, "What is this Production Planning Committee for?" She added, "Chief Qian, we shouldn't be producing this, right? Please don't blame me for spoiling this joyous occasion, but these pants... can we even wear them out?"

“I’m not some old-fashioned, stubborn person. Look at these trouser legs, and then look at mine,” she gestured to her own trouser legs. “If it snowed, these trouser legs could be used as brooms to sweep the snow, right?”

One of the visitors chuckled, "You won't need to sweep the floor in your factory anymore, haha, just have the workers wear these pants and walk around inside, and the floor will be spotless..."

More people burst into laughter.

Wei Xiangmi frowned.

Her sharp gaze swept into the crowd, and Xu Weidong, Wang Dong, Shi Zhentao and other team members immediately began to roll up their sleeves.

Damn it, are you trying to cause trouble?!

Qian Jin wasn't annoyed. He smiled and handed the trousers to Master Zhang, saying, "Please take a look and see how the workmanship is."

Zhang Hongmei really didn't mean to spoil the mood; she said those things out of good intentions.

Seeing that Qian Jin had made up his mind to produce the pants, she secretly shook her head and didn't say anything more. Instead, she took the pants and, as was her professional habit, examined the lining.

She pinched the seam of the trousers lining between her thumb and forefinger and couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh? This stitching is something else, it's not just a regular flat seam?"

Qian Jin genuinely didn't know what kind of stitching was used on the trousers, so he nodded mysteriously and asked with a smile, "Then can you figure out what it is?"

Zhang Hongmei laughed too: "This is no problem for us old sisters, it's a double-needle chain stitch."

She handed it to an older female worker next to her to see. A female worker named Cong Ermei said, "Yes, it's a double-needle chain stitch, a new technology that was specially learned from Shanghai in the 1970s. The resulting trouser seams are both sturdy and beautiful."

Zhang Hongmei's brows relaxed, but immediately furrowed again: "But this style of pants..."

"Chief Engineer Zhang, please rest assured about production. I want to say something here, something I think is very important." Qian Jin's smile faded, and his expression became serious.

"Our garment factory is called Taishan Road People's Garment Factory. Why did we choose this name? Because I have established a service philosophy for our factory, and I hope my colleagues can evaluate whether it makes sense."

"The idea is that we produce clothing based on the needs of the people!"

Xu Weidong immediately clapped: "Great! That's it! That's awesome!"

After whispering among themselves, the residents of the street who were visiting nodded in agreement, and many of them gave Qian Jin a thumbs up.

Zhang Hongmei nodded in agreement and asked, "Chief Qian, do you think our people would need these kinds of pants?"

Qian Jin said, "Yes, we'll need it soon. Chief Engineer Zhang, please feel free to lead the production team and carry out the production orders."

Having said that, Zhang Hongmei said loudly, "Okay, Chief Qian, you and the leaders can rest assured, I've checked these pants, we can produce them."

Qian Jin took out a thin booklet, which was full of hand-drawn illustrations of various bell-bottom styles.

He bought the sketchbook at the mall and then went to the seaside university to have a sketching teacher draw it one-to-one.

"How about you make a sample?" Qian Jin handed the booklet to Zhang Hongmei and pointed to the cutting area. "Use the batch of 65-count blended fabric that the No. 6 State-owned Cotton Mill delivered yesterday."

Zhang Hongmei readily agreed, "Then I'll give it a try first?"

Qian Jin and Wei Xiangmi extended their hands almost simultaneously: "Please!"

The electric cutting table started up, and the female workers exclaimed in amazement once again.

Zhang Hongmei stroked the smooth tabletop as if she were petting her grandson, then deftly spread out the fabric.

She doesn't use powder; she simply uses scissors to draw smooth arcs on the cloth, her movements so fast they're dazzling.

"These trouser legs need to be cut into an inverted flare shape..." she explained to the many female workers watching as she started working.

The master craftsman is truly different.

The scissors seemed to come alive in her hands, the blade moving like a dragon, smoothly cutting through the fabric: "Tighten the waist, loosen the hips, and start widening at the knees..."

Qian Jin stood aside, watching the sunlight stream through the high window and fall on Master Zhang's gray hair.

The rustling sound of the old tailor's scissors cutting through the fabric blended with the melody of "Singing for the Motherland" blaring from the street loudspeakers.

It feels amazing.

He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the side, watching.

Look at the crowd.

This was Zhang Hongmei's first time producing pants at her new workplace, so she was very careful and strived for perfection, which resulted in lower efficiency.

However, even so, it only took a little over half an hour.

Subsequently, the first pair of bell-bottoms was created.

Zhang Hongmei finally stepped off the sewing machine, and when she held up the finished product, the factory erupted in thunderous applause once again.

"Who wants to try it on?" Qian Jin looked around.

Zhang Hongmei added, "She's about 1.6 meters tall, I suppose."

