Qin Donghai leaned on the sofa, drinking tea and daydreaming, while Chen Jiahui watched TV.
Suddenly, footsteps and the sound of a door opening came from outside.
Chen Jiahui immediately stood up and walked towards the door, intending to open it. Halfway there, she saw the door already open, and a handsome young man and her daughter walked into the house, chatting and laughing, both carrying bags full of things.
This must be Fang Bai!
His facial features were clear, and his smile was warm and sunny. What was particularly different was his stylish, well-fitted, and tidy clothing, giving a first impression of someone who loved cleanliness. He looked much more energetic than in the newspaper photos.
Ah, both her daughter and she had good taste in choosing men back in the day.
"Hello, Auntie, my name is Fang Bai." Fang Bai saw his mother-in-law standing before him and greeted her first with a bright, sunny smile.
Chen Jiahui smiled kindly: "Oh, come in quickly. Why did you buy so many things?"
Fang Bai chuckled: "It's nothing much. It's my first visit, and I've wanted to meet you for a long time."
Chen Jiahui said amiably: "That's too kind."
Fang Bai walked into the living room and saw his father-in-law pretending to read the newspaper with his head down. He coughed, and only then did his father-in-law look up.
"Uncle, it's been a few days since we last met."
"Cough, cough, yes, it's been a few days. Why did you bring so many things? Sit down and have some tea first." Qin Donghai forced an awkward smile, his mood somewhat complex.
"Uh, it's not that much. There are still some in the car, I'll go get them."
Fang Bai placed the items next to the coffee table, then turned and went downstairs to continue getting things.
Chen Jiahui looked at the pile of gifts, then at her husband's awkward expression, and couldn't help but laugh. It was rare to see her husband so flustered.
"Daughter, why did you let Fang Bai bring so many things?"
"He said it was his first visit and he needed to be polite. His aunt also gave me a big red envelope as a welcome gift and arranged for a small pickup truck to follow, with three air conditioners and a large color TV in it!" Qin Shuyu said with a playful smile. She was very happy that Fang Bai had come to visit. She took out a thick red envelope from a gift box and handed it to her mother.
Chen Jiahui took the red envelope. Just by its thickness, she knew it contained a lot of money. Hearing her daughter say that the man's family brought appliances as a first visit gift, she had never heard of it before.
Moreover, was this considered the man's family visiting?
This was just Fang Bai coming over to sit for a bit. Oh, it was hard on this child, making it so grand.
"These cigarettes and alcohol are fine, but appliances aren't necessary, are they?"
"Mom, just accept them. They've already been moved over, and installers came with them.
Fang Bai said that when you watch TV at home, without air conditioning or a big color TV, it's very dull to stay at home." Qin Shuyu persuaded her, as Fang Bai had asked her to convince her parents to accept the appliances on the way.
"You, this daughter, really don't understand manners. These things are too valuable for a first visit."
"Just accept them. You've already accepted a house worth over a hundred thousand, so why care about these things? Returning them would be so awkward for them." Qin Donghai was more open-minded. After the two children got married, all their family's property would eventually go to the children.
Now, he felt like he was working entirely for Fang Bai.
"What about the red envelope? How much should we put back?"
Qin Donghai said: "Let's get another red envelope and put it all back. This gift is even grander than an engagement gift. Fang Bai just loves to go overboard." Although he said that, he was still very happy in his heart.
Chen Jiahui glared at him, then chuckled: "This shows that Fang Bai's whole family values our daughter."
Qin Shuyu first unpacked the gifts Fang Bai bought for her parents one by one for them to see, especially the jade bracelet, saying it cost tens of thousands of yuan, which stunned Chen Jiahui and Qin Donghai. There were also cosmetics, a belt, and an electric shaver, all of which touched her parents' hearts.
The other gifts were fine, but Chen Jiahui really liked that bracelet, it was just too precious, and she felt embarrassed to accept it.
Qin Shuyu personally took it out and helped her mother put it on, praising how it fit perfectly and saying that once bought, it couldn't be returned.
Chen Jiahui shook her head. Even if she liked it, she could only wear it at home. She carefully took it off and put it back in the box.
"Why didn't you stop Fang Bai from buying so many things?" Chen Jiahui blamed her daughter for being thoughtless.
Qin Shuyu pouted: "I couldn't stop him. He didn't even discuss it with me."
Qin Donghai said: "These gifts are indeed a bit too much."
"If you like them, just accept them. There's no returning them."
"Alright, you girl, you're so thoughtless."
