Chapter 110 – Interview

Yu Shoujing liked seeing young people full of drive and energy. As for this student who had ranked first in the journalism program at Imperial Capital University for four consecutive years, he had the intention to mentor her seriously, so he offered some additional guidance: “This article isn’t breaking news, so there’s no rush to publish. The most important thing is to do the interviews thoroughly, gather as much material and data as possible. That way, your article won’t come out empty and vague.” Glancing at the calendar, Yu Shoujing continued, “I’ve given you a list of five state-owned enterprises and five private enterprises. They cover all aspects of daily life—food, clothing, housing, transportation—and are quite representative. I’ll give you one week. Plan your interviews and writing schedule wisely. Bring me the completed draft next Monday.”

“Got it, Editor-in-Chief,” Zhenzhen quickly responded. “Understood.”

Yu Shoujing smiled and handed her a temporary work badge. “Some of these factories are close, some are far. No need to report to the office every day. Just go directly to your interview locations. If you run into any trouble, don’t stress over it alone. Come find me—I’ll help you figure it out.”

Zhenzhen gave a grateful bow. “Thank you, Editor-in-Chief Yu.”

Yu Shoujing chuckled softly. “Alright, go on and get to work.”

Zhenzhen walked out of Yu Shoujing’s office with a spring in her step. Passing through the editorial department’s main hall, she spotted Wei Yujin reading documents at a desk. Zhenzhen quietly approached and whispered, “Sister Wei, I’ve got interview tasks today, so I probably won’t return to the office. After work, just go straight to Tengda Furniture Factory—I’ll wait for you there.”

Since they were surrounded by colleagues, Wei Yujin didn’t say much. She just nodded and reminded her, “Be careful biking.” Zhenzhen replied affirmatively and quickly left the office.

At the bicycle shed, Zhenzhen took out the paper given by Editor-in-Chief Yu. On it were five state-owned and five private enterprises. Tengda Furniture Factory was prominently listed first.

Zhenzhen’s face turned dark seeing the name of her own furniture factory and decided to visit the other companies first. With a sweep of her mind, the locations of the enterprises appeared in her head. She chose to start with a state-owned clothing factory, then a food factory, and finally head to Tengda Furniture Factory on the way back.

She stuffed the paper into her bag. Making sure no one nearby was watching, she quickly pulled a sunhat from her spatial storage and put it on. Wheeling her bicycle out, Zhenzhen swung her long legs onto the seat and rode off, excited, toward one of Imperial Capital’s old state-owned enterprises—Baixing Clothing Factory.

Baixing Clothing Factory was an old state enterprise. Back in the day, the sailors’ shirts and green military uniforms worn by people in the capital mostly came from here. But ever since the economic reforms, people’s clothing choices had changed dramatically. The old blue and gray tones no longer stirred any desire to buy. Young folks now preferred brighter colors. If a girl could wear an outfit like the lead actress in the movies, she’d be a fashionable sight on the street.

After about twenty minutes, Zhenzhen arrived at Baixing Clothing Factory. The elderly gatekeeper eyed her trendy outfit curiously and asked, “What are you here for? Who are you looking for?”

“Hello, Uncle,” Zhenzhen greeted as she took out her temporary press badge. “I’m a reporter from Huaguo News. I’d like to interview your factory director, if that’s possible?”

The old gatekeeper didn’t know whether the director was available, but he did know not to offend a reporter from Huaguo News—it was the country’s top newspaper. He opened the gate and let her in, muttering in admiration, “A young girl already working as a reporter? That’s impressive.” Zhenzhen smiled and thanked him before heading straight into the office building and locating the factory director’s office.

Factory Director Si Yaren was frowning over the payroll list at his desk. Over ten thousand pieces of clothing were piled up in inventory with no sales. Without clearing inventory, there was no cash flow, which meant the factory couldn’t operate properly or buy new fabric. It was a vicious cycle, and Si Yaren sighed gloomily—was the factory really going to collapse under his leadership?

Knock knock knock… came a knock on the door. Si Yaren quickly hid the payroll list under a pile of documents, took a sip of tea, and called out, “Come in.”

