Reborn in the 1980s: Recapture My Devoted Husband-Chapter 720 - 693: Tao Jia

"A hundred would be fine, we don’t have experience, and no other factory has outsourced before, we have no reference. It’s just our factory." Su Ling frowned and said.

"Everything has to start somewhere. If there’s something wrong in the future, we can gradually improve. However, for finding partners for the cafeteria, we must carefully evaluate potential candidates. It’s crucial to find someone responsible as it concerns the employees’ dining, we can’t be careless."

"Alright, we’ll all take a look at each other to see if anyone is suitable."

"Okay."

The group chatted while arranging the office. The office had four floors in total. The first two floors had a large open space right at the entrance.

Ying Han, the designer, skillfully combined bar, reading, and meeting functions. The chairs in various shapes and materials looked relaxed and comfortable, not like an office at all.

Lin Wan loved this style of office. Obviously, Ying Han’s design was exactly her taste.

In addition to a reception desk, the first floor also hosted the business department’s office and a large conference room. The second floor was the domain of designers.

In the public area on the second floor, she had called Ying Han for advice and had a carpenter make a bookshelf on the wall based on a design Ying Han gave her. The wall was turned into a bookshelf. The surrounding area was furnished with all-wood furniture and seating, creating a spacious and highly personalized space, infused with a fresh and natural atmosphere. It felt poetic. When stuck with creative blocks, one could sit here to seek inspiration.

As for the designers’ office, it had not only a desk but also a large long table in the center. It was convenient for them to create finished clothing pieces and tailor them. The office also had sewing equipment. One wall could display the fabrics the designers needed. These were what Lin Wan mentioned, each designer had their own room.

There were a total of five such designer rooms on the second floor.

To be honest, the third floor had a small platform for displays. Each year’s seasonal new designs could be showcased here. They could choose the designs they were satisfied with.

The fourth floor was a big conference hall. Other than a few pillars, the entire floor was open. In reality, they couldn’t possibly use all four floors.

The factory setup was almost complete. Lin Wan had now contacted a fabric factory in Shanghai and ordered a batch of fabric they would need for the next season over there.

The price was much cheaper than buying here. Bulk orders made sense, but smaller ones wouldn’t be cost-effective because of the high shipping fees.

Lin Wan had placed a recruitment ad in the newspaper. Recently, people have been coming to the factory for interviews one after another. Lin Wan couldn’t handle it alone.

She quickly had Su Ling and Yin Peibai come over, along with a few young ladies from the factory to help out in the office.

Aunt Tang knew they were busy and quickly brought in two people she found for them.

They were Aunt Tang’s old friends, an elderly man and woman who seemed quite reliable, so Lin Wan decided to keep them. The gatekeeper, the elderly man, would earn twenty-five yuan a month plus a ten-yuan meal coupon. The elderly woman would earn thirty yuan a month, also with a ten-yuan meal coupon.

In the past couple of days, they had recruited several new business staff. They hired a designer straight out of university with no experience. However, she had some nice designs among her own works and showed potential, but still needed guidance to get familiar with things.

It’s hard to find designers. Most of the graduates from schools think of getting into state-owned factories. They look down on private ones like theirs.

For the business side, they still needed a broker. Lin Wan wanted to hire a business manager, but none of the applicants understood what was needed.

Most of them were pretenders who didn’t know but acted as if they did. This made Lin Wan physically and mentally exhausted these past few days.

That day, Lin Wan was supposed to go to the factory early in the morning, but as soon as she opened the door, she saw Brother Junzi with a woman by his side.

"Brother Junzi."

"Xiao Wan." Mei Lang Jun smiled brightly, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow. "Not welcoming us?"

"It’s just so unexpected. Why didn’t Brother Junzi call beforehand?" Lin Wan said as she quickly invited them in.

Seeing Lin Wan continually looking at Tao Jia, Mei Langchi hurriedly introduced, "This is Tao Jia, she’s a pilot. Recently, she’s been transferred to S City’s military quarters for two months. I brought her to meet you."

"Hello Sister Tao Jia." Lin Wan didn’t know who Tao Jia was, and it was the first time they met.

On the way, Tao Jia had heard from Mei Lang Jun about the relationship between Han Yi and Mei Langchi. However, she knew a bit because she’d heard about it in the Capital City’s military quarters, and also from her dad when she went home.

