Chapter 599 – Demand Exceeds Supply
Perhaps it was the deep impression left by Chen Lan, but when Lu Xia returned home that night, she discussed this matter with Jiang Junmo.
Finally, she exclaimed, “Indeed, wealthy people are the ones who spend the most money!”
Jiang Junmo laughed after hearing this, “Isn’t all our money with you? Speaking of which, according to your words, you’re also a wealthy woman now. Why not think about spending some money for yourself?”
Lu Xia immediately restrained her purse and said, “No, I can’t spend recklessly. I still have four children to support at home! Forget about the daily expenses, when they grow up, get married, and want to buy houses and cars, we’ll need money for all of that. The cost of living in the capital is high, and we don’t know if we’ll have enough by then!”
Jiang Junmo, surprised by Lu Xia’s thoughts, looked at her and said, “You’ve thought this far ahead?”
“Yes, I’ve been worrying since they were born,” Lu Xia sighed.
Jiang Junmo shook his head with a smile, “You’re overthinking. Let the children handle their own affairs in the future. It’s already good enough that we’ve raised them. Buying houses and cars for them when they get married? That’s a dream! If they want to buy, they should find a way themselves. We can’t be responsible for everything.”
Lu Xia, hearing this, asked directly, “But what if by then everyone else has them and our children don’t?”
“Then it’s because they lack the ability. It’s not someone else’s fault.”
Lu Xia knew this was the right way to think, but as parents, they always want to give the best to their children and fear they might be disadvantaged.
But thinking about all this at this moment is premature. Anyway, although she has accumulated a considerable amount of savings, she is still reluctant to spend money.
She wondered if she should invest, perhaps in buying a house? Investing in fixed assets is better than keeping the money in hand. After all, this is a period of rapid development in the country, and putting money in the bank yields the slowest returns.
So Lu Xia thought about discussing this with Jiang Junmo later and getting his opinion.
However, shortly after, she became busy again and didn’t have a chance to talk about it until before the summer vacation.
…
Chen Lan acted quickly and sent someone to discuss future cooperation as soon as she returned.
During this time, Liu Song was fully responsible for his contact with her. Even when other potential partners came later, they were received by other company members.
As for the company, the pressure is quite high at the moment, especially on the factory side. The demand for products is increasing, and they are already struggling to keep up. Once the five stores in Shanghai open, it’s a given that supply won’t meet demand.
So, on this day, several partners gathered for a meeting to discuss solutions.
Master Zhong suggested, “How about continuing to hire people? There are quite a few people looking for work now, and our company offers good benefits. We should be able to hire people quickly.”
But Ye Lin frowned after hearing this, “Hiring people is easy, but managing them afterward is difficult, especially for some employees who are not from Beijing. We have to provide food and accommodation, which is a significant expense. And with so many people in the factory, managing them is troublesome. We still haven’t found a suitable candidate for factory manager; this is not easy to handle.”
Lu Xia, after thinking for a moment, said, “Why don’t we go all out and buy machines directly? When the workforce is reduced, the production will also be faster.”
Ye Lin hesitated upon hearing this, “But specialized cosmetic manufacturing machines might not be easy to find. Even if we can find them, they are likely to be expensive.”
Lu Xia had actually looked into this before, “If we decide to buy, I can find someone to help, but it’s indeed very expensive.”
Then she mentioned a rough number.
Both of them were shocked upon hearing it, “So expensive!”
*
Chapter 600 – Buying Machines
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“Yeah, but you all can think of it this way—this one machine saves dozens of employees and increases the speed. It’s like buying the machine in advance with the salaries of dozens of employees for a year or two.
And to be honest, if the company wants to grow in the future, it will eventually need machines. Even if we don’t buy now, we’ll have to buy them later. It’s impossible to rely on manual labor forever.
Moreover, using machines ensures more precise measurements for the ingredients, reduces the error rate in future products, and saves a lot of inspection time.”
Upon hearing this, both of them contemplated the idea.
In the end, Master Zhong spoke, “Then let’s buy it. Although we’re saving money this way, the efficiency is too low. And to be honest, even though we’ve separated the steps, I’m still on edge. I’m afraid of the recipe leaking. But with machines, these things should be less likely to happen, right?”
