Chapter 99: First Watch

Chapter 99: First Watch

After the Canton Fair ended, Shen Moer stayed in Guangzhou for a few more days, took David and Paul out for a meal, and received a clothing magazine from Paul as a gift.

Paul, a fashion designer with his own brand, often travels the world in search of fabrics, accessories, and inspiration. He said Shen Moer's embroidery designs inspired him beautifully, and he planned to design several dresses based on them, promising to mail the sketches to Shen Moer later.

He found Shen Moer's aesthetic sense and artistic skills exceptional, even transcending current popular tastes, with a hint of ancient mystique. He was very willing to maintain contact with Shen Moer.

Shen Moer reported the situation to the South Province Commerce Department and got special approval from the leadership to bring the clothing magazine back to Jiangbei County. The province also agreed to facilitate her continued correspondence with Paul based on work requirements.

Shen Moer returned late and missed the grand welcome ceremony in South Province celebrating the trade delegation's triumphant return. However, upon arriving in Jiangbei County, she was still greeted with an organized welcome ceremony.

Stepping off the bus, Shen Moer was stunned.

The parking lot was empty, with the county's main leaders and officials from various departments and street communes standing there. As soon as they saw her, everyone began to applaud. A group of young students wearing red scarves held plastic flowers and chanted in unison, "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome, welcome Comrade Shen Moer, the great hero of Jiangbei County, back home."

Shen Moer: "..."

This was even more embarrassing than when her father insisted she dance for her uncle's birthday, making her wish she could find a hole to hide in.

Especially since the other passengers on the bus were leaning out the windows, cheering.

County Head Gu stepped forward to shake Shen Moer's hand, smiling, "Comrade Shen Moer, welcome back!"

The only upside to this scene was that the county had arranged a car to take Shen Moer and her luggage directly back to Liuqiao Township.

The car pulled into the commune's residential area and stopped at the building where Shen Moer lived. The driver offered to help carry the luggage upstairs, but Fu Mingze quickly descended from the upper floors, followed by Shen Shaoyuan, Zhou Pingan, and Liu Guizhi.

She left with just one bag but came back with four or five bags of various sizes. However, with each person carrying one, it was manageable.

Shen Moer thanked the driver and followed them upstairs.

Fu Mingze, carrying a bag in each hand, waited for her at the stairwell, looking her up and down several times before asking, "Tired?"

Shen Moer, empty-handed, looked at the slightly tanned Fu Mingze and smiled, "Tired, but seeing you makes it all better."

Fu Mingze's lips curved. Deputy Director Shen could be incredibly sweet when she wanted to be, no wonder her father doted on her like a treasure.

For the past half-month, with his daughter away, her father had worried incessantly—fearing she might catch a cold or not eat or sleep well. Fu Mingze repeatedly reassured him that Guangzhou was hot, likely only requiring shirts, and that Guangzhou was known for its culinary delights, offering far more delicious food than South Province. Only then did her father somewhat reluctantly calm down a bit.

Hearing Fu Mingze recount her father's concerns, Shen Moer suddenly asked, "What about you? Weren't you worried about me?"

Fu Mingze paused, his dark eyes hidden in the dim evening light, deep and low, "Come here, I'll tell you."

Shen Moer, unsuspecting, took two steps forward, leaning in close to Fu Mingze, "What?"

Fu Mingze leaned down and quickly kissed her cheek.

"Oh my, how sweet! The young couple is so in love!" Granny Deng, descending from the third floor, unexpectedly witnessed the scene and laughed.

Fu Mingze cleared his throat, his expression unchanged, "Granny Deng."

Shen Moer glared at Fu Mingze, her cheeks slightly warm, and greeted with a smile, "Hello, Granny Deng." She stepped back to make room on the stairs.

Granny Deng chuckled, "Good, good! I heard Comrade Shen did great things in Guangzhou. Oh, we all in Liuqiao Township must thank you! You must be tired, go rest now!"

Shen Moer replied, "Thank you, Granny Deng, be careful on the stairs."

After saying goodbye to the old lady, Shen Moer couldn't resist pinching Fu Mingze's waist. This man, usually so serious, was actually quite mischievous and bold enough to "misbehave" on the stairs, embarrassing her in the process.