Mom also complained about Mei Shuping, "Like father like son, they are all the same."

The reason Mom said this was because Mei Langchi got married shortly after divorcing just a few months ago.

Now, their family was quite dissatisfied with Mei Langchi.

"Hello, Sister Xiao Wan, sorry to disturb you so early."

"Oh, there’s no such thing as disturbing. Meeting new people is always nice." Lin Wan said teasingly, winking towards Mei Lang Jun from time to time.

Lin Wan’s actions were too obvious, making Tao Jia a bit embarrassed.

Mei Lang Jun scratched his head, quickly explaining to Tao Jia, "Xiao Jia will be staying in the city for a few days. Originally, the military quarters had arranged a guesthouse for her, but I wasn’t assured, knowing you’re alone now, so I wondered if she could stay with you for a few days."

"That’s great, Brother Junzi, you don’t know that Little Star has been taken to Z City by Han Yi, and I’m living alone in such a big house, feeling quite scared at night."

"I might trouble you for a few days, Sister Xiao Wan." In reality, Tao Jia felt a bit embarrassed, as it was their first meeting.

"You’re more than welcome."

Lin Wan chatted with the two, and Mei Lang Jun then brought in one of Tao Jia’s luggage bags, while Lin Wan helped tidy up the west room.

"Sister Tao Jia, here’s a house key for your convenience."

"No, no, I’m just staying for a few days, how could I take your house key?"

Lin Wan smiled, placing the key in Tao Jia’s hand, "Sister Tao Jia, no need to be polite, make yourself at home. My neighbor also has a key because she’s a friend. When there’s no one home, she usually helps out. Also, one of the young ladies from my shop has a key and comes over to pick up goods daily, but she uses the back door, not this one. Our houses are connected by courtyards."

What Lin Wan said made Tao Jia a little confused, though Mei Lang Jun understood. He laughed as he helped Tao Jia take the key, "Xiao Wan, if you have work to do, you should go ahead. Later, I can accompany Xiao Jia to do some errands, and we might be back by noon."

"Brother Junzi, I might not be back by noon. There are ingredients in the kitchen, so you and Sister Tao Jia can cook something to eat. If I can come back early in the evening, make sure to wait for me, okay?"

"Sure, I’ll be here today."

"That’s great."

Lin Wan finished speaking, told Tao Jia to make herself at home, and then went out.

Mei Lang Jun saw her off at the door, "Brother Junzi, does my godmother know?" At the door, Lin Wan asked curiously in a low voice.

Upon hearing her question, Mei Lang Jun could only let out a helpless sigh with a smile. Lin Wan assumed he was being shy and didn’t actually pursue the matter.

However, there was another thing that made her happy today. She hired a good business manager, who was in their thirties. According to the resume, he was divorced and living with his daughter. Back in the ’70s, he lived in Hong Kong with his spouse for a few years, worked for a foreign trade company, and later returned due to relationship issues, though his motives were only described vaguely.

Lin Wan retained him with a salary of one hundred a month plus a commission. This was a high salary nationwide.

Liu Baicheng was certainly willing to stay, even though he somewhat looked down on this newly-started factory. But it had been almost a year since he returned from Hong Kong, and without a suitable job, he and his daughter’s lives would become difficult.

Thus, he urgently needed this job. Moreover, he had a nice conversation with this female boss, whose ideas were ahead of the times but indeed effective. This was part of the reason he wanted to stay and try it out.

With Liu Baicheng around, Lin Wan was ready to have him take charge of recruiting business personnel.

That evening, when Lin Wan returned, she passed by the market and bought some groceries. By the time she got home, Brother Junzi and Tao Jia were already there, preparing things in the kitchen.

"Brother Junzi, Sister Xiao Jia, I’m really sorry, I didn’t expect you to come to my house and have to cook yourselves. The weather is hot, you two should go inside to cool off, and leave the rest to me." As Lin Wan spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and promptly ushered them out.

"Alright then, I’ve been craving Xiao Wan’s cooking for a long time." Junzi didn’t refuse, laughing as he went out.

Tao Jia was unwilling to eat free food and insisted on helping Lin Wan with the cooking.