The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 230 - 229: Risk

Chapter 230: Chapter 229: Risk

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"Boss Shi, this matter puts me in a very difficult position..."

Upon hearing Huang Yuan say this, Shi Guangsheng immediately understood and took out a cowhide envelope, as thick as a brick, from his briefcase and obsequiously placed it in front of Huang Yuan.

"A small token, not worth much, Manager Huang. My life and death are in your hands now."

Huang Yuan picked up the envelope and weighed it, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, "Alright, wait for my news."

"Oh my, thank you so much, Manager Huang, let me toast to you..."

...

The next day, Song Feiyu, with the drafted purchase contract in hand, went to the office of Huang Yuan next door.

After reviewing the contract, Huang Yuan pointed to the clause about the advance deposit, "This needs to be changed."

Song Feiyu hastily explained, "Manager Huang, about the 30% advance deposit, I have already discussed it with the director of Meihao Food Factory yesterday..."

Huang Yuan sneered and interrupted him, "Are you deaf or is there something wrong with your brain? Or maybe, would you like to take my seat?"

Song Feiyu was immediately silenced as if struck by frost.

Huang Yuan threw the contract at him, "Aren’t you going to take it out and fix it? Or do you want me to do it for you?"

Song Feiyu, holding the contract carefully, "Manager Huang, please instruct me on how to change it."

Huang Yuan stroked his chin, pondering, "At most, only pay a 10% advance, though of course, the best case is not to pay any deposit at all."

...

"Director Shen, Director Pei, here is the purchase contract. Take a look, and if there’s no problem, you can sign it."

Shen Mingzhu took the contract, reading every word and sentence thoroughly; when her eyes reached the clause about the advance deposit, her gaze stalled—

"Director Song, why is the advance deposit only 10%? Didn’t we agree on 30% yesterday?"

Song Feiyu, finding it difficult, conveyed Huang Yuan’s intentions to Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang.

After listening, Shen Mingzhu and Pei Yang looked at each other in dismay.

Pei Yang was the first to speak up, "Director Song, I’m sorry, but you changed the contractual terms at the last minute, we need to discuss this."

Song Feiyu nodded understandingly, excused himself to go to the restroom, leaving the meeting room to the two of them.

"Agreeing to only a 10% advance deposit is too risky."

Pei Yang didn’t need to spell it out, as Shen Mingzhu was well aware of this.

Based on the price negotiated with Hengxing, the production cost for the apple gel candies was around 60%, so with a 30% advance deposit, the risk would be shared equally by both parties.

But now that Hengxing was only willing to pay a 10% advance deposit, it meant the food factory would have to bear 70-80% of the risk.

Seeing her silent in contemplation, Pei Yang directly expressed his opinion, "We had already agreed on a 30% advance deposit beforehand. Their sudden change of heart—there’s a problem with their integrity. Coupled with such high risk, I suggest we back out."

"Actually, there are many companies like Hengxing that need to purchase candies for their staff’s Spring Festival benefits. I plan to try going to distant regions, and there’s also my sister and brother-in-law’s workplaces to visit; perhaps there will be unexpected surprises. We don’t need to put all our eggs in one basket."

The cake Pei Yang painted was indeed tempting to Shen Mingzhu, but faced with the big piece of cake from Hengxing right in front of her, she really didn’t want to give up.

"I want to try again. If they’re only willing to pay a 10% advance deposit, then we’ll add an additional clause that the party who breaches the contract will have to pay a penalty of five thousand to the injured party. What do you think?"

Pei Yang took her hand and held it in his own, his eyes deep, "Are you trying to get even for what happened with Fushun Cake Factory?"

Shen Mingzhu fell silent.

If it had been any other company, she might have listened to Pei Yang and given up right there.

But it was Hengxing, and the thought of Wang Hongcheng burning bridges after crossing the river, profiting hugely from her formula, she simply could not let it go.

If this collaboration went smoothly, maybe next year she could even take Wang Hongcheng’s mooncake orders.

