Chapter 262 The First Workshop
Manpower.
Sang Luo looked at Chen Ning, then at Chen Lie, but she just said she was busy.
Chen An went to invite Zheng Dalang. Except for Sang Luo who had to take care of the two children, the whole family was very busy that day. Chen Lie should have returned to his room in the late night.
They were busy for half the morning of the seventh day and delivered the goods at noon. The three carriages and six servants got the things their masters wanted to buy and left Daxing Manor with full loads, and Sang Luo got three boxes of silver.
Sang Luo held the heavy silver in her hand and sighed: "It's better to make money early."
Although it is not good to say this, the prices of food-related items in the entire Da Qi are really high right now. The damage caused by several years of war is too great, and the prices of grain and meat are unlikely to drop much in the next one or two years.
The people of Shezhou can live relatively well now thanks to the wife of the governor, Concubine Fan, and their recovery is much faster than other prefectures and counties in Da Qi.
As for the families in Daxing Village, because they had gone into the mountains to help the government pick up people before, they had much more mountain land than other people. Not to mention the Shen family, the money given by the court, the money earned by Shen Lie, and the imperial gift was really a lot.
So, taking into account the time difference, these two years are the best time to realize the high-quality cash production of the manor. No, it is not even limited to the manor.
Sang Luo locked up the silver and asked Chen Lie, "Will you go out with me?"
"Where are you going?"
"Let's go to Chen's house first, and then to the provincial government office."
When they heard that it was both the Chen family and the provincial government, the three siblings were confused for a moment. They could vaguely guess that it was related to business, but they couldn't figure out how the two were connected.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Didn't you say the government office was short of money? I'll send some over."
Chen Lie frowned. "Are you planning to expand the production of fermented bean curd and vermicelli that can be stored for a long time? Rent land from the government?"
The response was quick.
Sang Luo nodded: "The vermicelli needs to be dried in the sun. If we expand the scale, this area alone will take up a lot of space. The Chen family obviously can't afford it."
…
In the backyard of the Chen family, except for Zhou Ge who had to take care of the children, everyone else in the Chen family was busy. They stopped when they saw Sang Luo and Shen Lie coming. Qin Fangniang came over and asked, "Why are you here at this time?"
Sang Luo stated her purpose of visit.
"Can we expand the production of vermicelli?" Old Man Chen was stunned for a moment before he said, "Can we sell them all?"
"Sell to other counties. Did you see the three carriages that entered our farm yesterday and today? They came here specifically to buy things. Our vermicelli has been presented to the palace for His Majesty to eat. It sells well in Shezhou, so it should be the same in other counties. Moreover, this thing will not go bad even if it is stored for a year. It is only suitable for making in spring and autumn, so we have to seize the opportunity."
"We need to add more people, right?" Chen Dashan asked, "Will the recipe be leaked?"
"Have someone you trust, and let others do the unimportant parts, but we should do the important parts ourselves. If we cooperate in this way, the wages of the hired people and the subsequent wages of running sales in other counties and cities can be deducted from the cost."
Qin Fangniang helps with this every day, and her first reaction is: "Is there not enough space in our house?"
"I just came to ask for your opinion. If you agree, I will find a way to solve this matter."
Chen Dashan knew that Sang Luo had her own rules in mind: "Okay, we have no objection. This is your recipe, you can make the decision."
Old Man Chen and Chen Youtian also nodded. Old Man Chen said, "You are helping us make money. There is no reason for you to ask for our opinions. We can still distinguish the priorities. We will just do what you say. You can decide how to do it, Luo. You don't need to restrict yourself because of us."
How long had he been in partnership with Sang Luo? In less than half a year, the family had made a lot of money. Now they could build a grand blue brick and tile house, but they just couldn't spare the space. The family was so satisfied.
Upon hearing this, Sang Luo smiled and said, "Since we are cooperating, I have to listen to your opinions. If you agree, I will go find a place right away. But don't worry, we will still be partners when the scale is expanded. We will divide the profits the same way as before and we will only make more money."
As for developing from a small family workshop to a small factory, it is difficult to expand if only family members make the recipes. You have to be open-minded about some things, otherwise you will end up being restricted.
There were two kids at home, and they would probably cry if she was not seen when they woke up. Sang Luo could not stay for long, so she said goodbye to Chen Dashan and others and left the farm for the city.
It would be difficult to discuss renting a site from the government office with Concubine Fan, so Shen Lie was asked to come along. Shen Lie first asked Chu Qichang. There was no precedent for this matter, so he asked He Changshi first. However, it was a new dynasty with new rules, and it was rare to rent a farm. There was not even an old precedent to follow, so he ended up asking Zeng Ziqian.
"Holding a fan workshop?"
Sang Luo nodded and said, "Yes, maybe we will do other things in the future. The main thing is that we need a place, a house and an open space. It would be best if it is closer to Daxing Village."
Such a place really exists.
The government actually kept quite a few of the better farms, especially the small farms, which were originally purchased by wealthy families in the city. The owners had long since died in the turbulent times, so the farms were naturally taken back. The farms were not very big, and if distributed among the people, they would hardly form a village, so they were still in the hands of the government and were considered to belong to the court.
Nowadays, land is evenly distributed, and except for shops, no land-related sales will be made, because the population will always increase, and there will have to be land to be distributed in the future.
But renting it.
