A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Less than half a month later, the principal of an elementary school in Dalian called: "Teacher Chang, let's pair up and do online classes."

On the day of his first live broadcast, Abudu carried a phone stand into the Gobi Desert and shouted at a flock of sheep in the distance: "Students from Liaoning, these are Kazakh sheep. The route they take can be solved as a math problem."

On the phone screen, students from Dalian held up photos of greenhouses and shouted, "Abudu, we'll teach you how to control the temperature for your vegetables!"

Zhang Fan was busy working on the computer at the Tacheng school when Teacher Li peeked over and scoffed, "What can you learn through a screen? It's just a waste of time!"

Zhang Fan grabbed him and said, "Look how enthusiastically the students are asking questions."

Children in Shihezi learn greenhouse techniques, while children in Liaoning learn about Gobi Desert customs—this is called mutual skill development!

Leaders from Dalian Normal School led their student teachers into Tacheng Vocational College, shook hands with Guzalinur, and said, "We will set up a practice base here so that students can learn about cultural and creative industries from you."

Teacher Ma sneered from the side, "City kids can't endure the hardships of the Gobi Desert; they'll run away in less than three days."

Guzalinur's cultural and creative studio had only been thriving for two months when five or six stalls appeared in the neighboring county, all selling cotton textiles.

"Teacher Guli, please go and take a look!"

The student rushed into the workshop and threw two cloth bags on the table. "The coin purses they sell are made of similar material to ours, but they're ten yuan cheaper."

Guzalinur picked up the cloth bag and touched it carefully. Her heart skipped a beat; the texture was indeed very similar.

The second day was even worse.

Eric burst into the office carrying a pile of unsold inventory. "The supplier has raised prices again."

They say the cotton harvest is bad, so the price of cloth has gone up by three yuan per meter!

"Three pieces?!"

Guzalinur stood up. "Then how much more will our cost per bag increase?"

"I've done the math. A medium-sized bag costs seven and a half yuan more, so we can't compete with them at all."

The goods in the warehouse... if they don't sell soon, they'll really get moldy.

Guzalinur paced around the room three times, then took out her phone and made a video call to Chang Peng.

Chang Peng was in a meeting when he saw her flushed face and immediately walked out of the meeting room: "Guli, speak slowly."

Teacher Chang, the neighboring county is imitating us, and their fabric is even cheaper than ours.

The supplier raised prices again, the warehouse is overflowing, and if this continues, the studio will have to close next month!

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the video call.

"Don't panic, I'll think of something."

Chang Peng hung up the phone and eventually contacted the Dalian Textile Factory.

He went to the factory director's office and took out the fabric sample he had brought back from Shihezi.

"Director Li, feel this fabric!"

Factory Director Li picked up the fabric sample and held it up to the light, then tugged at it: "Xinjiang long-staple cotton, good quality."

But this style…”

He shook his head. "That's too traditional. Young people don't buy into it nowadays."

"So it needs to be changed!"

Chang Peng took out his phone. "I'll have the teacher over there speak directly to you."

The video call connected.

"The quality of your fabric is good, but the design is outdated."

I have some surplus fabric in my warehouse, 30% cheaper than what you're currently paying. I can supply it to you, but you'll have to revise the design to be more trendy.

Guzali Nuer immediately became interested. "How should it be changed?"

"Simple, retain ethnic patterns, but the style should be new."

Backpacks, laptop bags, and phone cases—have you made these commonly used student items?

"We... mainly make traditional handbags."

"That's why they're not selling!"

You can change the design, I'll provide low-priced fabric, and I can even help you get your products into supermarkets in Liaoning, but the prerequisite is that young people like the items.

Inside the studio, all the students gathered around.

Ali squeezed in front of the camera, "Factory manager, can we really get into the supermarket?"

"Yes, but you have to let me see a sample first."

Guzalinur grabbed the sketchbook: "Let's revise it now!"

That night, the studio was brightly lit.

Guzalinur divided everyone into three groups: the design group, the prototyping group, and the accounting group.

"Traditional embroidery should not be discarded, but it should be incorporated into new designs."

"Aili, you should have someone design a backpack with a small ethnic-patterned pocket on the side for a water bottle."

Mina raised her hand. "Teacher Guli, could you add a hidden compartment to a laptop bag and embroider a little camel on it?"

"Great idea!"

Teacher Ma passed by, peered through the window for a while, and shook his head: "What a waste of time."

Why should people from Liaoning buy your bags?

Guzalinur didn't even look up: "Just because it's made with Xinjiang cotton, designed in Xinjiang, and stitched by stitch by Xinjiang students!"

"But someone has to be willing to pay for it..."

"That's why we changed it!"

She held up the design she had just drawn. "Teacher Ma, look, this laptop bag can hold a laptop and also has ethnic characteristics. Did you have bags like this when you were in school?"

Teacher Ma squinted for a moment, then muttered, "No, not really..."

"That's right!"

A week later, three new samples arrived in Liaoning.

Factory Director Li unpacked the package, picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then opened the hidden compartment of the laptop bag.

"That's interesting."

He made a video call, "I've seen the sample."

The side pocket on this backpack is well-designed, but the color is too dark.

Young people like bright colors, like sky blue, bright yellow, and grass green. Do you have fabrics in these colors?

Guzalinur flipped through the fabric catalog: "Yes! But they're expensive..."

"Factory Manager Li said, 'Use my stock of fabric, it's cheaper.'"

You make fifty samples first, and I'll take them to the university town for a trial sale.

If it sells well, it will go directly to supermarkets.

"Fifty? When do you need them?"

Five days.

The studio is in an uproar.

Eric jumped up. "Fifty in five days? Impossible!"

"possible!"

Guzalinur has already started cutting fabric. "Everyone, we'll be eating and sleeping in the studio for the next five days. Teacher Ma, you're good at math, can you help us calculate the costs?"

Teacher Ma was taken aback. "Me? I'm not from your studio..."

"You are now!"

Guzalinur handed him a calculator and ledger, "Calculate carefully how much each bag costs and how many you can sell without losing money. This is a real math word problem!"

Teacher Ma opened her mouth, then sighed, and took the calculator: "What's the unit price of the fabric? How's the labor cost calculated?"

On the morning of the fifth day, fifty brightly colored new packaging boxes were shipped to Liaoning.

Three days later, Director Li called, "Teacher Guli, fifty samples sold out in the university town in two days!"

The students all said they were both attractive and practical. Next month, prepare 500 of them to take to the supermarket.

Cheers erupted in the studio. Eric jumped and danced with the remaining scraps of fabric, while Mina burst into tears.

Teacher Ma adjusted his glasses and wrote something down in his notebook: "Based on this sales volume, each of you will receive this amount next month..." He wrote down a number.

The students gathered around to look, their eyes wide with astonishment.

"So many?!"

"This is just the beginning," Guzalinur wiped her hands and picked up her sketchbook. "Director Li said that supermarkets in Liaoning want a series of products, including computer bags, backpacks, and coin purses, all as a set."

Let's keep going!

Outside the window, vendors from the neighboring county peered out.

Aili held up a newly designed bright yellow backpack and deliberately said loudly, "Teacher Guli, after selling this bag in Liaoning, shouldn't we design one for Shanghai?"

Guzalinur smiled, "Let's take it one step at a time."

First, we need to establish a foothold in the Liaoning market.

She turned to look at Chang Peng, who had just connected on the other end of the screen, and said, "Teacher Chang, thank you."

But from now on, we'll have to run it ourselves.

In the video, Chang Peng gives a thumbs up and shouts, "Run! Run as fast as you can! Let the whole country see how capable our students from the border regions are!"