Chapter 608
Chapter 608
Jiang Xia had just finished reconciling the accounts for the food processing workshop, while Zhao Chenglei had already calculated the costs for the boat.
Zhou Mu collected the money from the small boat every day, along with the money from the large boat, and Zhou Fu helped them deposit it into their savings account. There was no need to keep a detailed record; they just needed to know how much was in the account.
Zhao Chenglei mainly focused on the accounts for the dried fish, as it involved buying fish from the villagers and reselling it.
He carefully examined the expenses for building the factory.
So far, they had spent 300,000 yuan on purchasing land, constructing the factory, and ordering equipment. A conservative estimate suggested they would need another 50,000 yuan to complete everything.
The factory wasn’t large, but it wasn’t small either; it was a medium-sized food processing plant.
"The factory should be completed by the end of next month."
Jiang Xia said, "Then I’ll have someone post some job advertisements. Your calligraphy is great; can you help me write them?"
"Sure. After National Day, I plan to have Second Brother help us install a telephone in the factory."
Having a phone in the factory would make things much more convenient.
Their factory was in an industrial area where some other factories already had phones, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get one installed. The telephone lines wouldn’t need to be very long.
Jiang Xia said, "How about we install one at home too? Our house isn’t far from the factory, so we should be able to get an extra line installed, right?"
Zhao Chenglei nodded. "Sure. We can get one for home too."
Jiang Xia asked, "How much does it cost to install one?"
"I’m not sure. It should be cheaper for our home, but it might be more expensive for the factory."
Zhao Chenglei knew that the initial installation fee was between 300 and 500 yuan according to the policy. This was just the installation fee; there were also material costs.
But having a phone would make things much more convenient.
He and Jiang Xia were often in the Capital City, while they needed to manage the factory and the fish farm here, and handle the dried fish business. A phone was essential.
Each phone call took at least half an hour to make, which was both troublesome and a waste of time.
Zhao Chenglei thought about getting a phone installed in the Capital City as well, since they owned the courtyard house there.
They could also install one in the house in Jiang Dong.
...
The couple discussed these matters for a while and then went to bed.
After the long journey yesterday, Zhao Chenglei was worried that Jiang Xia might be too tired, so he hadn’t made any demands on her for the past couple of days.
They went to bed early, and Jiang Xia had also taken a two-hour nap in the afternoon, so she wasn’t feeling sleepy.
He gave her two rounds, and she eventually fell asleep in his arms, exhausted.
The next morning, at around 5:30, while it was still dim, Jiang Xia heard voices from outside.
She opened her eyes and found that Zhao Chenglei was already gone, probably out for his morning run.
Jiang Xia sat up and glanced at the children.
They were sleeping soundly with their hands raised above their heads.
Jiang Xia lay back down, intending to sleep a little more, but then she heard the voices downstairs, clearly: "Can we borrow your jeep? The motorcycle is too windy, and the children have a high fever. Can’t Lei drive us to the town health center?"
"I wouldn’t lend you the car if the children weren’t so sick!"
Zhou Mu said, "Lei went out for his run at five and won’t be back until six. Who knows where he is now. If you wait for him to come back and drive you, you could have already reached the health center on a bicycle! It’s better to leave now!"
Riding a bicycle to the health center wouldn’t take more than ten minutes if you went fast.
When Zhou Zhou was sick before, they didn’t even have a motorcycle. Zhao Chenglei had taken her to the health center on a bicycle in the middle of the night.
Would they not go to the health center just because they didn’t have a car?
Zhao Bingqiang’s wife asked, "Where’s Xia? Can’t she drive? What about A Lei?"
"Does Xia not need to breastfeed? What will the children do when they wake up and are hungry? A Lei is out at sea. Does he not need to earn money?"
Zhou Mu was exasperated with Zhao Bingqiang’s wife. They argued frequently, but when she needed something, she always came knocking!
If you see the papayas are ripe, let her know. If someone borrows the field to release water, remind her to block the field ridge when they pass by. These small favors would mend their relationship, and then she would start borrowing things every day.
And if she doesn’t lend, she gets upset!
Do you think she wouldn’t know the papayas are ripe after going to the vegetable garden every day?
Who would borrow someone else’s field to release water and not block the field ridge afterward?
At this moment, Zhou Guohua hurried over, followed by Wenwan, who was carrying the children. He said urgently, “Auntie Fu, I just need to borrow the motorcycle. The children won’t wake up.”
Zhou Mu glanced at the children in Wenwan’s arms and was startled. “Wait a moment, I’ll get the keys!”
She quickly ran inside to fetch the keys and handed them to Zhou Guohua.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Then Zhou Guohua rode the motorcycle with Wenwan and the children to see the doctor.
Jiang Xia didn’t get up to look; she was too tired. After hearing the motorcycle drive away, she fell back asleep. When she woke up again, it was already past seven, woken by the babbling of the children.
The three children in the crib were waving their arms and legs, making “uh-uh-ah-ah” sounds.
Zhao Chenglei had already returned and was preparing the formula.
Jiang Xia glanced at her watch; it was 7:15. “They just woke up?”
Zhao Chenglei walked over with two bottles of milk. “Yeah.”
He placed the bottles on the bedside table and went to pick up the little sister.
This morning, it was the little sister’s turn to breastfeed.
As soon as the little sister saw her father approaching, she smiled. “Ah~”
Zhao Chenglei picked her up and handed her to Jiang Xia.
“Is Little Treasure hungry?” Jiang Xia smiled and reached out to take her.
The little sister gave her mother a big smile, turned her head instinctively, and opened her mouth wide.
She was hungry.
...
After the children were fed, Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu took them out in the stroller to play.
Zhao Chenglei and Jiang Xia drove to the factory.
The factory was indeed almost complete. The raw material sorting and cleaning workshop, drying area, wind-drying area, several production workshops, packaging workshop, and finished goods warehouse were all built, and the exterior walls were finished.
Some of the walls and employee dormitories were still under construction.
After completion, they would pave the roads with concrete and plant some greenery in the landscaping areas.
Jiang Xia said to Zhao Chenglei, “What kind of trees do you think would be good?”
Zhao Chenglei replied, “Fruit trees? We could plant a variety of fruit trees. That way, the children won’t have to worry about not having fruit to eat.”
Jiang Xia agreed. “That works.”
She had originally planned to plant some trees for decoration and aesthetics.
But planting mango trees wasn’t a bad idea either.
In her previous life, she had seen some cities with mango trees along the roadsides.
However, those mango trees absorbed too much exhaust from the cars, likely making them high in heavy metals, so they couldn’t be eaten.
But her factory was a food factory, so it wouldn’t be a problem.
There were other factories nearby, but they were far enough away. The closest one was a soy sauce factory, and another was also a food factory.
The factories most likely to emit toxic fumes were quite far from them, so there was no need to worry.
Zhao Chenglei had acquired a large plot of land, fifty acres in total.
The food factory was currently using only ten acres, leaving forty acres of land unused.
“Let’s plant mango trees along the roads. For the unused land at the back, you can plant whatever you like.”
“Okay, I’ll check with Jiang Yang to see what fruit trees are available.”
After inspecting the factory, they prepared to head home.
At that moment, a bald man with a large gold chain around his neck approached.
He glanced at Jiang Xia, his eyes filled with admiration.
(End of Chapter)
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