Chapter 62

Lin Qiangsheng was organizing the fabrics with the new girls, introducing them to the prices of various fabrics.

He weighed the wool fabric in his hand and said loudly, "This wool fabric sells well here! It’s also a bit more expensive, 32 yuan per zhang. One chi of wool fabric is 3.2 yuan! No bargaining!"

"This thick cotton fabric sells for 18 yuan per zhang. One chi is 1.8 yuan."

The girls immediately exclaimed, "So expensive! No bargaining, will anyone buy it?"

Zhang Tianjiao, looking at the various fabrics on the counter, her eyes shining, said, "Why wouldn’t anyone buy it? Didn’t Qiangsheng say that we don’t need cloth coupons here? As long as you have money, you can buy it!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Right! Although it’s a bit more expensive here, it’s convenient for the people. We don’t need cloth coupons."

Du Ping asked, "Qiangsheng, is it appropriate not to require coupons?"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Du Ping and said, "Not requiring cloth coupons doesn’t mean we’re taking advantage of the state. The cloth coupons are still what they are, not a single cent less for the state. This way, customers are like buying both cloth coupons and fabric from our store, they just need to pay the money!"

Du Ping said "Oh" and nodded lightly.

The other girls didn’t understand this twist for the moment, and couldn’t figure out where the cloth coupons came from.

Zhang Tianjiao giggled and said, "This is good! I even want to buy some fabric. I don’t have any coupons. This outfit is from my older brother and sister’s leftovers."

These days, many people never wore new clothes from childhood to adulthood, only wearing the leftovers from family members, and the older siblings also wore clothes passed down from others. In terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, the people tried to save every bit they could.

Lin Qiangsheng’s face was filled with determination as he said, "You don’t need to worry about cloth coupons. Does each person get one chi of coupons per year? Our store is convenient for the masses!"

The girls chuckled, feeling incredibly excited by Lin Qiangsheng’s enthusiasm. As girls, they were naturally interested in fabrics, and as newly returned educated youth, they were amazed to see so much fabric in the small shop.

Lin Qiangsheng let the girls get familiar with the place, then ran to the adjacent room, adding a piece of honeycomb coal to the stove to keep the room from getting too cold.

This room was over ten square meters, originally a storage room on the street. After Lin Qiangsheng rented it, he painted and cleaned it, making it a good small general store.

The places that were previously drafty were now sealed with mud, and the door was open for ventilation.

The location of the two small stores was excellent, with a cross street in front. Workers from the car factory to the south and the vehicle factory and shipping company to the east all passed by this street on their way to and from work.

In a week, the first batch of watches from the watch factory would be produced, and after a period of inspection, a selection of good watches would be placed on the shelves, along with some small goods, which would surely be very popular!

Thinking about the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee in about 20 days and the upcoming reform and opening up, Lin Qiangsheng was incredibly excited!

This beautiful era seemed to be warmly waving to him!

Lin Qiangsheng, hands on his waist, was happily planning his future life when he suddenly heard Zhang Tianjiao’s voice behind him, "Qiangsheng, do you know where Zou Shu went?"

Lin Qiangsheng turned around and saw Zhang Tianjiao with a sly look. He shook his head and said, "I don’t know!"

Beforehand, Lin Qiangsheng had asked Zou Shu not to tell her classmates where she was working. So Zhang Tianjiao and the others didn’t know the situation and were guessing that Zou Shu must have gotten a good job somewhere.

Therefore, Zhang Tianjiao came to inquire.

She asked skeptically, "You really don’t know?"

Lin Qiangsheng said firmly, "I really don’t know! I’ll be a puppy if I’m lying!"

Zhang Tianjiao frowned and muttered to herself, "Zou Shu is really lucky! We came, and she left! She must have gotten a good job, maybe at the car factory?"

Lin Qiangsheng quickly coaxed her, "Sister Zhang, isn’t it good here? 45 yuan a month, and whatever coupons you need, I have them. Just say the word, and I’ll give them to you. This place is great! Big and clean! Much better than working in a factory, right?"

Zhang Tianjiao shook her head, "How can it compare? Who doesn’t want a formal job?"

Lin Qiangsheng helplessly shook his head, unable to do anything about their mindset.

These days, people were extremely eager for stable jobs and state-owned enterprises. Even those who worked in large and small collective enterprises always wanted to transfer to state-owned factories, trying every means to get in.

This was understandable, as the perception of large and small collective enterprises was not good, and their actual performance was poor. There were very few collective enterprises with good performance. Working in large and small collective enterprises even made it hard to find a partner.

"You start working here first. See how it goes. If you can get into a big company, I won’t stop you!" Lin Qiangsheng quickly said firmly.

