The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 410 - 399: Two Tiger Men

Shen Manman wanted to set up a factory, of course a single machine would only make a workshop, and she hadn’t considered that the machine would be so expensive when she went to buy it.

She had brought with her all she had—five thousand yuan—that was her entire fortune, and the machine alone cost fifteen thousand yuan; the remaining money was all contributed by Niannian, including the one thousand yuan for return freight.

She couldn’t let Xue Jianian pay most of it if she was going to start a factory.

After much thought, she had no choice but to borrow from her wealthy sister.

If she was to set up a factory, she would need a space for it, right?

The group estimated, finding a place that could fit the machine was indeed not easy, and even if they found one, the rent for some factories would be at least a hundred yuan a month.

She was currently an office worker and didn’t have that much money.

Then there were the raw materials, as well as the packaging and edging machines.

All those would also cost over ten thousand yuan.

Shen Manman thought it over and decided she had to bring her sister in on the venture.

"I’ve done the math, and we’ll need over ten thousand yuan more," she said.

Xue Jianian replied, "Don’t say ’over ten thousand’, just round it up to twenty thousand. Don’t we also need to hire people? This time I don’t plan to manage things, just like Jingqiu, I’ll only invest," he said, relishing the thought of just dividing the profits.

Shen Manman laughed, "Fine, I’ll be the factory manager then. Let’s include Sister Xinyue too. I’ll take fifty-five percent, and the remaining forty-five will be yours."

"Ok, that works," he agreed.

Xue Jianian went to see what Luo Xinyue thought, meanwhile that evening, Lu Jingqiu went to the bank and withdrew thirty thousand yuan for Shen Manman, "This includes my share, the rest you can use," she said.

Shen Manman looked at the money, her eyes welling up, what if she wanted to cry?

Lu Jingqiu quickly interjected, "Cry for what? You call me ’sister’, which means you are my family."

"Sister, meeting you all in this life, I don’t know how much hardship I endured in my previous life to deserve this," she said.

"How much hardship you went through I don’t know, but I sure have been through quite a bit," Lu Jingqiu replied.

Lu Jingqiu’s remark shattered the sentimental mood, and both of them couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

However, Shen Manman insisted on writing her a promissory note.

The next afternoon, everyone gathered at Lu Jingqiu’s place to draft the contract, and it was Lu Jingqiu who took charge.

Luo Xinyue had heard from Xue Jianian the previous day and discussed it with Shang Ze that night.

They didn’t talk long before they agreed, as the couple had made some money from their beef soup shop.

To Shang Ze, that money was an unexpected fortune earned by following their lead.

In the past two years, following them in buying land and setting up factories had yielded profits.

He felt confident that his wife following in the footsteps of Xue Jianian and Lu Jingqiu couldn’t go wrong.

The key was how much to invest, as they didn’t have much money, just enough for them to live comfortably with their beef soup shop.

So this time Luo Xinyue only wanted a fifteen percent share, while Niannian and Jingqiu would each have twenty.

Shen Manman first repaid the money to Xue Jianian, then calculated their accounts.

Their little workshop would be set at thirty-five thousand yuan total.

She would put in sixteen thousand five hundred yuan herself; Niannian and Jingqiu would each contribute six thousand, and Xinyue, four thousand five hundred.

Apart from the fifteen thousand yuan for the machine and the freight, the remaining money would be used to find a location and buy a packaging compression machine.

After signing the contract, Shen Manman said, "Actually, when I was working last year, I ran all over the city and saw a few good places. The best one is right across from our house, in the farmers’ market. It used to be a warehouse for storing vegetables, a very large room, with more than four hundred square meters. It’s quite spacious inside, with just a few pillars. Our machinery can fit in there, and we can also set up a separate warehouse and an office. I asked, and it’s only fifty yuan a month."

Luo Xinyue said, "Ah, you found such a hidden place? Is the farmers’ market not using it anymore?"

Xue Jianian chuckled and said, "No wonder, you’re really thorough in your scouting; even the farmers’ market didn’t escape your notice.

Our farmers’ market is going to be reformed this year, I heard they’re going to divide it into individual stalls for rent. The warehouse that used to store vegetables will definitely be abandoned."

Shen Manman said, "Right, it’s also a brick-and-tile structure, with big iron doors—all very solid. The roof is made of wooden tiles, some of which are dropping wood chips. If we just hang a new ceiling, plaster the walls, and smooth the floor with cement, we can use it."

Lu Jingqiu said, "You make sanitary products, so cleanliness is crucial. Cement floors are not easy to clean; it’s better to use tiles. I’ve seen those large tiles nowadays, they’re good for the floor and easy to clean."

Shen Manman nodded. On this trip outside, she had seen a lot and felt that what her sister said made sense.

After the group discussed and decided, Xue Jianian and Shen Manman went to the farmers’ market to negotiate the lease, while Lu Jingqiu and Luo Xinyue helped contact a plasterer to assist with the ceiling, painting, and dividing the rooms.

The machinery was not very large; even the packaging machine was just a bit bigger than a round table. All were placed at the very back, leaving more than two hundred square meters free, including enough space for storing materials.

Then, there was a large open area with a long workbench and a very large storage rack for stacking the finished products.

At the very front was something like a storefront, plus a small office.

This place was in the farmers’ market, where they could even set up a stall to sell sanitary pads.

Shen Manman named the factory "Man Shu."

While Lu Jingqiu worked her job, she also helped keep an eye on the renovation process of the house.

The first to be renovated was the production workshop inside.

The machinery had arrived on the seventeenth day of the year.

At this time, Shen Manman also had Uncle Zhang from the Housing Management Bureau help her register "Man Shu" as a factory, and even the trademark was registered.

Shen Manman was definitely pushing the envelope; she was still a civil servant.

But for her dreams, she didn’t worry about that anymore.

Lu Jingqiu was also incredibly busy, occupied with her job at the cinema.

She had also received a picture book story assignment from the agency.

The person who took over from Zhang Miao was now Xinyue.

Xinyue handed her the book and said, "This is the one the author specifically requested you to help her illustrate."

"Ah, she specifically asked for me?"

"Yes, you have no idea how famous you are in the industry now. If not for Xia Lin, you should be at the agency. Now, in the cinema, you’re busy as a dog every day. Hey, when will you be able to come back?"

Lu Jingqiu shrugged, "Director Wang said I have to stay at least two years, but I’m quite happy at the cinema. My colleagues are very enthusiastic, every day is full of passion, discussing various design ideas. I feel like my thinking has broadened a lot, my mind full of ideas. Anyway, forget about that; what do you think of the logo I designed for Manman?"

Luo Xinyue saw four or five different patterns, with two characters in the center, but the characters were stylized, looking like characters but not exactly: "It’s pretty. Let’s go with this middle one—it looks good."

"Really? I also think this one is good. Oh, and I haven’t designed the packaging yet. I’ll leave that to you."

"Hey, to me?"

"Yes, I’m a bit busy lately."

"I can’t do it..."

"You can. Don’t underestimate yourself, Comrade Luo."

"..."