Ye Lin, after hearing this, made up her mind, “Let’s buy it! The company has a good amount from franchise fees, and it should be enough for the machines. Let’s go for a one-step solution.”
Seeing both of them in agreement, Lu Xia nodded and said, “Good, then I’ll take care of things afterwards.”
Ye Lin added, “If you need to use connections or anything, don’t hesitate to spend. The company will reimburse you!”
Lu Xia chuckled, “Alright, rest assured. I have it all figured out. But it probably won’t be fast. If we need imports, it might take longer.”
“No problem, the shops in Shanghai haven’t opened yet; we have time.”
“Okay.”
After that, Lu Xia asked Qi Xiao for help. Since he decided to open a factory, he had been mostly in the southern region, moving the company there. He rarely came back now.
When he received a call from Lu Xia, learning that she had also opened a factory and needed his help to buy machines, he readily agreed.
“Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I have connections in this area. I guarantee I’ll help you buy good-quality machines!”
Lu Xia thanked him, saying, “Thank you so much. Don’t worry about the expenses. If you need to use connections or if there’s anything related to transportation later, just let me know in advance. Trust me, the company will cover the costs, so don’t spend your own money!”
“Haha, I know you’ve made money, sister-in-law. Rest assured, I won’t be polite with you.”
After entrusting the matter to Qi Xiao, Lu Xia felt relieved.
However, even with Qi Xiao’s help, it took about a month for the machines to arrive.
This time, they bought imported machines. The machines were quite large, and there were several smaller machines for different steps, making them very convenient to use. They almost directly saved a large portion of manual labor.
This time, the machines were transported by Third Brother-in-law’s logistics company. Knowing that it was Lu Xia’s shipment, Third Brother-in-law refused to accept any payment.
Lu Xia insisted that these were machines purchased by the company, and the company paid for them. It took some persuasion before he accepted.
However, due to the large size of the machines, the transportation was quite troublesome.
After the delivery was done, Lu Xia opened the manual and studied the usage step by step.
Well, because they were imported, the manual was all in English. Fortunately, with Lu Xia, a professional, they quickly understood the instructions.
After the installation, they tried it out.
It was indeed very convenient.
With the machines, many steps were directly omitted. In just a short while, Lu Xia alone produced the same amount as all the employees would in half a day.
Seeing this, Ye Lin exclaimed, “So fast! It seems like we made a good buy with these machines!”
“Yes!” Master Zhong also marveled, “Before, it took so much effort to do it manually, but now this machine has solved it all at once. It’s really amazing!”
**TN
Oh my, chapter 600 already? Did I skip a hundred chapters? We’re on our last hundred, it’s almost done. Aw~ >.<
What we’re nearing the end?! It happened so fast! Translator, thanks for all your hard work!
“Then it’s because they lack the ability. It’s not someone else’s fault.”
Wait until you are in year 2023 where house prices is insane that even if you work hard as an employee, you could not buy a healthy house with backyard and end up have to make do with small apartment or small house that is very far from where you work😭
Right? This boomer bastard. So shortsighted and lacking in perspective.
And how dare he say something like that? He himself grew up in plenty with an affluent family. He had his own house basically from birth, and the money he spend has for the most part been given to him by family. And he dares say that people who aren’t as lucky as him are just lacking in ability?! He barely worked at all in the countryside, just living on family handouts, and he’s only just recently began making a small amount of money. Fuuuuck him for saying something like that.
I desperately hope Lu Xia, who grew up as a poor orphan in the 21st century and knows exactly how difficult young people has it these days, will make up for her husband’s narrowmindedness and not let her children down.
I don’t think it’s necessarily narrowmindedness as it’s more of not wanting to spoil the children and ensuring they work hard toward goals. After all, if something is attained too easily, it won’t be appreciated as much. Of course, if they need help and they’ve been striving toward those goals, but still can’t reach them, I’m sure Jiang Junmo will help his children. He probably just doesn’t want to set their expectations at the beginning that they’ll be able to acquire anything without any hard work.