Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1152: Home Turns into Workshop
Fang Jingfu took the pen and started writing without hesitation.

Since he already had so many properties, he probably didn't need the rent, so they just took what each other needed. He needed a place to set up a workshop, and Ye Yaodong needed someone to look after the house.

"I won't be polite to you, so I'll just write free rent?"

"Write, write. I'll just treat it as asking you to help me look after the house."

"Okay, I'll get you some lighters later so you can take them back."

Ye Yaodong was happy. It would be better to ask for a lighter than to ask for that little rent. Talking about money seemed too materialistic. It would be better to give each other objects as gifts, a way of reciprocity.

"Okay... Hey... Do you have a lot of goods on hand? Otherwise, you don't have to give them to me. You can sell them to me at a lower price. I have a store anyway. You can give me a few boxes and give me a wholesale price. I will take them back and sell them. I can earn back the rent."

"Sure, no problem. You are indeed a businessman, and the fishermen are just a cover, right?" Fang Jingfu said with an I-know-it look, "Smuggling is so rampant now, it all depends on fishing boats..."

"Hush, don't talk nonsense. I'm a decent person. No matter if it's smuggling or speculation, you will be caught. The Eight Kings incident in your area has not yet passed, and there are still people who have not been caught. You can't just talk nonsense. Walls have ears."

He slapped his mouth and said, "My stinky mouth, I was wrong. This lighter is made in my own workshop. It is a specialty and is given to each other by friends."

"Correct."

"Our workshop has only been open for a month or two. Recently, the number of orders has increased greatly. We assemble 24 hours a day and materials are transported back and forth. That's why my parents find it noisy. I can give you a part of it first. How much do you want? Anyway, when we move to your place, I will ask my eldest brother to increase production. Anyway, the space here is bigger than my house."

Ye Yaodong thought for a moment, "Do you produce plastic shells?"

"Plastic? How can you hold gasoline in plastic?"

"So there's only iron?"

"It's made of iron, just like the one I gave you some time ago. At most, some of them are different colors."

"That's pretty simple. How much does a wholesale of this cost?"

Fang Jingfu looked at the worker beside him and said, "Let me tell you, since you want to sell wholesale, then it must be the wholesale price."

Ye Yaodong also looked at the worker next to him and felt that his question was a foolish one. How could he so carelessly reveal the wholesale price? He still had to take it back and sell it.

"Then how much can you sell this lighter you gave me for, the market price?"

"6~8 yuan. You have to ship this to your local area, so 8 yuan is not too much. Our new batch of patterned ones can be sold for 15 or 20 yuan in the market."

"That's still cheaper than the Friendship Store. The ones abroad are often two or three hundred yuan, and I can't tell what brand it is just by looking at the English words."

"Some products made abroad are priced at this price. What brand is that? The cost of living abroad is high. We ordinary people can't afford it anyway. We might as well buy a TV or a radio with that money. My brother also got one at that time, and he tore it apart again and again. He also likes to research, so he kept looking for alternative materials and finally made a cheaper one."

"If you love to study hard, you have to make it cheap and affordable for the general public, so that sales will skyrocket. Our country has such a large population, if everyone really wants one, we have to sell more than a billion. And it's impossible for everyone to buy only one, and they don't use it for a lifetime."

"Yes, yes, yes. We have to make it so that ordinary people can afford it." Fang Jingfu seemed to have met a soulmate, and his eyes were shining when he looked at him.

"So you can consider plastic, which is cheaper."

He frowned. "Plastic?"

"I don't understand these things. You can do some research in this direction. Anyway, try to reduce the cost. If the cost is reduced, the price will be reduced, and everyone can afford it, right? Now 8 yuan for one is still quite stressful for ordinary people."

"I'll talk to my brother about this later. He just came up with this research, so he'll have to take his time. I find that you know a lot and always come up with incredible things."

"No? I was just saying it casually."

"Yes, I think you are well-informed."

"Maybe. I've been traveling around so much that I've probably seen a lot."

"I understand!" Fang Jingfu understood instantly and had an expression that said "I understand" on his face.

"What do you know now?" Ye Yaodong was speechless when he saw his expression. Did he really think that he was a smuggler? So he had a lot of experience and knew everything?

"No need to say, no need to say, I understand. The current environment is like this. If you don't do it this way, you can't make a lot of money. This is how you make money quickly. I understand. I have seen a lot of it."

"I am innocent."