Even if she couldn’t, it would still be satisfying to give Wang Hongcheng some trouble."

```

Pei Yang finally acquiesced to her.

After consulting with Huang Yuan, Song Feiyu agreed to the additional terms she proposed.

However, Huang Yuan had one condition, which was to move the delivery date forward from the 25th to the 23rd.

The reason Huang Yuan gave was also very convincing: the Spring Festival was on the 28th, and some employees might take leave early to return to their hometowns. If they were to deliver on the 25th, he was afraid they wouldn’t be in time to distribute it.

Upon leaving the Hengxing Building, Shen Mingzhu patted the contract inside her handbag, her emotions surging.

Three thousand jin of apple soft candies, minus the production costs and labor expenses, could yield a net profit of at least 2,500 Yuan.

This was the food factory’s first big client since its inception, and she was determined to do it well.

Pei Yang, infected by her good mood, wrapped his arm around her and said, "Let’s go, let’s begin work. We aim to finish early and take the New Year holiday ahead of time."

"Mm."

Shen Mingzhu nestled closer into the man’s embrace, chatting excitedly with him about the procurement of raw materials and production as they walked.

Upon returning to the food factory, Shen Mingzhu immediately called a staff meeting and announced two pieces of news.

The first was the cancellation of all employees’ leaves, and everyone had to work overtime until 9 PM.

The second was the suspension of potato chip production, with the entire workforce joining the candy-making team to produce apple soft candies.

Upon hearing about the cancellation of leave and the need to work overtime every day, the workers each grumbled with discontent. However, upon learning that both the holidays and overtime work would be paid at double the rate, their expressions quickly turned to wide smiles.

And then, upon learning that the factory had taken a large order and that completing the delivery on time would result in a bonus for everyone, their cheers almost lifted the roof off the building.

After the staff meeting ended, the workers continued with their tasks, making potato chips before the official production of apple soft candies began.

Shen Mingzhu then sat down with Pei Yang and the couple Shen Chaobei for a small meeting to discuss financial issues.

The retail price of apple soft candies was three Yuan, and the price negotiated with Hengxing was two Yuan and fifty cents. The total for three thousand jin amounted to seven thousand five hundred Yuan.

Hengxing had paid a ten percent deposit upfront, which was seven hundred and fifty Yuan.

To produce three thousand jin of apple soft candies, an initial investment of about four thousand five hundred Yuan was needed, plus the cost for the purchase of a grinder, pots, and molds, bringing the total cost to at least five thousand Yuan.

That left a deficit of four thousand two hundred and fifty Yuan.

This was the reason Pei Yang advised Shen Mingzhu not to take the order; they simply didn’t have the funds.

But since the contract was already signed, they had to find a way to raise the money, regardless of their financial state.

After discussing, they pooled together the family’s savings of over two thousand Yuan, Shen Mingzhu put in another two thousand, and for the rest, Pei Yang turned to Pei Wenping.

Pei Wenping, who had always been wholeheartedly supportive of her brother Pei Yang, didn’t hesitate to take out all the private savings she had.

With the money gathered, everyone went their separate ways to purchase raw materials, packaging, and equipment.

At the same time, Shen Mingzhu recruited five or six temporary workers in the family compound.

To produce three thousand jin of soft candies by hand in just over 20 days, the current manpower of the food factory was far from sufficient.

To maintain the confidentiality of the formula and production process, the temporary workers were only involved in the preliminary tasks of peeling apples and crushing the pulp.

Cooking and making the candy was personally led by her, along with her candy-making team.

Stirring the syrup required great arm strength and focus, and to ensure quality, Shen Mingzhu arranged the five candy-making workers, herself, Du Juan, and Shen Hongmei into three groups of three.

Each group took turns cooking the candy while the other two groups were responsible for pressing molds and packing.

Pei Yang was mobile, taking care of routine purchases and other needs.

With this method of continuous production, they could achieve a yield of 160 jin per day.

If everything went smoothly, they could complete the production within 20 days.

Just as production was intensively underway, one worker from the candy-making team suddenly approached Shen Mingzhu, requesting half a day off.

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