Ma Tianxiao arranged for someone to deliver a cart of pears. These pears were excellent, large, plump, juicy, and sweet.
Zhang Tianxing and his crew busied themselves, and after finally unloading the entire cart, the driver turned and walked over.
"You need payment for the fruit, right? How about this, tell me the price, and I'll give you an IOU. You can collect the money from Zhang Ji Crayfish."
There was no choice. They had purchased a bit too much this time, and their cash was a little short. The warehouse was now full of grain and fruit.
It seemed he still had to find a way to strengthen his cash flow. Even with just a crayfish shop and a cannery, he was feeling the pinch of insufficient cash.
It looked like the road ahead was still very long, and he was still far from success.
Now that everything was in place, it was time to ramp up production. Workers and salespeople were all assigned.
Everything was ready except for the opportune moment; all that was needed now was to charge forward with all their might.
Old Luo brought a few familiar acquaintances. Before coming, Old Luo and these old friends had already discussed it.
"This boss Zhang isn't simple. He invented crayfish, and he's the president of the Crayfish Association, so this cannery is just something he's playing around with."
"Isn't that perfect for us to slack off? Is the pay hourly or piece-rate?"
"Slack off my foot! Dreaming of that is impossible. It's piece-rate. Work hard, and it'll definitely pay more than your previous factory jobs, plus there will be occasional extra prizes."
"My goodness, listening to you, isn't he just a reincarnation of Zhang Ba Pi?"
"Merit will be rewarded, and mistakes will be punished. Rewards are substantial, and punishments are real and harsh. Old Luo here was rewarded a hundred yuan the day before yesterday for simply improving a process and slightly increasing efficiency."
"Alas, you were rewarded. My punishment was more tragic. I had just taken a cigarette out of my pocket and hadn't even lit it when Boss Zhang saw me and fined me my entire day's wages. I didn't get to smoke, and instead, I got a beating."
"Then why are you still working here? You might as well go home. Being fined so severely without even smoking is too much."
"At first, I also wanted to go home. Then I thought that such high wages wouldn't come for nothing. High demands are normal. Besides, there's a designated smoking area outside. Who told me to make the mistake first?"
Hearing Old Luo's conversation, these old friends were tempted. If the benefits were good, higher demands were acceptable. It was simply earning money based on their skills.
Eat as much as you can digest; if you don't have the ability, don't think about such good things.
This environment was quite good. Boss Zhang also said that wages for the previous month would be paid in the first ten days of each month. Such a payment speed was unheard of in factories in Yangcheng.
Three salespeople were also hired. They didn't hire too many, focusing on building the core team first, as it was still just a small workshop.
With ample raw materials and all four production lines running, the cannery began its bustling production.
The daily output was three thousand bottles of canned goods. Upon learning this number, Zhang Tianxing was astonished.
Good heavens, this was too fast! Earning several hundred a day, what was the difference between this and robbing money in this era?
He had never imagined that being an entrepreneur could be so profitable, especially in an era where tax compliance was not strictly regulated.
However, Zhang Tianxing had no intention of evading taxes. In finance, there was a concept called tax avoidance.
This could significantly reduce the amount of taxes payable, thereby increasing the company's assets.
If they had money, collect money; if they didn't have money, collect grain. For IOUs, they would find ways to collect the money within half a month, minimizing the issuance of IOUs.
Within a very short period, the cannery was on the right track. Zhang Tianxing set his sights on a tinplate production machine. He calculated the price and decided against it. He was a bit tight on funds now and would get it later.
Glass bottles were not suitable for long-distance transportation. For export, tinplate cans would be necessary due to their better sealing. The cost of tinplate cans was slightly higher.
However, if he produced them himself, the cost would be similar to purchasing glass jars. Therefore, for future development, Zhang Tianxing decided to acquire the tinplate can production machine.
Good heavens, the grain he worked so hard to earn by selling over ten thousand bottles of canned goods could only exchange for one tinplate can production machine.
That was three large carts of grain, which shocked the people around them.
"How long has this cannery been open? Only about a week, and they've already collected so much grain."
"President Zhang has a Midas touch; otherwise, how could this canned food be so profitable so quickly? My goodness, President Zhang has made a fortune again this time."
Director Ma of the grain depot certainly kept his word. After receiving the grain, he settled the accounts on the spot, which was a great help to Zhang Tianxing.
However, this was also mutually beneficial. Zhang Tianxing also helped Director Ma complete this year's procurement target. If this cannery continued to operate like this, the amount of grain exchanged would be astronomical.
Director Ma's grain depot would definitely exceed its grain procurement target for this year. He never expected Zhang Tianxing to deliver three large carts of grain in just one week.
If this continued, Director Ma would have to worry. The grain depot had limited funds and needed to sell grain after purchasing it. If Zhang Tianxing, such a large customer, did this a few more times, it would drain all the money from his grain depot.
However, the money didn't stay in Zhang Tianxing's hands for long. It had barely warmed up when he received news from the commerce department that the tinplate can production machine had been located.
In this era, selling machines was more profitable. The demand for production was so high that even purchasing this machine required connections and effort.
Zhang Tianxing sought help from Director He of the Commerce Department, and with his assistance, Zhang Tianxing managed to find a used machine.
The machine was in good working condition, and the maintenance process was not complicated; ordinary repair personnel could handle it.
With this, the cannery entered a period of rapid development. The tinplate cans were specifically targeted at foreign customers, making them more suitable for long-distance transportation.
Nearby customers still used the old packaging, glass jars. The significant advantage of this was that the fruit looked more direct, allowing people to see the pulp inside at a glance.
It gave people the impression that Zhang Tianxing was a business prodigy, and everything he did flourished, whether it was crayfish or this cannery.
No one expected Zhang Tianxing to use grain in exchange for canned goods to open up a new sales market, thus causing the cannery to rise rapidly and capture the rural canned goods market.
"Boss Zhang, you need to be careful lately. I heard from someone that some cannery owners in the county are planning to cause trouble for us."