Chapter 167 Model Workers Group Photo
When Xu Qiang saw the first batch of indigo powder he produced, all his fatigue disappeared immediately.

It is estimated that Xu Qiang’s family is the only private enterprise that can independently produce indigo powder these days.

Otherwise, this dye would not be in such short supply on the market.

In fact, there are many domestic dye companies and private dye factories have also begun to rise rapidly. However, the industrial dyes they produce are all ordinary products with simple processes. Products like indigo powder, which have complex processes and certain requirements for equipment, have always been monopolized by several large domestic factories. Private enterprises do not have good equipment and cannot master their complex production processes.

Even until the late 1980s, indigo powder was still a scarce dye. It was not until the early 1990s that domestic manufacturers introduced foreign equipment and technology to start mass production.

Moreover, the indigo powder production process used by Xu Qiang has actually been improved many times in later generations. Not only does the indigo powder produced have good color and is not easy to fade, but more importantly, the entire production process produces little wastewater. It is a mature and environmentally friendly production process.

Even compared to the indigo powder produced by major domestic manufacturers, Xu Qiang's products have better glossiness and can make jeans appear very bright when used to dye them. Similar technology was not developed by foreign research institutes until more than ten years later.

If there were no patent law in the country at present, Xu Qiang would have applied for a patent for this dyeing process long ago.

"Erhu, take a good rest today. Tomorrow, take our new samples and contact Fuzhou Textile Factory to see if they are willing to buy our dyes." Xu Qiang thought for a moment and then said, "In addition, take more samples this time and visit more factories. If they have quotations, feel free to contact us by telegram."

"Row!"

"Remember not to agree to them yet. We will supply the highest bidder first."

Xu Qiang seemed very confident when he said this.

The matter is obvious. There are many manufacturers who need this kind of indigo powder, and Xu Qiang's production capacity is limited. So no matter whether it is a large or small factory, Xu Qiang will sell it to whoever offers the highest price.

"The price should not be low. I have been to several factories in Fuzhou before. They all want this blue dye. Jeans are very popular in the market now. As long as our samples are qualified, I will definitely not sell them cheaply!" Erhu said.

"That's fine!" Xu Qiang said with a smile.

Afterwards, Xu Qiang had breakfast with the workers and went to work in the factory.

……

As soon as Xu Qiang arrived at the factory, he was notified to go to the trade union.

After the public announcement period, Xu Qiang has been officially identified as this year's model worker of the factory, so in the next few days, Xu Qiang will also participate in some activities to prepare for the model worker commendation conference held on National Day.

After arriving at the union, under the leadership of the union chairman, Xu Qiang and more than 30 other factory model workers went to the workers' club.

As soon as he arrived at the Workers' Club, Xu Qiang saw at a glance that a red list had been posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the club. It was the list of this year's factory model workers, and Xu Qiang's name was prominently listed among them.

At this moment, Xu Qiang and other model workers gathered here to take photos, and the photos will soon be put into the publicity column.

Among all the model workers, Xu Qiang is undoubtedly the youngest. Some of the other selected model workers are "professional model workers" in the factory, and some have worked diligently for more than ten years to get today's honor.

Only Xu Qiang, who was just a temporary worker a week ago, has now transformed himself into a model worker and is about to receive the factory's highest honor.

Before taking the photo, several female workers from the union began to put makeup on Xu Qiang and his friends.

Xu Qiang wore a big red flower on his chest and his hair was recombed. Everyone wore a white fake collar and they all looked much more energetic.

In the 100s and s, if you wanted to take a photo, you had to go to a state-owned photo studio, and the prices were relatively high. So at that time, people went to take photos to record important moments in their lives, such as the th day of birth, wedding photos, family portraits, etc.

Shengli Machinery Factory did not have dedicated photography and photo developing personnel, so they could only contact the masters of the state-owned photo studio in the county in advance to come to the factory to take photos.

In this day and age, cameras are also a "luxury". In the 1970s and 1980s, the most famous camera was the Seagull camera.

At that time, a Seagull DF camera cost as much as 450 yuan. The camera itself was quite expensive, and adding the film made it an even bigger expense.

For example, a Seagull fixed-focus camera that uses film, the cheapest Kodak film costs about ten yuan, and developing it also costs about ten yuan, so the cost of taking a roll of film is about 30 yuan. At that time, the monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan, so buying a camera to take pictures was definitely a luxury.

Most people in the factory don’t even have a chance to take a photo throughout the entire year, so this photo shoot can be considered a benefit for the factory’s model workers.

"Young comrade, straighten your back and smile... You don't have to smile so exaggeratedly, just smile... Yes, that's it, don't blink..."

The photographer gave instructions to Xu Qiang who was sitting in front of the camera, and when everything was ready, he pressed the shutter button skillfully.

