The next day, Zhang Liunian took Zhao Zhijie to the Tang Family Food Factory they had just acquired.
Located in the southern suburbs, the factory covered over a thousand square meters and was equipped with comprehensive facilities, boasting eight production lines and formerly employing over eight hundred workers. In Nancheng, excluding the Nancheng Food Factory itself, it was the second largest.
Zhang Liunian and Zhao Zhijie inspected the factory inside and out twice, confirming that all equipment and facilities were in perfect condition. The only things missing were raw materials and manpower.
The two discussed this matter. Zhang Liunian planned to recruit workers in Nancheng and also from the Shilidui Brigade. Those from the brigade would form the core staff, responsible for mixing and production, while those recruited in Nancheng would handle auxiliary tasks.
Zhao Zhijie was a bit confused, wondering why Zhang Liunian didn't simply rehire the former employees, which would surely speed up production recovery.
"Why don't you just use the former employees?" Zhao Zhijie asked directly.
"It's like this..." Zhang Liunian smiled and explained about the factory's former owner and his family's rivalry with the Tang family. After hearing this, Zhao Zhijie supported his decision.
"You're absolutely right. Food production hinges on the recipe. If they take your money but remain loyal to the Tang family, you'd truly be doing them a favor. Rest assured, I will help manage this factory diligently from now on. As soon as the employees arrive and the raw materials are delivered, we can start production tomorrow." Zhao Zhijie rubbed his hands together, ready to get to work.
"I'll go find Uncle Ma later to arrange for some people to build staff dormitories at the factory." Recruiting from the brigade meant that accommodation was the primary concern. The factory could cover meals, but simple wooden dormitories would need to be built. Fortunately, the food factory was spacious enough to accommodate several rows of staff housing.
Entrusting the factory to Zhao Zhijie, Zhang Liunian first went to the Nancheng Food Factory construction site to ask Ma Quancai to gather people for building the dormitories. Then, he drove non-stop to Shilidui Brigade, instructing the village cadres to use the broadcast system to announce his recruitment plans.
During the farming off-season, the residents of Shilidui Brigade were eager to hear that Zhang Liunian was recruiting again, this time for positions directly in Nancheng. The entire families mobilized. Within half a day, Zhang Liunian had recruited five hundred employees. He informed them to report for work the next day, with the factory subsidizing their travel expenses at one yuan per day, which elicited cheers from the crowd.
"Comrade Liunian, will those who come by bicycle also receive a yuan?" someone in the crowd asked.
Zhang Liunian looked at the five hundred young and strong individuals he had hired and smiled, "No matter how you get here, this one yuan a day is my subsidy for your travel. It will cease once the factory dormitories are built." This subsidy would last for a maximum of two weeks. The young men and women below cheered again. Many girls in the crowd gazed at Zhang Liunian with starry eyes, but unfortunately, Zhang Liunian was already married.
After hiring the employees, Zhang Liunian went to the preserved vegetable factory and informed Zhang Shan about the Nancheng Food Factory's opening the next day, asking Zhang Shan to help deliver the raw materials. Zhang Shan complied. After finishing, he discussed the factory situation with Zhang Liunian.
"With another factory helping, we can finally catch our breath. By the way, is the Nancheng factory as big as ours? How much can it produce daily?" Zhang Shan's main concern was production volume, as they had been working day and night recently, yet still couldn't meet sales demand, which was incredibly frustrating for them.
"I've hired five hundred people here as a trial run, and another five hundred in Nancheng. We'll start with a thousand-person food factory. This way, we should be able to produce around two hundred thousand bottles a day." Zhang Liunian knew that to expand his family's preserved vegetable business, large-scale production was essential, but producing glutinous rice sauce in large quantities during winter was quite challenging. It seemed he would have to return to his old ways and use equipment for making glutinous rice sauce, which would replace the need for sun exposure. He also had two department stores that required his attention for handover and future operational direction. He had many tasks and urgently needed Du Ziteng's assistance. Thinking of Du Ziteng, Zhang Liunian realized he hadn't seen him for a couple of days.
Driven by curiosity, Zhang Liunian drove to find Du Ziteng, only to encounter him being harassed by Qian Xueli by the side of the county road.
"You hugged me in front of so many people just now, and my reputation is ruined. You must be responsible for me," Qian Xueli declared.
"I have a girlfriend. I only saved you out of kindness when I saw you were in trouble. I've never met someone so ungrateful," Du Ziteng retorted.
"I don't care. You hugged me, so you have to be responsible for me."
"Get away from me. I don't want to."
"..."
Zhang Liunian watched them pulling at each other on the road. His gaze fell on Qian Xueli's belly. He stopped the car, rolled down the window, and said, "Ziteng, get in."
Upon hearing this, Du Ziteng looked like he had seen a savior. He hoisted his bicycle and threw it into the back of Zhang Liunian's car. But before he could get in, Qian Xueli grabbed his arm, "I'm going with you. Take me home and give me a proper status."
"..."
This was the first time Du Ziteng had encountered such a troublesome woman. He pushed her away, sending Qian Xueli to the ground. Her easy fall surprised Du Ziteng. Zhang Liunian, sitting in the car, saw clearly that Qian Xueli had fallen deliberately. As for her motive...
"Ah!" Qian Xueli suddenly cried out, clutching her stomach. Du Ziteng frowned and looked, his eyes widening in alarm because he saw blood gushing from her lower body. Du Ziteng stared blankly, then frantically looked at Zhang Liunian and asked foolishly, "Brother Liunian, what's happening?"
Zhang Liunian pressed his forehead and reminded him, "Take her to the health clinic. She might be miscarrying."
"Miscarrying? But she's not even married!" Du Ziteng was stunned. As soon as he said that, he knew he had spoken incorrectly. He quickly picked her up and rushed towards the health clinic, with Zhang Liunian following slowly behind in his car.
"This girl is pregnant before marriage? In the old days, this would be a scandal worthy of being thrown into a pond."
"Too promiscuous. Who would want such a girl?"
"That's why she's trying to extort that young man into marrying her. She must know her situation and is looking for a sucker."
"Now that the girl has lost the child, she certainly shouldn't expect him to be responsible!"
"..."
Zhang Liunian and the others naturally couldn't hear these words. However, when Qian Xueli learned that she had indeed miscarried, she wasn't sad. Instead, she clung to Du Ziteng, refusing to let go, "You harmed a life. You must be responsible for me."
"What does this have to do with me? If you hadn't insisted on pulling me, I wouldn't have gotten angry. This is ultimately your problem, not mine." Du Ziteng hated a girl this much for the first time. In the past, if he saw a beautiful girl like Qian Xueli on the street, he would have whistled to attract her attention. But after starting to date Liu Sanniu, he had broken this habit. He didn't expect this sudden disaster to ensnare him with a woman.
"You are shameless and depraved. If you hadn't pushed me, would I have accidentally lost the child in my womb? You personally killed him, and you must be responsible." Qian Xueli was also out of options. If Li Qi hadn't been willing to take responsibility, would she have set her sights on Du Ziteng?
Actually, in Qian Xueli's opinion, targeting Du Ziteng was not as good as targeting Zhang Liunian. He was the rising business star of Nancheng, with rumors of his net worth reaching tens of millions. Such a man was the kind Qian Xueli should marry. Unfortunately, he had a wife, and he doted on her immensely. Such a man was too difficult to pursue. It was better to start with someone close to him. It was precisely for this reason that Du Ziteng stood out from Zhang Liunian's circle and became Qian Xueli's first choice for a "scapegoat."