Reborn in 1985: From Selling Braised Duck to Becoming the World's Richest Man

Before the workers could speak, Wu Yong spoke first, nervously addressing Liang Ming:

"Boss Liang, the brick factory is going to be reformed? You didn't tell me about this?"

Hearing Wu Yong's words, Liang Ming chuckled and said, "Director Wu, aren't I talking to you right now?"

"Besides, as the manager of the brick factory, I shouldn't have any problem proposing reforms, right?"

Upon hearing Liang Ming's words, Wu Yong's expression froze.

The other party was the owner of the brick factory, and the township government relinquished its management rights, leaving Liang Ming in full charge.

Even as the factory manager, Wu Yong had no right to interfere with the boss's reform plans.

But thinking of the many workers at the brick factory, his tone became somewhat pleading:

"Boss Liang, all the workers in our brick factory are experienced and hardworking when it comes to producing red bricks!"

"Could you please not lay them off? If you think someone is unsuitable, could you reassign them to another position?"

Wu Yong is now only thinking about how to save as many workers as possible.

The workers below became somewhat nervous upon hearing the factory manager's words.

They were also worried that they would be laid off by the new boss.

The difference between private enterprises and state-owned enterprises is that workers in state-owned enterprises have almost guaranteed jobs; unless they make a serious mistake, they generally do not face the risk of being laid off.

Private enterprises, on the other hand, rely entirely on individual ability, and if you don't perform well, you can be laid off at any time.

"What layoffs? Factory Manager Wu, what are you talking about? When did I say I was going to lay off employees?"

Upon hearing Wu Yong's words, Liang Ming's face showed a hint of surprise, and he asked in return.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong was stunned.

He looked at Liang Ming in surprise and asked, "Boss Liang, when you mentioned layoffs, didn't you mean laying off some workers?"

The workers below all looked at Liang Ming, their eyes filled with renewed hope.

Hearing Wu Yong's words and seeing the workers' tense looks, Liang Ming realized that his words had caused a misunderstanding.

He immediately said with a smile, "Director Wu, workers of the red brick factory, you have all misunderstood."

"The factory reform I'm talking about doesn't mean laying off some workers; it means I want to launch new products!"

Upon hearing this, the people around were both surprised and delighted.

The good news is that the boss doesn't plan to lay off employees, so they can continue working at the brick factory.

Surprisingly, the boss was planning to launch a new product.

Their brick factory only produces red bricks; what else can they produce?

"Producing new products? Mr. Liang, what do you mean?"

Wu Yong was also somewhat surprised to hear Liang Ming's words and asked curiously.

Liang Ming didn't dare to say anything more, otherwise the workers would misunderstand again.

"What I mean is that the red bricks produced by our red brick factory are of such high quality that they are too expensive. In today's red brick market, they are not competitive. Apart from some wealthy customers, ordinary people simply cannot afford to spend so much money to buy our red bricks."

"Moreover, I think you, Director Wu, wouldn't be willing to abandon quality standards and produce inferior red bricks!"

Liang Ming said.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong quickly replied, "Of course we wouldn't agree. Our brick factory is a state-owned... semi-state-owned factory. If the bricks we produce have defects, it would be a disgrace to the country!"

Wu Yong is a person with principles and a bottom line.

He was unwilling to produce inferior red bricks for profit.

Liang Ming had long anticipated that Wu Yong would say that.

He then said, "Therefore, if our brick factory wants to make a profit, we can only give up producing bricks and switch to producing other products."

"But Mr. Liang, our brick factory workers can only produce bricks, nothing else."

Wu Yong reminded Liang Ming.

"Don't worry, although our brick factory no longer produces red bricks, we can produce ceramic tiles. The production method is actually similar to that of red bricks, only some processes are different. With a little training, the workers will be able to learn."

"Making ceramic tiles?"

Upon hearing Liang Ming's words, Wu Yong's face showed a strange expression.

It's not that they hadn't seen tiles before, but because of production processes and technology, tiles are not cheap.

In a small place like Taoyuan Township, there aren't many doors that can use ceramic tiles.

Many families built single-story houses with red bricks, which was considered a decent living.

There aren't many families that can afford to build two or three-story villas. Even if they do, very few are willing to spend money to tile the exterior walls. The interiors are usually just plastered with cement and whitewash and that's it.

"Mr. Liang, tiles are a niche product. With our brick factory's production technology, there's no problem producing them, but if there's no market..."

In the end, Wu Yong fell silent.

But he made his meaning very clear.

Their brick factory can produce these tiles, but the tiles they produce are more expensive than red bricks, so probably even fewer people will buy them.

If the produced tiles end up being unsellable, we'll lose even more money.

Liang Ming naturally understood the meaning behind Wu Yong's words, but he was very confident in the sales of tiles and said with a smile:

"Director Wu, don't worry, the tiles produced by our brick factory will definitely sell like hotcakes!"

Liang Ming was not exaggerating when he said this; there was a theoretical basis for it.

The reason why red bricks produced by red brick factories cannot sell well is that the main factor in the quality of red bricks is their durability.

Whether red bricks are durable or not can only be known by using them. As long as they are not severely cracked and crumble easily when squeezed, ordinary people cannot tell the difference between red bricks that can last 50 years and those that can last 100 years.

In this situation, ordinary people will naturally use whichever brand of red bricks is the cheapest.

That's why the red bricks produced by the brick factories in Taoyuan Township gradually lost their competitiveness.

No matter the era, it's always a case of bad money driving out good.

But ceramic tiles are different.

In the construction industry, tiles are primarily decorative rather than practical building materials.

As long as it looks good, beautiful, and novel enough to catch the eye of ordinary people, it can attract them to buy it.

In terms of price, ordinary people who are willing to spend money on tiles to decorate their homes will not worry too much about the price.

Furthermore, if Wu Yong were to lead the production of ceramic tile products, he would undoubtedly strive for excellence, and the ceramic tiles produced would certainly be of superior quality.

This is undoubtedly a plus for wealthy customers who buy tiles.

"Mr. Liang, are you sure?"

Hearing Liang Ming's words, Wu Yong was not very confident and said with some doubt.