AWB Chapter 112 The moon rises above the willow branches, and lovers meet after dusk!
Chapter 112 The moon rises above the willow branches, and lovers meet after dusk!
"Hey, hey, hey!" Qiao Manman quickly interrupted, "Brother, don't talk nonsense."
Whether or not the goods are shipped is up to the food factory. I'm just a nobody, what influence can I have?
"What? Didn't you order five thousand mooncakes? You ordered so many, you're causing food factories to run out of raw materials. We just want to place an order, but they won't take it!"
Qiao Manman laughed: "Really? Then I'm quite lucky!"
Hehe, you've learned your lesson this time!
First come, first served! It's just a mooncake, why bother joining a group?
This attitude made people so angry their hands trembled.
Qiao Manman pushed aside the crowd blocking the door, said something to the gatekeeper, and was allowed to pass.
He jogged to Director Wu's office, knocked on the door, and entered after hearing "Come in."
"Oh, Comrade Qiao is here!" Director Wu saw that it was Qiao Manman and quickly got up, even pouring her some tea.
"Your factory's payment has been received, and production was arranged yesterday afternoon."
Qiao Manman thanked him with a smile and asked, "Director Wu, with such a big factory like yours, you wouldn't have only prepared five thousand mooncake ingredients, would you?"
"Ha, how could that be! It must be those guys outside causing you trouble!"
Qiao Manman nodded.
Director Wu chuckled: "They do this every year, I'm used to it."
Tell me, if they were as adaptable as you, they wouldn't have to squat outside every day, exposed to the wind and sun, looking almost like monkeys.
However, the factory hasn't received such large orders in previous years, which inevitably squeezes their market share to some extent.
Qiao Manman chuckled: "If the factory doesn't have that many raw materials, we can develop some new products."
Try apple and pineapple, egg yolk and red bean paste, chestnut and lotus seed paste, coconut and milk flavors—they might just significantly boost the factory's performance.
As for the lack of staff, we can hire temporary workers.
Select some quick-handed and clean employee family members and calculate their wages based on piecework and performance.
As long as these people want to make money next year, they won't dare to be perfunctory or shirk their responsibilities.
Moreover, their performance is linked to their family members' future prospects, so they will be more cautious in their work.
In this way, the factory can satisfy everyone's love for mooncakes while also improving the lives of the employees' families.
Director Wu thought about it and realized that it made sense; how come he hadn't thought of that?
Probably because there were no performance-based pay systems in this era. Whether you did a lot or a little, you earned the same amount, so there was no incentive to scheme to expand the market.
"Comrade Xiao Qiao, I didn't expect you to be so quick-witted. No wonder the machinery factory sent you to make purchases!"
Director Wu rubbed his hands together: "Exactly, how do you make those apple and pineapple mooncakes you mentioned? Do you put fruit inside?"
Qiao Manman laughed and said, "I don't know either. I've just heard people say that you can make winter melon into a fruit flavor."
Director Wu pondered for a moment, then summoned Xiong Jianyu, the head of the food factory.
"Hello, Comrade Xiao Qiao. I heard from Director Wu that you have given the factory a lot of suggestions."
"Tell me your reasons in detail. If the factory adopts my suggestion, I'll give you a bonus, at least two hundred yuan!"
Qiao Manman's eyes lit up: "Really? Then I'll definitely go for it!"
Having received an affirmative answer, Qiao Manman went on to talk about products, management, and marketing strategies, leaving the two of them completely bewildered.
It was an hour later when it was all over. Qiao Manman picked up her enamel mug and took a big gulp of water.
After drinking a cup, I felt some relief from my hoarseness.
He picked up a pen and wrote down the recipe he had seen online: "This one still needs the master to figure out."
Xiong Jianyu stood up excitedly and applauded Qiao Manman: "Comrade Qiao, would you be interested in working at the food factory?"
Qiao Manman paused for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, Factory Director Xiong, I'm from out of town, and I'm my parents' only daughter..."
Xiong Jianyu sighed, "What a pity!"
After thinking for a moment, he asked Wu Jiamou to go to the finance department to withdraw three hundred yuan.
"Thank you very much, Comrade Xiao Qiao, for your advice. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any ideas in the future!"
After saying that, he smiled and said, "It's paid!"
Qiao Manman took the money and gave the other party a thumbs up: "Director Xiong is very generous. I believe that under your leadership, the food factory will definitely reach new heights!"
Xiong Jianyu nodded and left. He's probably off to work with the master craftsman on the new product.
Qiao Manman followed Wu Jiamou to take a look at the production line, confirmed the shipping time, and then left.
After arriving at the train station, explaining the situation, and paying the deposit, we headed straight for Chengcheng Lake.
I walked more than a kilometer along the lake, enjoying the scenery along the shore.
Seeing someone rowing over, Qiao Manman went over to chat with him: "Brother, when will the crabs here be ready?"
The man looked Qiao Manman up and down warily: "It's still a long way off, at least two more months! Why are you asking these questions?"
"Let me tell you, these crabs are being shipped to Kyoto. If you dare steal them, you'll be eating peanuts!"
Qiao Manman rolled her eyes inwardly, but smiled gently on her face: "Look at what you're saying, do you think I'm that kind of person!"
I came here specifically to see what the hairy crabs from Chengcheng Lake look like!
The other party scoffed, "See? You can leave now! We have patrols here 24 hours a day!"
Qiao Manman pulled a handful of candy from her pocket: "Brother, I really came here to take a look. Of course, it would be even better if I could buy a few to try!"
The man's eyes flickered, and Qiao Manman pressed on: "Whatever the price, that's fine. Small crabs are okay too. I just want to broaden my horizons, please, please!"
The man coughed lightly and asked in a low voice, "Two cents each, how many do you want?"
"Can I have a hundred?" Qiao Manman rubbed her hands together, somewhat excited.
The man glared at her: "What are you dreaming of? Ten of them would be the most you could get!"
"Ten then!" Qiao Manman asked, "Brother, when do we trade?"
The man glanced around and said, "Let's meet at night. You wait for me under that tree!"
Qiao Manman responded and left.
I came after dark and waited until late at night before the man appeared.
He handed the net to Qiao Manman: "Take a look!"
Qiao Manman glanced at it and saw that the crab was lively and jumping around. She took out two yuan and handed it to the other person.
"Hey, the money's on the table, don't tell anyone I'm the one who caught you!"
Seeing how cautious he was, Qiao Manman couldn't resist teasing him: "Don't worry, don't worry, if it's delicious, I'll come back to you!"
The man was startled and made a move to grab the net.
Qiao Manman dodged to the side and ran away.
A crisp laugh drifted away on the wind. Qiao Manman hid in the shadows, put the crab into her spatial storage, and threw it into the rice paddy.
Then I rode my electric scooter to the train station.
He took out his forged letter of introduction and boarded a train to Hangzhou.
We arrived at the legendary West Lake the following evening.
The lotus leaves stretch to the sky, an endless expanse of green; the white sandbank lies shaded by green willows; the water glistens in the sunshine, a truly beautiful sight. So beautiful, so beautiful, the scenery is endless!
West Lake truly lives up to its reputation as a must-visit destination for literati and poets throughout the ages. The shimmering water and the verdant mountains bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun inspired her to compose a poem.
"The moon rises above the willow branches, and we'll meet after dusk!"