The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 238 The scene was astonishing; Chief Qian, hurry and save the day!

This November, Taishan Road in Haibin City was hotter than ever before.

The sweltering heat was concentrated right in front of that small state-owned People's Clothing Factory on Taishan Road.

The sky was grayish-white, and the sharp north wind whipped up fallen leaves and scraps of paper, lashing against the dusty walls.

On Sunday, Qian Jin slept in late, but was woken up halfway through his nap.

Wei Qinghuan felt sorry for Qian Jin and rushed to Shi Zhentao, who was knocking on the door, and said, "Shitou, your Chief Qian has been very busy and tired lately. Let him get a good night's sleep."

Shi Zhentao scratched his head awkwardly.

He would have already started shouting about serious matters when facing others, but he really couldn't shout it out in front of Teacher Wei.

He was afraid of offending the beautiful lady, and dared not offend the captain's wife.

Qian Jin came out yawning and said, "Alright, alright, I'm awake. What's up?"

"It's a big deal! A big deal! A big deal!" Shi Zhentao exclaimed quickly. "Chief Qian, you need to hurry to our garment factory. There are too many people queuing up there, and they've already had several fights since early this morning!"

Wei Qinghuan asked, "Just because of bell-bottoms?"

The movie "Manhunt" began showing in major cinemas in Haibin City on November 1st, and bell-bottoms became a hot seller starting on the 2nd.

Shi Zhentao slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, they fought over bell-bottoms."

Wei Qinghuan shook her head and said, "Is it really necessary?"

She added, "I'm not 'let them eat cake,' several female teachers at my school also really like bell-bottoms and have asked me to bring them some."

"But this isn't the kind of dry rations you get during a famine, where missing a meal could lead to starvation. What would happen if I bought the pants a little later?"

"They're all gone!" Shi Zhentao said with a mournful face. "The inventory is almost sold out. I heard from Chief Engineer Zhang that the four groups are no longer dividing up their work and are all working hard to rush out these bell-bottoms."

"But it's still not enough to meet demand!"

Qian Jin asked, "How much inventory do you have left? Surely there's enough to sell? The market in Haibin City is that big?"

Shi Zhentao said, "We don't have enough to sell today. Why are people fighting in line? Because Chief Engineer Zhang counted the people in line and found that the number of people in line has exceeded our inventory."

"There were still people coming in to buy pants, and Chief Engineer Zhang didn't want them to wait in vain, so he told them, well, he told them not to queue anymore."

"As a result, everyone wanted this thing," he said eagerly and proudly, pointing to the bell-bottoms. "When everyone saw that those at the front of the line could buy the pants, but those at the back couldn't, they cut in line!"

Qian Jin immediately realized this was a troublesome matter.

He didn't even bother with breakfast, grabbed his coat and headed outside: "How many people are in line right now?"

"There were so many people, I couldn't count them all. Before I arrived, the queue had already stretched into the alley of Wushan Branch Road!"

"Hey, this is bad, there must be three or four hundred people? Um, have the security task force been sent over yet?"

"We sent them over, but they were no use."

Qian Jin ordered Wei Qinghuan: "Call Dayong immediately and have him bring men over to provide support."

Wei Qinghuan hurried upstairs to her study.

Qian Jin followed Shi Zhentao and hurriedly arrived at the People's Garment Factory.

The main gate was tightly closed, but outside it was already a dense, bustling crowd.

The cacophony of sounds crashed against the cold air, one wave after another, even drowning out the fermenting smell emanating from the pickle jars in the neighboring grocery store.
"Open the door! When will the goods arrive?"

"Director Qian! Director Qian, please approve two more!"

"I've been queuing for ten hours! I didn't sleep half the night before I came to queue! Get lost if you want to cut in line!"

Near the door were a few girls, dressed rather thinly. A northwest wind had blown in these past few days, bringing the first chill of winter in 1978, which made their faces red with cold.

But they didn't care at all; they just kept rubbing their hands together, waiting for the store to open so they could buy bell-bottoms.

Members of the security task force were all wearing red armbands and maintaining order, especially the queue at the entrance was the most crowded.

So they held hands, craned their necks, and used their bodies to block the line behind them, preventing anyone from sneaking in, like guarding against thieves.

