Chapter 164: Production Raw Material Base

Master Kong Food and Beverage Company.

Having not visited for some time, the scene here had taken on a completely new look.

There were neat and orderly factory buildings, convenient transportation, and vehicles moving in and out.

When Lu Kun found Huang Mingbo, the latter was in the workshop with workers, busy debugging the production equipment.

"Good day, Factory Director!" A sharp-eyed worker spotted Lu Kun approaching and quickly offered a greeting.

Lu Kun gave a slight nod, waved his hand to signal them to step aside, and then pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Handing it to Huang Mingbo, he teased, "Well, well, my deputy factory director, you're doing a fine job. I actually thought you'd make a complete mess of things."

Huang Mingbo took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and grinned broadly. "In the very beginning, sure, there were quite a few blunders. But fortunately, nothing in the world is impossible for a willing heart; I finally managed to get everything sorted out."

Over the past month or so, Huang Mingbo had undergone a dramatic transformation in his demeanor.

The scholarly aura he once possessed had been completely worn away, molding him into a true worldly pragmatist, a seasoned veteran of society.

The place he used to inhabit was a pristine podium, holding nothing heavier than books in his hands; the place he inhabited now was a rough-and-ready workshop, his hands gripping either a wrench or a hammer.

"Hey? Why aren't you smoking?" Lu Kun asked, raising his chin slightly with a smile.

"Ah! This is a production workshop. For safety reasons, I drafted a set of employee operational rules, and one of them strictly prohibits smoking inside the production workshops, manufacturing areas, and warehouses," Huang Mingbo explained.

"Right, it should be just like that. In a factory like ours, fire prevention is a major issue. We must treat fire safety as our top priority," Lu Kun said solemnly.

Huang Mingbo tucked the wrench he was holding right into his belt and replied, "I've taken that into consideration, especially the flour workshop, which is the most prone to fires. I was actually planning to submit a report to you, Boss, requesting the purchase of a batch of fire extinguishers to be placed at various high-risk fire hazard points."

"That's not a problem at all. Just have a word with Chen Xiangyang and tell him I've already approved it," Lu Kun said, patting Huang Mingbo on the shoulder.

"Boss, take a seat!" Huang Mingbo immediately pulled a large newspaper out of his back pocket, unfolded it, laid it out on the ground, and said to Lu Kun.

Lu Kun: "......"

The two of them sat right down on the floor and began chatting, with their backs resting against a large machine.

"When will our Master Kong Food and Beverage Factory be able to start trial production?" Lu Kun rubbed his chin and asked, turning his head slightly.

"I estimate it will take about another half month or so," Huang Mingbo replied after a moment of thought.

"Hmm." Lu Kun was not surprised and gave a soft acknowledgment, then continued, "How many pieces of equipment are still untested? Which ones have problems that require maintenance or need to be returned to the manufacturer?"

Master Kong Food and Beverage Company had imported a total of three production lines, one of which was an instant noodle manufacturing line, while the other two were beverage production lines. All of them were second-hand European and American machinery channeled through Taiwan.

The Taiwanese side had previously promised a warranty and return policy for any quality defects occurring within a year, which was why their prices were a fraction higher than those quoted by the Japanese.

"The debugging work is pretty much done. As for issues, there have been some minor hiccups, but there's no need to send them back to the factory for repairs. I've already taken care of those minor problems myself," Huang Mingbo said with a smile.

Lu Kun said, "That settles it then. Before our trial production, we can certainly invite the fire and health departments to come and guide our work. After all, they are the professionals when it comes to these matters."

"That works too. I'll send out invitations later so they can come visit and guide our work when the time comes," Huang Mingbo said, his eyes lighting up with a grin.

"Exactly, and that doesn't cost much anyway," Lu Kun laughed heartily.

......

"Since I have some time today, tell me what other difficulties the factory is facing. I can't guarantee I can solve all of them, but pooling our wisdom is always a good thing," Lu Kun said, patting Huang Mingbo's shoulder.

"If we're talking about difficulties, they're always more numerous than solutions," Huang Mingbo joked dryly, before continuing, "The biggest shortage our factory faces right now is qualified workers. Even though we've recruited quite a few, to be honest, not a single one of them is a skilled worker. I still have to organize pre-job training myself, which is the main reason why our trial production has to wait at least another half month. Even the employees who finish the training are currently 'green recruits' who can't shoulder the heavy responsibilities yet."

"Old Huang, this problem of yours has really stumped me," Lu Kun said with a smile.

"Our equipment consists entirely of foreign contraptions. Finding workers in China who are skilled at operating these things is probably harder than finding a needle in the ocean. Earlier, I even thought about poaching veteran workers from other food and beverage plants, but in the end, I realized it was better to just recruit and train new ones from scratch."

As Huang Mingbo vented his grievances to Lu Kun, Lu Kun ended up venting right back.

