Chapter 406

Xia Zhu replied softly, "I took the train back to Jiangcheng last night, and came back this morning in Vice Li Jingli's car."

Su Xinghui said, "Xia Zhu, I heard you stunned all the foreigners at the Guangjiao Society."

Vice Li Jingli said, "Yes, Secretary Su, you didn't see it—Xia Zhu performed bamboo weaving live on the Huduong Province booth, leaving all the foreigners dumbfounded, their eyes bulging out, clapping until their hands turned red, and some even recorded her entire weaving process with video cameras."

Su Xinghui raised his thumb and said, "I knew it—Xia Zhu is the best!"

Su Xinghui's words made Xia Zhu's face flush red; she wanted to smile but couldn't, and that expression was utterly captivating.

Vice Li Jingli said, "Many foreign merchants signed long-term supply contracts after watching Xia Zhu's bamboo weaving performance; the signed contracts already total over one million U. S. dollars annually, and there are additional letters of intent for over three million U. S. dollars annually."

Su Xinghui exclaimed, "Li Jingli, are you serious? So many contracts really signed?"

It was no wonder Su Xinghui was shocked—in this era, the official exchange rate between the U. S. dollar and the RMB was about 1:5.8, while the black-market rate was around 1:8.7; even at the official rate, one million U. S. dollars meant several million RMB, and at the black-market rate, over ten million RMB.

For such a small bamboo weaving item to secure such massive contracts was truly unbelievable.

Vice Li Jingli nodded with a smile, "Of course it's true. Don't think one million U. S. dollars is huge—it's from multiple foreign merchants, averaging just over ten thousand U. S. dollars per contract, not too large; they also said if sales go well, they'll increase their orders."

Su Xinghui asked, "Can we supply enough for such huge contracts?"

It was no wonder Su Xinghui asked this—if the factory kept its original purchase price, fulfilling these contracts would require producing tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand bamboo woven crafts annually; the current bamboo weaving factory clearly couldn't produce that much.

If we signed the contracts but couldn't fulfill them, we'd go bankrupt.

Vice Li Jingli said, "The foreign merchants pay us much higher prices—they pay in U. S. dollars. For example, a basic bamboo woven item sells for a few yuan domestically, but they pay several dollars each; Xia Zhu's bamboo woven painting fetches over a thousand U. S. dollars, and her piece 'Autumn Melody of the Bamboo Village' is priced at over two thousand U. S. dollars."

He added, "By the way, they say Xia Zhu's bamboo woven paintings aren't crafts but artworks. A French merchant even offered to sponsor Xia Zhu to study in Paris, but she refused."

Su Xinghui nodded—though the difference between "craft" and "art" was just one character, their value was worlds apart.

He asked Xia Zhu, "Someone offered to sponsor you to study in Paris—why didn't you go?"

Xia Zhu lowered her head without speaking; a girl laughed, "Secretary Su, you're right here—how could Xia Zhu possibly leave?"

Su Xinghui realized he'd asked a foolish question—he still wasn't clever enough in matters like this.

He quickly changed the subject: "Li Jingli, do they buy all the factory's products at this price, or only Xia Zhu's pieces?"

Vice Li Jingli said, "We brought many products from the bamboo weaving factory to the Guangjiao Society—various quality levels, from all artisans. Foreign merchants judge by quality, of course, but Xia Zhu's items still command the highest prices; some even asked her to weave her name into her pieces—anything bearing her name sells for more."

Xia Lan, who had been smiling quietly beside them, now spoke: "Did everyone hear that? Foreign merchants pay by quality—everyone should strive to improve their bamboo weaving. The higher your skill, the more you earn. If you all reached Xia Zhu's level, you'd all become rich."

Vice Li Jingli laughed, "Yes, our crafts store has decided to renegotiate our purchase contracts with you—purchase prices will double, and if quality is higher, we'll pay even more!"

The women erupted in cheers—this news was too good to be better; doubling the purchase price meant doubling their income.

One girl asked, "But how can we ever reach Xia Zhu's level? Her hands are so skilled—we're all clumsy."

Xia Zhu looked up and said, "Don't worry—no one is born with skilled hands. With effort, everyone can improve. I'll still spend two hours every day teaching you—all who want to learn are welcome, come and study seriously, and we'll all improve together."

Previously, Xia Zhu taught everyone bamboo weaving for two hours daily, but many women thought it too long—they could weave more work in that time—so fewer women came to learn from her later.

Xia Lan said, "Did you hear that? If you want to earn more, learn from Xia Zhu. If you reach her level, you'll earn at least several times more than now. Studying harder is like sharpening the axe before chopping wood—time? Xia Zhu's time is far more valuable than yours. If she weaves two extra hours daily, she can earn at least two hundred yuan more per month."