North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 28 Another Big Bucket of Gold

"Are you eager to know how much money we have made in the past half month?"

Daisy was a little naughty and winked at everyone.

"Dear little Daisy, you've been following Li and Vivian, and I didn't expect you to learn bad things!"

Jason said impatiently, "Little Daisy, tell your Uncle Jason how much money we made."

Daisy smiled and flipped open the account book, reading, "From the time Huamei Company was officially established, it's been exactly twenty days. Excluding the seven days of trial production, there were only thirteen days of full-scale production and sales."

"In the past twenty days, we have produced a total of 24,700 pairs of jeans and 183 sets of Eden Cottages."

"In the thirteen days since the sale started, we've sold over 11,000 pairs of jeans and all 183 Eden Cottages!"

"The jeans sold for a total of $13,300. Of the Eden Cottages sold, 40% were paid in full, totaling $18,980. The remaining 60% were paid in installments, totaling $8,720.

"So, the total value of the spot goods we sold was $41,000!"

"Little...little Daisy...how much did you say? Forty-one thousand dollars...don't scare us!"

"Wow! Forty-one thousand dollars, and it's only been sold for thirteen days, that's a lot!!!"

Vivian covered her mouth and exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well done!" Jason and Vic, one on each side, patted A-Zu's thin shoulders heavily and said excitedly, "Hahaha! Li, following you, we can really make a fortune! You are the God of Wealth from the East!"

"Haha!" Daisy also laughed happily: "Don't be impatient! I haven't finished yet!"

"Ah? What else?"

"Have you forgotten? We've received a lot of down payment reservations for our Eden Cottage!"

"Yes, yes, there's still reservation money! Little Daisy, how many units of our Eden Cottage have been reserved?"

Daisy flipped to the next page in the account book. "We've received reservations for 275 Eden Cottages, each at $80... a total of $22,000!"

A Zu continued, "That means we earned a total of $63,000!"

"Oh My God!"

An even louder scream erupted from Vivian's covered mouth!

"Li, you...how much did you say? I...how much did we earn in total?"

"Sixty-three thousand dollars!" A-Zu looked at Jason calmly: "Is it a lot? This is just income, not profit!"

Daisy nodded. "Yes, sixty-three thousand dollars. If you include the six thousand five hundred dollars from the auction of the license to produce the foot-operated sewing machine, that's sixty-nine thousand five hundred dollars!"

A Zu said to Daisy, "Go on, tell me how much money we spent in total?"

Daisy nodded and continued flipping through the account book. "In the first twenty days since the company was founded, we have 281 employees, with weekly salaries totaling $8,440. Equipment, raw materials, and maintenance costs total $5,600. Transportation, logistics, and other expenses total $1,300."

"That's...!" Zu quickly calculated in his head: "Fifteen thousand three hundred and forty dollars."

Daisy nodded: "Revenue minus expenses, we made a total of $54,160!" "You can't calculate it that way!" A Zu shook his head: "Jason and Mr. Vic's liabilities must be included in the cost. These are debts that the company must repay!"

A Zu continued, "In about twenty days, we'll have to repay $25,000! After deducting this amount, we'll actually make a profit of... $29,160!"

"hiss……!"

Everyone gasped in surprise: "In just twenty days, after deducting the debts that must be repaid, we can still earn so much?"

A Zu smiled calmly, "Those old wood and canvas were basically free for us! Once these main raw materials are used up, it won't be so easy to make money anymore!"

"Besides, San Francisco is too small. I estimate that in a month or so, the market for jeans and prefabricated houses will be basically saturated, and it will be difficult to sell them by then."

"We must sell our products to all of California as soon as possible, with a focus on Sacramento in the east, San Jose in the south, and Los Angeles!"

“To sell to these cities, we need ships, and local distributors in other cities!”

Jason scratched his bald head and replied, "The ship is easy! We don't need ocean-going vessels to go to the surrounding cities. We can build them in our own shipyard!"

"So, how long does it take to build a two or three hundred ton offshore galleon?" asked A Zu.

"In the past, it took my shipyard about ten months to build a galleon. Now we have steam-powered saws and milling machines, so we can easily finish it in half a year! If we have enough manpower and work overtime, we can even build it in three or four months."

A Zu shook his head: "Three or four months, that's too late! Well, let's build and buy at the same time!"

"Lee, what do you mean...?"

"First, we'll buy a second-hand ship as an emergency measure, run routes to surrounding cities, and ship our products out."

"Since we can build them ourselves, it would be a waste to leave the dock empty. Of course, we have to build them ourselves. In the future, one or two ships will definitely not be enough."

As he spoke, A-Zu looked at Vic and said, "Captain, I'll leave the matter of buying a ship to you. You have the most experience in buying second-hand ships."

Vic couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Lee, you know that bad luck has always been around me. Are you really confident that I can buy a second-hand boat again?"

"No matter how unlucky you are, your luck will definitely improve after you meet me!" A-Zu continued, "The second-hand boat you buy must be in good condition, even if it's a little expensive."

Vic nodded. "A second-hand galleon or a second-hand inland paddle steamer wouldn't cost more than five or six thousand dollars."

A Zu turned and stared at Jason and said, "The shipbuilding will be left to Mr. Jason. There's no need to rush it, but the quality must be guaranteed."

"Don't worry, Li!" Jason patted his chest and said, "My shipyard can build a 300-foot ocean-going clipper. A small offshore galleon is no problem at all. Leave it to my foremen and they can handle it."

A Zu asked, "You don't even have to personally build the ship?"

Vic laughed and scolded, "He made his fortune on gold mining, and he knows nothing about shipbuilding. He relies on his foremen and experienced craftsmen!"

"You damned Prussian, you're slandering me! Li, he's slandering me!"

Ah Zu smiled and said, "Forget it. I should have thought of it earlier. Since you are not needed in shipbuilding, when I have time, you can accompany me to walk up the river and check it out!"

Jason was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Li, are you finally ready to strike gold?"

(End of this chapter)