Chapter 23

Upon hearing this, Lin Yao sensed a glimmer of hope. He immediately understood why Wen Youmin had also opposed selling the factory: he would be left without a place to live after the sale. Leaving his family's pharmaceutical factory to work for someone else's company would certainly not be smooth sailing, and he wouldn't have much power, which was a great worry for a pragmatic person like him.

"Uncle Wen, how about this? I'll tell you some news first, and we'll discuss whether you accept it or not. If our family acquires Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory, we'll ask you to be the production manager with an annual salary of 300,000 yuan. We hope you'll continue to stay at the factory to manage production, and all your authority will remain the same as it is now." Lin Yao subtly gestured with three fingers.

"Hehe, you're just joking, kid. Why would a small pharmaceutical factory spend so much money to hire a factory manager?" Wen Youmin certainly didn't believe a child's nonsense, but he did have a little idea in mind.

He was confident in his production management skills. This time, his father was very determined to sell the factory, and he estimated that the factory would really be sold. He wondered if he could become a production manager at another pharmaceutical factory. Even if he had the opportunity, it would not be as easy to manage the original factory as he was. He had developed a deep bond with the middle-level managers and technical workers, and he was really reluctant to leave. This was also the reason why he and his two older brothers strongly opposed the sale of the factory.

Now that such an opportunity had presented itself, and the other party was even offering an annual salary of 300,000, Wen Youmin was immediately tempted. Although it was just a child who had spoken to him, the other party was a family that owned the factory, and children's words are often more truthful. For a moment, Wen Youmin was filled with mixed feelings.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven Private Agreement

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"Uncle Wen, I admire Grandpa Wen very much. Please take me to see Grandpa Wen's study." Lin Yao said loudly on purpose. He still had a lot to say to Wen Youmin. Seeing that the other party had begun to fall silent, it would easily arouse the vigilance of the other two.

Of the three Wen brothers, only the youngest possessed genuine talent. Lin Yao naturally wanted to persuade him to join the company. Even if the acquisition of Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory fell through, he could hire him as the factory manager if another pharmaceutical factory was acquired. According to Lin Yao's own plan, Minhong Pharmaceutical Company was to develop into a large conglomerate. His parents couldn't afford to focus solely on production management, so it was time to start discovering talented individuals.

“Alright, I’ll take you to see.” Wen Youmin was a smart man. He understood Lin Yao’s intention after exchanging glances for two seconds, knowing that the other party still had something to say to him.

Lin Hongmei didn't get involved in their affairs. Ever since Lin Yao recovered, she and her husband had been amazed by their son's sudden display of ability, and now they were completely at ease letting him participate in everything. When she saw Lin Yao whispering to Wen Youmin, Lin Hongmei knew he was up to something, and this visit to the study was clearly just an excuse. She was happy to play dumb.

In the study, Lin Yao used a medical book compiled by Wen Lao as cover while whispering to Wen Youmin.

"Uncle Wen, actually, those words were what my dad asked me to convey. Now I have two things to tell you." Lin Yao changed his innocent image in the living room and spoke in a serious and earnest tone.

“A salary of 300,000 yuan per year is our family’s sincerity. Even if Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory is not acquired by our family, we are willing to hire you to manage production with this salary, because we will definitely buy a pharmaceutical factory.”

“We can sign an agreement. If you back out within three years, our family will pay you a penalty of one million. Of course, this agreement is just to put your mind at ease, Uncle Wen. We still want to expand and strengthen the pharmaceutical factory, so naturally we won’t breach the contract. Uncle Wen, your abilities are more than enough to deserve this salary.” Lin Yao saw the light in Wen Youmin’s eyes and knew that his words had worked.

"Uncle Wen, the second thing I want to tell you today is quite urgent. Our family needs to produce a batch of medicine. The approval has been granted, but we haven't been able to buy a factory to produce it. So, we would like to ask you to help us with the production and processing."

"What kind of medicine? Is your family in such a hurry to buy a pharmaceutical factory to produce this batch of medicine?" Wen Youmin asked, suddenly realizing why this family was so eager to buy the factory.

