Chapter 87: Do What You Want To Do

Chapter 87

Li Yao, the factory manager, was a name she randomly picked. Her main job was to secretly inspect each branch store to prevent them from damaging the brand reputation through any shady dealings.

This position came with great power and was a cushy job, so it had to be given to someone she trusted.

After careful consideration, she felt Wang Yuanding was the most suitable.

As the second son of the Wang family, he had an honest personality, and his wife Zhou was also a kind person. As long as the pay was good enough, they surely wouldn't become corrupt in the next few years.

When Li Yao gave him such an important position, Wang Yuanding almost didn't dare accept it.

But thinking that this was very important to Li Yao, and there was no one else in the family capable of taking on the role, he finally agreed.

"Don't worry sister-in-law, I will do a good job."

"Okay, I'll teach you specifically what to do later," said Li Yao. "You can stop making braised food for now. I'll give you 5 taels of silver per month, plus a 10 tael bonus at the end of the year. This money is enough for your family's expenses."

"Tha...thank you sister-in-law!"

Wang Yuanding and his wife didn't know what to say.

80 taels a year!

Wasn't that more than a county magistrate's salary?

"But I have to make this clear first," said Li Yao. "If I find you secretly colluding with shop owners and taking bribes, I will not let you off easily."

"Sister-in-law, don't worry, I would never do such a thing!"

No one doubted Li Yao's methods. Wang Yuanding would also never betray an annual salary of 80 taels.

After arranging these matters, Li Yao let everyone disperse for the time being.

She still had many things she wanted to do, but she didn't have enough money now. She'd have to wait a few days until the branch stores took the goods before making any plans.

...

The children spent the entire afternoon tidying up and arranging their own houses.

Da Zhuang and He Xiaoya lived alone in one house, and would begin their two-person world from now on. Counting it, He Xiaoya had already been married for over six months, but her belly didn't seem to show any signs yet. She wondered what was going on.

Wang Er also lived alone in a house.

But because Song Zhe was here, he let Song Zhe live with him instead of sleeping in the incubation room anymore.

This improved Song Zhe's impression of Wang Er quite a bit. The two felt like classmates who had known each other for many years.

Three days later, the branch stores of Li's Boutique opened simultaneously in the various county seats of Jinyang Prefecture.

The limited goods prepared were almost instantly snapped up. They didn't even need to run any opening promotions.

The stores also implemented a membership system and recruited a large number of members, which was akin to having a fixed customer base for each store.

This business model delighted the bosses of each store. They immediately raced back to River Bay Village, both to report on sales and urge Li Yao to quickly replenish stocks.

Some flexible-thinking ones had even started thinking of opening branches in other places.

But Li Yao did not agree for the time being.

Expanding too quickly was not a good thing, plus production still couldn't keep up.

After three days of training, the soap workshop was also officially in operation.

Early that morning, Li Yao and Wang Xueshi came to the workshop together.

Making menthol ointment was simple. Soaking herbs and other small tasks could produce a lot in one day, and it was easy to produce. Wang Xueshi only needed to spend two to three days a month on it.

Soap and perfumed soap were slightly more complex.

Wang Xiao Si's kitchen was used to brew lard.

This lard was purchased everywhere by Wang Yuanguo, who worked hard from dawn to dusk. Because the price offered was slightly higher, lard from the nearby markets was supplied to him.

About 100 catties of raw oil could be collected every day, and after rendering, 60 catties of lard was produced. Thus the daily soap output was fixed at around 800 bars.

To expand the market, Li Yao set a low sales price for soap, so profit was only 10 copper coins per bar.

But even so, soap still brought in 8 taels of silver per day.

50 bars of perfumed soap were produced each day, earning 1 tael per bar, so 50 taels.

As for menthol ointment, there wasn't much demand for it this season, so production was stockpiled to sell next spring and summer.

After deducting various flexible expenditures, daily income was now steady at 50 taels.

Even big merchants did not dare look down on such profits.

And this was just the beginning.

Once soap and perfumed soap sold throughout the country, the income would likely be shockingly high.

Seeing that the production process was problem-free, Wang Xueshi's bookkeeping was professional, Li Yao confidently handed over full management of the operations to her.

Next, she could wholeheartedly focus on doing what she wanted.