Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 912 Smashed

Xiaowei and Chen Hui arranged things at the company, said goodbye to Xiaohong and Chen Xiao, had dinner with the six people from the security department in the cafeteria, and then got in the car and set off.

This was the first time two Cadillacs had been driven together. Usually, Chen Hui would take turns driving them, worried that they might break down if left unused for too long. They were originally intended to be company vehicles, but they were only used once a few days ago to pick up provincial leaders for the opening ceremony. Otherwise, no one had ever used the cars.

It's quite intimidating to see two small military license plates traveling together in a nice car; my intuition tells me they must be high-ranking officials, probably military officers.

Chen Hui said, "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, how about we send some mooncakes to the military region? We've got to ask, after all, we're a unit that works in cooperation between the military and civilians."

Xiao Wei asked, "How much should we send? Can we afford it?"

Chen Hui said, "There aren't many people in the military region. It's not for all the soldiers in the entire military region. It's just for the people in the office. Let's get something good, about two pounds of mooncakes per person, and some apples and grapes too. That's the idea. It's just for two or three hundred people."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, you arrange it. I've never done these things before, so you handle it. If we're going to send some, get some from the provincial department too, and also from the power company and the construction department. Better to lose a whole bunch than a single one; it's not worth much money anyway."

Chen Hui said, "The Wanliu Police Station and the Jixian Police Station should handle this separately, so that everyone gets a share. Otherwise, we'll have someone else talk to us."

Xiao Wei said, "Can we order a mold? The military will get a five-pointed star, the power industry will get a lightning bolt or Northeast Power Industry logo, what will the Construction Department get? The police will get the words 'Public Security' on it, does that sound okay? It'll be easy to differentiate."

Chen Hui said, "Then why don't the military use the phrase 'deep affection between fish and water,' four characters with a five-pointed star in the middle? The public security bureau can write 'serving the people,' the power industry can write 'the lifeline of the nation,' and the construction bureau can write 'building the hometown,' what do you think?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, as long as it's different from the others, it's fine. It's obviously custom-made, that shows sincerity. How many regular mooncakes have been produced recently? I forgot to ask. I saw that the finished product warehouse on the first floor is piled up like a mountain. I wonder what Brother Xiaolong is thinking, whether he can sell them all."

Chen Hui said, "If we can't sell them all this year, we'll sell them next year. That's how factories always do it."

Xiao Wei said, "No way, I'd rather give them away. We shouldn't get involved in that kind of thing. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever, and things will be ruined if we don't. In a couple of days, let Aunt Mou organize a few people. We have so many connections from the police to the military, they'll surely share the mooncakes, right? Let's go and promote them."

Chen Hui said, "I will definitely buy, I buy every year. The key is that people already have established relationships with me. If you interfere, it will affect their income and offend them."

Xiao Wei said, "How did other people's relationships come about? They've had fixed relationships since ancient times, right? It's just those few state-owned factories, what's there to be afraid of? Besides, we're not going to wipe them out. What kind of stuff are we making, right? We just need to take down the leaders, we won't touch the lower levels, and we won't produce any of the 'green and red candy' stuff."

The mooncake fillings in the factory were brought over from eastern Guangdong by Han San: lotus seed paste, red bean paste, salted egg yolk, and various fruit fillings. Back in 92, these were truly high-end goods, and most people had never even seen them before. At that time, they were still making five-nut and candied fruit fillings.

By 92, it was no longer the era of giving away three years' worth of fruit for a box of fruit. Although it's not impossible that such things never happened, more and more families were actually buying food, and the material living standards of ordinary people had obviously improved.

Back then, who could afford to eat that? A box of fruit cakes (a type of steamed rice cake) cost several yuan. It was all given away as gifts. Fresh cakes would be delivered and turn into hard, green, moldy lumps, sometimes unopened. It wasn't uncommon for the things you gave away to return to you on the third New Year. Even the lids of canned food rusted.

Chen Hui said, "I think it'll be fine. I love both the flaky and soft crust ones, and my son loves them too. They're really delicious. It's just a bit expensive. Let's try it out this year and see how well it sells. Then we'll have a better idea of ​​what to expect next year."

Xiao Wei said, "Let's try to get all these connections. This is our first year of production, and next year we'll be relying on them for orders. Even if we don't make money from them, others will, right? After that, we'll send some to Heping, Shenhe, Dadong, Tiexi, and Huanggu districts, as well as to the city and province. Hmm, now that I think about it, I realize we have quite a wide network of connections."

All government agencies, public institutions, and enterprises distribute welfare benefits during holidays, and Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes are a must, which is a major business.

Chen Hui said, "What about Xidu and Bingcheng? And then there's Dalian Andong, Benxi, Longcheng Anshan, hahaha, all the municipal governments combined—I estimate our production this year won't be enough, do you believe me?"

Xiao Wei said, "Never mind all that. This year, we'll just focus on the leaders. As long as they eat it and remember it, we'll deliver it all."

Back then, Cantonese and Suzhou-style mooncakes hadn't yet influenced the North; they were still considered regional delicacies. The North only had hard-crusted mooncakes with candied fruit and five-nut filling. Only a few leaders or companies that frequently traveled for work would purchase small quantities of Southern mooncakes, and only a small group of people could enjoy them.

There are workshops in the countryside that bake Cantonese-style mooncakes, but the fillings are still mixed nuts and fried dough with candied fruit and vegetables.

Chen Hui said, "That's a good idea. We're opening shops everywhere, right? It'll make perfect gifts, very fitting for the occasion. Should we still buy the properties for these shops?"

Xiao Wei said, "In a city, we can just buy one or two prime locations to set up our main store, or maybe buy a small office building. We can rent the rest first, or rent instead of buying. Anyway, they're all government-owned properties, so let's negotiate."

In those days, it was no surprise that all the street-front houses and buildings in bustling urban areas were owned by public entities, regardless of the city. This phenomenon gradually disappeared until the late 90s, when private investment or buyouts became increasingly common.

It's possible to negotiate a lease-to-own arrangement for storefronts, specifying the lease term, annual rent, and ownership transfer to the lessee at the end of the term. However, the lease cannot be interrupted; if it is, everything is lost.

When the real estate market was just starting out, some shrewd people negotiated rent-to-own deals with developers, then rented out the properties. At the end of the year, they hadn't actually invested anything and had acquired a shop for free. It was truly free.

In the middle of the night, two cars were driving on a mountain road. Xiao Wei and Chen Hui were fast asleep, lying on their backs, when Chen Hui's phone rang.

Chen Hui answered groggily, "Feed?"

Liu Huasheng said, "Have you come over yet? The restaurant was vandalized tonight, and the night watchman was beaten. I just took him to the hospital."

Chen Hui immediately perked up, sat up straight, and asked, "Who smashed it?"

Liu Huasheng said, "Sun Hongbao. You don't know him, but he's a pretty big shot and has some money. When the chef and the butcher got into a fight, he was there. He heard that some food was thrown on him, but he didn't say anything because of the knife. When he got back, he got angrier and angrier. His buddies drank some alcohol and egged him on, and then they went and smashed up our restaurant."

Xiao Wei asked from the side, "Who's on night watch tonight? How's the injury?"

Chen Hui asked again, and Liu Huasheng said, "Hao Xiaobo didn't have any serious injuries, his face was swollen, and he went to intervene before the store was smashed."

(End of this chapter)