Chapter 131: What does 131 produce?

Chapter 131: What does 131 produce?Before Xiaofeng could instruct, Xiaoqi already threw the fruits into the storage space. Things stored in the storage space could be taken out by the owner whenever desired. Just a thought flashed through Xiaofeng’s mind, and a few fruits resembling walnuts, yet not quite walnuts, appeared in her palm. She looked at the objects in her palm, somewhat disbelieving. She repeated the process several times to confirm that she indeed could take things out, then went to sleep. Early in the morning, Officer Chen made a phone call, "Today at ten, meet at the factory." Upon hearing the other party’s words, Su Xiaofeng knew that Mr. Xia had arrived and responded, "Alright, I’ll come right away." Mr. Xia wasn’t a local. He was a sent-down youth who had lived here before. After returning to the city, he had eaten state’s food for a few years then got laid off and started his own business. A few months ago, he came here to see a friend and incidentally bought a food factory. However, his family’s factory ran into some issues recently, keeping him preoccupied and unable to manage this one, so he simply decided to hand it over. Mr. Xia was probably in his early forties. He had thought the person taking over would be around his age, not expecting someone so young, which was quite a surprise, "Little kiddo, running a factory is not easy. Are you sure you want to take it over? Once you do, there’ll be no turning back." Xiaofeng smiled slightly, "That’s exactly what I want, no turning back. That way, I can devote myself completely to the effort, right?" Furthermore, she wasn’t completely inexperienced in running a factory, "Uncle Xia, before signing the contract, let’s talk about the issue of wage payments for the past two months. Will you handle it, or should I compensate? If I am to compensate, should that money be deducted from the transfer fee?" The factory hadn’t paid any wages in almost two months, and the products that had been produced were piling up in the warehouse with no distribution plans. Hearing her words, Mr. Xia laughed heartily, "I was worried that you were too young, just impulsively wanting to take over my factory. From the way you speak, you seem quite experienced. Have you worked with someone before?" If she hadn’t been inside a factory before, she wouldn’t speak with such expertise. Xiaofeng smiled, "I haven’t seen a pig run, but I have eaten pork." "You’re quite interesting, little lady. All right, I’ll leave the previously produced goods here. It’s neither too much nor too little, and I’m too lazy to deal with it. As for the workers’ wages, I’ll pass this favor to you. You compensate them, and the cost will be deducted from the transfer fee." Xia Guangming really appreciated Xiaofeng. He had an illusion that this girl’s future wouldn’t be just in this small county; she would definitely go further. Since that was the case, why not do her a favor? Xiaofeng didn’t expect him to agree so quickly and gladly extended her hand, "Uncle Xia, it’s a pleasure working with you, and I hope there are more opportunities in the future." "Good, I was waiting for you to say that. When your products reach beyond this county, this city, this province, that’ll probably be our time to collaborate." "I look forward to that day." After signing the contract, Xia Guangming didn’t stay much longer and returned. Sitting in the empty office, Xiaofeng took out a pen and started drawing on a piece of paper. "Director Zhou." Zhao Deyou and a few workers came over, "We heard Mr. Xia has left, so when will our wages be paid?" Seeing them come in as he was calculating the wages, Director Zhou chuckled, "I’m working on it right now, and I also wanted to ask you. With the factory under new management, do you plan to stay or leave? Go back and ask others too, see if they want to stay or go." The factory currently employed just over twenty people—neither too many nor too few. There were also a few older employees who would find it difficult to find work elsewhere and could only pin their hopes on the revival of the factory. Sometime later, Zhao Deyou and a few others returned, "Director, everyone is saying that with a young girl taking over the factory, the prospects don’t look good. Except for a few older ones, everyone plans to leave after getting their pay." A young girl, with no prior business experience, what can she bring to the table under such leadership? Rather than wasting time here, it would be better to get paid and find another job now. Everyone’s a breadwinner at home, and no one has time to stick around playing games with a young girl. Director Zhou was surprised to hear that everyone wanted to leave. Was there really no one who wanted to stay? "They’ve already found jobs. I heard they’re going to a garment factory where the pay isn’t bad, and it’s per piece." Many local factories had transformed, and although it was unfamiliar at