Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 277 What are your plans?
The journey was marked by silence, and could even be described as extremely awkward.

At first, Wang Degong could use eating steamed buns to cover up his embarrassment, but after finishing all three buns, he had no choice but to face the awkward atmosphere.

He wanted to say something to Wang Chengpeng, but he didn't know how to start, so he could only close his eyes and try to avoid seeing him.

Wang Chengpeng always rode his bicycle very fast, and even with Wang Degong on the back, he was both fast and steady, quickly taking Wang Degong to the Wang family's old house.

As soon as he got out of the car, Wang Degong was about to say something polite, but he found that Wang Chengpeng didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and directly said:

"Grandpa, don't worry, I will definitely do what I promised you."

"But you have to deliver that three thousand yuan repair fee to the sugar factory by tomorrow morning, otherwise the engineer might not be willing to do it."

Wang Degong nodded vigorously and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble Cheng Peng."

Watching Wang Chengpeng ride away on his bicycle, Wang Degong suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if he had lost something extremely important.

Just thinking about being able to completely save Wang Xia'an made his expression happy again, and his steps became much lighter.

Perhaps Wang Xia'an's matter was too serious, because as soon as Wang Degong opened the door, he saw the two people who were eagerly waiting at home.

Wang Jinshan went straight to the point and asked, "Dad, how's Xia An's situation? What did Director Wang say?"

Wang Degong coughed lightly and touched his stomach, indicating that he hadn't eaten dinner yet.

However, Zhao Yuju completely misunderstood his meaning and instead joined Wang Jinshan in urging him on, saying:
"Old man, why are you keeping us in suspense? Tell us how things are going!"

Taking a deep breath, Wang Degong managed to calm himself down.

The stark contrast in treatment he received at his own home and at Wang Chengpeng's home caused him some heartache. He sighed and then recounted to the two of them what Wang Chengpeng had promised him.

However, he didn't mention the role Wang Chengpeng played in this, not because he wanted to claim all the credit, but because he felt that saying it would only cause trouble for Wang Chengpeng.

Upon hearing that the matter had been resolved, Wang Jinshan stood up with delight and said:
"Father, you're really capable. There's nothing you can't handle when you're in charge."

Zhao Yuju complained from the side, "Old man, if you're so capable, why do you keep it a secret?"

"If you deal with this matter sooner, we won't dare to be looked down upon."

“Especially that bastard Wang Tieshan, he actually led his coworkers to bully me.”

"Next time something like this happens, you'd better step in earlier, so we don't have to go again."

After Zhao Yuju said that, Wang Jinshan also felt wronged and said:
"Father, Mother is right. Why can't you think about us?"

Wang Degong's eyes widened in disbelief. He slammed his cane on the ground and said angrily:
"What else do you plan to make me do? I don't have that kind of nerve."

"Where's dinner? I've been busy with things at home and only just got back. Why isn't there even dinner?"

Upon hearing Wang Degong mention dinner, Zhao Yuju's expression immediately turned guilty, and she lowered her voice to say:

“Old man, don’t you have connections? It’s not a simple matter to have dinner at Director Wang’s house.”

"There's nothing good to eat at home, and we also have to pay for repairs, why are you still thinking about it?"

Upon hearing Zhao Yuju's words, Wang Degong was so angry he almost laughed, and he burst into a tirade of curses:

"So you guys were only thinking about eating yourselves and didn't even think about preparing anything for me?"

"Who was I running out so late at night for?"

He had been busy outside all day, begging this and that, and when he got home he couldn't even get a bite to eat, and he was even complained about.

So there's a problem with him having dinner at his own home?

Thinking about the extra steamed buns Wang Tieshan had pleaded with him to give him before he left, Wang Degong regretted his actions for the first time.

Seeing Wang Degong's anger, Zhao Yuju grumbled, "If you want something to eat, just say so. I'll go get it for you right now. I don't know why you're throwing a tantrum."

Wang Jinshan also chimed in, "Dad, Mom is right. You should change your bad temper."

Leaning on his cane, Wang Degong couldn't resist and trudged into the inner room.

