Reborn: Back to the 1980s Chapter 46

Chapter 46: The Garment Workshop 

A few days later, news came from the county that the city did not agree to their proposal. Actually, Zhao Shenggu had guessed this when they said they would report it to the city. These officials didn't seek merit, only the absence of mistakes. Letting them make the arbitrary decision to sell a factory to a private individual was too much of a challenge to their bottom line.

Since it was expected, Zhao Shenggu wasn't disappointed.

He decided to start with a small workshop, just as he had done with the braised food business, train a group of skilled workers, and once the policy opened up, immediately establish a large-scale factory and company.

Zhao Shenggu had learned about future fashion trends from the things in the space, so he already knew exactly what kind of clothes should be made at this time. After spending a few days studying garment-making principles in the space, Guan Yuan put his strong drawing skills to use and quickly sketched out several design drafts.

These designs were based on current styles with a few tweaks — nothing too bold, but just enough to catch people’s eye and look especially sharp when worn.

As for fabric, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu talked it over and decided it didn’t need much investment. They could easily set it up alongside the garment workshop. With a few small improvements, paired with their new clothing designs, the results would be obvious.

Zhao Shenggu was a man of action. After discussing with Guan Yuan, the two began looking for a location in the county town. Since they were going to build a weaving workshop, water sources were very important.

After looking around, they found a good spot on the outskirts of Yun County. It was near the lower reaches of the Dayue River — a stretch of wasteland that was close to both the county town and Guanjia Village.

Zhao Shenggu wanted to secure this piece of land. When Old Master Li found out, he told County Chief Li directly. County Chief Li saw it was just a small piece of wasteland and directly approved Zhao Shenggu's request to buy it.

This was truly ahead of its time. If they had waited a few more years, after the Land Management Law came out, there was no way they could have bought this land!

Since they had bought the land, the workshop naturally needed to be built as soon as possible. Zhao Shenggu didn't want Guan Yuan to worry about these things and personally supervised on-site every day.

Guan Yuan felt bad seeing Zhao Shenggu out in the summer heat, so he cooked good meals every day and brought them over himself. 

This time they hired a lot of workers. The daily pay was a bit higher, but food and lodging were on the workers themselves. Luckily, most of the people were from nearby villages, so their families could bring them lunch every day.

Zhao Shenggu paid well, so the workers put in real effort. 

But there was one part of the day that drove them crazy — when Zhao Shenggu ate. No one knew how the food was made, but the rich aroma seriously stimulated these men.

After being busy like this for a month, the wasteland was finally cleared, and two workshops were built.

Zhao Shenggu figured they’d be here for a while, so he built an office area too. 

With that, all the workshop’s basic facilities were finally in place.

Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu had personally learned weaving and garment-making knowledge in the space. In the beginning, they would lead the workers themselves. Though it was a bit tiring, once the hired people got the hang of it, things would get better.

For hiring, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu still preferred to find people from rural areas. Rural women had been handling needles and thread since childhood, and most were diligent and honest people. For them, who scratched a living from the fields every day, being able to earn wages every month was like pie falling from the sky.

City people were different. They considered themselves superior and would certainly look down on this kind of private workshop. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu didn't want to spend money and end up hiring a bunch of "big shots" to deal with.

So the villages near Yun County were once again in an uproar over Zhao Shenggu's hiring.

Everyone in Yun County knew that Guanjia Village had produced two money-making golden boys. The wages of those working in their braised food workshop were no worse than those of city workers.

But the braised food workshop only hired a few people. Those who didn’t get picked went home so upset they couldn’t even eat. 

Now there was hiring again, and the pay was even higher than at the braised food workshop. The women in the villages were going crazy. They’d heard this time they needed people who could sew, with good needlework. So one by one, they practiced their stitching at home, their eyes red from staying up late.

Besides the garment workshop hiring, the weaving workshop also needed workers. This time they were taking both men and women. 

Once the women were all worked up, the men rolled up their sleeves too, ready to fight for the jobs.

On the day of hiring, Guanjia Village welcomed a large wave of people from other villages. They crowded around Zhao Shenggu's courtyard, lining up in dense rows.

Someone near the back of the line was getting anxious. "I told you to come early, come early, but no, you had to sleep in. Look at us now. If they finish hiring by the time we get up there, we'll just be standing here watching again."

The woman scolded by her husband had red eyes. She had practiced needlework for several nights in a row, but on the actual day she had overslept. Without her husband saying anything, aggrieved tears pattered down.

When the man saw his wife crying, his heart softened. "Ah, forget it. Even if we don't get selected, we'll just go back and farm well. I'll take some odd jobs too, and life will get better."

There were many people as anxious as them.

In Zhao Shenggu's courtyard, twenty sewing machines had already been set up.

Twenty people went in at a time. First, Zhao Shenggu asked them some simple questions about making clothes. Then Li Ying demonstrated how to operate the sewing machine. After watching, the women would try a simple operation themselves.

For these women who had never touched a sewing machine, this was certainly difficult. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu didn't expect to find experts right away. They mainly wanted to see their aptitude and how nimble their hands were.

Wave after wave of people went in and came out. Because they wanted to see the overall level, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu didn't make decisions on the spot, just kept records for each person.

"I know this person. He's from Zhaojia Village and he's a hard worker." While Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were choosing people, Li Ying was right there telling them what she knew.

Li Ying had a straightforward and cheerful personality, and she had connections with people from all the villages within ten li around. No one was more suited to this job than her.

After more than three days of screening, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu finally selected sixty people. Some were assigned to the clothing workshop, and the rest went to the weaving workshop.

Once the list of hired workers was announced, of course some were happy and some were worried. The people Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu hired were all well-known hard workers, so those who weren't chosen had nothing to say.

Either way, the teams for both workshops were now in place. While Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu were still on break, they stayed in the workshops all day to teach the new workers everything they needed to know as fast as possible. Fortunately, the people they hired were all used to working with needle and thread. With a little guidance, once they learned how to use the sewing machines, there weren't any major problems.

By the time Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu went back to school, they could finally let the workers take over.

And by their first two-day weekend, the workshop had already turned out complete garments. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu specially had a set custom-made for Old Master Li and Old Master Zhao. At first glance, they looked no different from Zhongshan suits, but once worn, they made the person look exceptionally sharp and spirited.

[Zhongshan suit: a distinctive Chinese men's suit with a high buttoned collar and four front pockets, designed in the 1920s based on Sun Yat-sen's (Sun Zhongshan's) specifications as a modern, nationalist alternative to traditional robes and Western suits.]

Old Master Li and Old Master Zhao were so happy they couldn't stop grinning.