Lin Yao didn't answer immediately. He looked into Wen Youmin's eyes, paused for a moment, and then said, "You could say that, and you could say that. Actually, this batch of medicine is just temporary production. The first product our family will produce in the future is a cold medicine granule, and the production of this medicine is not in a great hurry. We originally planned to outsource the production of the medicine. Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory, which you manage, has the capability to take on this outsourced business. If you are willing, we can discuss the specifics now, and I can represent our family in the discussion with you."

Wen Youmin's impression of Lin Yao changed again. In the living room, Lin Yao was just a handsome boy with a touch of naivety and immaturity, who had come with his mother to witness a business negotiation and to visit his idol. But once he entered the study, the boy transformed into a negotiating partner that Wen Youmin had to treat as an equal. His demeanor, tone, and overall impression made people naturally overlook his age.

After thinking for a while, Wen Youmin looked up and stared into Lin Yao's eyes, and said, "I won't lie to you. Although Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory has excellent manpower and equipment, it is having difficulty selling its products and has problems with cash flow. The factory has not paid wages in full for two months now. If it weren't for the workers' loyalty and trust in the factory, they would probably have left long ago."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't know how big the contract manufacturing business you're offering is. If it's large-scale, I can agree to it, but there's one condition: the contract fee cannot be transferred to the company account. It must be transferred to my personal account in cash so that I can get the money to pay back employee wages and arrange production."

"Don't worry about the safety of your funds. We can start production first, and we'll only charge you processing fees after the products are finished. I'm in charge of production, so I can sign a processing agreement with you directly. This way of handling funds will not violate financial regulations, and the company's accounts will be kept clear. This method is simply to prevent funds from being intercepted and misappropriated."

Lin Yao noticed the sincerity in Wen Youmin's eyes. This man was indeed as pragmatic in his work as he was in management. He was determined to recruit him to his family's company. Only by gathering a large number of outstanding talents could his ideals be realized. The Luo family's Huarentang Group had assets of 200 million yuan. Without the help of a group of capable people, even with good medicine formulas, he couldn't quickly expand his strength, let alone compete with Huarentang.

He took out a few folded sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them to Wen Youmin, saying, "Uncle Wen, please take a look. This is the general process for this commissioned production. Our family will purchase the medicinal herbs, and we will also extract the medicinal liquid directly from the finished product. In addition, my father will be at Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory to supervise the production process. Please see if you can take on this business. If you can, we can start production immediately."

"Okay, let me see." Wen Youmin took the paper and buried his head in it to read it carefully, ignoring Lin Yao.

Only then did Lin Yao have time to look around. Two walls of the room were lined with bookshelves that reached the ceiling, neatly filled with books. The cabinet doors and each shelf were clearly labeled with categories. On the simple but sturdy desk, besides a computer, there was only a desk lamp and a few paperweights. On the wall near the door hung two diagrams of human acupoints, and on the wall by the window hung a hand-drawn map of the whole country, densely covered with the names of major hospitals. Below the map were the contact numbers of the major hospitals and medical experts.

Just as Lin Yao was captivated by the cultural atmosphere of the room, Wen Youmin finished looking at the process and interrupted his appreciation.

"This also includes microbial cultivation processes. Coincidentally, our pharmaceutical factory installed a set of equipment a few years ago. Although it hasn't been used much, we have a team of specialized technicians who have undergone rigorous training and are fully capable of handling this work. I've taken a look, and I think Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory can take on this business." Wen Youmin's voice was very confident.

“Of course, my dad has inspected your pharmaceutical factory and is very confident in its technical capabilities.” Lin Yao was very pleased. With his concerns about the technical workers gone, he indicated that the medicinal liquid could be put into production as soon as possible. He said, “Uncle Wen, could you please finalize the commission fee today? Our family is in a hurry; this batch of medicinal liquid needs to be produced as quickly as possible. If possible, my dad will sign the contract with you tonight, and we will transfer the commission fee to your designated account tomorrow. Our family has already prepared the medicinal materials. It would be best to start production tomorrow, as cultivating the medicinal materials takes several days, so the sooner we start, the better.”

“No problem, I’ll start calculating the production costs right away. The major revisions will be completed in two hours, and we can sign the contract tonight.” Wen Youmin admired Lin Yao’s straightforward style. He himself was also a straightforward person and disliked red tape.

