Wang Huiting leaned over to glance and said, "They're indeed all in the same area, looks like about five or six kilometers away. The bus doesn't go toward Aunt's place, so it'll take us over an hour to walk there."
This distance wasn't far for Su Ruyi. In her current life, when she was in middle school, the distance from her home to school was roughly the same.
During her school years, she would bring lunch with her every morning so she wouldn't have to return home at noon, only walking back from school in the afternoon.
"Should we stop by Aunt's house later?" Su Ruyi suggested.
When they left the guesthouse, both had brought their luggage with them and had already checked out of their room.
Since they didn't have much luggage anyway, this gave them more flexibility.
"Sounds good. I've been to Aunt's house with Dad before, I know where it is."
After Tong Aihua started working, whenever she couldn't help during the busy farming seasons, she would bring several jin of meat to Tong Dahua's family to supplement their meals.
Wang Huiting had gone with her a few times when she was younger, but stopped going as she grew older.
It wasn't that Aunt's family would say anything – they treated both her and her elder sister very well – but the villagers would point and stare at her, which made Wang Huiting unwilling to visit.
Following the map's directions, the two walked for about ten minutes before spotting the plastics factory.
The plastics factory stood alone in the area, though the surroundings were well-maintained with no visible weeds.
A cement road led to the factory, appearing newer than the main road, likely constructed after the factory was built.
Trees were planted on both sides of the road, though newly planted ones were still quite small.
The factory covered a large area with single-story buildings, all neatly arranged.
Even from a distance, one could sense the orderly atmosphere, with one section having a distinct residential feel, probably the factory workers' dormitory area.
Overall, it didn't resemble some makeshift operation thrown together haphazardly.
Yet this feeling was different from the factories Su Ruyi had seen before, giving her an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
As they approached the main gate, they immediately felt someone watching them.
A tall, straight-backed young man emerged from the guardhouse with sharp, clear eyes and an obvious military bearing.
In that moment, Su Ruyi realized what felt familiar.
Everything here followed military-style management, from the layout to the personnel, all carrying that distinct atmosphere.
Upon closer interaction, she could clearly detect his military background and was certain he was a retired soldier.
He followed procedures meticulously and cautiously, not letting his guard down just because he was facing two young girls. His attitude was polite, though he remained very serious about his work.
Su Ruyi wondered – wasn't this a private enterprise? Why did it have the feel of a military factory?
It wasn't that she hadn't encountered people who started factories after military service, or those implementing so-called military management, but none had such an authentic military atmosphere. After all, even if management wanted it, workers might not necessarily cooperate.
After learning their purpose for visiting, the guard called over someone nearby to relay the message, then invited Su Ruyi and Wang Huiting to rest in the guardhouse for a while.
Wang Huiting whispered in Su Ruyi's ear, "Sis, the owner of this factory seems to treat employees quite well."
"How can you tell?"
"This guard's uniform – the fabric and style are very well-made, even better than what they had at the textile factory before."
Back when the textile factory was profitable, the benefits were excellent. Work uniforms were provided, and the quality was quite good.
Su Ruyi deeply agreed with this; she had noticed it earlier too.
The security guard's appearance was ordinary, but his upright posture combined with the crisp uniform style made him look particularly spirited, standing there like a young poplar tree—very righteous.
Su Ruyi remarked, "From this perspective, the owner of this plastic factory seems quite decent. If other employees are similar, then this boss is truly generous."
Private enterprises differ from state-owned ones, prioritizing profit.
Being so generous to employees suggests good character—not the kind of ruthless boss out to exploit workers.
However, there's another possibility: the uniforms might be paid for by the employees themselves, a situation not uncommon.
The factory operated efficiently. The two didn't wait long before someone came to escort them inside.
This person was a young woman, though it was unclear if the arrangement was intentional.
"My name is Ma Hui. May I ask what business you're here to discuss?" Ma Hui's attitude was gentle and polite.
Wang Huiting, as a second-generation factory owner, immediately sensed something different.
Whether it was the factory grounds or the employees, everything was orderly and well-managed.
When Wang Huiting was young, the factory had been doing well, and everyone was in high spirits, but there was still some chaos—people slacking off, smoking while working.
The factory held multiple meetings each year to emphasize discipline, but with little effect. Everyone went about their business as usual, often lazily, and some never prioritized safety production throughout their lives.
Her mother and stepfather were hardworking and busy all day, while others idled away their time, accomplishing nothing before clocking out.
Here, no such scenes were visible; everyone was focused on their tasks.
Ma Hui seemed to intentionally guide them near the workshops, allowing them to glimpse the interior. She didn't dismiss them as just two young women but aimed to present the factory's best side.