Zhenzhen opened the office door with a smile. “Hello, are you Director Si?”

Seeing a young, beautiful, and fashionably dressed woman, Si Yaren immediately stood up, full of hope. “Hello! Are you here to place an order?”

Zhenzhen paused, then shook her head. “Sorry, no. I’m Li Mingzhen, a reporter from Huaguo News. We’re working on a feature article exploring which kinds of enterprises are thriving amid the rapid growth following the reforms.”

At that, Si Yaren’s face fell. “Then our factory must be the textbook negative example—on the brink of bankruptcy.”

Zhenzhen had already pulled out her notebook and pen. “In your opinion, what’s the difference between running a business now versus before?”

Si Yaren scratched his head. “Before, we just followed state orders—green uniforms, Lenin suits, that sort of thing. It was always the same stuff year-round, and we never worried about sales. Now, we don’t know what to produce. Nothing in our warehouse sells anymore. Even the supply co-ops and stores we used to work with don’t want our goods. They say the colors and styles are as boring as concrete walls. I just don’t get it—people used to be proud to wear this stuff. Why is it suddenly outdated?”

Zhenzhen immediately understood. This was the same mindset as the original factory director at her furniture plant—rigidly sticking to old ways, with no sense of innovation.

Finally having someone to vent to, Director Si opened the floodgates. He talked nonstop for three hours, from the factory’s glory days to its current misery, drinking five cups of water before he finally stopped. Zhenzhen had filled ten full pages of notes—she’d basically learned everything, even things she didn’t want to know. Closing her notebook, she asked with a smile, “Would it be possible to take a look at your unsold inventory?”

“Sure, what’s there to hide?” Si Yaren stood up readily. “You reporters meet a lot of people—maybe you can help me find a buyer.”

He led Zhenzhen to the warehouse, which was stacked with bundles of clothing. He casually opened one and pulled out a white shirt. “Look at the quality of this shirt. Back then, all the girls loved wearing one with army trousers—looked so sharp.”

Zhenzhen looked at the shapeless shirt and sighed. “No one wears army trousers these days. And even shirts—girls don’t like this style anymore.” Si Yaren scratched his head again, clearly at a loss.

Zhenzhen thought of the Japanese drama Blood Suspicion that was about to air in China. When it exploded in popularity back then, it made the “Yukiko blouse” a national craze. Every young woman had one and styled her hair in a Yukiko bun to show she was fashionable.

Raising her brows slightly, Zhenzhen casually asked, “Director Si, how much are you wholesaling these shirts for?”

“One yuan each,” he replied with a sigh. “It’s not expensive. Look at the quality of our fabric—it’ll last for years without wearing out.”

Zhenzhen nodded. The price really wasn’t high. A more fashionable shirt outside sold for three yuan. Picking up one of the shirts, she calculated silently. “Director Si, if someone were willing to take all this inventory but wanted some design changes, how much extra would it cost per shirt?”

Si Yaren looked at her with delight. “You know someone who wants our shirts? What kind of changes? Are they major?”

Zhenzhen quickly sketched a short-sleeved ‘Yukiko blouse’ in her notebook and showed it to him. “We’d need to change the collar to a stand collar with a bowtie, add embroidery on the chest, and pleats on the shoulders.”

Si Yaren frowned slightly. “That’s basically a full redesign. But we’re out of work anyway and don’t have the capital to operate. If we can sign a contract right away and get half the payment upfront, I can do it for just thirty cents extra per shirt.” Worried he might lose the deal, he quickly added, “The thirty cents is just for the embroidery. I’m not even factoring in labor, utilities, or anything. If our factory were doing better, I couldn’t offer such a low price.”

Zhenzhen smiled and closed her notebook. “I get what you mean, Director Si. But I only heard about this from a relative. I’ll have to talk to him and see. Whether it works out or not, he’ll have to discuss the details with you.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Comrade Xiao Li!” Si Yaren grasped her hand emotionally. “The future of our factory is in your hands. Please, do what you can!”

