After finalizing the agreement with Manager Yu, Song Qiao immediately rushed to the machinery factory where A Wei had previously taken people to purchase machinery.
After some bargaining, he ordered another batch of machines from there, preparing to expand the factory's production scale.
After some time, the stinky tofu sold in the department stores was likely to achieve tremendous sales through word-of-mouth, which would greatly increase the demand for the factory's production capacity.
Song Qiao's consistent character was to plan ahead and never engage in unprepared battles.
Although the issue of machines was resolved, recruiting workers presented a difficulty.
The employee dormitory, invested in for expansion, was not yet completed, and the original 200 poverty alleviation quotas could not be immediately made available.
To improve efficiency, Song Qiao had to find Town Mayor Liu You again.
"Town Mayor Liu, it's not the busy farming season now, and the villagers are idle at home. Why not let them work in the factory during this time?"
"I will pay them daily wages, and they can leave anytime when the farming season arrives," Song Qiao stated his conditions upfront.
Town Mayor Liu's eyes immediately lit up. The main reason villagers were unwilling to go to the city to work was their fear that factory work was too fixed and would interfere with farm work.
Song Qiao's proposed conditions undoubtedly solved this problem very well.
Moreover, with the villagers having money in hand, it would also be very beneficial to improve the town's economic efficiency.
He immediately grabbed Song Qiao's hand, agreed, and patted his chest, promising, "Boss Song, don't worry. Give me two days, and I guarantee I'll recruit one to two hundred people for you."
With this assurance, Song Qiao immediately felt relieved and quickly thanked Town Mayor Liu.
With the guarantee of production capacity, Song Qiao immediately drove around to over twenty department stores, big and small, in the local area.
Although many department stores were initially skeptical of his product, after Song Qiao's sales and negotiations, they all chose to cooperate with him, reserving a special area for his stinky tofu.
Now, all that was needed was for the factory to operate at full capacity to elevate the sales of his stinky tofu to another level.
After a busy day, Song Qiao, on his way home, bought a pile of toys and snacks from the department store for his daughter.
The little girl hadn't interacted with her dad for a long time and immediately hugged him tightly, refusing to let go.
"Song Qiao, why are you spending money so recklessly? These things are not cheap," Xia Yuqing said unhappily, looking at the nearly ten toys of various sizes that Song Qiao had brought.
"Even with your stinky tofu shop, you shouldn't spend so casually. We need to save money to send Xixi to school later."
"Never learn the wasteful habits of those hoodlums outside."
Song Qiao laughed heartily and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, wife. I don't just have this shop now. I also opened a factory some time ago to process vacuum-packed stinky tofu, and its sales are very good now."
Xia Yuqing was shocked. The work in her hands involuntarily stopped. She asked in disbelief, "What did you just say? You opened a factory?"
Her mother-in-law was also attracted by the sound. She also felt very skeptical about Song Qiao opening a factory.
"Yes, wife. My shop earned more than 200,000 yuan in total. This money couldn't just sit idle, so I used it to take over a factory."
Seeing that his mother-in-law and wife didn't believe him, Song Qiao quickly took out the factory's establishment certificate from his handbag.
Xia Yuqing was stunned by the casually mentioned figure of 200,000 yuan.
For a moment, she forgot to reach out and take the certificate from Song Qiao's hand.
She had witnessed the business in Song Qiao's shop and knew that her husband's shop was indeed very profitable, but she never expected that in just one month, he had not only redeemed their house from Duan Kun but also earned over 200,000 yuan to open a factory.
Earning 300,000 yuan net in a month was nothing short of a miracle in an era when the economy had not yet taken off.
After a long pause, she didn't immediately feel joy. Recalling her husband's actions today, she asked suspiciously, "Is this money really earned solely from selling stinky tofu in your shop?"
"Have you been doing something illegal with Qi Yun and his gang?"
Song Qiao felt a bit speechless. It seemed his wife's misunderstanding of him was deepening. He quickly explained, "This money is all legal income from my shop. Lin Jing and the others have kept accounts for every transaction. If you don't believe me, you can check the accounts at my shop anytime and fulfill your duties as the boss's wife."
After speaking, he didn't forget to make a funny face at his wife to ease the awkward atmosphere in the room.
"Xiao Song, even if this money is all yours, you shouldn't invest it all at once. If the factory's performance is bad, won't you have wasted all your efforts?" Her mother-in-law frowned and chided Song Qiao from the side.
Having been cautious her whole life, she was afraid that the 200,000 yuan would be lost entirely by Song Qiao.
"Yes, you didn't even discuss such a big matter with me. Don't forget, I'm your wife," Xia Yuqing also said unhappily.
She was also worried that Song Qiao was acting too rashly and would cause irreversible consequences.
Song Qiao smiled awkwardly and said to Xia Yuqing, "Don't worry, wife. I promise I won't lose money. I guarantee you that next time I make any major moves, I will report to you in advance."
"Hmph, as long as you don't drag Yuqing and Xixi down when you lose money. You've already wronged them enough," the mother-in-law snorted coldly and walked into the bedroom.
Song Qiao was left standing awkwardly, his heart involuntarily recalling his past actions. He couldn't blame them for not believing him; it was because he had been too much of a scoundrel before and had hurt his family's hearts enough.
"I'll visit your factory when I have time. I hope you're not lying to me then," Xia Yuqing seemed to want to ease Song Qiao's embarrassment and used this opportunity to make her request.
"No problem. Whenever you have time, you are always welcome there," Song Qiao chuckled, not bothering to explain further to his wife. He turned around and started playing with his daughter.
He believed that as his career gradually expanded, time would prove everything to his wife and mother-in-law.
Xixi had never owned so many toys before, and they were all bought by her father. At this moment, she had already cast aside all her worries and was playing wildly with Song Qiao.
Looking at his daughter happily playing in his arms, Song Qiao, who had been busy all day, immediately felt all his fatigue vanish. To be working hard outside during the day and have his wife and daughter by his side at home in the evening was precisely the life he had dreamed of in his previous life.