B5SB -Chapter 168 Disdain for the Ugly

Gu Yihan and Hu Shan had eaten a bit too much, so they walked around the factory to take a stroll.

As they reached the newly added workshop, they saw that even at noon, many workers were busy installing the production lines.

They lingered for a moment.

Hu Shan glanced around and turned to Gu Yihan, teasing: “So many people are just waiting for our factory to hire them.”

“Mhm,” Gu Yihan nodded, smiling.

It wasn’t just the factory families waiting; many military wives from the Kun City garrison would probably come too.

After all, in the previous spinning workshop, the later spinning workshop, and the weaving workshop, each section needed more workers.

And that didn’t even count the auxiliary workshops.

On the way back to the office, Hu Shan looked puzzled: “Xiaohan, what if our factory overproduces and can’t sell everything?”

Gu Yihan looked at her in surprise: “How could we not sell it?”

Hu Shan pouted: “You don’t know… the market is limited. If we can’t sell our fabric locally, it’ll pile up.”

Of course, Gu Yihan understood. Most of the cloth had to be sold locally.

Other provinces had their own textile factories, so they would naturally prioritize local products.

“It’s fine. If it piles up, we can sell to foreigners and earn foreign currency,” Gu Yihan said nonchalantly.

After all, the factory leadership must have had their own plan for adding production lines.

Hu Shan hooked her arm through Gu Yihan’s and laughed heartily.

“Xiaohan, have you ever been to the Friendship Store? Their fabrics look way better than ours.”

Secretary Jiang, who had come to find Hu Shan, saw her from afar, her mouth wide open, laughing uncontrollably.

He hurried over: “What’s so funny? Hurry back; I need you to prepare a document.”

Hu Shan stifled her laughter and said to Secretary Jiang: “Xiaohan actually said our factory’s fabrics could be sold to foreigners. Isn’t that funny?”

Secretary Jiang glanced at Gu Yihan but didn’t find anything amusing.

He said simply: “The colors produced in the factory only suit the domestic market.”

In other words, foreigners wouldn’t be interested.

Gu Yihan measured Secretary Jiang up and down, surprised at his thinking.

Feigning puzzlement, she said: “China has inherited plant dyeing techniques for thousands of years, and Secretary Jiang thinks foreigners wouldn’t appreciate them?”

Secretary Jiang considered this for a moment, then his eyes brightened. The current fabrics definitely wouldn’t work.

But if the dyeing workshop used plant dyes to produce vintage-style patterns, it might be worth trying.

If feasible, production could be split: part for domestic sales, part for export.

Gu Yihan ignored Secretary Jiang’s reaction and hurriedly pulled Hu Shan toward the office.

But inwardly, she grumbled—what audacity!

When the ancestors had their elegant clothing and exquisite food, Western countries were still poor, living primitively.

In the Office, Sister Min glanced at Gu Yihan’s desk: “Sister Su, did you see Xiaohan at lunch in the cafeteria?”

Su Yonghong looked at Hu Shan, who also hadn’t returned, and sneered: “Maybe she went to flatter someone with connections.”

Creak.

Gu Yihan and Hu Shan pushed open the office door.

Glancing at Su Yonghong, Gu Yihan said: “Better than saying sour grapes when you can’t get them.”

Sister Min looked awkward—Su Yonghong just never learned. Didn’t she understand that people talk and the grass has snakes?

Soon, Secretary Jiang also entered, walking to Hu Shan’s desk.

Pointing at the papers: “You need to organize and summarize these yourself. Finish them before five.”

Hu Shan picked up the papers and her head spun. The handwriting was chaotic and hard to read.

“Secretary Jiang, can you write more neatly next time?”

Secretary Jiang glared at her but said nothing and left.

Su Yonghong, seeing the tone between Hu Shan and Secretary Jiang, asked with a smile: “Xiao Hu, do you have a boyfriend?”

Gu Yihan looked at Su Yonghong, feeling she had ulterior motives.

Hu Shan was busy extracting information from the documents and didn’t look up: “No.”

Su Yonghong’s eyes lit up, her voice soft: “Xiao Hu, do you want Sister Su to introduce you to a fine young man?”

Hu Shan didn’t think much; blind dates were common for her, and her parents arranged one every few days.

She casually replied: “Sure.”

Su Yonghong was thrilled and quickly said: “My family has a nephew who is outstanding, you…”

Pfft.

Sister Min couldn’t hold back and laughed.

Su Yonghong’s words were cut off. She glared at Sister Min, face dark: “Min Erhua, don’t go too far.”

Gu Yihan quickly adjusted her posture, eyes fixed on the two.

Hu Shan was baffled—what was going on? She glanced at Gu Yihan and saw her carefully eating sunflower seeds while enjoying the scene.

Sister Min smiled at Hu Shan: “Xiao Hu, it’s funny—you know, I’ve actually met Sister Su’s nephew.”

Hu Shan shifted her gaze from Gu Yihan to Sister Min, curious.

Su Yonghong, worried Sister Min might say something unfavorable, hurriedly said: “My nephew works in a soy sauce factory, good salary, respectable, and looks fine.”

Sister Min gave Su Yonghong a sidelong glance, snorting.

Mocking: “Your nephew, with those tiny beady eyes, not even taller than Xiao Hu when he jumps… how can you have the nerve to say that?”

Gu Yihan: “…”

Su Yonghong trembled with anger, wishing she could scratch Sister Min’s smug face.

Hu Shan looked at the tension between them.

Although she knew judging by looks was wrong, she, like Cheng Bo, only cared about appearances and liked handsome people.

Smiling, she said: “I’m still young. My parents want me to marry in a few years.”

Then she returned to her work.

Su Yonghong glared at Sister Min, scoffing: “Looks can’t fill your stomach. Just like your husband—he earns less than you.”

Sister Min glanced at Gu Yihan, seeing her calmly eating sunflower seeds.

Smiling: “Xiaohan, a handsome man—doesn’t it make your eyes happy?”

She had seen Gu Yihan’s lover and he was strikingly good-looking.

Gu Yihan rolled her eyes. Wasn’t that obvious? Who doesn’t like handsome men?

“I disdain the ugly. Too ugly and it would make me eat two bowls less of rice.”

She then lowered her head and read the newspaper.

She didn’t see Su Yonghong’s face darken further because of her words.

Sister Min looked at Su Yonghong with schadenfreude. After all, in the whole office, only her own lover was middle-aged, overweight, and balding.