Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 761: Chapter 751 A Year’s Earnings

Several people were still in a daze in the office when Zhang Chunwang came in with a young girl.

So, they followed the young girl out in a daze.

Seeing that there were no outsiders, Zhang Chunwang quickly took out his notebook, "Sister-in-law, this morning, let me report to you our revenue for this year first. If you’re free tonight, how about we have a meeting? Many employees are waiting, after all, it’s almost New Year’s, and we need to send money home for a good celebration."

Although half of the demobilized soldiers working here came with their wives, most still had parents to support back home or children to take care of.

"No rush, sit down, let’s talk while sitting," Shen Yunfang poured herself a glass of water.

She wasn’t in a hurry, but Zhang Chunwang was anxious as many employees had been asking him about this.

After he sat down, he started to detail the income and expenses of the year.

The largest expense this year was still on infrastructure and the introduction of a small snack production line. Added to this were the costs of seedlings, workers’ wages, and all combined, although not exceeding a million, it was quite close.

There were many sources of income; starting in April, there was a monthly profit from the spiced quail eggs. Other items such as chicken snacks, pork snacks, sausages, country eggs, etc., all came from the farming department.

This year the greenhouse section harvested two crops of vegetables. Although there were some twists and turns during the sale before the New Year, being the only producer in Z Province eventually solved the sales problems.

The agricultural department also made a significant harvest, with the cultivation of Lingzhi mushrooms in the cornfields as a major success. Despite being cultivated and not as medically valuable as wild ones, pharmaceutical factories couldn’t mass-produce medicine from wild ingredients, so the market for artificial Lingzhi was quite promising.

Then there were the fish, loaches, and eels raised in the rice fields.

The fish had the highest yield, followed by loaches, and eels the least. But since the market was flooded with them, the prices weren’t ideal. The farm had to sell them all at low prices because they couldn’t store them long-term. However, next year it would be better; they could be processed into canned goods with a longer shelf life right at the processing plant. By then, these loaches and eels should earn their due value.

Other crops like watermelons, soybean oil, rice, and flour produced the most but brought the lowest income to the agricultural department.

The last one was Cricket Mountain.

Because Cricket Mountain covered a large area and was under pressure to get the Honeysuckle cuttings in by June, many temporary workers were hired for deforestation. After the season passed, the forestry department’s thirty-something employees continued the work. Cricket Mountain hadn’t been completely cleared by the frost. However, the hundred-meter Honeysuckle strip Shen Yunfang had requested was already planted. At this rate, another year would be needed to sort out the trees.

Shen Yunfang intended to keep the useful trees and quickly cut and replant where trees were not needed, which was also a significant task.

Of course, the forestry department did bring in some income this year. The first year Honeysuckle bloomed sparsely, but they still reaped several hundred pounds and made a little money, which wasn’t even enough to cover the cost of hiring temporary workers.

Zhang Chunwang reported this year’s expenses and income to his sister-in-law in detail, finally presenting a total.

"This year, the total income from all our departments is eight hundred and thirty-four thousand six hundred yuan," Zhang Chunwang said excitedly about the income. However, thinking of the money spent on machinery, he became depressed again, "But this year, the cost of building factories, buying machinery, paying workers, etc., has already reached nine hundred and eighteen thousand five hundred yuan. So overall, we are still at a loss this year."

Compared to Zhang Chunwang’s dejection, Shen Yunfang was pleased with the total. It was less than last year’s loss, and if things went on like this, the farm should start making a profit next year.

In her plan, the farm was to invest for the first three years, break even in the following two, and start making a profit after five years. Now, profitability seemed within reach, which was excellent news.

"Hmm, very good, extremely good. With this momentum, I believe we should be able to turn loss into profit next year," assured Shen Yunfang, providing a calming pill to the less confident employees.

"Have you finished calculating the accounts? Is the bonus for the employees this month also ready?" Last year, the two of them counted and packed the money together, but since visitors came home this year, Shen Yunfang had handed this task over to Zhang Chunwang.

Zhang Chunwang quickly grabbed his army bag behind him and took out two stacks of envelopes from it, each bearing a name but not an amount of money.

"I have calculated the amounts several times based on the attendance reported by the managers and counted the money multiple times, too. I’m just afraid of getting anyone’s money wrong," Zhang Chunwang, who previously loved money and would get excited at the sight of it, had now grown to detest counting and distributing it after the previous night—it was indeed not a job for people.

Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Shen Yunfang felt pity and suggested, "Our farm has pretty much gotten on the right track, so next year I’ll hire an accountant to take care of the accounts and wages. It’s really time we got a dedicated accountant to handle the monthly salaries and annual tax filings."

She glanced at the list to get an idea of the employees’ bonuses.

The sales department’s employees got the most, with Wang Anhua receiving over two thousand one hundred. The rest varied, with some getting over eighteen hundred, thirteen hundred, and the least getting over three hundred.

It seemed a bit low, but compared to the other employees, it was still more. The employees in the canteen received the least bonus, each getting one hundred and fifty yuan.

"Later, discuss with Wang Anhua about the last few in the sales department. If they don’t fit, there’s no point in keeping them there. They are wasting manpower. If they can’t adapt, they might as well come back to farming," Shen Yunfang said, pointing out a few names from the sales department on her list.

Since the sales department didn’t have a base salary and worked on annual earnings, the people earning just over three hundred indicated their entire year’s earnings, which meant about thirty yuan a month. Even after factoring in a penalty that cut their bonus in half, that was less than seventy yuan a month. Honestly, they would earn more working in other departments on the farm.

"Okay, I’ll talk to Wang Anhua after New Year’s."