Even with the main food factory and branch factories working overtime, it was still difficult to complete the task.

There's definitely something fishy about these orders. Why would they suddenly increase the quantity so much?

The thought of an extra 100,000 jin made everyone's face turn pale.

"Mooncakes are a festive food, so they must be produced before the festival."

"How come we've received so many orders all at once? Can we even finish them?" Du Yu asked in surprise.

Everyone realized something was wrong. The thought of the consequences weighed heavily on their minds.

Chang Xiaohu said, "These orders were placed separately."

The wool textile factory has five branch factories with a total of more than 21,000 employees. They ordered 43,000 catties of mooncakes.

They placed the order with the main food factory.

The Anshun and food processing plants can now make mooncakes. Distributing these orders among themselves isn't a big deal.

"The orders I received were from the Quanli Light Bulb Factory, the Third Cement Factory, and the First Garment Factory."

"26,000 jin," Cheng Youfu said.

“I took the orders from those two universities and the shoe factory, 30,000 jin.” Pan Lanlan was in charge of the food processing plant.

“We have several factories. It’s okay if we can’t complete large orders ourselves; we can ask others to help us.”

So we didn't hesitate when we accepted the order.

The total amount of mooncakes is nearly 100,000 jin (50,000 kg).

"How many kilograms did we originally order?" Song Yan asked.

He Shengdong, the accountant, oversees all the accounts for several factories. "Our original orders were for over 60,000 jin, and we still need about 100,000 jin for retail."

Deputy Factory Director Deng said, "We can't sell only mooncakes."

During holidays, sales of biscuits, pastries, and other snacks surge.

"Can we produce this much before the holiday?" Song Yan asked.

Chang Xiaohu, as the general manager, knows best. "Establishing a production line is unlikely, given that we never owe overtime pay."

We must all reduce retail sales.

But with so many orders suddenly coming in, the raw materials weren't planned!

Everyone realized that the state-owned factory had likely set them up.

"When the order was signed, the manufacturer also clearly stipulated that if the order could not be completed on time, compensation would be required."

"It's all written in the order contract!" Pan Lanlan's voice unconsciously weakened.

"Are all the other orders written like this?" Song Yan asked.

Everyone nodded.

They fell for it.

This is not just a matter of compensation; it's that the manufacturer is about to break their promise.

"If we can't deliver the goods on time, what kind of compensation will they demand?" Du Yu asked.

"It's three times the amount in compensation."

They said at the time that as long as we completed the work on time and to the required quality, their orders would still be with us during the Chinese New Year, and that it was already written into the contract!

This is using orders placed during the Lunar New Year as bait to get everyone to sign current contracts.

They didn't realize how serious the situation was until they met.

Chang Xiaohu looked at his second sister-in-law, who used to have a source of goods. He wondered if he could get in touch with her this time.

"We were outmaneuvered. Not only did we lack the raw materials to produce so many mooncakes, but we also lacked the necessary materials."

"And I'm afraid they'll withhold the raw materials and deliberately refuse to sell them to us!" Pan Lanlan said worriedly.

"They all ordered high-end mooncakes."

Ten thousand kilograms of mooncakes, and the compensation of three times that amount would be several hundred thousand yuan.

"He's trying to bankrupt our factory!" Pan Lanlan said through gritted teeth.

"In order to fulfill our orders, we will definitely have to cut back on retail sales."

We will lose a lot of customers!

The customers we used to win over are now buying mooncakes from other food factories.

"If we don't complete the orders, our reputation will be damaged," said Deputy Factory Director Deng.

"Where are we going to get all this mooncake filling?"

Candied winter melon, peanuts, sesame seeds...

They were certain we couldn't do it! Chang Xiaohu's scalp tingled just thinking about it; what a huge loss that would be.

"You're right, they were certain we wouldn't be able to produce it."

These factories are all large state-owned enterprises. If we can't produce mooncakes, they won't be able to explain themselves.

"So what will they use to distribute mooncakes?" Song Yan asked everyone.

"Is their food factory producing mooncakes just so we can buy them at high prices to fulfill their orders?"

"Or should we just compensate them first, and then they can sell the mooncakes later?" Cheng Youfu said.

"These despicable scoundrels!"

Their food doesn't taste good, so it doesn't sell. Their management is also inadequate, and their costs are much higher than ours.

"They deserve to lose money, how could they scheme against us like this?" said Deputy Factory Director Deng.

“Although we won’t lose all of these hundreds of thousands, it will definitely cause us serious damage!” Pan Lanlan said.

"This is assuming we can't complete the order. What if we do?" Song Yan said.