Yan Xiaonan tiptoed out of the north room and went with Yan Aidang to the furniture factory in Beijing. The two old gatekeepers had been reduced to one. Yan Aidang politely said to the old gatekeeper, "Grandpa, I'd like to see your factory manager. Is he here?"
The old gatekeeper shook his head: "Young man, the factory manager isn't here. Are you here to collect a debt? Which timber factory are you from? Tell me your name, and I'll tell the manager when he gets back."
Yan Aidang and Yan Xiaonan exchanged a glance. It had only been a few months since they ordered their furniture, and their fortunes had already declined too quickly.
“I’m the one who came to order furniture last time, don’t you remember me, sir?” Yan Aidang reminded him.
The old gatekeeper finally remembered: "It's you, young man. You're the only one who's ordered furniture in the last six months. I heard everyone's been ordering furniture from that furniture factory in the south of the city."
"Has another furniture factory opened in the south of the city?" Yan Aidang asked curiously.
"Yes, some of the craftsmen couldn't get their wages, so they opened a small workshop in the south of the city, making some of the latest trendy furniture. I wonder how business is going," the old gatekeeper said with a hint of envy.
"Have all the masters here left?" Yan Xiaonan asked.
"Half of them have left. Those who remain are either nearing retirement or not very skilled. It seems this factory will soon close down," the old gatekeeper said, shaking his head.
"Grandpa, what will happen after this?" Yan Xiaonan needed to find out.
"If we break up, everyone's going home to starve, what else do you want to do?" The old gatekeeper looked at Yan Xiaonan strangely. She was so pretty, how could she be so stupid?
"This is my phone number. If your factory manager comes back, tell him to call me and tell him I'm the one who delivers the welfare benefits to him." Yan Aidang didn't say much, but took out a pen and wrote his name and phone number on a piece of paper.
The old gatekeeper was a shrewd man. He glanced at Yan Aidang again, then carefully put the note into his pocket. This might be a life-saving note; he couldn't lose it.
"Brother Ai Dang, can you take me to that furniture factory in the south of the city?" Yan Xiaonan said.
Yan Aidang asked the old gatekeeper for the address, got on his bicycle, and rode towards the south of the city with Yan Xiaonan.
The road was still quite long. Not to mention Yan Aidang, who was riding the bike, Yan Xiaonan, who was sitting in the back, felt that his legs were numb and his buttocks were shaking so badly that he had to get off and walk around every now and then to relieve the pain.
The furniture factory was located in a relatively rural area. The place was quite large, but unfortunately the facilities were in a terrible state. The processing area consisted of some thatched sheds made of grass and bamboo. Pieces of cut wood were scattered haphazardly, and sawdust and shavings were everywhere on the ground, which would flutter and drift in the wind.
Behind the thatched shed were several rooms. Yan Aidang ran over and saw that the workers rested and ate there. There were also a few rooms where finished products were stored. The furniture had probably just been painted, and a strong smell of paint filled the nostrils. Yan Xiaonan couldn't help but sneeze several times.
The sneezing startled the people inside, and a foreman-looking man ran out. When he saw Yan Aidang and Yan Xiaonan, he was overjoyed. He could tell at a glance that they were a young couple who were about to get married and had come to order furniture.
"Come and take a look, come and take a look. Which set of furniture do you like? We have ready-made pieces, and we can also make them to order," the foreman asked politely.
Yan Xiaonan couldn't stand the smell of paint, so Yan Aidang told her to go somewhere far away. She followed the foreman into the room. The furniture was decent, the kind that young people like when they get married these days, but the workmanship and paint were really bad.
"How much is this set?" Yan Aidang asked, pointing to the set that looked somewhat similar to her own home.
"Young man, you have a good eye! This set of furniture is our best-selling and most expensive piece. You can take it home for 800 yuan as a finished product, or add 50 yuan for custom-made," the foreman said.
"So expensive!" Yan Aidang was shocked. Her own set had an extra desk, yet it only cost four hundred yuan. Moreover, its quality and paint were far superior to this set.
"I can't afford it, it's too expensive." Yan Aidang shook his head.
"How about six hundred? I think you're quite handsome, so I'll be kind and give you a discount," the foreman said with a smile, looking at Yan Aidang.
Yan Aidang was somewhat incredulous that the price had dropped by two hundred yuan so suddenly. It seemed that this workshop was a shady one, and he had to be careful: "It's still too expensive. I'll discuss it with my family. I definitely can't afford it with just my salary."
The foreman believed him, since not many people could easily come up with several hundred yuan these days: "Alright, go back and discuss it."
"Master, give me a bottom line. What's the lowest price you can sell me for this set of furniture? That way I can negotiate when I get back. Otherwise, if you ask for six hundred right away, my dad will smash my head with a stick," Yan Aidang said pitifully.
The foreman thought for a moment, then held out one hand: "It can't be lower than this number, or I won't have any food to eat."
"Oh, five hundred, right? That's for this set of furniture. Are the tables and chairs included?" Yan Aidang continued to argue unreasonably.
"No, no, it's not worth it. You can pay extra if you want it." The foreman was getting impatient. Why did he keep running into poor people these days? People asked about it every day, but he hadn't sold a single set. They either said it was too expensive or that it smelled too strong. Of course it smelled strong; these were all freshly made samples.
Yan Aidang quickly greeted the foreman: "Then I'll go back and ask first. If the old man agrees, I'll come and buy it."
Watching Yan Aidang leave quickly, the foreman plopped down on the ground, wondering if he had asked for too high a price and scared everyone away. But he couldn't ask for too low a price; private individuals couldn't get timber, so he had to buy it from the old furniture factory, which would charge an extra 10%. And the paint was even more difficult to obtain.
After all the complicated procedures, the cost of the finished furniture is 30% higher than that of the old furniture factory, so the selling price has to be increased, otherwise it would be a loss-making business.
Yan Aidang and Yan Xiaonan also thought about this problem on their way back. Taking advantage of this critical moment to contract the furniture factory would be the most cost-effective option. However, they didn't know anything about furniture and wood, so they had to ask Southwest to handle that.
Yan Xiaonan decided to go to the post office to call Southwest and check the time. Southwest should still be at the furniture factory, which has a telephone.
Southwest was practicing carving with a small piece of scrap material in the workshop. The master's carving skills might not be the best in the world, but in this place, if he wanted to be second, no one would dare to be first. This was the fundamental reason why the factory manager was willing to keep Southwest even though he had laid off many people.
"A call from the Southwest, from Beijing!" a woman in the office shouted.
Southwest felt a chill run down her spine. A phone call from Beijing—could something have happened to Grandma and Nan Nan?
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