If the steel plant director said they could call it a Chemical Factory, then it should be called a Chemical Factory!

Maybe today it’s incense, and tomorrow they might be making soap?

Is soap made in a Chemical Factory?

Or is it only fertilizer and pesticides that count as a Chemical Factory?

Oh, never mind. It’ll be called a Chemical Factory!

Everyone agreed it was a good idea, so they decided on Lu Jia Zhuang No. 1 Chemical Factory.

Brother Lu Dage joked, “People who don’t know might think Lu Jia Zhuang is as big as Shijiazhuang.”

The brigade leader was very pleased. “It should sound grand. That way, it’ll be impressive, and people will be more inclined to buy from us. If you tell them we’re just a small factory with three to five people in the production team, they won’t want to buy from us!”

After discussing this, everyone was quite excited, feeling that they were on the verge of making a lot of money.

Seeing the mood was right, Jiang Weidong smiled and said, “I personally tested this incense and know its quality and effectiveness. I’ll now place an order for 100 large bags.”

Different units provided various benefits to their employees based on their profits.

The steel plant, being a state-owned enterprise, had more benefits.

Every year, they would distribute items like soap, rough paper, towels, and sanitary incense.

The demand for sanitary incense was quite high.

Especially in places like guesthouses, offices, restrooms, canteens, and kitchens, the consumption of sanitary incense was particularly significant.

Of course, this time Jiang Weidong decided to buy the incense himself and distribute it to the secretary, factory director, and other key contacts.

He’d also send some samples to friendly brother units to test.

If they liked it, they could continue ordering.

If it became very popular, perhaps Lu Jia Zhuang Factory could be upgraded.

In the city, there were no incense factories, and the sanitary incense bought by various units and supply and marketing cooperatives all came from outside areas.

For example, the supply and marketing cooperative’s Tiger Brand sanitary incense was priced at 1.5 yuan per box, with ten packs per box, and a single pack retailing for 0.17 yuan.

Being a brigade-run workshop rather than a formal factory, the goal was to offer good value at a lower price.

Therefore, the prices had to be competitive to sell well.

Lin Shu, having calculated the costs, decided to forego fancy packaging and use simple paper bags instead.

Small paper bags would hold twenty sticks, and large paper bags would contain ten packs.

A small pack would retail for 0.15 yuan, while a large pack would be 1.3 yuan.

The two-cent difference might seem small, but it’s equivalent to the cost of a box of matches.

Saving twenty cents per large pack would mean saving nearly two small packs’ worth of cost.

This discount was quite significant.

Although it might seem trivial compared to a steel mill’s expenses, every little bit adds up, and over the year, it could amount to a substantial sum.

Other units would naturally have similar considerations.

The secretary and brigade leader were pleasantly surprised by Jiang Weidong’s willingness to assist, which reinforced their belief that the incense factory could be profitable.

Lin Shu smiled, “Initially, we won’t ask Factory Director Jiang to buy from us. Instead, we’ll give him two hundred packs to help promote it.”

Jiang Weidong, understanding that they were just starting out and might not even be able to afford five hundred yuan, didn’t want to take anything for free.

“Business is business. We’ll stick to the terms agreed upon,” he said.

Lin Shu then presented the invoice for the custom incense-making tools to Brother Lu in front of the brigade secretary and brigade leader, asking him to settle the payment with Factory Director Jiang.

Jiang Weidong accepted the payment, as it was a business transaction, not a personal favor.

If it were personal, he would have refused the money.

Brother Lu Dage, holding his briefcase, collected the invoice and made the payment.

The brigade leader, seeing the factory open before production even started, was very pleased.

He looked at the south room and noted it seemed a bit cramped. “Do you need us to allocate two more rooms for you?”

The secretary, however, preferred to keep it where it was. “The accountant’s yard is quite spacious; it’s better to stay here.”

Making incense requires specific formulas, and it’s harder for others to steal the techniques if made at home. It wouldn’t be ideal for the brigade to handle it.

The secretary was thinking ahead. Since they were already helping the Lu family, it would be best to fully support them.

He asked Lin Shu, “I heard from Doctor Lu that you also wanted to build two more rooms?”

Lin Shu nodded, “Yes, those will be for Lu Ping when he marries.”

