Chapter 9: Investing to Open a Factory

If Tang Wen had mind-reading abilities, he would surely tell the village chief that he is not on a crooked path, but rather the magic route.

Today happened to be the agreed delivery date; Tang Wen drove to the agricultural machinery shop in town and already saw the several people who had given deposits last time, with even a few more added.

Seeing the "Four-Like-Nothing," they immediately swarmed the rear cargo bed, smiling as they looked at the diesel engines stuffed to the brim.

Wu Lao Er pushed aside the few people blocking the way and hurried over to help Tang Wen attend to them.

"Everyone has prepared the money, right? On-site inspection, cash on delivery!

Those who gave deposits the day before yesterday, come wait over here first!"

Only after saying this did he approach Tang Wen's side, having gained a bit more understanding of this rascal from the town in the past:

"Brother Tang, how is this a small batch? You got eight units so quickly, almost as many as in my shop.

It's truly strange; why does no one buy my tractors?"

Others immediately chimed in:

"Wu Lao Er, your five-horsepower machine costing three thousand five is simply black-hearted to the extreme.

A twenty-five-horsepower marine tractor can also be used, and it can even pull a harvester; you should stock ones that are both cheap and high-horsepower too."

Wu Lao Er instantly had a vein throbbing on his forehead, but after clearly seeing who it was, he immediately countered:

"Then don't buy my tractor; that Taishan 25 won't be sold to you."

"Don't, I was just joking."

Seeing the two bickering, Tang Wen asked in confusion:

"What is this 'Taishan 25'?"

Wu Lao Er quickly pointed to a four-wheeled tractor in the corner whose appearance was somewhat rusty and said:

"It's the one I bought back and refurbished; it's also twenty-five horsepower, can be fitted with four-wheel drive, and I bought it as scrap metal after it was soaked in water.

I said I'd use your new diesel engine to repair it, and someone immediately bought it for thirteen thousand, with half going to you.

The remaining two were also sold, bought by people from other towns, and they acted incredibly fast."

Looking at the "Taishan 25's" battle-damaged appearance, Tang Wen almost thought it was a pile of scrap metal, so he asked Wu Lao Er:

"When was this tractor made?"

"Made in '85, still quite sturdy."

Good heavens, a broken thing from ten years ago could be repaired and sold for over ten thousand; this gave Tang Wen a further understanding of the current backward productivity.

In times when industry is undeveloped, the preciousness of industrial products is beyond imagination.

The attraction of a twenty-five-horsepower diesel engine is also very strong; gasoline engines of the same horsepower are all two-stroke, wasting fuel not to mention being prone to breaking, far inferior to the sturdiness and durability of diesel engines.

Wu Lao Er's shop still had several people from other towns, all having heard about the high-horsepower diesel engines and coming to look.

After all the diesel engines were started one by one and tested to be in good condition, Tang Wen smoothly received the full balance payment, and even secured four pre-order contracts.

But what excited him most was that the total amount earned from selling the diesel engines had reached over fifty-three thousand, which converted to over eleven hundred silver coins!

This is already enough silver coins to upgrade; he could immediately possess a real shipyard!

Tang Wen couldn't wait to return and upgrade, but after working for several hours, everyone was exhausted, so Wu Lao Er voluntarily took him and the village chief to a restaurant for a meal.

Having also earned a lot, Wu Lao Er was unusually generous; upon arriving at the teahouse, he ordered nothing but hard dishes.

Today, besides Guo Panpan, a gentle woman was also present in the shop, while Guo Chenliang was nowhere to be seen; the big and the small had both ducked into the kitchen to get busy.

The three of them sat down to a table full of food; the Guo mother and daughter's cooking skills were both excellent, and Tang Wen hadn't had meat in a long time, so he kept his head down and devoured it fiercely.

But the old village chief and Wu Lao Er were no less weak; eating was like fighting a war, and the three of them forcibly ate all the dishes clean.

Only after licking the last bowl of rice clean did Wu Lao Er pat his belly and say:

"Brother Tang, I've already asked; in the city, only motorboats have twenty-five-horsepower diesel engines, and one costs over ten thousand, so our business can still go on.

