Chapter 66: The Next Move Revealed
Xiao Liang plucked a stray stubble from his chin and began laying out the next phase of his plan—this time, the first thing he truly wanted to accomplish since being reborn in 1994.
“You all know the situation in Shishan County,” he said. “The fruit-growing resources are extremely limited. But the future demand of the juice market? It’s massive. Even if the factory runs at full capacity, it may not be enough to satisfy the rapidly growing markets in Dongzhou and Xijiang.”
He leaned back slightly, voice steady.
“Don’t be fooled by our current profit margins. On one hand, other domestic juice producers haven’t really entered Xijiang yet—and the big foreign brands haven’t flooded in either. On the other hand, we’ve artificially created a sense of scarcity, forcing distributors to accept higher prices.”
He gave a faint smile.
“But this comfortable phase won’t last long. Maybe not even a year or two. Once competitors enter the regional market, prices will be driven down. Distributors will demand higher margins, and our profits will shrink.”
His tone turned more serious.
“And within the next couple of years, even if we expand production, we won’t be able to sustain high-cost sourcing—buying fresh fruit or concentrate from other provinces. Not to mention, we don’t yet have the capital to build factories elsewhere.”
This wasn’t new to Gu Peijun—Xiao Liang had analyzed it with him before.
But now, with the Xijiang market fully activated, everyone could see it for themselves. Xiao Liang’s judgment wasn’t speculation—it was already becoming reality.
And it formed the foundation of everything that came next.
“In the next phase,” Xiao Liang continued, “the juice factory will resume production—that’s Old Gu’s responsibility. As for me, I’ll be registering a new company. The first step will be to take over marketing and sales from the juice factory.”
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
“You’ve all seen how expensive market promotion is. And competition will only intensify. We’ll have to lower our ex-factory prices, and profit per case will drop sharply. Meanwhile, the factory can’t scale production quickly.”
He paused, then concluded calmly:
“Relying solely on juice sales, the new company will barely break even.”
Silence settled over the room.
“So,” he said, “my next move is to develop a new product—something not restricted by raw material supply, with low production investment. We’ll handle product development, branding, and sales through the new company, while outsourcing manufacturing to the juice factory.”
The matter of registering the new company had already been quietly handled by Xiao Liang himself. Wu Qiyan and Zhang Feili hadn’t been informed yet.
China’s Company Law had only just come into effect on July 1st that year. There were no agencies to handle registration—everything had to be done manually. Xiao Liang had spent his spare time running between government departments, handling business registration and tax procedures himself. Tedious, but nearly complete.
He had deliberately chosen to register the company in Xijiang.
It wasn’t a casual decision.
He still didn’t know whether Fan Chunjiang—and the forces behind him—had deep ties with Yuan Weishan, Yuan Tong, or the newly appointed county Party secretary Zhou Kangyuan.
But one thing was clear.
From the Suzuki motorcycle incident, to Zhou Bin barging into the juice factory—it was entirely possible that Zhou Jianqi and Liang Aizhen were entangled with those same forces.
Birds of a feather flock together.
Even setting aside Xiao Yujun as a threat, Xiao Liang knew that in Yun She and Shishan, the enemies he would face were deeply rooted and far from weak.
He couldn’t afford to leave himself exposed.
That was why the new company had to be based in Xijiang.
“What kind of new product?” Zhang Feili asked, chin resting on her hand, eyes fixed on him with curiosity.
“A health supplement,” Xiao Liang replied. “My brother has been in contact with the Nutritional Engineering Department at Dongzhou Institute of Technology for over a month now. The formula and production process are basically finalized.”
Xu Lihuan frowned. “Is there really still room in the health supplement market?”
He wasn’t the only one skeptical.
The market was already flooded—ads for products like Red Peach Q, Golden Bead, Wahaha supplements, ginseng royal jelly, turtle essence, and countless others were everywhere. Newspapers, television—everywhere you looked, aggressive marketing campaigns dominated.
Even the wholesale markets were packed with supplement vendors alongside beverages.
Over the past month, Xu Lihuan and the others had gained firsthand exposure to the industry.
And what they saw wasn’t reassuring.
If their previous “reverse marketing” tactics could be considered borderline deceptive… then much of the supplement industry was outright fraud.
Yes, supplements had advantages.
They weren’t restricted by raw materials. Production costs were low. Prices were high—often several times that of beverages.
But that was exactly the problem.
Didn’t that just prove these products were cheap to make and driven purely by advertising hype?
Even putting aside ethics and conscience—purely from a business perspective—Xu Lihuan couldn’t see much opportunity left.
The market had already exploded.
Since the first blockbuster liquid supplement launched in 1986, the industry had grown wildly for eight years. Now there were over a thousand products nationwide.
In Jiang Province alone, there were likely over a hundred supplement companies. In Dongzhou, probably dozens.
Entering now meant brutal competition—far worse than the early-stage juice market.
Xiao Liang didn’t need Xu Lihuan to say it out loud. He could read his thoughts clearly.
“I know it won’t be easy,” Xiao Liang said with a faint smile. “That’s why I’m not asking you to take on any risk.”
He leaned forward slightly.
“All expenses for the new company—I’ll cover them myself. You don’t need to invest a cent. If you’re willing to join, I’ll pay you a fixed annual salary.”
He looked directly at Xu Lihuan.
“Old Xu, you’d get at least a hundred thousand a year.”
Then he glanced at Wu Qiyan and Zhang Ming.
“You won’t hit that number, but sixty to eighty thousand is guaranteed.”
At this stage, Xiao Liang had no intention of offering equity.
He respected Xu Lihuan’s ability—but giving shares to one person raised the question of fairness to others. Giving shares to everyone would cheapen the company before it even began.
Even his own brother—and Gu Peijun—wouldn’t hear about equity just yet.
For now, no one was thinking that far ahead anyway.
Wu Qiyan laughed. “Last time, Old Xu’s bonus coefficient was 0.3 and mine was 0.2. So my salary at the new company should follow that ratio too, right? Anything less and I might not be interested.”
“Deal,” Xiao Liang said without hesitation. “Even if the company loses money, I’ll pawn my underwear before I miss your paycheck.”
Everyone laughed.
They all understood the reality.
This time, their bonuses might reach seventy or eighty thousand—even over a hundred thousand—but that was temporary.
Once the new company took over juice sales, the factory itself would need its share of profits. Ex-factory prices would rise, cutting into margins.
At the same time, marketing expenses would continue to increase. Operational costs would climb. And they could no longer rely on the factory’s resources.
Everyone knew one thing:
Juice alone couldn’t sustain such high salaries.
If they were going to earn six figures, it would have to come from new business.
And given their past salaries—barely five or six thousand a year—even sixty thousand now felt like a dream.
Zhang Feili laughed, half-joking, half-serious.
“If I say I regret it now… is it too late? Just listening to all this is making me jealous already.”
