Ning Ge returned home with fruitful results from his trip. Having traveled all around, he looked darker and thinner. To show appreciation for his hard work, Cheng Su specially stewed a pot of chicken soup to nourish him.
The factory had been repaired and the equipment was in place; the next steps were hiring, training, and opening for business.
Cheng Su took out some of her homemade strawberry jam for Ning Ge to taste.
"Hmm, it’s really delicious," Ning Ge smiled. "It’s almost like the ones I had in the United Kingdom!"
"How did your research go?" Cheng Su asked. "Why did it take so long?"
Ning Ge paused his eating, looked up nonchalantly, and said, "I visited a few more places, so it took a bit longer. Here, this is the research report."
After speaking, he lowered his head to hide the emotions in his eyes. In reality, he had been sent on a mission to a certain location.
Cheng Su didn’t mind and took the report that he handed over, which listed several strawberry sources and their prices.
"I’ve asked the relevant departments. Blueberries have only just been introduced to our country and are still in the cultivation stage. Even if there are ripe fruits, there are only so few plants, and there’s no large-scale fruit production yet," Ning Ge said. "Moreover, since the seeds were imported from abroad, they’re very expensive."
Cheng Su frowned slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed but also expecting as much.
"In that case, we’ll just have to put the blueberry jam on hold," Cheng Su said with regret.
Without a source of fruit, there was no choice but to do so, and Ning Ge remained silent.
Cheng Su then looked at the strawberry origins, which were in Changping, Beijing, Weifang, Shandong, Dandong, Liaoning, Hefei, Anhui, Panzhihua in Sichuan...
The strawberries from Changping grow with a large temperature difference between day and night, resulting in larger fruit; those from Liaoning are medium to small; those from Hefei...
As for the prices, they varied greatly.
Considering the many sources of production, Cheng Su had to think about transportation costs and loss costs. If they were too far from their location, the long transportation time would likely reduce freshness.
"I think we can negotiate a partnership with Changping, Beijing," Ning Ge suggested.
Cheng Su, who had been undecided, looked up at him and asked, "How so?"
"Most of my contacts are in Beijing, and I can always find a way to negotiate with these farms. The prices should be better. From here to Beijing, a train takes forty-eight hours to arrive. We have trucks and trains for transportation, and maybe in the future, we’ll even have planes. Transportation won’t be a problem," he explained.
Listening, Cheng Su nodded, "Go on."
"I also have another idea; if Joy Soon Loy makes a breakthrough, we could consider moving the factory to Beijing for development. That way, it would be much closer to the source. In Beijing, I feel there would be a lot more opportunities."
Cheng Su said, "We’re not only making one type of jam. We’ll be making pineapple jam too, and right now, we’re the closest to the pineapple source."
Ning Ge furrowed his brows.
"However, your analysis is correct; there are indeed many more opportunities in Beijing, and the future development prospects look good," Cheng Su smiled and said.
Ning Ge looked up, "So what do you mean?"
"Let’s go to Beijing then, and finalize this partnership. Have the goods shipped here as soon as possible so that we can start production. Every day we delay, the cost rises," Cheng Su directed.
"Should I be the one to go?" Ning Ge asked with a frown.
"That’s your turf, isn’t it? As the strong dragon there, can’t you handle it?" Cheng Su questioned. "You know what they say, men and women together make the work light. I’ll take care of recruiting and training here and start making the pineapple jam first."
Ning Ge’s mouth twitched slightly at her words, but the phrase ’men and women together make the work light’ indeed sounded fresh to him.