Chapter 97 New Plan "Director Xiang, your plan is from Deputy Director Wang...

Mung bean cake and mint cake are more suitable for summer consumption.

Wang Ying currently has a recipe for mung bean cake, but not for mint cake. However, she thinks she can try making it, using the recipes for cloud cake, mung bean cake, and osmanthus cake.

Wang Ying was very good at writing this kind of plan. There was nothing to do in the workshop in the morning, so she wrote the draft before lunch and copied it again. After reading it and thinking there was no problem, she handed it to Xiang Huaimin who was doing math problems.

"Is it finished already?" Xiang Huaimin turned to look at Wang Ying.

"Well, it's done. Director, let me see if there's anything that needs to be changed." Wang Ying said.

Xiang Huaimin flipped through the pages and saw Wang Ying first analyze the factory's production, sales, and profits from June to September in previous years. He then listed the variety of pastries sold in department stores, pointing out a clear market gap for summer snacks. Then, he proposed two seasonal summer pastries he wanted to produce: mung bean cake and mint cake...

After reading it, Xiang Huaimin said to Wang Ying, "You did a great job on this statistical chart!"

Wang Ying smiled and said, "I have to thank the director for lending me the math book. I feel like I've learned a lot."

Director Xiang nodded and said, "It's well written. If I were the factory director, I would approve it right away."

Wang Ying laughed and said, "The director is really hardworking. I hope he can climb up the ladder soon."

Xiang Huaimin rolled his eyes at her and said, "If I want to climb up the ladder, I'll stay at the enamel factory. Why would I come to the food factory? But there's no future in enamel..."

Wang Ying had to admire Xiang Huaimin. The subsequent development of enamel was indeed not very good, but that would take many years. Director Xiang could see it now.

"Then do you think Director Qian will approve it?" Wang Ying asked.

"I don't know. Let's put this aside for now. I'll wait for a hot day and then go find him," said Xiang Huaimin.

Wang Ying laughed out loud: "What a good plan, Director. You can't wait too long. Research and development plus production will take quite a while."

"I know." Xiang Huaimin waved his hand impatiently, "Just take advantage of the fact that you're not busy now and have a good rest. I've never seen you love work so much."

Wang Ying suspected that Director Xiang was a fortune teller and could even read the celestial phenomena. Two days from now, a hot day would arrive. Early in the morning, it felt like the hottest days of summer.

When Wang Ying arrived at the office, Director Xiang was already there. Wang Ying greeted him and was about to speak when Director Xiang interrupted her: "You don't have to say anything. I know. I'll go there today."

"Okay, then I'll wait for your good news." Wang Ying said with a smile.

"If it doesn't work, don't blame me. I'm not as good at talking as you." Xiang Huaimin said.

"Not bad, not bad." Wang Ying said hurriedly. Her director Jue Xiang was quite good at talking.

Director Xiang arrived at the morning meeting on time. He put Wang Ying's plan in his work notes and walked slowly to the meeting room.

"Do you have anything else to say? If not, let's adjourn." Factory Director Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered, "Why is it so hot today?"

Xiang Huaimin had been fanning himself with a paper fan, but he stopped and said, "Director, I have something to do."

Everyone looked at Xiang Huaimin. Director Xiang had come to their factory and hadn't spoken during the meeting, yet he had something to do.

"Director Xiang, what can I do for you?" Qian Tongsheng said.

Xiang Huaimin placed the paper he was using as a fan on the conference table and pushed it out. He said, "It's too hot. I thought the people would like some cool snacks, so I asked someone to write a plan. Leaders, please take a look and see if it's feasible."

Everyone continued to look at Xiang Huaimin. No one believed that this was Xiang Huaimin's idea. Everyone agreed that the person Xiang Huaimin mentioned "call someone" must be Wang Ying.

Qian Tongsheng glanced at Director Zhao. Director Zhao had heard Wang Ying mention this before, but Chen Xiuqin didn't allow them to talk about work at home, so he didn't know much.

The plan was shoved in front of Qian Tongsheng. He took one look at the handwriting, the neat format, the familiar bar chart. Who else could it be but Wang Ying? Perhaps this girl was afraid he'd criticize her or disagree, so she asked Director Xiang to write it? Director Qian felt he had guessed the truth.

Qian Tongsheng read the plan over without commenting, then handed it to Zheng Liancheng. Zheng Liancheng reviewed it and said, "Well, it's well written. Director Zhao, take a look."

Director Zhao looked at it the most attentively and for the longest time. After he finished, he said, "I think we can give it a try."

Director Qian looked at him. Did the father-in-law and daughter-in-law really not discuss this at home?

The plan was passed to other leaders at the conference table. After everyone read it, Director Guo from the sauce factory said, "Director Xiang, this plan of yours was written by Deputy Director Wang, right?"

Xiang Huaimin said, "It doesn't matter who wrote it. What matters is whether the plan is well written, whether it can be implemented, whether it will benefit the factory, and whether it will be popular among the people."

