Chapter 555 I Have an Idea

If there were any other way, one wouldn't have the nerve to come here and try to persuade the commune cadres with sweet talk and flattery.

Lu Qiaoge then asked who the child had come with, and someone rushed over and said that the child was from the same village as the little boy.

The little boy looked at Lu Qiaoge with a bewildered and uneasy expression.

Lu Qiaoge glanced at the line and said, "You and your brother are the youngest here. This line isn't working. What if you catch a cold? Come with me, I'll take you to find President Zhu."

No one was jealous or dissatisfied; instead, they urged the little boy to hurry up and leave with Lu Qiaoge.

Then, President Zhu saw Lu Qiaoge leading two children.

He hurried forward to greet them, and after learning what had happened, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully it wasn't from Manshan Commune.

But actually, there are still families like that nowadays.

Well, most people are still just trying to make ends meet.

Only a minority of people live a good life.

But Manshan Commune has been much better than before in the past year.

Since cooperating with the military factory.

The commune accepted the little boy's willow basket, but told others that it was an exception, personally approved by the commune leader and the craft factory director.

The man from the same village thanked them profusely and then took the little boy and the even smaller child away.

Lu Qiaoge made a note of the child and decided to call the head of Weidong Commune later to check on the family's situation and provide any possible subsidies.

However... Lu Qiaoge still found Zhao Xiaoman and secretly gave her fifty yuan, asking her to find someone to give the money to the child, saying it was a subsidy from the factory, and to tell him not to bother weaving the willow baskets that couldn't be sold, and that they would find a solution once they received instructions from above.

With mixed feelings, Zhao Xiaoman took the money and said, "I will tell him."

He turned around and went to take care of that matter.

Lu Qiaoge, led by President Zhu, inspected the woven products in the warehouse.

There were indeed many people from several communes living together.

They were neatly categorized, and there were over two thousand straw hats in total.

There were also cleverly woven items, which were placed separately on the shelves. The commune had a record of them, so no one would be shortchanged.

Officials outside tried to persuade them, saying they really wouldn't accept those willow baskets and large backpacks, and there was nowhere to put them anyway, and that people shouldn't queue anymore. But many people still wouldn't leave and just waited...

They might hope that the commune would suddenly make an exception and take everything from them, considering how difficult their situation was.

Some people grumbled and cursed, but most just waited and hoped with bated breath.

Lu Qiaoge stood in front of the office window, recalling what Vice Mayor Xu had told her about the city's third garment factory.

The Third Garment Factory hasn't been able to pay its profits for two years. Not only that, it's now demanding subsidies from higher authorities. It's said that the factory owes over a million yuan in various fees, including water, electricity, and raw materials. It has over a thousand workers, and if it goes bankrupt, there's no way to arrange for their resettlement. Moreover, it's difficult to deal with retired employees as well.

She said to President Zhu, "I have an idea."

President Zhu's eyes widened, and he looked at Lu Qiaoge with what could be described as surprise and delight.

This girl's ideas are not ordinary ideas; they are all ideas that can be turned into money.

Moreover, she has money, so investing would be incredibly easy for her.

Lu Qiaoge asked Director Zhu, "Have you ever thought about cooperating with the county's meat processing plant to build a duck and goose farm, or having the members raise the ducks individually and then collectively buy them and sell them to the county's meat processing plant?"

President Zhu rubbed his hands excitedly and asked Lu Qiaoge, "To be honest, I have thought about it. Actually, many members are raising chickens, ducks and geese, but the scale is not large. Also, it is not easy to sell them. Sometimes the supply and marketing cooperative does not have a purchase quota, so there is nothing we can do. It is not as convenient to sell as raising pigs. But there are also many small-scale farmers. Director Lu, can you tell me more about it?"

Lu Qiaoge said, "I'm planning to invest in building a down jacket factory and buy large quantities of duck and goose down. President Zhu, you can report this to the county. You can discuss how to raise ducks and geese. I only want duck and goose down. I have it now, and I'll buy it right now, just like with these knitted products. I'll buy as much as I can. Of course, if this works out, we can discuss the purchase method and price later..."

President Zhu: "..."

He was so excited.

Suddenly, a huge windfall fell from the sky.

He was so dazzled by the smashing that his eyes were practically sparkling.

A down jacket factory, that must produce down jackets. Down jackets are great, they're cold-proof and warm, and they're not sold in Jiangcheng.

It is said that they are all imported from overseas or from the port city.

There are currently no down jacket manufacturers in China. In fact, the market demand for down jackets is greater than the supply. Apart from the need for higher quality fabrics, there are no other high requirements, unlike the mechanical production lines in food factories.

As long as you have a sewing machine and the raw materials are available, you can basically start working.

The market demand is huge.

And at the beginning, it worked really well.

The domestic market alone is enough to sustain us for several years.

President Zhu wasn't really sure, but he didn't care about the clothes. As long as he could sell the ducks and geese he raised, his work performance this year would reach a new level.

The important thing is that it can improve the lives of the members.

Moreover, this is different from woven items, which not everyone can weave. The important thing is that it has to be woven beautifully and presentably, otherwise it really won't be possible to accept it.

However, the members of the commune could raise both ducks and geese.

A little boy like that would be herded to feed ducks in the countryside.

He immediately replied, "Okay, I'll go to the county this afternoon to report. I'll call you later to give you the details."

Lu Qiaoge then told Zhao Xiaoman, who had just returned from dealing with the little boy, "Go and contact Director Lin and have him send a truck to pick up the woven products. Also, have someone from the finance department come and settle the bill directly. You should also oversee the process and ensure that the regulations are followed. However, for families that are particularly poor, write down their family situation and names so that our military factory can provide assistance later."

Zhao Xiaoman's eyes sparkled. Just now, when Factory Director Lu said he wanted to open a down jacket factory, Lu Qiaoge seemed to be shining.

That's great! If there really were a down jacket factory like this, the commune members would have another way to make money, and it would be a long-term solution.

She readily agreed and said to Lu Qiaoge, "I'll have Xiaojuan and Guozi come and help with the inspection. They've already looked through it roughly, and some of the woven items are quite good."

Lu Qiaoge nodded: "Okay, let the two of them help out first."

Zhao Xiaoman: "I'll go make a phone call."

A large truck loaded the collected woven goods into the truck, and the money was settled on the spot.

The substandard items were not accepted, but Lu Qiaoge suggested that President Zhu go to the county leaders to find out if they could work with the various factories in the county to apply for a large market, where they could barter and even encourage some factories in the county to bring out their defective products to sell...

In short, this is in line with current policies.

All of this is to help the vast number of our members.

(End of this chapter)