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Chapter 37: Packaging Done
After driving away the hooligans, Li Yi turned around and walked toward the stack of packaging boxes.
He squatted down, picked one up, and observed it carefully.
These packaging boxes were made of wood, somewhat like wood chipboard. Although the quality wasn't the best, the quantity was large.
Moreover, these packaging boxes were quite large, and they could easily hold up to 20 kilograms of fruit.
"Xiaowu, what's the story with these packaging boxes?" Li Yi asked.
"With so many, it must be for a large order. Why are they thrown here now?"
Xiaowu walked slowly to the boxes and sighed. "Brother Yi, these packaging boxes were originally ordered by a big company and needed to be completed within 15 days!"
"Who would have thought we rushed to make them within that time, but the company only took a few boxes for inspection and then never came back!"
"My parents couldn't find them either. The workers had already been paid. We were really forced to do nothing, so we decided to transfer the factory. In the end, we sold some machines and let the workers go..."
Li Yi nodded as he stroked the packaging box in his hand. The size was right, and the quantity was enough. He could help Xiaowu's family by consuming this batch of inventory.
However, the quantity was still a bit insufficient. According to the warehouse's capacity, there were almost 10,000 boxes here.
Each box could hold 20 kilograms, meaning they could pack up to 200,000 kilograms of fruit.
But the total order was for 600,000 kilograms of fruit, so they still needed more packaging.
Li Yi reached out and patted Xiaowu on the shoulder, smiling. "Where are your parents? We need these packaging boxes."
"Brother Yi, these boxes are useless anyway. We can just use them directly. There's no need to pay!" Xiaowu said.
"Using three or four of them is fine, but we have 600,000 kilograms of fruit to pack. How can we just use a few?"
"Besides, even if we used all these boxes, it wouldn't be enough. You should ask your parents to help get more boxes."
"Okay, I'll go find my mom now. I think she's setting up a stall again!" Xiaowu turned and walked out of the factory.
While Xiaowu was looking for his mother, Li Yi took Wei Sanpao and the others to move all the apples they brought back from Yandong City into the factory.
Then, Li Yi asked someone to find some grass to spread beneath the packaging boxes, and they also found some discarded white paper from the factory to wrap the apples. They then placed them in the boxes, one by one.
In fact, Li Yi had wanted to use foam nets to wrap the apples to protect them and give them a more upscale appearance.
However, foam nets like those in later years were not available at this time.
So, they had to settle for the next best thing.
Soon, more than 20 boxes of apples were packed.
Li Yi pointed at the packed apples and asked, "Old Third, what do you think of the appearance of our apples?"
Wei Sanpao's eyes lit up. "Brother Yi, it's amazing! After we packed these fruits like this, no one would dare say they were imported!"
This wasn't just flattery. The change was dramatic!
These apples had been brought back by bus, a total of 500 kilograms, all packed in bamboo baskets.
While the fruit was good, it certainly didn't look very upscale, and it was almost the same as what small stalls sold outside.
However, after this simple packaging, it suddenly looked much more elegant.
"Brother Yi, how much are we going to sell a box for?" Dalong asked.
"Ten yuan."
"What, ten yuan?"
Wei Sanpao and Dalong were stunned. Although they had expected that Li Yi's apples wouldn't be cheap, they didn't expect them to be so expensive!
You know, the purchase price for one pound of apples was only four cents, and even adding in the shipping and packaging costs, it wouldn't exceed eight cents.
A box of twenty pounds would cost around one dollar and sixty cents!
Selling it for ten yuan meant a 6-fold profit!
"Brother Yi, will anyone buy them at such a high price?"
"No one will buy them now, but in a few days, they'll rush to buy them!" Li Yi replied.
"Why?"
"You'll see soon enough..." Li Yi smiled mysteriously.
Just then, they heard the sound of a door opening outside, and Xiaowu appeared with a small tricycle loaded with socks, towels, and other goods.
Behind him followed a woman in her forties, who was closing the door.
Li Yi recognized the woman as Xiaowu's mother, who had worked at the meat processing plant. She started this packaging factory after being laid off a few years ago.
Li Yi immediately walked up to her and said, "Hello, Sister Zhou. I'm Li Yi!"
Zhou Guifang looked Li Yi up and down before smiling. "Xiaowu told me that you, the bad boy, have changed. I didn't believe it, but now it seems you've really turned over a new leaf!"
Everyone in the meat processing plant knew about Li Yi, but not for good reasons.
Parents used him as a negative example when teaching their children.
Li Yi smiled bitterly. "Everyone has a time when they're young and reckless."
"That's true. It's okay for young people to make mistakes as long as they admit them and correct them!" Zhou Guifang said.
She then added, "I heard from Xiaowu that you need some packaging boxes. Just take as many as you need. Don't worry about it."
Hearing this, Li Yi realized that Xiaowu hadn't explained everything to his mother, so he clarified, "Sister Zhou, we don't need just one or two. I want all the boxes in your warehouse, and I'd also like to order 20,000 more from you."
"Twenty thousand? What do you need so many boxes for?" Zhou Guifang asked, surprised.
Li Yi pointed to the more than 20 boxes neatly packed with apples and said, "For packing apples!"
Zhou Guifang walked over to the boxes full of apples, opened one, and looked at it again and again.
"You know, these wooden boxes really look quite good when packed with apples!"
"Sister Zhou, how much does it cost to make one of these wooden boxes?" Li Yi asked.
"Five cents, but if it's 20,000 boxes, I can lower the price to three cents each!" Zhou Guifang replied.
"Let's go with the middle price. I'll pay you four cents per box. In addition to the ones in your warehouse, I'd like to order another 20,000 from you."
"Do you really need that many? Do you even have enough apples to pack?" Zhou Guifang asked in surprise.
"Sister Zhou, we've ordered 600,000 kilograms of apples and pears this time. Xiaowu knows this. It's not a lie," Li Yi said confidently.
"Six hundred thousand kilograms?"
Zhou Guifang was once again stunned by Li Yi's words, her eyes involuntarily shifting to her son.
Xiaowu nodded to confirm Li Yi's claim.
"If that's the case, I'll take the job. But right now, all the workers have been laid off, so it'll take a few days to recruit them."
"Alright, it will take about a week for our fruits to arrive in Jiangcheng, so you have a week to prepare, Sister Zhou."
Li Yi then added, "But I have to be upfront with you, I can't pay you right now. I'll give you the money after we sell the apples."
Zhou Guifang thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, since you've always taken care of Xiaowu, I'll take the job."
"Thank you, Sister Zhou! I'll leave the details to you."
Li Yi smiled and continued, "Sister Zhou, I noticed you have printing equipment here. I'll design a pattern later. Let's see if you can print it."
"Sure! As long as it's printing, we can do it!" Zhou Guifang replied.
"Can you print it directly on the outside of the boxes?"
"Of course! These packaging boxes aren't made of solid wood, but from mixed materials, so we can print directly on them."
"Great! I'll prepare the design tomorrow, and you can give it a try!" Li Yi said.
"Okay!" Zhou Guifang replied.
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