"The proposal is fantastic, but if it's not good enough, there's nothing better." Director Guo said, "I think we can give it a try. We can do it like we do with the chili sauce at our sauce factory: produce a small amount first, try selling it for a while, and then increase production if sales are good."

When Director Guo said this, many people present nodded, indicating that this method was feasible.

Seeing that everyone basically agreed, Qian Tongsheng didn't refute it on the spot. He just said, "Is mint easy to make? We don't use this as raw material in our factory, right?"

"Mint is growing quickly, so it's not too late to plant some seedlings now," Xiang Huaimin said. "Trial production won't require much, and there's no need to worry about it later."

Deputy Factory Director Zheng said, "The proposal is quite correct. Both our factory and Beichong are short of snacks suitable for summer. I also think we can give it a try and enrich our product line."

Everyone thought it was worth a try, so Qian Tongsheng had no choice but to agree. He actually thought Wang Ying's proposal was well-written, but he felt Wang Ying was growing too fast. With Director Zhao still in the factory, he was worried that the factory would eventually be owned by the Zhao family.

Qian Tongsheng said, "I'll take it up and take a look."

Director Xiang breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way this plan would fail.

Wang Ying was in the office, feeling very hot and wondering when he could turn on the air conditioner.

Director Xiang finally returned. Wang Ying saw that he hadn't brought the proposal, so she knew the factory had already agreed. But she still asked, "Director, how is it going? Did the leadership agree?"

"You asked me to do this, how could I not agree?" Xiang Huaimin didn't mind flattering himself.

"That's great." Wang Ying said with a smile, "The factory director didn't say anything, did he?"

"No one said anything, but everyone could see that it was the plan you wrote. I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for you," said Xiang Huaimin.

"What do you mean?" Wang Ying asked humbly.

Xiang Huaimin said: "If one's personal characteristics are too obvious, it is easy to be targeted or even framed."

Wang Ying smiled and said, "I'm training my subordinates on how to write proposals. Maybe I can promote this and let everyone learn from me."

"You're dreaming, but how do you do it? In this society, in this day and age, there are very few people as driven as you. They're all waiting for orders from their superiors. Few are creative, but their destructive power is stronger than the other." Director Xiang said with a bit of anger on his face and an unhappy tone. "Forget it, I won't say anymore. Anyway, I completed the task you assigned to me."

"Thank you, Director." Wang Ying thanked sincerely.

Director Xiang didn't reply. He sat at his desk and began to work on his math problems again. After a while, he crumpled up the paper in front of him and threw it into the trash can. Wang Ying suddenly felt that Director Xiang must be avoiding something, which was why he was throwing himself into the math problems.

Wang Ying stood up and left the office to go to the workshop. She gave the space to Director Xiang, perhaps this would make him feel better.

Everything in the workshop was in order and all the employees were at their posts. Wang Ying walked around and found that Xu Lili was a little absent-minded.

Wang Ying walked to Xu Lili, but she didn't notice him. Wang Ying saw her infatuated look and thought she might be in love.

Wang Ying coughed lightly. Xu Lili was startled to see her leader right next to her. Her face flushed red and she whispered, "Director..."

"Don't be distracted. If you make a mistake, you will have to pay for it." Wang Ying's voice was very low and only the two of them could hear it.

Xu Lili nodded quickly: "I understand."

After get off work, Wang Ying and Xu Lili were together. When they were about to reach the factory gate, they saw Zhao Yunsheng coming to pick up Wang Ying.

"Director, your wife is here to pick you up again. I'm so envious." Xu Lili said.

"Then you should find a partner as soon as possible, so that someone can pick you up," said Wang Ying.

"Oh, I want to too, but it's out of the question." Xu Lili's tone was a little lonely, and Wang Ying could hear it. Xu Lili was probably in love with someone else. Could it be someone from the last social gathering?

Xu Lili didn't say anything, and Wang Ying didn't ask. If she wanted to, she would definitely tell him. The girl was shy and would be embarrassed to ask her. They said goodbye at the factory gate, and Wang Ying got into Zhao Yunsheng's car to go home.

The next day was a rest day. In the morning, Wang Ying cleaned the room, washed clothes, and went to Gu's house with the photos.

Gu Mei opened the door. When she saw Wang Ying, she smiled and said, "My brother said last time that you might come, so I guessed it would be today. Come in."

Wang Ying entered Gu's house and found no one in the living room.

Gu Mei said: "My grandpa and my parents took my brother to a blind date."

"Oh, Gu Xuan is getting married soon!" Wang Ying said with a smile, but why did the whole family go to the blind date? It seemed that it was a marriage between two families, so Wang Ying did not ask any more questions.

Gu Mei took Wang Ying to her room and said, "My brother is still not happy."

"How old is Gu Xuan?" Wang Ying asked casually.

"Twenty-four!" Gu Mei said, "But he's always said since he was little that he wouldn't marry and would remain a bachelor his whole life. This time, it was his grandfather who forced him to go."

"What about you? Did your family negotiate for you?" Wang Ying asked.