"Yes, I understand. Tell me how much you want later, and I'll go home and count it and bring it to you."

Being accused of being a smuggler for no reason, Ye Yaodong helplessly reached out and knocked on the table, "Write yours first, and finish signing quickly."

"Good good."

Fang Jingfu immediately lowered his head and started writing again.

Ye Yaodong was also thinking about how much quantity he should have. If he could sell one for 6-8 yuan, then the cost would definitely not be higher than two or three yuan. After all, this might be traded several times, from wholesaler to middleman and then to retailer, and the labor and materials combined would only cost about one or two yuan.

Of course they have to make money by producing them. If they want 1000 pieces, it would only cost about two to three thousand yuan.

There was no need to ask for too much. He was just taking some back to trade in. He wasn't making money by reselling, so just taking a little would be enough.

Moreover, he had just remitted 1 yuan back home a few days ago, and now he only had to yuan accumulated from selling goods in the past few days, and he had to pay the workers' wages of about yuan.

"It's written. Take a look. If there's no problem, sign your name."

Ye Yaodong's thoughts were pulled back. He picked up the paper, took a look at it, and signed his name after confirming that there was no problem.

Fang Jingfu also wrote his name, "Make another copy, one for each person."

"Just copy it. It's better not to bother two people with the same thing. Since you have already written one, just write another one."

"Okay, then how many do you think you need? I'll go back and prepare them. Also, can you send someone over to build a roof for the yard tomorrow?"

"Sure, no problem. Anyway, we go out to sea every day and come back to sleep at night. There are only two or three people left at home to cook. You can send someone to set up the shed first and move the assembly materials in advance."

"Okay, I'll make you my friend. Fortunately, I'm going to hand in the photos today, so I don't have to run around in the hot weather. I got a heat stroke after searching for a whole day the day before yesterday, and I stayed at home all day yesterday. Nowadays, everyone needs a house, so how can there be so many empty houses?"

"Copy one first. It's almost noon. Stay here for lunch and we can chat while we eat."

"it is good."

He lowered his head and copied it again, and then they both signed their names, one on each of the two sheets of paper.

He even kept Ye Yaodong's paper on the notebook without tearing it off, to avoid tearing off a piece of paper and throwing it everywhere. He tore off Fang Jingfu's paper and gave it to him.

"Come on, dinner isn't ready yet, let's go to the room and chat for a while."

Fang Jingfu immediately stood up and followed him, then whispered: "Do you have any other good stuff? I want to buy some from you..."

Ye Yaodong was so annoyed, "Do you really think I'm a smuggler?"

"How else can you earn so much money if you own more than a dozen ships, several shops, and several workshops? If you were here, you would have been invited to have tea and interrogation every few days."

"You also said that I have so many things. If I didn't get them from a legitimate source, I would have been invited to have tea and questioned. How can I still be standing here?"

"Ah, you really aren't into that?"

"No, I'm a serious person."

Fang Jingfu was skeptical, "Forget it, after all, we just met by chance and haven't met each other many times. It's normal that you don't believe me. Let's talk about it later. You will know my character after we get to know each other for a long time."

"Don't talk like you're dating. It's disgusting. To be honest, you still don't believe me. Forget it. You'll know it later anyway. Tell me first, how much is your lighter wholesale price, and I'll calculate the quantity you need."

"Originally the wholesale price was 2 yuan, but since you let me use the house for free, I can charge you 1 yuan. After all, the metal shell, metal parts, springs and electrodes are all custom-made by other workshops. The gas dye is also expensive, and it needs to be assembled by someone."

Ye Yaodong thought to himself, "Wow!", it was just as he expected. They could reduce the price by 5 cents. Even if the wholesale price was 1 yuan, they would still make money at this price. The cost was definitely less than 5 yuan. Selling it for 8 yuan was ten times the price.

Even after deducting the cost of transportation and labor, the profit is still huge.

Wow, it turns out that every industry is easy to work in now and there are huge profits.

In an era of scarce resources, everything is easy to sell and everyone is short of everything.

"Don't tell anyone about this price. Our wholesale price is 6 yuan now. Wholesalers or traders then sell it to various places. It may take some time for it to reach local vendors and shops. It costs yuan or more to sell it outside."

"It turns out that all the money is taken away by the middlemen one by one. When it finally reaches the hands of ordinary people, I don't know how many hands it has passed through and how much money has been added to it."