Fu Mingze hissed, his eyes glinting with danger: "Deputy Director Shen, don't stir the pot."

Shen Moer giggled and darted ahead of him, reaching the door, then turned to give Fu Mingze a challenging look.

Fu Mingze clenched his jaw.

Dinner was made by Fu Mingze. Shen Shaoyuan wasn't much of a cook, and Fu Mingze was slightly better, but not by much. Compared to Guangzhou's gourmet cuisine, there was naturally a bit of a gap, but thinking that it was made by Fu Zhiqing himself, Shen Moer still ate two bowls of rice out of respect.

Having been away for more than half a month, she deeply missed her father and Fu Zhiqing.

In Guangzhou, she was busy from morning till night. Every waking moment, she was thinking about how to secure more orders and how to better understand the needs of foreign clients to adjust future production directions.

There was almost no free time, and when she did have a moment, the only thing she wanted to do was sleep.

It wasn't until the moment she returned home that she finally relaxed, and the pent-up longing in her heart surged forth.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Shen Shaoyuan went to bed early, but the young couple stayed up late.

The next day, Shen Moer rested at home for another day, and on the third day, she headed to the county alongside Commune Secretary Geng Liming and Director Zhang Zhengxiang.

Having secured orders worth tens of millions of dollars, the ninth workshop could no longer operate as it did before. Shen Moer and County Mayor Gu Yangbo had the same idea. After discussing, they promptly submitted a provincial application to establish the second branch of the South Province Embroidery Factory. At the same time, the county sought funding from the city, and both the city and county jointly advanced part of the funds to start expanding the factory building.

This time, building the factory was not just a matter for Liuqiao Commune. The county mobilized people from four surrounding communes, ensuring that the autumn harvest was not affected, and each commune rotated sending workers to aid in the factory's construction.

Although it was not explicitly stated, everyone knew that the subordinate workshop of the South Province Embroidery Factory in Liuqiao Commune had signed orders worth over ten million dollars at the Canton Fair, twice that of the headquarters of the South Province Embroidery Factory. Now, with the county leading the rapid expansion of the factory, it signaled a wave of new job opportunities, and those from nearby communes were positioned to seize the opportunity first.

This wasn't just helping Liuqiao Commune build a factory; it was clearly helping themselves build a factory!

Boosting exports and foreign exchange earnings was paramount. The provincial leaders who attended the Canton Fair were well aware that the ninth workshop's production capacity fell short. Expanding the factory and even establishing a branch factory was imperative. Therefore, after the report from Jiangbei County was submitted, provincial leaders personally greenlit the branch factory's construction and directly allocated a support fund from the Provincial Industry Department for the project.

The South Province Embroidery Factory originally had some ideas, as after the establishment of the branch factory, it would be independent in terms of personnel and finances, essentially no longer under their control.

Watching such a big piece of fat slip away from their mouths, many were left frustrated and resentful.

But the decision to build the branch factory was personally approved by the main provincial leaders and jointly approved by relevant departments. No one even asked for the opinions of the leaders of the South Province Embroidery Factory.

Moreover, considering the heavy production tasks, the decision to establish the branch factory was made very quickly. By the time some people at the South Province Embroidery Factory reacted, the documents had already been sent to Jiangbei County.

If anyone at the South Province Embroidery Factory regretted this the most, it was Chen Jiahua. She had tirelessly campaigned for a branch factory but was thwarted by obstacles.

However, Chen Jiahua was not resentful. This time, the branch factory was established thanks to Shen Moer's own abilities. Chen Jiahua now held her in high regard, and a newfound ambition ignited within her. Seeing Shen Moer achieve such success, she couldn't help but feel motivated to strive for more.

The factory's internal squabbles could continue unchecked. Now, she just wanted to work hard and lead the first workshop to produce better embroidery, aiming to secure more orders at next year's Canton Fair.

Of course, not everyone had the same broad-mindedness and ambition as Chen Jiahua. For example, Mao Jianxin was now so remorseful that it gnawed at him constantly.

He sometimes questioned if he'd lost his mind when he went to Liuqiao Commune, otherwise, why would he have gone out of his way to cause trouble for Shen Moer?