Zhenzhen smiled. “As long as the quality is guaranteed, there will be more and more win-win deals like this in the future.” She glanced at her watch and gave a polite smile. “It’s getting late, I should take my leave. Thank you for accepting my interview.”

“Don’t go! It’s just about lunch time—come eat at our cafeteria,” Si Yaren said warmly. He had a particularly good impression of this young reporter from Huaguo News Agency and eagerly invited her to try the cafeteria food. “We should have some meat dishes today. I’ll ask the chef to make you a drumstick.”

“No need.” Zhenzhen quickly declined. “There are rules for us when we go out on interviews. We really can’t eat meals at the place we’re covering.”

Hearing that there were rules, Si Yaren didn’t dare insist. He couldn’t risk affecting this young lady’s future over one meal. Seeing that Zhenzhen was about to leave, he personally walked her all the way to the gate and anxiously asked, “So… when will the person you mentioned who wants to buy clothes come to place an order?”

Zhenzhen thought for a moment and replied, “As early as this afternoon, no later than tomorrow during the day. I’ll tell him to bring the money with him.”

As soon as he heard that, Si Yaren immediately let out a sigh of relief, as if he’d just taken a calming pill, and waved vigorously at her. “Reporter Li, come visit the factory again when you have time!”

“Okay,” Zhenzhen waved back and rode off on her bicycle.

The old gatekeeper stretched his neck and watched for a while. Seeing that she had left but the factory director was still standing there grinning foolishly, he couldn’t help coming out to stand behind Si Yaren, tiptoeing to catch a glimpse of Zhenzhen’s figure too. Si Yaren only turned around cheerfully after Zhenzhen disappeared around the corner on her bike, but was startled by the old man standing behind him.

“Oh my! Old Wang, why didn’t you say anything standing right behind me? You scared me!” Si Yaren stepped back a few paces, then came to his senses. “What are you looking at?”

“That pretty reporter comrade, of course.” Old Wang winked at Si Yaren with a gossip-loving expression. “Hey Director, you look so happy—are you planning to set her up with your son or something?”

“What match? You think a reporter from Huaguo News would like my son?” Si Yaren rolled his eyes, then seeing Old Wang’s confused expression, kindly explained, “She’s a good person. Heard our factory was struggling with inventory and couldn’t pay wages, so she plans to introduce a relative to place an order with us.”

“Well, that’s great news.” Old Wang started smiling again, but then his face fell. “Oh, never mind. We don’t even have money to buy fabric.”

“You sure know a lot,” Si Yaren chuckled. “Let me tell you, they said just to rework our current stock into a new style. Oh, and Reporter Li said they might come sign the contract this afternoon or tomorrow—if anyone shows up, be enthusiastic and send them straight to my office.”

“Of course,” Old Wang said. “We haven’t had our wages in two months. You think I wouldn’t be motivated?”

Watching the director walk away with hands behind his back, humming a tune, Old Wang returned to the gate post grinning. “Once I get paid, I’m getting half a pound of pig head meat with cucumbers. Haven’t tasted meat in three months—I’m starving.”

Zhenzhen turned into a secluded alley on her bike. Confirming through her awareness that no one was around, she took herself and the bike directly into her spatial dimension. She casually set the bike aside, showered in the bathroom, then brought out a bowl of zhajiang noodles from the kitchen and a bowl of mung bean soup to sip.

Thanks to the space’s feature of keeping food from spoiling, Zhenzhen would stock it up whenever she had time. If she got hungry at night or couldn’t cook conveniently, the food in the space would come in handy. After eating, she set an alarm for 1:30 p.m., lay down for a nap, and headed straight for the food factory once it rang, feeling refreshed.

Compared to the Baixing Garment Factory, the Imperial Capital Food Factory was much more modern. It not only produced traditional snacks loved by the elderly but also made many trendy Western-style pastries popular among young people, such as cream cakes, coconut-filled treats, cocoa peanut crisps, chocolate walnut fillings, and chocolate pineapple cakes—all hot sellers.

