Chapter 191 Small profits but quick turnover
After asking for leave from Zhang Decai, Xu Qiang brought Xu Ming to the peat field.

“Is this your fertilizer plant?”

Arriving at the peat field and seeing a row of earthen houses in the ravine and workers busy at work in the distance, Xu Ming said with some surprise.

In Xu Ming's impression, a fertilizer plant at least has an independent large factory building, a towering synthesis tower, and coal and finished fertilizers placed everywhere. But here, there is no large factory building or equipment to be seen, only rows of large pits on the mountainside and mountains of mud.

"This is an organic fertilizer factory. The principle is to extract humic acid fertilizer from this peat." Xu Qiang smiled slightly and continued, "This is a Feng Shui treasure land blessed by God. Some of the raw materials of the indigo dye I provided to your factory before were also extracted from this peat."

"You mean the raw materials for indigo powder can be extracted from this mud?" Xu Ming knew nothing about chemical technology. When he heard that the expensive indigo powder was actually made from raw materials extracted from this mud, he was immediately surprised.

"I've already told you, this is a Feng Shui treasure land blessed by God. No other place is better." As Xu Qiang spoke, he led Xu Ming to his small workshop where he produced indigo dye.

At this time in the workshop, Liu Jun was strictly following the production process taught by Xu Qiang, operating the machine in an orderly manner, his eyes always fixed on the changes in the instruments on the machine, with a cautious look on his face, so much so that he did not even notice Xu Qiang entering the workshop.

Speaking of which, Liu Jun is very suitable for this kind of chemical work. He has a calm personality and is meticulous in his work, which is very important for chemical production. After all, the chemical industry is a dangerous industry with high temperature, corrosion, explosion, and various toxic and harmful gases. Any negligence may result in fatal consequences.

Under Xu Qiang's strict training, Liu Jun became very careful in operating the machines, so until now, this small workshop has not had any problems. After each production, Liu Jun would carefully clean the reactor and centrifuge to ensure the quality and purity of each batch of products. This kind of work can only be done by a careful person like Liu Jun, which makes Xu Qiang pay more attention to and trust him.

If the production here is expanded and staff are added in the future, Xu Qiang will let Liu Jun be the direct manager. As long as he is there, Xu Qiang will feel at ease.

"Is this the dye you produced?"

Seeing the plastic bucket on the ground, Xu Ming asked.

"Yes." Xu Qiang nodded and opened the lid of the plastic bucket, revealing a bucket full of indigo powder. He then continued, "This bucket can hold 30 kilograms, so our average daily production for six days is only about 5 kilograms."

"It's really too little..." Xu Qiang said somewhat disappointedly.

At present, according to the demand for jeans fabric production in the past, Fufang can consume about 50 to 80 kilograms of indigo dye every day.

At the beginning of the founding of New China, my country's dye industry had already reached a certain scale, with an annual output of 5200 tons.

By the early 1980s, the production capacity of domestic dyes had increased dramatically, reaching an annual output of tens of thousands of tons.

However, most of these domestic dye products are mainly sulphur dyes, with a small amount of acid dyes and direct dyes. There are not many product varieties, so the colors of clothing in that era are relatively simple, and there are few colorful clothes.

At this time, the global dye industry was controlled by foreign companies. The price of a ton of ordinary dyes was from 10 yuan, and the price of high-end dyes was from 50 yuan.

As for high-end dyes like indigo powder, the domestic annual production is only about 100 to 200 tons. The main reason is that jeans dyed with indigo powder have only become popular in the past two years. There are still many shortcomings in the production process of this dye, resulting in high costs and low production capacity. Correspondingly, the domestic selling price of this dye is also quite high.

"This is the situation in our factory. If you are willing to give me some time, I guarantee that I can double the output." Xu Qiang said.

"Doubling it isn't enough, it's only ten kilograms a day..."

“What if it doubles?”

"Huh?" Xu Ming was stunned for a moment when he heard that.

If it is twenty kilograms a day, the shipment volume is pretty good.

Although it is still not enough to reach the 50 kilograms required for Fufang's full-load production, it can at least ensure the operation of one or two dyeing production lines.

"If you want to increase production, I have to add more equipment and manpower. As you can see, my place is indeed a bit remote. The machines are from Shanghai, and it will take at least ten days to ship them here. Then we have to install and debug them, which also takes two or three days. So if you want to double the production, you have to wait at least a month..."

When Xu Qiang said this, he actually didn't have much hope for the order from Fufang. After all, half a month was a bit long, and it would take more than a month to produce 800 kilograms of finished products, which would take a total of two months.

