Surprise! The rough husband is the hidden boss of the period literature

Chapter 324 I Want Him to Be Upright
Once Zheng Manhua entered the factory, she couldn't leave. She visited every employee, asked about their feelings, and recorded every word they said. Later, she wrote in a published magazine...

"Seeing them cultivate the sun deep in these mountains, and watching it rise slowly with their own hands, my eyes welled up with tears. As long as there is hope in your heart and light in your eyes, even the most barren mountains can bloom with flowers..."

When they returned to Xu Qinghuan's place, Yu Xiaomin and the others had just made a new set of clothes. Zheng Manhua's eyes lit up. She had never seen such beautiful clothes before, not even the clothes in the foreign exchange store were so eye-catching.

Every detail of this dress perfectly matched her aesthetic sense, as if women in our country should wear such beautiful clothes.

There's a feeling that these clothes should belong to us.

"It's so beautiful! This dress is so beautiful. It respects tradition while leading the trend. It's so beautiful!" Zheng Manhua praised generously.

Qiao Xinyu hurriedly said, "Right, Sister Zheng? Our clothes are selling very well in Shanghai. I also want to sell them in Yancheng, but I don't have any channels."

Zheng Manhua said, "I can help with this. Come on, whoever wears it, I'll take a picture of you."

"Wait a minute!" Xu Qinghuan said, "Here's what we'll do: find a few people to wear our clothes, and have Sister Man take a set of photos of us, twelve photos in total. I plan to make a promotional booklet with a calendar, and we'll use your photos in it."

Qiao Xinyu clapped her hands suddenly, "Great, Huanhuan, how did you grow such a brain? It's so useful! Write our contact address down below, and we won't have to worry about not being able to sell them."

"Well, maybe our factory will have to expand in the future," Yu Xiaomin said, overjoyed.

"Don't worry, I'll get you an electric sewing machine later, so you won't have to work so hard pedaling."

Xu Qinghuan has already given the blueprints to Jiang Xingye, who is contacting factories to process the parts. If things go well, the electric sewing machine factory can be set up. However, this project is different from the threshing machine factory and the furniture factory; it should be quite large in scale. We'll see how it's handled at the time.

To avoid risks, Xu Qinghuan also invited several older aunties, including Zhou Guizhi, to take photos, but they certainly couldn't just take the photos directly; they had to do some fussing.

Xu Qinghuan personally did their makeup. Unlike people in this era, who would apply makeup to their faces until they were white, draw two eyebrows like burning sticks, and then paint two patches of red on their faces, making their lips look like they had drunk human blood—a truly terrifying effect—Xu Qinghuan's makeup was particularly natural and beautiful.

Zhou Guizhi looked at least ten years younger. She already had short hair, but now she let it down, styled it with hairspray, and wore a slightly loose white shirt and straight-leg, slim-fitting black trousers. She tucked one corner of the shirt into her waistband and struck a pose that made everyone around her almost unrecognizable.

"Guizhi, don't take off your clothes, don't wash your face, don't change your hair. Just like this, really, you're no worse than city people," Xie Zaohua said.

Jiang Chunxi joined in the teasing, "I've known Sister Guizhi for so many years. If you didn't say it was her, I really wouldn't recognize her. She's so beautiful, just like a movie star."

"As expected, Xu, the educated youth, is very skillful. It's not that we country folk are unsophisticated; it's that we don't know how to tidy up."

Zhou Guizhi looked in the mirror and was stunned by her reflection. She cupped her face in her hands, revealing a girlish shyness, still unable to believe that this was herself.

Jiang Xingmei came over and put her arm around Zhou Guizhi's shoulder, playfully calling her "Sister," which made everyone laugh and also brought tears to Zhou Guizhi's eyes.

Growing up on this land, even women, in their prime, are not considered beautiful. Blown by wind and rain, their flower buds wither away before they even have a chance to bloom.

Xu Qinghuan dressed up a total of twelve people. With her aesthetic sense and makeup skills, she naturally made them look beautiful. She personally designed their poses, and even though they only had a little bit of trendiness and were mostly traditional, every photo was still stunningly beautiful.

"Sis, if we take these photos and make a catalog, won't it cause any trouble?" Xu Qinghuan secretly asked Zheng Manhua. "No, just tell me the style of the calendar you want to design, and I'll find someone in Yancheng to make it for you," Zheng Manhua said.

"No need," Xu Qinghuan declined. "There's another advantage to having a printing factory here. We can use these calendars to attract business. If we make them in Yancheng, you'll have to send them back to us, which is inconvenient."

"Okay, if you need any help, just let us know."

Zheng Manhua needed to finish the article as soon as possible. She was a little uneasy because she hadn't seen the production scene in Shangjiang Brigade and was afraid that her article would not pass the review. However, the bustling scene in Shangjiang Brigade really shocked her.

Zheng Manhua stayed there for three days before taking Qin Baifan back to the city.

Qin Baifan cried his eyes out. If he went back, he would miss Shangjiang Brigade, his older sister and brother, and his friends like Dadan and Erdan; if he didn't go back, he would miss his mother and father.

As she saw them off at the train station, Xu Qinghuan couldn't help but shed tears. "Be a good girl and go back home. Your sister and brother will visit Yancheng often and will definitely come to see you. Whenever you have time, ask your mom and dad to bring you back to visit."

"Don't cry, you'll look ugly if you cry. Your eyes will be swollen like two peaches, and people will laugh at you."

Qin Baifan was frightened when she heard this. She clung to Jiang Xingye's shoulder and refused to look up, but she stopped crying.

The train was about to depart, and Zheng Siqi took him from him. "Alright, don't be sad. Your cousin will be going to Yancheng often in the future. You can come back with me anytime you want."

Fearing the children might be stolen on the way, Zheng Siqi accompanied his aunt to send them back to Yancheng. He also carried a large bag of clothes there to sell and expand his business.

The production factory in Shangjiang Brigade was thriving, and the older people who couldn't work in the factory grew vegetables at home.

Using the method taught by Xu Qinghuan, every household made a large square wooden box, placing it at one end of the kang (heated brick bed), and growing all kinds of vegetables inside: peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, bok choy, scallions, and garlic sprouts—basically, everything that could be grown.

Every household treasured it like a precious gem, and when other production brigades wanted to learn from their experience, they kept it a secret and refused to tell them.

After the production brigade arranged for Luo Jinhao to collect the goods, they were sold to state-run restaurants. Each restaurant earned three or five cents, or one or two yuan from time to time, and everyone was quite content.

You know, in the past, when I stayed at home every day, I only went out and never came in.

These days, what could be better than having cash in your hand?
Almost all the workers went to work in the factory. Their products were novel and of good quality, and orders increased. Zheng Siqi and Chen Dewen wished they could live outside.

Xu Qinghuan suggested, "We should also set up a salesperson in Acheng City. This is our base of operations, and we can't afford to lose this part of the business."

"Ah."

On the way back, Jiang Xingye looked around to make sure no one was watching, then squeezed Xu Qinghuan's hand. "I want Haozi to go there. He's been secretly doing business for the past few years and has become quite skilled. I want him to do it openly and honestly."

Happy reading, my dears!