But people kept trying to squeeze through the gaps in the crowd, which only drew louder shouts and shoving.

Dead leaves were swirled around by the movement of people's legs, mingling with dust as they floated in the air, landing on the shoulders and hair of the crowded people.

Inside the factory, sewing machines were spinning rapidly, like oxen that never seemed to have enough to eat, tirelessly chewing on the fabric.

Qian Jin wanted to peek through the window to see what was going on inside, but upon glancing inside, he exclaimed, "Hey, why are all the curtains drawn?"

“Otherwise, we can’t do it. Someone’s trying to climb in through the window,” Su Changshun shouted after hearing his words.

Then, thinking that Qian Jin wanted to do something through the window, he went up and knocked on the glass and shouted, "I'm Lao Su, Chief Qian wants to open the window."

Soon, the curtains were suddenly pulled open, and Wang Lijuan called out through the window, "Chief Qian is here? Let him in quickly!"

Qian Jin looked inside through the glass.

Near the window, rows of foot-operated sewing machines were being pounded by female workers, their needles flying up and down.

The light bulbs are on day and night.

The lights illuminated the newly added rows of square-headed, dark green iron lumps—these were the newly arrived electric sewing machines, much louder and more efficient.

Zhang Hongmei led five experienced workers to operate these machines.

The threads they spewed out were endless, like inexhaustible saliva, quickly binding a piece of fabric together to form the shape of trousers...

Su Changshun led the money inside.

The factory gates opened, and the crowd erupted in cheers: "The gates are open! The gates are open!"

"I work at the No. 6 State-owned Cotton Mill, a brother unit of ours. They gave me two pairs of bell-bottoms..."

"One pair, I only want one pair, I want a pair of khaki bell-bottoms..."

Qian Jin felt as if he was being propelled into the factory by the sound waves.

Wei Xiangmi is here today too, clapping her hands vigorously amidst the scattered scraps of cloth on the ground, her voice hoarse as she shouts:
"Girls and comrades, the people's needs are right before our eyes, everyone hurry up!"

"This is the last batch of fabric! That's all we have! Let's take a good rest after we finish this batch of pants..."

She saw Qian Jin and breathed a sigh of relief: "Chief Qian, you've finally arrived! Oh dear, if you hadn't come, there would have been no one to take charge!"

Zhang Hongmei glanced up briefly: "Chief Qian, you need to think of something quickly. We're running out of fabric, and the bell-bottoms will really be gone—not a single pant leg will be left!"

The trousers, fresh off the sewing machine, had huge bell-shaped openings. They were piled up in several large wicker baskets in the corner of the workshop, stacked so high they looked about to collapse.

Dark blue, light gray, khaki...

Various colors, various straight lines.

Several girls hired temporarily were using plastic rope to tie up the already sewn trousers and attaching simple labels.

They were sweating profusely, moving as quickly as baggage handlers rushing to catch a train.

Qian Jin glanced at the scene briefly, then took a deep breath—

Then, in an instant, the air, a mixture of engine oil, dust, and the smell of sweat, heavily choked my lungs.

He asked, "How much inventory do you have now? How many pairs of pants can you produce?"

Wei Xiangmi said, "There are about 280, and we can only produce a maximum of 200 more. But there are at least 500 people queuing outside, and more people are constantly arriving!"

Qian Jin shook his head: "That definitely won't work..."

“If they don’t mind, I’ll sell them my bell-bottoms first,” Wang Lijuan said quickly.

The Taishan Road People's Garment Factory has been open for more than forty days, and the initial leadership team has already been established.

Qian Jin was the factory director, and Wei Xiangmi was equivalent to a political commissar or a party official.

Zhang Hongmei is the chief designer and chief technical officer. There are also two team leaders, Yu Lijuan and Wang Lijuan.

Qian Jin waved his hand: "What kind of talk is that?"

“I see they don’t mind buying secondhand goods these days,” Wang Lijuan said quickly while operating the sewing machine.

Qian Jin explained, "This isn't about whether we dislike it or not; it's about us being responsible for the Han Tang brand."

"Hey, why are there so many people queuing up today?"

