Yulian Comes to Visit

Sister Yang said, "I also asked them where the products with quality issues are. They actually claimed that this batch has already been shipped out and told us to wait until the other party returns them before discussing further. This is clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for us and find an excuse to delay the payment."

I asked, "What do you plan to do then?"

Sister Yang sighed, "What other choice do I have? I can only go and press them for the payment again. If this drags on any longer, we won't even be able to pay the workers' wages."

I asked, "Are you confident about getting the payment back? What if they use product quality issues as an excuse to withhold it again? What will you do then?"

Sister Yang knitted her brows tightly and said with deep worry, "The bigger issue is that Tiansheng Company is a major client of our factory. Nearly a quarter of our monthly output goes to them. If we ruin the relationship by pressing too hard for the payment, it will severely impact the sales channels for our factory's products."

Having helped Sister Yang manage the factory over these past few days, I also knew that her products were mainly supplied as components to larger companies, lacking any true sales channels of her own. In this situation, once you fall out with the other company and they refuse to take your products, you end up in a very passive position.

A factory without its own brand not only suffers from low profit margins but also possesses fragile survivability, essentially living at the mercy of other companies.

I asked, "Our factory has been cooperating with Tiansheng Company for many years. Have they ever delayed payments in the past?"

Sister Yang replied, "Almost all companies around here delay payments to their component suppliers. Usually, they let a few batches pile up before settling the accounts. A few years ago, Tiansheng Company owed us three hundred thousand before starting to clear the subsequent balance. Later on, it gradually accumulated to several hundred thousand, and now it has actually reached over eight hundred thousand. If things keep accumulating like this, all the profits of my factory will end up tied up in their hands."

I roughly understood the reality of Sister Yang's factory; in truth, her profit margin was extremely low. I had calculated privately that the monthly output value of her factory was between one million and two million, with a gross profit of around three hundred thousand.

After deducting employee wages, taxes, and equipment depreciation from these profits, the net profit was roughly tens of thousands per month.

This relied heavily on the fact that she owned the factory building itself. If she had to pay rent for the premises, Sister Yang's factory would be left with virtually nothing.

Simply put, the profit from Sister Yang's factory was not even as high as the salary Sister Li used to earn. Therefore, her factory fundamentally lacked any resilience against unexpected risks.

The last time a worker had an accident, she had no money for compensation and was forced to resort to high-interest loans—that was a prime example.

I said, "Sister Yang, a factory with no future like this is a dead end!"

Sister Yang smiled bitterly and said, "I know this as well, but there is no other way. We can only stick to the beaten path. At least this can earn me a living expense; otherwise, my daughter and I won't even have money to eat. How are we supposed to survive?"

Indeed, as the boss lady, Sister Yang's net income of around ten thousand a month was much better than that of most wage earners. Otherwise, where would she go to make a living to support her family? Moreover, regardless of how meager the profits were, having her own factory meant she was still viewed outside as a respectable and successful proprietress.

Seeing me deep in thought, Sister Yang asked, "Ah Feng, do you have any good plans?"

I said, "Sister Yang, a factory that only produces components for others has no way out. The best approach is to create our own products and establish our own sales channels."

Sister Yang smiled, "Ah Feng, I've actually thought about this too, but we lack technology, equipment, capital, and sales channels. I didn't dare to take the risk. After all, I lack financial strength, and the consequences would be severe if we failed! You're capable, Ah Feng, help me think of a good solution."

I laughed, "Don't flatter me, Sister Yang. In reality, I'm just a penniless nobody with nothing."

Sister Yang chuckled, "Stop being so modest, Ah Feng. You know Han Lingxue; just a single hair plucked from her would be more than enough to keep us fed for a lifetime."

Hearing Sister Yang say this inevitably reminded me of Jin Yulian and Sister Li.

Jin Yulian produced garments, and Sister Li had established a foreign trade company. If the two of them could cooperate, it would be a win-win situation.

If one wanted to create products, the primary consideration was sales channels. Once you had sales channels, nothing else was a problem. Mingzhou was a city with a highly developed foreign trade sector, so exporting products was clearly the best choice.

This naturally brought to mind Sister Li's foreign trade company, as well as Sister Fang and Fu Xiaomei, who were also in foreign trade exports. I really should go and visit Sister Li; I wondered how her company was doing now.

I said, "Sister Yang, I'll make a trip to the foreign trade companies in Mingzhou tomorrow to see what kind of products they need, and then we can consider developing new items."

Sister Yang smiled, "Of course I support you if you want to do this, but my capital is too tight to withstand any reckless tossing around! If we end up losing even the money for my daughter's and my meals, you'll have to take responsibility."

I laughed, "Don't worry, I won't mess things up blindly." I decided to go to Mingzhou the next day to check on Sister Li's company. I hadn't been back there since the last time I got married to Sister Li.

The day passed quickly. As it was time to get off work, Jin Yulian suddenly called me. Over the phone, she said, "Feng, are you free tonight? If you have time, I'd like to chat with you."

I asked, "Should I come to you, or are you coming to find me?"

Jin Yulian said, "Wait for me at that beef noodle shop! Find me there when I arrive, and order a bowl of beef noodles for me along the way."

I said, "Alright, I'll wait for you at Sister Hua's beef noodle shop."

Jin Yulian replied, "Okay, I'll send you a message when I set off." After hanging up, I told Sister Yang, "I have some personal matters tonight, so I'll be eating dinner outside."

Although Sister Yang felt a twinge of jealousy, she couldn't bring herself to stop me. Ever since she proposed that I marry her and I rejected her, she had roughly understood the nature of our actual relationship, and thus she wouldn't excessively interfere in my private life.

Sister Hua's beef noodle shop wasn't far from Sister Yang's factory. It would take me about twenty minutes to walk there. Since I had nothing to do after getting off work anyway, I decided to walk over.

Although Tientou was currently working with me, he had started dating Lan Canxie, so his primary interest now lay squarely with his girlfriend.

After walking for about ten minutes, I received a message from Jin Yulian saying she had set off and would arrive in about ten minutes, instructing me to order the beef noodles in advance.

I walked into the noodle shop and saw the proprietress, Sister Hua, bustling about. Catching sight of me, she greeted me with a beaming smile and motioned for me to sit down.

I ordered two bowls of beef noodles. Before long, the noodles were ready, and Jin Yulian's car arrived just in time.