Under Qin Shuyu's persuasion, her parents finally accepted the valuable gifts.
After a while, Fang Bai brought up more gifts, followed by two master carrying the color TV.
The first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar.
Fang Bai had stayed out a bit longer just now to let Qin Shuyu explain the situation to his in-laws, so they could have a good chat.
"Old Fang... cough, Little Fang, come sit down. Just let them handle it."
"Little Fang, sit down. You've brought the appliance store home, and so many valuable gifts. Auntie doesn't even know what to say."
Fang Bai sat on the sofa next to his father-in-law and laughed heartily: "They're all just common things, not worth mentioning. Watching small TVs too much can easily lead to nearsightedness, that's the real big problem."
Chen Jiahui beamed: "You're so good with words, no wonder you're so successful in business."
Fang Bai humbly said: "Thank you for the compliment. I just hope Auntie and Uncle don't dislike these appliances too much."
Chen Jiahui smiled so widely her mouth couldn't close: "We like them, but they're too expensive. Don't spend money so carelessly in the future, this is enough.
By the way, Little Fang, where are you planning to go to university? I see you scored as a top scholar, not only good at business but also excellent in studies."
"I've applied to universities in Shanghai. My first choice is Shanghai Jiaotong University, to be closer to Shuyu and to be able to take care of her."
"That's good too, that place is also good." Chen Jiahui saw her husband was silent and didn't speak, so she kicked his foot.
Qin Donghai was a bit awkward, not knowing what to say. The lines he had prepared felt useless.
Mainly, when he met Fang Bai before, he had to speak politely, and the factory had to follow his arrangements.
Now that the roles had changed, he felt a bit unaccustomed.
Fang Bai sensed his father-in-law's awkwardness. After taking a sip of tea, he smiled faintly: "Uncle, regarding Jia Yu's factory, I want to discuss something with you.
I plan to hand over my network resources for the valve business to you soon. After I go to university, I won't have time to run around for business orders."
"Mm, okay."
Qin Donghai suddenly felt immense pressure without Fang Bai securing orders. He felt that without Fang Bai, the factory wouldn't be able to grow big.
Fang Bai continued: "OEM is not a long-term solution. Soon, someone will figure out our sets of tooling fixtures and molds. It would be good if we can last another six months to a year. I plan to independently develop valves and would like to hear your opinion."
When Qin Donghai talked about the factory, he felt like he was back to their previous smooth conversations, no longer as awkward. He said:
"New products have high profits, but I'm not familiar with them, and the possibility of failure is very high.
If I were still doing it myself, I might still stick to the OEM path. Just tell me what you have in mind, and I'll follow your arrangements."
Fang Bai said: "Currently, we still focus on OEM. We take orders when they come. It's just that once our method is figured out by others, the profit will be lower.
Jia Yu's factory is still too small. I plan to invest two million yuan in a production base, covering about 50 mu of land.
Of course, we won't use that much land right now; it's mainly for future expansion. For the first phase, ten mu should be enough. At the same time, we'll purchase some production equipment and gradually expand the scale.
Additionally, I plan to establish a valve R&D center and sales center in Shanghai, with Wen City serving as the production base."
"Investing on such a large scale? To be honest, I'm a bit nervous and lack confidence in doing it well," Qin Donghai said in surprise. Chen Jiahui, who was standing by, directing workers to place the TV, also heard Fang Bai's words and was very shocked.
"I predict that land prices in Wen City will rise very quickly. If we wait a few more years, it will be very difficult to find dozens of mu of industrial land; you won't be able to buy it even with money. To be honest, I even think 50 mu is a bit small.
I will communicate with the County Leader to reserve two to three hundred mu of expansion space for us, and then invest in buying land after the new factory starts up." Fang Bai spoke slowly, his words somewhat conservative.
Industrial valve factories are generally not large. Even twenty years later, a valve factory with a footprint of over 50 mu is considered quite large.
There are many valve factories nationwide, with five to six thousand at their peak, and Wen City accounts for half of them.
If Fang Bai has the ability to capture the high-end industrial valve market, he would indeed need a production base of two to three hundred mu.
"Your idea is very good, but I don't have that much capital to expand my shares."
Qin Donghai frowned. Of course, he wanted to expand the factory. Now that Fang Bai hadn't left the company, it reassured him somewhat; otherwise, he wouldn't have the confidence to manage such a large undertaking.
However, with such a large investment, according to the share ratio, he would have to invest 1.6 million yuan! Where would he find so much capital?