Reborn in 1991, I opened supermarkets all over the world.

Besides finalizing the business license, Lu Zifeng also made an appointment with Qin Deshou during his trip to the city.

Of course, he didn't take Qin Deshou to visit his "office," but instead arranged to meet him at a Chinese restaurant with decent decor.

Qin Deshou handed over a business card with the name of Sun Ming, the director of Jiangping County Fruit and Orange Beverage Factory.

Lu Zifeng had never heard of the Guocheng Beverage Factory, but that didn't mean it didn't have a large presence.

This is similar to how many people have never heard of Dongxian Canned Food Factory, because they have fixed sales channels and neither engage in illegal activities nor distribute their products to the outside world on a large scale.

"How much oranges do they need each year?" Lu Zifeng asked.

Qin Deshou moved the freshly served Laifeng fish to Lu Zifeng's front and said, "I don't know. I haven't met Director Sun yet. This business card was given to me by a friend from the glass factory. But we can analyze it from the glass bottles ordered by the beverage factory: a 500ml bottle of orange juice requires about 1 jin (500g), and they order about 100,000 500ml glass bottles for orange juice from the glass factory every year."

That's a demand of around 50 tons.

"Not only that, you also have to factor in losses."

Lu Zifeng carefully examined Qin Deshou and felt that this guy was definitely a talent.

If we can completely recruit Qin Deshou, and also include Gu Quan, then the three founding elders of the New Era can play cards together.

On the other hand, Lu Zifeng also realized the problems with Jiangping Beverage Factory.

A 500ml bottle of juice requires 1 pound of oranges, which is almost pure juice. The cost is high, so the selling price will definitely not be cheap.

What's popular these days?

It's cola, a foreign soft drink.

Not only is it stylish, but it's also cheaper than pure fruit juice.

The reason why Jiangping Beverage Factory is not well-known in later generations is probably because it died young.

"We've never met Director Sun before, so it's not appropriate to make a direct appointment with him. How about this, you ask your friend at the glass factory to arrange a casual meeting first," Lu Zifeng said.

"OK."

Dongxian County, known as the "Orange Township," produces 150 tons of oranges a year. Even if Jiangping Beverage Factory were to take over all of them, there would still be 100 tons left unsold.

But if he could get in touch with Sun Ming, wouldn't he know a few people in the same industry?

It doesn't have to be a beverage factory; a cannery or a large fruit wholesaler would also work.

That evening, Qin Deshou's friend contacted Sun Ming and arranged to meet him at the Jiangping Hotel the following evening.

Generally speaking, restaurants named after local places are considered the best restaurants in the area.

Lu Zifeng rented a Volkswagen Santana from the Third Transportation Company under the name of "Jiangshi New Era Trading Company".

The cost of renting a car is not high; each day's rental is equivalent to about a month's salary for an average worker.

In addition, Lu Zifeng secretly gave the driver twenty yuan to buy cigarettes, meals, tea, and lodging.

Gu Quan was very excited as he rode in a car for the first time in his life.

"Brother Feng, did you bring your camera?"

"The camera belongs to Jiang Ce's father. We only borrow it when we need it. How can we carry it with us all the time? Besides, we're going there to discuss business, not for tourism."

Gu Quan was very disappointed; he longed for a camera all of a sudden.

Even black and white is fine.

He would take a picture of himself wearing sunglasses and getting into a car, and show it to his grandmother at home and to Jiang Ce and his gang of friends.

If possible, he also wanted to show it to Tang Guo.

The roads we have now are nowhere near as good as those built after 2000.

So when Lu Zifeng finally arrived in Jiangping County after many twists and turns, it was already past 5 p.m.

Fortunately, it wasn't dark yet; otherwise, traveling alone in the road, who knows what kind of trouble I might have encountered.

When Lu Zifeng and Gu Quan got out of the Santana, Qin Deshou and his friend Li Hao, who were waiting at the Jiangping Hotel, were quite surprised.

