Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 328 Theft
With no problems reported to the factory manager, Yan Hui then threw himself back into the construction work at the site.

The only good news right now is that the construction site won't be short of money until at least June. So Yan Hui doesn't have much pressure at this time. All he needs to do is keep an eye on the construction site, get the paperwork done, and save money as much as possible.

To save money, Yan Hui even wanted to buy a whole bag of screws himself.

Yan Hui got the lowest prices for almost all the bulk materials on the construction site, 5%-10% lower than the design plan. However, the design plan included relatively little budget for labor costs.

In short, Yan Hui felt that he would be content if the 482 million yuan could be used to build the house.

The cold wind still lingered in Jinan in early March. That noon, Yan Hui couldn't resist going back inside to rest for a while. When he got up, he found that it was already past lunchtime.

Yan Hui spent half the morning running around outside, and went to sleep when he got back at noon. He was very hungry when he woke up.

The temporary buildings on the construction site are all dormitories. Since there are more than 20 workers, Yan Hui can't afford to hire a chef here. He entrusts nearby stalls to deliver food to them, and the food is decent.

In the morning, there are fried dough sticks, soy milk, and tofu pudding. Lunch and dinner also have some oily food. The daily food expenses for the workers alone amount to about 400 yuan.

There's a service area near the highway. Back then, service areas didn't have any fences; there were areas outside where you could drive right up. So, besides serving drivers, the service area also catered to nearby villagers, who would set up stalls there to do business.

Yan Hui didn't drive; he walked a few hundred meters to the service area, looked around, and found a self-service restaurant there.

The buffet restaurant was quite crowded. Yan Hui inquired at the entrance and heard that the restaurant was 15 yuan per person and also served braised pork. The price was really reasonable. Some of the people eating there didn't even look like drivers.

"15 yuan per person, no extra fees, right?" Yan Hui asked.

"It's not 15, you've misread it, it's 25 per person. Who told you it's 15 yuan per person?" The waiter looked behind Yan Hui, his expression slightly serious.

"Huh? 25?" Yan Hui felt that this was inappropriate. Pork costs 5 yuan per jin (500g), so 25 yuan could buy 5 jin of pork.

Yan Hui was originally followed by two people, but when they heard it was 25 yuan per person, they shook their heads and chose to leave.

Yan Hui was also thinking of leaving, but the waiter immediately called out to him, "Brother, are you a local?"

"I work at the construction site next door, so I'm considered a local, right?" Yan Hui countered.

"Yes, definitely. Let me tell you, it's 15 yuan per person for locals here, but it's 25 yuan for drivers. Next time you come, don't mention 15 yuan, just pay 15 yuan." the waiter said.

"You don't clearly display the prices here?" Yan Hui didn't expect this store to discriminate against customers.

"It's clearly stated! Here, take this." The waiter handed Yan Hui a flyer. It did indeed say 15 yuan per person, more than twenty dishes, no extra charges, and welcome everyone to come and try it, etc.

The printing quality of this paper is very poor, but it still has some effect in the surrounding residential area. Most of the people who come to eat here now are locals, and it looks quite lively.

Yan Hui folded the paper and put it in his pocket, then immediately found the braised pork section, filled a bowl, and got some more rice and vegetables before enjoying his meal. Fifteen yuan a meal wasn't cheap, but it wasn't expensive either, and Yan Hui was quite satisfied. He was very busy every day and had a large appetite, plus the construction site meals he ate daily weren't very oily, so he still wasn't satisfied after finishing his meal. He got another half bowl of meat and ate it with great relish.

At this moment, the restaurant owner merely glanced at him but said nothing.

After eating his fill, Yan Hui felt energized and quickly returned to the construction site, where he immediately got to work.

Building an industrial plant is much easier than constructing a house. Once the foundation is laid, a large amount of steel structure will be used, and construction can be completed in just a few months. According to the plan, it will be completed around July this year.

Once the construction site is completed, including the money earned from plywood, Yan Hui should still have around 200 million yuan left. Buying equipment would be a stretch, and if you factor in employee wages, promotion costs, brand registration costs, raw material costs, and so on, it's basically a dead end.

So now that the patent has been published and the laboratory has production capacity, we're just waiting for the relevant licenses to be issued before we need to consider sales. However, the licenses require the factory to be built, the equipment to be installed, and the relevant departments to inspect and approve the products before we can start selling them.

Polyurethane is not all classified as a hazardous chemical, but the isocyanates used in its production are toxic and irritating chemicals, and many related materials are flammable. Therefore, this production process requires strict approval.

Yan Hui had considered producing a batch of goods in the lab first, and then selling them directly once everything was ready. However, after careful calculations, he realized this wouldn't work. He already lacked sufficient funds and couldn't afford to start stockpiling inventory now.

The only solution is to mortgage the factory after it's built. If we can get 150 million yuan in collateral, everything will be solved. But if we only get 100 million yuan, the pressure will still be quite high.

To save money as much as possible, Yan Hui slept on the construction site every day and traveled between the construction site and various units, fearing that something might happen.

His margin for error is quite low now; he absolutely cannot afford any accidents. Fortunately, Liu Jianlei is indeed reliable; he works diligently every day and is an expert in ensuring production and construction safety.

Yan Hui has made a decision: once the factory is officially built, Liu Jianlei will be in charge of production safety.

Yan Hui ate too much at noon, so he wasn't hungry by evening. He was delayed a little and ended up not eating dinner.

That night, he stayed up late doing calculations. He had just fallen asleep when he suddenly heard Lingling call. Lingling rarely did this, so Yan Hui was startled awake. He immediately dressed, grabbed a flashlight, and ran outside.

When they arrived at the construction site, Yan Hui spotted several suspicious-looking people in the distance. Lingling immediately rushed over, and Yan Hui also ran over shouting.

"Get up! Get up! Someone's trying to steal something! Turn on all the lights!" Yan Hui shouted over and over again, and then he saw several thieves running away in one direction.

He rushed after it, but stopped after running twenty or thirty meters.

Most of the equipment placed outdoors is large-scale, and unless it is secretly driven away, the stolen materials are not worth much.

These people ran away, and Liu Jianlei and three or four others also ran over. After checking, they found that the hood of a cement mixer truck had been opened and the door had been pried open!
Seeing this, Yan Hui broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Lingling and patted her head.

(End of this chapter)