Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 80 A Prosperous Business Journey: The Dilemmas and Choices, Perseverance and Transformation

A Prosperous Business Journey: The Textile Legend of a Poor Girl and a Rich Boy in the Republican Era

Exploration and Breakthroughs in the Textile Industry

The emergence of new fabrics cast a huge shadow over our textile factory. Sitting in my office, watching the busy workers outside the window, I was filled with worry. I knew that if this problem couldn't be solved, all our previous efforts might be in vain.

I was wearing a moon-white cheongsam, the collar slightly wrinkled from my unconscious fiddling with it. I rested my chin on my hands, my eyes filled with confusion. Gu Zixuan walked in; he was wearing a dark gray suit with a dark blue tie, still looking handsome, but his brows were furrowed.

“Fangfei, I think we can’t just sit here and wait to die. We have to find a way to understand this new type of fabric.” Gu Zixuan walked to my side and gently patted my shoulder.

I looked up at him. "Zixuan, I know. But the technology for this fabric is monopolized by foreign countries. Where do we even begin?"

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Zixuan said, "I have an idea. We can start with products that already use this fabric and see if we can find any clues."

I nodded. "That's one way. However, it will take a lot of time and effort."

We decided to first purchase some clothing using the new fabric from the market and then conduct research. Gu Zixuan and I, along with Su Yao, searched the streets and alleys of Shanghai. In a high-end fashion store, we finally found several dresses using this new fabric.

I held the dress and carefully examined the fabric's texture, grain, and feel. The fabric was smooth and soft to the touch, and had a unique sheen, quite different from our traditional fabrics.

"This fabric looks very complicated; I wonder how it's produced," Su Yao said, frowning.

Gu Zixuan said, "Let's take these clothes back and find some experts to take a look. Maybe they can find some clues."

Back at the textile factory, we invited several textile industry experts. They studied the clothes for a long time and finally concluded that the fabric was likely made of a special fiber, but they couldn't determine exactly what kind of fiber it was.

“It seems we need to investigate further,” I said, somewhat frustrated.

Just when we were at our wits' end, I suddenly remembered one of my professors from business school. He was a knowledgeable scholar who was well-versed in all sorts of emerging trends. I decided to visit him and see if he could offer us some advice.

I put on a light blue cotton dress, quickly combed my hair, and set off for my teacher's residence. My teacher was very happy to see me.

"Fangfei, it's been a long time. Did you come to see me today because of something?" the teacher asked with a smile.

I told the teacher about the problem we were having. After listening, the teacher pondered for a while and then said, "I've also heard about this new type of fabric. As far as I know, the production technology for this fabric is indeed monopolized by foreign countries, but there are also some voices abroad opposing this technological monopoly. You could try contacting your counterparts in the foreign textile industry and see if they can offer you any help."

My eyes lit up. "Teacher, that's a great idea! But how can we contact them?"

The teacher took a magazine from the bookshelf and handed it to me, saying, "This magazine contains some information and contact details about the international textile industry. You can start by trying it out here."

I gratefully accepted the magazine. "Thank you, teacher. You've really helped us a lot."

Back at the textile factory, Gu Zixuan and I began writing to our overseas textile industry colleagues using the contact information in the magazine. While waiting for replies, we didn't rest. We continued our research into innovations for traditional fabrics, hoping to improve our competitiveness based on our existing foundation.

After some time, we finally received a reply from abroad. It was from a French textile manufacturer who expressed his sympathy for our situation and offered to provide us with information about new fabrics. However, he also stipulated one condition: he hoped we could collaborate with him to develop a new textile product.

After discussing it with Gu Zixuan, we felt this was a great opportunity. We decided to accept his terms and cooperate with him. However, when we were preparing to further discuss the details of the cooperation, we encountered new problems.

We have found that some conservative forces in China oppose our cooperation with foreign countries. They believe that we are selling out the country and handing over our domestic textile industry to foreigners.

"How could they think like that? We're here to learn advanced technology and improve the competitiveness of the domestic textile industry!" I said angrily.

Gu Zixuan also frowned, "These people only see the surface and don't understand our good intentions at all."

Our cooperation plan was met with resistance, and some workers, swayed by these conservative forces, began to express their dissatisfaction with our decisions. Signs of division emerged within the textile mill, which was causing us considerable headaches.

“We must find a way to convince everyone that our cooperation is beneficial,” I said firmly.

We started organizing meetings within the textile factory to explain our cooperation plan to the workers. We told them that our goal was to learn advanced technologies from abroad and then bring them back to China to help the domestic textile industry develop better.

Through our efforts, some workers began to understand our ideas, but others remained opposed. Just as we were working to resolve the internal conflicts, we received more bad news.

The French textile merchant suddenly changed his mind, saying in his letter that he could no longer cooperate with us due to some international political factors.

