The Li Family Courtyard!
In the living room, Li Yi’s eyes lit up the moment he heard Jiang Longcheng’s words.
“Third Brother, tell me right away—what were the factory’s sales revenue and net profit last year?”
It was no wonder Li Yi was so interested in this matter. After all, according to the cooperation agreement he had signed with State Cotton Mill No. 2, if the mill’s net profit reached 20 million, the factory would have to pay him a 12% royalty.
Although Li Yi was now quite wealthy, most of his money was in US dollars and Hong Kong dollars, and much of it was held overseas.
More importantly, the official exchange rate set by the government was currently quite low—one US dollar could only be exchanged for less than 2 of our currency, and the exchange rate for Hong Kong dollars was even lower.
Under the current circumstances, exchanging foreign currency for local currency is highly unprofitable, which makes the money earned domestically all the more crucial.
Jiang Longcheng didn’t beat around the bush and said immediately, “According to the finance department’s calculations, the factory’s total sales revenue for the past year reached over 75.896 million yuan. After deducting all expenses, the factory’s net profit came to around 48.7 million yuan!”
“So that means I’ll get about 5.84 million?” Li Yi asked.
“That’s right—that’s what the finance department reported!”
Hearing this, Li Yi said with satisfaction, “Not bad… not bad. That’s a bit better than I expected.”
“With these results, State Cotton Mill No. 2 should be able to rank among the most profitable enterprises in the Beijing area this year. It looks like we’re in for some recognition from higher-ups.”
Jiang Longcheng burst out laughing. “Of course! From what we’ve gathered so far, over 580 enterprises in Beijing have submitted their performance reports during this period, but only 329 were profitable—a profit rate of less than 60%!”
“Of those, 266 made over 100,000 yuan in profit, only 76 exceeded one million, just 12 surpassed ten million, and currently only three have exceeded 40 million—and we’re ranked third.”
“Which factories took first and second place?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“First place goes to the Capital Steel Plant, with profits of 73.85 million yuan. Second place is the Capital Eighth Machinery Plant, with profits of 51.8 million yuan!”
Jiang Longcheng continued, “However, there are still over 800 enterprises that haven’t finalized their profit figures yet, so there are certainly some whose profits are better than ours. But among textile enterprises, our factory is absolutely number one in both sales revenue and net profit. This year, we’ve even left the renowned National Cotton Mill No. 1 in the dust!”
“With results like these, all your hard work this year has certainly been worth it!” Li Yi said.
“It was worth it!”
Jiang Longcheng continued, “Brother-in-law, you know I’m not one for sentimentality, but today, on behalf of myself and the more than 5,000 employees and managers of the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill, I want to say thank you!”
“Third Brother, you’re being too formal!” Li Yi said hurriedly.
Jiang Longcheng shook his head and said, “Brother-in-law, you have no idea—when the finance department released the profit figures, the workers and staff were absolutely ecstatic. They were crying and jumping for joy, acting like they’d gone mad!”
“It’s been over twenty years since State Cotton Mill No. 2 was founded, and we’ve never felt this proud—especially during my time as plant manager. You set the stage, Brother-in-law, and let me, Jiang Longcheng, and all the employees of State Cotton Mill No. 2 put on a great show. Thanks!”
“Come on, you’re being too dramatic. I came up with the idea, and you paid me a commission—that’s what we call a win-win partnership. Nobody took advantage of anyone!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
Jiang Longcheng knew Li Yi’s temperament, and seeing him speak this way, he didn’t press the matter further.
“By the way, brother-in-law, you’d better go to the factory and collect your share of the money right away, before things get complicated!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“What do you mean?”
“After the profit calculations came in, some higher-ups found out they’d have to pay you over five million yuan in one go and started objecting. While the money’s still in our factory’s accounts, you’d better go collect it right away!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Alright, I’ll head over right away!” Li Yi replied.
“Alright!”
“Oh, and Third Brother, could I borrow one of your factory’s cars for a few days?” Li Yi asked again.
“Sure, how many do you need?”
“I’ll take two,” Li Yi said.
“Sure. Do you want me to provide drivers for them too?”
“Yes, please. Drivers are hard to come by these days!”
Li Yi continued, “But it’d be best to find some experienced, seasoned drivers. I plan to have them make a trip back to Nianzishan Village to pick up my dad and my brother-in-law. The roads out there are rough!”
“No problem. Most of our factory’s drivers are former military personnel—their driving skills are second to none!” said Jiang Longcheng.
“Alright!”
After agreeing on the pickup time, the two wrapped up their conversation.
After seeing off Jiang Longcheng and An Hong, Li Yi said goodbye to Jiang Xue and headed out with Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen.
……..
Beiguan Village. Hot Pot and Grill Restaurant!
Long Zhanjun was sitting at the bar writing when he suddenly felt the light dim. He instinctively looked up and was surprised to find Li Yi—the owner and his brother-in-law—standing right in front of him.
“Whoa, when did you get back?”
“Last night!”
“You’re not leaving before the New Year, are you?”
“No, I’ll stick around until after the New Year celebrations!”
Then Li Yi asked with a smile, “How are the preparations for my sister and my wedding coming along?”
Long Zhanjun replied immediately, “With my mom and my sister-in-law helping out, everything’s almost ready. All that’s left is to buy the ingredients we’ll need for the wedding banquet!”
“You’d better get that done quickly. People in town have already started stocking up on New Year’s supplies these past few days, and many items are in short supply. It would be a real embarrassment if you couldn’t find what you need when the time comes!” Li Yi said.
“Right. I’m just figuring out how many guests we’ll have and making a list of the dishes we’ll serve on the day of the ceremony!”
As he spoke, Long Zhanjun pointed to several sheets of paper covered in writing on the bar counter—presumably the list he’d compiled.
“So, how many people do you estimate there’ll be?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
Long Zhanjun replied immediately, “Probably not many. As you know, ever since my dad’s accident, most of our relatives back home have cut off contact.”
“The only ones attending my wedding with Nana are the few friends I brought from back home, plus the staff from our shop and your whole family. All told, it’ll be no more than thirty or forty people!”
“I think there’ll be more than that!”
Li Yi continued, “To put it simply, there are nearly 30 of us brothers and sisters across these three stores alone. Add my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law to that, and forty people definitely won’t be enough. We’d better prepare plenty!”
“Alright, let’s prepare a bit more. The New Year’s holiday is coming up anyway, so we can just treat the extra as part of our holiday shopping!” Long Zhanjun said with a smile.
“Do we have enough money? If not, just draw some from the account for now—we’ll deduct it from your salary later!”
Li Yi knew Long Zhanjun was a man of principle, so he didn’t offer to give him anything.
“It’s enough for now. I’ll let you know if it runs short!”
“Alright!”
Then Li Yi added, “By the way, I plan to take my family back to our hometown for the New Year after your wedding. What are you and my sister planning to do?”
“I’ve discussed this with Nana. She thinks we should stay in Beijing and keep the shop open after the wedding, take a break starting on New Year’s Eve, and reopen on the eighth day of the New Year!” Long Zhanjun said.
“I thought you’d at least make a trip back to Yong County after the wedding!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
Long Zhanjun shook his head and said, “We won’t be going back. Now that my mother and younger sister are here, there’s nothing left in our hometown to keep me tied down—just a few dilapidated houses.”
“Alright then. Whether you go back or not is up to you and my sister. I’ve got some business to attend to at the Second State Cotton Mill, so I’ll head over there first!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, go ahead and take care of your business. The shop is about to get busy, so I need to check on the kitchen too!”
“Alright!”
With that, Li Yi turned and walked out…
…….