Zeng Ziqian smiled and said, "That's fine. The money can be deposited into the government account and used for the expenses of the state office."
He could still make this decision. He let Sang Luo tell Chu Qichang her general requirements, and after choosing a suitable one, they could discuss it with the pricing office.
After the couple said goodbye to Zeng Ziqian, Chu Qichang took them to visit Zhuangzi outside the city. Given the relationship between Chu Qichang and Shen Lie, this matter did not require much effort, as the one recommended was the most suitable and best.
It is not too far from Daxing Village. It is a small village with houses and open space that all meet Sang Luo's requirements, especially the several large courtyards, which are perfectly designed for an assembly line. There is also enough space outside for drying clothes. Just dig a fire barrier to burn the open space, buy large and small jars and transport them to the village, and get a complete stone mill to make some drying racks. The village can be used directly.
After that, Chen Lie was the one who negotiated the price and signed the contract. Sang Luo first got a key from Chu Qichang, and returned to Daxingzhuang happily. She directly found the Chen family and led them to the manor.
Mrs. Chen was dumbfounded. She had just helped Mrs. Lu find a wife for Shuanzhu, but now that she was back, why was she opening a workshop at home? She had even found a location.
Walking around the farm, Sang Luo kept talking about which process was done in which yard, what preparations were needed, and how many people were needed.
Old Man Chen was familiar with these processes. After taking a look around, he found that if they did things across the yard, the main links would indeed be controlled by them.
"Just one thing, how do you invite someone? How can you be sure he is trustworthy?" This is Sang Luo's recipe, and Old Man Chen is really afraid that he won't get the right balance.
Sang Luo said, "Let's start with the families we have friendly relations with in the surrounding villages. They are honest and only work in spring and autumn. As for the work, as long as there are suitable assembly line positions, women, men, and boys aged 14 or 15 will do. We are not picky. All workers will sign a confidentiality agreement when the time comes."
"Your family can handle the key steps." She paused here and said, "You can also call A Ge's father and brothers."
Zhou Laizi's family are real people.
To be honest, a confidentiality agreement is actually a way to protect against gentlemen rather than villains. However, if there is such an agreement, the other party cannot openly engage in business.
Every complaint is successful.
Of course, it wouldn’t happen to those who could be invited to the workshop.
Sang Luo still believed this.
Chen Dashan was a little surprised: "Aren't you going to invite people from our village?"
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Yes, but I won't work in a workshop. I have to sell all these vermicelli. I also have some products that I am going to distribute to surrounding counties and prefectures, and I need a group of people to do business in various counties and prefectures."
"You still need some skills to run around outside now. Martial arts, intelligence, eloquence, business acumen, all of which are indispensable. It is very training. You and even Ershan can get away from the specific affairs of the workshop and do this. To be honest, this is what the owner of a workshop should do."
Qin Fangniang laughed: "What kind of boss is he? The boss is you."
Sang Luo smiled: "That's also the second boss. To be honest, this vermicelli workshop still depends on your family to support it. The time and energy I can devote to it myself are limited."
What the Shen family lacks most is people.
Besides, if Chen Lie passes the exam and gets admitted to Beijing someday, she would have to follow him to Beijing, and she would not be able to take care of things here.
The Chen family obviously knew about this. Mrs. Chen patted her chest and said, "Don't worry. Regardless of other things, I can't be wrong when it comes to judging people. You can let Dashan and Ershan learn to do the things outside. Your grandfather and I will take care of the workshop."
Sang Luo was trustworthy. Although Mrs. Chen was older, she was very steady. "I'll have to work hard in the future, Grandpa and Grandma."
Old Man Chen was still smiling in a reserved way, but Mrs. Chen was really happy: "What's the hard work? I've been working with you for half a year. Count how much money you've given us?"
In addition to the money that Chen Dashan earned from the government office, plus the output from the fields in the past six months, and the dividends given by Sang Luo, the Chen family counted the money once before the New Year and found that they had saved more than a hundred taels of silver.
Tofu, vermicelli, honey, chickens, ducks, sheep, pigs, rabbits, vegetables from the fields, and yam that the government collects at market price and sells to other counties for use as seed blocks. None of them looks worth mentioning, but when added together they add up to a lot of money.
After a year out of the mountains, he saved up a hundred taels of property. Although the other families could not compare to the Chen family in terms of dividends from tofu and vermicelli, they also got a lot of other things. Such a life was unimaginable before.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "I was just afraid that I would tire you all out. It's better this way now. If I hire more people, I can relax a little."
Then he handed the key to Mrs. Chen and said, "I have already signed the contract with the government. You keep the key. After the contract is signed today, we can start packing up tomorrow."
Mrs. Chen hurriedly put it away carefully and asked, "How long have you rented it?"
Sang Luo shook her head in a very confused manner: "I don't know yet. Let Chen Lie go and negotiate. I'll ask him to sign for at least ten years, and have the right of priority to renew the contract."
You can’t use it and then have the government take it back when the contract expires.
Granny Chen breathed a sigh of relief: "Ten years is good, then I won't have to be a fan when summer comes, my family will build a house, A Luo, can you give us a set of your blueprints? We want to follow yours."
The Shen family’s toilet is so clean that no one in the village doesn’t envy it.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "You can come to my house and pick it up later. It's just right. I will invite everyone to one place later to see if anyone is willing to do the business. I will collect another batch of beans."
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