During the interview, the factory director, Zhang Runxiang, laid out samples of each treat for Zhenzhen to try and explained that he had taken professional chefs across the country and even to Hong Kong to learn these recipes. “You can’t just rely on past glories when running a factory. While preserving traditional flavors and techniques, we also have to introduce things the public likes—that’s how we stay relevant.”

Zhenzhen nodded and jotted down the quote, then stood and smiled. “Thank you, Director Zhang. Your philosophy is truly inspiring. I’ll definitely include this in the report.”

After leaving the food factory, Zhenzhen stopped by their storefront and bought a pound of the pastries she liked. Once she reached a deserted spot on her bike, she put them directly into her space.

Seeing it wasn’t yet 4 p.m., she headed to Tengda Furniture Factory. Ever since the factory opened its market, Zhenzhen had stepped back from the forefront, rarely visiting. This was partly to show her trust in Sun Rende and partly to avoid making him feel constrained by her constant presence.

Now, the furniture factory had grown over tenfold compared to when she took over. A single workshop now had more people than the entire factory used to. Even so, workers were still bustling every day like spinning tops, constantly fulfilling furniture orders. Tengda had become a well-known furniture brand in Huaguo. For newlyweds, buying a full Tengda set and mattress was a symbol of wealth and a good life.

The factory’s gatekeepers had been replaced with strong young men, just like many of the new workers, who didn’t recognize Zhenzhen.

One young man saw her standing at the gate pressing the buzzer and quickly came out. “Hello, who are you here to see?”

Zhenzhen smiled and handed over her press ID. “I’m a reporter from Huaguo News Agency, here to interview Director Sun.”

“Alright, please wait a moment.” The young man returned to the security room and made an internal call. Shortly after, he came back and opened the gate. “Director Sun asked you to go right in. You’ll find him in the director’s office on the first floor of the office building.”

Seeing the young man’s consistently courteous manner, Zhenzhen could tell that the factory’s management was very strict just from the quality of the gatekeeping.

She knocked on the door to Sun Rende’s office. He had already been informed that a reporter from Huaguo News would be arriving and immediately got up to open the door. Seeing Zhenzhen standing outside, he broke into a smile. “Director, what a surprise! Come in, come in! A reporter is coming later—why not chat with them while you’re here?”

Zhenzhen laughed and slapped her ID on the desk. “No need to wait. I am the reporter. I came to interview you today on purpose.”

“Oh, come on,” Sun Rende chuckled, handing her a cup of tea. “You could just interview yourself.”

Zhenzhen took a sip and smiled. “You’re the one managing the factory—who else would I interview? You’d better cooperate.”

Sun Rende gave a helpless smile. “You’re the one steering the ship. Without your leadership, how could we stand out among so many furniture factories in the country and become a top brand so quickly?”

“Because you’ve done a great job,” Zhenzhen said with a laugh. “Alright, let’s talk about the interview later. Call Xiao Wang over—I have a personal matter I’d like him to help with.”

Xiao Wang, full name Wang Xinzhi, might’ve been young, but he had a proper business management education from Wharton. After graduating, he returned to the capital with his father to reconnect with their roots. Upon hearing this, Xi Junjie immediately recommended him to Zhenzhen.

Zhenzhen, who was in need of management talent, hired Wang Xinzhi at a high salary to assist Sun Rende. After a year of collaboration, Sun focused on technical oversight and overall strategy, while Wang handled negotiations and internal management.

His office was next door. After a quick internal call, he came over. Zhenzhen got straight to the point. “I interviewed Baixing Garment Factory this morning and found their inventory backlog is seriously affecting operations. I plan to have them rework their stock shirts into new styles. Go help me negotiate the contract and pay a deposit.”

Though Zhenzhen said it was a personal matter, Wang Xinzhi’s professionalism wouldn’t let him blindly sign a contract. He sat down, pulled out a notebook, and asked, “What style are you planning to convert the stock into? Can we ensure market demand? What’s the delivery timeframe? What price did you agree on?”

