“Wang Huaren fleeing is a serious violation of law and discipline, and there will be relevant departments to punish him. Everyone, please rest assured on this point,” Deputy Director Yan Zhenguang said with a serious expression, standing on the rostrum in the center of the large meeting room.
As soon as he finished speaking, the workers sitting below immediately started shouting.
“We don’t care about that!”
“Right, we want to know what happens to the factory now that the director has run away?”
“How is that debt of over one million yuan going to be balanced?”
“Can next month’s wages still be paid on time?”
“Can the factory even continue to operate?”
…
The people below were talking all at once. Yan Zhenguang was so annoyed that he tapped the microphone and said, “Haven’t I not finished my words yet? What are you all in such a hurry for?”
“Regarding the issue of the new director,” Yan Zhenguang continued, “the leadership will arrange a solution as soon as possible. The upper-level leadership will select a person with strong abilities to take over our Fengzhou No. 3 Electronics Factory and serve as our factory director.”
“Before the new director arrives, I will temporarily act as the agent for the factory’s affairs.”
“What is this? It’s the same as saying nothing,” Cao Zhanfei, sitting next to You Che, couldn’t help but complain.
“He said a whole bunch, making it sound like everything is resolved, but in reality, not a single thing has been settled,” Cao Zhanfei complained with a frown. “Who knows when the new director will come, who knows if wages can be paid on time, and who knows if the factory can keep running.”
“If anyone has any questions, you can take this opportunity to ask now, but please go one by one. Whoever has a question should raise their hand,” Yan Zhenguang continued.
“Alright, this comrade, please go ahead,” Yan Zhenguang said, pointing to a male comrade.
“Director Yan, will the various production workshops still continue production?”
“The intention of the higher-ups is to temporarily stop work before the new director arrives,” Yan Zhenguang replied.
“If work is stopped, will wages still be paid?” that comrade asked again.
“Wages will certainly be paid, but they won’t be paid in full. As for the specific amount, that will also depend on the decision of the new director,” Yan Zhenguang continued to answer.
“This Yan Zhenguang is truly an old fox, distancing himself completely. Every thorny issue is left for the new director to decide,” Cao Zhanfei said with a cold snort. “Looking at him, he, the deputy director, is purely acting as an agent for the factory’s affairs and doesn’t plan to handle a single piece of real business.”
When the meeting ended, everyone returned to their posts. You Che sat at his workstation, propping up his head and thinking about things.
As soon as the meeting ended, Cao Zhanfei disappeared to who-knows-where, likely running off to various departments to fish for information again.
Sure enough, half an hour later, Cao Zhanfei returned looking as if his throat were parched from talking. As soon as he came in, he hurriedly picked up his teacup to drink water. While busy swallowing water, he also spared some energy to speak to You Che: “This Yan Zhenguang is really not a good person.”
Hearing this, You Che looked up, but Cao Zhanfei stopped speaking after that single sentence and continued gulping down water. Fortunately, You Che was not the type of person whose curiosity could be easily piqued; he waited patiently for him to finish drinking.
As soon as Cao Zhanfei finished his water, he began to talk incessantly about the news he had gathered during that half-hour.
“I heard them say the higher-ups wanted to promote Yan Zhenguang to the position of factory director, but he refused.”
Hearing this, You Che’s face showed no surprise. The current No. 3 Electronics Factory had long since become a hot potato; anyone with a bit of a brain wouldn’t risk their future to take it over. Furthermore, Yan Zhenguang was the type of person who excelled at seeking benefit and avoiding harm; naturally, he wouldn’t take it.
By not taking this mess, he was still the deputy director. If he risked taking it over and then couldn’t balance the factory’s external debt, not only would he lose his position as director, but he would likely have to face accountability from the higher-ups.
“Actually, he’s a veteran of the electronics factory and is very familiar with all its affairs. It would have been perfect for him to be promoted to director. But he stubbornly refused, insisting that he’s old and will retire in a few years anyway. He said he’s been a deputy director for so many years because he lacks the ability to support such a large operation like the No. 3 Electronics Factory.”
You Che didn’t offer any opinion but instead asked, “How do you know such detailed things?”
Cao Zhanfei suddenly looked mysterious, leaned into You Che’s ear, and lowered his voice: “Someone from the factory office told me.” The factory office referred to the factory director’s office. “Don’t go telling everyone,” Cao Zhanfei warned with a serious face.
Hearing this, three black lines instantly slid down You Che’s forehead. He thought to himself: Who exactly is the one telling everyone?