Wei Xiangmi was surprised: "People started lining up a few days ago. All the inventory we had accumulated was sold out in just one week."

Qian Jin nodded.

He knew about this and it was within his expectations.

However, its popularity was unexpected.

Yu Lijuan finished sewing the pants and inspected them before handing them to the girl in charge of the inspection: "Xiao Liao, you're new here, so you must be careful with your work. The pants produced in our factory can't have any problems."

Xiao Liao and a few other girls exclaimed "Hey!"

Despite the freezing weather, Yu Lijuan was working up a sweat.

She stopped to take a sip of water and drank half a teacup in one go.

Setting down her enamel mug, she was both tired and excited, her face flushed: "Chief Qian, I never expected our business to be so good! Your idea of ​​creating a brand is absolutely brilliant!"

Qian Jin explained, "Actually, it has little to do with the brand. It's mainly the movie 'Manhunt' that drove the demand for bell-bottoms."

"But I didn't expect the demand to be this high!"

Every single one of these sentences is the truth.

Others, however, took it as humility:

"The movie 'Manhunt' popularized bell-bottoms, but our brand is more important..."

"Yes, the Han Tang brand is amazing now. I heard that the provincial newspaper even reported on how our Taishan Road labor shock brigade created a clothing brand that the people love..."

"Now that my relatives know I'm producing bell-bottoms under the Han Tang brand, they have such high regard for me..."

“My status at home is different now. My brother and brother were unhappy because I decided to go back to the city, but now they smile at me all the time. I don’t even have to do housework at home anymore. I can rest after meals because ‘the second daughter is too tired from work,’ haha…”

The girls chatted as they worked, and they were in a very good mood.

They are the real beneficiaries of the booming sales of bell-bottoms.

This is similar to how employees of mobile canteens have a status in society comparable to that of formal employees in large state-owned enterprises.

Many people need their help.

The other two have very good salaries and benefits.

Salary and benefits are fixed, but small group companies offer flexible benefits.

As long as the company's profits are sufficient, after ensuring that the portion handed over to the government is paid, the remaining profits can be distributed to employees as welfare.

They've already received a month's salary.

The salary is low, only 42 yuan.

However, the welfare items were too abundant. They received a total of fifty catties of flour and rice, ten catties of meat, and also cloth, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and so on.

Someone calculated that their total income last month reached one hundred yuan!

Zhang Hongmei coughed loudly and said seriously, "Get to work quickly. Don't chat during work hours. Be careful with your work and don't make any mistakes."

The experienced craftsmen were the busiest, their foreheads glistening with sweat under the incandescent light.

She gave Qian Jin a wink.

After Qian Jin went over, Zhang Hongmei lowered her voice, but she couldn't hide her anxiety:
"It's all here, Chief Qian. At most, you can still get three hundred pairs of pants!"

"The machine is practically sparking, the old foot pedal needle is almost broken, and that's about all the power an electric machine can handle. We're really out of stock!"

She raised her hand and pointed to the few remaining piles of gray and blue fabric in the corner.

That "mountain" is visibly diminishing as it is relentlessly devoured.

Qian Jin didn't reply, but walked over and opened the curtains to look outside.

It was freezing cold outside, but sweltering inside. The windowpanes were shrouded in a thick layer of white condensation, and the figures moving outside appeared distorted and deformed, as if they were being scalded through a burning curtain.

The noise was mostly blocked by the thick walls and glass, but the silent oppressive feeling conveyed by the dark, swarming human figures weighed heavily on the tense backs of every busy female worker.

Everyone knows how urgent the production task is.

Qian Jin turned around with his hands behind his back and said, "The sales are hotter than I expected."

"We can't let them line up here. Let's go to our neighborhood committee."

That last sentence was directed at Wei Xiangmi.

Wei Xiangmi had mixed feelings, both happy and troubled: "Chief Qian, this is against national regulations."

“Our neighborhood committee doesn’t have a sales permit. At least there’s a storefront here. If we send it to the neighborhood committee…”

She didn't say the rest.

But everyone understands the reasoning behind it.

Serious violation!

If someone reports this, those in charge will at least be disciplined!

Qian Jin glanced at Zhang Hongmei.

Zhang Hongmei's work speed slowed down.

