Chapter 1 The Office

Ye Tao's study, used for handling official business, was nothing like anything from this era. The tall, spacious room was topped with a crystal chandelier, surrounded by various bookcases and filing cabinets, and the floor was covered with a thick carpet. Although the carpet used in the room wasn't the long-pile type, for ease of cleaning, it was still of carefully selected quality. One side of the room had a coffee table and a large leather sofa. The other side was a writing desk. In front of the desk were two formal yet comfortable leather-covered chairs, for guests and subordinates to use when reporting on their work. On the other side was a solid metal frame, adjustable in height and back angle, executive chair. Although the Ye Family Workshop didn't seem to have developed the pneumatic technology for office swivel chairs yet, the materials and workmanship were in a completely different class from mass-produced industrial products. On the desk was a moderately thick desk pad and a lamp. The glass lampshade was also special, using glazed glass technology, with a green outer layer and a white inner layer. Overall, the entire office looked a bit like the office of a high-ranking Kuomintang official in the war movies Ye Tao used to enjoy watching. Although he found some of it displeasing, this series of configurations made work much more convenient, and gradually, Ye Tao got used to it. Now, except for the crystal chandelier on top usually being replaced by cheap and practical ceiling lights, the offices of many important officials in Yunzhou were arranged in this way.

Ye Tao was wondering when he would be able to finish the work piled up in his hands when a small shadow flew over, blocking the bright sunlight shining in from the window. Ye Tao looked up and then lowered his head. It was Tan Weixin. But, he always felt that there was something strange about Tan Weixin in his sight, so he raised his head and looked carefully again. Ye Tao was stunned. It was indeed Tan Weixin, but Tan Weixin's attire at the moment was really too bewitching. At this moment, Tan Weixin was wearing a white shirt with slightly puffy sleeves at the collar. The top two buttons of the shirt were open, revealing Tan Weixin's long, white neck. The shirt was originally a three-quarter sleeve style, but now the sleeves were pulled up above her elbows, making the exquisite silver chain on Tan Weixin's right wrist even more conspicuous. What was even more surprising were the pants, which were clearly a pair of jeans, a very standard pair of jeans from the era Ye Tao and Tan Weixin came from. Although Ye Tao had previously seen the report from the dyeing workshop, he also knew that the dyeing, color fixation, and related detailed designs there were still very preliminary and needed considerable revision before they could become real jeans. But the pair Tan Weixin was wearing now was a beautiful blue, and the uneven blue and the marks on it showed that the washing and stonewashing processes were quite mature, and the golden-orange embroidery thread and the slightly oxidized copper nails, although not technically sophisticated, were made quite authentically, and even more authentically, the pattern on them completely copied the Levi's logo. Seeing Ye Tao's dumbfounded expression, Tan Weixin actually turned around with a sense of superiority, allowing Ye Tao to see the back. The red print on the orange-red leather label, the red ear tag on the pocket, etc., almost all the details were complete.

"How is it?" Tan Weixin asked happily, "Very technical, right? This is my first time participating in a research project."

Ye Tao's mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say. It's true that developing a simple denim dyeing technique into a dyeing method suitable for making jeans, finding mordants to fix the color, and researching washing and stonewashing techniques, etc., is a bit technical. Rivets were already widely used in Yunzhou for military products, especially saddles and other leather goods, and almost all new products that had emerged recently used this simple and reliable technology. Saying jeans are a research project...it's not an exaggeration, right? Ye Tao looked carefully at the pair of pants Tan Weixin was wearing and finally exclaimed, "You actually remember every detail...aren't you a senior economist? How are you so proficient in counterfeiting techniques?"

Tan Weixin raised her eyebrows and said, "How is this counterfeiting? At least for now, this is original." Tan Weixin then explained the process of creating this thing in detail. It turned out that Tan Weixin had already known about this matter before Ye Tao saw the report because those original versions of pants and clothes produced by the dyeing workshop were already available on the market. Although they were very sturdy and durable clothes, the problem was that they had to be washed a dozen times before the color gradually stabilized and stopped fading. In the Internal Affairs Office's product reports on all competitors, these initial clothes were only mentioned in two sentences, but Tan Weixin immediately understood what was going on. Ye Tao had a large backlog of administrative and military affairs and couldn't get away, but Tan Weixin had access to various economic data, which didn't require her to do everything personally, so she immediately intervened in the process improvement of the dyeing workshop as the young mistress of the Ye family.

