Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 968 Old Snowflake

The next day at noon, Chen Hui drove to pick up the technician from Germany. Li Jue's parents came to see their daughter, and Xiao Wei accompanied them to Zhongjie. Shan Hongmei's family had already made arrangements. Shan Hongjuan first helped out at the old man's convenience store and learned how to do it. Shan's father went to the company to drive the official car, and Shan's mother joined the army of people who were taking care of the baby.

Xiaowei's mom finally had enough people for her mahjong game. Xiaowei's mom, Aunt Wang, Chen Xiao's mom, and the newly arrived Shan's mom started playing.

Chen Xiao started weaning and came to work at the company, taking over the responsibilities of Sister Jin's general affairs department, so Sister Jin could focus on organizing the restaurant.

Li Na and Geng Hui, along with their office staff, worked tirelessly to draft various rules, regulations, and procedures, leaving the finance department to the irresponsible Aunt Wang. During this period, the finance department didn't have much to do, especially since Li Gengsheng had started working there.

The office has started another round of recruitment, targeting employment offices of various universities and resettlement offices of armed forces departments.

In the afternoon, Xiaowei, Chen Hui, the German technician, and Dean Cheng held a small meeting at the design institute to design the brewery's factory area and buildings. The Germans were unethical; the technical documents they brought were all in German, and they were incredibly arrogant, which made Chen Hui very angry.

Chen Hui couldn't take it anymore, so he made a phone call and borrowed three people from Xuehua. Only then did things go smoothly. Although it was German technology, it was basically the same. With three technical experts there, the German technician couldn't be arrogant anymore and became much more agreeable.

Then Chen Hui nudged Xiao Wei and said, "If you open your mouth to poach people, at least two of these three should stay, right?"

Then go for it. Technicians are easy to poach these days. State-owned factories pay three to five hundred yuan a month, and three generations of a family are crammed into a few dozen square meters. People's hearts are already restless under the pounding of the economic tide.

Provide housing, official positions, and salary increases; the defenses crumbled instantly. The brewery, still on paper, had already secured three key personnel: a production manager, a technical manager, and a third in charge of power equipment. With that all in place, any manager or management position could be easily filled.

Xiao Wei said, "Our factory is newly built, and we're short of people in every field, from top to bottom. Your factory is a large one, so you must have a lot of talent in reserve. Could you perhaps bring some of them over?"

The term "reserve talent" is just a euphemism; it refers to people with real skills who are currently unemployed and waiting in line. There are plenty of such people in state-owned enterprises.

The production manager is Ji Jun, the technical manager is Dai Shucheng, and the power equipment manager is Wang Zhiquan.

The third-place winner said, "There are quite a few people, but I don't know if they're willing to come. I'll go back and ask."

Xiao Wei said, "Brother Dai and Brother Wang, don't just sit idle. Brother Ji, you need to manage production. You also need to bring over some skilled people in terms of technology and equipment. Don't worry about the salary and benefits; everyone will be satisfied."

Dai Shucheng was an introverted person, so he nodded without saying a word. Wang Zhiquan said, "I'll bring a group of people over when the factory is built and installed. How many we can keep depends on you, bosses. It's not appropriate for me to say anything."

Xiao Wei said to Ji Jun, "Brother Ji, we're completely clueless about this area. We don't know anything about it. Will it be okay if we just take over your original regulations, procedures, and operating rules?"

The third-place finisher smiled and said, "No problem, I'd have to use it even if you didn't tell me. Like Lao Dai's, the operating rules are ironclad; every step has to be precise, otherwise the whole production will be ruined. I looked at the German's technical manual; it's quite standardized, and we can refer to it."

Dai Shucheng said, "Technically, this is the main one, and it is indeed more mature than ours. The boss should keep this a secret. As it stands, this process is indeed more advanced than the domestic one, both in terms of technology and equipment."