“Okay, Uncle Wen, this is my phone number. My mom and I will head back now and wait for your call so we can arrange to sign the contract. My dad is currently doing the final purchasing, which is why he hasn't come to see Grandpa Wen yet. It's okay if you charge a little more for the contract manufacturing fee. The most important thing is to ensure that every step of the production process goes smoothly, because this batch of medicine is very important.” Lin Yao handed Wen Youmin a piece of cardboard with only his name and phone number on it.

"Okay, wait for my call. This is my business card." Wen Youmin took out his business card from his suit pocket and solemnly handed it to Lin Yao. He already regarded Lin Yao as a respectable person.

Lin Yao followed Wen Youmin out of the study. After making a show of looking at all the furniture in the living room, he pretended to be impatient and continued to wait, muttering that he wanted to go home.

The meticulous Lin Hongmei naturally understood her son's meaning. She knew that Lin Yao had already achieved his goal in the study. This person, the only one she and her husband valued, had been able to stay alone with their son in a room for so long behind closed doors. She guessed he was no longer able to escape her son's grasp. Now, even her husband, Luo Jimin, greatly admired Lin Yao's cunning. She was happy to be a mere decorative figure.

"Alright, alright, let's go home," Lin Hongmei said, pretending to be fed up with Lin Yao's complaints.

She bid farewell to the three Wen brothers with an apologetic expression. Seeing the appreciation in Wen Youmin's eyes, she knew the negotiation in the study had gone very well. As for the other two Wen family members' feigned attempts to persuade her to stay, she didn't care. Anyway, she wouldn't need to deal with them in the future. Everyone was putting on a show, so it was better for everyone to leave early.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Good News

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On the way home, they took the bus as Lin Hongmei requested. Now, Lin Yao's family is very frugal. Luo Jimin and Lin Hongmei only want to use as much money as possible to help the people in the disaster area.

Although they had previously run a pharmaceutical factory, they primarily sourced their products directly from local herb farmers and sold them directly to pharmaceutical companies, without engaging in any real market operations. Kind-hearted, they believed that every penny they saved could allow them to produce one more bottle of energy drink, potentially helping a disaster victim and preventing lifelong health damage.

Lin Yao found this idea both amusing and admirable, so he also practiced frugality.

Lin Yao was willing to damage his reputation built up over many years online, which was also influenced by his parents. They felt that personal gains and losses were insignificant compared to the cause of saving more disaster victims, especially since it was just an empty title.

He didn't dare tell his parents about the exorbitant consultation fee they were asking for. Firstly, he couldn't explain his abnormally prodigious medical skills, and secondly, he was worried that his parents might suddenly have a change of heart and ask him not to charge so much money.

But with so many patients in the world, how could Lin Yao possibly care for them all? Once the truth came out, he'd be overwhelmed by patients from all over the country. Lin Yao decided to let this difference in perspective continue; he had no intention of persuading his parents, nor did he intend to be influenced by them.

On the bus, Lin Yao received a phone call from Ye Zhaoxian in Beijing. Ye Zhaoxian brought good news: he would be leading a group of young people eager to contribute to the nation to fly to Chengdu the next day to participate in the disaster relief efforts. Even more exciting for Lin Yao was that Ye Zhaoxian would also be bringing two experts in online publicity and promotion. This was like a godsend for Lin Yao, who was currently struggling with recruiting and managing volunteers.

Lin Yao knew better than anyone the efficacy of Minhong drought-resistant functional beverage; even the experts and scholars hired by the SFDA couldn't understand it more thoroughly. If the distribution of this beverage wasn't properly controlled, it was destined to fail to reach the disaster victims who truly needed it, instead being sold to major cities and even overseas, becoming a medium for unscrupulous merchants to reap huge profits.

This is where the role of volunteers becomes apparent. Volunteers from all over the country and from all walks of life are the most trustworthy and reliable supervisors. These volunteers are people with noble hearts who come to the disaster area at their own expense to help the victims. Their high moral character means that they cannot be bought off and would never disregard the lives and health of the victims for money or profit.

Things went so smoothly today. Two major problems that had been weighing on his mind were resolved in one go. The bottling plant and the production of the medicine were both settled. Now, hearing such good news made Lin Yao feel that the world was a wonderful place, and he couldn't help but hum a song.

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