"De Shou, your friend is a big boss!" Li Hao exclaimed.

"The general manager of Jiang City New Era Trading Company, wouldn't you say he's a big boss?" Qin Deshou saw through him but didn't say anything.

Upon arriving at the private room, in front of Sun Ming, the factory manager of Jiangping Fruit and Orange Beverage Factory, Qin Deshou even proactively asked, "President Lu, isn't your driver coming up for dinner?"

Lu Zifeng smiled and said, "Not everyone is qualified to dine at the same table as Director Sun. He can just eat something casually outside."

Sun Ming clasped his hands together and said humbly, "President Lu, you flatter me. Besides, this is just a friendly gathering. There are no factory directors or department heads here."

The waiter came in and asked what kind of wine they wanted.

Lu Zifeng ordered a bottle of Moutai with a metal cap, which cost 180 yuan a bottle.

From the choice of car to the selection of wine, they had already earned Sun Ming's high regard.

After a few drinks and a taste of Jiangping Restaurant's signature dishes, the conversation got down to business.

Sun Ming said, "Although we don't buy a particularly large amount of oranges, it's hard to find an orange-growing region like Dongxian around Jiangshi. So we buy a little here and a little there, and the cost is about 35 cents."

Lu Zifeng looked at the wine glass, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The Dongxian Canned Food Factory, with its massive purchasing volume, managed to drive the price down to 35 cents. What makes you think you can?

Moreover, Sun Ming was referring to cost, not purchase price.

Cost means including transportation and labor costs.

If I hadn't specifically consulted my second uncle beforehand, I almost would have believed his nonsense.

Therefore, Lu Zifeng ignored the price Sun Ming mentioned and instead spoke to himself: "The price of oranges in Dong County has been driven down to 35 cents by the canneries, and the farmers feel they are not making any money. I encourage them to find other sales channels. If Director Sun can raise the price to 45 cents, I guarantee you can choose from several hundred acres of orange groves in Dong County first."

"Moreover, you only need to be responsible for transportation; I'll let the villagers do the harvesting themselves. This way, you'll save on labor costs."

Li Hao from the glass factory laughed, "We believe in President Lu's abilities, but why should those farmers listen to you? Are you going to pay for their labor?"

Lu Zifeng thought to himself, when the price of oranges drops to one cent per pound and nobody wants them, as long as you are willing to pay to buy them, they would be willing to pick them, let alone chew them up and spit them into your mouth.

Of course, this cannot be said.

He took out several photos from his briefcase and distributed them to everyone: "I'm from Dong County, and I grew up in Baiguo Village. The fifty-year-old farmer standing at the gate is my second uncle, who is also the village head of Baiguo Village."

Gu Quan, who had been standing silently to the side, looked at Lu Zifeng with a puzzled expression, only to be glared at back by Lu Zifeng.

Lu Zifeng continued, "Actually, our village has also studied this. If we want to promote Dongxian oranges to a wider market, in addition to improving quality, we also need to improve service."

Sun Ming, as the head of a company, strongly agrees.

In the past, their goods were all sold according to a plan; as long as the orange juice was not poisonous, the next buyer had to take it.

However, with the development of the market economy, especially after many small businesses were contracted out to clever individuals, not only did the product quality not decline, but it also improved a lot in terms of packaging, quality control, and service.

If established companies don't strive for improvement, they're doomed sooner or later.

Actually, the price of 45 cents is about the same as the price that Jiangping County Beverage Factory purchased from other places in previous years, but if they really follow Lu Zifeng's plan, they can at least save some labor costs.

In addition, Dongxian County is still well-known as the hometown of oranges—after all, in previous years it has been a supplier of high-quality oranges to the northern country.

Thinking of the large northern country, Sun Ming's face showed worry: "If President Lu really sells the oranges from Dongxian County to us, how will the Dongxian Cannery sell them to the large northern country? Won't that cause an international dispute?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zifeng almost spat a mouthful of Moutai in his face.