Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 358 Never change your original intention
Harbin is a magical city; for example, in many statistics, Harbin does not rank among the top cities in the country.

But there is one thing that has consistently held the top spot for years.

The average annual beer consumption per person has reached 80 liters, and that's even including the elderly, children, and women.

Harbin, a city that particularly loves beer.
Premium beer accounts for 13.7% of the total, but this is the percentage by volume, not the percentage by sales revenue, which may be closer to 30%.

Yueda Catering's craft beer business took the lion's share of this.

The remaining bottled imported beers, even bundled together, don't have as high a market share as Yueda.

Since expanding throughout Harbin, and with the rapid capacity replenishment of the craft brewery, the daily supply of craft beer has increased from 2 liters/day at the initial single facility to 10 liters/day.

With the expansion of scale, the use of semi-automatic equipment developed by Xu Xuejun, and the adoption of standardized replication, the brewing cost has been reduced significantly compared to the beginning. However, Yueda did not increase its profits as a result. Instead, it lowered its prices to increase its market share. The gross profit per liter of craft beer has always been controlled at around 10 yuan (the selling price is between 13 and 17 yuan).

This means that if we ignore the negligible bad debt rate, millions of dollars in cash are being pocketed every day, and this has been going on for several months.

And with the arrival of the summer peak season, prices have even increased.

The son of the former deputy district head of Daoli District, now known as "Gao Cheng" who is extremely skilled at using a sewing machine, wants to take control of Yueda Catering because of its terrifying profitability.

Even a casual calculation would show a profit of over 100 million a year, but in reality, he was underestimating the potential.

Even excluding the investment in craft brewery equipment, the construction costs of branch facilities, and salaries and benefits that are higher than the market average, the beverage business is still incredibly profitable.

Wu Yue closed his eyes, recalled the details of the accounts, and said:
"Of course, we can't divide all of this 110 million. It's not like the company is going to shut down. We'll be expanding to other cities in the second half of the year. But it's mid-year, so we should do a year-end review and motivate our employees."

"There are only two of us as shareholders. Let's discuss it over the phone first. I think we should allocate 6000 million yuan to the shareholders, management, and ordinary employees. We also want to restructure the salary structure for B-level employees."

Zhai Da relaxed considerably, leaned back, and laughed, "Will it affect the company's cash flow?"

Wu Yue shook his head: "Not at all, there's still 50 million left! But you know our company's style and original philosophy, so this 60 million can't be split between the two of us. Based on last year's ratio, I think we should each take 20 million, A-level employees will take 10 million, and the remaining 10 million will be the mid-year bonus for ordinary employees."

“If 2000 million isn’t enough for you, I can lend it to you interest-free, so you’ll have around 4000 million, which should be enough for your research institute to run for a long time.”

Zhai Da didn't refuse, but mentally estimated, "No need to lend me money, 2000 million is enough, even if it's 2000 million before tax."

The research institute is his sole proprietorship. He can channel money into the research institute through business transactions, which is a legitimate way to avoid taxes and will result in a very low tax burden.

Excluding the expensive press conferences, the research institute's fixed monthly expenses are around 150 million yuan, almost all of which is invested in research and development, and he doesn't have all the funds left.

Beyond that, the only additional expenses, besides a few final payments, are for the promotional video.
The change in his savings wasn't exactly a pressing issue, but this extra dose of good milk certainly put his mind at ease.

He crossed his legs and said, "Then tell me about your so-called salary structure adjustment."

In an office in a building in Shenzhen, Wu Yue twirled a string of walnuts in his hand and slowly said:

"Yueda's salary and benefits have always been above the market average, but this 'above the market average' is largely reflected in social security benefits."

Yes, as long as social security contributions are paid in full, it already beats many companies, especially for low-end jobs.

"In terms of take-home pay, it's only about 20% higher than the market average for the same position. Although we split the profits at the end of last year, the number of employees has tripled. Many excellent employees only receive one salary."

