Chapter 261: Chapter 261: The Soap Factory

Gu Qinghuan could see how anxious she was, so she didn’t beat around the bush.

“Making soap privately is hard to sell and easily causes trouble. But if you turn it into a collective operation, then it’s a different story! Not only can you openly advertise and promote the product, you can also sell it to the city’s supply and marketing cooperatives, or even to farther places, all over the country. Once sales go up, the money will naturally follow.”

Chen Fengqin’s eyes lit up.

“I think I’ve heard of something like this. I heard that a production team in the neighboring county started a small factory with five people, called ‘Xinghua Incense Factory’. The incense they made was actually just a kind of deodorizing incense. If there’s a bad smell in the house, you light one stick, and in no time, the odor is gone and there’s a pleasant fragrance instead. I heard they got a lot of orders and made a lot of money. The value of their work points shot up from twenty cents to a whole yuan, and everyone in the team was overjoyed! That production team even made it into the newspapers and became famous.”

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected there to be such a precedent, so she didn’t need to explain much more.

“That’s basically what I mean. You and Huainian can take the lead and set up this little factory. On the surface, it’s for everyone’s benefit, but in reality, you two can also make a legitimate profit. That’s much better than just doing small-scale business on the side. Most importantly, if you can run this factory well and bring wealth to everyone, Huainian’s position might just change too.”

Xu Huainian was in his prime. If he could actually do something practical for everyone and generate income, he might even catch the eye of the leadership. The party secretary is elected every three years—wouldn’t it be his turn next time?

Xu Mingshan was already old. People still elected him out of respect for his past leadership during the land reform, and because there was no one else in Xujia Village who was more capable. But if someone came along who could actually do things and make money for everyone—real, visible cash—how do you think people would vote then?

Gu Qinghuan didn’t say this directly, since Xu Mingshan was her father-in-law. But Chen Fengqin was no fool; she understood immediately.

How did Gu Qinghuan get such a sharp mind? She’s truly impressive! Educated people really do think differently.

At that moment, she made up her mind: she had to push her youngest son to study hard.

“Qinghuan, thank you for pointing me in the right direction. But I feel a bit embarrassed. After all, this recipe is yours. If we use it to set up a factory for the village, you won’t get a penny out of it,” Chen Fengqin said, a little uneasy.

It was true. If they did it this way, apart from the share of profits every household would get, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t really have any extra income. She’d basically be giving away her recipe for free to benefit everyone else. That didn’t seem fair.

Chen Fengqin thought it over, but she couldn’t bear to let this golden opportunity slip by. Gritting her teeth, she said, “How about this? I’ll pay you a hundred yuan for the recipe. That’s all I can manage right now.”

She had several sons—her eldest was about to get married, her youngest was still in school—she was under a lot of pressure.

Gu Qinghuan shook her head. “You don’t need to pay me. I have other ways to make it up. I won’t let myself lose out, don’t worry.”

“What ways?”

“Think of it as me providing technical support for our future soap factory! There’s more than one soap recipe. If the basic formula makes money, I have all sorts of upgraded versions. When the factory wants those, they’ll have to pay for them. That’s fair, right?”

“Of course, of course! Don’t worry, if this factory really gets off the ground, Huainian and I will never forget what you’ve done for us.”

“The credit isn’t important. I won’t be involved in the factory, and you don’t need to mention me to outsiders. I prefer to make money quietly, haha.” Mostly, she just wanted to avoid trouble.

“Deal!” Chen Fengqin agreed readily. “But if we run into anything we don’t understand, we’ll need your guidance.”

“No problem.”

And just like that, the two women quickly settled the matter of the factory.

When Chen Fengqin got home, she excitedly told Xu Huainian all about it.

Xu Huainian was so shocked he almost jumped off the kang bed.

“You two women really have big ideas! You think starting a factory is a small matter?”

“Why not? The neighboring county’s team managed to start a factory with just five people and brought in income for the whole village. Why can’t we set up a soap factory? Have you tried the soap Qinghuan gave us last time? Isn’t it great? If it’s that good, how could we not make money from it?”

Chen Fengqin repeated everything Gu Qinghuan had told her, breaking it down for Xu Huainian.

After listening, Xu Huainian realized just how much good could come from starting a factory. If it went well, it could even affect his own career.

A team leader who doesn’t want to be party secretary isn’t a good team leader. He didn’t want to be just a small-time production team leader all his life—he wanted to be party secretary, even a commune leader. As for anything higher, he didn’t dare dream.

Alright, this factory had to be set up, and quickly, and it had to be done well! The next party secretary election was coming up next year—he had to give it his all.

That night, Xu Huainian was so excited he couldn’t sleep a wink. His mind was full of plans for the factory, and he felt wide awake.

Early the next morning, he went to see Gu Qinghuan to get all the details about setting up the factory. The more he listened, the more convinced he became.

He sprang into action right away.

Xu Huainian got busy making arrangements for the factory, running around non-stop.

Chen Fengqin didn’t forget about the eel business Gu Qinghuan had mentioned either. Only children make choices—adults want both. While the men were busy with big plans, she took a few kids to make some “small” money—though it wasn’t so small, actually.

She and her children spent a whole day catching loaches and eels, filling two buckets with loaches and one with eels, and delivered them to Gu Qinghuan’s house.

They hadn’t realized until they started catching them just how many loaches there were in the fields of Xujia Village—big ones, too.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected them to be so efficient.

She quickly weighed the catch. Each bucket was about twenty jin, some a bit more, some a bit less. Altogether, Chen Fengqin had brought forty-three jin of loaches and twenty-one jin of eels.

Gu Qinghuan immediately counted out 21.25 yuan for her.

Mother and children stared wide-eyed at the money in their hands, their faces full of longing. So catching loaches and eels really could make money!

Chen Fengqin took the money, but instead of pocketing it, she carefully counted out 3.20 yuan and handed it back to Gu Qinghuan.

Gu Qinghuan was puzzled. “Sister Fengqin, I didn’t overpay you!”

“This is your commission. We bring the goods, but you still have to deliver them, and it’s your sales channel. Honestly, giving you just five cents per jin isn’t even enough. Take it, or we’ll feel bad selling to you next time,” Chen Fengqin insisted, pushing the money into her hand.

Gu Qinghuan had no choice but to accept it—it’s not like anyone would refuse money handed to them. She’d just consider it her hard-earned fee. After all, seeing all those slimy creatures every day was pretty scary."