The inability to disburse the funds caught Liu Yong and the others by surprise; it was the first time they had encountered such a situation.
Liu Yong, in particular, had worked on construction sites for over a decade, having been both a laborer and a contractor. He had witnessed numerous fights and even murders over unpaid wages, but never had anyone voluntarily refused money.
"Er Jian, I never expected the villagers of your Yang Li Village to be so understanding. To be able to comprehend your difficulties – having such workers, this factory is sure to prosper and grow in the future."
"Brother Yong, this also speaks to Brother Jian's charisma, which has won over the villagers. We all need to learn from him."
Jing Yongli patted Yang Jian on the back, flattering him.
Yang Jian punched him lightly. "Cut the crap. What charisma? I haven't done anything beneficial for the village. It's just that we're all neighbors, and we see each other often. They don't want to see our factory collapse."
"What you say is true, but when it comes to money, it's truly commendable that the workers can have such a noble outlook. Once the factory is running smoothly, you should offer them more benefits."
"Indeed. The folks of Yang Li Village have treated me, Yang Jian, well. As long as I succeed, I will definitely help everyone become prosperous."
For the first time, Yang Jian felt recognized and entrusted by ordinary people. For the first time, he genuinely felt the desire to repay his neighbors.
This was a seed of kindness, which would take root and sprout in Yang Jian's heart, guiding him to continuously correct his path, which might otherwise have led him into the abyss of crime.
Leaving the money with Jing Yongli to continue seeking ways to learn about glue production, Yang Jian took Liu Yong to Hancheng. The purpose was twofold: to coordinate template distribution for Dong Sheng Group and Zheng Guangyao with dealers, and to find a market for the over twenty thousand templates in stock.
The process of finding dealers went smoothly. A direct sales representative from a template factory took on the template distribution for two construction companies. He and Liu Yong had known each other for a long time but were unaware of Liu Yong's current predicament. Grateful for Liu Yong introducing such a significant business opportunity, he promised a one-yuan price difference per template.
The supply issue for Dong Sheng Group was resolved. Yang Jian then rushed to Xun Si River to explain the situation to these two companies, starting with Zheng Guangyao.
"Xiao Yang, you can't be joking. The two thousand templates delivered earlier were not up to standard? But we're already using them."
Zheng Guangyao was startled when he heard about the template quality issues.
"Manager Zheng, please don't be agitated. This batch of templates can still be used and will not affect the construction quality. It's just that their turnover rate is too low. I can guarantee the supply of better quality templates in the future. How about this: you don't need to pay the remaining balance for this batch of templates. I'll bear a greater loss, and you'll lose some labor costs. I'll compensate you when I have the opportunity."
Yang Jian spoke sincerely. He had only collected less than half of the payment for this batch of templates, resulting in a loss of about fifty thousand yuan. For Zheng Guangyao, the loss of labor costs for replacing the templates was negligible.
Zheng Guangyao was not short-sighted. "No, no, it's just a matter of my labor costs; there's no need for compensation. Instead, what about the surplus products in your factory?"
"I plan to finish processing the templates already delivered to your construction sites, and then sell the rest to furniture factories at a low price."
"It's fine. I'll explain to President Wang about the templates you delivered to him, and ask him to pay half the amount, minimizing your loss."
"Thank you, Manager Zheng. Then I won't go to President Wang's place. When I have time, I'll invite him out for a meal and apologize in person."
"It's alright, it's alright. It's a matter of over a hundred thousand yuan; there's no need for you to apologize personally. How about this, I'll find someone to help you sell those templates you have in stock."
"How will they be handled? They can't be used in construction; I won't do anything harmful."
"Don't worry, I won't do anything harmful either. Templates with quality issues like yours can be sold to manufacturers of prefabricated houses. They use them as floor partitions, where the quality requirements are not high, as long as the price is a bit lower."
Yang Jian slapped his forehead. "Right! How did I not think of that? Prefabricated houses are already common on construction sites, and templates are used for the floor slabs. As long as they don't get wet, our templates will work."
Zheng Guangyao immediately dialed a factory's number.
"President Ren, what are you busy with? I have something to discuss with you."
"Hello, President Zheng. I'm working on several projects in other regions and am busy with production. Do you have any instructions for me?"
"It's like this, a good friend of mine runs a template factory. Due to technical reasons, they produced a batch of templates with slightly inferior quality. Can you take them off their hands? The price can be a bit lower."
"Slightly inferior quality? Is there a problem with the dimensions? Then I can't use them either."
"It's not a problem with the dimensions, just that the quality of the adhesive is not up to par, and the turnover rate is a bit lower. I'm already using them, and they can last for two or three turnovers, which is fine. For your floor slabs, it will be even more so."
"Is that so? Then it might be possible. I trust you. I'll take this batch of templates. How much per piece, and how many are there?"
"There are still twenty thousand pieces. You can give me the cost price, thirty yuan per piece."
"Thirty is too high. I have regular suppliers who provide at cost price, and your quantity is too large; I can't take so many at once."
"Then twenty-eight, no less."
"Fifteen yuan per piece, that's all I can offer."
The other party was pushing the price down too much, and Zheng Guangyao couldn't make the decision alone, so he consulted Yang Jian.
Yang Jian whispered to Liu Yong, then nodded. "Manager Zheng, fifteen yuan per piece is acceptable, but you must take all of them, and payment must be in cash."
Zheng Guangyao immediately relayed Yang Jian's decision.
"Manager Zheng, I'm an old client of yours, and you know that we primarily operate on credit. We are currently tight on funds. I can accept these templates, but I cannot pay in cash. How about offsetting it against your account?"
The other party, President Ren, was being very shrewd. Zheng Guangyao's prefabricated houses on his construction sites were also built by him, and he hadn't even paid half the amount yet. Using these templates for offset would not only save Zheng Guangyao face but also effectively recover the material costs.
Zheng Guangyao had the call on speakerphone, so Yang Jian could also hear the other party's request.
"Manager Zheng, let's go with his suggestion. You can pay me whenever you have the money; I'm not in a hurry."
Getting the money directly from Manager Zheng was the best solution, and Yang Jian agreed without hesitation.
"Alright, President Ren, then give me an address, and I'll arrange for vehicles to deliver the goods. You can come over to handle the settlement procedures then."
Zheng Guangyao didn't hesitate. He didn't have the money to give to Yang Jian at the moment, but at least he had managed to sell off such a large batch of templates, solving a big problem for Yang Jian. After all, storing so many templates in the warehouse also took up space. By gaining Yang Jian's favor, he would be even more attentive to this construction project in the future.