Recently, the topic of “Post-00s Ice Generation in Zhengzhou with Nearly 200 Million Yuan in Debt” has been trending on Weibo. In response to this, the boss of the post-00s “Ice Generation” in Zhengzhou, Henan province, stated that the net profit of the factory was only tens of thousands of yuan per year, while the family had a debt of nearly 200 million yuan (RMB).
In recent days, news has been circulating on the mainland that workers at an ice factory in Zhengzhou can earn over 10,000 yuan by moving ice bricks for one month. Some netizens analyzed that the cost of producing ice using tap water is very low. They even did some calculations for the owner of the ice factory: if the factory sells 3000 pieces of ice per day at a market price of 30 yuan per piece, the daily sales amount to 90,000 yuan, 2.7 million yuan a month, which is 8.1 million yuan for just one summer season, bringing in over tens of million yuan in revenue for the whole year.
In a report by “Extreme News” on August 9, it was mentioned that in Zhengzhou, the Zhongyuan Bingpo Ice Factory is located on Longxing South Street in Zhongmu County. The 25-year-old boss, An Zedong, said, “We have a total of 6 ice-making pools, each of which can produce four to five hundred pieces of ice at the same time, which is considered relatively large scale in Zhengzhou.”
An Zedong mentioned that with the arrival of summer, the demand for ice for cooling at construction sites, factories, logistics centers, and bus stations has surged. He arrives at the factory around 5:20 in the early morning, while the ice movers arrive even earlier, starting to move ice at 5 o’clock.
Addressing the speculation and curiosity from the public about the income, An Zedong said, “The ice-making industry is a seasonal business. One should not only see the glory during peak seasons but also the hard times during off-peak seasons. Throughout the year, there is only one peak season in summer, and the other three seasons have very slow business. During the winter, the minimum ice sales per day could be just over 100 pieces.”
An Zedong calculated that a 200-pound block of ice costs around 20 yuan in water and electricity, although the retail price is 30 yuan, the percentage of this kind of retail business is very small. The main selling point for the factory is wholesale prices, and with more price concessions, it is not as profitable as people imagine. Nowadays in the peak season, the monthly water and electricity bill is nearly 400,000 yuan, not including workers’ wages, equipment depreciation, etc. Overall, the net profit for a year is only tens of thousands of yuan.
On social media platforms, An Zedong gave himself the nickname “Zhengzhou Ice Second Generation.” He mentioned that he is actually a super “negative second generation” as his parents failed in business, currently owing nearly 200 million yuan in debt. The family had to sell off all assets, and he even moved from a villa in the city center to a simple house in the ice factory. A few years ago, his father was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis due to cancer, and only last year handed over the ice factory for him and his brother to manage. Weighing 260 pounds, he personally gets involved in moving ice.
An Zedong emphasized that there are no shortcuts in doing physical business. One must honestly engage in production and be a decent person. The quality of the ice blocks represents the reputation of the factory.
Regarding some netizens trying to enter the ice-making industry to get a share of the pie, An Zedong advised caution and not to casually enter capital-intensive industries. For an ordinary entrepreneur, building a small ice-making factory with a production capacity of four to five hundred pieces of ice costs around 1.5 million yuan, and it is virtually impossible to estimate the payback period.
A Weibo member, “Ying Wang,” expressed his sentiments, saying, “The ice factory’s net profit for a year is just tens of thousands, and the family is burdened with nearly 200 million debts. The boss is not ‘inheriting the family business,’ he is clearly ‘inheriting the debt’ to repay. This news is quite heartbreaking. People only see the superficial glamour of ice selling well in the summer and workers earning over ten thousand yuan per month, but they fail to see that ice-making is a capital-intensive, strongly seasonal business.”