“Zheng Wan, have you had breakfast yet?” Li Mei asked affectionately as soon as she entered the room.
“I heard from your second uncle. He said he scolded you a few times because you skipped work and stole vegetables, and you just left in a fit of pique.”
“After you left, your uncle was also quite angry. He said you have too much of a temper. He’s your elder; what’s wrong with him saying a few words to you? Did you really have to give up your job over it?” Li Mei sat on the edge of the bed and reached for Zheng Wan’s hand.
Zheng Wan pulled her hand away and asked back, “Is that what Meng Jun told you? That he scolded me a few times and I left in a huff?”
“Yes.” Li Mei nodded. That was indeed what Meng Jun had told her.
“He was the one who told me to leave, saying his place had no room for someone like me,” Zheng Wan said indignantly. “Someone like me? What kind of person am I? Didn’t I just go out for a bit because I had something to do? I only went out twice in total, and he acted like I committed some huge crime.”
“And about taking the vegetables—am I the only one who took them? Others took them too! Why didn’t he bother with anyone else and targeted me specifically? He’s just been looking for an excuse to get rid of me, and he jumped at the first chance he got.”
Zheng Wan kept emphasizing “taking vegetables” rather than “stealing” because she truly felt that taking a bit of food was no big deal and didn’t count as theft at all.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Li Mei said, not wanting to provoke her further. She could only go along with it. “Your uncle told you to leave, but he was just trying to scare you into learning a lesson. He didn’t expect you to take it seriously.”
“He wanted me to leave,” Zheng Wan sneered. “Well, I’ve wanted to quit for a long time anyway.”
When Li Mei heard that she had wanted to quit for a long time, she thought Zheng Wan was already prepared to go home. She was instantly delighted.
However, what she didn’t expect was that Zheng Wan’s desire to quit didn’t mean returning to her rural hometown, but rather wanting Li Mei to find her a new job.
“Right, right,” Li Mei said with a smile. “That job really wasn’t suitable for you. You should pack up and head home quickly. Look, I even brought you some dry food to eat on the way.”
As she spoke, she didn’t forget to hold up the large bag of dry food for Zheng Wan to see.
Zheng Wan rolled her eyes. “Who told you I was going back to the old village?”
Li Mei frowned. “If you don’t go back, what are you going to do here? You have no job and no money.”
“If I don’t have a job, can’t you find me another one? If I don’t have money, can’t you give me some?” Zheng Wan said righteously.
At these words, Li Mei was so angry she jumped up from the bed.
“What did you say?” she asked, looking at Zheng Wan in disbelief.
“Zheng Wan, how thick is your skin? If you don’t have a job, I find you one; if you don’t have money, I give it to you?” Li Mei shrieked, shouting in her face.
Zheng Wan replied with a tone of disdain, “I don’t know how thick my skin is, but if you don’t help me find a job, I’ll tell Meng Jun that I’m your daughter. Let’s see what you do then.”
“If I’m having a hard time, don’t think you’re going to have it easy either,” Zheng Wan said fiercely.
But as soon as she finished speaking, a slap landed on her face.
Zheng Wan clutched her face in disbelief. “You hit me?”
“What if I did hit you? I’m hitting you, you ungrateful wretch!” Li Mei shouted, hands on her hips, pointing at Zheng Wan’s nose.
“I only brought you here because I felt sorry for you. But your conscience has been eaten by dogs, and you’re using this to threaten your own mother!”
“And forcing me to find you a job—do you think I’m a party secretary? Do you think I can find whatever job you want?” Li Mei grew angrier the more she thought about it.
“Didn’t you want to tell Meng Jun that you’re my daughter? Go ahead and tell him now. If you dare say it, I’ll cancel the lease on this room immediately and let you sleep on the streets.”
With that, Li Mei angrily opened the door. Just as she was about to step out, she turned back and snatched away the bag of dry food she had brought.
As soon as Li Mei stepped out, she saw quite a few people standing on the open-air corridor of the tenement building. They were likely there to eavesdrop on her argument with Zheng Wan; the walls in the tenement were thin and had almost no sound insulation.
Li Mei glanced at them, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Even after Li Mei was gone, Zheng Wan hadn’t reacted.
She hadn’t expected that she would push Li Mei to the breaking point so quickly, causing her to stop caring about the consequences.
