When Huang Xiru saw photos of the bicycle, her first reaction was that she wanted to buy a stake in it. People were placing more and more importance on energy conservation and environmental protection these days.
She was certain Zhang Yi's Aerodynamic Bicycle would sell extremely well. But then she thought of Zhang Yi's personality. She was absolutely sure he would never agree to let her invest, so she settled for the next best thing and asked him to give her the dealership rights for Hangzhou.
"Alright, Huang Jie!" Zhang Yi readily agreed to Huang Xiru's request.
"By the way, Xiao Yi, what about the price of this bicycle?" Now that Zhang Yi had agreed, what Huang Xiru cared about most was the price of the Aerodynamic Bicycle. After all, it was a bicycle based on an entirely new concept. If it was priced too high, it might not be successfully promoted.
"Huang Jie, this bicycle comes in two models. The first has a factory price of around four thousand, so I suggest a retail price no higher than six thousand. The second costs roughly two thousand more to produce than the first, and I suggest a retail price no higher than ten thousand. But only the first model is available for now. How many would you like to order first?"
Zhang Yi planned to produce two versions of the Aerodynamic Bicycle: a standard model and a premium model. The standard model used inferior materials compared to the premium model, was slightly heavier, had a range of around fifty kilometers, and a top speed of fifty kilometers per hour. Its tires were also ordinary bicycle tires.
The premium model, however, was different. Zhang Yi planned to use high-performance Titanium Alloy for its materials, and its appearance would be more fashionable. The entire bicycle, including its hubs and tires, would be mechanical in structure.
Its speed and range would also surpass those of the standard model. Its top speed could reach fifty-five kilometers per hour, while its maximum range was seventy kilometers.
After hearing Zhang Yi out, Huang Xiru thought for a moment before saying, "Then give me a hundred first. I'll test the waters. People still don't really understand this kind of new-concept bicycle, and I don't have much confidence either. When can they be delivered?"
"Alright, Huang Jie. I can ship them tomorrow," Zhang Yi replied. He happened to have exactly one hundred Aerodynamic Bicycles in the factory, so they could be shipped at any time. But considering that Huang Xiru's store needed time to prepare, he said they could only be shipped the next day. Besides, the hundred bicycles needed to be inspected to ensure that every Aerodynamic Bicycle sold would be flawless.
At the same time, he began considering expanding production capacity. His current machinery factory was simply too small—barely over a hundred square meters, with two machine tools. The hundred Aerodynamic Bicycles alone had already crammed the factory full. There were also unfinished parts and finished products from the batch he was processing for Zhu Gang's factory. Every corner of the workshop was packed with all kinds of things, and there was not even room to walk. Changing factories had become the most urgent matter before Zhang Yi.
Of course, aside from changing factories, another issue gave Zhang Yi a terrible headache: expanding production capacity. With his Aerodynamic Bicycle entering production and sales, his current capacity was nowhere near enough for large-scale manufacturing. At most, his factory could produce twenty or thirty bicycles a day.
He had complete confidence in his Aerodynamic Bicycle. Once it opened up the market, Zhang Yi was certain that sales in Hangzhou alone would exceed a hundred bicycles a day. Add in other places, and daily sales would be even greater. With his current production capacity, even if he worked twenty-four hours a day without eating, drinking, or sleeping, he still could not produce that many Aerodynamic Bicycles in a single day.
So expanding production capacity was another extremely important matter before Zhang Yi.
However, expanding the factory's scale and production capacity required a large amount of capital. What Zhang Yi lacked most right now was money. Even after delivering the hundred bicycles to Huang Jie, he would receive less than four hundred thousand. That little money was nowhere near enough to expand the factory.
After all, just renting a somewhat larger factory building would cost more than that in annual rent, not to mention purchasing machinery and equipment. He would also need to hire employees. This amount of money was simply a drop in the bucket.
Fortunately, the batch of parts he was processing for Zhu Gang was nearly complete as well. As long as nothing unexpected happened, he could receive another five hundred thousand after delivering that batch. Combined, he would have nearly a million.
After thinking it over, Zhang Yi decided to rent a factory building first. Compared to everything else, factory space was more urgent. If he still had money left after renting the building, he could then consider buying machines and hiring workers.
As for hiring employees, Zhang Yi was more inclined to employ the top students from the system. But when he thought of their prices, he temporarily abandoned that idea. If there was money left afterward, he would hire one or two machine operators. That would raise production capacity accordingly.
However, Zhang Yi had no plans to hire managers or salespeople yet. At the moment, the entire factory consisted of only him and Xiao Hua.
Even if he hired another one or two people later, there would only be three or four people in total. There was no need to hire management staff yet. As for salespeople, Zhang Yi did not intend to look for any for the time being.
Of course, compared to management staff, his factory had a greater need for salespeople. But because of the funding issue, Zhang Yi put that matter aside for now. He would recruit them once he had sufficient capital.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yi immediately said to Xiao Hua, "Xiao Hua, I'll leave the shop to you for now. I'm going to take a look around the Development Zone and see whether there are any suitable factory buildings. This place is far too small."
"Alright, Brother! But honestly, we should have changed factories long ago. With your ability to hire top students from every universe, you shouldn't let narrow vision limit your future. So this time, Brother, you'd better rent a large factory building directly. Don't end up renting another small one." Xiao Hua was delighted to hear Zhang Yi's words.
Though Xiao Hua had not said anything over the past few days, she had actually had enough. Back when there was only one machine tool, it had been alright. No matter how crowded the factory became, there was always some spare space. It was not so bad that even walking became difficult.
But ever since Zhang Yi bought a CNC Machine, things had changed. Parts were scattered throughout the entire workshop. Even walking required extreme caution, let alone finding a place to rest.
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