Chapter 442: Industrial Extension 3

Currently, besides the specialty stores in Gan Province, a total of 279 other specialty stores were in operation. Each was allocated more than 800 kilograms of navel oranges.

Since the Hailufeng Specialty Store had an app for its online user base, customers who chose to place orders at a nearby location didn’t have to pay for shipping. Instead, their orders would be delivered directly from the local store as a same-city delivery.

The next day, early in the morning.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

「Shanghai, Baoshan District.」

The Baoshan Branch of the Hailufeng Specialty Store had been open for over a month, and a small truck delivering goods from a nearby warehouse had already arrived.

Four store employees and two drivers quickly unloaded the goods from the truck’s cargo bay, which included a large pile of pre-packaged parcels for delivery.

“So many navel oranges?” the store manager, Ye Linlin, asked as she saw the 20-kilogram crates of navel oranges in the truck.

The driver replied as he unloaded a crate, “You’ve got another batch coming to the store. It’ll be delivered this evening.”

“How long is it going to take to sell all this?” Ye Linlin looked troubled.

That wasn’t the driver’s concern. He just smiled and said, “They’re all good fruit. A lot of these packages are navel oranges too. You should arrange the deliveries as soon as you can. You’ll be getting over 500 kilograms of navel oranges every day from now on.”

“I’m speechless… Fine!” Ye Linlin’s headache intensified. “When is the main office going to open a second branch in Baoshan? We can’t keep going on like this!”

The assistant manager comforted her, “Just hang in there! We can run more promotions. Once the stores in other areas open, we won’t be getting so many.”

Just then, a few older women on their way to exercise passed by. One of them asked, “How much are your navel oranges per pound?”

Ye Linlin quickly turned around. “Ma’am, these Gannan Navel Oranges are five yuan a pound. They were just picked from the orchard yesterday. Let me cut one open for you all to try.”

She took a small knife from her work uniform pocket, slit the packaging tape, pulled out a navel orange, and sliced it open on top of a plastic crate nearby.

Each of the older women took a small slice and had a bite.

“Oh? This orange tastes pretty good.”

“It’s sweet and tart, with a very rich orange flavor.”

“I haven’t had an orange this delicious in ages.”

“Young lady, can you give us a discount?”

Ye Linlin smiled and replied, “Ma’am, our prices are set by the company. However, if you buy ten pounds, we can give you a ten-percent discount.”

“I’ll take ten pounds.”

“Me too, ten pounds.”

With that one sale, sixty pounds were gone. Ye Linlin started to think that maybe selling these navel oranges wouldn’t be so hard after all.

Meanwhile, another employee took a small van to deliver over 150 packages to customers, all of whom were in the Baoshan District.

However, compared to the Baoshan Branch, sales were even better at the branches located in more prosperous areas.

The five branches—Jing’an, Pudong, Huangpu, Changning, and Xuhui—were swarmed by large crowds of customers the moment they opened.

「Inside the Huangpu Branch.」

“Navel oranges? Your company grows navel oranges, too?” a middle-aged man familiar with Hailufeng Company asked, picking up a large bag of them.

The store manager, Lu Xingzhi, replied with a smile, “They’re grown by farmers who partner with our company. All this fruit was grown under our company’s guidance and strict supervision.”

“They’re this cheap? Can you guarantee the quality?”

“We buy them at the source for three yuan a pound, which is the highest-tier purchase price for Gannan Navel Oranges. We’re going for small profits and high volume; we only make a profit of about 0.8 to 0.9 yuan per pound,” the manager explained candidly.

The middle-aged man tried a slice and nodded. “Tastes good. They’re definitely high-quality navel oranges. My hometown is in Xinfeng County. This fruit was grown there, right?”

“I don’t think so. There’s a label with the place of origin here…” Lu Xingzhi picked up an unpackaged orange that had a sticker on it.

“Ren Tian Town? The fruit from there is this good? Whatever, it’s still Gannan Navel Oranges. Give me five crates.”

Lu Xingzhi was overjoyed. “Right away, sir.”

Compared to other fruit shops, the Hailufeng Specialty Store offered the best value. It also carried luxury items like White Truffles, which attracted many customers. People enjoyed shopping there mainly because the products were all high-quality, and there were options for every budget.

The middle-aged man was about to check out when he saw lamb in a refrigerated case. He quickly added, “Oh, and give me five pounds of lamb ribs.”

“No problem. Would you like them cut, or as a whole rack?”

“Cut, please.”

“Your lamb is quite good. My wife loves it.”

“We’re honored that you enjoy it, sir.”

After a busy morning, Lu Xingzhi finally sat down to catch his breath. He looked at the shelves; the 500 kilograms of navel oranges they had stocked that morning were almost gone. He quickly sent a message to the warehouse through the computer’s backend system, requesting an urgent delivery of another 1,000 kilograms.

Another employee used the store’s microwave to heat up four pre-made meals, which they would eat with rice they had cooked at the dormitory and brought with them.

“Manager, time for lunch.”

“Ah Sheng, you guys watch the store for a bit. Xiaoqing and I will eat first.”

“Okay.”

In the break room,

He grabbed the portion of Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce he had chosen, cut the package open, and poured it over a bowl of steaming rice.

When Xiaoqing came in, she grabbed her own meal—Honey BBQ Pork—and a plate of sliced navel oranges. The company didn’t restrict employees from eating relatively low-cost products like the oranges; the only rules were that they couldn’t take any home or let them go to waste.

The corporate headquarters had recently expanded its line of pre-made meals. Having been trained at headquarters, Lu Xingzhi and the others knew exactly how these meals were produced, so they had no qualms about eating them.

In fact, the cheap takeout from outside restaurants couldn’t necessarily compare to the pre-made meals produced by their own company.

Hailufeng Company had its own channels for producing raw materials and a strict procurement process, allowing it to offer high-quality products at low prices. In contrast, many small-time takeout operations achieved low costs by cutting corners and using inferior ingredients. The two were fundamentally different.

The two of them chatted about various things as they ate.

‘Lu Xingzhi was very satisfied with his current job. Although a store manager’s salary in Shanghai is only 5,500 yuan, the performance bonuses and other benefits are quite good. Most importantly, I don’t have to worry about housing, since the company has already purchased properties in Shanghai to use as employee dormitories.’

‘As for food, since there’s no cafeteria here in Shanghai, the company provides a monthly meal subsidy of 1,500 yuan, and we can eat any of the regular products in the store.’

‘More frugal employees can just eat the pre-made meals at the store and save the entire 1,500-yuan subsidy each month.’