The female workers looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward.

Finally, the girl who had dared to reach out and touch the sample earlier stamped her foot and said boldly, "I'll do it!"

She took the pants, ran to the temporary changing room, and came out awkwardly a minute later.

The sunlight shone directly on her.

Her khaki flared pants accentuated her long, slender legs, and the wide hems swayed gently with her steps, like two soft waves.

The female workers swarmed around, exclaiming "Wow!" and reaching out to touch and point at the objects, their emotions running high.

"No wonder everyone likes them, the styles are so fashionable!"

What shoes should I wear with this?

"Walking with a brisk pace..."

Zhang Hongmei stood to the side with her arms crossed, saying, "Xiao Juan, turn around so I can see."

Xiao Juan twirled around, her trouser legs forming a perfect circle.

Ms. Zhang's brows furrowed even more deeply. She privately told Qian Jin, "Director Qian, these pants... I'm afraid they won't sell."

She pointed to the hem of her trousers, "They're so wide, they use up so much fabric! Fabric coupons are so precious these days, how are we going to set a price?"

Qian Jin smiled without saying a word and took out a magazine from his briefcase.

The foreign model on the cover is wearing similar flared pants, with a New York street scene in the background.

He turned to the page with the folded corner and pointed to a passage underlined in red: "This thing has already sold many, many pairs overseas, and this style of pants isn't even very popular abroad anymore."

"Look, this is New York of American imperialism, and this is Tokyo of the Japanese devils. The foreign devils like these pants. Even if we can't sell them domestically after we produce them, we can still sell them abroad, right?"

"You know what position I hold at the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative, right? I'm the director of the Foreign Investment Office. We'll sell our goods abroad to earn foreign exchange for the country. What do you say?"

Upon hearing that they had the opportunity to generate foreign exchange for the country...

The old lady changed her attitude and immediately clapped her hands, her eyes glistening with tears: "Oh my, otherwise you wouldn't be a leader. So that's how it is!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely! If it can generate foreign exchange for the country, I'd be willing to break my old bones!"

"Girls, comrades, get ready to learn how to sew these bell-bottoms! I'll teach you everything I know!"

The idea of ​​generating foreign exchange for the country really spurred the old lady on.

The old lady experienced the suffering of the era when foreign powers carved up China, and she also experienced the horror of the Japanese invasion of China.

Therefore, she understands all too well why the word "country" is preceded by "family".

So she longs to see the day when her motherland becomes prosperous and strong.

If she could contribute to the arrival of this day, she would do her best without hesitation!
The female workers were still circling around Xiaojuan, and one of them excitedly said:
“I remember now! No wonder the name bell-bottoms sounded familiar. I saw it on the news at the Canton Fair this year—it's a foreign trade fair—and the Hong Kong and Macau merchants were wearing these kinds of pants!”

"Starting today, we'll go all out to produce bell-bottoms!" Zhang Hongmei shouted, clenching her fist to silence everyone. "The first batch of 500 pairs must be delivered in ten days, and I must personally inspect and approve them."

The phrase "can generate foreign exchange" transformed the most negative attitude towards bell-bottoms into the most positive.

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Forty comrades, go to your respective sewing machines and finish according to the pre-arranged groups. Old sisters, take good care of your apprentices."

"Did you all hear me? Everyone to your positions! I'm about to teach you the basic techniques for cutting this type of trousers. Anyone who doesn't learn it today isn't allowed to go home for lunch!"

Production has begun.

The factory came back to life.

The labor shock brigade led the visitors away; the "clattering" of the sewing machines sounded like rapid raindrops, and the buzzing of the electric cutting table sounded like deep thunder.

Qian Jin stood at the door, watching the busy figures of the female workers, while the cheers of the National Day parade could be heard in the distance.

Wei Xiangmi appeared beside him at some point: "Director Qian, do you really think these pants can sell?"

Qian Jin did not answer immediately.

He looked across the street and saw several young men in military green uniforms pointing at the factory buildings.

One of the young men suddenly imitated the hem of bell-bottoms, swinging his legs exaggeratedly as he walked, which made his companions burst into laughter.

"Director Wei, I remember that until the early 1970s, there were still people on the street criticizing that wearing 'Dacron' was a bourgeois style, right?" Qian Jin pointed to the crowd celebrating in the parade.

"But what now?"

He then pointed to the busy female workers in the factory.

At this time of day, the weather was still a bit hot, and both young and middle-aged people were wearing Dacron shirts.

One advantage of modern female factory workers is that they have all been exposed to sewing machines and know how to use them.

With the guidance of their mentors, the female workers became even more skilled at using sewing machines.

Soon, the sound of sewing machines in the factory began to pick up.

The sound of drums and gongs during the parade in the streets grew closer, and red flags fluttered in the autumn wind.

(End of this chapter)