On the morning of the 4th, Jiang Xiaoli returned home after her run and met Zong Jiayu.

After a quick rinse, she sat down at the small table with her hair down. "You're here just in time to freeload, aren't you?"

Zong Jia and Xiao Xiao said, "Today is definitely not like that."

He got up and went to the kitchen to bring back a bowl of hot oil tea. The fried dough twists in it were soft and chewy, and it was sprinkled with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts.

Her eyes lit up. "Old Ma's oil tea?"

"Yes, eat it while it's hot." Last time she said she wanted to drink oil tea, he made a special detour to buy it this morning.

While slurping her oil tea, Jiang Xiaoli asked, "How's the shop look going?"

Zong Jiayu took out a small notebook, flipped to a page and tapped it, "These are the addresses of the three newly signed stores."

She glanced at it. "So fast?"

This time, they plan to open ten stores at once, and then stop expanding. A total of fifteen stores will basically cover the entire city.

Zong Jia nodded. "The steamed bun shop has been getting a great reputation lately. I think this is the perfect time to expand. Let's hurry up and open a shop as soon as possible to make money."

Thinking about the monthly profit sharing, Jiang Xiaoli gave him a thumbs up, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Zong Jiayu pulled out another list, "These are the machines I consulted and found out that are most suitable for improving the efficiency of spicy strip processing. You can pay special attention to them when you go to inspect them today."

After finishing the last sip of her oil tea, Jiang Xiaoli picked up the list and looked at it. "Actually, the process of making our spicy strips is really simple. All you need is a large steamer and a mixer."

"What should we do with those nearly new machines from the cannery?" Zong Jia asked.

She blinked. "Have you forgotten that I have other recipes? Once the spicy strip market expands, other projects can be launched, and we can use most of them."

Zong Jia chuckled; the aggrieved expression on her face when she complained to Wei Dong about spending 300,000 yuan on some useless machinery and equipment was still etched in his mind.

Jiang Xiaoli went back inside to change into a presentable outfit, combed her dry hair, slung her small bag over her shoulder, and went out with Zong Jia.

They arranged to meet at 9 o'clock, but they arrived at Fengqing Cannery at 8:30.

Jiang Xiaoli looked around. After getting off the bus, she saw that there wasn't a single building higher than three stories, and the whole area was gray and drab.

They lingered at the gate for a few minutes when an old man came out of the factory gatehouse and shouted at them, "You two kids! What are you doing?"

Jiang Xiaoli's eyes darted around. She smiled sweetly at the old man and handed him a handful of milk candies. "We're waiting for someone. Sir, are you one of the old folks who've been working at this cannery for a long time?"

The old man looked at the handful of White Rabbit milk candies and grinned, "That's right, I worked here during the first year this factory opened!"

She gave the old man a thumbs up, "Then you really are a veteran of this factory!"

The old man waved his hand with a smile, "What veteran or not, I won't be doing this for long!"

"Why can't you last long?" Zong Jiayu asked.

"Our factory might have to be sold. Sigh, the business isn't doing well! It doesn't bother me, this old man, but what will happen to these young people in the factory?" The old man patted his thigh and sighed.

Jiang Xiaoli and Wei Dong exchanged a glance. It seemed that Wei Dong was bearing the pressure himself and had not revealed the details to the workers before the acquisition was finalized.

She couldn't help but feel a little better about Wei Dong; she had never liked leaders who only liked to make empty promises but never actually delivered.

Just then, a car pulled up in front of the factory. Jiang Xiaoli saw the license plate and waved to the person inside.

This is Xiao Jincheng's license plate.

As the car approached, the back door opened, and Wei Dong and an elderly man got out.

Upon seeing Jiang Xiaoli, Wei Dong enthusiastically introduced her to the elderly man beside him, "Dad, this is Brother Weimin's daughter, named Jiang Xiaoli. Next to her is Brother Weimin's godson, named Zong Jiayu."

The old man's hair was half-gray, but he was very energetic and stood ramrod straight. He looked at the two of them and nodded repeatedly, "Good! This girl has a bright and spirited air about her! And this young man is energetic too!"

Jiang Xiaoli took the initiative to greet him, "Hello, Grandpa Wei!"

Zong Jiayu also quickly followed suit, greeting, "Hello, Grandpa Wei!"

Wei Zhongnan was very happy, "Good, good, good, good for you all too!"

Wei Dong greeted the gatekeeper, "Uncle Yang, open the door!"

Grandpa Yang hadn't seen the old factory director in a long time, so he excitedly ran over to open the door. When he returned, Wei Zhongnan greeted him warmly, "Old factory director, it's been a long time! How have you been?"

Wei Zhongnan patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "I'm fine! How about you, Lao Yang?"

Grandpa Yang grinned from ear to ear, "I'm perfectly fine! No problems at all, and I have a great appetite!"

"That's good! That's good!" Wei Zhongnan nodded with relief.

The group followed Xiao Jincheng's car into the factory. Wei Dong turned back and smiled at Grandpa Yang, "Uncle Yang, let's talk later!"

Wei Zhongnan pointed to a workshop marked "Number One" and told them, "Fengqing only had this one workshop at the beginning. There was a wall in the middle, with the operating room on one side and the kitchen on the other. There were no machines at all; it all relied on manual labor."

Jiang Xiaoli praised, "Grandpa Wei, you have the courage to build a factory in the early days of opening up. You are my idol!"

Wei Zhongnan's eyes crinkled into wrinkles. "Yes, my family didn't support me back then, but I was determined to do it! Soon the factory went from a small workshop to this 18-acre factory. It's been almost 15 years!"

Xiao Jincheng started his business two years later than Wei Zhongnan, but he also encountered many obstacles. He felt the old man's sighs more deeply and said nostalgically, "Yes, it really wasn't easy back then!"

Wei Dong and his son led the three of them on a tour of several workshops in the factory before returning to Wei Dong's office as the factory manager.

Wei Zhongnan picked up his teacup. "Little Pear, are you sure you can accept the more than one hundred workers in my factory?"

Jiang Xiaoli sat up straight and nodded solemnly, "Yes, Grandpa Wei, but I've also told Uncle Wei that there's a three-month adaptation period, and only those who pass the assessment can stay."

"Haha, don't worry about that. My factory doesn't have the bad habits of those state-owned factory workers. If anyone is disobedient, you can just fire them." Wei Zhongnan was very understanding.

Xiao Jincheng exclaimed, "Uncle Wei, you have such a clear understanding of life!"

Wei Zhongnan laughed, "I'm already this old, what's there to be upset about? Actually, I came here today just to see Xiaoli. Weimin is a good kid, and Xiaoli has surpassed him. I'm really happy!"

Jiang Xiaoli was a little embarrassed. She said modestly, "Grandpa Wei, I'm still far from being as good as my dad."

"Hehe, no need to be modest. Your dad was still hanging around the streets with Dongzi and Jincheng and a few other teenagers when he was your age!" Wei Zhongnan knew his son's friends very well.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jiang Xiaoli tactfully suggested her payment method.