Chapter 181: Prosperity and Crisis

Li Xian had never enjoyed chatting with people like Su Hui.

Too damn straightforward.

How could anyone like that?

Certainly won't find a partner in the future.

A lifelong single straight man!

"You understand me!" Under Su Hui's gaze, he gave a thumbs up. "How's your sister recently?"

Su Hui, with his predictably indifferent face, briefly mentioned Su Ya's recent situation; the factory was expanding and very busy. Fortunately, with spring coming, his mother's health had improved somewhat. Nevertheless, every day spent taking care of his mother and the factory left Su Ya constantly busy.

Hearing this, Li Xian nodded. He directly shared his plan with Su Hui—inviting Su Ya to stay at the house. But of course, he couldn't express his underlying motive of wanting to pursue Su Ya directly. Instead, he framed it as needing someone to help with housekeeping and cooking since there were more people at home now.

Just a housekeeper, really.

Upon hearing this arrangement, Su Hui shook his head. "No, it's too far from the forestry bureau. My mother can't manage."

Li Xian grinned, revealing his intent, "Are you dumb? With so many rooms in the house, how can we not accommodate your mother? Go home tomorrow and tell your sister—200 a month, food and lodging included."

Fearing Su Hui might misinterpret, he waved his hand, "The salary is secondary. Didn't you say your mother has a heart condition? She's been in that environment for years. It would be good for her to get a change of scenery. Besides, the house won't be repaired in a short time. You'll be here for at least six months. It's better if your family can stay together."

Su Hui was persuaded.

---

The next morning, after a leisurely start, Li Xian took the four elderly to eat breakfast on the edge of the city and then went to the distillery.

Coincidentally, when he arrived at the distillery, Liu Weihong was also there.

The business of the Bangye Distillery had been streamlined. With the help of the factory technicians, Old Zhu had successfully brought traditional brewing methods onto the production line and ensured the quality of the original Zhu's Baijiu.

With expanded production capacity, the distillery's business not only met the demand in Bangye but also extended to the surrounding areas. Zhu Feng had implemented a promotion with prize drawings for bicycle giveaways, boosting sales further. The Zhu's Baijiu was now popular throughout the North Forest region, including the Forestry Bureau.

In just a month, the distillery had begun to show promising results. Last month, it ended years of losses and began to turn a profit.

It was evident that the profit margins in the liquor industry were higher than those of sanitary napkins. Last month, the distillery's sales reached 250,000, yielding a profit of 160,000—an undeniably lucrative industry.

Liu Weihong, who had just sorted out his own affairs, came specifically because of this. The success of the distillery gave him considerable confidence in Bangye's prospects.

Seeing Li Xian, Liu Weihong eagerly pulled him into the office and shared his ideas about integrating the county granary and grain bureau with the distillery. He also proposed calling for economic agricultural transformation in five nearby townships, making sorghum the primary crop, and increasing support for the liquor industry to further expand production capacity and establish a local industry.

Li Xian was pondering Liu Weihong's plan when Old Zhu interjected with concerns:

"County Head Liu, this isn't feasible! Our factory is just starting. We're producing only about a ton of liquor per day. If we use three taels of grain per jin, how much grain will we need? If we let all the townships grow sorghum and the distillery can't keep up, the farmers won't be able to sell their grain in the fall, and that'll cause problems."

Seeing his father making a fuss, Zhu Feng quickly pulled him aside, "Dad! Our distillery may be using a small amount now, but as it scales up, the demand for grain will increase."

Old Zhu glared, "You don't understand! Grain is essential for farmers. If the distillery can't use enough, and sorghum can't be sold outside, what will the farmers do?"

Old Zhu's concerns were precisely what Liu Weihong was worried about.

In the past few days, while studying the plan, he had considered all aspects except for the distillery's development issue, which remained a concern.

"Li Xian, what do you think?"

When Li Xian didn't respond, Liu Weihong looked at him.

Noting the attention, Li Xian came to his senses, "Oh, I was thinking about expanding production capacity. According to your plan, the distillery would need to increase its scale by more than eight times. Funding is a problem."

Seeing Liu Weihong frowning, Li Xian spread his hands, "Don't look at me like that. Last month, I invested in a factory in Bincheng and am now broke. Even if I transfer funds from the New North area, it would only be around 180,000."

Though Liu Weihong hadn't known Li Xian for long, he had a sense of this shrewd, profit-driven person. Seeing the "has an ulterior motive" expression on his face, Liu Weihong asked with interest, "Li Xian, let's not beat around the bush. What exactly do you want?"

Exposed, Li Xian wasn't embarrassed, "You see, ever since I took over the distillery, I haven't received any policies. Every time I think about it, it's frustrating."

Seeing Liu Weihong's knowing smile, Li Xian said, "Can't we get some loans for this impoverished county?"

Liu Weihong's eyes widened but didn't address the loan directly. Instead, he continued with his plan: "I'm planning to designate five townships—Changle, Leye, Daqiu, Anmin, and Changyou—as the first batch of sorghum production areas. The expected output could be around 200,000 tons."

Li Xian thought for a moment. This quantity would produce about 60,000 tons of liquor, so he estimated, "800,000 should be enough. With fourteen production lines, we can probably use up that grain."

Liu Weihong understood the implication: "I'll do my best. But you need to double the current distillery's profit before I can use it to negotiate with the city."

Li Xian smirked, "That's not a problem!"

Old Zhu didn't understand the nuance of the discussion about loans and production quantities; it was too complex for him.

However, Zhu Feng, standing by, understood.

At this moment, the distillery manager's fists were clenched tightly, his chest swelling with excitement.

---

After sending Liu Weihong off, Li Xian reviewed the current accounts of the distillery.

After a month of rapid development, the distillery had stabilized but had reached a bottleneck.

The issues included dealer problems and resistance from local liquor brands as Bangye Baijiu tried to penetrate markets outside the North Forest region. Every locality had its own distilleries and local brands, and their distribution networks had become sticky over the years. It wasn't easy for Bangye Baijiu to become a dominant player.

"Xianzi, Liu County Head's plan is to double our profit to secure a loan?" After dismissing Old Zhu, Zhu Feng eagerly approached Li Xian.

Li Xian smiled slightly, "Not necessarily. Whether we get the loan depends on Liu Weihong's connections and personal capabilities. Our profit only plays a supplementary role."

"Then…"

Seeing Zhu Feng's hesitation, Li Xian waved his hand, "But since he's made this promise, we can't let him down. Even if there's no loan, we still need to improve things, right?"

"That's true," Zhu Feng agreed. "What should we do next?"

Li Xian scratched his head.

"Advertise! Make it as extravagant as possible."

Having experienced successful advertising campaigns, Li Xian had become addicted.

He was hooked.

As Li Xian and Zhu Feng discussed the best advertising strategies to rapidly introduce Bangye Baijiu to surrounding counties, in a dimly lit abandoned house on the outskirts of Hailin County.

A group of people, wearing masks, stirred a white plastic bucket with mop handles.

The room was filled with a pungent, spicy odor.

"Brother Peng, is this okay?"

After stirring for a while, someone dipped their finger into the bucket and tasted it.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, why is it so bitter? No good, no good. The ratio is wrong. Also, this taste is far from that Baijiu. Add some saccharin to adjust the flavor."

"Got it!"

Immediately, someone responded.

In the corner of the room, a stack of plastic buckets lay in disarray.

On the buckets, the red "Industrial Alcohol" label stood out prominently.