The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 157: Shen Mingzhu Encounters Difficulties in Recruitment

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Shen Mingzhu Encounters Difficulties in Recruitment

"You’ve saved up seven hundred from the snack stand in these three months?"

Smiling, Du Juan explained, "Not that much, the snack stand saved up about four hundred, and the rest is from transferring the snack stand. We sold the snack stand along with the pancake-making expertise to someone else for three hundred and fifty."

One had to admit, Du Juan did have a certain business acumen.

Shen Mingzhu looked at the couple, "Aren’t you afraid of losing this money? Actually, you don’t have to invest. You can work for me, and I’ll pay you a salary."

"I’m not afraid of losing it. If worse comes to worst, we can always set up a stall again. As long as we’re willing to put in the effort, we can always make money."

Seeing how determined Du Juan was, Shen Mingzhu didn’t say much more. She considered for a moment and then decided to give the couple 25% of the shares in the workshop.

If one were to go by the ratio of investment, the couple’s share would be around 20%. However, she had originally planned, once the workshop started turning a profit, to give the couple an additional 5% of the shares as a reward.

Now that the couple was willing to put their savings into the business, she simply decided to give them an extra 5% of the actual shares straight away as a gesture of returning the favor.

Right away, Shen Mingzhu took out paper and a pen and handwrote a shareholding agreement for the couple.

After discussing the shareholding details, Shen Mingzhu talked more in depth with the couple about her early-stage planning and product categories.

She planned to start with dried tofu and spicy strips as the first two products.

The production and manufacturing process for these two snacks was relatively simple, the costs were low, yet the profit was considerable, and they’d likely open up market opportunities easily.

Naturally, the couple had no objections to her decisions.

Shen Mingzhu had actually settled on the workshop name while applying for the business license—Meihao Food Processing Factory—and she was currently struggling with the trademark name.

She had thought of several names but hadn’t settled on one.

Du Juan and Shen Chaobei looked at the names she had listed on the paper and each had their own opinions.

Du Juan liked the name "Delicious Home," while Shen Chaobei thought "Fragrant Dude" sounded good, but Shen Mingzhu herself liked "Little Prince."

And the reason for choosing Little Prince as the trademark name was because of her hopes for Pei Ziheng, wishing he could always be as naively kind-hearted and happy as the Little Prince.

"Mom, I think all these names sound bad."

Pei Ziheng, who had been reading his textbook, suddenly came over and expressed disdain for the various trademark names on the paper.

Shen Mingzhu pinched his cheek with a smile, "Then you come up with a nice name, let’s hear it."

Pei Ziheng’s dark eyes sparkled as he looked at her, "Mingzhu, I think this is the best name."

Shen Mingzhu shook her head repeatedly, but Du Juan and her husband greatly agreed.

With Pei Ziheng’s support, the name won by three votes, so the trademark name was decided just like that.

On the way home, just thinking about her name being printed on the packaging of spicy strips and dried tofu, Shen Mingzhu felt utterly overwhelmed.

Pei Ziheng, however, was very happy, hopping and jumping all the way, as if he had picked up a treasure.

Mingzhu, Mingzhu—the name had once made him feel utterly disgusted and hateful, but now he thought it was the most beautiful, warmest, and favorite name in the world, without a doubt.

Because it was his mother’s name, the name of the person he loved most dearly.

"Mom, using one’s own name for a brand has its benefits for the brand’s development. Chanel, Armani, Aston Martin, Louis Vuitton, and so on—all these internationally renowned brands use the founders’ names."

"It’s a simple principle. Using your name for the brand means you have to care for and manage the brand as you would your life and reputation. And this is also the best bargaining chip and a show of sincerity when promoting the brand and establishing its credibility."

Shen Mingzhu looked at her son, finding it hard to believe that such mature and wise insights came from the mouth of a five-year-old child.

"Son, where did you learn all this?"

"Heard it on the radio."

Pei Ziheng blinked his dark, beautiful eyes, his young face a mix of earnestness and innocence.

Shen Mingzhu tousled his fluffy head, wondering if this was the gap between a genius and ordinary people?

Once the trademark name was settled, Shen Mingzhu and her husband Shen Chaobei got busy establishing the workshop with clear divisions of labor among the three of them.

Shen Mingzhu was in charge of external affairs, Shen Chaobei handled internal management, and Du Juan went back to the countryside to recruit workers.

Daya was left in Shen Mingzhu’s care, with Pei Ziheng helping to look after her.

Fortunately, Daya was an obedient and quiet child. Just turn on the TV for her, and she would sit still without causing any fuss all day long.

Shen Mingzhu offered a salary package with a base pay of thirty yuan, including food and accommodation, plus production performance and bonuses, with three days off each month.

While the city folks might not fancy this offer, for the people of Shenjiagou, it was a great opportunity.

Working their land throughout the year barely earned them any money.

By working in the city, and not having to endure the elements, with food and lodging provided, and a clean thirty yuan in hand each month, adding up to three hundred sixty a year, they were thoroughly delighted.

Once the news spread, people almost trampled the Shen Family’s threshold down.

Shen Mingzhu had four positions to fill, ideally two men and two women, but the job was so coveted that it nearly led to a fight.

Many of the applicants were relatives and older members of the Shen Family, and Du Juan alone couldn’t cope, so she had to call Shen Mingzhu.

The weather was too hot, and with so much to do, Shen Mingzhu was too lazy to go back, so she simply instructed Du Juan to bring everyone to the city.

Those who passed the interview could stay, those who failed would go back, with the factory reimbursing the travel expenses.

The next day, by the time Shen Mingzhu arrived at the factory, Du Juan had already brought people from Shenjiagou there. They were either standing or squatting in the spacious factory building, roughly twenty some people in total.

Upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, the crowd swarmed around her like a tide.

"Mingzhu, when you were little and had no milk to drink, I fed you, you have to keep me!"

"Mingzhu, I’m your Aunt Guihua, our families are related, aren’t they?"

"Mingzhu, I’m Uncle Gensheng. Last year I hurt my back chopping wood in the mountains and can’t do heavy work anymore. We’re from the same place, please give me a meal ticket."

With twenty some people all talking at once, Shen Mingzhu’s head began to throb with pain.

Shen Chaobei bellowed several times before the group finally quieted down.

"Those under forty years old who can read, stand on the left."

Upon hearing Shen Mingzhu’s words, those who met the criteria happily ran to the left, while those who didn’t stood still, looking at each other perplexed.

Once everyone was sorted, Shen Mingzhu politely addressed those on the right, "Please wait outside everyone, I’ll have Chaobei distribute travel money to you shortly. After you get the money, you all can head back."

Hearing her words, this group immediately became upset.

"Mingzhu, what do you mean? We came to the city to earn money because of you, and now with just a few words you want us to go back—are you playing with us?"

"Exactly! We’re all from the same village, why can’t we stay if they can? Aren’t we all going to do the same work?"

Standing up, Du Juan addressed the crowd, "Uncles, and aunts, I already told you before we came that the factory is only recruiting those under forty who can read. You wouldn’t believe it and insisted on coming."

"So what if we can’t read? Can’t we work just because we’re illiterate?"