Tan Weixin didn't know much about the process. Even before, she had more opportunities to wear formal attire than jeans, but this didn't prevent her from understanding the characteristics of the product and having a basic concept of washing and stonewashing. And in fact, that was enough. After several rounds of improvements and Tan Weixin's repeated pickiness, this thing, which was not difficult in the first place, finally came out properly.

Although sulfur-fixed jeans will still fade, that is a normal washing reaction. There is no bleach in this era, so there will be no major problems. The double orange-red embroidery thread, leather label, rivets, and other elements quickly gained the recognition of the old technicians in the workshop. The style is rough, the material is thick, the quality is excellent, and it is very wear-resistant, and the wear will gradually deepen the roughness of the pants. This is the most suitable clothing for the various technical personnel in the workshop who are busy with various tasks, operating various machinery, and wear their clothes very badly, and it is also the clothing that the military will definitely like. Denim immediately became a brand-new fabric that was born out of twill canvas but was completely different. Everyone in several workshops was exploring its potential.

And Tan Weixin, on the one hand, smiled and allocated funds to continue to support these explorations, and on the other hand, used the first batch of relatively mature denim to customize a batch of jeans for the whole family. Naturally, all the details were imitated very authentically. Tan Weixin didn't know that these things would only be praised if they fell into the hands of everyone except Ye Tao, which seemed like casting pearls before swine, but just being able to make Ye Tao so surprised that he couldn't speak for a moment, Tan Weixin felt that her dedication to scientific research was still a bit valuable.

Hearing that he also had a set, Ye Tao naturally happily asked Tan Weixin to bring it over and tried it on. Wearing a pure cotton shirt and jeans, although there were no chemical fibers, the socks woven from soft mixed fibers were also very elastic, and the shoes were also the kind of very comfortable leather shoes, simple and unadorned, although they didn't learn from modern styles, they didn't make people feel strange. When Ye Tao wore such an outfit, gently put his arm around Tan Weixin's waist, and stood side by side in this very modern room, basking in the warm sun and looking at the scenery outside the window, it was as if they had returned to that unforgettable era. Even if, thinking about it now, it seemed that those years were all preparing for the present.

"If we traveled back now, this outfit probably wouldn't make anyone feel strange. If we could go back to that moment, wouldn't it be a seamless connection?" Tan Weixin also sighed a little.

Ye Tao said oh and asked softly, "Are you still thinking about those things? Now that your health is good, life should be much better than before, right? Why are you thinking about these things again?"

Tan Weixin rolled her eyes at Ye Tao, as if it was a bit funny. She said lightly, "My life was just as good when I was in poor health. I never said it wasn't good, right? Having a sex life isn't too big of a change. Don't think too highly of yourself. It's just that wearing these clothes inevitably makes me feel a little emotional."

Looking at these exquisite details, Ye Tao asked softly, "How did you become interested in this?" Seeing Tan Weixin frowning, Ye Tao added with a smile, "I believe you like to do strange things. But you still plunged headfirst into things you obviously don't understand and personally guided a lot of things, right? You're not that idle, and you're definitely not just trying to relax. If it were normal, you would just throw out a suggestion or something, most of which would be recorded by Sisi or Qiao'er."

Tan Weixin was obviously not surprised that Ye Tao understood her so well. She pouted and said, "To put it more officially, it's actually because I don't understand the basic economic environment very well. Personally guiding the dyeing workshop is nothing, as long as I don't talk nonsense. Those are the experts, and they immediately understand what effect I want. But, I'm not sure about some things. For example, how much willingness do those old technicians who have been serving in the Ye Family Workshop have to start their own businesses."

Seeing Tan Weixin speak so confidently, Ye Tao frowned. He had always paid great attention to the internal construction of the Ye Family Workshop, especially in terms of technical training and technical research. Although he didn't object to those who had learned their skills in the Ye Family Workshop system and then opened their own shops, he always felt it was a pity. In the Ye Family Workshop system, the things they could do were obviously bigger and more important in Ye Tao's mind than what they could do by opening their own shops. Although he didn't object, he didn't necessarily support the independent entrepreneurship of employees. But now Tan Weixin's tone seemed to be supporting this kind of thing. Ye Tao asked, "What do you think?"