"There's nothing we can do about it. We can't sell them one by one. We can only make a profit if they are sold in large quantities. If we sell them one by one, it will take us forever, and we can't sell them to hundreds of millions of people."

"Well, I was just saying it casually. As expected, we still have to find the source factory. Don't forget your brothers when you become bigger and stronger. Brothers are still brothers."

"Haha, you're already talking before you even start."

"Ah, it's only a matter of time."

Fang Jingfu waved his hand and said, "Okay, since you generously rented the venue to me for free today, you will be my brother from now on."

"Okay, if you become rich, don't forget me."

"Hahaha, this is so funny. I haven't even started yet, but I feel like I'm going to be a billionaire."

"Ah, it's only a matter of time."

"You're really good at talking. Just tell me how many you want, and I'll reserve them for you in advance. Everyone else can step back."

Ye Yaodong happily stretched out his two hands and gestured, "I want 2000."

"So many!" Fang Jingfu looked him up and down, "And you still say you don't do that."

"Please, brother, I have a store. Do you know where it is? It's in the aquatic product wholesale market, the largest aquatic product wholesale market in our city. You don't know how many people come to it every day. 2000 pieces may be sold out in less than a month."

"real or fake?"

"Of course, but if it sells really well, I might have to ask you for it."

"Easy to say!"

He is also a cross-industry...

I originally thought the wholesale price would be two or three yuan, and he wanted 1000 pieces, but now the price has been reduced to 1 yuan, so 5 pieces is not too much, so I can just take it back to test the waters, and it just so happens that they don't have it.

If the response is good, I can get another batch from Fang Jingfu, which will help him expand and I can also make money, a win-win situation.

If one person earns 5 yuan, 2000... ...

Holy shit...isn’t this too heartless?

What about the ones sold abroad for tens or hundreds of dollars? Damn, that's a lot of capital.

I have heard that in the late 80s and early s, Vancouver's lighter industry rose and began to slowly occupy the national market. By the millennium, Vancouver's lighters accounted for % of the world's production.

I didn't expect to meet him and witness the rise of lighters with my own eyes.

Thinking about it, he felt a surge of heat in his heart. No wonder so many people went into business, it was so damn easy to make money. No wonder the Eighth King was targeted.

"Then I'll prepare 2000 for you when I get home. I've had too many people come to me to place orders recently. I think I'll need to hire a few more people to assemble them."

"Hire more people. There will definitely be more in the future. It would be best if we could provide a one-stop service and even produce the accessories ourselves."

"That's a big investment, so we should do it slowly and make some money first. Only when we make some money can we do more."

Ye Yaodong didn't say anything. This was not an industry he was familiar with anyway, so they planned it themselves.

He just happened to come across it, so he decided to make some money. It would be a waste if he didn't make some. Anyway, it would be a trip to bring people back or a trip to bring goods back. It would be better to get more things to bring back and resell.

Finally he understood, the West-to-East Gas Transmission, the South-to-North Water Diversion, the transportation between two places, and the exchange of specialty products.

Lin Ji must have made a lot of money!

Fang Jingfu and his team must have made a lot of money. They made at least one yuan for wholesale, and if they produced a thousand or so pieces a day, they would make a net profit of 1000 yuan, which would be 3 yuan a month! That would leave them with more than yuan a year!
If we expand production a little bit, it will be 10 a month and a million a year!
Ye Yaodong's eyes almost popped out of his head as he calculated in his mind. As expected, he made money the slowest and still had to rely on his skills.

"Let's go out for dinner. Remember to prepare the goods and send them to me early. I will go back when the temperature drops."

Fang Jingfu stretched out his hand and counted on his fingers, "Today is the 5th. It will take about half a month for the temperature to drop. It's still early. Anyway, I will prepare it for you before you go back."

"Okay. You're already in the lighter business, so is it appropriate for you to be the vice president of the Fisheries Association?"

"What's inappropriate about that? My dad studies the ocean, but my eldest brother got sidetracked and accidentally studied lighters. What's wrong with me being on both sides? Anyway, I can move wherever I'm needed. I have several younger siblings, and I can just send them to my dad after they graduate. You're just a figurehead, and you still have the nerve to criticize me."

"That's different. At least I'm really floating on the sea."

"Is it fun?"

"Who said it's fun? You're risking your life to make money, risking your life, who told you it's fun? If there's a choice, who would want to ride the waves on the sea? It means living off the sea, otherwise you can only wait to starve to death."

