Boiling fish meatballs in plain water!
A basin of boiling water with no added seasonings. The fish meatballs were put in and boiled.
Dong Xiaorou didn't dare to cook too many fish meatballs, so she only put five in the basin. She feared they might not taste good and would be wasted if she cooked too many.
"How long do we need to cook them for?" Li Zhi checked the time and estimated, "I think they should be ready in about five minutes."
The adjacent room wasn't very large; it was about twenty square meters. It used to be an office in the factory, but now it had a bed and some miscellaneous items, making it feel even smaller.
The conditions weren't great. The gas stove was placed on the floor, and Dong Xiaorou brought the iron basin from her home. The two of them squatted around the basin, watching the water boil and waiting for the fish meatballs to cook, while counting the time.
"Five minutes are up!"
"Let's take them out and taste them!"
"Hey, don't use chopsticks to pick them up." We have bowls!
After consuming the fish meatballs, they noticed a distinct difference compared to when they were eaten raw. With no added seasonings and no additives during production, the noodles were smooth and had a fresh taste. They were even better than any other kind of meatballs Li Zhi had eaten before.
"What do you think?" Li Zhi asked Dong Xiaorou after he had bitten into the fish meatball and swallowed it.
Dong Xiaorou nodded, "Very delicious." "I don't know about others, but I really like them!" She then picked up another piece with her chopsticks and took a bite. Although the fish meatballs had no added seasonings, they were easy to swallow, and the natural taste of the fish was sufficient.
Li Zhi didn't compete with her. The fish meatballs were still in production, so he could eat as many as he wanted. But this scene in front of him was not something that happened every day.
Ten years, or maybe even longer, Li Zhi would still remember this day as if it were yesterday. There was a woman squatting in front of the gas stove, cooking fish meatballs, eagerly waiting for them. Every move and gesture seemed so joyful.
A person only knows who is by their side after they have fallen on hard times.
"I think our product will receive a positive market response," Dong Xiaorou said as she turned off the gas stove. She had eaten four out of the five fish meatballs, not because Li Zhi let her, but because she didn't want to compete with him.
"Do you have any ideas?" Dong Xiaorou looked at Li Zhi with a serious expression.
"What do you mean?" Li Zhi asked.
Dong Xiaorou tucked her long hair behind her ear and said, "Once the fish meatballs are processed, we need to set a selling price." But before we set the selling price, I need to know our factory's daily production capacity and the production cost of the fish meatballs. Can you tell me these things, Mr. Boss?
"Of course, no problem!" Li Zhi chuckled. If it weren't for her, Li Zhi would have been working blindly without any plans. "You know a lot!" Dong Xiaorou didn't seem like a woman from a small fishing village.
Dong Xiaorou snorted and muttered, "Of course, I graduated from the Business Management Department of a university."
Not wanting to waste time on useless talk, Dong Xiaorou continued, "Let's not discuss these irrelevant matters." First, let's discuss our factory's processing and manufacturing capacity. "How many fish meatballs can we produce in a day?"
Li Zhi said, "In theory, the processing plant can run 24 hours a day, but every 24 hours, the machines need to be shut down for three hours for cooling and maintenance." If the raw materials are sufficient, we can produce 15 fish meatballs per minute, with each fish meatball weighing 0.5 ounces or 25 grams…
Before Li Zhi could finish, Dong Xiaorou furrowed her brow and interrupted him, "15 fish meatballs per minute, weighing 375 grams, which is less than a catty." At full speed, we can only produce about 945 catties in 21 hours, which is just over 470 kilograms.
The daily output of less than 500 kilograms was completely below Dong Xiaorou's expectations. But thinking about it, this place couldn't even be considered a factory; at best, it was a small workshop that could produce fish meatballs.
"The market price for fish meatballs is approximately ten yuan per catty, while the wholesale price is around five to six yuan," Dong Xiaorou calculated and inquired, "So, how many fish meatballs can we produce from one catty of fresh fish?"
"500 grams of fresh fish can yield 280 grams of fish meatballs."
The formula wasn't calculated by Li Zhi; instead, it was directly provided by the 'Star Cloud i9 Intelligent Factory System' in his mind.
"50%?" The price we paid for the fish today was two and a half yuan per catty. With two catties of fish, we can only produce a little over one catty of fish meatballs. The raw material cost is almost five yuan, plus labor, electricity, factory rent, machinery wear and tear, etc. The cost of the fish meatballs is six yuan per catty. Boss, we're not making a profit. "We might as well close the factory now; maybe we can minimize our losses," Dong Xiaorou suggested. By the end, she blinked at Li Zhi.
'Enchanting' indeed!
Li Zhi wasn't in the mood to watch the enchantress perform. Dong Xiaorou's calculations had put him in a bad mood.
"How can we not make a profit?" Li Zhi asked.
Dong Xiaorou blinked and shrugged, "You're the boss; I'm just an employee." "Why aren't we making a profit? How would I know!"
"No, no, there must be something wrong," Li Zhi shook his head, frowning as he thought, "The raw materials are correct, the output is correct, the pricing… yes, it's the pricing!"
Li Zhi looked up, excitedly exclaiming, "Why do we have to set the selling price so low?" Are you silly? Our production cost for fish meatballs is over six yuan per catty. "Selling at this price, it's strange if we don't lose money."
Dong Xiaorou stared at him with wide eyes and angrily said, "You're the silly one here!"
"Hehe!" Li Zhi chuckled awkwardly, trying to defuse the situation, "Don't be angry, don't be angry." "When you're angry, you're quite cute!"
"Stop with your sweet talk." "I'm not buying it!" Dong Xiaorou rolled her eyes at him.
Li Zhi could tell that Dong Xiaorou wasn't really angry. He smiled and said, "The factory's selling price for the fish meatballs cannot be based on the current market price."
"Then what should it be based on?" Li Zhi shook his head and said, "Not based on anything." The fish meatballs we produce are not the same as those sold in the market. In fact, they are not the same kind of product at all. The fish meatballs we produce are made from genuine ingredients, using only fresh fish. "Therefore, our price can only be based on our product!"