Chapter 98: Covetous

After hanging the coat, which had somehow flown onto him, back on the door, Li Xian left the office. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the impeccably clean and tidy corridor.

It took him the entire morning to sort out the issues at Beilin Paper Factory.

By the afternoon, around three o'clock, he had sent Chen Shulin and Xu Dequan along with two key technicians and several salespeople to Beilin City. Just then, Guo Dongliang called to say that the equipment had been cleaned up and the raw materials had been received.

Orders from Harbin City had been diverted from Xinao Paper Factory over the past few days, which had pushed Xinao Paper's already tight production capacity to the limit.

With everything in place, Li Xian felt relieved.

He had instructed Xu Dequan to organize immediate production upon arrival and to operate the production line at full speed. He also directed Chen Shulin to handle the shipments in Beilin City and expedite the Harbin orders.

With these tasks completed, Li Xian finally relaxed and went to the finance office to find Li Jie.

Li Jie, who had only completed junior high school but had excelled in mathematics, knew what Li Xian's request implied. She had become the chief accountant of the factory in just over a month, taking charge of all the expenses and receipts.

Though the factory's main accounts were still handled by the old accountant, Li Jie was responsible for all small and large expenditures.

When Li Jie heard that Li Xian had returned, she had already been around, sulking because he hadn't bought her a tape recorder as promised.

When she heard that Li Xian was going to review the accounts, she threw the detailed income and expenditure records and balance sheets in front of him to show her displeasure.

Li Xian grinned and told her there was a travel bag under his desk with something inside.

Upon hearing this, Li Jie exclaimed and quickly ran off.

A tape recorder was too large and inconvenient to carry back and forth, so Li Xian hadn't bought one. Instead, while waiting for the results of the water army's efforts, he had bought Li Jie a long women's leather jacket from Central Street.

Seeing his youngest sister disappear in a flash, Li Xian shook his head and picked up the financial reports.

The factory's daily shipment had stabilized at around sixteen to seventeen tons. Thanks to stable production and the efforts of the procurement department, the production cost had been further reduced.

The profit per ton of toilet paper now reached about 225 yuan. Although the factory had just paid out salaries and sent an advance payment of 10,000 yuan to Beilin, the factory's cash reserves had accumulated to over 90,000 yuan, considering previous orders from over ten shops.

After deducting all payables, the factory's net profit for the last month had reached nearly 50,000 yuan!

Li Xian was quite satisfied with this profit.

In the accounting office, seeing Li Xian's cheerful expression, the old accountant, Bian Weijiang, adjusted his thick glasses and said with a smile, "Factory manager, if things continue like this, we'll be able to repay those loans in a few months!"

Li Xian shrugged, not agreeing with this statement.

The market for Tuo Long was about to open up, and Tuo Long was targeting the entire Northeast market. Currently, Xinao's premium toilet paper was the most expensive on the market but also had the highest sales profit. Li Xian didn't believe that wholesalers wouldn't notice this.

According to Li Xian's estimate, if Tuo Long was managed well, the current benefits could potentially increase several times.

A 400,000 yuan loan could be paid off in no time.

However, despite saying that, Li Xian had no intention of paying off the debt all at once.

He was in a phase of rapid development, where every penny invested could yield significant returns. Moreover, the national economic system was undergoing changes, with rising production costs leading to the continuous devaluation of the yuan. The longer these debts were deferred, the more advantageous it was for him.

Besides, a grand celebration was coming up in December in the north, and he needed to be prepared. He needed to keep the money.

After leaving the accounting office, Li Xian called the key members of the sales department to his office and instructed them to change the current cash-on-delivery procurement method and negotiate a monthly settlement for raw materials with the Bangye Second Light Industry Bureau.

What seemed like a simple task to Li Xian turned out to be quite challenging. The Second Light Industry Bureau was currently overwhelmed by various debts and was relying on orders from surrounding production enterprises to stay afloat.

The process didn't go smoothly.

Through extensive communication, making dozens of calls, and leveraging Xu Chaoyang's connections, Li Xian finally managed to finalize the deal.

...

After a flurry of activity, it was already dark outside.

As Li Xian saw the sales team members out of his office, he was in a good mood.

In the corridor, a small figure was mopping the floor, her back arched as she worked hard. Noticing someone behind her, she looked back.

Seeing Li Xian smiling brightly at her, Su Ya bit her lip. She quietly stood to the side of the corridor. Once the sales team members had left, she walked up to Li Xian, frowning and gazing at him with her clear, watery eyes.

Seeing that she was just staring at him without moving, Li Xian felt a bit uneasy. "What… are you doing?"

Noticing his discomfort, Su Ya raised her eyebrows as if she had achieved some great victory.

In Li Xian's confusion, she lifted her head, pointed to her mouth with her wet fingers, and waved her hand. Then she pointed to her head and gave a thumbs-up.

Next, she stuck out her tongue, rolled her eyes, and made a very fitting "fool" gesture before returning to a serious expression and shaking her head vigorously.

Li Xian burst into laughter at her antics.

This girl had probably seen the note left in the coat's pocket while he wasn't paying attention. She might have thought that his comment about "not playing with fools" was an insult and came to argue.

So, translating her actions into words, it seemed like… "Even though I can't speak, I'm smart and definitely not a fool."

Li Xian waved his hand, signaling that he understood her point. "If you're not a fool, then I'm relieved. Make sure to wear the coat when you go home. If you catch a cold and can't come to work, I'll have to deduct your salary."

With that, Li Xian winked and went downstairs.

Behind him, Su Ya stamped her foot in frustration and mouthed a silent protest.

Li Xian wasn't thinking of pursuing anything with Su Ya; he simply found her interesting. She had a certain spirit about her, and her disability created a unique contrast that made him want to understand her better.

It wasn't because he found her attractive.

Yes, he was a noble person, free from lowly interests.

Yes, absolutely.

With this self-comfort, Li Xian left the factory.

Outside, it was dark. However, amidst the darkness, several red flickers of firelight were visible.

"Hiss, it's so damn cold. Why isn't that mute girl out yet?"

"Damn it, I wondered why that girl has been missing lately. Why is she working so far away?"

"Er Li, is it okay for us to block her here? It looks like there are quite a few people in the factory."

"Scared of what? If someone comes, we'll just run. Are you afraid that the mute girl will report us to the police?"

"Hey, hey, hey, someone's coming out. Stop talking."

As Li Xian approached the flickering lights, he saw a group of youngsters, their noses red from the cold, smoking cigarettes and sniffling.

They didn't look much older than Li Xian.

When they noticed Li Xian looking at them, they glared back defiantly.

"Damn, what are you looking at?"

One tall boy cursed at Li Xian.