Chapter 225 Sweet Business
"Toffees?" Wang Jianmin was stunned when he heard that.

"Yes, it's milk candy." Xu Qiang said.

"Of course I have. I have a box of White Rabbit milk candy at home. If you like it, I'll give it to you." Wang Jianmin said.

In this era, almost no one doesn’t know White Rabbit Milk Candy.

This milk candy is produced by Shanghai Aimin Candy Factory.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the production of White Rabbit candy was small, and it was difficult to buy and very expensive, so it was considered a luxury product. If someone could put two White Rabbit candies in the wedding candy, it would be very classy.

It was difficult to buy because there was no White Rabbit milk candy available in rural areas at that time, and it was also not available in many small cities. It was only available in big cities such as Shanghai and BJ.

People from all over the country who travel to big cities on business trips are willing to queue up to buy the products, some even waiting in line for several hours.

But this kind of waiting is very sweet. Some people even become good friends and lovers by queuing up to buy White Rabbit candy. This is just like in the 1990s, many people became good friends and lovers through car clubs. Because White Rabbit candy and cars were scarce products in that era, owning them proved a certain identity, status and strength, and that they were a good match.

The reason why it was expensive was that people in that era were still hungry, so candy was of course very expensive. In fact, in the 1980s, there were still many places where people were hungry, let alone candy. Ordinary candy was not available, let alone White Rabbit Milk Candy.

Even in the early 80s, White Rabbit Milk Candy was still a "luxury" food. At that time, supply and marketing cooperatives across the country only sold two kinds of candy. Ordinary candy cost only 1 to 2 cents each, while White Rabbit Milk Candy cost 1 cents each.

"I don't want to eat it. I just think that with the equipment your factory currently has, you can completely transform into producing milk candy." Xu Qiang said.

"Producing candy?"

Hearing what Xu Qiang said, not only Wang Jianmin was surprised, but even Liu Siying and He Jie who came with him were also surprised.

No one would associate a workshop that produces explosives with toffee. These seem to be two completely unrelated things.

But in Xu Qiang's opinion, whether it is the production of TNT explosives or toffee, the equipment required is similar, the only difference is the ingredients and process.

Judging from the current situation of this factory, the equipment is old and the number of workers is small. If it wants to carry out large-scale technological improvements, firstly, there is not enough funds, and secondly, the number of workers is too small, which also determines the upper limit of production capacity.

Besides, this factory has only more than 300 employees in total, and does not need any high-tech, high-value-added products. It only needs to develop one or two best-selling civilian products, which will be enough to support so many people.

"Yes, we produce milk candy." Xu Qiang nodded, and then said: "In addition, we can also produce some other non-staple food products, such as danpi, maltose, pineapple beans, syrup and so on..."

"Gu." Hearing Xu Qiang say so many snack names, He Jie beside him couldn't help swallowing her saliva.

"Comrade Xiao Xu, you must be mistaken. This is a factory that produces explosives."

"I know you are a factory that produces explosives, but in fact, the equipment and processes required to produce these candies are similar to those required to produce explosives." Xu Qiang pointed to several machines in the workshop and said, "For example, the mixing tank emulsifier you use to produce TNT, as well as the ball mill and circulation machine, can all be used to produce food."

"Uh." Hearing Xu Qiang say this, Wang Jianmin suddenly understood.

"Now that the farmers here have contracted their output to households, they are becoming more and more affluent. During festivals, weddings and funerals, there is a great demand for high-quality candies. If your factory can seize this opportunity and build a brand of candies and side dishes in Jiangxi, then in the future, not to mention hundreds of employees, even thousands of them will have no problem!"

"But... we have no experience in producing candy. Where can we learn the formula and process?" Wang Jianmin said with a frown.

"It's precisely because you have no experience that the province sent us here." Xu Qiang said with a smile.

"Ah, right, right!" Hearing this, Wang Jianmin reacted and said to Xu Qiang, "It's almost time for dinner. You've been traveling so long, let's eat and talk at the same time."

"Yeah." Xu Qiang nodded, and then he, Liu Siying, He Jie, and the driver followed Wang Jianmin.

Since Ji'an Chemical Plant is only a small factory with a few hundred people, its building facilities are far inferior to those of Shengli Machinery Factory, and it does not have a special guesthouse, but it still has a place to entertain leaders and distinguished guests.

In the center of the factory, there is a three-in-one auditorium, which is usually used as a canteen, a workers' cultural palace, and a place for the union to hold various indoor activities. Behind the auditorium, there is a special room, which is used to entertain senior leaders. The meals here are cooked in a small stove, and many leaders will also eat here.