first, people naturally got used to it over time. Director Zhou had not anticipated such a result and felt somewhat gloomy as he went to find Su Xiaofeng. No one wanted to stay, and what did that indicate? It indicated that Director Su had taken over an empty factory without staff, not even knowing when production could start. In that case, whether he should stay was also an issue. He too had elderly parents and young children to look after. If the factory really had no future, he had to consider whether to stay. "Director Su." Director Zhou came in with a notebook. "We need to pay twenty-three employees. Since there’s not much work, everyone will be paid 100 yuan per month. Including my salary, the total comes to about 4800 yuan." Su Xiaofeng nodded, she had calculated these numbers before, and that is why Xia Guangming left with just over 2000 yuan, leaving the rest for her to distribute as salaries: "Is anyone willing to stay?" Most of the factory’s staff were men, with a minority being women, and some of them nearly fifty. "Apart from a few old employees who expressed a desire to stay, others are already looking for jobs. Probably, they do not want to stay," Director Zhou thought for a moment before speaking out. "Perhaps they think Director Su is too young to shoulder a factory’s future, so they are already planning for themselves." "Do you want to stay, Director Zhou?" Director Zhou and Xiaofeng were quite familiar, and he half-jokingly said, "If Director Su continues to pay my previous salary, I’ll stay and help. It doesn’t matter where I work as long as I can support my family." He was over forty and, unlike young people, wasn’t fond of tumult; having elderly dependents and children at home meant that having money was all that mattered, regardless of where. Director Zhou was known for his loyalty, a veteran at the factory. Naturally, having Director Zhou stay would be highly beneficial: "I’ll add fifty to your salary." Director Zhou smiled, "The factory hasn’t started production yet. Let’s forget about the raise for now; you can increase it later when the factory performs better." "I’ll keep this favor in mind," Xiaofeng scribbled something on paper. "Those willing to stay, I welcome; those unwilling, it’s their choice." "Director Su." Director Zhou couldn’t help but speak up, "We still don’t know what we will produce, and it’s understandable that everyone feels uncertain." "We’ll produce some instant food items." Instant food was not very popular in this era, mainly because of shelf life issues; once those were dealt with, producing instant products would not be difficult. "For example?" Director Zhou’s understanding of instant food was limited to dried plums or prunes, biscuits, and canned goods. "For instance, instant dried radish, pickled long beans, kelp, and bamboo shoots," Xiaofeng offered an example. "These products will be within our production range in the future. Currently, however, the focus is solely on chili sauce production." S~eaʀᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Listening, Director Zhou was somewhat confused. The idea was good, but the practicality, "Director Su, chili sauce has a narrow target audience. Producing this..." Whether there was a viable path forward was still a question. "Whether there is a viable path forward is for me to consider, while manufacturing is the factory’s immediate challenge. I will find ways to handle the sales. The most pressing issue is the retention of employees," Xiaofeng put down her pen, her demeanor sharp and efficient. "Give everyone half a day to decide. If it doesn’t work out, we start hiring new employees tomorrow." The factory had to start operating, lingering here indefinitely was not an option. Facing Su Xiaofeng’s order, Director Zhou straightened up, "Yes, I will arrange that immediately." It seemed Director Su was not worried about whether they would stay or leave, nor was she concerned about whether the factory could start operating normally. After paying the salaries, and having asked around, a total of six employees decided to stay, Zhao Deyou, three seniors, and two women. The six stood in front of Su Xiaofeng, still feeling uncertain. "Director Su, we really want to stay, just wanted to ask about the salary issue. The factory used to pay us 100, surely it won’t be lower than that." Xiaofeng looked at them, three men and three women, who appeared to have no other options and were staying on a trial basis. "Pay will be hourly." Xiaofeng leaned back. "As long as you are diligent, 100 might just be the minimum." The six brightened upon hearing this. Of course, it would be best if they could earn more than 100. "The initial work might be somewhat tough." Manually chopping the chilies would yield a better taste. "Everyone go home and rest for a day, after one day we will start work." The six looked at each other, none daring to leave first. Work starts the day after tomorrow, but what will we produce?