Clearly, the experienced craftsman values ​​this point highly.

He nodded and said, "Perhaps I didn't think things through enough. We still have to sell here. I'll go out and check on the situation of the team."

The experienced workers immediately sped up their work.

As soon as I opened the door, a cacophony of noise hit me.

Qian Jin couldn't let them disrupt production, so he quickly closed the door and left.

Suddenly, dozens of hands reached in from the line and waved at him—

Some were clutching crumpled RMB notes.

Some were clutching slips of paper stamped with a red seal.

Some had cigarettes with filters tucked between their fingers.

Some even had black dirt embedded in their fingernails.

"Director Qian! I'm Li from No. 2 Middle School! I bought some pants from you last time! Could you give me a pair?"

"Chief Qian, please help me! I need this for my child's wedding! My family needs it urgently!"

"Comrade Factory Director, Comrade! Look at me! Look at me! A cigarette! A good cigarette! I'll save it for you! I'm from the countryside, I left home before dawn. Comrade Factory Director, buying bell-bottoms is a political task assigned by our commune director..."

Countless faces floated and crowded in his field of vision, their eyes burning with fervor, their voices like countless needles pricking his eardrums.

Su Changshun strode forward and blocked Qian Jin's outstretched hand, saying sternly, "You need to maintain order! Line up! Don't you understand how to line up?"

"It's no use talking to our factory manager. Colleagues behind, stop queuing. We said we're out of stock, and that's final! Arguing won't change anything! Go back now!"

His voice was hoarse, and white foam was coming out of the corners of his mouth.

Qian Jin roughly counted the number of people in line.

Several young people tried to squeeze in during the chaos.

Qian Jin pointed at them and said, "Hey, what are you doing? Stop queuing and go back. We don't welcome comrades who don't follow the rules here!"

The young people hunched over and blended into the crowd behind them.

However, while Qian Jin and his security task force members were focused on the line at the front, many more people started cutting in line from the back.

Qian Jin couldn't tolerate them, so he immediately ordered the assault team to drive them away.

The youths got impatient; their combined strength was considerable, so they stubbornly shouted.

The situation is chaotic.

Just then, a furious roar rang out from outside: "What the hell are you doing! What the hell are you all doing?!"

A burly, serious-looking young man led dozens of strong men on bicycles and quickly rode over.

aggressive.

Like a raging tide.

Residents of Taishan Road who were originally watching the commotion on the roadside instinctively moved aside.

Qiu Dayong arrived with his porters.

They were dressed uniformly, wearing work clothes, sunglasses, and brand-new work boots.

These shoes are amazing; they have iron nails embedded in the soles!

Upon arriving, Qiu Dayong threw his bicycle aside and kicked a poplar tree next to the line of people.

The poplar tree trunk, as thick as an adult's calf, swayed violently.

Then he pulled his foot back, and the poplar bark was torn apart!

"They're spiked shoes!" Many young people looked eagerly at his feet.

Qiu Dayong stood behind Qian Jin, his menacing gaze deterring the young men who wanted to challenge him.

Qian Jin turned around and patted his chest.

This is the customer.

We should still take it easy.

When the fifty-odd young men and burly men with chests the size of six-inch cakes arrived, the chaotic queue finally became orderly.

Unfortunately, the garment factory couldn't supply enough demand, so he could only shout:
"Dear comrades and customers!"

"Thank you so much for your support and love for our Han Tang bell-bottoms!"

"But we have a limited number of bell-bottoms; we can't sell an unlimited quantity!"

"There's only a tiny bit of fabric left! Bell-bottoms—really gone! Wait for the next batch! Please wait for the next batch, everyone!"

The crowd was dissatisfied with his words and began to shout and make a lot of noise.

In the end, Qian Jin almost roared with his chest, but his voice was still torn apart by the sound waves generated by the crowd.

too crazy!

Qiu Dayong was also intimidated by the intense emotions of the crowd.

He shouted at Qian Jin, "What are these bell-bottoms? Lately, all the young men under my command have been wanting to buy them. What's wrong with that? Will they make you a cadre, eat better, or find a girlfriend?"

Qian Jin smiled wryly: "I don't understand either!"