"Actually, when I was reconciling accounts with Accountant Wang a while ago, I felt that with such a high profit margin, we could have increased the basic salaries of our employees. To put it bluntly, personnel expenses only account for a small part of the profit from the beverage business. I also consulted with Mr. Yu Donglai a while ago. We have been in contact and exchanging ideas on corporate management."

Wu Yue subconsciously stood up and looked at the skyscrapers of Shenzhen.

This city is far more prosperous than Harbin, and many opportunities are hidden within it. Every day you can hear about who has made a lot of money, and of course, who has gone bankrupt and run away.

During this trip, he also met all sorts of bosses: some were gentle and refined, some were ruthless and exploitative, and some were even younger than him but had quite a large business.

This vibrant city owes its existence to one word: reform and opening up.

A small fishing village thus rose to prominence.

Wu Yue really likes this place. If he hadn't stayed in Harbin, he originally planned to come here to take a look.

Perhaps the story will be different then. "As for me, I've probably had it too easy so far. My ambition hasn't faded, and my original intention hasn't changed. I said at the beginning that I would lead everyone to get rich first and then get rich together, and continue the utopian spirit. If I lose money, I can wake myself up. But I haven't lost money, so I can persist for a few more years."

"So this time I want to optimize the salary structure. On the basis of a significant increase in the regular salary, I will introduce an additional assessment system, including cultural further education and professional skills."

"Not everyone will receive it, and it will take some time to improve oneself, but ultimately the theoretical take-home pay for all employees below Grade A will be increased by at least [amount missing]."

Wu Yue quoted a number: "200%"

Zhai Da pondered for a moment; he had a general idea of ​​the salaries of ordinary employees at Yueda:

"This means that even the most ordinary cleaning lady in the company can earn 4000 yuan a month, which is equivalent to the level of a mid-level civil servant in Harbin, while ordinary laborers can earn more than 6,000 yuan, reaching the salary level of a middle-level white-collar worker in a first-tier city, plus the already excessive bonuses."

Wu Yue grinned: "What? Aren't they worth it?"

Zhai Da also grinned: "Is it worth it? Who gets to decide?"

"We have the final say."

"That's really cool, bro."

Ultimately, the underlying logic of this approach is not about "how much a person is worth" or "how much loyalty is worth".

Instead, it's about "how much money the company makes".

If you earn more, you should increase the income of your employees, especially those at the grassroots level, so that everyone can share in the benefits of the company's development.

Instead of maintaining a level where one is neither starving nor able to escape, but unable to pursue personal happiness.

Some people say that personal happiness is a personal matter, or at most a social matter, so what does it have to do with businesses? What does it have to do with bosses?
However, some people say that businesses are part of society, and so are business owners.

Over the decades, the power of development has permeated every aspect of life, so the fruits of development should also fall into every household.

It depends on what kind of person you want to be and how much you are willing to sacrifice for your ideals.

The boy who once received a share of the fruits in that courtyard has gradually grown up to the point where he can decide the happiness of others.

In fact, Zhai Da and Wu Yue have always done this, but whenever their careers, or rather, the amount of money involved, rises to a new level.

It is a test of our original aspirations, and also a test of our humanity.

Perhaps neither of them realized that, besides idealism, there was something else that supported them in making the same decisions every time.

That is "self-confidence".

This is the second salary reform for Yue Da Catering, and a further practice of the utopian spirit.

This marks a new chapter for all employees.

High salaries and multiple assessments will also motivate employees to continuously improve themselves. This improvement is not only reflected in the intensity and duration of work, but also in guiding everyone to break through the boundaries of their abilities and qualities.

For example, encouraging people to take certification exams, learn, and use computers.

Perhaps in the future, it will be prohibited to accept betrothal gifts.
Wu Yue said slowly, "If this attempt works, and the company can stabilize, or even further improve efficiency, then we'll see what the next step is."

"In my twenties, if I lose money, I lose money. I'll just consider it paying for my dreams."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "My research institute also plans to do the same in the future, but we need to tighten our belts for now. However, this is not about paying for dreams."

"what is that?"

"Invest in ideas."

(End of this chapter)