The secretary replied, “If you have the means, you can start building them after the wheat harvest.”

“Alright, let’s start preparing the materials for now.” He said to the brigade leader, “The brigade still has some blue bricks and mud bricks. When the time comes, we can use them to build the incense-making building. That’ll be our rental fee.”

The brigade leader agreed, “After the wheat harvest, let Xu Laonian and Qiu Jintian handle it. They’ll get it built in a few days.”

They were masons.

This way, Lu Jia Village wouldn’t owe anyone a favor and wouldn’t need to provide meals for them.

Building the house would initially serve as the incense-making room for a few years.

Since the brigade would benefit, providing some blue bricks, mud bricks, and labor was appropriate.

He was responsible for explaining this to the commune members, so they would know that the profits from the incense-making team would be included in the production team’s dividends.

If there was money to be shared…

The commune members would support it.

Once the regulations were set, the secretary asked Brother Lu Dage to bring an introduction letter and money, along with the packaging bag sample designed by Lin Shu, to the county printing factory to print a batch of packaging bags.

The first batch should be at least five thousand.

Once they start making money, they could print more and even learn to make paper boxes like the formal factories.

The quality of the incense, its scent, the attitudes of Lin Shu, Brother Lu Erge, Fang Dihua, and others, along with Jiang Weidong’s support and recognition, gave the secretary great confidence.

It would definitely be profitable!

To save time, the secretary instructed Brother Lu Erge to head to the county in the afternoon.

He could stay overnight at the county revolutionary committee’s dormitory for free and go directly to the printing factory the next day.

The printing factory was not large, and its efficiency was limited.

He should try to pull some strings to get it done sooner.

The secretary believed Brother Lu Erge was the right person for this job.

After Brother Lu Erge left, Lin Shu had Jiang Weidong and Lin Xia help grind the rice paste in the afternoon.

The rice, once soaked, became soft and could be ground into a paste.

This paste was then left to settle to extract the rice flour, mixed with sourdough for fermentation, and finally combined with an appropriate amount of flour.

To cater to the old lady’s taste, Lin Shu also added some white sugar.

Once fermented, she added red dates, honey dates, peanuts, and chestnuts before steaming the mixture.

She steamed eight cakes, each weighing about one pound.

Lin Shu planned to give three of them to Jiang Weidong to take back to Old Lady Jiang, one to Lin Mother, one to Sister Lu Da’s family, and another to the family of Fang Dihua.

The latter received regular deliveries of grain and oil from their family, so it was a gesture of gratitude, even though they paid for it.

She also intended to send two small pieces to Old Lady Xie.

With all these delicious ingredients—rice, white sugar, red dates, chestnuts, and peanuts—Lin Shu thought it was a shame she had been scolded for making such a treat in secret.

Despite her intentions, she hoped the value of these treats would be recognized.

In the evening, Lin Shu cut the rice cakes into pieces for everyone to taste.

Locals rarely ate rice because it was expensive and not produced locally.

The rice cakes, with their sweet rice fragrance mixed with the aroma of red dates, chestnuts, and white sugar, were incredibly delightful.

Sister Lu Erge had never tasted such delicious rice cakes before.

At first, she was skeptical, but after one bite, she was impressed and wanted to take some home for her mother.

She kept eating until the rice cake was finished, and even thought about giving some to Lu Cuicui.

Lu Cuicui, trying to avoid attention, secretly enjoyed her portion.

Because this was a special treat, Brother Lu Erge initially didn’t take any for himself but was forces to, so there weren’t any extra pieces to give to Sister Lu Er and Lu Cuicui.

After all, this wasn’t a family treat; it was brought by Lin Shu and her family.

The family had their share.

The rice cakes were given to Panpan and Tiantian to eat.

Panpan, however, fed a piece to her second uncle, watching him chew and swallow, then asked, “Second Uncle, is it good?”

Brother Lu Erge smiled, “It’s really delicious. Don’t tell Huzhi and the others; it’ll make them cry with envy.”

Panpan was satisfied with this reaction; he wanted them to feel envious!

Sister Lu Erge felt uncomfortable but didn’t show it in front of the esteemed guest, Jiang Weidong.

She was frustrated internally, especially since she wanted to become the women’s director, but her mother-in-law didn’t support her.