Beautiful beauties in the 80s courtyard

Chapter 234 Don’t look back until you hit the wall

Whether it's the Foreign Trade Bureau, the District Government, or even Lu Qiaoge from 516.

The three companies now share a common goal, so there's no need for empty talk or formalities.

The site issue is easy to solve, raw materials are not a problem, and as for funds, an advance payment will arrive in a few days.

What's needed now are people.

Moreover, they cannot be novices; they must be experienced masters.

This requires a full mobilization from top to bottom.

Su Hongmei: "I have 27 master craftsmen here. They used to work at the Jiangcheng Arts and Crafts Factory. Because the factory couldn't pay wages, it merged with the shoe factory. They all used to train apprentices and have experience in straw weaving. After I took charge of this area, I went to find them one by one. Most of them have retired, but they haven't lost their skills. Since there was no dedicated space, I handed it over to the residents' committee. The first batch of straw hats all passed inspection."

Lu Qiaoge knew this; these people were all skilled artisans, very capable.

Director Zhou nodded and said to Lu Qiaoge, "At present, the experienced workers are not a problem, and the factory buildings are ready-made. We can centralize and manage them in a unified manner, which will also make it easier to control the quality. Our cooperation is actually very simple."

Lu Qiaoge was easy to talk to, and most of the orders were given to Director Zhou and Sister Su.

A temporary task force was also established.

The office was located in the small conference room of the foreign trade department, and all payments were received until the goods were delivered on schedule.

Lu Qiaoge was naturally a member of the group as well.

But she is mainly responsible for the business she manages.

After Lu Qiaoge returned, Lao Hu went to work on recruiting workers and building the craft factory.

The handicraft team hasn't started working yet; the seven people are cooperating very well, it's a bit like an assembly line.

However, expansion is certain.

This time, we can start with internal candidates. The main requirement is that they can do straw weaving and be skilled at it.

Old Hu requested a staff of twenty people.

At first, many people went to the Lu family to ask Meng Xia about her, but they all left disappointed when they heard that there would be an on-site exam.

There are no strict age restrictions, since young artisans are rare.

Aside from the apprentices of those veteran craftsmen.

The neighborhood committee acted quickly, notifying people on the same day and holding the on-site exam the next day.

Thirty-nine people were qualified.

Of these, 26 were under the age of 40.

The older craftsman has excellent skills, so we must take him on. Lu Qiaoge doesn't care how to arrange things for him.

With two directors from the subdistrict office there, Lu Qiaoge felt reassured and went to the archives bureau to help, mainly to find clues.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Qiaoge found information about Hongxing Lake, which used to have a dock, similar to her initial guess.

Then there's the old gold mine, but there's no record of that.

There is no record of even the fact that there is a gold mine in Yuanbaoshan.

As for why it's called Yuanbaoshan (Gold Ingot Mountain), it's because the mountain peak resembles a gold ingot.

It's late August now.

Not only did Lu Qiaoge receive a full month's salary, but the workers at the food factory and the handicraft factory also received their salaries.

They not only received wages but also bonuses, and each person was given an extra pound of meat coupons.

This is to encourage everyone to complete the task as soon as possible.

Today, craft factories employ twice as many people as food factories.

Then the General Office asked the Infrastructure Department to build a wall in the middle, instead of opening a separate gate, it still shares a gate with the food factory, since there is a guardhouse here.

In the initial stages, every factory is at its most united and easiest to manage.

At that time, the thought was very simple: to work hard and not let the factory close down. You should know that many factories run by the neighborhood committee in the 1950s and 60s were closed down.

After receiving her salary, Su Hui bought meat, eggs, and fish, and went home early to cook a table full of dishes.

I wanted to call Qin Hengzhi, but he went to a meeting and won't be back until the day after tomorrow.

After finishing the meal, Lu Qiaoling took out a handkerchief and a checkered hair clip, which she had bought for Lu Qiaoge.

Lu Qiaoge accepted it with a smile without any hesitation.

She already had all of these, but the ones her sister bought for her had a different meaning.

Lu Qiaoge said, "Someone asked me what kind of person you're looking for, and they're going to introduce you to someone."

Lu Qiaoling immediately shook her head: "How old am I? I can find a partner after you get married, Second Sister."

Then, he asked Lu Qiaoge mysteriously, "Second Sister, when are you and Brother Qin getting married?"

That's how it is now; dating inevitably leads to questions about marriage.

Meng Xia said that it would be convenient for her to get married, as the house was already available in the military dependents' family compound in the first district.

There are two rows of small red brick buildings, all quite large, with heating inside and courtyards in the front and back.

Lu Qiaoge also went there to conduct an investigation.

Lu Qiaoge felt a little strange. She thought for a moment and said, "We definitely can't get married this year. Let's talk about it next year..."

Next year is actually not a good year to get married.

Lu Qiaoling nodded. Her second sister's mind was sharp now, and whatever decision she made was right.

Remembering something, she said to Lu Qiaoge, "Second sister, did you know that Fan Xiaoyu's mother and her sister-in-law went to the craft factory to look for her yesterday afternoon?"

Lu Qiaoge frowned: "Why are you looking for her? Have you thought it through and want to bring Fan Xiaoyu home?"

Lu Qiaoling nodded: "That's right, that's exactly it. They said a lot of apologetic things, but Fan Xiaoyu is very busy. Director Hu happened to be there too, so her mother told Fan Xiaoyu not to rent a house outside and to go home to live. They've already prepared a room for her."

The current handmade group is also a well-known presence in military factories.

These people were all converted into regular workers.

Wages have also increased.

That alone makes countless people envious.

Naturally, Fan Xiaoyu is now second only to Chang An in skill level, a fact that many people know.

If Chang An can become the factory director, then Fan Xiaoyu will at least be a deputy factory director.

So Fan Xiaoyu is no longer the pitiful little girl who was kicked out of her home and couldn't survive.

Lu Qiaoge asked, "What does Fan Xiaoyu mean?"

Lu Qiaoge rarely interferes with other people's thoughts. If someone truly thinks their family is good, nothing an outsider like you can say will matter.

It is said that one will not turn back until one hits a wall, but some people will hit it until they are bleeding and still not be willing to turn back.

There's nothing anyone can do about this.

Lu Qiaoling said, "She's always with us. If she doesn't know what's good or bad, then she's truly beyond saving."

"She told her mother that when they sent her to the countryside, they said she was a girl who was a burden on the family, and that everything about the Fan family had nothing to do with her. She had done housework since she was little and even went to the countryside for them. She didn't owe them anything, and she wouldn't go back to live there, so that she wouldn't be unable to pay rent when they asked for it later..."

"Fan Xiaoyu's sister-in-law started cursing, but luckily Director Hu came and chased her away."

Lu Qiaoling was in Lu Qiaoge's bedroom at that moment. She was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) petting the cat and talking to Lu Qiaoge. When she got to this part, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Compared to Fan Xiaoyu's sister-in-law, our sister-in-law is really much better."

Lu Qiaoge thought to herself, "That's because Meng Xia doesn't discriminate against girls."

Lu Qiaoling continued, "She treats us like her own sisters, and I will treat her well too. When I save up some more money, I will buy a bicycle and then I will take her to work."

Lu Qiaoge quickly stopped her.

These days, all the cars are old-fashioned bicycles. Su Hui's pregnancy isn't showing yet because she's still quite far along, but wait a few months and you'll see...

(End of this chapter)