"You don't need to worry about our product quality. Every step of our process is rigorous, and we conduct thorough inspections before shipping."
Su Ruyi asked, "What kind of plastic products does your factory mainly produce?"
"Currently, we focus on daily necessities like plastic basins, cups, bags, and so on. Although our plastic factory is newly established, we have various types of machinery, all imported from abroad. As long as the quantity is sufficient, we can customize according to customer needs."
Hearing this, Su Ruyi understood that the plastic factory hadn't yet developed a specialized core product line.
The plastic items currently produced were relatively simple in terms of craftsmanship.
Yet Ma Hui expressed great confidence in the factory's machinery, suggesting they had access to equipment through certain channels—though the availability of skilled talent remained uncertain.
Those who could import machinery had connections.
In this era, while many built success from scratch, plenty others came from decent backgrounds and secured resources and channels early in their ventures. These individuals had higher success rates and faced fewer risks than true self-starters.
Many later tycoons weren't truly self-made.
Su Ruyi nodded without commenting further. She didn't disclose her purpose to Ma Hui, instead observing the factory's conditions throughout the visit.
Seeing that Su Ruyi remained silent, Wang Huiting also kept quiet.
Ma Hui led the two into the conference room. During the brief moment she stepped out to pour tea, Wang Huiting whispered:
"This factory seems quite reliable, better managed than our furniture factory."
"Superficially, it does look decent."
Hearing this, Wang Huiting immediately understood the underlying implication.
"Sis, do you think they're just putting up a good front?"
"Whether it's just surface appearance, I'm not sure yet. But at least from what we've seen so far, this factory doesn't seem to have much business."
Su Ruyi had visited many factories. In her previous life, many people in their village had started factories. Although everyone lived in different places after the relocation, with her moving to the scenic suburbs, the whole village would still gather together during annual dividend distributions. As the sole representative of her family, she attended every year.
During these gatherings, she had heard plenty from factory owners about their operations. Therefore, she had some understanding of factory conditions, and she had sensed something amiss during her walkthrough.
She couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, but based on her experience, the factory's operations probably weren't as orderly as they appeared.
Regardless, it was better to be cautious.
She only had that little bit of capital and couldn't afford to be cheated.
Shortly after Ma Hui served them tea, a kind-looking woman in her thirties or forties entered the room.
"Hello, I'm Zhao Xianghong, deputy director of Red Star Plastics Factory. Welcome to our factory."
Zhao Xianghong enthusiastically shook hands with each of them, and Su Ruyi and Wang Huiting quickly stood up to return the handshake.
"Are you here to discuss business with our factory? I'm surprised someone so young is already so capable – you both look like you're at most seventeen or eighteen?"
When Zhao Xianghong saw them, she felt somewhat disappointed. If she hadn't been informed beforehand, she would have thought they were here looking for jobs.
But she also felt impressed by these two young girls' boldness in coming here.
Besides, any business was good business nowadays – as long as it made money.
Su Ruyi smiled: "I didn't get into university, so I'm thinking about starting my own business."
"That's a good term – 'starting my own business.' This is exactly the time for our country's development, perfect for young people to make their mark," Zhao Xianghong praised. "What kind of products are you looking to purchase?"
"I wonder if your factory produces Hula Hoops?"
"Hula Hoops?"
Zhao Xianghong and Ma Hui exchanged glances, clearly neither had heard of this item.
Su Ruyi explained: "Simply put, it's a circle made from plastic tubing – both a toy and exercise equipment that both adults and children can use. It's very popular in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and it's starting to catch on in provincial capitals too. It was invented by foreigners and is very popular overseas."
Zhao Xianghong and Ma Hui genuinely didn't know about this. Their factory being located in the suburbs had one disadvantage – information tended to be limited.
Although they often went out to investigate the market, the information they received remained somewhat restricted.
Zhao Xianghong was still relatively new to plastic products herself, having no prior experience in this field, and was still in the learning phase – though there was no need to mention this to Su Ruyi.
"I really haven't seen this product before, but from your description, the manufacturing process doesn't sound complicated. Our factory should be able to produce it."
They had machines capable of making plastic tubing, but they would need to see a sample first to be more certain.
The other party spoke simply, but who knew if there were other processes involved?
"Hula hoops have a major characteristic—their colors must be vibrant and varied."
Zhao Xianghong laughed, "That’s even less of a problem."
"The Asian Games are about to begin, and Hula Hoops will surely sweep the nation by then. If you catch this wave, you’ll definitely make a fortune."
Su Ruyi wasn’t exaggerating. In the past, Hula Hoops had saved countless factories from closure. Many plants ramped up production, yet still couldn’t meet the demand.
