Chapter 84 – Choosing the factory location
There were seven people left but were not particularly resolute. 1,000 RMB was not a small sum, and Feng Xingtai also told them that there was no maximum amount to invest. The more, the better.
These seven people that remained had privately cleared land at low-lying areas beside the river. They did not need to contribute part of their harvest to the government nor pay taxes. They kept whatever they harvested. That’s why they had some spare cash. For example, if Liu Jichuan’s family had not borrowed Feng Xingtai’s tractor to clear a plot of land earlier this year, he might even have problems coming out with 100 RMB. In the village, the income gap was widening.
“Xingtai, you need to tell us where will the factory be located and what will the factory be doing? Will we be managing the factory ourselves or hire someone to do it? Where will the finished products be sold to? If we were to invest 1,000 RMB, how much dividends will we get next year?”
Feng Xingtai turned around and looked at his son for help. Feng Yu did not mention these details yesterday.
“Uncle Liang, we have two locations in mind for the factory. First, it is the location of the old chicken farm. The chicken farm had closed, and no one is using that plot of land. We can rent or buy the land. Second, is the plot of land behind the brick factory. But because it will be near to the brick factory, it will affect our factory’s reputation, even though our factory will be located at the upwind.”
“Right. We should not build the factory next to the brick factory. Who will buy our flour if it is mixed with dust from the brick factory.”
“The factory will be processing food like soybean oil, wheat and corn flour, and sugar from beets. Soybean oil and sugar suit us best. If the quality of wheat and corn flour were not very good, it would not affect us much. But the soybean oil is different. The more oil we produce and the better the quality, our oil will taste better and can fetch a better price. We can sell to the city, and this will be the same for sugar. The more sugar we produce and the finer our sugar, the more we can earn.”
“This private factory really can compete with the state-owned grain depot?”
“Absolutely no problem. Because we intend to import advanced machines from the Soviet Union and these machines were more advanced than the grain depot by more than 10 years!” Feng Yu once again brought up the Soviet Union. Everyone looked up and admired the Soviet Union in that era.
“How much will those Soviet Union machines cost?”
“These machines belong to my brother-in-law, and he will use these machines to exchange for the shares of the factory. I guarantee you all that if you invest 1,000 RMB today, you will get 10,000 RMB in 3 years’ time! The more you invest, the more you can get back. You all decide for yourself how much to invest. We will not force you!”
“Xingtai, your son can really talk. 1,000 RMB can turn into 10,000 RMB in 3 years? Then if I invest 5,000 RMB now and 3 years later I can get back 50,000 RMB?”
Feng Yu was frustrated. It was not good being so young. Even he was currently attending high school, to these adults, he will always be a kid. No one will treat whatever he said seriously.
Feng Xingtai saw the determination in Feng Yu’s eyes, and he nodded: “Yes!”
“Good. Xingtai, you are the one who said this. You dare to put it in a contract?”
Feng Xingtai’s pridefully said: “Of course I dare! When all of you invest, I also need to prepare the contracts. If I am not able to honor my promise in 3 years, you all can take away the machines!”
“Ok. Then I will invest…… 10,000 RMB!”
Feng Yu looked over. These people were the first few from the village which had become wealthy. But it was normal for them to be rich as they had tractors and harvesters. Also, they were the earlier ones who had cleared the land.
After one of them took the leap, the others followed. 3,000 RMB, 2,000 RMB… They invested whatever spare cash they had on hand as the returns were better than leaving the money in the bank!
“Uncle Wen, Dad, let’s go to the Farm department to look for the officer.”
Those seven had agreed to invest, but Feng Xingtai did not collect the money yet. He got to wait till he got the approval from the Farm department then he will collect the money.
Wen Deguang followed along and entered the car excitedly. Feng Xingtai was puzzled and said: “Village head, I can look for the Farm Department officer myself. Don’t need to trouble you.”
Feng Yu rolled his eyes. His father really thought that Wen Deguang was following along to help him? He was going there to claim credit. China was focusing on its economy, and this applies to the their district as well. This investment amounts up to over a million RMB, and Wen Deguang was the one who headed it. This count as a political achievement for him.
“Dad, later you will say this……” Feng Yu started to teach his father what to say again.
The officer looked at the 3 people in front of him. Other than Wen Deguang, he had never met the other two before. But Wen Deguang said that they were from his village and because of his persuasion, they decided to invest 1 million RMB in building a food processing factory at the district!
The officer’s eyes widen. An investment of 1 million RMB! When did the district have a millionaire and he didn’t know about it?
“Mr. Feng, why did you choose to invest in a food processing factory with 1 million RMB? You can do other businesses. For example, you can set up an animal farm. Whether if it was poultry or livestock, we have experts from our office and even the city to assist you.” The officer had always wanted to develop animal farming, but the scale was too small. In the North, there was this big boss who owns a pig farm, and then everyone from that farm benefited from it!
“Officer, although I am not doing farming, I can produce animal feed. I wanted to set up the factory somewhere near to Bing City and if not for Wen Deguang kept persuading me, I would never consider our farm.”
When the officer heard what Feng Xingtai had said, he knew that he must be careful with what he said. If not, Feng Xingtai might go elsewhere to set up the factory. Anyway, this factory was producing processed food products and was still considered in the same direction as what the higher ups wanted. Furthermore, he can also claim credit for this 1 million RMB investment.
“Then you will need a lot of workers? I can introduce some skilled workers to you.”
Feng Xingtai looked at Feng Yu. Why was this officer saying the same thing as what Feng Yu told him earlier?
“I had discussed with Village Head Wen. We will hire people from our village first. Of course, if you have suitable workers to introduce to me, we can also hire 4 or 5 of them. The monthly salary will not be less than 80 RMB!”
The officer laughed and looked at Wen Deguang. This old Wen was thoughtful. Not only he had secured the vacancies for workers and even kept some for the officer.
Deputy Gu is retiring soon and needed someone to succeed him. Wen Deguang seems to be a good choice. With this 1 million RMB investment and the support of the ex-leader, it shouldn’t be a problem! Also, Wen Deguang can oversee the factory as he is familiar with the people there.
“Your factory is also considered set up by the locals and the Farm Department can provide some benefits. I can allow the first year to be tax-free and 50% taxes for the following 2 years. I can allow you all to use that piece of land you requested, but if you want to purchase the land, it will cost at least 100,000 to 200,000 RMB.”
Feng Xingtai smiled: “I had prepared 300,000 RMB. If you can give us a bigger plot of land, I don’t mind using all 300,000 RMB!”
“No problem. I can agree to this too! Then when do you intend to start constriction?”
“Tomorrow!”