"It means we can find partners!" a young man next to him shouted excitedly. "You guys don't know, do you think we're buying these for ourselves? We're lining up to buy bell-bottoms for our partners!"

"My girlfriend said that if I can't buy her bell-bottoms, we're over..."

The door opened, and another batch of bell-bottoms was taken out.

The crowd was restless.

There were instances of people trying to cut in line again.

Qian Jin directed the security task force and the porters to maintain order from both sides. With their shouts and stomping, the line to buy bell-bottoms finally became orderly.

It's impossible to try them on at a sales location like this now.

Being able to buy a pair of bell-bottoms is already considered lucky.

The young men and women in line ahead of them got their desired bell-bottoms and happily walked back, gesturing as they did so.

The people in line behind them looked on with envy, their anxiety growing even stronger.

But some young men love to show off. After buying bell-bottoms, they make sarcastic remarks like, "Don't bother queuing, it's useless, there aren't many bell-bottoms left..."

"Go home, comrades, there's no point in queuing anymore..."

Qian Jin finds this kind of person very annoying.

This is like getting a good deal and then acting innocent!
Unfortunately, what these people said happened to be exactly the same as what he wanted to say, so in a way, they were actually speaking up for him.

So he couldn't get angry, and could only patiently shoo them away: "Stop talking and leave now."

Some young men were loitering here with a smirk, looking like they wanted to cause trouble.

Qian Jin pointed at him and said, "I've memorized your face. From now on, when our factory starts producing jackets and trench coats, we will absolutely not sell them to you..."

The young man left looking unhappy.

As the line moved forward, the mood of those waiting at the back improved somewhat.

However, as batches of bell-bottoms were sold out...

As a result, Wei Xiangmi kept waving her hands at the top of her lungs.

The crowd is in chaos again!
Many people started shouting:

"No more bell-bottoms? We can't live without bell-bottoms!"

"I haven't bought any yet! I came all the way from Banbei Street Commune, which is 30 kilometers away. I only bought them because I heard they were selling bell-bottoms here..."

"Stop pushing! Stop pushing! There's no more left..."

"Nonsense, there are more in the factory, I saw them, they have them in their factory..."

The line turned around, and some young men tried to squeeze towards the factory gate.

Qian Jin thought, "Is this alright?"

He rushed to the factory gate to block the crowd, shouting, "What are you doing? Are you trying to storm the factory?!"

Seeing the money come in, the people who had been blocking the factory entrance breathed a sigh of relief and moved aside.

As a result, the few young men crowded at the door saw a glimmer of hope for breaking through and pushed forward with all their might!
Qian Jin felt a huge, chaotic force coming from the front, so he quickly bent his arms to protect his chest and pushed outwards.

His not-so-new blue cotton Zhongshan suit jacket was stretched taut by his well-developed muscles. Two plastic buttons on the chest, already worn out from the strain, one popped off with a snap, and the other ripped open with a "pop," hanging crookedly on the jacket...

The coat was ungracefully open, revealing a faded gray cotton undershirt underneath.

He retreated in a disheveled state.

The door behind them creaked and trembled as it was pushed by a powerful force.

The tall and strong Xu Weidong suddenly arrived. He saw Qian Jin being squeezed against the door in a terrible state from the front, and quickly pushed through the crowd to rush in and save him.

He raised the handcuffs standard issue for the anti-corruption office and roared, "Who's trying to storm the production plant? I'm arresting them!"

"I don't care if you're a college student or a factory worker, I'll arrest everyone I find! College students will be expelled, factory workers will be expelled!"

Handcuffs are still more useful.

The silver handcuffs gleamed coldly in the bright sunlight, and the fervent emotions of the young men in front of them began to cool.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qiu Dayong led his men over and dragged all the young men in front of them away.

The security task force also brandished their handcuffs.

The chaotic scene was finally brought under control.

Qian Jin saw people taking pictures on the street, and he also saw a familiar face—a reporter from the Haibin Daily.

He gave a wry smile to the acquaintance.

I reckon if this scene of our own clothing factory selling bell-bottoms gets photographed, it'll probably become a hot topic...

The topic of the contradiction between the people's demand for a richer material life and the meager material needs that society could provide during the reform and opening-up period...

(End of this chapter)