Chapter 196
After finishing her conversation with Xiang Tianyi, Song Nianchu waited for his definite response.
By the third day, just as Song Nianchu was planning to seek him out again, Xiang Tianyi suddenly arrived at Qinghe Fishing Village.
When Song Nianchu received the news, she was busy at the cannery workshop.
The moment she heard that Xiang Tianyi had arrived, she hurried outside.
Mu Shi'an, who was working at the carpentry workshop nearby, caught sight of her immediately. His brows drew together.
What had happened?
Why was she running in such a hurry?
Mu Shi'an had just set down the work in his hands and was about to follow her to see what was going on when he saw Song Nianchu approach Xiang Tianyi with a bright smile.
The expression on Mu Shi'an's face froze.
Xiang Tianyi seemed to notice his gaze. He looked up, a faint, barely perceptible smile in his eyes.
“Manager Xiang, this is our village's cannery workshop.” Song Nianchu failed to notice the subtle exchange and enthusiastically began introducing the workshop's current situation to him.
“Mm.” Xiang Tianyi withdrew his gaze and nodded.
“The hygiene requirements inside the workshop are quite strict. If you'd like to look around, you'll need to put on disposable protective clothing first,” Song Nianchu said quickly.
“All right.”
“…”
Song Nianchu led Xiang Tianyi through the workshop.
Everyone else had seen Xiang Tianyi before and knew that he was the one who had brought workers from the power bureau to the village, allowing them to finally get electricity.
Now, seeing Song Nianchu accompanying him and explaining every step of the workshop's operations in detail, they all became extremely nervous.
Some of the workers who had been familiar with their tasks even began fumbling through their work.
“They're probably just a little nervous,” Song Nianchu explained to Xiang Tianyi.
“It's fine.” Xiang Tianyi could naturally tell whether the workers were genuinely incapable or had merely made mistakes because of their nerves.
Although he appeared casual, he carefully inspected every stage of the process.
To be honest, Song Nianchu's division of labor was very well planned. The workshop was a little small, but it had all the necessary areas.
What was even more impressive was how well the workshop maintained its sanitary conditions.
Everyone working inside wore gloves, masks, caps, and protective clothing.
After touring the interior of the workshop, Song Nianchu took Xiang Tianyi to look at the canning area as well.
Only after inspecting everything did Xiang Tianyi remove the mask from his face and the cap from his head.
“Your workshop is quite well set up,” Xiang Tianyi said with a nod.
“It's worth all the hard work I put in just to hear Manager Xiang say that.” Song Nianchu's eyes curved into a smile.
Mu Shi'an looked around the workshop once more.
“You're quite clever. You even knew to leave some open space.”
“I had already considered the possibility that the workshop would need to expand, so I chose this relatively spacious plot of land,” Song Nianchu replied.
“I've agreed to your previous proposal. I'll provide the funds to help expand your workshop, and we'll bring its scale up to that of a factory in the city. I'll also invest in purchasing the most advanced equipment. When the time comes, we'll turn this into the largest cannery in Qinghe County,” Xiang Tianyi said, each word deliberate.
“You're planning to invest that much?” Song Nianchu was slightly taken aback.
Matching the scale of a city factory would require a considerable investment.
Could he be planning to ask for a larger share of the company?
Just as Song Nianchu was about to speak, Xiang Tianyi seemed to have already guessed what she was thinking and spoke first.
“Don't look at me like that. If I'm increasing my investment, I'll naturally have to gain some additional benefits elsewhere.”
“Go ahead and name your conditions. As long as you don't increase your share, everything else is negotiable.” Song Nianchu smiled.
“Once the factory is established, I'll be responsible for recruiting the workers. I'll also take full responsibility for the cafeteria, and its profits and losses will be handled independently of the factory and kept off the factory's books,” Xiang Tianyi said, laying out his conditions.
The moment Song Nianchu heard this, she knew he would never increase his investment for nothing. So this was what he had been waiting for.
At present, the factory would be collective property, and jobs were in extremely high demand. Some people were even willing to empty their entire savings to secure a position as a worker.
This amounted to a form of underground industry. Many factories engaged in such behind-the-scenes dealings. As long as things did not go too far, the authorities generally turned a blind eye.
Then there was the cafeteria. In most factories, the cafeteria was free and considered one of the factory's employee benefits.
But Xiang Tianyi clearly intended to operate it independently and turn it into a restaurant.
“Manager Xiang, as far as recruitment goes, I can only agree to let you handle seventy percent of the general labor positions. I'll be responsible for the remaining thirty percent. As for the factory's senior management, every appointment must be reviewed and approved by both of us. And I want to reserve the position of factory director in advance,” Song Nianchu said after thinking it over.
Seventy percent?
Xiang Tianyi narrowed his dark eyes.
“You know there are still so many villagers in our brigade. Since the factory is going to be built here, we have to reserve some positions for the people from our brigade,” Song Nianchu explained.
“Fine. I can agree to that.” Xiang Tianyi nodded.
He had never expected Song Nianchu to hand over complete control of recruitment to him in the first place.
Seventy percent already showed considerable sincerity on her part. He was not the sort of person to haggle over every little thing.
“As for the cafeteria, cafeterias at other factories are free. If we separate ours from the factory and let you manage it, you'll charge for the meals, won't you?” Song Nianchu asked.
“Yes.”
“But if the cafeteria charges for meals, the workers' benefits will be significantly reduced, and that could cause dissatisfaction. Besides, an independently operated, fee-based cafeteria may not pass the approval process, right?” Song Nianchu probed.
After all, this was not like later generations, when the economy would be more liberalized. At present, everything had to be approved by the relevant authorities.
For example, once they finalized the details of the factory expansion, they would still have to submit a report to the authorities. Only after receiving approval could they officially begin construction.
“You don't need to worry about those matters. I'll take care of them. As for the fees, that's up to you. If you want to protect the workers' rights, you can pay the cost out of your share of the profits. If you can't bear to spend that money, you can also deduct a portion of the employees' wages each month and issue them meal tickets. It's your decision. I only care about the outcome,” Xiang Tianyi said, his thin lips parting slightly.