Fang Jingfu touched his nose and asked such a question with some embarrassment.

"Your name is well chosen. Fang Jingfu means to enjoy a peaceful life. You can tell you have a good fate just by hearing it."

"Oh shit! How do you know my nickname is Enjoy the Bliss!"

Ye Yaodong was dumbfounded, he just said this homonym casually.

"You can predict this for me, which means it's your fate."

Fang Jingfu was very happy. "I think so too. You are destined to enjoy a peaceful life. What's your nickname? Everyone has a nickname, right?"

"I don't have a nickname!"

"How is that possible? Is there anyone who isn't called a nickname?" Fang Jingfu looked at the other people at the dinner table who were smiling at them.

"What's your boss' nickname?"

"Ship King Dong, my nickname is Ship King Dong. I have many older ships, so my folks call me that."

"Ah? Really fake?"

He looked at the other three old guys who were snickering with some suspicion.

"Of course it's true. Didn't I tell you before that I have more than a dozen ships? If not this nickname, what nickname should I call them? But when I go back, I might change it. Everyone has to call me President Ye!"

"Hahahaha, this is so funny. You really know how to flatter yourself."

"When you're out in the world, you give yourself an identity. When you're back home, you have to brag about your fame. If you don't show off your good identity, it's like... wearing nice clothes and going out at night."

"That's called the Night Walk in Brocade Clothes."

"Ah, yes."

"What grade did you go to? Junior high school?"

“Graduated from literacy class.”

Fang Jingfu almost spit out a mouthful of soup. Fortunately, he turned his head in time, but because he covered his mouth with his hands, the soup also smeared his face.

"Ah, why are you so excited? Graduating from the literacy class is also a graduation, and you are also a cultured person."

He couldn't help but give Ye Yaodong a thumbs up, "Gao, when you go out, your identity is indeed given by yourself. I understand. I finally understand the meaning of what you said. You are really good. I have seen it."

"What's the big deal? Just be able to read."

The other boatmen also quickly agreed, "Yes, being able to read is already impressive, not to mention that Adong is famous in our area, so it doesn't matter whether he can read or not."

Ye Yaodong disagreed with this statement.

"That's still important. You can't say this casually. Writing is still very important."

"Well, I don't know which of your lies are true or false."

"What's so good about this? It's true that I went home and bragged about President Ye. How can it be called bragging when telling the truth to fellow villagers?"

After hearing this, Fang Jingfu didn't feel that he was lying.

"That's true. It's a real reputation. It's not just bragging."

"Eat, or you'll burst out again while we're talking."

After Fang Jingfu had his fill of food and drink, he sat down and chatted with them for a while and asked about their hometown. He was still somewhat curious about Ye Yaodong.

They are so young and have such a big boat. They even bought a house locally. They said they have more than a dozen boats at home, and they also have shops, land and workshops. They brag as if they are very famous, but it doesn't seem fake.

Ye Yaodong was bored so he sat with him for a while and only sent him away after they had talked enough.

The boatmen asked him all sorts of questions, but he didn't say much and went straight back to the house, intending to count the money and take a nap.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, they continued to fish for a few days. Now he has collected more than 5000 yuan. If he fishes for another 20 days, he is estimated to be able to collect another 1 yuan.

Well... by this calculation, 3000 yuan is not too much to buy a lighter, right?
But it’s better to be cautious the first time and take less. Anyway, after they are sold out, you can ship another batch when the time comes depending on the situation.

When Ye's father came back in the evening, he told his father that the house issue had been resolved, and when the weather turned cooler, they could leave without any worries.

"Can you sell thousands of lighters? That's a lot of money..."

"How could it not be sold? One at the Friendship Store costs hundreds of yuan, but this one only costs a few yuan. I think everyone will be scrambling to buy it."

"Well, I just wanted to say that we buy fish and fish, and suddenly we buy so many lighters to take back..."

"What's the big deal? When you go to a place, you always have to bring some local specialties with you. You can just put them in the store for consignment."

"Okay, you can see for yourself."

Ye Yaodong patted his father on the shoulder and said, "Well, that's right. You will live a long life."

Father Ye looked at him in confusion, "What are you talking about? I feel like it's not a good thing."

"If you are happy and healthy, and don't worry about anything, you will live a long life."

Father Ye still didn't understand, "What a weird thing."