After returning to the provincial capital, Mao Jianxin recalled everything that happened in Liuqiao Commune countless times, and even he had to admit that from beginning to end, Shen Moer had never actively sought to cause trouble for him. His fear of being outmatched was purely his own paranoia. In fact, it was his own insecurity.

If he had gotten along well with Shen Moer after going to Liuqiao Commune, if he hadn't done those stupid things and stayed in Liuqiao Commune... then even if he couldn't become the branch factory director, at least he could have been a deputy director, right?

Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in the world, and what-ifs will never happen.

Shen Moer, however, was unaware that the establishment of the branch factory had stirred so many people's nerves. She was swamped, leaving no room for such thoughts.

The provincial document directly appointed her as the director of the second branch of the South Province Embroidery Factory and gave her significant autonomy to form the factory leadership locally.

Although the second branch was slightly lower in rank than the South Province Embroidery Factory, it was still quite high for the county. Geng Liming even quipped about vying for the deputy director role.

The county and commune recommended several candidates to Shen Moe, who ultimately chose Feng Wei, Geng Liming's former right-hand man, as the deputy factory manager in charge of administrative affairs. She also promoted Xing Fangjie to be the deputy manager responsible for business operations, and Jin Caifei was appointed as another deputy manager, continuing to oversee procurement and sales.

The heads of various departments also saw their positions elevated. Li Xinmei was appointed as the workshop director, while Liu Yinsuang and Duan Xiaoshuang were both promoted to deputy workshop directors.

Surprisingly, Shen Moe assigned the position of head of the drafting room to Bai Junwen, the only male candidate who passed the embroidery test.

His embroidery skills were indeed quite good, but soon after joining the factory, Shen Moe discovered that he was secretly learning to paint. Within a few months, he had mastered the embroidery designs currently being produced in the workshop.

Seeing his interest, Shen Moe lent him some of her teaching materials for self-study. It seemed he truly had a talent, as his painting skills now surpassed those of the painters originally hired.

In this way, Shen Moe methodically filled each position, feeling almost like she was bestowing titles after conquering a kingdom.

It took her several days to sort out the personnel arrangements within the factory, after which she delegated all tasks.

First was recruitment—embroiderers, painters, and other miscellaneous workers—all needed to be expanded.

This time, the recruitment drive covered the entire county, though naturally, the Liubridge Commune and nearby communes, due to their geographical advantage, would have more candidates.

It wasn't just a few dozen; the first batch of embroiderers numbered four hundred, painters thirty, and other departmental staff fifty.

Additionally, thirty administrative and logistical personnel were recruited.

Before the factory expansion was completed, the embroiderers were trained in groups based on their respective communes, while the painters were gathered at the Liubridge Commune Middle School for centralized training.

Meanwhile, under the leadership of Liu Yinsuang, a group of women with questionable backgrounds but skilled in embroidery were organized across the communes. These women could not officially join the state-owned factory as workers, so they were organized under the name of the second branch factory to undergo "labor reform."

The Yangliu Brigade made available about ten rooms from its headquarters, repaired a few dilapidated houses left by the village's five-guaranteed households, and converted them into five large dormitories and about ten workrooms to accommodate these women.

With over fifty people, the Yangliu Brigade revived the communal dining areas and utensils from the early days of collective eating, setting up a canteen for them to manage themselves.

Although it was not officially named, it was essentially equivalent to establishing an "unofficial workshop" composed entirely of "skilled workers" in the Yangliu Brigade.

Compared to the more than three hundred newly recruited embroiderers who still needed training, these women could be put into production after just a few days of training.

Moreover, because they had previously done the hardest and most exhausting work in their respective brigades, they cherished this rare opportunity and worked with all their might, working efficiently and producing high-quality results, even surpassing the original workers of the Ninth Workshop.

For a time, Liuqiao Commune was bustling with energy and hard work.

With the full support of the county, the expansion project of the Second Branch Factory was completed in just two months, and the dormitories were finished half a month later.

Hundreds of cadres and workers moved into the spacious and bright new factory building, and in the presence of provincial and city leaders, a plaque reading "South Province Embroidery Factory Second Branch" was hung at the entrance.

With the official unveiling of the South Province Embroidery Factory Second Branch, 1972 finally came to an end amidst the sound of firecrackers, as another year came to an end.

Time flew by, and four years flew by, bringing us to the year 1976.