If this had been before today, the three of them would have definitely thought she was bragging.
Eating dumplings until you feel sick—what kind of family could afford that?
But she actually managed to rename Caozi Cakes, which cost only a few mao to make, and sell them for 12 kuai and 5 mao per jin!
What couldn’t they believe now?
If they could sell Caozi Cakes like this every day, go on business trips like this every day, and eat like this every day, they definitely wouldn’t get sick of it—it would be amazing!
Wang Hui immediately flattered: “Director! Let me go on business trips with you again tomorrow! I’m strong—I can carry and lift things! I’m perfect for delivering goods to people!”
Li Yan nodded: “Me too!”
Cheng Hui glanced at him. She had heard from Tao Juan that Li Yan was just like his name—unyielding and inflexible.
Back at the Xian Food Factory, he had also worked as a cashier. But when someone tried to claim a small reimbursement, even if the leader had approved it, he would block it!
He’d say the invoice was wrong, this was wrong, that was wrong—he just wouldn’t pay!
This stone in the latrine… no, no, such a principled person—how could they not have kicked him out?
Cheng Hui smiled at him: “Li Yan, about the few kuai I advanced for the factory—will I be able to withdraw it later?”
“Yes!” Li Yan said resolutely.
Whether it was from excitement or Cheng Hui’s smile, his face flushed bright red as he said: “Director, I know what you mean. You must have heard the rumors about me, but it’s not like that. The reason I wouldn’t reimburse those people was that the accounts were genuinely wrong!
“I can’t mess around with the accounts. If something goes wrong later, I’ll be held responsible too!”
His eyes suddenly reddened: “My grandfather was punished because of this. At the time, the leader forced him to approve it, but in the end, the leader didn’t take responsibility—my grandfather had to bear it alone. They even made him pay compensation. He was so angry he couldn’t take it and drank pesticide.
“Everyone in our family works as accountants or cashiers. On his deathbed, he told us: ‘Every account you handle must be clear, clean, legal, and compliant! No one can pressure you into doing otherwise! If you can’t do that, don’t take this job!’”
That’s why he was the only one in the family still working in this field. The others had either transferred to different positions or been forced to leave. His family was so poor they couldn’t even afford dumplings during the New Year.
This was the first time the others had heard this, and they were visibly moved.
Cheng Hui patted his shoulder and said sincerely: “Your grandfather was right! He was a man worthy of respect! Our factory needs someone like you! You are our factory’s last line of defense—and the most important one!”
Wow, no one could pressure him for money! He was practically invincible. From now on, she could charge ahead without worrying about others stealing from behind her back!
“From now on, remember his words: every account must be clear, clean, legal, and compliant! No exceptions—not even for me or Director Guo.”
The “others” who might steal from the home were, of course, various business partners.
Li Yan immediately lowered his head and wiped away the tears that had suddenly welled up.
He had thought Cheng Hui was trying to win him over, to get him to bend the rules for her.
He had already prepared himself to betray his grandfather’s dying wish…
But instead, she told him to uphold his grandfather’s words and strictly follow the rules!
Didn’t that mean his future was secure here? In this factory, he would never be ostracized or pressured by leadership again!
Even though there was a head director above the deputy director, he completely ignored that fact for now.
From now on, he would listen to the deputy director!
Li Yan couldn’t stop wiping away his tears, feeling somewhat embarrassed yet unable to halt the flow.
Cheng Hui patted him, then stood up and went to the counter to order another two liang of dumplings, packing them in her enamel mug.
She then said to Wang Hui, “I’m taking these home for my Little Sister-in-law to try. I’ll pay for them myself—make sure to record the account clearly.”
Wang Hui nodded.
The three of them admired Cheng Hui even more. Despite her background—unclear why she had married a rural man—she treated her rural Little Sister-in-law so kindly. Truly beautiful inside and out!
Sticking with her was definitely the right choice!
Cheng Hui settled the bill: one jin of meat-filled dumplings cost 1.6 yuan, so 6 jin and 2 liang came to 10 yuan.
Except for Cheng Hui, everyone else left the restaurant with grim expressions.
They had sold 300 Weifeng Cakes today, earning a total of 150 yuan.
Cheng Hui spent 80 yuan on Maotai, and they spent 10 yuan on dumplings, leaving only 60 yuan. How were they going to explain this when they got back?
Cheng Hui said, “This morning, we collected 60 eggs. Gao Zhi can use 10 jin of flour at home. Later, we’ll go to the non-staple food store to buy another 60 eggs and work overtime to produce 20 jin—that’s 500 cakes. After deducting 50 for sampling, we’ll have 450 left, which can sell for 225 yuan.
“How many days did it take you before? How many jin of Caozi Cakes did you need to sell to make 225 yuan?”
The three of them looked dazed as she laid out the calculations.
Tao Juan, who wasn’t good at math, was already confused.
But Wang Hui and Li Yan, who relied on calculations for their work, quickly figured it out.
“Before, we sold one jin of Caozi Cakes for 0.4 yuan. It would take 562.5 jin of flour to earn that much, and we used to bake only one batch a day, using 6.5 jin of flour…”
He couldn’t even finish the sentence!
It used to take them three months to reach that sales figure!
Now, she could do it in just one day!
So spending a little money wasn’t really a problem after all.
Tao Juan suddenly interjected, “Actually, these calculations are pointless. Whether we sell more or less, it all belongs to the state!”
She gritted her teeth and added, “We haven’t been paid for six months now. What’s wrong with improving our benefits a bit?”
Due to the state monopoly for purchase and marketing, production tasks were assigned from above, and the products they made were designated for specific departments.
All profits were handed over to the state, though a portion could be retained for employee benefits.
Their wages were paid by the national financial system or various direct or local systems.
The only benefit of a factory performing well was better welfare.
Wages were only delayed when local systems lacked funds—it had nothing to do with the factory’s performance.
Cheng Hui asked, “Are the employees at the Xian Food Factory getting their wages on time?”
At this, the three of them grew visibly angry.
Tao Juan said, “Of course they are! They get paid normally! They just use all sorts of excuses to withhold ours!”
This practice was certainly against the rules, but there were plenty of irregularities these days.
They had protested, but no one paid them any attention.
They were even threatened with dismissal if they continued to complain, so they had no choice but to subsist on empty promises from the Xian Food Factory, waiting day by day.
Then Cheng Hui came along.
Cheng Hui nodded; it was pretty much as she had guessed… This was actually perfect.
“Tomorrow, two different people will come with me on the business trip. From now on, we’ll set up a rotation schedule so everyone can take turns eating dumplings—no, I mean, going on business trips,” Cheng Hui said.
Of course, the one constant would be herself~
The three of them weren’t displeased by this; instead, they breathed a sigh of relief.
They had been worried about how to explain the 10 yuan spent on dumplings to everyone, but it turned out the factory director had already devised a solution.
With this arrangement, no one would envy them anymore! After all, everyone would get their share—it was just a matter of sooner or later!
Unconsciously, the word “deputy” before Cheng Hui’s title faded from their minds…