Chapter 58: The State-Owned Restaurant Comes Knocking

All the workers worked in three shifts, and even the pieceworkers were asked to stay and work overtime.

However, to appease them, she gave both the fixed-wage workers and the pieceworkers extra money.

She also provided them with a rich and delicious midnight snack and gifts.

Fortunately, their overtime work yielded impressive results.

They managed to produce 30,000 pieces in a day, and they were sent to the Chunsheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative in the city early in the morning.

Manager Liu acted as a middleman, transferring the goods to the Southern Building.

Manager Liu was very satisfied with Xu Sangluo’s approach and appreciated her kindness. At the same time, she couldn’t help but admire the girl’s intelligence, decisiveness, and shrewdness.

Xu Sangluo was able to produce so many goods in the shortest possible time, which clearly showed that she understood the significance of this cooperation.

It also showed that she had the ambition to grow her business.

However, she avoided contacting the Southern Building directly and handed this valuable relationship channel to Manager Liu.

Smart people could easily see the meaning behind it.

Therefore, Manager Liu had a new perspective on Xu Sangluo.

Recalling that Manager Fang had mentioned her plans to build a factory, she became more interested.

She specifically called Manager Fang and asked him to help with the factory matter if possible.

If Xu Sangluo could build a factory, she wouldn’t need to find one herself.

The girl had a good character and a sharp mind. It was better to continue cooperating with her than to start over with someone uncertain.

She heard that Xu Sangluo was also preparing ready-made clothes, and there might be more opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Xu Xingtao was also very efficient and found a place for her the next day.

There was a small plastic factory in Quyang Town, on the outskirts of the county, which was currently facing dissolution.

The factory manager had previously hinted at the possibility of transferring the factory building, so they might be able to negotiate.

Xu Xingtao did a thorough job and helped arrange a meeting time.

Xu Sangluo prepared herself and rushed to the county to meet Xu Xingtao, then they went to the plastic factory together.

Although the plastic factory was in Quyang Town, it was considered part of the county, and it wasn’t far.

The factory manager’s surname was Zeng, and he was a middle-aged man in his fifties.

He had a tired and haggard look in his eyes, which showed that he hadn’t been doing well lately.

Seeing them come in, Manager Zeng forced a smile and made some polite remarks before asking about their situation.

Xu Sangluo didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated her intentions.

The plastic factory was state-owned property, and even if it was facing closure, it couldn’t be sold casually.

Manager Zeng had previously wanted to transfer the factory building and employees to another factory.

But no factory was willing to take it over.

With the opening up of the economy, more and more people were doing business, and many factories were becoming less and less profitable.

Especially some small factories, their survival space was constantly being squeezed.

His small plastic factory had been in arrears for two months’ wages, and he had even subsidized one month’s wages himself.

Manager Zeng could apply to be transferred to another factory or position.

But he couldn’t bear to see the workers in the factory lose their livelihoods, so he had been holding on.

If the situation hadn’t been so bad, he would never have agreed to discuss transferring the factory with an individual entrepreneur.

He asked Xu Sangluo about the specifics of her factory, whether the factory could operate in the future, whether she had any plans for the future, and whether her funding was sufficient.

Xu Sangluo had prepared everything and gave Manager Zeng perfect answers.

When he learned that she had a supply partnership with the Southern Building, Manager Zeng’s opinion of her changed drastically, and he had more confidence in her promises.

After three hours of back-and-forth negotiations, Manager Zeng finally agreed to apply for a transfer of the factory building.

After all, the factory was state-owned, and any decision on how to handle it would ultimately require approval from the higher authorities.

But there were many factories that couldn’t survive in the past two years.

The machines could be directly taken away, and the factory buildings were either transferred to other factories or left empty.

The plastic factory was far from other factories, so the possibility of other factories taking it over was low.

Based on these reasons, and with Manager Zeng’s help, the matter should be no problem.

The preliminary terms agreed upon by both parties were as follows:

Xu Sangluo could rent the factory, but she had to rent it for at least 10 years. The rent could be paid annually, at 8,000 yuan per year.

In addition, Xu Sangluo would also need to take on the responsibility of the factory workers.

Of course, Manager Zeng didn’t force her to take on all the workers.

After all, some of their skills were not relevant, and she couldn’t just support these workers for free.

So, he gave Xu Sangluo the right to choose. She didn’t have to keep all the workers, but she had to keep at least 50% of them.

Of course, if the workers were willing to leave on their own, this clause would not apply.

He would also help arrange for some workers to be transferred to other factories.

