Early in the morning, Jiang Shaozhen's car was parked at the factory gate.
As soon as Shen Mingzhi stepped out of the dormitory building, she saw him leaning against the car door waiting for her. He was wearing a dark gray shirt today, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms. When he saw her come out, he straightened up and his gaze fell intently on her.
"Have you had breakfast?" he asked.
Shen Mingzhi shook her head, "There wasn't enough time."
Jiang Shaozhen took a package of oil paper from the car. "A big meat bun, still warm."
Shen Mingzhi discovered that Jiang Shaozhen really liked buying large meat buns.
Although she does love to eat it... his constant purchase of it made her develop a stereotype about him.
Shen Mingzhi reached out and took it.
"Professor Zhang made an appointment at nine o'clock," Jiang Shaozhen started the car, "We'll go to the institute's office in the provincial capital first."
Shen Mingzhi nodded, looked down at the materials she had prepared, and deliberately avoided talking to him too much.
After driving for a while, Jiang Shaozhen suddenly spoke up, "Zhizhi, about things at the factory... you can actually ask me for help."
Shen Mingzhi paused, looked up at him, and said, "We're going to get divorced sooner or later, so don't give me so much, or you'll feel like you've been taken advantage of later."
"Private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters. The livelihoods of hundreds of workers in the factory are no small matter." Jiang Shaozhen's voice was low. "I know you don't want to owe me favors, but some things are better left unattended."
Shen Mingzhi looked up at him, her eyes slightly cold. "What else do you want to help me with? Aren't you going to take care of things at your construction site? You're just hanging around outside my factory all day, completely ignoring what's going on on your end?"
"Mr. Ye, please keep an eye on things for me for now..."
“Our problems can’t be solved in a short time. You need to understand your situation,” Shen Mingzhi said without any mercy.
Jiang Shaozhen didn't say anything more, but he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
When we arrived at the research institute, Professor Zhang was a scholar in his fifties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and speaking with a heavy Haicheng accent.
He looked through the samples and formulas that Shen Mingzhi had brought, and said with a hint of appreciation, "This emulsification system is well done, and its stability is much better than that of products on the market."
Shen Mingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to present her idea, "We want to create a high-end series, focusing on natural ingredients, and the packaging also needs to be more exquisite. We use imported machines, so the technology is up to par, but... I'm worried about potential problems. I'd like to ask you what we need to pay attention to when making such a product."
Professor Zhang nodded. "The direction is correct, but natural ingredients are expensive and have a short shelf life. Have you considered that?"
“I’ve considered it,” Shen Mingzhi said, opening her notebook. “We can use a small amount of natural essential oils as a selling point, while using synthetic fragrances as the main ingredient to control costs, and adding antioxidants to extend the shelf life.”
Professor Zhang showed an approving look, "Your thinking is very clear." He turned to Jiang Shaozhen, "Jiang, your wife has a lot of ideas."
Jiang Shaozhen smiled and said, "She has always been outstanding."
Shen Mingzhi's fingers curled slightly, pretending not to hear, and continued to discuss technical details with Professor Zhang.
After their discussion, it was already noon, and Professor Zhang warmly invited them to lunch. At the table, the conversation shifted from daily chemical products to market trends, and Professor Zhang suddenly asked, "Xiao Shen, has your factory considered exporting?"
Shen Mingzhi was taken aback, but immediately replied, "I'm not considering exports for now. I want to focus on domestic products and promote them nationwide."
"Actually, there is a great demand for mid-to-high-end skincare products in the Southeast Asian market," Professor Zhang said. "I have several clients in Singapore. If your product quality is stable, I can help connect you with them."
Although it was a good opportunity, she still refused, saying, "The export process is long, and Baoli is facing difficulties right now. We need the money from selling our products domestically to get through this difficult time. I will contact you again when our products are even better."
Professor Zhang could understand.
Now is the time for reform, and many factories are indeed not as profitable as before, and they have a lot of debt.
“We can give it a try,” Jiang Shaozhen suddenly said. “I’ll take care of the funding.”
Shen Mingzhi calmly said, "This is not a matter of funding. Baoli has a terrible reputation locally. What it needs to do is to win over local customers with its products first, and then consider other things."
Jiang Shaozhen looked at her, his tone unusually calm, "But you can do both, can't the workers get more wages?"
Shen Mingzhi's mind seemed to have been cleared up.
That's one way too.
However, producing more means buying more raw materials, which costs money.
Baoli is broke right now, where would she get so much money? Even if she wanted to take out a loan, she would have to wait until there were returns and the bank saw that there was a repayment before they would approve it!
On the way back, neither of them spoke.
Shen Mingzhi didn't speak until the car stopped at the factory gate, "Your suggestion is not bad, but the factory requires money for everything. How much money does your Jiang family have to help me subsidize it? I can't be sure that it will make money. What if I invest it all? Will I have to sell myself to pay you back?"
Jiang Shaozhen sighed, "What happened before was a lie by our Jiang family, we were wrong, but... this time I really want to help you."
"No need. You should focus on your work at the construction site tomorrow. If you miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult for you to recover." Shen Mingzhi pushed open the car door. "Besides, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."
She walked into the factory without looking back, but her mind was in turmoil. She just couldn't get over that hurdle in her heart, so she wouldn't back down just because he had helped her.
In the afternoon, Director Sun excitedly approached her, "Xiao Shen! Great news! The city is selecting outstanding enterprises. If we can win this title, we'll not only receive policy support, but we might also get a low-interest loan!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhi immediately asked, "What are the selection criteria?"
"We mainly look at output value, innovation, and social benefits," Factory Director Sun said, rubbing his hands together. "Our rose snow cream is an innovative product, but its output value is still too low..."
Shen Mingzhi discussed with him, "If we can produce high-end samples and then secure the export letter of intent that Professor Zhang mentioned, wouldn't our chances of success be much greater?"
Factory Director Sun couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Exports? To continue earning foreign exchange? If so, that should be relatively easy."
Shen Mingzhi plans to talk to Professor Zhang herself.
"Is the evaluation at the end of this year? Our technicians haven't returned yet. If they do, I guarantee the new product will definitely be able to be exported," she told the factory manager.
Factory Director Sun smiled and said, "As expected, hiring you was no problem. After this success, I will apply to the leadership to make you the deputy factory director."
"Aren't you afraid I'll fall if you lift me this high all at once?" Shen Mingzhi said with a smile.
"You have the ability. No wonder Li An was willing to give up such a profitable pharmacy to follow you." Factory Director Sun's face was relaxed. Although the factory was not yet profitable, with Shen Mingzhi around, he believed that it would soon turn a profit.
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