Chapter 105 – Tian Peng pig
Back in the district, Feng Yu had no time to relax. He went to the food processing factory to look. The production was going well, and after walking about the factory, he did not notice any workers violating the safety procedures. This made Feng Yu satisfied.
There were a lot of flammable materials in the factory. If something were to happen, the fire departments might not be in time to save the factory. If a fire really breaks out, the factory and Tai Hua brand would be gone.
In his previous life, there was a famous brand, Autumn Ham. At its peak, it was earning hundreds of million profits in a year. That was in the early 1990’s and a few hundred million at that time was considered an enormous sum. There was a fire at their factory, and because they wanted to minimize their losses of over 400 million RMB, they used those pork, that was damaged by the fire, for their ham. As such, there was a smoky smell in their ham, and their competitors started a rumor that Autumn Ham had worked with the crematorium to use the human flesh in their ham. It ended with Autumn Ham’s brand image being tarnished overnight!
Now the majority of the ham in China were from Autumn Ham. But this was only temporary. How successful can a company who uses a fortune teller as its advisor be?
It was a pity that the Soviet Union does not have such technology and machines. The sausages they produced tasted very different from China’s ham.
The reason why Feng Yu felt that the pig farm would be doing well was that there was still much demand for ham. If he could get his hands on the production machinery, Feng Yu was confident that he could capture the Northeast market. The profits for ham was at least 10%, and if he sold 100 million hams in a year, that would equate to 10 million RMB!
The main task now was to expand the pig farm. At least now, Feng Yu thinks that there was a need to create a brand for his pigs. For example, there was a brand called Shuang Hui Frozen Fresh Pork in his previous life. They had many stores throughout China. This company was making more than ten billion RMB a year just by selling pork. Feng Yu might not be as good as others regarding managing, but he had the knowledge of the future. He should not have any problems occupying the market for the Northeast region.
The Feng family was in dispute because of the naming of the pig farm.
“What are you talking about? Pigs also need branding?” If this were not his son, Feng Xingtai would have chased him out of his house. It was just pigs. What’s the use of branding for pigs? With a brand, the pigs will not be pigs anymore?
“Dad, after we got the branding done for our soybean oil, coupled with the advertisements on the papers an TV, the sales became much better than the Good Oil Factory. It was the same for our sugar. We had use our brand, change the packaging for our sugar and the profits are higher than what you expected. The pigs will be the same. With branding, whenever someone wants to buy pork, our brand will be the first brand they thought of!”
Feng Xingtai scratched his head. It was like what Feng Yu had said. But what’s the use to have a brand for pigs? If Feng Yu suggest using Tai Hua as a brand name, he will slap him hard!
“Then you say what name is good for our pork? I am warning you now. You better don’t say what General in heavens. The last time you wrote the couplet, Deputy Farm Officer said the second verse, and he was hospitalized due to high blood pressure!”
When Feng Xingtai was saying this, he almost laughed out. He did not think much about the couplet, but when Deputy Officer Xu saw the Pigsy picture and the couplet, he immediately blurted out the second verse “Pig on earth” (same meaning as “I am a Pig”).
Everyone around him laughed loudly, and Deputy Officer Xu’s blood pressure shot up and almost fainted. From then onwards, he never stepped foot into the farm again. But that also saved Feng Xingtai a lot of trouble from entertaining him.
“We can call our pork “Young and cheerful”?” Feng Yu suggested cautiously. Young and cheerful Pigsy. Sounds jovial and easy to remember.
“Young and Cheerful? What stupid name is that? No!” Feng Xingtai did not know that this name came from a famous TV drama in the future and rejected it straight away.
Feng Yu was a bit disappointed, but he could quickly come up with more than a dozen names for his brand. If he can’t think of any names, he could also use the names of the brands from his previous life.
“How about Double Benefits? It stands for preferential and affordable.”
“We are selling pork, what affordable are you talking about? The things you sell are always more expensive than others. No!”
“Then can we name it using our location? For example, our district?”
“No. Our district’s name is not too auspicious. Furthermore, the district was named after a martyr. How can use the name of a martyr on pigs?” Feng Xingtai stared at Feng Yu.
Feng Yu smiled. He also felt that it was not suitable.
“Then how about Bing City Pig Farm? Anyway, our targeted market was also Bing City!”
“Our pig farm s also not located in Bing City. How can we name it as Bing City Pig Farm?” Feng Xingtai continued to reject the suggestions made by Feng Yu.
“Then we name it Tian Peng (General Tian Peng was the name of Pigsy when he was still a general in heavens). This name is short and simple. Anyone who heard it will know that we are selling pork!” Feng Yu casually said.
He was waiting for his father to reject his suggestions a few more times and then he would suggest “Golden Gong”. Gongs will make a loud noise, and golden gongs would symbolize the arrival of riches and wealth. His father would surely like this name. But Feng Yu did not expect that his father like the name Tian Peng.
Feng Xingtai blinked and turned to his wife: “What do you think of this name?”
“Tian Peng, Pigsy? Can this name really be suitable?” She wanted to cry. This father and son pair had discussed for so long and came up with such a name?
“Since there are no objections, then that will be the name. Tomorrow I will ask someone to register this brand name in Bing City. I guarantee that our Tian Peng pigs will be the most popular in Bing City!:” Feng Yu said. He was feeling regretful, and he didn’t get to use Golden Gong as the name. But the name Tian Peng was not bad either. Feng Yu consoled himself.
……
The Chief Officer of the Farm Department looked at Feng Xingtai speechless. What is this old Feng doing? Why would he name his pig farm as Tian Peng Pig Farm? The last time, the couplet on the door had already left people speechless and this time. Was he doing this on purpose to piss off Deputy Officer Xu?
“Chief Officer, is this against the rules? We did not come up with this name for fun. We had thought about this seriously.”
The Chief Officer was trying to hold back the urge to laugh. Serious thoughts? Then what names would Feng Xingtai come up if he was to name the farm casually? PigPigPig or Mr. Strong Pig?
Actually, Feng Yu had thought of a better name. General Pig. But this name sounds like the name of one of China’s leaders, and he was afraid that people would think that he was insulting that leader.
“Old Feng, why can’t the name of the pig farm remain as pig farm? What must you name it as Tian Peng?” Chief Officer asked.
“Chief Officer, pigs also require branding! You look at our soybean oil and sugar. Our sales are good because of branding. These pigs are the same too. There is a big difference between products with brands and without brands. Brands will give consumers a sense of credibility.” Feng Xingtai had learned all these from Feng Yu yesterday.
“Branding? Then why not use our district’s name as your brand?” The Chief Officer hopes to get some benefits from Feng Xingtai. If only Tai Hua Premium Cooking Oil had used the district’s name, it could promote their community as well.
“The name of a martyr to be used on a pig farm? Tian Peng is a better name. When you hear this name, you will know that these were godly pigs. Oh yes. During the New Year, our pig farm will donate 10 pigs to the Farm Department for you all to help the poor families.” Feng Xingtai once again used the words Feng Yu taught him. As expected, the Chief Officer heard this, he did not give any more rejections.
From that day onwards, the most famous Tian Peng pork in China was born!