Zhenzhen really appreciated this young man’s professionalism. She explained, “I watched the Japanese drama Blood Suspicion in the school’s projection room before. The storyline was incredibly engaging. I heard it’s about to air domestically. Judging by how people in recent years have mimicked the outfits of movie and TV drama protagonists, I believe the female lead’s clothes will definitely be a hit. So, I plan to produce a batch of identical outfits in advance. Once the drama becomes popular, I’ll have already seized the opportunity, and we’ll surely make a fortune.”

Wang Xinzhi asked, “So are you planning to wait until the drama airs before negotiating cooperation with various stores?”

“That’s unnecessary,” Zhenzhen replied. “I already have a few clothing stores of my own. I estimate even ten thousand pieces might not be enough to sell. This batch alone could drive a sales boom for my other clothes.”

Although Wang Xinzhi didn’t know much about the domestic clothing industry, he was good at drawing inferences: “If people here are into celebrity trends, why don’t we just buy that factory? As long as we follow the trends, we’re guaranteed profits. Why let others take a share?”

Zhenzhen couldn’t help but smile, her eyes crinkling: “You really have the makings of a domineering CEO—talking about buying up factories just like that.” Seeing the puzzled look on Wang Xinzhi’s face, she quickly added, “I’m joking. That factory is state-owned. By the time we go through the entire negotiation and acquisition process with the government, someone else would’ve beaten us to it. For now, just sign a supply contract with them. Keep an eye out in the future. If there’s a suitable factory, we can consider acquiring it.”

Wang Xinzhi stood up energetically: “Don’t worry, Chairwoman—I guarantee the task will be done.”

Zhenzhen smiled and sketched a clothing design on paper, marking all the details: “When you go to sign the contract, make sure to emphasize the details and quality. Have them make a sample first—bring it over in two days. If it checks out, we’ll proceed with mass production. Remember, the production cycle has to be short. Don’t let summer end before the clothes are made—that would leave us sitting on unsold inventory.” With that, she pulled out a prepared sum of 13,000 yuan from her bag. “This is full payment for the order. I’m entrusting this task entirely to you. Once it’s done, I’ll give you a big red envelope.”

“Rest assured, Chairwoman, I will get it done!” Wang Xinzhi took the money and design sketch, returned to his office to grab his bag, and left.

Thinking of Wei Yujin, Zhenzhen quickly instructed Sun Rende, “I have a classmate named Wei Yujin. We lived in the same dorm for all four years of college. She’s now working at the Huaguo News Agency. Back then, she was a sent-down youth in the northwest and only left when she got into college. But her husband and child are still living in the rural northwest—they’ve been apart for years. I heard from Sister Wei that her husband does some carpentry work. Let’s bring him into the factory. But just because I’m letting him join doesn’t mean he gets special treatment. When he arrives, take a good look at his skills. If he’s no good, start him off as a general laborer. We can’t let him compromise our product quality.”

“Don’t worry, Factory Director, I understand,” Sun Rende immediately agreed.

Zhenzhen paused and added, “One more thing—help me figure this out. Sister Wei can’t apply for a single dorm at her unit, so we’ll need to solve her family’s housing problem. Do you think we should give them a dorm? Otherwise, she might not feel comfortable bringing her husband over.”

Sun Rende hesitated a little before responding, “Since you don’t want to give him special treatment, I suggest we don’t allocate them one of the factory-built dorms. If a new employee gets a room right away, the others will definitely talk behind the scenes.”

“Then is there another place we can arrange?” Zhenzhen asked.

Sun Rende quickly replied, “Back then, according to your instructions, we bought a few houses as investments. The closest one to the factory is a small courtyard with two rooms. Wang Xinzhi lived there when he first arrived. Once he moves out, the place is still untouched. We could let them stay there.”

Zhenzhen nodded. “Alright, let’s treat it the same as we do for other employees. First sign a three-year dorm use agreement. If they still can’t afford to buy a house in three years, we’ll extend it another three.”

Just then, the phone in Sun Rende’s office rang. The gatekeeper’s voice came through the receiver: “Factory Director, there’s a comrade named Wei Yujin here to see you.”