"I choose the first option."
A voice, distinct from the others, spoke among the ten. Not only Zhang Liunian but also the other nine factory owners stared at the short man as if he were an idiot.
Indeed, the one who chose the first option was the short man who had been a beat behind from the start.
Zhang Liunian looked at him with surprise, his voice calm and unruffled, "Why did you choose the first option?"
He was curious about the man's thoughts, though it was merely curiosity. Whether he explained or not was irrelevant to Zhang Liunian.
"If my factory has your shares, then I wouldn't have to worry about the future sales of the factory. You would also put in your full effort to help me develop the factory. I know my own capabilities; I can defend a city, but I can't expand. Instead of watching the factory rely on old capital, it's better to hand it over to someone more capable. I won't lose out anyway," the short man said, revealing his thoughts without reservation.
This earned Zhang Liunian a bit of admiration. A good employee must fully understand the scope of their abilities. This man was a very good subordinate.
Zhang Liunian's interest piqued. He asked again, "What does your factory primarily produce?"
"Ironware, such as iron pots and buckets."
"Fatty's Iron Factory is yours, isn't it!" Zhang Liunian immediately made the connection, understanding that his main product was iron pots.
"Yes, that's my factory. It's only been open for two years, and the business is only勉强 (barely managing). This勉强 (barely managing) relies on the type distributed to individual households." The short man did not hide anything from Zhang Liunian and the others, honestly admitting that his business was not doing well.
Upon hearing this, there was a collective silence again.
In reality, the other nine factories were in a similar situation. After all, they were second-tier factories with smaller scales, surviving precariously through this model.
"Are you sure you want to choose the first option? To be honest with you, the purpose of this option is for the factory to become mine. This way, Zhu Lao San won't have any reason to trouble you.
However, this is only on the surface. In reality, I will only take shares, meaning I will invest and become a partner. We can split it fifty-fifty.
When we make money, all the factory's profits will also be split in half. I can be responsible for sales, and you can manage production. It's not too late to regret it now." Zhang Liunian didn't understand the ironware sector too well, but having gone through it once, he knew what could be made of iron.
Moreover, no matter when, everything relies on sales. Sales are the most important thing.
Of course, the quality of the goods is also important, but only relatively speaking.
"I've thought it through. I can sell fifty percent of my shares and let you manage the factory. As long as you help me succeed." The short man clearly wanted to latch onto Zhang Liunian.
The others looked at each other in disbelief, unable to fathom someone daring to gamble like this.
They had all started from scratch, and the factory's current operation was the result of their hard work.
Therefore, ordinary people would not easily give up their hard work and let others get involved.
This iron factory owner, however, did not think that way. Instead, he was happy for Zhang Liunian to join, which was truly quite surprising.
"Once you've made up your mind, we can discuss it in detail later. Since the others have chosen the second option, go back and wait for my call to notify you to sign the cooperation agreement."
Zhang Liunian planned to establish two companies under other people's names later and then achieve a controlling stake through them.
This would help him conceal himself and reduce trouble.
In short, all ten factories had a relatively good meeting, and they were waiting for Zhang Liunian to notify them to sign the contracts.
"Your name is Li Xingxing, right!" After dismissing the nine factory owners, Zhang Liunian had the short man sit face-to-face with him.
Li Xingxing pursed his lips and nodded, surprised that Zhang Liunian remembered his name. He was excited but did not show it.
Zhang Liunian saw through his pretense but did not expose it. He smiled and said, "What is your factory worth now? We will both find someone to appraise and calculate it. I will give you half the price to acquire your fifty percent of the shares. At the same time, I will point out some directions. As long as you do as I say, the factory will definitely get better and better."
The era of iron vacuum flasks was just around the corner, and he needed to show them the way forward. He believed this factory would prosper.
Li Xingxing nodded repeatedly in agreement. When he chose the first option, he had already made up his mind to follow Zhang Liunian.
The man was willing to let him manage the factory and merely point out directions, which was the greatest delegation of power for him.
He was overjoyed and had no reason to raise any questions.
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, we will handle this matter together. You go back and prepare."
"Okay."
After seeing Li Xingxing off, Zhang Liunian and Zhang Qian returned to the department store.
The department store had returned to its usual bustling state, but as goods were sold, a severe shortage began to appear.
Zhang Liunian sat in his office and reviewed all the cooperative merchants. He found that excluding the ones who came to cause trouble today, there were only eight individual retailers.
Zhang Liunian called them one by one, stating that if they provided the genuine wholesale price, he would settle the payment for the past half month and continue to supply them.
These eight merchants were somewhat surprised by this news because they had been closely following the events at the department store and were aware of Zhang Liunian's conflict with Zhu Lao San.
They had received the news and admired Zhang Liunian's courage, choosing to defy Zhu Lao San rather than settle the outstanding payments. Now, Zhang Liunian's proactive offer to repay the money was naturally unexpected.
However, they had previously accepted benefits from Tang Guo to agree to trick Zhang Liunian, and now they were unsure how to choose.
In the end, they could only state that they would consider it for a day. Zhang Liunian did not force them. After organizing the affairs of the department store, he realized that the most important task now was to find new merchants to cooperate with.
Due to Zhu Lao San's influence, it was difficult to make progress in the provincial capital. He had to seek external help, such as going to cities like Pengcheng or Shanghai.
It seemed he would have to travel again, but he was very worried about his wife being alone here.
As he was thinking, Jiang Qingqing's voice reached Zhang Liunian's ears.
"Liunian, I found a house. Do you want to come and see it?" As soon as Jiang Qingqing finished speaking, she placed her small hand on Zhang Liunian's shoulder.
Zhang Liunian looked up with a smile and grasped her small hand on his shoulder, asking gently, "So soon?"
"Yes, I've been all over the place this morning." To move into their own home sooner, Jiang Qingqing had even eaten her lunch on the go.
"Thank you for your hard work." Zhang Liunian was also happy to move into their own home sooner. He got up, instructed Section Chief Gu, and followed his wife to look at the house.
The house Jiang Qingqing had chosen was at the end of Jiefang Road, less than a twenty-minute walk from the department store.
However, it was an old residential complex with only three-story buildings. The one Jiang Qingqing had her eye on was a whole building.
This three-story building had originally belonged to a single family. This family wanted to move away for unknown reasons and decided to sell it.
"We can buy any floor; the landlord is easy to talk to." Jiang Qingqing had inquired about the price, which was sixty thousand per floor. It was a bit more expensive than in Nancheng, but Jiang Qingqing was now a woman of the world and could accept it.