"That's why our initial production capacity cannot explode right away. Workers have to be trained batch by batch. Once the newly hired employees can operate the machines independently and skillfully, we'll let them take on apprentices," Huang Mingbo said, slapping his thigh.

Lu Kun shook his head with a smile. "That's the only way for now. After all, objective difficulties do not shift according to human will."

"So, do you have any other grievances to vent to me, or any suggestions to propose?" Lu Kun inquired.

"As for grievances, I won't burden the boss with them, lest you think I'm incompetent," Huang Mingbo joked.

"What are you talking about? In this entire factory, when it comes to manufacturing and production matters, who else can I trust besides you?" Lu Kun said solemnly.

"Haha, what I said just now was a joke. The reality is that the remaining difficulties we face are all tough nuts to crack. They probably won't be resolved overnight; we can only rely on perseverance to break them down, hammer by hammer." Huang Mingbo scratched his head and smiled.

"However, when it comes to suggestions, I do want to chat with you about something," Huang Mingbo said, his expression turning serious as if he had just thought of something.

"Oh?" Lu Kun raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"Ah, actually, it's not that serious," Huang Mingbo waved his hand.

"In our manufacturing industry, the primary element is raw materials. I once heard that your Huakun Group used to carry out an industrial-agricultural alliance experiment. I wonder..." Huang Mingbo probed cautiously.

"There was indeed such a thing," Lu Kun nodded.

The industrial-agricultural experiment conducted previously had once helped the Huakun Group quickly emerge from the shadow of inflation and enter a fast lane of rapid development.

However, as inflation gradually subsided, this industrial-agricultural cooperation experiment became somewhat superfluous.

It wasn't that the venture didn't make money, but the profits were truly meager, yielding a profit margin of only around seven to ten percent.

To be honest, this profit margin could only be considered mediocre. Compared to Huakun Group's profit margins of over thirty percent, it paled in comparison, and it required a considerable amount of upfront investment.

Precisely because of this, Lu Kun had never actively promoted the practice.

The returns were too small, and it required building a dedicated logistics system from scratch; it simply wasn't cost-effective.

"Old Huang, what are you getting at?" Lu Kun asked with a puzzled look.

"Boss, no matter the circumstances, as manufacturers, we must never let anyone hold us by the throat when it comes to raw materials. Land prices, labor, logistics, water, and electricity are all manageable, but raw materials... we must have a stable and reliable supply source," Huang Mingbo said, his expression growing increasingly serious.

Hearing Huang Mingbo put it this way, Lu Kun suddenly remembered.

Starting from the second half of next year, a new wave of inflation would strike.

Furthermore, the impending inflation would surpass any seen since the founding of the nation in terms of duration, magnitude, and social impact.

When that cold wave of inflation arrived, every industry would suffer.

The wealth on paper might indeed increase, but purchasing power would genuinely and steadily decline.

At its worst, inflation would even exceed thirty percent.

What did this mean? It meant that by that time, the raw material prices for the Master Kong Food and Beverage Factory could soar by thirty percent within a single year.

"What do you propose we do?" Lu Kun asked.

Huang Mingbo was certainly not someone who merely talked a good game on paper.

Although he could not foresee the severe, three-to-four-year inflationary cold wave of the future, he possessed the sober awareness that the critical lifeline of the Master Kong Food and Beverage Factory lay in its production raw materials.

"I want you, Boss, to thoroughly implement this model in the vicinity of our factory.

Even though our Master Kong Food and Beverage Factory is still located within the urban area, there are quite a few neighboring townships.

We can completely and purposefully establish raw material production bases to neutralize our factory's future risks regarding raw material supply."

Hearing Huang Mingbo's words, Lu Kun rubbed his chin, thought about it carefully, and replied, "For this issue, I need to consult several senior leaders at the provincial level. We can only move forward in a big way if they give the nod and the government steps in to endorse it.

My thought is, either we don't do it at all, or we do it on a grand scale. We should directly contract the farmland of the dozen or so towns neighboring the factory, purposefully cultivate the production raw materials we need, build production raw material bases, and thoroughly solidify the foundation of the Master Kong Food and Beverage Group."

Huang Mingbo was struck dumbfounded, completely speechless.

Goodness gracious, playing for stakes this big?

Lu Kun's considerations were far more profound than Huang Mingbo's.

Playing for stakes this large would yield political bonuses far more important than immediate, vested interests; this was a golden opportunity for Lu Kun to forge an unshakeable reputation and shield.

Once the farmland of a dozen or so surrounding towns was contracted, anyone harboring ill intentions toward Lu Kun would first have to consider whether they could handle such a massive undertaking.

And such an undertaking was not easily managed. Should any mishaps occur along the way, the peasants were not people to be trifled with. Since ancient times, there had been the declaration: "Are kings and nobles, generals and ministers, made of a different mold?"

Of course, if this matter were handled successfully, the relevant responsible officials would undoubtedly climb the political ladder, perhaps even becoming role models praised by higher authorities and representative figures fighting for the interests of the peasant masses.