Chapter 423: The Cotton Mill’s Report Card!

Once in the study, father-in-law and son-in-law sat down on opposite sides of the desk where Jiang Xue usually read and studied.

“Dad, is there something you need to discuss?”

“Hmm, I heard you’ve withdrawn from the cotton mill business?” Jiang Shiying asked, looking at Li Yi.

“Basically, yes, but I signed an agreement with them. I’ll be fully committed to helping them turn the mill around, and if the annual profit reaches a certain threshold, the mill will give me a share of the profits!” Li Yi explained.

“20 million, 12%?”

“Did Third Brother tell you about this?” Li Yi asked in return.

“No, but someone called me a couple of days ago and specifically mentioned you and this matter!” Jiang Shiying said.

“Who? Was it Second Brother?”

“No, not your Second Brother, and not Longcheng either. It was a senior official from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. They’ve had their eye on you for quite some time!”

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Listen to the way his father-in-law phrased it—”noticed.” That wasn’t a good sign.

“Don’t worry, they don’t intend to take action against you. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have called me!” Jiang Shiying said.

“Then what do they want?”

“Do you know, you idiot? A couple of days ago, Longcheng’s factory finalized its February profit settlement!”

Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, then replied, “I hadn’t noticed. As you know, I’ve been busy these past few days with my child’s full-month celebration—I hadn’t paid any attention to that at all!”

Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “According to the person from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the cotton mill had been officially operational for less than 20 days in February, yet its revenue reached 3.05 million. After deducting your share and various other expenses, the net profit was a staggering 1.19 million!”

“This revenue and profit not only turned the cotton mill’s losses into profits but also set a record since the mill’s establishment. Neither revenue nor profit has ever been this high! It’s safe to say the cotton mill has delivered a jaw-dropping report card right at the start of the year!”

However, Li Yi replied with a calm expression, “Over three million in revenue for a single month is barely passing.”

Indeed, in Li Yi’s view, this performance was indeed barely passing.

After all, the cotton mill employs over 2,000 workers, operates the country’s only fashion brand, has fully consolidated its market presence in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, and is gradually expanding into Shandong, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and the Northeast.

With so many favorable conditions, achieving such results was entirely to be expected.

Jiang Shiying looked at Li Yi with some surprise; he truly hadn’t expected his son-in-law to say something like that.

Three million in revenue and 1.19 million in net profit over 20 days—and in his eyes, that was barely passing.

After a brief pause, Jiang Shiying asked again, “So, in your opinion, what level of monthly revenue would constitute a good result for the cotton mill?”

“10 million!”

“Ten… ten million in revenue? You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?”

However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “Dad, you’re thinking too small. What I mean is 10 million in net profit!” he added.

“Ten million in net profit?” Jiang Shiying exclaimed in astonishment.

“That’s right. I told Third Brother before that I’d help him turn the cotton mill into a mega-enterprise with annual profits exceeding 100 million. That averages out to about 10 million in profit per month, doesn’t it?”

“Annual profits exceeding 100 million? Is that even possible with that run-down little factory Longcheng manages?”

“Not yet. The main issues are insufficient production capacity and sales channels that haven’t been fully established, but it shouldn’t be a problem within three years!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this, Jiang Shiying couldn’t help but feel a stir of interest.

If that run-down little factory under Long Cheng’s management really did develop into a state-owned giant with annual profits exceeding 100 million, it would bring countless benefits—both for Long Cheng and for the Jiang family.

By then, not only would Long Cheng have more options, but Long Yin might also be able to advance further.

With that in mind, Jiang Shiying said in a low voice, “How confident are you in this?”

“As long as the leaders at the cotton mill don’t hold us back, I’d say there’s an eighty percent chance of success!”

Li Yi was very familiar with the situation at the cotton mill. The machinery and workers were both in good shape; the reason performance had been declining year after year was primarily due to management issues.

Beyond that, there was the broader market environment: there were simply too many textile and cotton mills in the country right now, and the market was already saturated.

Now that they’ve completed their business model transformation—shifting from textiles to apparel—they’re entering this burgeoning, massive market.

Once they’ve established their sales channels, they’ll be raking in the cash.

“Are you really 80% sure?”

“Absolutely!”

“Alright, then go ahead and give it your all. If you need any support, just let me know—I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission!” said Jiang Shiying.

“Alright. By the way, you still haven’t told me why the SASAC called you, or what their purpose was in mentioning me,” Li Yi asked again.

“Originally, they were very unhappy about you hiring workers from the cotton mill to set up production. After all, if you really look into it, the nature of the matter is quite serious, so they planned to give you a stern warning…”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s expression darkened. “Are the higher-ups planning to take action against me?”

“Don’t panic just yet. They did have that intention earlier, but they’ve changed their minds now!”

Jiang Shiying continued, “You really are bold, turning hundreds or even thousands of employees from a major state-owned factory into your own hired hands. It would have been only natural for the higher-ups to take action against you!”

Li Yi gave a slightly awkward smile and replied, “I had no choice at the time. If I hadn’t enlisted those workers from the cotton mill, we’d never have been able to move that batch of fabric!”

“If you couldn’t sell it, you should’ve just let it go. There are certain lines and principles you simply shouldn’t cross!” Jiang Shiying said.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Go on, Dad.”

Jiang Shiying nodded and continued, “Just as the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission was discussing how to deal with you, they never expected you to make a bold retreat and decisively pull out. By the time they were ready to come after you, you had already completely withdrawn from the cotton mill’s transactions and even handed over such a massive business to the mill. So they decided to wait and see.”

“What they didn’t expect even more was that within a few days, the cotton mill’s February revenue and profit figures were reported to the district and the ministry. Those staggering numbers completely stunned them!”

“In light of this, they called me to pass the message on to you. They’ve approved your partnership model with the cotton mill and hope you’ll offer some guidance whenever you have the time!”

Hearing Jiang Shiying’s words, Li Yi suddenly snapped out of his daze and said, “Dad, so the folks at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission are worried I’ll just walk away and stop managing the cotton mill?”

“That’s part of it, but more importantly, they want to use this to reassure you—and to make a commitment to our Jiang family!” Jiang Shiying said.

“I see. With their support, I can let the cotton mill go all out. Who knows, we might even hit the annual profit target of 100 million ahead of schedule!” Li Yi said.

“Just do your best, but don’t wear yourself out. And remember, family comes first!” Jiang Shiying said.

“Got it!”

The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted about other matters for a while longer until Ye Lingyun came in to call them to dinner, at which point they finally emerged from the study!