One of Su Ruyi’s uncles had made a tidy sum selling Hula Hoops back then, building an exceptionally large and tall house with the earnings. Later, when the area was redeveloped, he profited handsomely again, receiving the highest compensation payout in the neighborhood.
If it were just a private order for her, Su Ruyi didn’t have enough capital. Small quantities would drive up the cost.
But if she could get the plastic factory interested in this market and willing to invest in production, she’d only need a small portion of the goods, and the cost would be entirely different.
After all, the Hula Hoop craze would only last a couple of months. The provincial capital was already showing signs of it, so revealing this early wasn’t a big deal—it could even help secure goods more easily in the future.
Zhao Xianghong just smiled without commenting.
She didn’t even know what the thing was; how could she trust a young girl’s words so easily?
Su Ruyi wasn’t in a hurry. Zhao Xianghong would surely look into it, understand what a Hula Hoop was, and figure out the production costs before they could continue negotiations.
"Let’s work out a budget first. Come back tomorrow, and we’ll discuss it in detail."
Su Ruyi agreed cheerfully, "Alright, I hope to hear good news from you."
She didn’t push further; it wasn’t meaningful at this stage.
With business aside, Zhao Xianghong became like a warm, caring elder sister, inquiring about Su Ruyi’s background.
"Your accent doesn’t sound local?"
"That’s right, I’m from Nanyue Province, but my father is from Qing Province. He was sent to my hometown as an Educated Youth. His family is from the Furniture Factory in Liulin County."
Su Ruyi truthfully explained her situation, omitting only that her father had passed away.
This was also to reassure Zhao Xianghong. In these times, factory scams weren’t uncommon. Someone like her, popping up suddenly with a new product idea, required caution from the factory.
Even if it were a cash-on-delivery arrangement, if she paid a deposit and then disappeared, and these items had no clear use or sales channels, the factory could still suffer losses.
"Liulin County? We have people from Liulin County right here in our factory."
Ma Hui chimed in, "Liu Fangqi in our dorm is from Liulin County. What a coincidence!"
From then on, it was Ma Hui’s show—she could seamlessly respond to whatever Zhao Xianghong said.
After chatting for a while and sizing each other up, Su Ruyi felt it was time to leave.
But before she could even rise, a commotion erupted outside.
"Will the factory pay this month’s wages or not? Why is there still no news? We’re waiting to put food on the table! They keep pushing us to work, but there’s no word about the money!"
"Exactly! Why hasn’t the factory given an explanation? There must be something fishy going on!"
"Let’s go! We have to demand an answer from the factory. We can’t keep working for nothing day after day!"
The voices grew louder, clearly heading toward the office area.
Zhao Xianghong's face was grim, his expression stiff as he apologized to Su Ruyi:
"There's an urgent matter at the factory I need to handle. Rest assured, our factory takes this very seriously and will definitely give you a satisfactory response."
Zhao Xianghong hurried out, leaving Ma Hui to handle the guests.
Ma Hui looked somewhat awkward, clearly unsure how to deal with this situation.
But the protests outside were growing louder – there was no way to keep this hidden.
Ma Hui decided to be straightforward: "Recently our factory was set up in a scam and suffered significant financial losses. When the news reported about provincial factories declaring bankruptcy this year, our workers got nervous. That's why this is happening today."
Wang Huiting widened her eyes: "Haven't you been paying your workers?"
Many factories in the county were currently in precarious situations, but people generally believed the government wouldn't abandon them, so they weren't too worried.
But this plastic factory was different – it was privately owned. If it went bankrupt, there would be no government support.
"Absolutely not! Our factory director has been working hard to raise funds to help everyone through this difficult time. We've never withheld workers' pay. We normally pay wages on the 25th, and it's still early in the month, so that's why there hasn't been any payment activity."
As Ma Hui spoke, her expression darkened, clearly displeased with the protesters outside, though she restrained herself from complaining in front of the clients.
After all, worker protests reflected poorly on their management.
Who would have thought these two would encounter such a situation by pure coincidence.
Feeling discouraged, Ma Hui prepared to escort the two visitors out, convinced this business deal was doomed.
The factory had faced numerous challenges recently. They had finally gotten a potential client visit, thinking it was a good sign, only to have this happen.
Today was supposed to be when important clients came to discuss cooperation! If that deal went through, their factory would be saved! With the scheduled time approaching, this protest was terrible timing!
Ma Hui was extremely anxious but maintained a polite smile while seeing Su Ruyi and Wang Huiting out.
She had hoped to avoid the protesters, but they had already reached the office entrance and encountered the crowd head-on.
Two security guards were present, but since they were dealing with their own factory workers, they only maintained order without using force.
