Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

The vegetable market is inside; it's the kind with stalls.

Old Wang said, "The rent here is expensive, 150 yuan a month, and it can only be rented out, not sold. It's public housing. It's only rented out to individual businesses to enrich the supply of goods. If you have a limited budget, you can rent a stall in the vegetable market, which only costs a dozen yuan a month."

Su Wanqing looked around and became increasingly satisfied.

This place is quite big. In the future, we can not only sell oyster mushrooms, but also eggs, live chickens, honey, and lavender dew. There's also a warehouse in the back.

She looked at Chen Xiuer: "Xiuer, Comrade Guo, Aunt Wang, what do you think?"

Aunt Wang was the first to shake her head: "Expensive, too expensive! Dr. Su, I think we should just make the effort and set up a stall inside. That wouldn't make much money. At this price, how many mushrooms could we sell for that price!"

The rent is several times more expensive than the houses over there, and it's more expensive than her salary. She can't even earn that much in a month.

Chen Xiuer nodded and said, "Dr. Su, I think it's a good idea. Although it's much more expensive than the stalls in the market, where you only get a dozen yuan a month to set up a stall, this storefront has several advantages."

First, the location is at the entrance of the market, so people can see us immediately when they come and go, unlike inside where you have to wait for customers to walk to the end.

Secondly, there is an independent warehouse. Mushrooms are easily damaged by pressure and impact, so storing them in the warehouse is much safer than setting up a stall, and it also allows for stockpiling.

Third, we can put up a sign at the entrance, and we can also display samples to attract people.

Fourth, in the future, you can sell whatever you want together, so you won't have to set up a stall.

Fifth, customers can conveniently buy these items after finishing their grocery shopping, without having to specifically look for them. They are expensive, but selling more will recoup the cost.

Sixth, our main focus isn't selling oyster mushrooms through street stalls, but rather establishing a large, fixed location. We'll negotiate business with various supply and marketing cooperatives and restaurants. This established presence will help build our brand, similar to a time-honored brand. Of course, we can also hang signs at the entrance saying "Home Delivery," letting people know we're a major sales point, which will help cultivate a stable customer base and expand our sales channels.

Chen Xiuer initially only wanted to convince her own mother, since the rent was indeed very expensive. However, the more she talked, the clearer her mind became, and the more logical her reasoning became. In the end, she could even come up with these solutions on her own...

clap clap-

Su Wanqing clapped her hands. As expected of a legendary businesswoman, her mind was sharp and her thinking was truly ahead of its time. If she were to continue, who knows how much more she could say.

Su Wanqing nodded and said, "Xiuer is absolutely right, I agree, let's rent this then."

Su Wanqing then looked at Old Man Wang and said, "To be honest, we rented this place mainly to sell mushrooms. We've found a place to sell them, but we still need to rent or buy a large place nearby to grow mushrooms. Ideally, the place should be close by for easy transportation; it should be large enough to hold the mushroom bags, racks, and other materials; and it should have good ventilation and temperature control, since mushrooms are very sensitive to temperature and humidity, and too much moisture can easily lead to contamination by other fungi."

Old Wang immediately said, "There is a place that's close to here, near the meat cannery. Their business hasn't been doing well this year. Since the reform and opening up, everyone has gone to buy fresh pork from individual vendors, which is cheaper and better. So not many people are buying such expensive canned meat anymore. The factory has a large storage warehouse that they've been talking about renting out, so at least they can save some wages for the factory's employees."

As he spoke, Old Man Wang also seemed somewhat troubled.

Old Master Chen, listening nearby, grew impatient: "Say something! What's wrong? Isn't this place quite nice?"

Old Wang gave a wry smile before saying, "It's just that the place is a bit too big, and the rent is a bit too expensive. Nobody's rented it yet. After all, people who actually want to set up factories don't want this place, and people who need that much space can't afford to rent it."

Su Wanqing didn't mind; a larger space was fine. If the oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms sold well, she would definitely expand the space to avoid the hassle of renting another place.

He said, "Why don't you take us to see it? Let's look at the place first, and then we can talk about the rent."

"OK."

So Old Wang led Su Wanqing and her group to the cannery.

It's quite close, only a seven or eight-minute walk. This is a very old factory, and compared to the popular fabric factories, sugar factories, and fruit canneries of today, it is indeed quite outdated.

Canned fruit will be phased out in a few years, but canned braised pork and luncheon meat will face elimination in the next few years.

"Look, this is the whole area. I'd say it's a great place. It's close to everything, there's a residential area nearby, and it's not far from the market you just saw. It's also spacious. The only downside is that it's a bit expensive."

This is an abandoned warehouse; the other workshops are still in operation, but this area is unused. The warehouse is large; with a little modification, it could become a perfect large warehouse for growing mushrooms, and the high roof ensures good ventilation.

Although the surrounding environment is somewhat old, the roads are smooth, water and electricity are readily available, and there is a small river nearby, making it easy to get water.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with everything.

Su Wanqing then asked, "How much is the rent? Are you selling it?"

She asked if it was for sale, mainly because she thought the location was good, the old factory had been around for a long time, and the surrounding houses were gradually being built up, so it would definitely be a good location after the demolition.

However, Su Wanqing thought the factory would go bankrupt sooner or later. State-owned enterprises were no longer viable, mainly because this kind of thing was about to be phased out.

Old Wang said, "Whether it's for sale or not, what would such a large state-owned factory sell? They've just reduced production and want to rent it out to increase the employees' food allowance. If they rent it out, it won't be monthly; it has to be annual, 3,300 yuan a year, and it has to be paid annually."

Su Wanqing was somewhat disappointed; as expected, it wasn't for sale.

It's okay, she can wait. Maybe she'll sell it in a few years?

Moreover, judging from this trend, mushroom cultivation bases probably won't need to recruit workers from other places in the future; the people from this factory can just come in and work directly. How convenient!

Aunt Wang gasped in surprise, covering her mouth: "My goodness! So expensive? When we were growing mushrooms in the 65th Regiment, we built ten mushroom houses, and it only cost less than a thousand yuan. I think we should build them ourselves; these mushroom houses are very simple..."

Su Wanqing looked at the huge area. It could not only cover the early stage, but also the middle stage. It was even larger than the planting base of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

He then asked everyone, "What do you think? Let's not worry about the money for now. With such a large planting area, I think producing 100,000 jin (50,000 kg) would be easy. And with our current mycelium, apart from planting a smaller batch initially, we'll definitely need to hire more people and plant more later. And there will be shiitake mushrooms, silver ear fungus, wood ear fungus... in the future..."