"One good turn deserves another." As Qi Taiguo became more cooperative, Cheng Su became more gracious towards him. She not only prepared two large jars of jam for him to take back to his hometown but also bought some candies and supplements to send along, which made Qi Taiguo even more amiable, his face wearing a smile more often.
True to her word, Mu Yan came as promised. Cheng Su filled a large glass jar with jam and offered it as a gift, delighting her so much that she grinned from ear to ear.
"I’ve reported back to the cooperative about the jar of jam you gave me for them to try, and everyone said it was delicious. Your jam could sell, but the higher-ups want to see the results first. Could you make a few dozen bottles to send over?" Mu Yan brought the good news.
Cheng Su nodded, then said, "Not to hide anything from Director Mu, I make this jam entirely by hand. Not to mention how detailed and troublesome the process is, the labor alone is quite costly. What do you think about the price of the jam?"
It wasn’t that she was being mercenary; in business, personal feelings are one thing, but financial interests must be clearly calculated with real money.
Besides, she hadn’t lied; she really made it all by hand. Pineapples were dirt cheap, but labor was the most expensive part, with even peeling the pineapples being a big hassle.
"What do you mean?"
Cheng Su handed her a clean apple and said, "Since we’re going to sell, we must aim for quality. Here’s my plan: we’ll use glass jars for the jam, and as for the size, we’ll go by weight, how about that? One yuan for a jar of jam weighing one pound, and by the same token, two yuan and fifty cents for three pounds. What do you think?"
After a moment’s thought, Mu Yan said, "If our supply and marketing co-op buys in bulk, we’ll need a cheaper price, a bulk price of eighty cents. How much we sell it for will be our own business."
Eighty cents, Cheng Su frowned, quickly doing the math in her mind. The pineapples were so cheap that even at eighty cents, she would still make a profit. Selling to the supply and marketing co-op would guarantee sales volume and might even attract other business.
She was well aware that, both in the past and in the present, especially where supply organizations were concerned, those inside surely wanted a kickback.
After a long calculation, Cheng Su made her decision, "Alright! We’ll do as you suggest." Then she added, "Director Mu, if the sales go well, you’ll have to prioritize our arrangement for future orders."
Mu Yan expressed surprise and looked at her, "Is there anyone else who can make this jam?"
Cheng Su smiled, "Where there are people, there is the jianghu. Once a business idea takes off, competition quickly follows. I can’t confidently claim that no one else could make this jam besides me."
She was confident but not to the point of being unrealistic. If this pineapple jam was introduced to the market, food factories would surely follow suit. As a pure manual laborer, how could she compete if the wealthy capitalists had capital, technology, and machinery?
Thus, she just needed to be the first to brave the waters; as for the future, competition would lead to progress. It would be a matter of who had the superior skills and the importance of constantly bringing forth new ideas.
Upon hearing this, Mu Yan laughed and said, "You’re young but have quite a head for business, and your insights are quite profound. I heard you previously sold meals and cooked quite deliciously. Are you going to stop selling meals now that you make jam?"
"Of course, I’ll continue; nobody thinks money stinks, right? Now isn’t like the old days when people were ready to denounce capitalism at the drop of a hat. Let’s boldly follow Grandpa Xiao Ping’s lead!" Cheng Su laughed heartily.