This news came like a bolt from the blue, shattering the glimmer of hope we had just seen. How should we cope with this new blow? Should we continue to seek other international partners, or should we readjust our strategy and focus on domestic development?

A Prosperous Business Journey: The Textile Legend of a Poor Girl and a Rich Boy in the Republican Era

The Dilemma and Choices of the Textile Industry

The French textile companies' change of heart felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. I sat blankly in my office, clutching the letter tightly in my hand, the paper crumpled and crumpled. My eyes were vacant, my heart filled with disappointment and helplessness.

Gu Zixuan walked in and, seeing me like this, his eyes were filled with heartache. He quickly walked to my side, knelt down, and took my hand. He was wearing a black suit today, his hair a little disheveled, seemingly also troubled by the news. "Fangfei, don't be too discouraged. This is just a setback; we'll definitely find other ways." His voice was gentle yet firm, trying to give me strength.

I slowly raised my head and looked at him, my eyes brimming with tears. "Zixuan, why are things always so unlucky for us? Every time we see hope, it's cruelly shattered." My voice was choked with sobs.

Gu Zixuan gently wiped away my tears, "Because we are doing something very difficult but also very great. To break through the blockade of foreign powers and develop our own textile industry, we will inevitably encounter many difficulties. But we cannot give up."

I took a deep breath and nodded. I knew this wasn't the time for self-pity; we had to pull ourselves together.

Just then, Su Yao rushed in. Her face was filled with excitement. "Fangfei, Zixuan, I've heard some news. There's a secret research group in Shanghai that's been researching textile technology, and they've reportedly already made some research results on similar new fabrics."

This news was like a ray of light in the darkness, instantly lifting our spirits. "Really? Su Yao, are you sure this news is reliable?" I asked eagerly.

Su Yao nodded. "I found out about it through a very reliable source. However, this research group is very mysterious; they don't easily contact the outside world."

Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, then stood up at the same time. "No matter how difficult it is, we have to give it a try," Gu Zixuan said.

Following the clues provided by Su Yao, we inquired about the whereabouts of this research team. Finally, we found their location in a secluded alley. It was a somewhat dilapidated-looking building, but the roar of machinery could be heard emanating from inside.

We knocked on the door, and after a while, a young man wearing glasses opened it. He looked at us warily. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

I quickly said, "Hello, we are in the textile business. We heard that you are researching textile technology here, and we would like to talk to you about the possibility of cooperation."

The young man frowned. "We don't need to cooperate with businessmen. You can leave." With that, he turned to close the door.

Gu Zixuan hurriedly reached out to block the door. "Please wait a moment. We are not ordinary businessmen. Our textile factory has always been committed to developing China's own textile industry. Now we are facing great difficulties and need your technical support. If your research results can be applied to actual production, it will be of great significance to the textile industry of our entire country."

The young man hesitated for a moment, then looked behind us, seemingly to make sure no one else was there. "Then come in."

We entered the small building, which was filled with various experimental equipment and textile materials. In one corner, we saw some samples that looked like new types of fabrics. My eyes lit up immediately.

"Is this the result of your research?" I asked excitedly.

The young man nodded. "This is just a preliminary result, and it's not quite perfect yet. But we lack funds and production equipment, so it will be very difficult to conduct further research and promote it further."

Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, and we made up our minds. "We can provide funding and production equipment, but we hope to share your research results and collaborate on development," Gu Zixuan said.

The young man pondered for a moment, then said, "I need to discuss this with my team."

After a while, the young man returned and told us that they had agreed to cooperate with us. This made us very happy, as if we had seen new hope for the textile factory.

However, just as we were preparing to begin our collaboration, a new problem arose. It turned out that the research team's findings had attracted the covetous eyes of other forces. A gang wanted to seize their research results and then sell them to foreign businessmen for huge profits.

One day, while we were discussing collaboration details with our research team, we suddenly heard a commotion outside. When we went out to investigate, we saw a group of gangsters wielding sticks walking towards the building.

"You're the research team, right? If you know what's good for you, hand over your research results, or today is your death day," the gang leader said menacingly.

My heart was filled with anger. "How could you people do such a traitorous thing?"

The gangster sneered, "Enough with the nonsense. If you don't hand over the stuff today, don't blame us for being impolite."

Gu Zixuan shielded me behind him and said to the research team, "You guys hide with the research results, we'll deal with them."

A fierce conflict ensued. Although Gu Zixuan and I fought back with all our might, the gangsters outnumbered us, and we gradually found ourselves outmatched. Just when we were in danger, we suddenly heard a police siren. It turned out that Su Yao had secretly called the police.

Hearing the police sirens, the gang members panicked and tried to escape. The police arrived in time and apprehended them all.