Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Visiting to Collect a Debt
Chen Yu pondered for a moment.
To make the food processing factory successful, he needed professional managers and workers.
Now, all of this was laid out before him.
"Mr. Hou, I can give you the money first to get through the immediate crisis and also clear the remaining orders of the factory."
Hou Jianchang couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Mr. Chen, what do you mean?"
"It's simple, consider this money a loan from me. You settle the outstanding orders and then repay me; after that, we can discuss further collaboration. I just need you to give me a receipt."
Hou Jianchang stood there dumbstruck, unable to believe what was happening.
He was at the end of his rope, thinking in his heart that with less than thirty million, he could take over the entire factory.
Yet, unexpectedly, Chen Yu was not only willing to help him out of the predicament but also looked like he wanted to co-invest in the factory.
This arrangement would secure the jobs of several hundred factory workers and also give him hope for the latter half of his life.
"Mr. Chen, you really need to think this through. Apart from the current orders, this factory won't be generating any profit."
"Unless you have a new product direction and a sufficient market to sell them."
"Of course, I have those!" Chen Yu confidently replied, "Mr. Hou, just focus on fulfilling the current orders! If you have to return them, you'd have to pay extra for breach of contract."
While they were talking, a few guys dressed in identical suits and looking tough marched into the factory compound.
"Mr. Hou, the loan you took out is due today. If you don't repay it today, the interest will double tomorrow!"
Hou Jianchang's face showed helplessness as he hurriedly took out a pack of cigarettes to go up and say a few words of appeasement.
"How much money does Mr. Hou owe you?" Chen Yu directly inquired.
The leader of the men gave Chen Yu a cold glance, "With interest, the total is twelve million."
Chen Yu then understood why Hou Jianchang said that with thirteen million, he could last a month.
Twelve million was needed to pay off debts, and the remaining one million could just keep the factory running temporarily.
As for other debts, they were probably wages owed to the bank or construction crews.
The hole was indeed quite big!
"Where's the IOU? Let's settle this account today!"
The leader's expression suddenly changed, "Ah, I see you're here to pay off the debt. You should have said so earlier!"
This guy leisurely took out the IOU from his bag with an air of courtesy to present it to Chen Yu.
However, he did not immediately hand over the IOU to Chen Yu but took out various payment methods from his bag.
These debt collectors had honed this procedure to perfection.
Without saying much more, Chen Yu checked the figures on the IOU and transferred twelve million.
Once the leader confirmed the full payment was received, he immediately bowed and scraped, handing the IOU to Chen Yu like a grandson, while also presenting a business card.
"You certainly look like a generous boss! In the future, if you have any trouble, feel free to look me up. I can get tens of millions with just a word."
Chen Yu did not wish to have too much to do with these people. He just smiled and signaled for them to leave.
"Mr. Hou, how many orders do you currently have on hand? How much will it cost to complete these orders, and how much time is needed?"
Chen Yu got straight to the point with his questions.
Hou Jianchang had a clear grasp on these figures, "There are four orders in total, the cost has already been covered, and it's all waiting in the warehouse. We can deliver in ten days!"
"Right now, all it takes is two hundred and eighty thousand to keep the factory running smoothly for ten days."
At this point, Hou Jianchang looked at the workers around him, "But to pay the workers their overdue wages requires more than seven hundred thousand."
"Mr. Hou, it's less than half a month's wages, you don't need to worry about that."
Someone shouted out, and all the workers echoed in agreement.
Chen Yu raised his hand to gesture for silence, and the place quickly quieted down.
"Everyone, I am now in a partnership with Mr. Hou, and I won't lay off any of you. Your salaries will still be paid in full each month, as before. All you need to do right now is return to your posts and continue working."
Cheers erupted on the spot.
For these disabled workers, it was likely that apart from Hou Jianchang's place, they had nowhere else to go.
If they left here, they might not have any support for the rest of their lives.
The factory being able to operate normally was an enormous piece of good news for them.
Chen Yu then transferred three hundred thousand to Hou Jianchang.
"Mr. Hou, remember, you only have ten days! I will be assessing the entire factory during these ten days while also making some modifications. After ten days, I need the factory to be capable of producing new products."
Hou Jianchang nodded excitedly and wrote Chen Yu a receipt.
By the time Chen Yu and Tong Ya returned to the shop, it was already afternoon.
Usually, the flow of people in the shop would gradually decrease at this time, but today it was still packed, mostly with travel groups from out of town.
They must have seen the anime and come here to check in.
As soon as Chen Yu entered, a few self-media journalists approached him.
"Are you the owner of this shop? You really are handsome! Is your life really like what's depicted in the comics?"
"Can you talk about how you managed to go from a small food cart to such a big shop in such a short time?"
"Where's your daughter? We would like to interview her and also invite her to be an ambassador for our children's clothing line."
...
Chen Yu frowned. Although these self-media questions seemed normal, they were somewhat wishful thinking.
Comics are adaptations, not a reflection of his real life, plus he had the support of the system.
No matter what, he wasn't about to let Tuan Tuan become an endorser so easily, as if he couldn't afford to support his daughter.
After politely greeting them, Chen Yu took Tong Ya next door to the car shop.
"Zhang Fan, I have a big job for you, I'm not sure you can handle it."
Zhang Fan was lying underneath a truck and quickly slid out after hearing Chen Yu speak.
"What's the big job?"
"I need to build a batch of large machines and was hoping you could help!" Chen Yu took out some comparative drawings of certain parts.
Zhang Fan took a look and immediately became excited.
"This really is a big job, but with dimensions like these, we'll need a professional machinery factory. I can put you in touch—how soon do you need them?"
Chen Yu thought for a moment, "The sooner the better, within ten days ideally!"
Zhang Fan shook his head, "The machines you need are too large, I doubt we can rush them out in ten days, unless we get several machinery factories to work on it simultaneously, but that's going to be quite expensive."