After Liu You left, Song Qiao immediately called A Wei and instructed him:
"A Wei, recently keep an eye out for any factories in our city that are not doing well."
"As our stinky tofu spreads across the country, the scale of our processing plant must be increased as soon as possible."
A Wei was taken aback, and then a look of joy appeared on his face.
"Boss, are you finally willing to agree to expand the scale?"
A while ago, Li Lili and A Wei had both suggested that Song Qiao hurry up and expand the scale, but Song Qiao had refused, citing tight cash flow.
With the boss's firm attitude, they had to abandon the suggestion after two attempts.
Unexpectedly, the boss had agreed today, which was unprecedented.
Song Qiao nodded slightly and chuckled, "Yes, expanding now, with government subsidies, can reduce costs significantly."
"Please pay close attention to this matter and try to provide me with factories willing to transfer within a month."
"No problem, boss. This is all on me."
A Wei was very excited now. Since the boss had the ambition to forge ahead, it meant he had great confidence. If this expansion was completed smoothly, Xiang Piaopiao's industry would definitely reach a new level.
After Song Qiao gave A Wei a few more instructions, he drove away from the factory and headed to Xinyuan Restaurant, where he had an appointment with Sun Qing.
After the two met and exchanged pleasantries, Sun Qing raised his wine glass and said gratefully to Song Qiao, "Boss Song, thanks to your timely reminder about the incident where your assistant backstabbed you, the consequences would have been unthinkable otherwise."
"I won't say much more in thanks; it's all in this glass."
After speaking, he raised his glass and drank it dry.
"As expected of an old hand in the business world, your drinking capacity is indeed impressive." Song Qiao secretly marveled and, raising his glass, drank with Sun Qing.
They drank and chatted, and did not discuss cooperation matters today, but rather chatted aimlessly about their past business experiences.
When they talked about the cash flow, Song Qiao thought of his factory's current dire financial situation and couldn't help but sigh.
"Boss Song, are you troubled by something? You might as well tell me, perhaps I can help a little." Sun Qing asked curiously upon seeing Song Qiao's worried expression.
"Alas, Manager Sun, you wouldn't understand the struggles of small businesses like ours."
"You are backed by the headquarters of Jialefu, so you naturally wouldn't understand the pain of us small vendors."
"Recently, I want to expand the processing plant, but I really don't have any extra spare cash on hand."
When it came to this matter, Song Qiao opened up and poured out his troubles to Sun Qing.
Sun Qing listened and frowned, "It's normal for your business, which has just started, to experience cash flow difficulties."
"How much capital do you estimate is needed at the minimum for expanding the factory?"
Song Qiao thought for a moment and replied, "About another 1 million yuan."
He didn't want Sun Qing to fully grasp his financial situation, so he didn't tell him that he was so short of funds that he couldn't even produce over a hundred thousand yuan.
"Since there's still such a large shortfall, it might be difficult to gather it in the short term."
"Have you considered bringing in investors, Boss Song?"
After hearing Song Qiao's answer, Manager Sun did not immediately respond but continued to ask calmly.
Song Qiao was slightly stunned. He had considered bringing in investors himself, but without sufficient capital, he couldn't attract any substantial backers.
"If Boss Song is willing, I can personally consider investing around 500,000 yuan in Xiang Piaopiao."
Seeing Song Qiao's delayed reaction, Sun Qing added.
Song Qiao was completely caught off guard that Sun Qing was willing to invest such a large sum in his company, and he was momentarily unable to react.
After a long while, he slowly asked, "Manager Sun, how much equity would you like from me?"
Sun Qing smiled and waved his hand dismissively, "Boss Song's company has unlimited potential. Although it's facing capital strain now, I, Sun Qing, am not someone who takes advantage of others' difficulties. You only need to give me 10% of the equity in the processing plant."
Upon hearing Sun Qing's reply, Song Qiao's eyes lit up.
This Sun Qing was indeed a general that Jialefu could send to guard a region, and he understood Song Qiao's bottom line perfectly.
Although 10% equity seemed small, judging by the factory's development speed, the investment would likely be recouped within two years.
Moreover, this was well within Song Qiao's acceptable range.
"Manager Sun, you truly have great vision. I, Song Qiao, admire you." The other party had solved his urgent problem and only asked for the most reasonable return, which made Song Qiao feel immensely grateful.
He said this while raising his wine glass to toast Sun Qing.
"Boss Song, you are too kind. Don't forget, we are friends." Sun Qing chuckled and once again raised his glass, drinking it dry.
After drinking, with a slight hint of intoxication, he asked, "Boss Song, after operating for so long, your funds shouldn't be so scarce theoretically."
"Manager Sun, theoretically, I did make a profit. However, a while ago, Director Pan invited me to invest in a project, and I placed a large portion of that money into that project."
Song Qiao sighed and said.
Sun Qing's expression suddenly changed, and he asked with some concern:
"Boss Song, are you referring to the government's project to build a three-star hotel?"
"That's right, Manager Sun has heard of it too. It's precisely that project. It's rumored that someone from the书记's side is also involved." Song Qiao replied.
"Oh dear, Boss Song, many of us did not participate in that project because of that person's involvement."
"On the surface, they said the书记's son was involved to reassure investors like you, but in reality, the person involved was the书记's brother-in-law."
"This person is said to be extremely ill-behaved and often gets involved in illegal and disciplinary troubles."
"Many people who have cooperated with him are said to have been cheated by him."
After hearing Song Qiao's words, Sun Qing slapped his thigh in regret.
Song Qiao's heart suddenly jumped. He suppressed his inner panic and calmly asked, "Boss Sun, don't scare me. Is this person really unreliable?"
"Boss Song, you must believe your brother this time. That guy is really not a good person."
"If you are really worried, I suggest you go back and have someone investigate."
Sun Qing, fearing that Song Qiao would not believe him, repeatedly urged him.
This made Song Qiao feel even more anxious. He had already invested 200,000 yuan. If this matter failed, that money would be completely wasted.