CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 255: HAIR ACCESSORIES

As they spoke, the workshop director kept stuffing more into Lin Xiang’s bag until it could hold no more before he stopped.

Lin Xiang was completely baffled.

It wasn’t until Secretary Hu’s voice pulled her drifting thoughts back.

"Comrade Lin, I’ve encountered some difficulties while learning a foreign language. If possible, could you help me with it?"

Secretary Hu had started learning English before Lin Xiang entered high school.

He knew Lin Xiang aimed to go to college and definitely wouldn’t stay in Mianyang Town as a translator forever.

But since the cotton spinning factory had quite a few foreign exchange orders, Director Chen decided that Secretary Hu should learn foreign languages to prevent missing orders due to language barriers.

However, at that time, the public enthusiasm for learning foreign languages wasn’t high, and most people didn’t have the awareness for it. There were no related teachers in Ji City, so Director Chen had no choice but to ask Lin Xiang to teach Secretary Hu for a while.

Lin Xiang took the time to summarize some key points into a study booklet for Secretary Hu, who made considerable progress by studying it and could at least independently converse with Wilson and John on the phone.

Although not flawlessly smooth, he had no trouble understanding the other party’s meaning and conveying his own.

Lin Xiang nodded, "Bring the study booklet, and I’ll first answer your questions. Afterward, I’ll adjust your study plan based on your progress during this period."

Secretary Hu had a decent aptitude but lacked a foundation, so learning was slow. However, after Lin Xiang’s guidance, he seemed to have an epiphany and quickly clarified the problems.

After being held up at the cotton spinning factory for a while, it was already past eleven o’clock when Lin Xiang returned to the Ge Family home.

Aunt Ge and Fifth Aunt had already prepared lunch, and Chunya and Ge Yuanyi were seated at the table, designing several different styles based on the hairpin patterns Lin Xiang provided.

Once Lin Xiang returned with scraps of cloth and elastic bands, Chunya couldn’t even bother to eat and immediately picked up a needle and thread to start making hairpins.

However, the speed of purely handcrafted production wasn’t fast, and since Chunya was just starting and her hands were unfamiliar, she only made three in an hour.

Fifth Aunt noticed this and sat down in front of Chunya to help her make them.

With Fifth Aunt’s help and as Chunya became more adept, her speed increased. By around three o’clock, they had already made over a dozen.

There were only two styles, but each hairpin looked different because of the varying cloth colors and patterns.

Seeing there was still about an hour before it was time to set up the stall, Chunya didn’t dare rest, hurriedly making another five, which, together with several made the night before, totaled twenty-five.

"Using elastic bands is indeed better than yellow rubber bands. The elasticity of yellow rubber bands is insufficient, and they tend to slip down, but elastic bands don’t."

Chunya tied a blue-floral-patterned hairpin onto her head and admired herself in the mirror, "Girl, how much should I sell these hairpins for?"

In Beijing’s department store, Lin Xiang bought hairpins for Chunya, Ge Yuanyi, and Yang Lihua. The three hairpins cost five yuan, roughly one yuan and sixty each.

But that was the price in Beijing; in Mianyang Town, they couldn’t sell for such a high price.

The fabric scraps and elastic bands for the hairpins were taken from the cotton spinning factory, without cost. As for the labor and time cost, in the seventies, they were hardly worth mentioning, so the overall cost was effectively zero, and any selling price would be profitable.

But if they were sold too cheaply, the hairpin business wouldn’t be worthwhile.

"Initially pricing them at thirty cents each and fifty cents for two. Plus, a buy-four-get-one-free promotion brings them down to an average of twenty cents each."

Chunya counted on her fingers, "I’ve made a total of twenty-five here, and at an average of twenty cents each, I could sell them for five yuan."

And it took her four hours, plus Fifth Aunt’s one and a half hours, totaling five and a half hours to earn five yuan?

The thing is, making hairpins only requires sitting there, and once you’re skilled, you can chat while working without any fatigue!

"If I earn five yuan a day, wouldn’t that be a hundred and fifty yuan a month?"

It’s not as good as the barbecue or spicy noodle business, but compared to Dong Sheng’s popsicle wholesale, it earns a bit more, and the key is, it’s not tiring.

Seeing how happy Chunya was, Lin Xiang couldn’t bear to disappoint her.

"But the problem is, hairpins aren’t like food you put in your mouth; they’re not consumables, so the market for them isn’t huge."

Furthermore, hairpins have a relatively niche target audience, primarily bought by young girls, leaving the market for older people and men almost nonexistent.

But fortunately, because of the different fabric patterns, no two hairpins are alike, leading beauty-loving girls to always spend money on them.

Chunya wasn’t discouraged at all, "Anyway, it’s quite good to have any earnings."

"Once the house is decorated in a few days, we can move in as a family, saving a lot of time to make hairpins."

Even if she doesn’t earn five yuan daily, having one or two yuan isn’t bad, and it’s essentially a free gain.

But Chunya still hopes her venture could succeed.

Unfortunately, Lin Xiang has to go to Beijing tomorrow. If she could stay in Mianyang Town a few more days, she could offer more advice.

In the afternoon, Lin Xiang didn’t join Fifth Uncle’s family in setting up the stall.

After everyone left, she quietly went out to inquire about Chen Qiqiang and Deng Jiaxin.

Even though she knew Yang Lihua chose this husband for herself, Lin Xiang still hoped that her first friend in the seventies would lead a happy life.

Mianyang Town wasn’t large, and the Chen Family lived in the residential area of the cotton spinning factory.

Chen Qiqiang’s father was a minor leader at the cotton spinning factory, and his mother worked at the glass factory.

A few years ago, when the cotton spinning factory allocated housing, Chen Qiqiang’s father pulled some strings to get their home on the ground floor. Although the size was similar to others, it had a small garden where seasonal vegetables could be grown.

Additionally, with no stairs, the space on the ground floor was more utilized, so the Chen Family didn’t feel as cramped as other families.

The morning’s wedding had just ended, and the firecracker debris from the cotton spinning factory’s residential area hadn’t been cleaned up yet. It should have been a joyous family time, but the Chen Family was erupting in a heated argument.

"Chen Qiqiang, you’re already married, don’t forget your wife is Lihua! What are you thinking by getting entangled with Deng Jiaxin?"

Chen Qiqiang tugged at his hair, "Mom, you’ve got it wrong, there’s nothing between Jiaxin and me. Is Yang Lihua saying something to you again?"