A Grand Opening

Time flew by.

Amid the bustle, June 27 arrived before they knew it.

Li Zhou, Ke Yong, and Wang Feng, who had been away on business for more than two months, had also returned to the company the day before yesterday.

The renovation of the resort headquarters had been completed half a month earlier.

His mother and Aunt Zhang, who was in charge of the kitchen, had prepared sweet soup in the kitchen.

Everyone in the company gathered together.

Jiang Miao stood at the entrance and pulled down the red cloth covering the company plaque.

His father lit the firecrackers.

Crackle, crackle...

As the firecrackers went off in unison, the employees began applauding as well.

Since Jiang Miao did not know many people, only his cousin Jiang Yao, Old Huang from the equipment contracting company, and the former owner of the resort restaurant had sent opening flower baskets.

Once the firecrackers had finished, Jiang Miao took a stack of red envelopes and handed out opening bonuses to every employee.

"Boss, you're so generous!"

"Thank you, Boss!"

"Wishing the boss booming business!"

"Thank you, Boss!"

"Make a fortune!"

The two-hundred-yuan red envelopes put smiles on everyone's faces.

After handing out the red envelopes, Jiang Miao led everyone into the large conference room on the left side of the first-floor lobby.

The large conference room had over a hundred seats.

Yet fewer than twenty people were seated there at the moment.

At the company headquarters were: his mother (cleaner), Aunt Li (kitchen staff), Li Wenna (secretary), Ye Meijing (finance), Wang Feng (purchasing), Kong Guocai (logistics), Li Zhou (sales), Ke Yong (driver), and Old Ke (security).

At the fish farm branch were: his father (security), his brother-in-law (fish farm manager), one electrician, four caretakers, one feed mixer, and one truck driver.

Including himself, there were nineteen people in total.

Standing at the podium, Jiang Miao said, "All of you are the backbone of the company. Today, I'll go over the company's upcoming development plans."

"Our main businesses going forward will be eel fry sales and eel canned food. We'll need to split up our responsibilities. Manager Zhang will be in charge of the fish farm."

His brother-in-law, Zhang Xincheng, nodded and replied with a smile, "All right, Boss!"

"I'll be in charge of the Eel Cannery while also recruiting some new staff. Everyone else will continue with your previous assignments."

"Now, have a bowl of sweet soup. Let's wish the company a grand opening, and may all your futures be sweet and happy."

Clap, clap, clap...

Everyone applauded and cheered.

Then his mother and Aunt Li pushed over a large pot of sweet soup on a handcart.

Each person received a bowl of sweet soup similar to eight-treasure congee.

After drinking the sweet soup, Jiang Miao called his father and brother-in-law into the office.

"Dad, Brother-in-law, I'll leave the fish farm to you two. In a few days, once the indoor fish farm equipment has been calibrated, we can begin the first experiment."

Zhang Xincheng looked somewhat nervous. "A Miao, how confident are you?"

"Don't worry! The fish at home have already turned into females. The only issue was that the equipment wasn't good enough to simulate the ocean environment. With the indoor fish farm equipment, there won't be any major problems."

Seeing Jiang Miao's confident expression, Zhang Xincheng still had his doubts, but he could only silently pray that everything would go smoothly.

His father was worried too, but he did not say anything.

The morning after the opening.

Jiang Miao brought Ke Yong and Li Wenna to the docks at Magong Fishing Port.

Before long, they parked the pickup outside a small factory that made dried fish.

After making a phone call.

A middle-aged man soon came out of the small factory and opened the large iron gate.

"Are you Boss Jiang?"

Jiang Miao held out his hand. "I'm Jiang Miao. Hello, Boss Lin!"

The two shook hands.

"Boss Jiang, let's go inside and talk."

"Sure."

The group entered the small factory. It was not large, covering only around 450 square meters, though fortunately it had four floors and a small 150-square-meter drying yard behind it.

It faced the main road by the docks, making transportation convenient. It was also only a ten-minute drive from both the fish farm and the resort headquarters.

However, aside from several large stoves, huge iron pots, and a construction lift, there was nothing else inside.

It looked like the place had been abandoned for a year or two.

"Boss Jiang, to be honest, I used to make dried fish here. But business has been hard these past few years, and the fishing ban season made things worse. I could barely make any money in a year, so I shut it down more than a year ago."

"This place is decent. What about the property rights?"

Boss Lin said with a smile, "I bought this place back then. The property rights are for a rural homestead."

"Since the land belongs to Boss Lin, I'll be direct. Although this place faces the street, opening a shop here is impossible."

Boss Lin looked helpless. "That's true."

"So we can't negotiate based on storefront prices. We need to discuss it based on factory prices."

"How about this, President Jiang? I won't count the empty lot in the back, and you can use that lift too. I'll charge you ten yuan per square meter, eighteen thousand a month. How does that sound?"

"Too high. Eight yuan."

Hearing that price, Boss Lin considered it for a moment before nodding. "Eight yuan it is, but the contract must be for at least three years, and I'll need a deposit of more than one year's rent."

"Let's sign for five years. We'll also add a fifty-percent breach penalty. Is that all right?"

"Five years?" Boss Lin did not object. He knew that Ma Gong Town's economy was sluggish. Even if he took the site back, it would be difficult to rent out, and there was no future in making dried fish again. So he agreed to the terms.

After reaching an agreement, Jiang Miao carefully inspected the building inside and out. He found no major issues, except that the toilet pipes were somewhat narrow and prone to clogging.

Boss Lin brought along the homestead deed and his ID card, then rode in Jiang Miao's vehicle to the resort.

"Oh? So Boss Jiang was the one who leased this place."

Jiang Miao replied with a smile, "We're just getting started."

"Hahaha, Boss Jiang is young and capable. Your future is limitless."

They arrived at the second-floor office.

Wen Na had prepared a contract template in advance, and the two sides quickly signed the contract.

After receiving a year's deposit, Boss Lin took his leave.

"A Yong, drive Boss Lin back."

"No problem."

"Boss Jiang, you're too polite. Let's have a meal sometime."

"Definitely."

"Then I won't disturb you any longer, Boss Jiang."

They watched the pickup drive away.

Jiang Miao returned to the office and instructed, "Wen Na, ask Wang Feng to come over."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Wang Feng knocked and entered.

Jiang Miao was on the phone with his cousin. "...Brother Yao, arrange for people to renovate the place as soon as possible. I'll send you the address and requirements on WeChat."

"No problem. Around when do you need it?"

"Within a month. It doesn't need major renovations. Just repaint the walls, replace the toilet drainage pipes, install central air conditioning, replace the wiring, and put up some partitions."

"One month? That'll work. I'll have people work overtime. I won't delay your plans. You can rest assured when I'm handling things."

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

"We're family. No need to be so polite."

After hanging up, Jiang Miao looked at Wang Feng. "A Feng, how were those factories you checked out earlier?"

"Boss, I think the factory in Chao Shan Hao Jiang is more suitable. Although it has a secondhand production line, it's well maintained. They used to make eel canned food too, so we can acquire the other supporting equipment together. The only issue is that its level of automation isn't very high."

Jiang Miao shook his head. "We're only a small Canned Food Factory. Why would we need a high level of automation? How much are they asking?"

"With the other auxiliary equipment included, three hundred and forty thousand."

"Take it. You and Ke Yong will personally go to Hao Jiang, take over the equipment as soon as possible, and arrange transportation."

Wang Feng nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll head over tonight!"

"Don't rush. Half a day won't make a difference. Go tomorrow instead."