After a moment of sighing and reflection, the two returned to the main topic.

"The factory is operating normally. The next key focus is on the construction of the Kyoto branch and the establishment of 'Jiang Li Ji' specialty stores."

Dafu suddenly snapped his fingers. "Do you remember He Jun, whom I mentioned to you on the phone last time? I think he's quite clever and would be a good fit to inspect stores."

Hearing him say that, Jiang Xiaoli remembered, "Is it the workshop foreman you mentioned?"

"Yes, that's him!" he said, making a phone call. "I'll call him over right now so you can take a look."

Less than five minutes later, there was a knock on the door of Dafu's office.

"Come in!"

A young man in his early twenties with a buzz cut walked into the office. "Director Fu, you wanted to see me?"

Dafu smiled and introduced him, "This is Mr. Jiang, the owner of our 'Jiang Li Ji' food factory. Let me introduce you."

He Jun suddenly seemed a little flustered. "Hello, Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Xiaoli greeted him with a smile, "Nothing much, just chatting. The deputy factory director has praised you to me several times, and I'm quite curious about you!"

He Jun gave Da Fu a grateful look and said, "President Jiang, I didn't do anything. I just think that your management plan is very efficient and practical, and it is very helpful in improving the workshop's production efficiency."

After chatting with him for a few minutes, Jiang Xiaoli got straight to the point, "The opening of our 'Jiang Li Ji' specialty store in Xi'an was very successful. I plan to open more stores in some popular cities. Would you be willing to go on a business trip to check it out?"

He Jun hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded firmly, "President Jiang, thank you for your trust, I'm willing."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled at Dafu, "Then let's go with him. You make the arrangements."

After having lunch at the branch factory, she refused Dafu's offer to take her home, saying, "Don't bother, just have the driver take me to the main factory."

Dafu thought about it and didn't insist anymore. He gave the driver a few instructions and then said to her, "I'll finish up the things at the branch factory in the next couple of days. We'll leave together on the 5th."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled at him and gave him an OK sign. "Let's go, you can go back now."

When she arrived at the main factory, Mingchan was very excited. He joked, "General Manager Jiang, I thought you had forgotten about us at the main factory!"

She sat down and looked at Mingchan's work report. "How could that be? This is the root of our 'Jiang Li Ji'!"

Although the main factory only produces spicy strips and similar products such as dried bean curd and spicy seaweed strips, the profits have always been quite good.

Despite already capturing a large share of the market, sales continued to grow steadily, which gave Jiang Xiaoli a new understanding of Ming Chan's capabilities.

She closed the work report and said, "Director Ming, I really don't need to worry too much about your work. Our main factory is developing very well under your leadership."

Mingchan has changed a lot since the first time she met him, when he was silent and didn't like to talk.

He adjusted his half-rimmed glasses. "Mr. Jiang, to be honest, our 'Jiang Li Ji' food brand is now a golden brand. As long as it's labeled 'Jiang Li Ji,' any new product that's even passable will sell well. I'm just going with the flow."

Jiang Xiaoli smiled slightly, "You don't need to be so modest. Starting a business is easy, but maintaining it is difficult. You've done a great job in maintaining this market while also making some innovations."

At that time, Wei Dong's incident happened at the main factory, and she didn't have anyone she could use for the time being, so she could only promote the deputy factory director Ming Chan to keep an eye on him temporarily. Unexpectedly, Ming Chan gave her a pleasant surprise.

Mingchan waved his hand, "I used to be a deputy factory director who was in charge of technology but didn't have much power. I thought that was all I was going to do in my life, since I was already over forty. It was your trust that brought me to this point, so of course I have to do my best to develop our factory."

Jiang Xiaoli revealed a glimpse of information to him: "The company will not mistreat any meritorious employee. Once the Kyoto branch is operating normally, I will allocate a portion of shares to reward qualified senior executives. I hope that 'Jiang Li Ji' will not only be a workplace for everyone, but also a reliable place to retire."

Upon hearing this news, Ming Chan's pupils contracted, and his voice trembled with excitement, "President Jiang, I will definitely take good care of the main factory. You can rest assured in Kyoto to set up the branch factory. I won't cause any problems here!"

She gave her employees a pep talk, painted a perfect picture of the future, and then gracefully withdrew from the scene.

When she got home, she sprawled out on the sofa and acted like a complete idiot.

Li Guizhi looked at her amusedly, "You're this tired after a day out?"

She tilted her head and adjusted her glasses. "When we get back to Kyoto, the first thing we'll do is order two minivans. These small cars... the driver doesn't feel anything, but the passengers are really uncomfortable!"

Li Guizhi ignored her complaints. "Are you free tomorrow? Come with me to see your dad. We only see each other a few times a year now that we're in Kyoto."

“No problem, bring my dad two chicken drumsticks! He loves them!” she suggested.

When Li Guizhi heard that her daughter still remembered Jiang Weimin's preferences, she smiled and said, "I know!"

After lying at home for a while, she couldn't stay idle and borrowed Xu Feng's car to go to the steamed bun shop.

The current manager of the steamed bun shop is named Jin Gan, a name that sounds very auspicious.

Upon seeing Jiang Xiaoli, he quickly took out the account book for the past month or so. "Miss Jiang, the business of the steamed bun shop has been declining a bit recently, mainly because there are just too many similar shops now."

This was unavoidable, Jiang Xiaoli said, expressing her understanding. "Are there any other problems besides this?"

After some hesitation, Jin Gan reported, "The leases for four of our branches are about to expire. Two landlords insist on not renewing the leases, while two others say they will raise the rent by 300 yuan per month."

Jiang Xiaoli looked up at him and said, "I remember the average rent for our store is only three to five hundred, right? How come it's suddenly increased by three hundred?"

Jin Gan sighed repeatedly, "That's right, I think these people are doing this on purpose because they see our business is doing well!"

Jiang Xiaoli thought for a moment, "Talk to them again. No matter how much money we make, it's not a reason for them to extort money to raise the rent. If all else fails, close down the store together with the two stores that insist on not renting."

The employees of the closed stores can choose to receive three months' salary as compensation, or choose not to receive compensation and instead work in the "Jiang Li Ji" factory. You can go and negotiate with them.

With her confirmation, Jin Gan's tense expression immediately relaxed. "Okay, I'll handle the communication."

After the two finished discussing the steamed bun shop issue, Jin Gan sighed, "Actually, it's not surprising that those two landlords didn't want to rent out their properties. Many factories are struggling this year, some have closed down, others have been downsized, and there's been a wave of layoffs, with workers being laid off in batches. The owners of those two shops are in the same situation; they're planning to take back their shops and start their own small business."

Jiang Xiaoli suddenly remembered that her mother was still on unpaid leave from work, and she asked, "Is the No. 3 State-owned Cotton Mill among them?"