"Director Wang, how much do you sell your canned food for?"
"Canned food...canned food is eighty cents a bottle, what did you say?"
Wang Jianmin instinctively quoted the agreed-upon price for the canned goods, but before he could finish speaking, he realized that Fu Wan was referring to a canned food factory, not canned goods.
"Comrade Fu, you must be joking with me."
His smile was more like a grimace. He had asked around before if anyone wanted to buy the cannery, but these days, nobody really cared about this little shabby factory.
Otherwise, they're trying to drive down the price and force him to sell at a low price.
"Director Wang, I'm not joking with you. I'm serious. How much will you sell this cannery for?"
Wang Jianmin was so excited that he raised his hand and gestured, his fingers trembling.
"Ten thousand... no, we'll sell it if you give us eight thousand."
He was afraid that his price would scare Fu Wan, and Fu Wan was indeed frightened.
Nobody told her that buying a factory was so cheap!
She quickly calculated in her mind that even if she bought the cannery, she couldn't stay here every day. As for running the factory, she just wanted to be a hands-off manager and continue being a fisherman at sea.
Seeing that Fu Wan didn't speak, Wang Jianmin assumed that she thought the price was too high.
"Comrade Xiao Fu, I really didn't quote a high price. I can't help it, I still owe a lot of workers wages."
Even he himself hadn't received a salary for more than half a year.
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Fu Wan quickly explained.
"It's not that I think it's too expensive, Director Wang. I wonder what you plan to do after selling the cannery?"
Wang Jianmin smiled bitterly, his eyes reddening as he looked like a man in his forties.
"I'll go see if there are any jobs available, even if it's just sweeping the streets, I'll at least earn some money to support my family!"
For the past six months or so, he has been very grateful to his wife for not looking down on him. She has been very frugal with every penny she spends. He has even forgotten when his family last ate meat.
"How about this, I'll put up 20,000 yuan. Director Wang, you help me select some workers, including yourself, to form a new cannery."
"Stop producing fruit cans for now, sell off the inventory first. Let the fruit canners try making fish cans. Once they succeed, then start producing fish cans."
Fu Wan's rapid-fire words exploded in Wang Jianmin's ears like thunderclaps, and it took him a while to process them.
Twenty thousand, twenty thousand in the 1980s, that was a very valuable amount.
He felt like he'd just received a windfall.
This is so unreal!
"Comrade Xiao Fu, are you saying you'll give us 20,000... 20,000?"
He swallowed hard, his words stammering slightly.
"Yes, but on the condition that you help me manage the factory well and switch from canned fruit to canned fish."
"Can you do this?"
Wang Jianmin pinched his palm hard, finally managing to calm his surging emotions.
"Yes, I can make all these canned goods myself through experimentation. I grew up making these! I can make fish cans too!"
As long as he can keep his job and do justice to the workers, he'll make anything, not just canned fish, but even fermented tofu!
Fu Wan felt relieved. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Go back and prepare a plan for me, and write down the specific details of the factory. If there are no problems, we can sign a contract. Payment can be made by bank transfer or cash."
Although she is rich, she is not stupid. The business plan can be a good opportunity to further test Wang Jianmin's abilities.
"Okay, okay, I'll go write it right away."
Just then, Boss Fu's voice came from the doorway, "Awan, Liang, are you inside?"
"It's here!"
Fu Wan answered loudly, glancing at her watch; it was almost midnight.
No wonder she felt so hungry.
"Director Wang, how about we grab a quick meal together and chat?"
Wang Jianmin's mind is now filled with thoughts of how to make canned fish, how to write the business plan, and where he can find food.
"No need, Comrade Xiao Fu. I have two steamed buns here, that should be enough for a couple of bites. I'll write the proposal you requested now, and then I can give it to you."
Fu Wan picked up the pen next to her and wrote down the village's phone number on a piece of paper.
"This is our village's phone number. If you come by yourself, come to Fujia Village to find me. My name is Fu Wan."
Wang Jianmin made a mental note of it, then clutched the small piece of paper in his hand as if it were a lifeline.
When Boss Fu entered, he saw an unfamiliar middle-aged man next to Fu Wan and Fu Liang. Just as he was wondering about it, Fu Wan turned around with Fu Liang and gestured for them to leave.
"Comrade Xiao Fu, you wouldn't be joking with me, would you?"
Wang Jianmin was still a little uncertain. Fu Wan was almost speechless from his questions, but she could understand his situation.
"Don't worry, I swear on my integrity, I'm not just kidding you."
"We just ordered a ship from the shipyard next door, so you can rest assured and write the itinerary first."
Yes, they just bought a boat!
A ship can cost a lot of money!
Wang Jianmin tried his best to convince himself. Seeing that he had nothing else to do, Fu Wan said goodbye to him and left the cannery with Boss Fu and the others.
The group was starving. Fu, the eldest, led them to the entrance of the state-run restaurant. A tractor drove by, and he suddenly remembered, "Oh dear, Brother Niu is still waiting at the supply and marketing cooperative!"
I thought the shipyard would be quick, but it took almost two hours anyway.
"Ah Wan, Ah Ming, Ah Liang, you two go in and order first, I'll go call Lao Niu over!"
Fu Wan waved her hand, indicating that she understood. "Father, hurry up, I'm starving."
It's no exaggeration to say that she could eat a whole cow right now!
Although many individual businesses emerged at this time, state-run restaurants were still doing very well.
After wandering around for a while, Fu Wan found an empty table, and Fu Ming pulled her to the window to order food.
Having finally made it to the county town, they naturally wanted to eat something good.
Fu Wan counted, there were four people in her family, plus Uncle Niu, making five adults in total.
So I ordered the signature braised pork of the state-run restaurant, a plate of Mapo Tofu, and a plate of stir-fried eggs with chili peppers.
While ordering, she unexpectedly saw beef on the menu and added it without hesitation.
"Hey, young man, you've got a good eye for this. This beef is fresh from this morning. A cow in the next village died in childbirth, so our restaurant bought some. We just happen to have two bowls left."
Upon hearing this, Fu Wan realized there were still two bowls left, and she was determined not to let them go.
"Then cook them all for me, pack one and serve the other."
These days, beef is a rare commodity because there are no cattle specifically raised for meat; they are all used for plowing.
However, cattle used for plowing cannot be killed, so the cattle sold in the market are all cattle that died accidentally.
It's something that can only be encountered by chance.
Since it was such a rare opportunity, Fu Wan thought she should pack some to take home so that Ye Xiaocui and the others could try it too.
Five people, four dishes, and she was still worried it wasn't enough, so she added a bowl of cheaper stir-fried bean sprouts.
The state-run restaurant was also very fast. By the time all the dishes were served, Boss Fu and Uncle Niu had just arrived at the restaurant entrance.
"Dad, Uncle Niu, hurry up, the food has just been served!"
Uncle Niu was a little embarrassed, "I've already eaten cornbread, but your dad still insisted on dragging me here to eat."
They always bring their own food when they go out; they're too stingy to eat out.
"Oh, Uncle Niu, don't be so polite, sit down, the food at this state-run restaurant is really good!"
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