Although the factory was small, the material supplies were quite abundant. Not long after Xu Qiang and his party sat down, all kinds of exquisite dishes were served.

In fact, the chemical plant initially thought that the chief engineer of Victory Machinery Factory was coming, so they gave him such a high-level reception. However, they did not expect that it was a few young men who came. It was only when they saw that Xu Qiang seemed to have found a solution for military-to-civilian conversion that they held a banquet to entertain them.

Seeing such a sumptuous meal, He Jie and the driver who were traveling with them were all surprised, especially the little girl He Jie, whose eyes almost fell into the rice plate. She held the chopsticks but did not dare to take the first bite.

You know, these ordinary workers sometimes can't even go out to a restaurant once a year. During festivals, they just buy some chicken, duck, fish and meat and cook at home. Naturally, their cooking skills cannot compare with those of the chefs. In terms of color, aroma and taste alone, they are far behind.

As for Xu Qiang, it was just a small occasion to him. When he was in the factory before, he often went out to eat, so he didn't take such a banquet seriously at all.

Liu Siying sat quietly next to Xu Qiang, looking at him with curiosity. She also wanted to know how Xu Qiang could help the factory solve the candy production problem.

"Eat, eat, don't be polite. Our small factory can't compare to yours in terms of conditions, but if you are a VIP, we will definitely treat you well." At this time, Wang Jianmin said to everyone.

Then, everyone started eating.

He Jie saw a plate of braised meatballs placed opposite her, but she was a little short and couldn't reach it.

Seeing this, Xu Qiang next to her immediately stood up and put a meatball in her bowl, while Liu Siying on the other side also put a chicken leg in her bowl. Seeing this, He Jie's little face finally showed a satisfied smile.

After sitting in the car for a long time, everyone was already hungry, so they ate heartily, while Xu Qiang seemed to be thinking about something.

"Comrade Xiao Xu, what do you think of the food?" After a moment, Wang Jianmin asked Xu Qiang with a smile.

"Very good, very good. Thank you very much for the hospitality, Director Wang." Xu Qiang understood what Wang Jianmin meant, so he asked, "Are all the equipment in your factory running at full capacity? How many production lines do you have in total?"

"There are three production lines in total. We used to use two and maintain one. This year, there are fewer orders, so I estimate that one production line will be enough," said Wang Jianmin.

"In that case, you can just set aside a production line to produce candies." Xu Qiang pondered for a moment, then continued, "But making food requires very high hygiene standards. I just went to your workshop and there was a lot of dust inside. It's impossible to produce candies in this environment, so my suggestion is to build another workshop specifically for producing food."

"That's no problem. One set of equipment won't take up much space. We have two unused warehouses behind the mountain. After cleaning them and connecting them to water and electricity, they can be used as production workshops."

"In addition, your equipment, especially the mixing tank, must be rinsed clean. If there are rusty pipes and valves, they must be replaced directly, preferably with stainless steel ones..."

"But the problem is that we want to produce candy, but we don't have the formula or technology," Wang Jianmin went straight to the point.

"I have the formula and process." Xu Qiang smiled and continued, "I will stay here for one night. I will list the formulas, raw materials and related production processes of toffee and other snacks for you. Then I will go to other factories for inspection and will probably be back in a while. During this period, you have to solve the problems of cleaning the workshop equipment and purchasing raw materials. At that time, I will personally guide you to conduct trial production."

In fact, in his previous life, Xu Qiang did not specifically develop products such as candy, but he participated in the development of a variety of food additives, and also understood some candy ingredients and related production processes.

In later generations, any food contains many additives. Even the most ordinary candy will contain additives such as citric acid, thickener, edible flavors, carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, sodium citrate, caramel color, lemon yellow, leavening agent... and more than a dozen flavors and pigments.

Therefore, people miss some foods from the past and believe that domestic foods in the early years did not have additives.

But in fact, even in the 1960s and 1970s, there were still various additives in food, but the additives developed in that era were relatively few, and those with small content were not labeled at all.

For example, the ice cream popsicles that Xu Qiang ate when he was a child, when he bit into them, they felt a bit bitter. In fact, this was because the popsicles were made of saccharin and some parts had not melted.

So in this day and age, people feel happy as long as they have something to eat, and they don’t care whether there are additives or not.

Finally, people think food additives are a scourge, but in fact, the food additives permitted by the state are extracted from animals and plants, and the harm is far less than people imagine. Moreover, the reasonable use of these additives will indeed make the taste better and sales higher...

(End of this chapter)