Chapter 72: Xinlang Paper Industry

By mid-October, the nights had become quite cold, and the elders had moved their entertainment from the courtyard to the activity room. Zheng Weishi, wearing a coat and holding a cup of goji berry water, glanced at Li Xian, who was sitting nearby, resting his chin on his hands, lost in thought.

He clicked his tongue.

Seeing Li You's plight, he thought that having children away from home might actually be a good thing—at least his mother wasn't getting angry, right?

But then he thought again, and realized that none of his own children could be like Li Xian, acting like a troublesome monkey... so capable of making a fuss!

Instantly, the old man felt a sense of superiority; his own upbringing had indeed been quite successful.

After dealing with Li You and receiving an hour's worth of scolding, Li Xian was beginning to question his life. He was in despair... Li You's psychological endurance was simply too poor!

In his memory, the old man could lose two hundred in small mahjong bets without getting upset, but now he was just dealing with a forty-thousand-yuan loan, plus trying to break into the toilet paper market with a free giveaway strategy?

Why was he getting frustrated over and over?

After careful consideration, he thought it wasn't his problem.

"It just needs more practice; the more frustration, the better it gets!"

Li Xian muttered.

Pfft!

Next to him, Zheng Weishi, who had been silently observing this "unfilial son," spat out his drink.

"Cough cough cough,"

He quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, "So, Little Li, didn't you say you're about to open your business? You haven't named the factory yet, have you?"

Hearing this, Li Xian slapped his forehead. "Oh, I've been so busy today. If Old Zheng hadn't brought it up, I would have forgotten! Come on, everyone, stop playing around. Help me come up with a name for the new factory. Let's brainstorm and come up with a catchy name!"

The old men, who had been playing mahjong and poker, put their cards down and gathered around.

Old Qin from the former General Affairs Office tossed his poker cards aside, "Little Li, naming is my specialty. I named all three of my grandsons, and each name is quite distinctive!"

Hearing this, Li Xian became interested. "Old Qin, you're up! What should the new factory be called?"

Old Qin looked up at the sky and suddenly had an idea, "Hey! Look, your factory is a paper factory. What's the characteristic of paper? White and clean. How about calling the new factory 'Baiji Paper Factory'?"

After speaking, Old Qin glanced proudly at his old buddies, "How's that? Is it a good name or what?"

Li Xian's face immediately darkened.

"Old Qin, please sit down. Let Comrade Wu Shengli behind you speak."

Seeing that Li Xian was not impressed with his suggestion, Old Qin muttered, "This name fits so well. Why isn't it appreciated?"

Wu Shengli laughed heartily, "Old Qin, stop it. Look at the names you gave your three grandsons; they're hardly impressive. I won't mention Qin Fu and Qin Lu, but don't you think there's something wrong with the name Qin Shou? If you ask me, the new factory needs to have a new and impressive vibe! How about 'Shengli Paper Factory'? By the way, Little Li, consider making me your godfather?"

Li Xian was almost driven mad by these old men over the past few days, as they kept pestering him to recognize them as godfathers.

For heaven's sake, now he calls Li You "Dad," and if Li Pi, who is studying at the Forestry Bureau First Middle School, also ends up with a godfather...

That would be a real mess!

After firmly rejecting Wu Shengli, the group started throwing out names like "Daye," "Innovation," "Linfu," and "Xianglin," which all sounded like typical rural enterprise names.

Li Xian was not satisfied with any of them.

Just as he was about to give up and consult Old Li Daoyun, Wang Lin, who had been silent, spoke up.

"This toilet paper is a daily necessity; every household needs it. It's a business that relies on bulk purchases. Considering the current trend of advocating for market economy and promoting reform, how about calling it 'Xinlang'?"

Hearing this name, Li Xian wiped his nose and couldn't help but laugh.

...

The next day, Li Xian went straight to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and registered "Xinlang Paper Industry" by merging the old paper mill and the new factory. He then went to a nearby place to order a vertical sign.

He also made a trip to the Agricultural Bank to withdraw the five thousand yuan loan that had been approved with difficulty.

Back at the factory, he used the accounting books left by the previous accountant to organize and distribute the wages to the workers.

The factory owed over seventy thousand yuan to the workers, which was clearly not enough. But after enduring half a year without proper wages, even though not all the arrears were paid, the workers were quite happy.

Each person received about three hundred yuan, which greatly relieved their hardship!

Seeing that Li Xian's promises were being fulfilled, with wages paid as promised, the workers had a much better impression of the new factory director. They gladly accepted Li Xian's promise to pay the remaining wages within a month and start regular salary payments from next month.

No matter how the new business turned out, at least there was hope!

With the money received, the workers settled down and began to fully activate the equipment for production as per Li Xian's instructions.

Seeing the workers energetically starting up the production line, with white toilet paper rolling off the machine, Li Xian gathered the ten or so people from the sales department.

When he outlined his plan to conduct a large-scale free giveaway campaign in the Forestry Bureau, Bangye County, and surrounding counties like Tielin County and Hailin County to promote the paper factory and its products, everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.

The cost for one roll of paper was only ten cents, and if they gave away ten tons of finished products, it would cost about ten thousand yuan!

They had seen wasteful spending before, but this kind of extravagance was unprecedented!

Seeing their astonished expressions, Li Xian smiled and, putting his hands together, further explained:

"Although we're giving this paper away for free to residents, it cannot be completely free. First, before starting the giveaway, I want you to establish connections with all the wholesale departments and supply and marketing cooperatives in the area. It would be best if these channels could participate in our giveaway campaign.

Second, we need to fully utilize banners, colorful flags, broadcasts, and newspapers to promote our Xinlang Paper Industry name. We want to be the first name that comes to people's minds when they think of high-quality toilet paper!

Remember, don't be afraid of spending money; we need to create a big impact!"