“Ahem.”
Xu Ying cleared her throat and rose from her seat. Though she stood up to leave, her gaze remained calmly fixed on Director Ma, neither hurried nor submissive.
“Director Ma, since there’s nothing else to discuss, I’ll take my leave now. I hope our future cooperation will be smooth and pleasant.”
In business negotiations, whoever speaks first after a pause inevitably loses the initiative.
Director Ma understood this rule perfectly.
Seeing Xu Ying about to walk out of his office, he finally couldn’t sit still any longer.
“Ah—Director Xu, wait a minute,” he said, patting his forehead as if he had suddenly remembered something important. “I nearly forgot. I heard from Manager Li that the new clothing line at our Friendship Department Store (a state-run store in major cities during the planned economy era, primarily serving foreign guests and elites) was designed by your Yuxian Textile Factory. Is that true?”
Xu Ying’s expression instantly brightened. She turned back with a warm, confident smile, her eyes shining.
“Director Ma, you mean those clothes?” she asked lightly. “Yes, they were indeed designed by our factory. Recently, we didn’t just produce winter garments—we’ve also launched springwear, along with matching accessories and jewelry.”
As she spoke, Xu Ying unhurriedly took out the design drafts she had prepared in advance and spread them neatly across the table.
“Director Ma, please take a look. These are our factory’s latest designs. I believe they’ll sell extremely well if you put it in your store.”
After that, she reached into her coat and began taking out accessories one by one.
Under the astonished gazes of Director Ma and Manager Li, Xu Ying kept producing items as if her coat were a treasure chest.
There were fluffy winter earrings made with soft fabric and faux fur (popular during this era for warmth and visual fullness), as well as delicate summer earrings inlaid with imitation gemstones—simple in structure, yet elegant and refined.
There were also headbands, hair clips, and decorative hairpins—items that Director Ma had rarely seen in domestic production before.
Both people, seasoned veterans of commerce and fashion trends, felt their eyes light up almost instantly.
Their gazes locked onto Xu Ying, sharp and eager—like wolves who had just discovered prey. Their interest was no longer concealed.
Director Ma burst into hearty laughter.
“Little Xu,” he said warmly, “I won’t beat around the bush. Name your price. I’ll take everything.”
Then he added, half-joking but half-serious, “For the sake of our long and happy cooperation, you should take good care of your Uncle Ma.”
Xu Ying smiled without hesitation.
“Uncle Ma, listen to yourself,” she replied lightly. “Since you’re the first customer of our textile factory, and since fate has brought us together, I’ll acknowledge you as my uncle.”
“As for the prices,” she continued calmly, “naturally, they’ll be fair—family prices.”
In the end, the pricing was settled as follows:
Hair clips ranged from one cent to three yuan, headbands from five cents to six yuan, and earrings from one cent to two yuan, depending on materials and craftsmanship.
Director Ma also generously placed an order for the summer clothing line.
Those so-called foreign brands were outrageous—taking domestic goods, slapping on imported labels, and reselling them to him at several times the original price. The greed was unbearable.
That very day, Xu Ying walked through the Friendship Building and directly secured a 100,000-yuan order for the food factory and a 500,000-yuan order for the textile factory.
The Friendship Building did not merely sell products—it prioritized sales volume and foreign currency earnings. As long as foreign customers were willing to pay, it would profit from whatever could be sold.
When Xu Ying returned to the guesthouse, Uncle Xu and the others immediately rushed toward her.
“Yingying,” he asked anxiously, “how did it go? Did you manage to secure any orders?”
Qiao Yuzhu looked equally uneasy. The department store had rejected them before—would the Friendship Building, with its notoriously strict standards, really accept their goods?
Qian Yuanyuan, exhausted from the journey, stared at Xu Ying with hopeful eyes. She only wanted to go home at this point.
Xu Ying smiled calmly and took out the contracts in her hand. She handed one copy to Zhou Yi and another to Qiao Yuzhu.
Zhou Yi glanced down and immediately broke into a smile.
Yang Nan craned his neck impatiently. “Let me see!”
“Well?” Qian Yuanyuan asked nervously. “How much is it?”
“One hundred thousand,” Zhou Yi replied.
“What? One hundred thousand?!”
Qian Yuanyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
For the first time, she felt an overwhelming surge of pride.
She had actually contributed something meaningful to the factory on this trip.
At that moment, she straightened unconsciously, her chest lifting with confidence.
She glanced at Xu Ying and pursed her lips, her earlier resentment quietly turning into genuine admiration.
“Aunt Yuzhu,” she asked, pointing hesitantly, “what’s written on that contract over there?”
She leaned closer—and froze.
Qiao Yuzhu’s eyes were already red, shining with restrained excitement. She could hardly believe it.
They had really secured such a large order.
Then… could the factory manager’s earlier suggestion actually come true?
Attending the diplomatic exchange meeting (official foreign trade and cultural exchange events attended by select state-approved factories)—she didn’t even dare to imagine it.
She knew how precious those opportunities were. Every year, only the largest factories in each province were shortlisted.
Small county factories like theirs had virtually no chance.
“Director Xu…” Qiao Yuzhu covered her mouth, her voice trembling. “Can we really attend the diplomatic exchange?”
Qian Yuanyuan’s face flushed with excitement. “Director Xu! If our factory is allowed to attend, can I go too?”
Xu Ying turned to look at her.
Originally, she had brought Qian Yuanyuan along to teach her a lesson. The girl was sharp-tongued and spoiled—but undeniably capable.
Aside from being hopeless in the kitchen, she was obedient and quick to follow instructions.
Obedient people were useful.
“That will depend on your performance,” Xu Ying replied evenly.
Qian Yuanyuan immediately straightened. “I promise I’ll do my best!”
The thought of attending a diplomatic exchange as a factory representative filled her with indescribable pride.
Soon after the Friendship Building finalized the orders, shipments from both the food factory and the textile factory began arriving one after another.
When the department store manager heard about this, he immediately stormed into Director Li’s office at the Shanghai Food Factory.
“Director Li,” he said angrily, “we rejected cooperation with the Yuxian Food Factory because of you. The Friendship Building is already selling fried and braised foods!”
“The citizens of Shanghai are getting restless. Our department store’s reputation is going to be ruined by you!”
Director Li forced a smile. “Director Yang, don’t worry. The fried dishes will be ready tomorrow.”
“And the braised dishes?” Director Yang demanded impatiently.
Director Li’s expression darkened.
The person who had provided him with the recipe had sworn it was identical to the Yuxian Food Factory’s version.
But no matter how they tried, they simply couldn’t replicate that deep, rich flavor (a hallmark of traditional Chinese braised cuisine, reliant on long-simmered master stock).
Even the fried dishes fell short.
But if he admitted this now, the cooperation would collapse entirely.
Too much effort, money, and manpower had already been invested. He couldn’t afford to lose everything.
“These foods must be sold,” he thought grimly. “Any money recovered is better than nothing.”
“Send the braised dishes tomorrow as well,” Director Li said with a stiff smile.
Only then did Director Yang’s furious expression finally ease.
Xu Ying’s tasting event had come to an end. The group packed up and prepared to return.
As they left, they passed a department store with a long red banner prominently advertising its newly launched fried and braised foods.
Uncle Xu’s face darkened with anger. “Let’s go inside and see whether their food is really as good as ours.”
“Director Xu, I want to go too,” Yang Nan said angrily. “If it tastes the same, there must be a traitor in the factory.”
Xu Ying hesitated briefly—but her curiosity won out.
She nodded.
The group turned and walked straight toward the department store.