While eating in the cafeteria at noon, You Che glanced at the crowd. Not a single person wasn’t wearing a miserable, gloomy face. Indeed, the factory was currently in a precarious situation. Hundreds of people were on this ship, and now there was no telling when it might capsize. If the ship sank, who knew how many people would “drown”? How could anyone have a pleasant expression?
Just as You Che sat down with his lunchbox, Yang Heping walked over. Yang Heping had also been full of worry these past two days—not just about the factory’s affairs, but also about things at home. He didn’t know if the factory could continue to operate or if wages could still be paid. At home, Liu Xiuying had been worried sick lately, and whenever she got anxious, she would fight with him, blaming him for taking out those six thousand yuan to give to Yang Qing.
“Xiao Qing, do you think our factory can survive?” Yang Heping let out a sigh and said with a distressed face. Although You Che had changed his name, Yang Heping was still accustomed to calling him Xiao Qing.
Yang Heping was nearly fifty. He only needed to work for another ten years or so to retire peacefully. No one wanted a situation where they couldn’t get their pension. A few days ago, when there were rumors about the factory, Yang Heping had also come to find him. You Che couldn’t control the payment of wages; when Yang Heping found him, it was mostly just to find someone to vent his worries to.
He could only console him: “Uncle, our factory is, after all, a collective-owned state enterprise. It shouldn’t come to that. Didn’t Director Yan also say a new director will come to take over? Don’t worry too much.”
Yang Heping let out another long sigh and said, “I hope so.”
Over at the food factory, as soon as Meng Ruo arrived, she went directly to Production Workshop No. 1. Regarding the improvement of the recipe for the toast bread, she already had some preliminary ideas; next was the testing phase.
As soon as she arrived at Production Workshop No. 1, Director Zhang Caixia first took her around to familiarize her with the environment. After finishing the tour, Zhang Caixia brought Meng Ruo to Feng Jialing’s group.
“You’ll be in this group from now on,” Zhang Caixia said. “Feng Jialing is the group leader.”
Meng Ruo looked up at Feng Jialing and thought to herself: Truly a small world.
Feng Jialing tilted her head up and looked at her with disdain through her nostrils. Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, isn’t the opportunity to take revenge for Yanzi finally here? Feng Jialing’s skin wasn’t dark, but her features were like they were two-dimensional—very flat. Combined with a pair of small eyes, her appearance wasn’t very likable.
“Director Ma said for you to improve the recipe first. Once the recipe is improved, we’ll put it into production. At that time, I’ll have the group leader teach you how to operate these large machines,” Zhang Caixia said. “If you have any problems, you can find me or any other group leader.”
“Alright, thank you, Director,” Meng Ruo replied with a smile.
Zhang Caixia was nearly forty. Because she maintained herself well and stayed in the production workshop year-round away from much sun and wind, she only looked to be in her early thirties. With short hair, a serious expression, and determined eyes, she clearly looked like a very capable woman. She had come to the food factory in her early twenties and had worked there for nearly twenty years, making her a veteran of the factory.
Before coming to the production workshop, Meng Ruo had inquired with Sister Wang about the various important positions in Workshop No. 1. One of the key subjects she learned about was Zhang Caixia. As the director of the production workshop, Zhang Caixia was responsible for managing and scheduling the main work of Workshop No. 1. According to Sister Wang, Zhang Caixia’s background wasn’t particularly good; she had climbed to her current position entirely based on her own abilities. Because her own abilities were strong, Zhang Caixia was usually very strict with her subordinate workers.
After learning these details, Meng Ruo felt it was very necessary to establish a good relationship with Zhang Caixia. After all, Zhang Caixia was the boss of Workshop No. 1. By having a good relationship with the boss, not only would work be much more convenient, but at least the number of instances of other people tripping her up would be much lower.
After familiarizing herself with the workshop environment, Meng Ruo entered the research and development room and began to improve the recipe for the toast bread. Her undergraduate degree was in chemical engineering, and her Master’s was in medicinal chemistry. If nothing else, she had performed countless experiments. Conducting experiments required controlling variables; if two variables were changed at the same time, it wouldn’t be clear which variable caused the change in taste.
Therefore, the first thing she changed was the butter. She made three sets of bread dough, using salad oil and corn oil respectively to replace the butter, and then one control group using butter. It could be said that Meng Ruo approached making toast bread with the attitude of performing a scientific experiment.
