[Chapter 476: Upgrade of Packaging Bottles, Not Enough Waitstaff]
"Darling, where are the blueprints for those two types of plastic bottles we had designed earlier for the pills?"
Linton suddenly remembered that both the Beauty and the Vitality Pills contained spiritual energy. Storing them in plastic bottles might not lock in the energy properly. Over time, their effectiveness could diminish. It would be much better to switch to quartz bottles for storage.
"They're in the office, sweetheart. What's up?"
"Well, Hillary suggested we sell the pills at sky-high prices before. I was thinking that using plastic bottles for the packaging might look too cheap."
"That's true, but the production order has already been placed," Winnie replied with a bit of frustration.
"Since it's not a huge amount, here's what we'll do. Once we're back, you immediately notify the manufacturer to stop production. Whatever expenses and losses occurred, we'll cover them in full, and any plastic bottles already produced will be destroyed."
"Alright, but what material should we use to match the quality of the pills? It seems modern industrial synthetic materials aren't suitable."
"I've already thought it through. There's one material that fits perfectly."
"What is it?"
"Quartz from Hong Kong."
"Quartz? Like the quartz pendant you gave me?"
"That's right."
"No way, that's way too expensive."
"Sweetheart, quartz comes in high, middle, and low grades. Your pendant uses the highest quality, but the small bottles for the pills can use the lowest-grade quartz. It's affordable, but when fashioned into bottles, it will look very upscale."
"Okay, I'll trust you on this. Are you going to Hong Kong for this?"
"No need. Our friends there can help. Once the plane lands, we'll go to the office and fax them the bottle images."
"Honey, this pill factory's future profits will be incredible. The staff, especially the manager, need to be absolutely reliable. Have you figured out the arrangements?"
"You're right; the selection has to be careful. But I already have some preliminary ideas."
"Can you tell me?"
"Of course. I plan to have my assistant, Meena, manage the factory."
"Meena is a good fit; her abilities, character, and loyalty aren't in question. But will she want to go? I heard she gave up the manager position at Universal Group just to stay close to you."
"Yeah, she's young and lacks ambition, but aside from her, I don't have any other suitable candidates."
"Darling, Meena isn't lacking drive -- she's actually overly ambitious, but her ambition is different from most people's."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't get it? She wants, just like us, to one day become your woman, so she can't bear to leave your side."
"Ah, how do you know that? Did she tell you?"
"It goes without saying. I, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, and all the sisters have figured it out. You just haven't said anything, so we've all been pretending not to know."
"You know I'm demanding, but unfortunately, she's a little short on looks."
"That's up to you. Maybe if you suggest it, she might even agree."
"Alright, I'll talk to her privately later."
"What about the workers? Are you hiring locally?"
"No, I plan to select from the waitresses we brought over from Hong Kong. They're from thousands of miles away, have no local connections here, and are hardworking, obedient, and easier to manage -- so their loyalty will be higher."
"Good choice. But that means we have fewer waitstaff for the gardens, right?"
"Yes, last year I hired 117 female waitstaff from Hong Kong, which should have been enough for the estate. But now, 35 are assigned to the inner courtyard, plus each of you picked two assistants, which took 42 more. Adding the accounting staff and my assistant, Li Xiaoran, that's 80 people. Calculating the factory needs about 30 workers, so the outer courtyard will be left with very few. It will definitely be busy."
"Honey, did I hear that right? Such a big factory only needs 30 people?"
"That's right. The production is very simple, all on assembly line machines. The difficult part is the research and development and process design."
"So, what about the outer courtyard's waitstaff? Hiring locally?"
"I'll recruit another batch from Hong Kong."
...
When the plane arrived at San Diego, Linton sent his bodyguards to escort Catherine back to the estate while he, Winnie, and the assistants went to the office.
At the office, Winnie quickly handed over the two blueprints.
Linton checked the time -- 5 pm, which made it 8 am Hong Kong time. Lin Hao should be at the office by now.
He picked up the phone and called. Sure enough, Lin was there.
"Director Lin, I have two blueprints here. I'm faxing them to you now."
"Linton, I've received the blueprints. Are these for two small bottles?"
"Yes. I'd like you to help contact a quartz manufacturing factory to make these bottles using the most common quartz, but in two colors -- one a regular color, the other green or black. I'm not particular about the quartz quality, but they must be genuine."
"No problem. The shapes of the bottles are nice but simple to make. How many do you need?"
"50,000 in the regular color, and 10,000 in the other."
"That's a large quantity."
"Yes, please help me arrange it as soon as possible."
"Alright. I'll check with the factory and get back to you later."
"Thanks. Also, one more thing: I'm very happy with the waitstaff you hired last time. Please recruit 40 more for me."
"Sure. When do you need them? The over 100 young women who came last time have all been contacting their families, praising the place nonstop.
The environment is beautiful, the work is easy, the boss is great, and they each have their own room with a bathroom. Meals are steaks and burgers every day, and international calls are unlimited.
More amazingly, half of them got promotions and raises in just a few months, with increases of $500 a month.
These stories are going viral back home, so you can imagine how many are asking if you're hiring again."
"As soon as possible. The conditions and standards will be the same as before. I'll have the payment transferred to you tomorrow."
"Okay. It'll take at most one month to recruit. Will you come to oversee the handoff?"
"Thank you. I'll try to come, but if not, I'll send someone."
...
Back at the estate, just after 8 pm, Linton had finished dinner when he got Lin's call.
"Linton, I'm at the factory now. Your requirements can be met, but it might be a bit pricey."
"How much per bottle?"
"80 HKD for the regular color quartz bottles, and 120 HKD for the black quartz ones."
"That price is fine -- it's negligible compared to the pill prices."
"Once the molds are done, they can go full production. They can produce 10,000 regular quartz bottles a month, but black quartz production is limited to 2,000 due to raw material constraints."
"Also, check if the bottoms of the bottles can be numbered starting from 00001."
"Hold on... The engineer says it's possible."
"Great. Let's add that clause to the contract: deliveries once a month, shipment by air for the first two months, then by sea afterward."
*****
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