Era: Life's Big Winner

Chapter 88: Factory Business Starts Well
Time flies and more than half a month has passed.

That morning, Liu Hongchang got up at dawn.

After working hard for more than half a month, the factory is going to ship out the first batch of pickles today, and a leader is coming to inspect, so he got up so early.

He was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and black leather shoes. He tucked his shirt into his trousers, looking neat and energetic.

The man in the mirror had short flat hair, a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose bridge, well-proportioned facial features, a handsome face, and a dignified temperament with a hint of elegance, calmness and restraint.

Add to that his height of 1.86 meters, broad back and well-proportioned muscles, and he looks indescribably majestic when he stands there!

"It's not easy!" Liu Hongchang looked around and sighed.

Seeing this familiar face, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt much better.

I thought it would take another two months to recover, but who knew my wish would come true in just half a month.

Moreover, this change did not happen overnight, but rather happened gradually, and no one noticed anything wrong.

It was as if he was supposed to look like this. Whether it was Wang Cuilan, He Wenhui, or He Wenyuan, they all felt that Liu Hongchang was becoming more and more elegant, but they did not notice that he had changed at all.

"Hongchang, the hot water is ready." He Wenhui shouted softly from outside.

Liu Hongchang responded and walked out of the room.

The factory opening is a big event. Everyone in the family will go there today to join in the fun. Even Zhou Hao has taken a leave of absence to go along.

After washing up, Wang Cuilan brought a large bowl of noodles to the living room, while He Wenyuan and Zhou Hao took the bowls and chopsticks.

Liu Yunchang and Wu Xiaoying were also called to eat together. They usually cooked separately.

"How many pickles does the factory have for sale now?" Wang Cuilan asked with concern while eating.

Liu Hongchang replied: "We have 100,000 kilograms of goods in stock, and we are only selling them in Fenghai District for the time being."

The price of ginger sprouts fluctuates greatly. In the past few years, it was sometimes 40 cents, sometimes 60 cents, and when it was expensive, it reached one yuan per pound.

Fortunately, there is a bumper harvest of ginger sprouts this year and the price is cheap. The purchase price is only 30 cents per pound, so we can make so many pickles.

However, as long as the first batch of goods can be sold successfully, no matter what vegetables we purchase in the future, we will not have to worry about running out of capital.

"Is one hundred thousand jin a lot or a little?" Wang Cuilan asked doubtfully.

Liu Hongchang pondered and said, "If we only put it in Fenghai District, our pickles are so expensive, so it should be sufficient."

Those old factories sell tens of thousands of tons of goods a year, and they sell them nationwide or even exported, and the prices are relatively affordable.

The reason why his goods are only sold in Fenghai District for the time being is just to test the market and expand sales if they sell well.

If the product doesn’t sell well and is sold in a small range, you can also adjust the sales strategy accordingly at any time based on the actual situation.

For a small, unknown factory like his, it is always better to proceed step by step. If you take too big a step, you may easily get into trouble.

At the same time, all the pickles in the factory are now handmade and sold in bulk.

Only after making money can we purchase machines and sell the products in bottles or bags, and only then can we sell them to further places.

"I hope it can sell well! It sounds stressful to have so much goods." Wang Cuilan muttered softly.

Liu Hongchang smiled and said nothing more.

In fact, he seldom talked about factory matters at home. Firstly, they didn't understand business matters, and secondly, some things would just be useless worries for them if they listened to them. Only when they asked about it would he answer a few questions.

After breakfast, Liu Hongchang left home first and went to the factory, while Wang Cuilan and others arrived later.

It was still early and they would be bored if they went over there.

When we arrived at the factory, the lights were on and Manager Li, He Daxiong and other workers were basically all there.

Three-wheeled vehicles carrying pickles are sent to various sales points such as supply and marketing cooperatives, vegetable markets, restaurants, and pubs.

The sales points are negotiated in advance with each company. No payment will be charged for the first batch of goods. They will be placed there for sale first, and payment will be made after they are sold out.

After all, these pickles are expensive. Not only the factory is unsure, but the merchants are also unsure. It is very kind of them to agree to trial sales.

Although the leaders came, the sale of pickles started early in the morning. There are many people buying vegetables in the morning, so they will not wait until the morning to deliver the pickles. If they do, the day lilies will be cold.

"Liu Chang!"

"Old Li!"

"I just checked, and more than 1,800 kilograms were pulled out this morning." Li Mingshun said with a smile.

This is not sales volume, it’s just the goods being shipped out. We still have to wait for feedback on when the goods are sold out.

Liu Hongchang nodded and said to He Daxiong, "Have all the people in your sales department gone out to follow up on the situation?"

"They're all out. The big buyers are at the vegetable market. We've sold more than 100 kilograms so far." He Daxiong said with a smile.

Li Mingshun clicked his tongue and said with a smile, "There are many rich people. Some people are willing to buy pickles at 4.9 yuan per pound."

"You know what, some people who have money like to buy expensive things to show off." He Daxiong said with a smile.

As they were talking, Fang Tianyi came running over and said loudly:

"Brother Hongchang, my dad is almost sold out of the 200 kilograms. Ask the factory to quickly send another 300 kilograms."

"Haha, this is because we have old customers, so it sells fast." Liu Hongchang said with relief, "Nobita, quickly arrange for the shipment."

"Okay, I'll go right away." He Daxiong said quickly and ran away.

Fang Tianyi took a few deep breaths and said with a smile: "A few days ago, some customers heard that the store would sell pickles again, so they made reservations." "The only thing is that some people said my father was dishonest and raised the price because he knew that the sales were good. After much persuasion, no one made trouble after they knew that this was the factory's price."

