Send me to the countryside? Turn around and make you homeless!

"Nonsense, what a nonsense!"

Director Zhong's face was darker than the boiler. Just as Director An said, if the profits were donated, how would the factory pay the wages?

Director An spoke to the hearts of the people headed by Director Zhong, and also put the words to Tan Yuan's lips.

"Here's what I'm thinking: we can all work together to organize a trade fair, bring all the factory's products to the same place to sell, and donate a proportion of all the proceeds from the trade fair."

Tan Yuan fixed her eyes on Director An: "Director An, your factory produces broad bean paste and chili sauce. For example, if it's 50 cents a bag and the profit is 10 cents per bag, you can donate 15 cents for every 1 or 2 yuan in sales. These can be decided by each factory director. This way, we can protect the interests of the factory while helping the children in the mountains!"

They are all factory managers, so they don't have any empty heads. In this way, the interests of their factory can be guaranteed, and the purpose of donating money to children in mountainous areas can also be achieved.

"No, this... is it okay to do this?"

Director An quickly realized that this was similar to the lottery held by the Huaiyin Brigade Dried Tofu Factory on National Day, except that there were no attractive prizes. The excitement of National Day was still in front of them, and with so many people, there would always be people who would buy the sauce from their factory. If they sold it for a few dollars and donated ten cents, it didn't seem unacceptable.

The main purpose of donating money is to help children in the mountainous areas. Director An, who came from the mountainous areas, was somewhat tempted.

"Of course it's possible. We are a state-owned factory. We just changed the sales location. We will definitely need to negotiate with the local government on where to hold the event. Why can't we do it legally and in compliance with regulations?"

Tan Yuan felt that this was the same as a foreign sales fair, except that they sold to foreigners in order to earn foreign exchange, while they only sold domestically. At the same time, it was like a disguised market.

"...No, you guys selling bean paste and dried tofu can do that, but what can I, a steel mill owner, sell? Scrap metal?"

The steel mill manager was speechless. He couldn't just haul a bunch of steel to sell, could he? Besides, even if he was willing and had no objection, no one would buy the steel!

The steel plant director was well aware that ordinary people would not be able to use the products produced in their factory.

The same is true for Director Zhong of the fertilizer factory. As a fertilizer manufacturer, he only produces so much fertilizer a year, which is not enough to supply all the communes. How can he have any surplus to take to the trade fair?

But Deputy Director Wang of the Education Bureau was embarrassed. He knew about Tan Yuan's idea, but as the organizer, how could he have thought of so many things? If all these people were excluded, the meeting would be too quiet.

The fertilizer plant and the steel plant were just for show. Deputy Director Wang smiled apologetically at the two men. The two men didn't know what to say, so they just shut up and said nothing.

The directors of the silk factory, bean paste factory, textile factory...all fell into deep thought.

"Everyone, think about whether there are any inventory items in the factory that are hard to sell. They can be sold at the trade show. No tickets are required, and I believe many people will buy them. If there are no inventory items, you can ask the factory workers to work overtime to produce them and sell them at the trade show. You can also give them overtime pay. I believe everyone will be happy with that."

Great unity is a good thing, and no one dislikes it, even the dual-income families in the county are no exception.

The factory sells more products and the government collects more taxes, so there is no way the government would object.

Trade fairs are very common in later generations. Many trade fairs are held in every city every year, and they are always crowded. Tan Yuan’s main purpose is not to make money, but to increase the popularity of the tofu factory.

She wants to hold a traveling trade fair. It's definitely not possible nationwide, but she can think of doing it province-wide.

At present, we will take Changyun County as a pilot. After seeing the results, other counties will naturally cooperate with them, then the city, and finally the province. Wouldn’t the brand awareness increase?

"I suggest that all factory managers give their products names. Just like Director An, you can give your factory's doubanjiang a name. Then when people think of doubanjiang, they will think of your factory, and they will ask for your factory's doubanjiang when they go to the supply and marketing cooperative."

There is no concept of brand in China nowadays. Except for a few particularly famous ones, such as White Rabbit Milk Candy and Phoenix bicycles..., others are generally not specially named and are based on place names.

As soon as Tan Yuan mentioned the name, Director An's mind became active and he looked at Tan Yuan with a hint of eagerness.

No one opposed Tan Yuan's suggestion, and they were all led by her. The first trade fair in Changyun County was initially finalized in this small conference room, and only a few local factories in Changyun County participated.

The two factory managers from the steel plant and the fertilizer plant who were there to make up the numbers didn't say anything either. They just watched these people discuss quietly and occasionally offered some suggestions.

Director Zhong originally looked down on Tan Yuan, but the more he listened, the more he felt that he was narrow-minded. In the end, he had to admit that Huaiyin Brigade had found a treasure by having such a capable and smart educated youth. It was hard to say what would happen to other factories after this exhibition, but the tofu factory of Huaiyin Brigade would definitely be able to reach a higher level.

The happiest person was Deputy Director Wang of the Education Bureau. After the meeting, he immediately went to negotiate with the county government about the venue, and he was determined to convince the government to agree to hold this "trade fair" in the county.

The meeting ended successfully. Li Zecai, who had worked as a secretary for Tan Yuan for a period of time, had a deeper understanding of Tan Yuan for the first time.

She had made a lot of progress compared to when she first tried to persuade Secretary Qian in the commune, and she also understood Secretary Qian's real intention of asking him to study with Tan Yuan.

Tan Yuan discussed the details with Deputy Director Wang for a while before heading out with Secretary Qian and the others. As soon as they stepped out of the door, they were stopped by Director An who had left earlier.

"Comrade Tan, I have something to trouble you with."

Director An rubbed his hands and said embarrassedly.

"I want to know who drew the packaging for your factory. I also want to..."

This was suspected of poaching. Director An was almost fifty years old, and there was some caution and tentativeness in his eyes when he looked at the young man Tan Yuan, fearing that Tan Yuan would misunderstand.

"Oh, this was painted by an educated youth from our brigade. If Director An needs it, I'll have him come to the factory to find you. But you have to tell me what style you want first."

The packaging of the tofu factory was designed by three people in three different styles, all for the purpose of seeking novelty. As for Director An, there was no need for this at all.