"That's all." Xu Qiang asked casually after seeing the master put down the camera. "Okay, next one!" The master waved to Duan Yun.

Seeing this, Xu Qiang walked to the side, took off the red flower and fake collar on his chest, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood aside and watched with interest.

The hardworking people taking photos at the back also looked a bit excited, so much so that the photographer had to keep reminding them.

You know, for an ordinary worker, becoming a model worker in a factory may be the greatest honor and highlight of their life. In later generations, people pay more attention to material pursuits, and they simply cannot experience this great sense of honor and happiness.

After more than an hour, everyone had finished taking individual photos, and the next step was group photos.

At this time, the main leaders of the factory also came to the club, including the factory director Liu Biao, the deputy factory director Xie Changjiang, the general manager Li Cunzhu, the chairman of the trade union Guan Jinghe and others. They also changed into new clothes and had cordial conversations with some model workers present with smiles on their faces.

Afterwards, everyone was led to the stairs in front of the Workers' Cultural Palace. The union staff had arranged a row of stools in the front in advance, and the seat in the middle was for the factory director Liu Biao.

"Just stand behind me." Liu Biao waved to Xu Qiang and then assured him.

"Hey." Xu Qiang responded and immediately came to the position behind Liu Biao, with his back straight.

"I'll count down to three, and then everyone will shout 'eggplant'!"

After seeing that everyone was in place, the photographer said to everyone.

"3...2...1..."

With the flash of the shutter, this happy moment was recorded forever...

……

At the same time, Erhu boarded a train to Fuzhou, preparing to contact local textile and garment factories.

After working as a salesman for a fertilizer factory for more than a month, Erhu has learned some tricks of the trade.

If you want to be a successful salesperson, besides being quick-witted and eloquent, you also need to be bold, careful and thick-skinned. Business is often like this. The more times you take action, the more opportunities you will have. No matter how cold the other party's attitude towards you is, you still cannot give up easily. You have to pester them and keep trying. The principles of doing this business are somewhat similar to those of picking up girls.

After getting off the train, Erhu took the bus directly to Fuzhou Textile Factory.

When it comes to Fuzhou Textile Factory, almost every local knows it.

In Fuzhou, there was once a saying that 10 out of every 3 people would be related to Fufang, that is, the Jiangxi Fuzhou Textile Factory, either as a parent, a spouse, a child, or a relative.

People say this because Fufang was indeed very large in those days and had a very important position in Fuzhou. It was the largest state-owned enterprise in Fuzhou and the financial pillar of the local government.

At its peak, Fufang covered an area of ​​570 acres, had more than 7000 employees and nearly 3 family members.

When Erhu came to Fuzhou for the first time, the manufacturer he contacted was Fuzhou Textile Factory. However, things were not smooth at the beginning. Later, out of desperation, Erhu blocked the factory gate every day and finally met Xu Ming, the head of the factory's supply and marketing department. He spent more than ten yuan to treat him to a meal, and only then did he have contact with the manufacturer.

Although Xu Ming finally did not agree to buy the dyes brought by Erhu, he provided a lot of valuable information, including the addresses of various garment factories around Fuzhou, as well as the basic prices and supply and demand of various dyes in the country. This information was very helpful to Erhu, so much so that he later easily reached purchase intentions with some local garment factories.

In addition, Xu Ming also revealed to Erhu that their factory's previous dyed denim cloth was very popular and at one point was in short supply. But later, the two domestic dye factories that had been supplying them with indigo powder had stopped supplying them for a full six months due to production scheduling and other issues. So he once told Erhu that if their dye factory could produce this blue dye, he would definitely buy it at a high price.

Considering that Fuzhou Textile Factory is a large state-owned enterprise with relatively good performance and reputation, Erhu's first business target after arriving in Fuzhou was still Fuzhou Textile Factory.

"Comrade, I am a salesperson from the fertilizer factory in Xiazhuang Village, Gaoling Township. I want to see Xu Ming, the head of your supply and marketing department. Please let him know."

At the window of the factory's communication room, Erhu said to the guard inside with a smile on his face.

"We are working now. If you don't have an appointment in advance, please register first and then wait." After listening to Erhu's introduction, the person outside the door said impatiently and handed a registration book to Erhu.

"Brother, I have something urgent to discuss with him, can you please help me?" Erhu wrote his name crookedly on the notebook, then touched his pocket and finally handed the notebook back.

"Don't block the door, wait outside..." Just as the guard was frowning and wanted to let Erhu go, he found a box of Phoenix cigarettes under the registration book. He immediately picked up the phone at the gate, dialed the dial twice, and said into the microphone: "Is Xu Ming, the head of the sales department, here? Someone is looking for you at the door..."

(End of this chapter)