The world would keep turning without anyone, and he didn’t plan to hang on to one tree. He didn’t have the idea that he couldn’t do without anyone.

Zhang Tianjiao laughed and said, "Don’t worry, sister will work hard here. I’ll trouble you until I find a formal job!"

Lin Qiangsheng found Zhang Tianjiao to be a straightforward girl, saying what she thought. Although she was a bit clever, she was straightforward.

"Great! Sister Zhang, you’re a straightforward person! Did you see the newly painted house? I plan to sell some small items. When the time comes, you’ll be in charge here, and Du Sister will be in charge of the fabric store. We’ll set up these two small stores!"

Zhang Tianjiao opened her eyes wide and asked, "Really? Just me, or with a few others? What do you plan to sell? Will you pay me 45 yuan a month?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Yes, I plan to sell some small items. Our store’s location is quite good! Workers go to and from work through this cross street. There are over a thousand workers from the car factory, and workers from the vehicle factory and shipping company, totaling two to three thousand people passing by here every day! As long as they reach the cross street, they’ll see us. Don’t underestimate these two small stores!"

Zhang Tianjiao said in surprise, "Oh! I get it! The more people, the better our business, right?"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Of course! The more people on this street, the better!"

Zhang Tianjiao asked, "Why don’t you go to the city’s department store? It’s in the city center! There are a lot of people, and I’ve been there. During the New Year, it’s so crowded that you can barely walk!"

Lin Qiangsheng coughed and said dejectedly, "I wanted to, but they are state-owned and won’t let me in."

Zhang Tianjiao laughed and patted Lin Qiangsheng’s shoulder, "Don’t worry, sister was just teasing you. They are a large state-owned enterprise, of course, they won’t let you in."

"Actually, you’re just a middleman, a small individual, right?" Zhang Tianjiao leaned in and asked Lin Qiangsheng in a low voice.

Private economy was still a taboo topic at the time. It wasn’t until next year that the state would announce the allowance of private economic development.

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and said, "Sister Zhang, you’re smart!"

Zhang Tianjiao said, "Of course!"

When Lin Qiangsheng got home, it was almost eight o’clock. It was already very dark by seven, and he let the girls leave first, staying a bit longer himself.

During dinner, his father, Lin Xiangrong, told him about what the labor bureau chief said today. One job done by two people, two jobs done by three or four people, which really scared Lin Xiangrong!

The factory had just suppressed the workers who were slacking off and chatting. If so many people were suddenly brought in, with a pile of people on each job, how could the workers do any work? They would just chat! How could the factory discipline be maintained?

Lin Xiangrong asked Lin Qiangsheng, "Can the factory still take more people? If new people suddenly start working, it will definitely impact the existing production line! The workers have just settled into their roles. This hard-won situation will be destroyed! Dad was too hasty!"

Lin Qiangsheng, who had many ideas, couldn’t figure out this issue, so he decided to discuss it with Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng took a bite of the dish and said, "The provincial labor bureau has definitely been thinking about filling the car factory with people for a long time. It’s just a matter of time. Since that’s the case, Dad, why not propose to the provincial government to take out a loan to expand the factory and production line? I found out that when the city camera factory was built, they took out a loan of 2 million yuan. Our car factory only needed 5 million yuan, and we had to raise funds and materials ourselves to solve most of the construction problems. It’s too small-minded! This time, let’s go big! Take out a loan of 20 million yuan from the provincial government, and let them know our difficulties. See if they will help us."

Lin Xiangrong nodded and hesitated, "I might have to swallow my pride and ask the provincial leaders for money this time!"

Lin Xiangrong smiled, seeing his father gradually growing into a qualified entrepreneur, which was his own wish.

However, whether he would become an entrepreneur or a managerial cadre, Lin Qiangsheng couldn’t predict, and he didn’t want anything to happen to his father.

Thinking about this, Lin Qiangsheng had to whisper to his father, "Dad, just focus on running the business! I’ll take care of making money for our family. You don’t need to worry about small financial matters!"

Even the most honest cadres couldn’t resist temptation. When Lin Qiangsheng said this to his father, he used several emphatic words.

Lin Xiangrong, with something on his mind, didn’t think much about why his son said this. He just nodded and smiled, "Our family has always had your mother managing the money. I don’t care about it."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and smiled, "Dad, you don’t need to worry too much. If you have concerns about new people coming to the factory, why not propose to the labor bureau to take more female workers? Female workers are easier to manage, and it doesn’t matter much whether they are male or female on the production line."

Lin Xiangrong slapped the table and thought, "That’s a good idea!"