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

"That's right, I also know about the current situation of our village's cotton mill."

In spring and summer, the villagers have no work to do at the cotton mill in our village.

This is an unhealthy business practice for a factory.

Liang Ming got straight to the point.

“Xiaoming, in spring and summer, products like quilts simply won’t sell.”

A village official said helplessly:

"The factory had to shut down because there was nothing we could do."

"If the quilts don't sell, we won't produce quilts anymore. We can find other work to do!" Liang Ming said.

Upon hearing Liang Ming's words, the village officials exchanged bewildered glances.

"Xiao Ming, what do you mean?" Liang Jianguo asked, knowing that Liang Ming must have a plan in mind.

"Village chief, cottonseed oil is currently very expensive on the market. We can easily gather our workers back to produce cottonseed oil and sell it on the market!"

Liang Ming suggested.

What he said wasn't false; most vegetable oils on the market now are peanut oil and rapeseed oil.

Rapeseed oil is relatively inexpensive, while peanut oil is relatively expensive.

But cottonseed oil offers the best value for money.

With its moderate oil yield and affordable price, it was the preferred cooking oil for many rural families in this era.

"Produce cottonseed oil?" Liang Jianguo's eyes lit up when he heard Liang Ming's suggestion.

"That's right, our factory produces cottonseed oil, and we can make a profit by selling it, creating some income for the villagers!"

Liang Ming continued, "At the same time, production waste such as cottonseed residue can be collected and sold to village committees with livestock farms to generate secondary income."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jianguo felt that Liang Ming's words made sense.

"Did you all hear what Xiaoming said? Go and order a batch of cottonseed right away!"

He immediately said to a village official in charge of the cotton mill's finances:

"Notify the villagers in the factory to prepare to come back and produce cottonseed oil."

"This……"

To everyone's surprise, the village official looked troubled.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Seeing the other party's hesitant manner, Liang Jianguo frowned slightly and asked.

"Village chief, it's not that I don't want to pay, it's just that the village cotton mill's account is completely empty!"

The village official said helplessly.

"What? How is this possible!" Liang Jianguo's face darkened upon hearing this. "What exactly happened?"

Liang Ming was also somewhat surprised. The village cotton mill had been thriving for several years, so how could it not even have the money to buy some cotton seeds?

After the village official explained, Liang Jianguo fell silent.

It turns out that in the past two years, the village cotton mill has been struggling, and its cotton products are not selling.

After deducting operating costs, workers' wages, and other miscellaneous expenses, there wasn't much money left.

In spring and summer, the money in the account is barely enough to buy cotton for making quilts in summer and winter.

"Can't we use the money to buy cotton first and buy cottonseed instead?" Liang Ming asked.

"To order cotton, you need to pay a 50% deposit. In addition, you will have about 10% or 20% of the funds left in the account."

The village official explained.

"The remaining payment is to be made up after our cotton mill produces and sells the new cotton quilts..."

Hearing this, Liang Ming was stunned.

He knew the village cotton mill was in dire straits, but he never imagined it would be this bad.

"Alas, it's my fault for not being able to generate revenue for the village's cotton mill!"

A somber look appeared on Liang Jianguo's face as he murmured to himself.

Upon hearing Liang Jianguo's words, the surrounding village officials all lowered their heads in shame.

Seeing this, Liang Ming pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly thought of something and said:

"Village chief, I have an idea that can help the villagers in the factory make money, and also give the cotton mill some income. What do you think..."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jianguo hurriedly asked, "Xiao Ming, what's your idea? Tell me quickly!"

“I pay for cottonseed and have the village cotton mill produce cottonseed oil for me. I then pay the villagers in the mill wages.”

In addition, I also give the factory a monthly equipment maintenance fee.

Liang Ming looked directly at Liang Jianguo and said:

"In short, I will cover all the expenses; the cotton mill only needs to help me produce oil!"

"I've been managing the village's cotton mill for the past six months!"

Liang Ming's words immediately caused a huge uproar.

Not only Liang Jianguo, but also the other village officials were shocked and in uproar.

As a collective enterprise of Liangjia Village Committee, the cotton mill has always been managed and operated by the village committee, which also leads the villagers in contracting for production and distributing profits to each household.

I've never heard of a form of private contracting like the one Liang Ming described.

“Xiao Ming, your idea is too bold. Our village committee needs to think about it carefully…” Liang Jianguo hesitated.

“Village Chief, my idea is called mixed ownership, which is very common in big cities,” Liang Ming said with a light laugh.

What he said was not a lie.

After the reform and opening up, the state liberalized private business operations, and many privately owned products appeared on the market.

Their quality was better and they were more innovative, so they quickly gained popularity among the people.

State-owned enterprises, due to slow decision-making and sluggish market response, produced uncompetitive products and gradually declined.

In this context, a brand-new enterprise system emerged: mixed ownership enterprises, also known as semi-state-owned and semi-private enterprises.

The state-owned enterprise provides the funds or the site, and then entrusts a private enterprise to operate and manage the business, produce products, and share the profits according to the agreed plan.

Of course, there was some exaggeration in what Liang Ming said.

This business model was not very common in major cities in the mid-80s; it only became more prevalent in the late 80s.

“Village chief, right now the cotton mill has only two options: shut down or I take over the contract.”

Seeing that Liang Jianguo was still somewhat hesitant, Liang Ming said again:

"I can help the villagers make money, and I can help the cotton mill make money, isn't that enough?"

"I'm here to promise you that once the cottonseed oil business is profitable, I can give the factory 1% of the profits!"

A 1% bonus? Liang Jianguo raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued.

If the cotton mill shuts down, the villagers will have no work and no income.

The cotton mill's equipment has been idle for six months, and the maintenance costs are not low.

Now that Liang Ming is willing to pay for and take over the factory, he won't have to worry about the factory's expenses for the next six months.

“Okay, Xiaoming, we’ll do it your way!” Liang Jianguo immediately made the decision.

Since even the village chief agreed, the other village officials naturally wouldn't object.

After all, this is a good thing to make money.

"Liang Ming, this ton of cottonseed costs 200 yuan. How many tons do we need to order?"

The village official in charge of finances asked Liang Ming.