Chapter 25: To Untie a Knot, You Must Find the One Who Tied It (Request Collection)

Facing the sales champion’s complaints, Zhang Xiaocheng could only smile and serve Zhang Ao another cup of tea. “Production capacity has already increased significantly. By next month, we expect daily satellite dish output to exceed six thousand units. Further increases won’t be possible until year-end!”

At this moment, Li Dongling asked Zhang Ao, “Have you seen any other brands of satellite dishes in other provinces?”

“No.”

Zhang Ao answered firmly, “I sent our sales team to investigate local towns. Right now, satellite dishes are only circulating around Hanxi and neighboring provinces. No other regions have shown signs of them yet.”

Li Dongling nodded, then said to Zhang Xiaocheng and Zhang Ao, “For the satellite dish project, the most important thing right now is to increase production capacity and push the Starwatch satellite receivers toward northern provinces.”

Zhang Ao opened his mouth to speak but held back. The satellite dish project was Li Dongling’s brainchild, and Zhang Xiaocheng, Zhang Ao, and everyone else had absolute faith in him. Yet Zhang Ao couldn’t help asking, “Why not first sell satellite dishes to southern markets like Guangdong, Shanghai, and Hangzhou-Suzhou?”

Southern provinces currently develop faster economically; their residents earn higher incomes—this is undeniable. Otherwise, why would so many people migrate south every year?

If satellite dishes reached the south, given local purchasing power, sales would explode immediately.

Li Dongling didn’t refute Zhang Ao. Instead, he turned to Zhang Xiaocheng. “Zhang Brother, do you think Yuanqi Factory can compete with manufacturers in Yangcheng, Pengcheng, Hangzhou, and Suzhou?”

Zhang Xiaocheng opened his mouth. As a veteran, he wasn’t the type to give up easily—he wanted to argue. But after opening his mouth, he remained silent. He couldn’t say Yuanqi Factory could compete with those southern companies.

Even though Wuxiao in Hangzhou hadn’t yet become the world-famous global small commodities hub, and Huaqiangbei in Pengcheng wasn’t yet as renowned as it would be in the future, every company still surviving in southern provinces had fought bloody battles, survived brutal price wars, and were ruthless players. Their decision-making, efficiency, and supply chain integration nearly crushed Yuanqi Factory in Shangguan Town.

Over the past few years, domestic electronics, home appliances, furniture, and clothing had already begun being produced by southern companies and sold in the north. Many northern state-owned enterprises had been crushed, forced to halt production—it was common.

Products like mobile phones, computers, and cars, which had high technical barriers and were hard to copy, were always sold first in the south, where incomes were higher and demand naturally greater. Selling them in remote mountain villages wouldn’t work—no one could afford them.

But for a low-tech product like satellite dishes, entering the southern market might bring booming sales for the first half-month. Yet within weeks, dozens of counterfeit and branded-copycat companies would emerge.

These companies could churn out thirty thousand, fifty thousand, even a hundred thousand units per day. They’d crush Yuanqi Factory. Then, not only would the southern market be lost—the northern market would be stolen too.

Li Dongling’s plan was to sell satellite dishes in the north first. Once counterfeits appeared, then sell them in the south—that’s how you make the final quick profit. Afterward, the satellite dish market would become a bloodbath. Even if there was still money to be made, it would be hard-earned.

“By the time satellite dishes appear in southern markets, they’ll no longer be profitable—maybe even unprofitable.”

Hearing Li Dongling’s words, even Zhang Xiaocheng and Zhang Ao, reluctant as they were, knew he spoke the truth. With Yuanqi Factory’s current strength, competing against Yangcheng and Pengcheng manufacturers was hopeless.

Zhang Xiaocheng and Zhang Ao both felt urgency. They hoped the satellite dish industry wouldn’t develop as Li Dongling predicted. But if that day truly came, they had only months left—perhaps not even until the New Year, the market would change completely.

For Zhang Ao, this meant losing his chance to make quick money. He could no longer expect to earn tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—in monthly commissions like he did now.