Just in the surrounding areas, I feel we can sell twenty units, but it would sell better if equipped with a drive shaft and propeller to make an outboard motor; can you get those?"

The thought flashed through Tang Wen's mind, and he nodded; developing these supporting parts only costs two silver coins, no problem at all.

"No problem, but you need to add an extra thousand."

"Great!"

Wu Lao Er slapped his thigh hard:

"I'll go figure out how to promote it immediately; I'll take the goods from you for six thousand per unit, settled in cash, how about that?"

Assembling them into motors for only six thousand was simply too cost-effective, completely crushing those goods from the city; Wu Lao Er immediately developed ambition.

He now had capital too; a quick flip would net at least several thousand.

But before Tang Wen could answer, the village chief immediately scolded:

"To hell with you; are you bullying the child for not knowing better? Six thousand is a huge bargain for you.

Little Tang selling to you for six thousand is fine, but if you want to be the exclusive agent, then it must be seven thousand per unit!"

"Seven thousand? I have costs for stocking goods and running errands too!"

"Nonsense; Little Tang, don't listen to his nonsense; if he sells for eight thousand, he'll be secretly delighted.

If you don't sell, plenty of others will; at worst, we'll sell it ourselves!"

"No, no, no; Brother Tang does big business; how can he be busy with such trivial matters? Just seven thousand; only I can sell in Echeng, deal?"

"Echeng? You have a huge appetite!"

"Uncle."

Tang Wen poked Chen Yonggui; the latter was still unhappy but frowned and said no more.

Wu Lao Er was overjoyed, thinking Tang Wen's appetite was already full, and hurriedly said:

"Then it's settled; wait for me; I'll go immediately to get the seal and ink pad; let's write a contract; words alone are no proof!"

After Wu Lao Er ran off in a rush, the village chief frowned and said:

"Why did you stop me? That whole area of Echeng; you're losing out too much."

Little Tang, this one machine costs a lot of money—you can't take it lightly.

Village Chief, I only sold him twenty-five bales, but that doesn't mean I have no more.

You have more?

Tang Wen nodded:

"Not only do I have more, but even bigger, more expensive goods—you'll see them soon."

Twenty-five bales? If I sold two hundred and fifty, would five thousand yuan even be enough? At least fifty thousand!

Chen Yonggui's expression finally relaxed, his demeanor softening considerably.

Then he saw Tang Wen pull out a huge stack of cash and shove it straight into his own arms.

"Little Tang, what are you doing? Helping you is my duty—I can't take your money."

Tang Wen hurriedly urged:

"I run my business in the village thanks entirely to your help. Today I've been exhausted all day—it's all yours."

Chen Yonggui still refused:

"This meal alone is payment enough—how could I take your money!"

"Then how about this—do me a favor?"

Tang Wen changed his approach:

"You know my father's workshop has no official paperwork. I need you to help me register a proper shipyard and allocate some land—I plan to expand further."

"This money is partly thanks to you; the rest can be used as goodwill."

He spoke sincerely—once the shipyard expanded, it could no longer grow so chaotically; it needed an official name.

Chen Yonggui was momentarily swayed, then instantly excited:

"You're opening a factory in the village? Will you hire people?"

"That's wonderful! I'll give you as much land as you need—it'll let villagers get jobs."

"I just saw the township chief in town. Wait—I'll go tell him right away."

Wait, a magic shipyard can't hire people!

Tang Wen underestimated how powerful opening a factory was to the village chief—even a small village-level shipyard could provide over a dozen jobs, a major boon for a village.

After Wu Lao Er, the village chief also vanished in a flash, leaving Tang Wen alone facing the messy table.

At that moment, Guo Panpan's mother, An Yu, stepped forward to clear the table. Seeing the cash in Tang Wen's arms, her eyes widened, nearly dropping the plates.

She'd heard from her daughter that Tang Wen was dealing in diesel engines, but assumed it was just some idle side hustle earning pocket money—she never imagined it was this extravagant.