When Zhao Yuju asked him what he had been doing, he replied irritably, "I'm full of anger."

After a while, Wang Degong asked Zhao Yuju, who was sitting to the side fiddling with jewelry, with curiosity:
"Where's dinner?"

Zhao Yuju looked completely bewildered and asked in return:
"Didn't you say you were full? Then why do you need dinner?"

"Isn't it troublesome for me to cook dinner in the middle of the night?"

Turning his head away, Wang Degong felt that he would be furious if he said another word to her, so he didn't bother to wash up and just fell asleep.

……

On the other side, Wang Chengpeng rode his bicycle to Wang Fucheng's house.

Seemingly anticipating Wang Chengpeng's arrival, Wang Yong had been waiting in the courtyard. Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng, he warmly welcomed him inside, smiling and saying:
"Master, I've been waiting for you for so long, and you've finally come."

"Without your guidance, there are some things I really wouldn't know how to do."

Wang Chengpeng glared at Wang Yong, somewhat speechless, and said, "Isn't it you who's plotting against me?"

"If it weren't for what you did, I wouldn't have needed to come here in the middle of the night to clean up."

Scratching his head awkwardly, Wang Yong said sheepishly:
"How could I dare to scheme against my master? With my limited abilities, if I dared to scheme against my master, I would probably be eaten alive, leaving not even bones behind."

"I just felt that you might need this opportunity, Master, and since the other party is your grandfather, I pointed him in the right direction."

"That's three thousand yuan for repairs, you can't find such a good deal even with a lantern."

"Besides, I only said I would go find you if I had the chance, and I also concealed your existence."

"If Master doesn't want to agree, he must have a thousand ways to refuse Old Master Wang's request."

Wang Yong's eyes were sincere, and what he said was indeed his true thought.

As it turned out, he did a brilliant job; it was his casual gesture that gave Wang Chengpeng the opportunity to completely end this karmic entanglement.

With a sigh, Wang Chengpeng said, "You did a pretty good job this time, but don't cause any more trouble in the future."

"If you really want my help, you can just visit my home directly. There's no need to resort to these underhanded tactics."

Regardless of how good their relationship is, it is at least mutually beneficial and harmonious, and Wang Chengpeng will not feel any resistance.

A hint of joy flashed in his eyes. Wang Yong showed no airs of a factory manager whatsoever; instead, he lowered his head and said, like a schoolchild being lectured:

“Master, I was just afraid of bothering you.” “I’m relieved to hear your words. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have been able to run the Dapeng Sugar Factory.”

After taking a sip of tea, Wang Chengpeng asked curiously, "It's just running a sugar factory, what difficulties could there be?"

"You can tell me what exactly happened."

Hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Yong seemed to have found a pillar of support and poured out his heart's grievances:

“Master, you are a capable person, so naturally you don’t know the troubles of us ordinary people.”

"Thanks to your blessing, the Dapeng Sugar Factory has started up and running quite well."

"I really didn't expect that getting the sugar factory up and running was just the first step; the real trouble was what followed."

"With the sugar factory starting up, the products were produced, and the quality was quite good."

"However, how to sell these products has become a major problem."

“The village has already invested too much money in the sugar factory, and even you, Master, have invested a lot.”

"But if you can't turn the product into revenue, then it will be a long time before you can recover your investment."

Listening to Wang Yong's account, Wang Chengpeng asked in bewilderment:
"Is this your problem? Why don't you just find sales channels to sell the product?"

With a wry smile, Wang Yong said helplessly, "Master, you make things sound simple, but the actual operation is not so easy."

"The question is how our products should enter the market and whether we can find sales channels."

"The simplest question is whether our white sugar should be sold in the form of sugar cubes or granulated sugar."

"Whether or not to package it, and what kind of packaging to use, these are all questions."

Listening to Wang Yong's account, Wang Chengpeng nodded in satisfaction. The fact that Wang Yong could think of these things showed that he had at least put in a lot of effort in this area.

Thinking this through, Wang Chengpeng directly posed a soul-searching question to him:
What are your plans?

"Do you intend to expand and strengthen Dapeng Sugar Factory, or do you just live a mediocre life and be content with improving the lives of the villagers?"

