Chapter 459: Chapter 459: Making Extra Money
"President Ding, you can’t be serious, can you?"
Zeng Nuo quickly interjected, "The fibers of Willow Catkin are extremely short and weak. It’s impossible to weave them into cloth. Even if we managed it, it would tear easily and wouldn’t come close to meeting the standards for medical supplies. President Ding, this idea of yours... isn’t it a bit too far-fetched?"
Ding Kaifang understood how Zeng Nuo felt. He’d had the same reaction when he first heard the proposal.
"Director Zeng, I’ve considered all the issues you’ve raised. The new process I mentioned involves blending in some normal cotton yarn to increase the strength. Besides, hemostatic cloth and adhesive bandages don’t need to be incredibly durable. Their only job is to stop bleeding and cover a wound. As long as they do that, it doesn’t matter if they break. The main purpose is wound care, not making clothes."
Zeng Nuo frowned.
He was about to ask what exactly this new process entailed.
But Ding Kaifang spoke again. "Director Zeng, this new process is based on a formula developed by Doctor Li."
The moment Zeng Nuo heard the name "Doctor Li," he was rendered speechless.
Li Xu was the single greatest contributor to Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory’s miraculous turnaround.
From top to bottom, everyone at the factory admired Li Xu’s medical skills and his ability of "turning stone into gold."
Since the formula was developed by Doctor Li,
then even the most outrageous idea suddenly seemed plausible.
Although he didn’t understand it, he deferred to the order. "Alright, President Ding. If it’s Doctor Li’s formula, I’ll give it my all."
Ding Kaifang nodded. "Good. I’m putting you in full charge of this matter. Get it done as soon as possible—the faster, the better. The Willow Catkin season will only last for about another month, so we have to race against time and acquire as much as we can. Even if production fails later, our losses won’t be too great. It’s just the cost of materials, after all."
Zeng Nuo nodded in agreement.
After returning to his office, he immediately contacted the heads of the company’s publicity, marketing, procurement, and finance departments and called a coordination meeting.
During the meeting, he relayed Ding Kaifang’s instructions in detail, coordinated efforts, and demanded full cooperation from all departments for a large-scale acquisition of Willow Catkin. He also announced a very attractive price: three yuan per jin, with no purchase limit!
On the street, Aunt Li, wearing a mask and holding a broom, was diligently sweeping the pavement.
The weather was clear today, and a southeasterly wind sent Willow Catkin dancing through the air.
She worked hard to sweep the catkins into a pile, getting ready to dispose of it all at once.
But a gust of wind blew by, and the Willow Catkin scattered again.
She sighed. Just as she was about to start sweeping again, her colleague, Old Zhang, ran over, panting with excitement. "Sister Li! Sister Li!" he urged. "Quick, gather up all this Willow Catkin! Don’t throw it in the trash! Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory is buying it. Three yuan a jin! That’s worth way more than scrap like cardboard. It’s even more valuable than scrap iron!"
Hearing this, Aunt Li froze, her broom stopping mid-air.
"What? For real? Three yuan a jin? You can sell Willow Catkin for money?"
Her face was a mask of disbelief.
Old Zhang guaranteed it. "Of course it’s true! I just heard about it. I’m in a hurry to go collect some myself. I can’t talk now, I’ve got to go pick up some free money!"
With that, he scurried off, heading toward a spot where a large pile of catkins had accumulated.
Aunt Li was half-convinced, half-skeptical.
’Li Xu is a shareholder in Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory,’ she thought. ’If they’re the ones buying it, Li Xu must know.’
Her location wasn’t far from Li Xu’s clinic, so she decided to go ask him.
Aunt Li put her work on hold for a moment, hopped on her three-wheeled cart, and arrived at Li’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic shortly after.
"Xiao Xu, I need to ask you something."
As soon as she entered, Aunt Li asked urgently, "I heard Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory is buying Willow Catkin for three yuan a jin. Is that true?"
Li Xu was in the middle of a consultation but took a moment to reply, "It’s true, Aunt Li. Go ahead and collect as much as you want. Once you have enough, just sell it to the factory."
Receiving Li Xu’s confirmation, Aunt Li was overjoyed.
"Thanks, Xiao Xu!"
After a quick word of thanks, Aunt Li immediately turned around, hurriedly riding her three-wheeler back to the street.
Back in the clinic, several other patients were waiting to be seen.
Having overheard the conversation, they all started asking questions.
"Doctor Li, what was that about? The factory is buying worthless catkins?"
"Yes."
"How much per jin?"
"Three yuan per jin, with no limit on how much they’ll buy."
"Huh?"
All the patients’ eyes lit up.
With the economy in a downturn, money was hard to come by.
Willow Catkin was everywhere. You could fill a bag just by picking it up off the ground.
Although Willow Catkin was light and didn’t weigh much on the scale, it took almost no effort to gather.
"Oh, you know, my headache doesn’t seem so bad anymore. I’ll come back in a couple of days."
"Me too, Doctor Li. I think my sore throat is gone."
In just a few moments, five or six patients had left.
Li Xu and Song Sisi exchanged a look, completely dumbfounded.
These people were so eager to make money that they completely disregarded their own health.
’Then again,’ he thought, ’so many people these days work themselves to death trying to make money when they’re young, only to ruin their health and spend it all on medical bills later.’
’In the end, they don’t have any money left, and their bodies are broken.’
’They end up with neither health nor wealth.’
"Sigh."
Li Xu shook his head and went back to seeing his patients.
Aunt Li returned to the street.
At this point, not many people knew that Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory was buying Willow Catkin. Although the streets had been swept, plenty of fluff was still piled up in corners and along the greenbelts.
Wearing her mask and armed with a broom and dustpan, Aunt Li began to collect it efficiently.
She swept pile after pile of catkins into a large bag, and before long, it was completely full.
She heaved the bag onto her three-wheeled cart. It was surprisingly heavy.
As she rode her cart, her heart bloomed with joy. This stuff used to be trash, but now she could sell it for a decent price.
Ding’s Pharmaceutical Factory had set up several collection points specifically for buying Willow Catkin.
Aunt Li went to the nearest one.
A few other citizens were already there, waiting in line.
When it was her turn, a staff member took her bag, placed it on an electronic scale, and the display read: 20 jin.
"That’s twenty jin total. At three yuan per jin, that will be sixty yuan."
The staff member said, handing over 60 yuan.
Aunt Li took the money, her face breaking into a wide, joyous smile.
Sixty yuan.
That was as much as she normally earned for a full, hard day of sweeping.
And now, she had earned it in just half a day’s work.
She couldn’t even begin to describe how happy she was.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Aunt Li thanked them profusely and tucked the money into her pocket.
She glanced at the sky. It was only mid-afternoon.
She didn’t go home to rest.
Now, she was filled with a new burst of energy as she rode her three-wheeler to continue collecting Willow Catkin.