Unless the other party cannot find other supply channels in these two months, no factory is willing to wait so long.

Besides, Xu Qiang currently has no trouble selling indigo powder dye, so he is not worried that Fufang will not place orders. Otherwise, Xu Qiang would have already started the game with a banquet and kickbacks to pave the way for Xu Ming.

"Let me tell you the truth. Our factory has always been ordering from a dye factory in Tianjin. However, starting this year, their orders have been fully booked, so we can only look for other sources of supply. However, the production capacity of your factory is really low..."

"It's better to have it than not. As long as our production capacity can be increased, I can deliver goods once a day to ensure your production." Xu Qiang said. "By the way, Erhu told me last time that your factory does not have the qualifications to produce and sell dyes, right?" Xu Ming suddenly asked.

"Yes, actually this thing is originally a by-product of fertilizer production. I didn't intend to sell it at the beginning. I may complete the formalities in the future."

"How about this, if you give me a lower price, I will help you solve this problem." Xu Ming said after a moment of hesitation.

"How are you going to solve it?"

"I can directly purchase these dyes in the name of OEM for the dye factory in Tianjin, but they will definitely not let us 'free ride'. At least there will be some handling fees..."

Xu Ming’s words were very clear, that is, Xu Qiang had to give him some kickbacks.

These days, few people in purchasing department of big factories are easy to deal with.

With the power of purchasing in hand, corruption and bribery are common occurrences.

Although Xu Mingcai came here in person this time due to pressure from the factory, hoping to complete the task, he still needs to make some money from it as long as there is a chance, it's just a matter of how much depending on the situation.

"110 yuan per kilogram, which is already 10 yuan lower than the market price. It can't be any lower. If it's any lower, I'll lose money." Xu Qiang raised his eyebrows and continued, "If it's okay, we'll sign the contract immediately, and I'll deliver the goods in batches in days. If it's not okay, it's okay. Today, please ask Chief Xu to stay in our town first. I'll host a banquet tonight, and I'll personally take you to the train station tomorrow. Just consider it as making friends!"

Xu Qiang had already made a plan.

Even if the shipment price is 110 yuan per kilogram, Xu Qiang still makes huge profits. The previously calculated cost is less than 70 yuan per kilogram. In this way, he can still earn a high profit of yuan per kilogram.

Moreover, although the price offered by the Fuzhou workshop is relatively high, their usage is limited. According to Erhu's understanding, they cannot even use three kilograms a day. Dyes also have a shelf life. Some dyes with unstable molecular structures and prone to migration have a relatively short shelf life. If they are not used for a long time, they will definitely deteriorate. Moreover, as the storage time increases, the fastness, dispersibility and dyeing rate of some dyes will decrease to a certain extent.

So after reaching a certain quantity, these small workshops may not continue to purchase indigo powder, so Xu Qiang needs to find new buyers.

Fuzhou Textile Factory is one of the largest textile factories in Jiangxi Province. It has a large and stable demand for dyes. Based on the principle of small profits but quick turnover, Fuzhou Textile Factory is naturally a better customer.

The price of 110 yuan per kilogram was 10 yuan lower than the market price and yuan lower than Xu Ming's initial offer. This was enough to show Xu Qiang's sincerity and was enough for Xu Ming to profit from it.

"Can it be cheaper..."

"Chief Xu, you'd better stop bargaining. You can't let me lose money, right?" Xu Qiang interrupted him directly.

"Okay!" Seeing that there was no room for further bargaining, Xu Ming smiled and said, "Then it's settled. I'm going to order 800 kilograms of indigo powder from your factory this time. It can be delivered in batches in days. But I'll make it clear in advance that if the goods delivered fail the random inspection, we will not only return them, but also cancel the order. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, we will also conduct inspection before delivery to ensure that all indicators are up to standard!" Xu Qiang vowed.

"Also, when you ship the goods, don't send it to our factory. I will give you the manufacturer's address in Tianjin and you can just send it there." Xu Ming said again.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Xu Qiang nodded.

Xu Qiang knew that the fertilizer factory could not supply Fufang directly as it did not have the relevant sales qualifications, so it needed to go through the OEM channel of other manufacturers, who would package the products and then send them to Fufang.

As for how it works, that is Xu Ming's business.

"Then let's sign a contract. Do you have the official seal?" Xu Ming asked.

"Yes, where is your factory's official seal?" Xu Qiang asked back.

"I don't have the official seal with me, so it's the same for fingerprints."

"That's fine!" Xu Qiang nodded.

The next moment, the two of them walked into the next room together...

(End of this chapter)