Originally, Fang Yongfu planned to change the noodle shop to specialize in selling pickles, but the factory's products are currently limited, so he decided to hold off for the time being and plan to change business once the product range is enriched.

Liu Hongchang nodded and said, "Once the customers get used to the price in a few days, no one will say anything."

"The price of ginger sprouts is different every year, so we have to tell the salesperson and let them spread the word in advance that the price will fluctuate in the future," Li Mingshun continued.

After saying a few words, Fang Tianyi said goodbye and left. He had to rush to school. The noodle shop was busy in the morning, so he went to help.

Factory leaders including Liu Hongchang and Li Mingshun were all staying in the workshop, and feedback on sales was coming back one after another.

The best-selling products are the vegetable market and Fang Yongfu’s noodle shop. The former has a large flow of people, while the latter has a customer base.

Other sales outlets are not very active for the time being, selling around 3-5 kilograms, with little improvement seen.

Just like when Fang Yongfu was selling pickles before, there were more people watching.

Liu Hongchang and his colleagues were not in a hurry either, as good things naturally take some time to ferment.

By around nine in the morning, the factory had shipped out nearly 3,000 kilograms of goods, of which more than 1,000 kilograms had been sold.

Although the sales volume is not high, it is a good start.

At around nine o'clock, people from the street came first, led by Director Wang. There were more than ten people in the group. Liu Hongchang and Li Mingshun received them.

After a while, my family members came over, and they were relieved when they heard that the start was going well.

In the factory cafeteria, Nan Yi and his men were busy in the kitchen.

Usually there is an auntie who cooks for the workers here. Today, a leader is coming over and a dinner is inevitable, so Nan Yi is in charge of cooking.

At around 9:30, the leaders of Fenghai District arrived. Liu Hongchang, Li Mingshun, Director Wang and others went to the factory gate to greet them.

With the sound of gongs and drums and the blast of firecrackers, the opening ceremony officially began.

There were quite a lot of people, including leaders and factory workers, as well as workers' families. They heard that there would be a gift for those who came, so everyone who was free came.

The meeting was chaired by Li Mingshun. District leaders and street leaders spoke one by one. As the factory director, Liu Hongchang naturally had to speak as well.

Wang Cuilan, Yu Qiuhua, He Wenhui, He Wenyuan, Liu Yunchang, Wu Xiaoying and Zhou Hao were also watching the fun from the sidelines, all of them with smiles on their faces. It seemed that after Liu Hongchang became the factory director, he gradually gained some authority.

In particular, He Wenhui, He Wenyuan, and Wu Xiaoying looked at Liu Hongchang from afar with an inexplicable light in their eyes.

The opening ceremony ended in more than 40 minutes, and some leaders had to leave first because they had to be busy.

Before leaving, Liu Hongchang gave them some pickles in white porcelain jars to take away, and they all accepted them with a smile.

The pickles in the jar are gift packaging and the jar is custom-made.

There was a piece of paper pasted on it, and the most eye-catching thing on the paper was Liu Hongchang’s cartoon head and the five big words “Master Liu’s Pickles”.

Then, Liu Hongchang and Li Mingshun took the leaders to visit the factory and report on their work, while Wang Cuilan and others went home first.

"As of ten o'clock, 1,800 kilograms have been sold," said Liu Hongchang with a smile.

"Customers who bought it all said it was delicious and said they would buy it again. We can predict that the next three to five days will see a sales boom."

After listening to the report, the leaders all told Liu Hongchang to do his job with confidence and report any difficulties in a timely manner.

In addition to sales volume, the factory's management has also been put on the right track. It is busy but not chaotic, product quality is strictly controlled, and facilities in all aspects are gradually improving.

Time passed quickly and it was past eleven o'clock when everyone went to the cafeteria for dinner.

I didn't drink Cynomorium songaricum wine today, but the wine was not bad. It was brewed by Liu Hongchang using space. It was mellow and fragrant, and everyone said it tasted very good.

The meal lasted nearly two hours before it ended, and the leaders left feeling satisfied.

In the office, Liu Hongchang, Li Mingshun and He Daxiong were sitting there smoking and chatting.

"Old Li, you continue to purchase vegetables, and then the factory will start processing Eight Treasure Vegetables." Liu Hongchang ordered.

He Daxiong continued: "People below us said that the products in our factory are still too monotonous."

"There's nothing I can do. Things happen step by step. You can't become fat in one breath." Liu Hongchang said with a smile.

Li Mingshun asked: "Daxiong, how many have you sold so far?"

"More than 2,000 kilograms, mainly sold in the vegetable market and the old house, and other places are just small-scale sales." He Daxiong replied.

Liu Hongchang reminded: "It should be better in a few days. Daxiong should work harder these days and keep an eye on the sales situation."

"Do we need to sell to other areas?" He Daxiong nodded and asked.

Liu Hongchang pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "There's no rush for now. Once our pickles become famous, it won't be too late to sell them out."

"In fact, even judging from today's sales, as long as we can maintain stability, our factory can survive." Li Mingshun said with a smile.

"After deducting the cost, we can make at least one yuan per kilogram of pickles. If we only count two thousand yuan a day, that's sixty thousand a month and seven hundred and twenty thousand a year. That's not bad."

Liu Hongchang smiled and said, "That's true, but we can't keep going like this, right? We still have to find a way to increase sales, save more money, and buy more machines in the future."

"Yes, bulk products can only be sold in Beijing. If you want to sell further, you have to sell them in packages." He Daxiong agreed.

PS: There is one more chapter, which will be posted later. Please give me your monthly vote.

(End of this chapter)