At Wangyue Tower, by the time Yu Zhou arrived, Song Qing and his wife had already finalized all arrangements.
Everything from ordering food and drinks to other matters was perfectly set up by them.
It was no wonder these two women were so capable when it came to getting things done, never dropping the ball.
Especially his wife, who, despite her dislike for such social gatherings, had still managed everything meticulously, saving Yu Zhou a great deal of worry.
After all, the people Song Qing had contacted had also helped with many tasks, so it wouldn't be right to let Song Qing handle the entire meal by herself.
In this situation, Yu Zhou was the one in charge. Even if he were to offer Song Qing some collaboration opportunities later, this matter was his own, and there was no reason to delegate on this point.
Around five in the evening, several people, whose attire and demeanor clearly indicated their status, entered the private room.
Then, Song Qing began introducing them one by one to Yu Zhou.
Among them was a deputy section chief in charge of the city's asset sales, several already wealthy businessmen, and officials from asset management departments.
They showed no signs of arrogance, treating it as if it were a gathering of old friends.
This was not difficult to understand. After all, Yu Zhou himself, at this point, might not be anything significant, merely someone who wanted a piece of the pie.
In reality, he wouldn't even register in these people's eyes.
However, the difference was that he had a terrifyingly powerful force behind him.
Even though Qin Siyue wasn't present this time, neither the businessmen nor the deputy section chief could completely disregard her potential influence.
Without Qin Siyue, it would have been nearly impossible for Yu Zhou to "reap benefits."
But with Qin Siyue backing him, the outcome was entirely different.
As long as Yu Zhou wasn't trying to devour an excessively large portion, many would still feel compelled to grant him face.
This was why they hadn't refused Yu Zhou's invitation for dinner.
Otherwise, even with Song Qing's connection, their response would likely have been different.
After all, Song Qing had genuinely secured a significant portion of the reform cake.
A single "Tailong Light Industry" was already considered a substantial piece of the pie in many people's eyes.
"The issue with the factories isn't really the problem; finding a suitable one is difficult."
"After all, the beverage and alcohol sector is indeed challenging."
"Moreover, even if a factory could be found, with so few beverage workers in our city, finding a suitable workforce would be extremely difficult."
The deputy director frowned, taking a drink, and finally broached the main topic.
Before this, everyone had merely been making small talk. Now that the pleasantries were over, it was time to discuss business.
After all, with Song Qing as the introducer, and Yu Zhou having a partner with an even greater background, it was impossible not to offer some consideration. Factories were undergoing reform anyway.
The cake was only so big, and while these key figures might not be able to decide who got what arbitrarily, they could certainly make decisions regarding the reform of factories worth hundreds of thousands.
Indeed, enterprise reform had become the top priority in the entire market.
Not only were lagging factories affected, but even those that were still profitable faced tasks of streamlining and cost reduction.
This was the overall trend; no one could stop or change it.
"No beverage factories?"
If it were before, Yu Zhou might not have believed it.
However, given that these people weren't rivals and had no reason to lie, Yu Zhou began to ponder with a hint of surprise.
In his memory, Jiangbei truly lacked any large-scale beverage factories.
Not to mention large ones, even small beverage factories were rare; there were only breweries.
And in later developments, they hadn't fared particularly well.
In such a situation, it wasn't unusual to find no such enterprises during the widespread reforms.
Could it be that he had to give up the beverage industry?
Thinking this, Yu Zhou began to feel conflicted.
In his previous life, he had worked in the beverage industry and was well aware of its operational dynamics.
He believed that developing a well-known beverage brand wouldn't be too difficult if he pursued it.
Perhaps it wouldn't reach the level of top beverage brands, but making money and achieving significant growth was still possible.
It was precisely for this reason that Yu Zhou had wholeheartedly chosen the beverage industry.
However, Jiangbei currently lacked the environment for such enterprises.
This situation was quite distressing.
As Qin Siyue had mentioned before, simply buying land and building a factory wouldn't solve the problem.
While new workers might be easy to find, skilled workers were hard to come by in this era, especially for a private enterprise.
"Must I really give up?"
A hint of seriousness appeared on Yu Zhou's face. For the moment, he couldn't think of a good solution.
Giving up felt regrettable, but if he didn't, he truly had no way to resolve the issue of skilled labor.
This was incredibly frustrating.
"I have a suggestion, but I don't know if you'll accept it."
Song Qing, who had been silent for a while, spoke up at this moment. She had been quietly listening to their conversation without expressing her opinion.
However, seeing Yu Zhou's growing distress and changing expression, she couldn't help but speak.
Logically, she didn't want to say too much or interfere in Yu Zhou's business matters.
After all, their relationship wasn't so intimate that she could freely offer advice. Once Yu Zhou's business took off, she could voice any opinions then.
But speaking now might seem like overstepping her bounds.
"Please, tell me!"
Yu Zhou, however, wasn't thinking in that direction at all.
In his mind, when undertaking something, having another person's opinion was always better than racking his brain alone.
"Our city indeed lacks beverage factories, but we do have food processing plants."
"The processed food industry is doing quite well, and there are many skilled workers. Moreover, transitioning to beverages wouldn't be too difficult."
"Why don't you consider reforming a food processing plant? Furthermore, I heard there's an internal promotion meeting happening in a few days, and there's a food processing plant that is urgently in need of reform."
Song Qing spoke gradually,
which made Yu Zhou's eyes light up. Yes, these two industries were closely related.