Siheyuan: Walking the Path of Qin Huairu

The class ended successfully. Seeing the leader getting up to leave, Director Wang walked over and said to the mayor, "Comrade Xu Huizhen has one more thing to report to the leaders. It will only take 10 minutes. Do you have the time?"

The mayor asked, “What’s going on?”

Director Wang gave Xu Huizhen a look, and Xu Huizhen said, "Leader, it's like this. Han Qingqiu and I have discovered a new embroidery technology, and we plan to open a small street factory."

The mayor was very interested when he heard this. The country had only been established for a few years and there was a lot of work to be done. Many people were unemployed. If there were good projects and factories could be opened to boost the economy, that would be great.

Let the students leave the get out of class first, and all leaders sit down. Han Qingqiu and others brought in eight embroidery pieces, as well as two embroidery frames, on which there was a half-finished product.

Xu Huizhen first explained the characteristics of cross stitch, such as being simple and easy to learn, and asked Han Qingqiu and Hu Yingzi to embroider it on the spot for everyone to see. Hu Yingzi was young and it was her first time to meet so many senior leaders. Her hands were shaking with nervousness. Xu Huizhen gently patted her on the back and said, "Embroider slowly, don't be nervous."

Xu Huizhen continued to explain, "Because there are many housewives without jobs in our neighborhood committee, Director Wang and I have planned to set up an embroidery factory to promote this embroidery method. As far as I know, some Southeast Asian countries and some European countries like Chinese embroidery very much. If we can sell embroidery to foreigners through friendship stores or foreign trade departments, we can solve the problem of surplus labor, increase people's income, and generate foreign exchange for the country. I just don't know if our idea is mature, so I would like to take this opportunity today to report to all leaders. Please criticize and correct me."

The mayor stood up and looked at each embroidery carefully. The simplest one was a red "happiness" character, which was hung up to celebrate a wedding. Others included vibrant sun-facing chopsticks, vivid galloping horses, rich peonies, and a harmonious family. Other leaders followed behind the mayor and nodded frequently.

The mayor walked to Han Qingqiu again. Han Qingqiu was a man who had experienced many ups and downs, so he was not nervous at all. He sewed quickly and demonstrated the cross-stitch technique to everyone.

After sitting down again, the mayor first expressed his opinion: "Comrade Huizhen, you have this idea to help the government solve problems and make suggestions for our socialist construction. This spirit is worthy of praise and is also worthy of learning for us officials. Everyone, do you think it is right?"

The district head and the street director all nodded in agreement. The mayor continued, "As for whether it will work, how can we know if we don't try it? I just observed that this embroidery method is indeed simple. I think I can get the hang of it if I calm down and study for a few days."

A joke livened up the atmosphere, showing that the mayor is also an approachable leader.

Xu Huizhen said: "Indeed, men with deft hands can also embroider if the factory is established. We can also absorb some professional soldiers with injured legs. Their legs are injured and they cannot do heavy physical labor, but they can use their hands well."

The mayor nodded and led the applause. Others followed suit. Xu Huizhen was also very happy.

The mayor asked all the leaders present to express their opinions. Director Wang spoke first and said, "I have discussed this privately with Comrade Huizhen. We can try it on a small scale first. If the embroidery products are popular, we can gradually expand the scale based on the sales volume. In this way, the investment in building a factory is not too large and it is safe. I have already thought of a site. Our Daqianmen neighborhood committee has a large vacant yard. Although it is a bit run-down, we can find someone to repair it and use it."

Director Wang had already made up his mind that the factory must be built on the site of the Daqianmen Residents Committee, so that in the future they can take advantage of the situation and have priority in arranging personnel in their jurisdiction.

Director Li of the Sub-district Office also expressed his position: "As for the start-up funds, Comrade Huizhen will write a plan and make an estimate. Our Sub-district Office will try its best to raise funds and provide full support."

District Chief: "I have just seen the embroidery, it is very lifelike and vivid. Let's put it this way. Our district will be responsible for the smoothing of all links in sales, responsible for contacting textile factories, and providing production materials according to your requirements, such as embroidery thread, embroidery cloth, etc. If you have any other requirements, please feel free to raise them. Our district will not lag behind if we can do it."

Mayor: "Very good. Many hands make light work. Nothing is impossible if we work together. I will continue to pay attention to this matter. If you encounter any difficulties and need my help, you can come to me directly. Comrade Xu Huizhen is very capable. It is a bit of a waste of her talent to be a manager in a tavern. Let her be the director of the embroidery factory. In the past, Comrade Xu Huizhen and Comrade Han Qingqiu could invest in the embroidery factory with their technology, but now we advocate socialist public ownership, so we do not advocate private ownership. In order to encourage the enthusiasm of comrades in building a socialist country, their wages can be increased a little. The principle of socialist distribution is more work, more pay, and no one can raise any objection."

After the mayor left, Director Li returned and held a meeting with Director Wang and Xu Huizhen. They arranged the next work. Director Wang was responsible for the maintenance of the factory, and Director Li was responsible for raising funds. Xu Huizhen was responsible for the purchase of raw materials, recruiting workers and other preparations for the factory. The name of the embroidery factory was called Daqianmen Embroidery Factory.

Director Wang suggested that in order to facilitate the work, Xu Huizhen should be appointed as the deputy director of the Daqianmen neighborhood committee. Director Wang had her own selfish motives. She found Xu Huizhen to be a talent and wanted to tie her firmly to her camp. Director Li also agreed.

The news that the mayor came to inspect the tavern spread quickly, and the tavern's reputation spread to Qianmenlouzi and Dashilan. Xu Huizhen even became a celebrity in Daqianmen.

After dinner, Xu Huizhen heard the wonderful mechanical voice of the system again: "The host proposed to build an embroidery factory to benefit the people. The system rewards 1000 yuan and 200 kilograms of rice and flour. Please check it."

Xu Huizhen was overjoyed when she heard this. She entered the space and saw the food in the warehouse and the money on the table. She felt so happy. She went to the vegetable garden to see the corn growing well, and went to bed to rest with satisfaction.

The next day, Xu Huizhen handed over the work of the tavern to Cai Quanwu, and she would focus her main energy on the embroidery factory in the future.

Just as I was about to leave the tavern, Teacher Xu walked in. He said a little embarrassedly: "Huizhen, I wrote a news article about what happened in the tavern yesterday and wanted to try to submit it to the newspaper. But I have no experience, so I would like to ask you for some advice. Can the author write about the two of us?"