Fang Jingfu was very quick. He went back that day and asked people to come and set up the awning the next day.

However, Ye Yaodong was out at sea and was not at home. When he came back in the evening, everything had been built.

From a distance, the military green awning on top of the house door was particularly eye-catching. Everyone stood at the door and looked up at it for a long time.

The gate to the courtyard was wide open, but when you stood at the gate and looked inside, it was pitch black. The sunshade and rainproof effect was too good. It was not dark yet, so you had to turn on the lights in the house.

"I have to talk to him tomorrow and ask him to pay for his electricity bill himself."

Father Ye quickly agreed, "Yes, we don't need him to pay the rent, but he has to pay the electricity bill. We can't pay for it. Otherwise, once the shed is set up, we have to turn on the lights in broad daylight. How much electricity will it cost?"

"It's quite efficient. The canopy is set up today, the spare parts will be shipped in tomorrow, and the workers will start assembling it here the day after tomorrow."

Father Ye didn't care about other people's workshops. He was concerned about the vegetables in the yard. Whenever he came back, he would look at the vegetables he planted at the foot of the wall.

"The sun can't shine in now, so we have to eat these vegetables in the next two days, or dig them up and plant them out the back door."

There is also a small area at the back, only about ten square meters, with a well and a few clothes racks on the side for drying clothes.

"Just eat it up in the next two days."

"Well, you just need to make sure that our house is rented out for free and won't be occupied by others."

"No, our house has been registered, and we have the lease contract signed yesterday. Besides, Fang Jingfu is not a rogue. After a few contacts, I can still trust him."

"You saw him walking down the street the other day and he gave you a lighter whenever he saw you."

"That's also a point. Their lighter workshop is making a fortune every day. How much is our house worth? Why do we need to occupy it? At most, it can only run for a year or two. Then they have to buy land and build a large factory."

"Are you so sure?"

"Of course."

Those who can succeed in this era are all capable people, and he knew that the trend of lighters, which he had heard about in his previous life, was a money-making business.

Father Ye shook his head and said nothing more.

Anyway, no one is renting the house, and leaving it like this would give them a headache. They are also worried that it will be occupied by neighbors or other people. Since he believes it, then let them believe it.

The next day, when they got up early to go out to sea, they unexpectedly found it was cloudy and windy, but it didn't rain, so they decided to continue going out to sea.

Fang Jingfu also worked quickly. When they returned early in the afternoon due to rain, he was already busy piling up spare parts around the corner. There were boxes and bags everywhere.

He also placed four long tables in the open space in the middle of the yard, with a pile of stools on both sides. This is probably the work station where the workers assemble lighters. It looks quite simple.

The three boatmen were sitting on the steps of the main room, watching people coming in and out busy with their work.

When they ran back in the rain, the benches were also filled with people Fang Jingfu had called in to move the things.

Fang Jingfu was the first to greet him, "It looks like a typhoon is coming."

"Yeah, it's already October, the weather is going to get colder soon, and there's even a typhoon coming. Have you moved all your stuff over here?"

"Almost. We can call people over tomorrow to start assembly."

"How many workers are there?"

"Originally, there were only a few. I planned to order a few more after moving here, making a total of 20. Now I am preparing to order a little more, otherwise I won't be able to complete the order in time."

"That's amazing! After changing the site, the production volume has doubled."

"But I'm also worried. The number of orders has increased, but they only give us a 30% deposit, and we have to pay for the raw materials ourselves. The more orders there are, the more money we have to pay in advance. We've only been doing this for a short time, and I'm worried because we've already borrowed a lot."

"Isn't it enough to collect a large deposit for one or two orders first, and then use the balance to buy materials for the next orders after the orders are completed?"

"It's not enough. We have to stock up and order materials in advance. We have to order materials as soon as we receive a wave of deposits. Otherwise, if we are late, we won't be able to get the materials."

Ye Yaodong didn’t quite understand all this. He was a little envious, but he was not familiar with this industry and this was also a family business, so he didn’t dare to interfere.

"I'll ask my brothers and sisters to borrow some later."

"Well, it's only a matter of time before we get orders and make money."

"You have more confidence than me."

"Don't worry, getting rich is a matter of time."

"Would you like to invest in our workshop?"

Ye Yaodong was a little hesitant. He didn't understand this thing. Moreover, they had known each other for less than a month and he was about to leave.

　It's a little late, but I forced myself to do it today.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)