Chapter 68: A Battle of Tongues, A Move to Win Over People

She smiled and looked at the others, “Does anyone else have any questions?”

Deputy Director Wang immediately frowned, “You can answer my question and Director Zhang’s question first.”

Bai Ruojiao nodded and stood up.

“Director Zhang and Deputy Director Wang have raised very pertinent questions. First, regarding the issue of empty ideas, I have already made a promise to the factory director.

Three months. If the Commodity Department cannot produce satisfactory results within three months, I will leave automatically. You don’t need to say anything. Whether it’s an empty idea or not, you can wait and see in three months.”

Director Zhang’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with her statement, but he didn’t interrupt.

“Then there’s Deputy Director Wang’s question. It’s true that the development of the foreign clothing market is inseparable from the consumption and pursuit of the people. But do our people really have no pursuit?

Trends exist in any time and any place. Just like the Zhongshan suits that the women in the audience are wearing, isn’t that a trend?

The cheongsam, which is still loved by many women today, is also a trend. Even the ‘Dacron’ that has swept the country in recent years is a trend.

Everyone has a love for beauty. It’s not that people don’t follow trends, it’s just that there are too few choices.

As for the issue of national consumption, it’s a matter of price. We can’t treat our own people the same way. We’re providing trendy clothing to our own people, not to make money. We’re serving the people, right? We just need to keep the price within a reasonable range above cost. I believe that as long as the clothes are good, people will be willing to buy them.”

Many people nodded slightly, thoughtfully.

She paused for a moment before continuing, “I don’t know if anyone has heard of the bell-bottom pants trend in Shanghai recently?”

Everyone looked at each other. From the expressions of many people, it seemed that they knew.

But they probably didn’t accept it.

After all, most of the people present were older and more serious.

Many of them were veterans of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and they might not accept such strange clothing.

Seeing someone frown, she smiled, “This trend has already become popular abroad. Why can they sell it to our country at a high price and achieve such good results? Is it because foreign things are better? No. It’s still the same thing. We have too few choices.”

“Think back to our clothing over the past thousands of years. How many countries have imitated it? We used to be looked up to. Why are we now being labeled by those people as ‘Chinese clothing is ugly, fat, and round, not presentable’?

Why can our ancestors do it, but we can’t?

I don’t know if anyone here has been to the Canton Fair and heard firsthand how foreigners arbitrarily belittle and mock our products.

We can’t beat them in machinery, we accept that. Why do we have to be mocked even for a piece of clothing? Can’t we really make beautiful clothes?”

The entire room was silent. Thinking about something, everyone’s expressions became a little worse.

She paused and continued, “Everyone here should know about the machine failure at our factory recently.

Look at how foreigners treat us, and what kind of helpless situation we are in.

Even though we know they are deliberately taking advantage of us, we can only smile and offer our necks to be slaughtered. Why is that?”

When it came to this matter, many people’s expressions became even worse. They were clearly still angry about it.

Some people looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was talking about clothes and then bringing this up.

They heard Bai Ruojiao continue, “Is it because we are not as skilled? We have many talented people in China. Even if foreign countries block our technology, we will still be able to research what needs to be researched. But sometimes, even a clever woman can’t make a meal without rice.

We don’t have money to buy materials, we don’t have money to do research, we don’t have money to buy equipment. We can only continue to buy things from others, being firmly held by the throat, our weaknesses being exploited.”

In an instant, the breathing in the entire conference room became heavy.

Several old men seemed to feel the same way and clenched their fists.

Bai Ruojiao looked at everyone’s expressions and sighed softly, but her words remained sharp.

“Being manipulated, being bullied all the time, aren’t you angry? So, everyone here, don’t you want a day when those arrogant foreigners have to lick their faces and line up to place orders with you? Don’t you want Chinese clothing to sweep the world and continue the glorious legacy created by our ancestors?”

“Everyone, the establishment of the Commodity Department is not just about making money, but also about the development of our country, about gradually gaining a voice in the world.

And now, no matter what the future holds, someone has to take that step. Times are changing every day. Standing still will only lead to being left behind. Not to mention, just looking at our clothing market, we should move beyond the era of ‘gray, blue, black, and green’ and embrace a brighter and more exciting future. With a new look, we will contribute to the construction of modernization and let the world see that China is no longer a fading sunset. It can also be as brilliant as the morning sun, as dazzling as the morning glow, as pure as moonlight. It can also be diverse and colorful.”

“I’m done.” She took a breath and nodded slightly before sitting down.

The conference room was silent for a few seconds.

“Good! Well said!” This time, the first to speak was not Factory Director Liu, but another deputy factory director named Liang Chaosheng.

As he clapped, everyone seemed to come to their senses and followed suit.

This round of applause was much more enthusiastic than before.

Even those who were still dissatisfied with her couldn’t help but be moved by her words.

Especially in conjunction with the recent machine incident, the feeling was even more profound.

It was a pity that our great nation had fallen to the point where it could be trampled on by other countries anywhere. Were we willing to accept that?

No!

What to do after being unwilling?

Of course, we fight back!

Chinese people are naturally unwilling to lose.

Even Zhang Xinchen looked at her with a complex expression.

If she had explained the development of the Commodity Department in a conventional way, even if she had said it perfectly, it would still be, as he said, an empty idea.

But she had delivered this speech. Not to mention the others, even he felt a sense of frustration in his heart.

He also wanted a day when he could slap those foreigners in the face.

Because he had just been to the Canton Fair, in April this year.

He had heard firsthand how those foreigners mocked their clothing at their exhibition booth.

He opposed the Commodity Department, not because of vested interests.

First, because the establishment of the Commodity Department was to serve foreigners, which made him feel sick to his stomach because he was very anti-foreign.

Second, as the director of the Revolutionary Committee, he firmly believed that this approach was the style of the capitalist class, contradicting socialist ideology.

But after her speech, his aversion was suddenly not as strong.

Whether it was capitalist or not, if the factory’s clothing could really earn a lot of foreign exchange, it would definitely be of great benefit to the country’s development.

Moreover, he suddenly wanted to see if one day those foreigners who looked down on their clothing would come with smiles on their faces to offer money.

Obviously, many people shared his thoughts.

Author’s Note:

My dears, please help a decision-making-challenged person. I made two covers on Taobao. I want to ask for your opinion.

The covers are in the comments. Which one do you like?

If you still like the original cover better, then I won’t change it.