"My mom mentioned it, but I don't want to talk about it for now. That guy is still writing me letters!" Gu Mei rolled her eyes. "My brother went to find out for me, and he really is having an affair with the village secretary's daughter in the countryside. Even so, he still writes me letters, trying to keep me hooked. How can there be such a bad person! I'm lucky I met you, otherwise I would definitely be in trouble now!"

"Okay, let's not talk about those unhappy things and look at the photos." Wang Ying took out the photos from her bag. Gu Mei also took out all the photos taken by Gu Xuan.

The two looked at the photos, and Gu Mei said, "Your husband's photography skills are no worse than my brother's. These photos of us are all beautiful."

"Gu Xuan's technique is pretty good too." Wang Ying held up a photo of the girls sitting on the grass by the river. It was taken by Gu Xuan. "Did you develop this photo too much?"

"It's been washed, my brother washed it himself." Gu Mei said, "I've kept one, you can give it to your friend."

"No wonder it was finished so quickly, he even has his own darkroom." Wang Ying said.

"It's his hobby." Gu Mei said with a smile.

After looking at the photos, the two talked about life and work. Gu Mei asked Wang Ying, "Does your factory have any plans to make new products recently? I feel that the product categories of your non-staple food factory are still a bit too limited."

"Well, I just submitted a plan to make mung bean cake and mint cake," said Wang Ying.

"Mm, not bad, not bad, perfect for summer." Gu Mei said, "When it's ready, you must let me taste it first."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely let you try it first." Wang Ying said with a smile.

"Hehe, I won't taste it for nothing either. I have something for you." Gu Mei said with a smile, then took out a tin biscuit box with a picture of a little bear from the drawer. She opened the box and took out three pieces of paper from inside and handed them to Wang Ying, "These are for you. See if you can use them."

Wang Ying took it and looked at it. They were three recipes for traditional snacks, namely: water chestnut cake, lotus pastry, and lily pastry.

"Thank you! This will definitely come in handy!" Wang Ying accepted the recipe without hesitation and asked, "Which of these do you want to eat the most?"

Gu Mei chuckled: "I want to eat it. Anyway, you can keep the recipe first. We can make it when we have the conditions."

"Okay." Wang Ying nodded emphatically. These traditional snacks weren't popular in later years, far less popular than sandwich cookies, potato chips, and Cheetos, all of which were internationally popular. Wang Ying remembered the overwhelming advertising for Cheetos, potato chips, and a chocolate milk sandwich cookie. Almost everyone knew about it.

Wang Ying herself wanted to make snacks in these categories, but she wasn't sure if she could be the first to capture the market and compete with international brands when they entered. Furthermore, she wanted to pass on the tradition of traditional dim sum.

After staying at Gu's house for more than an hour, it was almost noon, so Wang Ying said goodbye and went home.

As soon as Wang Ying left, all the Gu family members came back.

Gu Mei secretly said to Gu Xuan: "I gave Wang Ying three more recipes today."

"Wang Ying has been here?"

"Well, I just left and came to exchange photos. My brother always says that he is good at taking photos, and I think Zhao Yunsheng's photography skills are also very good." Gu Mei said.

"Show me how good it is." Gu Xuan said.

The two siblings returned to Gu Mei's room together, and Gu Mei whispered, "How was the blind date?"

"Children are not allowed to ask questions." Gu Xuan knocked Gu Mei's head.

"You don't allow me to ask. You have never been in love, but I have been in love once!" Gu Mei said, covering her head.

"You call being cheated by a scumbag "falling in love". I really admire you." Gu Xuan said ruthlessly and started to open the photos.

Wang Ying's husband was a truly skilled photographer, especially one who took excellent photos of Wang Ying. Gu Xuan recalled their outing together that day. Zhao Yunsheng had also been very good, well-mannered and humorous, a true man of character. Gu Xuan admired him somewhat, but he felt that Zhao Yunsheng and Wang Ying were not a good match. Wang Ying was clearly a realist, while Zhao Yunsheng was a staunch romantic.

Wang Ying took the recipe and photos home, and Zhao Yunsheng was picking vegetables in the yard.

"I'm back!"

Wang Ying went there by bike this time. As she parked her bike, she said to Zhao Yunsheng, "Gu Mei gave me three more recipes. I don't know how to thank her."

"When you're done, send her some." Zhao Yunsheng said, "And the photos, how did they turn out?"

"I don't think my photos are as good as yours, but some of them are pretty good," said Wang Ying.

Zhao Yunsheng was happy to hear Wang Ying praising him. He picked the vegetables, washed his hands, dried them, and then started looking at the photos.

Zhao Yunsheng thought Gu Xuan took better pictures than he did. Gu Xuan had a unique understanding of composition and light and shadow, and it was obvious that he had taken many photos. Perhaps only Wang Ying, an outsider, could not see this and thought he was better than Gu Xuan.

After looking through a small stack of photos, Zhao Yunsheng looked through them again and praised, "These are really well taken, better than mine, especially the group photos."

Wang Ying walked over to Zhao Yunsheng, took a look at the photo, and said, "I still think you took a good picture."

Zhao Yunsheng laughed heartily and pinched Wang Ying's face: "As long as Yingzi thinks I'm good, that's more important than anything else."