Binjiang Police Affairs

Finally relaxed knowing that the cocoons would not be confiscated by the unconcerned Liangzhuang Police Special Envoy.

After chatting about home for a while, Han Yu learned that his uncle was raising not only autumn silkworms but also two Zhis of late-autumn silkworms, planning to go up the mountain to form cocoons in a little over twenty days. He hurriedly reminded him not to sell the cocoons to traffickers again.

His uncle, having learned from his mistakes, dared not gamble with his hard-earned money anymore and assured, patting his chest, that he would only sell to the purchasing station.

After hanging up the phone and recalling Old Lu's instructions, Han Yu brought up the matter of Liangzhuang Construction Station coming to Linghai to bid.

Han Xiangning felt overwhelmed and smiled bitterly: "I introduced the business, but it was bad timing. Lin Xiaohui and Liu Xiaomei have both resigned; without anyone to help, even if they bid, they probably won't win the contract."

Han Yu asked in surprise, "Why did they resign when they were doing fine?"

"The Hong Kong boss is good, but he isn't just running factories in East Sea and our Linghai, he also opened two factories in East Guang earlier than the one in East Sea, and on a larger scale."

"So what?"

"With bigger operations, the management needs to keep up. The Hong Kong boss transferred a few people from East Guang who arrived criticising this and that. Especially in East Sea, they clashed with the original management personnel, driving them all away."

"Lin Xiaohui is responsible for Linghai; it has nothing to do with her what happens in East Sea."

"Lin Xiaohui is from Linghai, but she was trained by the East Sea Company's managers, so of course, she would stand by the managers."

Han Xiangning sighed softly, adding: "Moreover, the policies in East Guang are different from East Sea; there's less interference from the authorities in East Guang, they don't really regulate wages and welfare of workers, leaving it all up to the boss.

Those managers from East Guang wanted to apply the same practices to East Sea. Previously, the workers had insurance, now it's gone. It was piecework wages, but now the price per piece has dropped, and despite working overtime every day, the workers earn less than before.

The former managers and local workers in East Sea wouldn't stand for it, all of Lin Xiaohui's close friends quit, and when everyone else left, she couldn't just stick around."

Han Yu had visited the factory in East Sea; the work environment and welfare benefits were genuinely good then. In just a few years, a well-running garment factory had turned into this.

Thinking of the increasing number of garment factories and fierce competition nowadays, as a boss, one must consider costs. Han Yu didn't know what to say, only asking, "What is Lin Xiaohui doing now?"

Han Xiangning smiled, "Being her own boss."

"What kind of boss?"

"Starting a garment factory, her original profession."

"Lin Xiaohui started a factory!"

"She climbed up from the workshop; she knows it all. Liu Guohua studied foreign trade and has many clients abroad and classmates in domestic trading companies; she doesn't need to worry about not having orders."

"But starting a factory costs a lot of money, do they have enough?"

"Xiao Yu didn't tell you?"

"Tell what?"

"Maybe Xiao Yu doesn't know either."

"What's really going on?" Han Yu asked eagerly.

Seeing his anxiety, Han Xiangning murmured with some discomfort, "For others, starting a factory is difficult, for her, it's easy. She and Liu Guohua saved over three hundred thousand over the years. Liu Xiaomei doesn't have as much savings, but she's engaged to Jiang Bin, whose family is wealthy!"

"Manager Jiang is funding it?"

"Just because the shipping company isn't doing well doesn't mean Manager Jiang has no money, this is what they call a 'poor temple rich abbot.'"

Han Xiangning glanced at him, then continued: "Lin Xiaohui, Liu Xiaomei have many close friends, Yu Zhen is one among them. Hearing that they needed money for their factory, she, being a garment wholesaler herself and seeing the business as profitable, immediately invested six hundred thousand."

Han Yu asked in amazement: "The three of them are partnering to start a factory?"

"Not just the three of them, Linghai people naturally love doing business, and your old neighbors at the shipping company all want to transition ashore. With a call from Manager Jiang, many have invested."

"Has the factory started?"

"They are securing the land and the necessary paperwork; it should be soon."

They say three women make a show; it seems three women who grew up together on ships can really make big things happen.

Han Yu was stunned for a while before he smiled and asked: "Do you know how many people invested, how much money they have now?"

"About thirty people have invested, all from your shipping company, even your brother threw in fifty thousand; they've raised over one million eighty thousand."

"One million eighty thousand, and they need to buy land, build the factory, purchase equipment and raw materials; is that enough?"

Must admit, those three girls are really capable of stirring things up.

Han Xiangning sighed silently, saying with a touch of admiration: "You don't need to worry about that for them. Once they buy the land, they can get aloan from the bank. As for equipment, it's just industrial sewing machines. Several sewing machine factories have opened in Linghai these past_years, each eager to do business with them.

As for raw materials, which are just fabrics, the reason the Hong Kong boss initially invested in building factories in Linghai was because of the many textile mills here, large and small, numbering over a hundred. As long as they are not looking for particularly high-end fabrics, they can be sourced in Linghai. Once they get the factory running, they can certainly access materials on credit."

Brave enough to gather funds to start a factory.

Han Yu fell silent for a moment, murmuring, "Why did my brother also invest?"

"Your brother is from the same shipping company, and now he is dealing in bedding wholesale. Yu Zhen helps him sell so much merchandise; she's a major client. If Yu Zhen invested, he had to invest too."