Of course, the workers who could be transferred would definitely be the most outstanding ones.

Xu Sangluo readily agreed, but she also added a condition.

That was to rent a small truck from the factory for 200 yuan per month.

She originally wanted to rent a large truck, but Manager Zeng refused.

After much negotiation, Manager Zeng finally relented and agreed to go through the application process together for the small truck.

However, if the rental of the small truck was successful, she would need to pay an additional 10,000 yuan deposit. If the truck was damaged during the rental period, she would be responsible for repairs and expenses.

If the damage was severe and the truck could no longer be used, she would need to compensate 70% of the original price of the truck.

Xu Sangluo had no problem with this.

If it weren’t for the fact that it was difficult for private individuals to buy trucks in China, she wouldn’t have insisted.

Having a truck was necessary. It would save a lot of time when transporting goods back and forth.

The contract terms were set, and as soon as the application was approved, it would take effect immediately.

“I’ll try to get it done in three days…”

“I’ll give you the results within three days.”

“Okay, then I’ll trouble you, Manager Zeng.”

The matter of the factory building was half done, and Xu Sangluo felt a little relieved.

She turned to Xu Xingtao with a smile, “Xu Ge, I really don’t know how to thank you this time. No amount of meals can repay this favor.”

Xu Xingtao smiled slightly and said jokingly, “You can also take care of my meals for the rest of my life.”

Xu Sangluo didn’t think much of it and chuckled, “That would be great. If I open a restaurant in the future, you can eat for free.”

Xu Xingtao’s eyes flickered, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

But he quickly recovered his composure and said, “Are you busy enough now?”

He had heard Xu Sangluo’s future plans and knew that she also planned to open a restaurant and do catering.

She already had two businesses, hair accessories and fruits and vegetables, and she was about to start making clothes. If she added catering later, he was worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I definitely won’t do everything at once. This situation is unexpected.” She stretched, her expression slightly helpless.

She really didn’t expect the hair accessories business to take off.

Even though the hair accessories business had developed well after cooperating with the supply and marketing cooperative.

But she didn’t really care about it. She focused on ready-made clothes.

She originally thought that the hair accessories business would last until the beginning of next year.

Now, some people in the county were following suit.

Although they hadn’t become as successful as her, there would be more and more people like this in the future.

Once this trend really became popular, some factories would probably join in.

So, making a big profit by selling for a few months would be good enough.

No one expected to encounter a giant like the Southern Building.

It could only be said that it was pure luck.

As for the fruit and vegetable business, it was just a market test, and it was also to help Chen Tao convince the Chen family.

They wouldn’t sell this batch of vegetables anymore.

The next batch would have to be harvested from the fields.

She had learned from Aunt Wang that Chen’s father had agreed, so the matter of farming should be no problem.

So, the next step for the fruit and vegetable business was to grow vegetables.

She only needed to provide technical guidance, and the Chen family would do the work.

Originally, she only needed to focus on ready-made clothes.

But then, the hair accessories business suddenly presented an opportunity, and she became busy.

“Let’s go, let’s go eat first.”

“Okay.”

After dinner, Xu Sangluo returned home and learned from Chen Tao, who had been waiting at the Qin family’s, that a state-owned restaurant in the county had approached them and wanted to order vegetables.

Their vegetables were selling like hotcakes, and there were naturally many people who were envious.

For example, Manager Zhang from the agricultural trade market.

After that, many people came to inquire about the source of goods or wanted to cooperate.

But Xu Sangluo politely declined them, saying that she didn’t have enough goods.

She also told Chen Tao that no matter who…

Tell everyone who asks that they don’t have enough goods and that they’re done selling this batch for the year.

Chen Tao did as she said.

But this time, the state-owned restaurant wanted to pre-order the vegetable supply for next year.

Even when Chen Tao said it might not be available until June, they said it was fine.

This made Chen Tao uneasy, so he went to talk to Xu Sangluo.

Xu Sangluo asked about the restaurant and their desired partnership model.

They didn’t want to monopolize the supply, but wanted to do a long-term daily supply partnership, with a small quantity.

This meant they were indeed buying for the restaurant.

This wasn’t impossible.

Once they started farming, they couldn’t just rely on selling vegetables at stalls. The main output would have to be through supply and wholesale.

So, she told Chen Tao to tell the restaurant manager that they could pre-order vegetables, and she gave him a simple purchase price list.

If things went smoothly, they could supply a batch in about a month, but this time, there would be fewer types of vegetables, and the price would be higher.