As she worked, she used paper and pen to record the experimental data. For the salad oil group, the corn oil group, and the butter group, she wrote down exactly how many grams of flour and oil were used for each.
While Meng Ruo was buried in kneading dough, a female worker suddenly walked in. She looked and saw it was Wu Aixiang, who had been in the same row making bread a few days ago. As soon as Wu Aixiang walked in, she greeted her with a smile and sweet-talked her, praising her for being capable.
“You really are amazing. Out of so many people, only you formally transferred to be a technician in our factory.”
Meng Ruo gave her a small smile as a polite response and continued to keep her head down kneading her dough. After her flattery, Wu Aixiang started looking around as if she were very curious. Meng Ruo didn’t mind her. Wu Aixiang circled around as if aimlessly, and then her gaze settled on the record sheet on the table.
“What is this?” Wu Aixiang asked.
Meng Ruo replied casually, “Experimental records.”
Wu Aixiang didn’t understand and said with a smile, “You educated people really are different. I don’t even understand the things you say.”
Meng Ruo was busy kneading dough and didn’t bother with whether this sentence was mockery or the truth. Seeing that Meng Ruo wasn’t responding, Wu Aixiang didn’t dare stay away from her post for too long and left the research room.
Meng Ruo spent almost the entire afternoon researching the recipe improvement, kneading dough, and waiting for fermentation. By the time the toast bread was finished, it was almost late afternoon.
Just before the end of work, Director Zhang suddenly brought several group leaders into the research room. Meng Ruo, who was tasting the bread to record the texture and data, was stunned.
Zhang Caixia, walking at the very front, said with a smile, “Don’t be nervous. We just came to see how your recipe improvement is going.”
Coming to the research room to check on Meng Ruo’s progress was actually a suggestion from Feng Jialing to Zhang Caixia. After work yesterday, Song Yan had specifically sought out Feng Jialing, treated her to a meal, and vented her grievances. She said she had finally caught an opportunity where Meng Ruo’s man was in trouble, yet she couldn’t mock her to her face; her heart felt as miserable as if a cat were scratching it.
Feng Jialing was two years older than Song Yan. Their families lived close together, and they often commuted together; plus, they got along well and soon became good friends. Last year, when Feng Jialing got married, Song Yan went to the wedding and gave a fifty-yuan gift. In this era, a fifty-yuan gift from a colleague or friend was not a small amount; some relatives only gave ten or twenty. Therefore, Feng Jialing always remembered this favor in her heart.
Meng Ruo bullying her good friend Song Yan was equivalent to bullying her. Now that Meng Ruo had ended up in Workshop No. 1, how could she possibly let her off easily or not help Yanzi vent this anger?
Thus, while reporting work to Zhang Caixia, she pretended to casually mention: “Director Zhang, I wonder if Meng Ruo’s recipe improvement is going smoothly?”
When Zhang Caixia heard Feng Jialing mention this, she remembered that she indeed needed to follow up on this matter. Firstly, Meng Ruo had just transferred from a clerk to a technician in the production workshop, and there were likely many things she didn’t know or understand; by getting timely information, she could quickly provide help. Secondly, the recipe improvement was quite urgent because production could only start after the recipe was improved. Therefore, she had to keep a constant eye on it; otherwise, if the factory director asked, she couldn’t just say she knew nothing.
But Feng Jialing’s intention in having Zhang Caixia bring the various group leaders to the research room to see Meng Ruo’s progress was not this. She was a technician herself and naturally knew that recipe improvement wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two. Meng Ruo spent most of the day improving the recipe; surely there wouldn’t be any actual results yet. At that time, she could mock her in front of the workshop director and the group leaders, and conveniently put some pressure on her.
Therefore, when Zhang Caixia said she wanted to take a look, Feng Jialing hurriedly said, “Director, why don’t we bring a few of our workshop’s group leaders along too? We couldn’t make this toast bread ourselves; it’s a good chance to take this opportunity to learn properly.”
As soon as she heard Feng Jialing mention learning, Zhang Caixia was naturally very willing and agreed immediately. Previously, she had always encouraged her subordinate workers not to stop learning, saying that every moment of a person’s life should be spent in a state of learning.
Zhang Caixia walked closer and asked with a smile, “Xiao Meng, how is the recipe improvement going? Have you encountered any obstacles?”
“The few of us are considered veteran technicians. If you’ve run into any obstacles, feel free to tell us boldly. We can all think of a way to solve it together—three clumsy shoemakers surpass Zhuge Liang, after all.”
Meng Ruo actually had encountered an obstacle.