It was impossible for her to leave the provincial city and return to her hometown, so she couldn’t actually cross the line with Li Mei. The fact that “she was Li Mei’s biological daughter” was her only trump card; if she played it recklessly, Li Mei would just flip the table.
Once the room was gone, she really wouldn’t know what to do.
Early the next morning, Cao Zhanfei came to You Che’s workstation. “Is our factory really finished?”
Although the workers at the electrical factory were temporarily laid off, the people in the functional departments like theirs still came to work as usual to maintain operations.
“What’s wrong?” You Che asked, putting down his work.
“It’s been so many days, and there’s still no sign of a new director.” Cao Zhanfei pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
“I heard them say,” Cao Zhanfei suddenly lowered his voice with a mysterious look, “that the higher-ups have actually approached a lot of people, but not a single one is willing to take over.”
“In such an awkward situation, I really don’t know how things will develop.” Cao Zhanfei sighed.
Just after Cao Zhanfei said this, the very next day, Deputy Director Yan Zhengguang called everyone together for another meeting.
This meeting gathered all the staff of the factory, including the workers who were currently laid off.
“They say that under a generous reward, there will surely be a brave man. The leadership has spoken: regardless of rank or job type, anyone who feels they have the ability to turn the factory’s losses into profits will be appointed as the new director.”
“Even if you are an ordinary worker, as long as you dare to sign a military order—guaranteeing that within three years, you will make the electrical factory profitable—then you will be our new director.”
As soon as Yan Zhengguang’s words landed, it was like cold water splashing into a pan of hot oil, instantly exploding.
Various discussions rose and fell, and the area below the rostrum suddenly became noisy.
Sitting below, Cao Zhanfei burst out laughing when he heard this. “Whose bright idea was this? Is it because no one dares to take over the factory that they’re planning to just throw caution to the wind?”
You Che, standing beside him, didn’t respond but looked toward the rostrum in deep thought.
“Comrades, comrades!” Yan Zhengguang tapped the microphone and continued.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for promotion! Comrades with ability and ideas, please seize the chance!”
“If you have any questions, you can raise your hand to ask, as usual.”
Soon, a male worker raised his hand.
“Director Yan, can such a good thing really fall to us?”
“Yeah, if it’s such a good deal, why don’t you do it yourself?” a man next to him echoed.
Yan Zhengguang reached out and gestured for the worker to sit down.
“Comrades, why wouldn’t I take such a good deal? Isn’t it because I’m old and want to leave the opportunity to the young people?”
“Pfft—”
The people below jeered without giving him any face.
Everyone knew Yan Zhengguang was an old fox. If there were a truly good deal, he would have monopolized it long ago; he wouldn’t wait to announce it to everyone with such fanfare.
Seeing everyone unmoved, Yan Zhengguang continued to push hard: “As long as you dare to sign the military order, you will be promoted directly to director and receive the director’s benefits immediately.”
“And if we can’t make the factory profitable after three years? What will the consequences be?” someone else asked.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; even if there were, there would surely be a corresponding price to pay.
There was certainly a price, but Yan Zhengguang wouldn’t say it now. If he said it now, who would dare to touch this hot potato?
“That… you’ll find out once you sign the military order. I won’t reveal it because I’m not entirely sure myself,” Yan Zhengguang said with a smile.
“This Yan Zhengguang is a total old fox,” Cao Zhanfei continued to grumble.
“Anyone interested can come find me directly at the factory office. Meeting adjourned!” With that, Yan Zhengguang left the rostrum.
After the meeting, everyone left one after another. You Che and Cao Zhanfei also returned to their office.
Seeing You Che looking preoccupied, Cao Zhanfei bumped him with his shoulder. “What are you thinking about? You didn’t even answer when I spoke to you.”
You Che looked at him, wanting to say something but remaining silent.
Returning home that evening, before You Che could bring it up, Meng Ruo mentioned it first.
Seeing that You Che had looked preoccupied since he finished work, Meng Ruo casually remarked, “I heard from Big Sister Wang that the leadership wants to recruit someone capable from among you employees to be the director.”
“Who at a high level would dare take on this mess? If things go wrong, their future will be ruined,” You Che said, his lips curling slightly.
As Cao Zhanfei had said, the higher-ups were just “treating a dead horse as if it were alive” with this arrangement.
“Being the new director won’t be easy. Upward, you have to sign a military order guaranteeing profitability within three years. Downward, you have to use iron-fisted methods to establish authority quickly; otherwise, you won’t get a single thing done while being busy dealing with the factory’s complex relationships.”