Though few in number, the guards were clearly effective at holding back the crowd.
This allowed Su Ruyi and Wang Huiting to remain calm when facing the angry mob, without worrying about getting caught in the crossfire.
However, the situation made Su Ruyi frown deeply. This was quite embarrassing – she had just praised the factory's management, and now there was a protest.
Most importantly, she needed to assess whether this factory was reliable enough not to affect her business.
Su Ruyi had initially planned to leave, but now she decided to stay and observe how the factory handled this crisis, using it to evaluate whether they were suitable partners.
While Su Ruyi wanted to make quick money with Hula Hoops, she also needed to ensure stable supply for a certain period.
Su Ruyi pulled Wang Huiting aside, not intending to get involved in the factory's affairs.
Wang Huiting whispered in Su Ruyi's ear: "We really misjudged this place earlier."
Though she spoke quietly, Ma Hui could read her lips and felt thoroughly ashamed.
"Director Zhao, just give us a straight answer—can our factory survive? Workshops Three and Four have been shut down for many days now. Is our factory on the brink of collapse? You can’t let us workers from Workshops One and Two work day after day for nothing!"
"Exactly! We didn’t mind helping out Workshops Three and Four before, but we can’t be doing all the work, can we? Sure, it’s sad they’re disabled, but it’s not our fault! Why should we get the same pay as them? That’s just unfair!"
"Why hasn’t Director Wei shown up? What’s the use of having a woman holding the fort here? I’ve always said women shouldn’t be in leadership roles—they can’t get anything done."
"If I’d known a woman was in charge back then, I’d never have joined this factory in the first place!"
The crowd buzzed with chatter, everyone voicing their grievances, creating a noisy uproar.
Zhao Xianghong’s face was tense as she raised her voice and shouted, "Everyone, quiet down! Please, listen to me first."
Her voice was gentle, and even though she spoke louder, she couldn’t control the situation. No one paid her any mind, and the clamoring continued.
It was clear these people were deliberately causing trouble, not here to raise or resolve any real issues.
Su Ruyi noticed a few of them exchanging meaningful glances—obviously plotting something.
What she didn’t expect was for them to turn their attention toward her and Zhao Xianghong.
"Director Zhao, are these two more clients you’ve brought in? Last time, our factory got cheated by two women, and now you’re doing business with women again? Are you trying to ruin our factory completely?"
"Seriously, what can women even accomplish in business? It’s laughable."
"These two women are definitely up to no good. We can’t just let them walk out of here."
Su Ruyi: …
Their tactics were so crude she could hardly stand to watch. They were clearly trying to provoke her on purpose.
What kind of enemies had this plastics factory made to be targeted like this?
As expected, real business conflicts were often this blunt and unsophisticated.
"Zhou Huarong! Wang Dakui, Li Xiaolan!" Zhao Xianghong called out their names loudly. "If you have something to say, step forward and say it. Don’t hide in the crowd and stir up trouble!"
Naming them directly had some effect—the crowd quieted down slightly, not as rowdy as before.
Zhao Xianghong fixed them with a stern gaze. "Zhou Huarong, tell me, when has the factory ever failed to pay your wages? When your mother was sick, the factory sent condolences and even advanced you three months’ pay. Isn’t that true?"
Everyone turned to look at Zhou Huarong, making him stand out in the crowd.
Just then, the factory gate swung open, and a car drove in, getting closer to where they were.
Someone in the crowd shot Zhou Huarong a meaningful look. Suddenly emboldened, Zhou Huarong raised his voice and shouted:
"It’s precisely because I’m grateful to the factory that I’m so worried about it! Our factory is on the verge of collapse! Everything looks fine on the surface, but no one’s actually doing any work. Debtors show up every day, and the products we ship out are a mess—none of them meet standards. I’ve even heard the management plans to sell the factory! The factory hasn’t given us any explanation. How are we supposed to feel secure? As part of this factory, don’t we have the right to care about its future? Don’t we have the right to stop schemers from destroying our factory?"
The crowd grew excited again, their voices rising. Though there were only about a dozen of them, they made as much noise as a hundred.
Su Ruyi also noticed something unusual and turned her gaze toward that car.
Oh, it seemed today's commotion wasn't aimed at her—there was a bigger fish to catch.
Su Ruyi became even less inclined to leave, sensing something peculiar about the whole situation. She wanted to observe further.
After all, she probably couldn't leave even if she tried right now.
Wang Huiting, standing nearby, didn't understand what was happening, but she still watched the commotion with great interest, only regretting that she hadn't brought any sunflower seeds to munch on.
The two of them didn't take any chances either, deliberately choosing a corner that offered both offensive and defensive advantages. Should a conflict arise, they wouldn't become the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.