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's question, Wang Yong was immediately taken aback and subconsciously asked:
Is there any difference between these two options?

Wang Chengpeng smiled and said, "You underestimate the equipment I designed, and you also underestimate the value of white sugar."

"If you just want the villagers to live a better life, then all your worries are unnecessary."

"Dapeng Sugar Factory's products are excellent. As long as the price is cheap enough, it's easy to lead the villagers to make money."

After a moment's thought, Wang Chengpeng added, "According to my estimate, Dapeng Sugar Factory should be able to maintain its advantage for at least ten years."

"Ten years, that's ten years! That's enough time to change a lot of things."

"Even if Dapeng Sugar Factory runs out of resources and goes bankrupt, it will have fulfilled its mission and retired successfully."

"If you want to make Dapeng Sugar Factory bigger and stronger and operate it in the long term, then you must think about more things."

"If many things are not done well at the beginning, it will be much more difficult to salvage them later."

Wang Yong never expected that Wang Chengpeng would have so much confidence in the equipment he designed.
However, recalling that the white sugar produced in the factory was of far superior quality to that of white sugar sold outside, he felt that what Wang Chengpeng said made a lot of sense.

Having excellent products at his disposal, as long as he isn't too greedy, enjoying the products he sells isn't actually as difficult as he imagines.

The eyes of the masses are discerning; they can distinguish what is worth buying, especially in this era where every penny must be carefully considered.

Wang Yong was unwilling to simply let things slide.

Thinking this way, he decided to choose a more challenging path, saying:
"Master, if I want to make Dapeng Sugar Factory bigger and stronger, what should I do?"

Wang Chengpeng did not express any opinion on Wang Yong's choice, and his expression did not change at all.

To be honest, he really didn't care about such trivial matters, and no matter what Wang Yong chose, it wouldn't affect him.

Without hesitation, Wang Chengpeng gave his answer directly:

"If we want to make Dapeng Sugar Factory bigger and stronger, product quality is naturally the primary factor, followed by brand building."

"No matter how good the product is, if people don't associate it with the name Dapeng Sugar Factory, it's meaningless."

Nodding as if he understood, Wang Yong said, "Master, do you mean I should register a trademark and then use our products to make Dapeng Sugar Factory famous?"

"This is indeed a very good idea, and it could even be said to be enough to affect the future of our Dapeng Sugar Factory."

"As long as we get off to a good start and make Dapeng Sugar Factory a household name, then sales will no longer be a problem."

"We must have our own brand and packaging. This is the first step for Dapeng Sugar Factory to rise."

At this point, Wang Yong's excitement was palpable, and he shouted:
"A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study. Master is indeed remarkable; just a few casual words of guidance from you are worth more than I have pondered for months."

"I'll start preparing tomorrow: registering the trademark and finding packaging and crushing machines. These are things that need to be done urgently."

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Chengpeng said to Wang Yong, "Your view of the issue is still a bit too superficial."

"Building a good brand is not as simple as it seems."

"I recommend that you divide the white sugar produced in your factory into three to five grades according to quality, with different packaging and prices, to target different groups of people with different needs."

"Especially for the highest quality grade, we must design it carefully so that people can tell at a glance that it is a top-notch product."

"This grading system also has another advantage: it makes it easier to assess workers' performance."

"If those who perform well and those who perform poorly receive the same treatment, how can they be motivated to work harder?"

“Directly treating employees differently is definitely not an option, but we can indirectly improve the welfare and benefits of outstanding employees through evaluation and reward systems.”

"You must remember one thing: quality is the foundation of a product."

"For products that do not meet the quality standards, you either distribute them as employee benefits or do not use the Dapeng Sugar Factory brand and let them enter the market piecemeal."

After a pause, Wang Chengpeng added, "Regarding employee benefits, one thing must be remembered: you can sell them at a low price, but you must never not charge them."

People's hearts are unpredictable.

Once it becomes known that substandard products can be used as free employee benefits, it becomes difficult to guarantee that no accidents will occur during the product selection process.

(End of this chapter)