Zhang Xiaocheng, however, was consumed by dread. If satellite dishes stopped selling, what would become of Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory? In this period, factory staff had multiplied sevenfold, reaching 3,500 people, with over 1,500 permanent workers.

He could lay off temporary workers with severance, but permanent workers were another matter. He hadn’t wanted to hire so many permanent staff—it was the demand from Shangguan Town and Pingyang City officials.

This year, Pingyang’s state-owned enterprises performed poorly, with many halting production. So many workers needed to eat—it affected countless families’ livelihoods. Too many idle people had begun impacting Pingyang’s public order. City leaders were under immense pressure. Seeing Yuanqi Factory rise unexpectedly, they immediately pushed more workers into it, demanding increased hiring.

Of course, Yuanqi Factory wasn’t unsupported. Pingyang’s municipal departments and major units all cooperated: reducing taxes, prioritizing water and electricity, coordinating transportation to deliver satellite dishes—without this, Yuanqi Factory couldn’t have expanded so smoothly.

Zhang Xiaocheng’s face was etched with worry. He was likely Pingyang’s most tormented state-owned factory director. Every month, they sold over a hundred thousand satellite dishes, generating sales of fifty to sixty million yuan. But he worried: what if, in six months, satellite dishes stopped being profitable? Could Shangguan Town Yuanqi Factory survive? What would become of all those workers?

As he stepped outside, Zhang Xiaocheng turned to look at Li Dongling. Suddenly, he felt that if satellite dishes ever stopped selling, only Li Dongling could save Yuanqi Factory. He couldn’t imagine anyone else who could.

But Zhang Xiaocheng also knew that next time he wanted Li Dongling to pull Yuanqi Factory out of trouble, it wouldn’t be so easy. After all, Li Dongling had founded his own company. Why would he give good projects to Yuanqi Factory instead of keeping them for himself? What reason would he have?

The more he thought, the more anxious Zhang Xiaocheng became. Even though Yuanqi Factory’s cash reserves had already surpassed twenty-five million yuan—towering above all other state-owned enterprises in Pingyang—he felt no security whatsoever.

“Li Brother!”

Li Dongling had just stepped out when he heard someone call him. He turned and saw Wei Hongying.

“What is it?” Li Dongling looked at Wei Hongying, his gaze flicking to a distant figure. He immediately suspected something.

Wei Hongying swung her two braids and said, “Li Brother, I do have a favor to ask.”

“Qin Jie—that’s Qin Fang. You remember her, right? There was a misunderstanding that day. Now she wants to join Yuanqi Factory. Can you help her?”

“If you’re still angry at Qin Jie, I’ll have her apologize to you. She’s struggling now—she needs this job…”

Li Dongling glanced at Qin Fang in the distance. Her face was pale. When she saw his gaze, she looked embarrassed and flustered, but finally gritted her teeth and met his eyes.

“Yuanqi Factory is establishing a General Affairs Department to coordinate between sales staff operating outside and the production department. Let her try. But I can’t guarantee she’ll be hired.”

In plain terms, this department would bridge communication between the sales team and production. When sales staff in other provinces secured orders, they’d call the General Affairs Department, who’d then liaise with production to track the order and ensure timely delivery.

Without computers, communication was difficult. Many tasks could only be handled manually—it was a last resort, inefficient, but essential.

“That’s wonderful!” Wei Hongying hadn’t expected Li Dongling to assign Qin Fang to the new General Affairs Department. She’d heard the salary was much higher than on the production line, and it was an office job—respectable to tell others. “Qin Jie is definitely qualified. She ranked first in her high school and even received a university acceptance letter. But her family couldn’t afford tuition, so she had to marry instead. Otherwise, she’d have been a college graduate!”

Li Dongling was surprised—he hadn’t known Qin Fang had this background. But hearing this, he thought of Li Dongshan and his family. When he’d been accepted into Hanxi Transportation University, Old Li and Li Dongshan had immediately scraped together the tuition without hesitation. For years at Hanxi Jiaotong, they’d never let his living expenses fall short.

“I’ll tell Qin Jie!”

Wei Hongying turned to go inform Qin Fang, but Li Dongling suddenly called out to her: “When Qin Fang finishes her paperwork, have her come to my office.”