Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 973 An Hongbo's Troubles

An Hongbo chuckled a few times and said, "Uncle, um, can I talk to you about something?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What's up?"

An Hongbo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Could you give me the oil packaging workshop in this convenience store? And give my fifth uncle the soup stock factory here. You see, now that the factory is open, we don't process the ingredients like before. Don't you think the way the tradition is passed down has changed? Isn't it unnecessary to follow the old rules anymore? Don't you think so?"

Xiao Wei said, "Just tell me directly, what do you mean?"

An Hongbo said, "In the past, our family could only pass the business down to one person per generation. But now that we've opened a factory, and the machines start producing right away, why do we still have to pass it down to one person? I've been thinking that if I separate from my fifth uncle, the soup stock factory can go to my fifth uncle's sister. Why should she have to go out and work when she can clearly live a good life, right?"

Xiao Wei asked, "Are you serious?"

An Hongbo nodded and said, "It's true, absolutely true, more real than real gold. I've thought it through a long time ago. I'll definitely not let my sister go out to work when I'm going to support her. Either I'll wait until my fifth uncle gets old and then I'll secretly teach her. Now that we've opened a factory, isn't that great? I'll run this side, my sister will run this side, and my fifth uncle can retire and enjoy his old age."

Xiao Wei asked, "So what about the future? Who will your sister pass it on to? Who will yours pass it on to?"

An Hongbo paused for a moment, scratched his ear, thought for a moment, and said, "Pass it on to your own child, pick a smart and clever one."

Xiao Wei said, "Then your sister's will be handed over to an outsider."

An Hongbo's brows furrowed deeply. After thinking for a long time, he sighed and leaned back.

Xiao Wei said, "So this matter still depends on your fifth uncle. I think it's possible to do it this way: one person per generation takes the majority share, say 51, and then everyone in that generation equally divides the remaining 49. We need to ensure that one person has the final say. Then the next generation does the same, passing it on to one person, and the others divide the remaining 49. With the family planning policy being so strict now, it's only one per family, so there aren't many people."

An Hongbo thought for a long time before asking Xiaowei, "So, how big do you think this factory will grow in the future?"

Xiao Wei said, "If we continue to cooperate, it will be quite a large business. Restaurants are a small part; the instant noodle factory is the big part. If I want to sell instant noodles nationwide, just think how many soup packets I'll need. Every day..."

An Hongbo said, "So you mean to combine them together and make them one factory?"

Xiao Wei said, "That's right, we can't separate. If we separate, we'll fall apart. If one side does well while the other doesn't, we'll definitely have a falling out. At that point, we won't be close anymore, and it won't be good to talk about money. The family will fall apart."

An Hongbo nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. I originally thought this one was small. Could you tell my fifth uncle about it, please?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll find a chance to tell him. You go buy some things quickly, and let Fifth Brother take a look and taste them tonight. Think about it. Aren't you capable? Come on, modify this oil packet. Let's see if you can handle this."

An Hongbo shook his head and said, "It's unlikely. I'm not quite there yet. Maybe another three to five years. It also depends on my fifth uncle; he's got a silver tongue."

Xiao Wei said, "While we're at it, let's think about what other flavors we can make, and whether we can come up with a few different ones. One flavor is too monotonous."

An Hongbo said, "Well, I can think about it and offer some suggestions. It's just a trial, a good opportunity to practice. Leave this to me."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, then you go ahead and get busy."

An Hongbo got up, humming a song, and walked out. When he reached the door, he turned around and asked Xiao Wei, "You really won't reimburse me?" Then, without waiting for Xiao Wei's reaction, he laughed, jumped up, and ran away.

The phone on the table rang, and Xiaowei reached out to answer it.

"Xiao Wei? Is this room all tidied up?"

Xiao Wei paused for a moment, then realized it was Huang Laowu and asked, "Is everything packed?"

Huang Laowu said, "Everything's packed up, there's nothing much here."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, then you can open the restaurant. Could you measure the length, width, and height of that grain station building for me? Did you clear the middle?"

Huang Laowu said, "It's all been opened up and repaired, two big moon-shaped openings. Do you need the dimensions of the room inside?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, the dimensions need to be precise to fit the equipment. Otherwise, it won't fit."

Huang Laowu said, "Okay, I'll get right on it. I've already handed things over to Lao Hou. I'm planning to come over with my wife in the next few days. You're not leaving, are you?"

Xiao Wei said, "We're leaving on the 8th, the day after tomorrow. Why don't you come tomorrow, pack your things, and come with me to Jibei the day after tomorrow?"

Huang Laowu said, "Okay, isn't the house already there?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's ready-made. You can just go to Jian'an and get a car and come over. By the way, do you know Hao Xiaodong? His whole family is coming too. Why don't you contact him and get two cars together so you can come over together?"

Huang Laowu said, "I know him, but not well. Okay, I'll go and make some contact. Is it the house where the night watchman works at the hotel?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, that's Hao Xiaobo. The two brothers moved over here. I installed a large oil-fired boiler here and had them come over to take care of it. You wouldn't trust most people to run that kind of thing."

Huang Laowu said, "That's right, that thing could easily be a huge landmine. Okay, come over tomorrow, get ready to welcome me."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll treat you to a welcome dinner."

I hung up the phone and just picked up my notebook when it rang again.

Xiao Wei answered, "Feed?"

"Xiaowei?" It's Brother Long, Xie Xiaolong. "I might stay a few more days to talk to you. After that, you need to figure out how to get the land over there. It needs to be at least two or three hundred acres. I'll discuss the rest with you when I get back. Anyway, construction won't start until next spring after the leveling is finished."

Xiao Wei said, "That big?"

Xie Xiaolong said, "Not only that, this is the basics. He's building a cardboard box and bowl factory here, plus dry ingredients, soup ingredients, and packaging. Three hundred might not be enough. I heard he's going to expand the factory soon and build a second production base in Guangzhou."

Xiao Wei said, "If they have the capability, let them build it. Why do you want to go? Let's just hold onto this part of Northeast China. Don't be too ambitious. We'll deal with the future later. Besides, do you even have anyone to help? I'm already worried about who will take care of it."

Xie Xiaolong chuckled a few times and said, "I didn't mean that. I meant we should learn from them and use factory construction to drive market development. They claim to have invested eight million US dollars here, but I calculated it, and it's not that much; it's just an inflated figure. Okay, that's enough. Don't worry about factory management; I'll take care of it. You just need to level the land. Bye, long-distance calls are expensive."

Xiao Wei slowly put down the phone, feeling that this matter had gotten out of hand.

How did things suddenly turn into a fight between convenience store manufacturers? What should we do?

After lighting a cigarette, Xiao Wei leaned back in his chair, pondering how to handle this matter and to what extent.

(End of this chapter)