Wang Zhiquan nodded and said, "The equipment is incomparable. There are nearly thirty systems of all sizes. We're doing a rough and ready approach, while they're doing it meticulously. Even more meticulous than the Japanese."

The bronze medalist said, "We had German equipment too, right?"

Wang Zhiquan shook his head and said, "Only the bottling is done with H&K short tubes, which were introduced in 86. Our foundation is with the Japanese. In 33, the Japanese built two breweries in Fengtian, Taiyang and Kirin. They merged in 36 and were called Manchuria Brew Company. In 49, it was renamed Fengtian Brewery. The equipment was all left by the Japanese. In the following decades, we developed and modified it ourselves, which is the situation we have now."

The third-place finisher nodded and said, "I haven't really paid much attention to this. Whose technology is that for snowflakes?"

Dai Shucheng said, "We developed it ourselves in 57."

Wang Zhiquan said, "Yes, Snowflake is our own exclusive technology. We export it. Do you remember that we used to have a special Hongmei trademark? Those were all for export. The 12-degree Snowflake sold very well in Europe, mainly because of its high alcohol content. One bottle was equivalent to two liang of strong liquor. The name 'Mendao Lv' (meaning 'donkey that knocks you down') wasn't given for nothing."

Xiao Wei asked, "Why is the exported one called 'Red Plum'?"

Wang Zhiquan said, "You know Hongmei MSG, right? It's an old brand from Fengtian. Back then, not just anyone could export. Hongmei Company had export qualifications. At that time, all food and beverage products exported from Northeast China were called Hongmei and shipped through Dalian Port."

Chen Hui asked, "A bottle of Lao Xue Ding and two liang of Lao Bai Gan?"

Wang Zhiquan held up his hand and gestured: "One ounce and eighty centimeters, exactly one ounce."

Dai Shucheng shook his head: "It's not that high, not even sixty degrees, between forty and fifty degrees."

Chen Hui slapped his thigh: "That's really weird. I said I'd pass out after drinking it. I can definitely pass out after two ounces of 52-proof beer. Lao Xue usually drinks two or three bottles at a time and always felt that the beer wasn't very strong."

Wang Zhiquan said, "You can drink draft beer, it's cheaper."

Chen Hui said, "I drink large cans now, and I feel that's better."

Wang Zhiquan nodded and said, "Yeah, draft beer just doesn't keep well."

Chen Hui said, "I remember seeing a photo of two foreigners drinking Snow Beer, a man and a woman, and the table was full of fancy dishes, all meat. It made my mouth water."

Wang Zhiquan said, "Yes, it was filmed in 1983, an export version of a pornographic film. It had the Hongmei trademark on it. When it was filmed in 1988, it was Chinese, but the trademark was still Hongmei. I remember it was someone from our factory, a woman, I think she was on the production line. Back then, we had export versions on the market, which were 80 cents more expensive."

Xiao Wei said, "Snowflake has been around for so many years? More than sixty years, and it's still exporting? If we had known, we should have just let Snowflake manufacture it for us. Why bother with all this trouble?" Xiao Wei turned to Chen Hui and said.

Chen Hui said, "How can they be the same?"

The third-place finisher smacked his lips, sighed, and said, "It's probably over. China Resources in Hong Kong is in talks to acquire it, and I think it's almost done."

Dai Shucheng said, "When it comes to policy matters, Lao Xiao's word doesn't count. What's the use of sighing?"

Lao Xiao was the last factory director of Fengtian Beer before it was acquired. He was an absolute leader in the domestic beer industry, with a status equivalent to that of Lao Qiao in the digital world.

China Resources expanded aggressively in China, buying up most of the country's breweries. Snow was the only brand that was retained and used nationwide, which shows how powerful Snow was back then.

Chen Hui said, "Isn't that perfect for poaching people? We'll take them all, whether it's maintenance, bottling, packaging, or production lines. We'll take them all. It's up to you three to decide how much you can do."

(End of this chapter)