Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

"First up is this brown sugar yogurt."

Li Chenfeng remembered it clearly: when the two arrived at the office, he picked up a pen and paper and started writing.

"Brown sugar, hehe, Li Hu negotiated with them, it's only 90 cents a pound, but they require us to buy in 200 pounds or more, so we saved quite a bit."

Shen Dong knew the price of brown sugar; he had bought some when he visited Shen Lan before. Even at a fair price, it cost one yuan per jin (500 grams). It seemed that Li Hu had really managed the relationship well.

I didn't expect this arrangement to work so well.

Li Chenfeng, unaware of Shen Dong's thoughts, continued writing: "The cost of 120 jin of milk is 24 yuan. Every 10 jin of milk requires 6 liang of brown sugar, so 120 jin would require 7.2 jin of brown sugar, costing 6.5 yuan. When spread across each can, the cost is just over 1 mao, which is much cheaper than traditional yogurt."

(Note: One can is approximately 400ml, which is about 400g. One pound of milk can make 2.5 cans.)

Shen Dong took the paper and looked at it carefully. Since the dairy factory got on track, the daily milk purchase volume has been increasing, and the cost of the old-fashioned yogurt has dropped to less than two cents. So it seems that the profit margin of brown sugar yogurt is quite high.

"How much did you buy it for at the supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Three cents a can." Seeing Shen Dong's surprise, he added an explanation: "It's almost Chinese New Year, and brown sugar is in short supply at this time. When combined with yogurt, the price can be a bit higher."

Shen Dong understood; it meant the price would drop after the New Year, but it would still be more profitable than traditional yogurt.

"Okay, I understand. What about the date paste yogurt?" Shen Dong said, handing the paper over again.

"We only made 100 jars of jujube paste, but I heard it sold out quickly today. I guess we'll make more later," Li Chenfeng complained, still unhappy that his carefully developed product sold out but the production volume was too small.

"Dates are cheap, and the production team has them all, so they're very cheap to buy. They can be bought for 12 cents a pound. 100 cans only need 40 pounds of milk. For every 10 pounds of milk, you need to crush 1.5 pounds of dates and add just a little bit of white sugar. So the cost per can is less than 10 cents."

"So low? You didn't miscalculate, did you?" Shen Dong exclaimed in surprise.

"You're right. Dates are so cheap right now. Date paste yogurt isn't popular yet, so the purchase price is very low."

"I specifically sent someone to collect them from the production team. I heard that some factories were paying to buy them, and the brigade leader was practically giving them away for free. It was only because I told him not to go too low and to leave some money for the team that we negotiated a price of 12 cents."

Li Chenfeng explained that he knew how hard life was in the countryside, and he also knew that as long as he went to buy the produce, the villagers would definitely scramble to sell it.

But he was unwilling to do that. If it could help everyone, he would still be willing.

"Once the reputation of the jujube paste yogurt improves, the purchase price will definitely rise. However, I have already purchased several hundred kilograms in advance, which will give me plenty of time."

Li Chenfeng added a reminder.

"What about the price offered to the supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Two cents and sixty cents."

"Well done. I heard about it a while ago. The two flavors of yogurt became an instant hit. I've already sent Li Hu to negotiate. Once he gets back, you can adjust tomorrow's production plan based on the information he brings back."

Shen Dong was very happy. Firstly, it was just two flavors of yogurt, with only some changes, but the profits were considerable. Secondly, he was very satisfied with the performance of Li Chenfeng and the others.

Li Chenfeng caught Yang Yujun's eye with his knowledge that surpassed the current level, and now he has changed Shen Dong's impression of him again with his own initiative.

"These two are enough before the New Year. We can work on the other flavors after the New Year when we have time."

"Also, we can't just focus on research; we also need to oversee the group's work. Traditional yogurt has the mildest flavor and is our foundation; we can't afford to make any more mistakes."

Shen Dong gave Li Chenfeng a few words of advice, fearing that Li Chenfeng might neglect the fundamentals because of short-term success and become obsessed with developing new flavors, which would be putting the cart before the horse.

"I know, factory manager. It's a gradual process. Once we get the brown sugar and jujube paste flavors right, we'll be very satisfied."

Seeing that Li Chenfeng remained calm and composed, he was quite satisfied. "Alright, go ahead. You've worked hard these past two days. I'll give everyone a bonus for the New Year."

"Yes!" Li Chenfeng responded emphatically and happily went down the stairs.

Soon, just in time for lunch, Li Hu returned.

Shen Dong and he ate and chatted together.

"Everything is agreed upon. Our supply and marketing cooperative produces 900 cans of yogurt a day, and he requested 400 cans of traditional yogurt, 300 cans of brown sugar yogurt, and 200 cans of jujube paste yogurt."

"Then the county ordered 1000 cans, requiring 300 cans of traditional yogurt, 400 cans of brown sugar yogurt, and 300 cans of jujube paste yogurt."

Li Hu took a sip of milk, frowned, and said, "Factory manager, this milk is becoming a source of pressure."

"What do you mean?" Shen Dong asked, puzzled.

"We make 40 jin of milk skin every day, which yields 360 jin of fresh milk for everyone to drink. There are only 22 of us, and each of us is responsible for more than ten jin of milk every day."

"At first, everyone was quite happy. They could drink it with their lunch and even take it home in cans. But after a while, they couldn't stand it anymore. Take Team Leader Li for example. He lives with his parents, and the three of them drink milk like water every day. That's how they managed to finish more than ten kilograms of it."

"You said again that everyone needs the same amount, and he wouldn't dare share the milk with others. It's fine for a day or two, but who can stand drinking like that every day? Just tell me, isn't that a lot of pressure?"

After rambling on and on, Li Hu took another sip of his drink.

"Look at you guys, so capable. You've only had a few good days, and you're already talking about pressure..." Shen Dong said sarcastically. However, he also knew that low-fat milk did taste worse. Even though it was now made from the highest quality milk, it was really not good to drink it every day.

"Okay, tell everyone later that if there are fewer people and they can't finish the milk, they can give it to larger families, but there's one principle: the milk must be consumed by family members, and no one can profit from it privately."

"Okay, no problem."

Distracted by Li Hu, Shen Dong almost forgot about the important matter, so he quickly urged Li Hu to continue.

"That's all. I haven't been to the other communes yet, but I don't plan to. I'll just use the county's standards and give them to them directly. You don't know, they want everything because there's simply not enough to go around."

After finishing his meal and listening to Li Hu's words, Shen Dong waved his hand and said, "You continue eating, I'm leaving."

When it was time to leave work, Shen Dong suddenly remembered that he needed to talk to Li Chenfeng again about tomorrow's production plan. He couldn't afford to delay things if Li Hu hadn't told him or contacted him.

"Master Hu, it's after get off work, why are you still busy?"

Hu Weidong was still writing and drawing when Shen Dong went over to say hello.

"Let's leave right away and wrap things up."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work. I'm looking for Li Chenfeng. He's gone, right?"

"Chenfeng, factory manager, you should look for him. This kid has been leaving right on time late lately. He was busy making the new yogurt a couple of days ago and left late, but he's already left today."

As Hu Weidong spoke, he suddenly laughed. The old master craftsman's face suddenly showed a gossipy expression: "Factory manager, I heard that Chenfeng is dating a girl."