When the grain processing plant was built, when Feng Xing Tai went to collect the money again, many people in the team suddenly felt that Feng Xing Tai might not be a fraudster, and they also wanted to invest.
Feng Xing Tai followed what Feng Yu said: apart from the original seven families, including Wen Dong Jun's family, each of the other families could only invest one thousand yuan, no more. Moreover, investing had risks, and any losses would be borne by the investors themselves. Anyone who had objections could choose not to invest, as this was a private enterprise, and the big boss had the final say!
Three production lines had already been sent to Bingcheng, along with three engineers who were hired to work for a year. They were people who had come to work in China thirty years ago, but at that time, they were not yet experts.
Ji Xiong told Feng Yu that there were about a dozen people interested, but they were all very worried. These three were the poorest in their families. If they agreed to stay, perhaps more people would be willing to come next year.
The three were experts in machinery and equipment, guiding the assembly of the production lines, debugging the machinery, and helping to improve the old equipment in the mechanical factory.
The machinery and equipment ordered by the mechanical factory were very cheap, yet they were more advanced than the existing equipment by at least ten years. When Li Ming De heard that the equipment had already been ordered, but would not arrive until next month, he was somewhat anxious.
If the equipment arrived a day earlier, the mechanical factory's equipment could be updated a day earlier. The old equipment they replaced could be sold to local small factories, and he could benefit from it. Moreover, he had already reported this batch of equipment to the city, and the city had agreed to allocate funds. Why were the Russians so slow?
Of course, Feng Yu asked Ji Xiong to send the equipment for the grain processing plant first, and the three experts had to complete the debugging of the equipment there first.
The grain processing plant had already started collecting soybeans and sugar beets with the funds raised. The formula for making feed from the residue left after oil pressing and sugar making was purchased from the provincial livestock department, and it was fully applicable to Soviet equipment.
Large trucks drove into the factory, and the equipment was installed under the direction of the three experts. Each expert was accompanied by a dedicated translator, earning 10 yuan per day.
Feng Yu also returned from Bingcheng, fearing that the farm people would be negligent towards the three Soviet experts. They were treasures, and Feng Yu had big plans for them. Moreover, it was important not to offend them, as it could affect the recruitment of other experts.
"Prepare, three, two, one, start!"
The machine started, and clean soybeans fell into the cylinder. Soon, yellow soybean oil began to flow out of the oil outlet.
Everyone cheered. It took a long time to install the equipment, and the first test was a success, bringing smiles to their faces.
However, the Soviet experts looked at the oil quality and frowned slightly. The filter plug seemed to have leaked, and there were impurities inside, but everything else was fine.
The factory manager of the farm's oil and grain plant was also there, saying he was there to observe and learn. In reality, he was checking how far the Taihua grain processing plant could go with the advanced Soviet equipment. He watched for a while, discussed with the people beside him, and then left with a sneer.
If their oil and grain plant still used the ordinary pressing method from last year, it would indeed be inferior to this Soviet machine. But now, the extraction method was being promoted, and the oil yield was not much lower, and might even be higher in the future. Moreover, the oil and grain plant had the grain warehouse as a backup, with plenty of raw materials. The Taihua plant posed little threat to them. He really didn't understand why the factory manager had not only agreed to help them with various procedures and documents but also promised to prioritize power supply for this private factory.
The power supply was something Feng Yu specifically mentioned. The factory's investment exceeded two million, and it required more workers. Feng Yu only mentioned the power supply issue, and the factory manager immediately agreed without a word. Even if his office was without power, the Taihua plant would not be!
Power shortages were common nationwide, and the farm was no exception. During the peak industrial production periods in some cities, power was rationed both day and night in places like this.
Power rationing had little impact on farming, but for a factory, if the power supply could not be guaranteed, it would be impossible to make money with constant starts and stops.
The oil pressing and sugar-making machinery had been tested and were all functional, with debugging completed. The efficiency was indeed much higher than domestic equipment and also more energy-efficient.
After testing the feed processing equipment the next day, Feng Yu planned to return to Bingcheng. In the evening, Feng Xing Tai suddenly told Feng Yu that the factory might not make much money.
"Dad, how can that be? The soybean residue and sugar beet residue left after oil pressing and sugar making can be mixed with corn and wheat to make feed, reducing costs. The oil yield and sugar yield are higher, especially since we produce soft white sugar, which tastes sweeter. I'll take care of the sales. What do you have to worry about?"
"I heard that the oil and grain plants are now adopting new technologies, changing the pressing method to the extraction method, which yields oil as much as ours. How can we make money then?"
Feng Yu smiled and shook his head. "Dad, just wait. In a few days, Brother Li will bring two people over, and you just follow their instructions. I guarantee we'll make a lot of money."
Two days later, Li Shiqiang arrived at the Taihua plant with a truck, unloading a large number of custom-made transparent plastic bottles.
"Xiao Li, are these for oil? Don't we use large barrels?"
Most people bought oil from oil and grain stores or plants, bringing their own oil bottles to buy loose oil. He had never seen these small plastic bottles before.
City residents were even worse off than those on the farm. They needed oil and grain tickets to buy these items, and without tickets, the price would be higher, or they would need to have connections.
"Feng Uncle, these are the bottles we use for oil. Each bottle can hold three pounds (about 1.6 liters)."
"Isn't that too small? How long will one bottle last, and the plastic bottles must cost a lot, right?" Feng Xing Tai knew it was another wasteful idea from his son. What, selling oil with a bottle included?
"Feng Uncle, Xiao Yu said we need small bottles, but we also have ten-pound bottles. I'll send them over in a few days. All the soybean oil will be sold by our Taihua Trading Company in Bingcheng, at a high price of 15 cents per pound."
"What? 15 cents per pound? That's too expensive. Who would buy it?" Feng Xing Tai shouted, as the oil and grain plant sold loose oil for 11 cents per pound.
"Feng Uncle, you didn't understand. The 15 cents is for the Taihua grain processing plant. The Taihua company sells it for at least 20 cents per pound!"
"20 cents per pound? How can it be so expensive? Pork costs how much per pound?"
"Feng Uncle, just trust Xiao Yu. He said we're taking a high-end, premium route, specifically for city residents. We'll start by supplying Bingcheng and then expand to the entire province. Next year, we'll have our Taihua brand premium oil in Lin Province."
"What? Premium oil? Isn't this just ordinary soybean oil?" Feng Xing Tai was getting more confused.
"Feng Uncle, our soybeans are of good quality, right? The process is more advanced, and the oil is filtered several times, making it better than the oil from our farm's oil and grain plant. This is premium! You've seen in the city that many people are getting rich. Even if the oil is a bit more expensive, they will definitely buy it. Don't worry, we're not cheating anyone. Xiao Yu said we will definitely make money!"
PS1: In the 1980s, oil was sold by weight, not volume.
PS2: The book has been taken off the new book list due to exceeding the word count, but we've made it, thank you for everyone's support.
PS3: There's a book club below the introduction, welcome to join and chat.
PS4: Thank you to Snake for the two donations, and to Fenzheng and Ranger Rogers for their donations.