She gave Chen Tao a price list and a simple partnership agreement and asked him to make a few copies.

If anyone else wanted to pre-order a partnership, he could use this to negotiate with them.

If the other party wanted a large quantity, the purchase price could be adjusted down accordingly.

Chen Tao took a stack of documents and then asked about the land.

Chen’s father hadn’t agreed yet, but he had basically agreed.

Because he was only taking care of four acres of winter wheat.

The other eight acres had been plowed and fertilized, but they were clearly left empty for him.

Now, they were just waiting for Xu Sangluo and Qin Zhiyi to have some free time to go over for dinner and talk about it.

Chen’s father actually just wanted reassurance. He also wanted to help his son see if Xu Sangluo was a suitable partner.

Xu Sangluo’s ability was unquestionable, and he believed her character, thanks to his son and wife’s combined praise.

The only thing left was Xu Sangluo’s future plans.

After all, she had so many businesses on her hands now, and she was so capable, even having connections abroad.

Chen’s father felt that their little mountain village couldn’t possibly keep such a golden phoenix.

So, he wanted to confirm whether Xu Sangluo planned to do the fruit and vegetable business long-term or short-term.

He had to consider his son’s future.

Xu Sangluo had planned to go to the Chen family for dinner after Chen Tao finished selling the vegetables.

But she suddenly became busy.

However, she knew Chen’s father’s concerns, so she prepared a plan for the fruit and vegetable business in advance.

She asked Chen Tao to take it back to Chen’s father.

Even if Chen’s father couldn’t understand it, there was still Chen’s second uncle.

She was confident in her plan and believed that after reading it, they would all agree.

There would definitely still be risks and concerns, but at least they wouldn’t be in the dark anymore.

As for the land, she probably wouldn’t have time to go and help with it later, so she told Chen Tao in advance.

She told Chen Tao that the seeds and special fertilizer formula were on their way.

They could plant a batch of winter spinach, cauliflower, chives, winter rapeseed, winter lettuce, scallions, cabbage, etc. in November.

Fortunately, the winter in the south was not as cold as in the north, at least it wouldn’t snow.

Currently, the lowest temperature in Guangzhou in winter was 5°C, and most of the time it was around 12°C, which was still suitable for planting.

Plus, the seeds she got were all improved with spring water, so they were more active and had a stronger vitality. They didn’t need a greenhouse.

Chen Tao got his instructions and immediately ran off in a hurry.

Xu Sangluo sighed and continued to work overtime while waiting for news from Manager Zeng.

To ensure that the ready-made clothes wouldn’t fall behind, she had secretly gotten a batch of fabric and sent it to the farmhouse’s sewing room for automatic production on the assembly line.

After all, she had made a lot of goods in bits and pieces over the past few days. If they were piled up, it wouldn’t be easy to notice anything unusual unless they were carefully checked.

Fortunately, Manager Zeng was quick.

He got back to her in just two days, saying that the application had been approved and she could come over to take over at any time.

Xu Sangluo didn’t need to find time. She immediately made an appointment with Manager Zeng and went over.

As soon as she arrived, she found that the plastic factory was no longer operating, but the workers were all waiting outside.

Manager Zeng must have already told them.

When they saw Xu Sangluo, all the workers turned to look at her, their eyes filled with various emotions: anxiety, curiosity, worry, and scrutiny.

The whole place had an atmosphere of unease and anxiety.

Manager Zeng was talking to a few people in his office.

They were also workers, judging by their clothes, but they were about the same age as Manager Zeng.

There was a smell of second-hand tobacco in the office, and the atmosphere was heavy.

This was normal. In this era, for workers, the factory was like their second home.

Now, their home was suddenly gone. Although they had anticipated it, it was still very uncomfortable to face it.

Plus, in recent years, many factories had been doing poorly, and who could guarantee that they could continue working at other factories?

The worry about the present and the anxiety about the future made everyone feel uneasy and heavy.

“Comrade Xu is here.” When he saw Xu Sangluo, Manager Zeng shook off his dejection and forced a smile to greet her.

Several old technicians also turned to look.

Seeing that the new owner was such a young girl, they felt even heavier.

As soon as Xu Sangluo arrived, Manager Zeng told her about the workers’ situation.

He had already informed them about the change of ownership. He would pay all their wages today and give them an extra month’s salary.

He had made two lists for the workers.

One was for those who had decided to leave, and the other was for those who hadn’t decided yet.

Xu Sangluo would make the decision. She could choose more than 50% of them to stay.