Hearing this, Meng Ruo realized it was indeed quite thorny.
“Then the leadership didn’t think about letting the deputy director take over?” Meng Ruo asked.
You Che: “They probably did, but Yan Zhengguang won’t do it. He’s nearly retired; he certainly doesn’t want his stable deputy position to be ruined by this, potentially destroying his reputation at the end of his career.”
“What about you?” Meng Ruo suddenly turned the topic to him. “What do you think about it?”
You Che paused and looked up at her.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he felt as if Meng Ruo was intentionally guiding him.
You Che fell silent for a moment before speaking his true thoughts. “Actually, I want to try. Although the risk is high, it is nonetheless an opportunity.”
An opportunity to completely turn his life around.
Meng Ruo looked at him with dark, piercing eyes. She knew it.
An ordinary technician transforming into an electrical tycoon wouldn’t happen for no reason and without any preparation.
The opportunity before them was a crucial milestone on You Che’s path to success.
“If you want to try, go for it. I will definitely support you,” Meng Ruo said with a smile, her eyes curving.
You Che showed a hint of surprise. When he said those words just now, he had actually been testing the waters.
He did want to try. If he were single and alone right now, he wouldn’t have hesitated; he would have gone to the factory office to talk to Yan Zhengguang as soon as the meeting ended.
He had been at the Third Electrical Factory for five or six years and understood the problems there better than anyone.
The foundation of the electrical factory was still there. Turning a loss into a profit wasn’t impossible; it was just a matter of solving the existing problems one by one. It was just that many obstacles would likely be encountered along the way.
If he were alone, failure would just be failure. But he wasn’t alone now; therefore, before making a decision, he had to consider Meng Ruo.
What he hadn’t expected was that Meng Ruo would support him so firmly, almost as if she already knew he would succeed.
“Why do you support me?” You Che asked back.
“Being the director isn’t for nothing. You have to sign a military order and guarantee profitability within three years,” he said. “If you can’t do it, the consequences won’t be light; otherwise, Yan Zhengguang wouldn’t be trying so hard to avoid it.”
“Aren’t you afraid that if I fail, I’ll drag you down with me?” he asked again.
Meng Ruo didn’t answer his question directly but asked one of her own: “Regarding turning the loss into profit, do you have any ideas?”
You Che nodded and then laid out several of his preliminary thoughts.
“First, strictly enforce quality control for household appliance products. Second, guarantee after-sales service. Finally, and most crucially, produce appliances that meet the needs of the masses to activate the currently sluggish market.”
After listening to You Che, Meng Ruo was once again amazed by the forward-thinking mindset of a “big shot.”
Quality issues were indeed a major problem overlooked during the rapid development of household appliances in the early days. In the late eighties and early nineties, supply was far behind demand. Many appliances were snapped up as soon as they were produced.
Because of this, many factories worked three shifts around the clock to meet deadlines. Coupled with the fact that quality control processes were not yet perfect, a lot of faulty appliances were naturally produced.
As for after-sales service, it was practically non-existent in this era. It was common for people to buy defective appliances and find no resolution to their complaints.
The final point—wasn’t that the “hit product” strategy implemented by many brands in later generations? There were many cases where one or several hit products revitalized an entire brand.
One could only say that a big shot is indeed a big shot. Things that everyone would play expertly in the future were things he had already thought of twenty or thirty years earlier.
Meng Ruo smiled and said, “That is the reason I support you.”
You Che’s lips quirked into a smile, and he said nothing more.
In fact, he still wanted to ask why—why she was so certain in her support before he even spoke those words.
But he didn’t ask. Humans are like that; once they get one thing, they want another.
He had her support, so he wanted her unconditional support. He wanted her support not because of the words he said, but because she believed in him as a person.
“Thank you,” he said. “I will do my best to succeed.”
On the surface, Meng Ruo nodded with a serious expression, but she was smiling inside. Of course you’ll succeed; you’re the future tycoon.
The next morning, You Che went to Yan Zhengguang’s office. Yan Zhengguang wasn’t alone; a factory assistant and a clerk were sitting at the two nearby workstations.
When the factory assistant heard that You Che had come to talk to Yan Zhengguang about taking over the factory, he immediately slipped out and carried the news to every office.
Instantly, another heavy bomb was dropped.