Since cooperation with others was unsuccessful for the moment, Zhang Liunian had no choice but to have the village factory expand again.
However, before returning to the village, he specifically went to the South City bicycle shop and picked out two women's bicycles, placing them in the car and covering them with a cloth.
"Let's go, we're heading back to the village."
Zhang Liunian called Du Ziteng to get in the car, and they first went to Zhangjia Village to take care of some matters.
He had quite a few things to do on this return trip: first, to retrieve the more than one million yuan left in the house; second, to have Zhang Shan expand the factory; and third, to find someone to help him collect grain.
At the same time, the people of Zhangjia Village were sitting and chatting under the maple tree at the head of the village.
"The grain has finally been harvested this year, and the weather will soon turn cold."
"Heaven is providing for us. We've had good weather here this year, so everyone has surplus grain. After paying the public grain, we'll have quite a bit left!"
"Yes, shall we all take it to the county town to sell for the New Year?"
"Sure. Last year we sold it for eleven cents a jin. This year it might drop by a cent."
"It's going to drop again? Then we might as well keep it. We don't lack money now anyway. Just say my son and daughter-in-law both got jobs in Liunian's factory, and they earn five hundred yuan a month. By New Year's, they'll have earned two thousand. Whether we sell the grain or not is irrelevant."
"Who's not saying that? My family, except for me, this old woman, and a few grandchildren, everyone else has entered the factory. Even Wu Shuicao, who used to be at odds with Liunian, was hired into the village yesterday. Now, except for us old folks, almost everyone in our village has entered the factory."
"I heard the factory already has over a thousand people, paying tens of thousands in wages a month. Liunian's business is really growing bigger and bigger."
"Who isn't saying that? If it weren't for Liunian, our lives would still be hard."
"I plan to make old-fashioned cakes this year. I'll send some to Liunian later."
"I'm good at making preserved vegetables. I'll send him preserved vegetable pork belly then."
"..."
As they were talking, these elderly ladies and gentlemen suddenly saw a pickup truck drive past them.
Everyone fell silent for a moment, then started talking excitedly.
"Whose car just drove past? No one in our village has a car, do they?"
"Who says so? Liunian has a big truck, doesn't he?"
"I think I just saw Liunian. That might be his car."
"Let's go see, then we'll know who it is."
"..."
As soon as Zhang Liunian drove his car to his doorstep, it caused an immediate sensation, with everyone eagerly following the pickup truck.
When Zhang Liunian got out of the car, there was another uproar from the crowd.
"Liunian, you're back. Is this car yours?"
"Liunian, you bought a car! That's great!"
"Liunian, does this car ride well? Can I touch it? I've never touched one before!"
"Go away, go away! Do you think this car is your wife that you want to touch?"
"Hahaha..."
The crowd burst into laughter as they spoke. Zhang Liunian smiled at everyone and, after they finished laughing, said, "This car is mine. Everyone can touch it as much as they want before I leave, as long as you don't make it undrivable."
Zhang Liunian's words made everyone laugh heartily.
"We definitely won't touch your car and break it."
"Liunian, you can rest assured!"
"Exactly! We know how to handle things with care, we definitely won't damage it."
"We'll also watch the children, don't you worry."
"..."
Seeing the villagers' warmth, Zhang Liunian chatted and joked with them for a while longer before heading to the factory.
"Uncle Shan, the inventory you sent to the store was sold out in a single day. It seems the factory still needs to increase its workforce. As for the equipment, I'll have someone deliver it. You just focus on hiring people. How much of the fifty thousand yuan I gave you last time is left?"
Zhang Liunian sat in the office for a face-to-face discussion with Zhang Shan.
"Sold out in a day? That was our total production for two days. I still have more than half the money, so I don't need it for now."
Zhang Shan's eyes widened in disbelief. So much inventory sold out in a single day? They were truly not keeping up!
"Alright then, continue helping me hire people, and also arrange for the factory's expansion." Hearing that he still had money, Zhang Liunian felt relieved and planned to use that money to purchase rice.
Thinking of the rice, he mentioned it to Zhang Shan, "Uncle Shan, I'll be collecting rice this week. I'll buy as much as I can, at a price of two cents per jin, with on-the-spot weighing and immediate settlement. Anyone in the factory who wants to sell can bring their rice to my place within ten days."
"Collecting rice?" Zhang Shan was bewildered. What was this all about? They were doing fine with the pickled vegetable business, so why were they suddenly collecting rice?
Zhang Liunian did not explain. He gave a few more instructions and left the factory, leaving a confused Zhang Shan staring at the empty office, murmuring, "Collecting rice? What is this for?"
Zhang Shan couldn't figure out the reason for this move, but he still dutifully mentioned it to the employees.
When the factory employees heard about the two cents per jin, which was double the price from last year, they were all very happy and were considering selling their rice to Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian didn't have high expectations regarding whether people in the village would sell; his main target audience was outsiders.
"You want us to help you collect rice?" Zhang Hao and Zhang Laoshi exchanged glances and said the same thing in unison.
Zhang Liunian nodded seriously, "It's fine if you don't have time. You can let your family members help. I want Zhang Li to be responsible for driving and inspecting the grain. I'll teach him how to inspect it. Uncle Laoshi's younger two, Xiao Si and Xiao Wu, can help me with weighing and do some manual labor. Those who help me collect grain will get ten yuan a day and will be responsible for loading and unloading."
"But why? Why are you collecting rice when you're doing so well? And at such a high price. In previous years, it was good if we could sell it for ten cents. This year, heaven has provided for us, so the price is bound to drop by another cent or two. Aren't you losing money by doing this?"
Zhang Hao couldn't understand this the most. Why did Zhang Liunian suddenly start collecting rice? And at such a high price, what was he thinking?
Zhang Liunian smiled, "Because I need money and want to make money. I'm collecting rice because I know someone wants it, and I plan to collect it and sell it to that person, making a profit on the price difference."
Zhang Liunian was only revealing this to them because he considered them his own people. He wouldn't have told just anyone.
"You still need money? How much? Uncle can lend you some!" Upon hearing that Zhang Liunian needed money, Zhang Laoshi eagerly offered to help him.
Zhang Hao looked speechless, glancing strangely at Zhang Laoshi, thinking to himself, what good could your meager savings do?
Although they couldn't help much, Zhang Liunian was truly touched. "Thank you, uncles. I need quite a lot of money, millions kind of amount, so I have to find other ways to earn it."
"..." Zhang Hao was speechless.
"..." Zhang Laoshi was speechless, thinking he had overestimated his capacity and his perspective was too narrow. He had thought Zhang Liunian needed a few hundred yuan, not millions.
Millions! That was a number he could never even dream of in his lifetime; selling his entire family wouldn't earn that much.
"Heh, I was being presumptuous. Just pretend I didn't say anything just now." Zhang Laoshi was too embarrassed and could only awkwardly explain.