The furniture factory was a huge undertaking for the imperial city government. Now that someone had suddenly taken over the factory, Xi Changshan didn't even want to sit there for another minute. He wanted to immediately drag Zhenzhen to the factory to check out the situation and then sign the agreement.
Old Madam Xi glared at him and said, "If you don't eat, Zhenzhen still has to eat. It's only a little while longer. You two can get busy after dinner."
Xi Changshan had no choice but to control his temper and explained the situation of the furniture factory to Zhenzhen in detail. He only took time to drink a sip of water when he was ready to eat.
The nanny brought the dishes one by one, and the children at home also helped to get the bowls and chopsticks. Just as Zhenzhen was about to serve the rice, Shang Qingran took the rice spoon and said with a warm smile: "Sister Zhenzhen, please sit down and rest for a while. Leave this little thing to me."
Although this was the second time Zhenzhen had met this girl, she was always too lazy to even smile at her, but today she was suddenly so enthusiastic towards her. Zhenzhen's first thought was: What bad things is this girl planning
Although Shang Qingran wanted to take charge of serving the rice herself, Zhenzhen was unwilling to sit and wait for the meal. While she brought the rice to the table, she stared at Shang Qingran with a 360-degree eye, fearing that she would poison him or something.
It turned out that Zhenzhen was overthinking. Shang Qingran obediently served the rice and sat down next to Zhenzhen: "Sister Zhenzhen, can I sit next to you? The last time I saw you, I felt very close to you. You know I'm the only girl in my family. When I see you, it's like seeing my own sister."
After hearing this, Zhenzhen subconsciously looked up at the two girls from the Xi family. Xi Changshan's daughter Xi Yinuo looked up at Shang Qingran with a mocking smile on her face, while Xi Changhe's daughter Xi Yiming didn't even raise her head, as if she didn't hear it at all. Zhenzhen looked at the little girl with a dark face. Your two cousins are sitting next to you. Do you think you haven't offended enough people by ignoring them like this
Unable to figure out what the little girl was thinking, Zhenzhen just smiled faintly and turned to talk to Xi Junjie on the side. Shang Qingran saw that his goodwill was not responded to, and a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes. He felt a little resentful that Xi Sumei had offended someone badly during his birthday last time. But thinking about his current living conditions, Shang Qingran felt that he still had to curry favor with this big fat sheep. Now the Xi family, from the old lady to several uncles, were lukewarm to him. The original idea of relying on them to get rid of poverty and become rich seemed not easy to realize. But this Li Mingzhen was different. She was young and a girl. As long as he coaxed her with sweet words, he would not worry about her not being sincere to him. At that time, I was afraid that she would take the initiative to give him money without saying much. Just looking at the birthday gift he gave last time, he knew that Li Mingzhen was a generous person.
When the old lady announced that the meal was ready, Shang Qingran smiled sweetly again and put some short ribs cooked with Sichuan peppercorns into Zhenzhen's bowl: "Sister Zhenzhen, I think this is especially delicious, you should try it."
Zhenzhen glanced at her. Although she didn't know what she was planning, she knew that this girl had other thoughts in her mind from her overly enthusiastic and fake smile. She quickly showed a distant smile and said, "Thank you. I can pick it up myself."
Xi Yinuo gave Shang Qingran a half-smiley look, reached out and took a round-naveled hairy crab and put it in Zhenzhen's bowl: "Sister Zhenzhen, you are my future sister-in-law, which means you are a member of our Xi family. Don't be polite when you come to our house." Without waiting for Zhenzhen to thank her, she took another crab and handed it to Shang Qingran: "You are a guest, so I dare not trouble you to entertain our family. Just eat it yourself."
Shang Qingran was young after all, and even if she was scheming, she couldn't stand what people said on her face. She almost cried when she looked at the crabs in the bowl. The old lady glanced at Xi Yinuo and knocked on the table: "Eat."
"Hey." Xi Yinuo took a crab and broke it open. He took out the crab roe with a spoon and handed it to Mrs. Xi: "Grandma, eat the crab roe."
Old Mrs. Xi glanced at her and poured some ginger vinegar into the bowl: "Eat more and talk less." Xi Yinuo stuck out her tongue, winked at Zhenzhen, and dismantled the crab and ate it herself.
Zhenzhen was not interested in the competitive spirit of these little girls. She took advantage of Xi Changshan's free time to learn more about the government's policies on enterprises and export restrictions. Zhenzhen herself took the economics major and asked very professional questions. Although Shang Qingran tried hard to show her presence in front of Zhenzhen, she could not even understand what Zhenzhen said, let alone interrupt her.
After dinner, Shang Qingran was just about to talk to Zhenzhen about the latest movies, but before he could open his mouth, Xi Changshan said, "Mingzhen, if there's nothing else, let's go check out the factory first."
Zhenzhen has been focusing on the factory lately, and she stood up immediately after hearing that: "Thank you for your help, uncle." Xi Junjie also stood up: "Zhenzhen and I will go together. It will be safer if I take her home after visiting the factory." Zhenzhen nodded, said goodbye to the Xi family, and followed Xi Changshan to the furniture factory.
Zhenzhen had seen the whole picture of the furniture factory before, and this time she mainly understood the management structure, accounts, inventory, and sales channels of the furniture factory. At that time, the sales channels could basically be ignored. The factory had not sold a set of furniture for more than half a year, otherwise it would not have reached this point today.
Zhenzhen and Xi Junjie stayed in the factory until six in the evening before they finished reading the last account page. After rubbing her eyes, Zhenzhen stood up and said politely to Xi Changbo and the factory director Wang Xuelin who were waiting on the side: "I'm sorry to bother Mayor Xi and Factory Director Wang to accompany you all today. It's getting late, so why don't I treat everyone to a meal?"
Xi Changbo shook his head: "You have been looking at the accounts for the whole afternoon today. You should go back and have a good rest. We will gather here on time at 8 o'clock tomorrow to sign the transfer agreement."
"Okay then." Zhen Zhen agreed and reached out to shake hands with Wang Xuelin: "Director Wang, see you tomorrow."
Wang Xuelin's palms were full of sweat, he wiped them off quickly, and then shook hands with Li Mingzhen. Looking at this girl with delicate features and a bit of immaturity on her face, he felt a little uneasy. He knew that due to his poor management, the state-owned large furniture factory could only be sold to an individual, but secretly he still hoped that Li Mingzhen could continue to serve as the factory director, otherwise he really didn't know what he could do.
Looking at Li Mingzhen with a polite smile, Wang Xuelin asked tentatively: "I wonder what you think about the operation of the factory after taking over?"
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "Let's not discuss this right now. Let's pay the workers' wages first after we take over."
Wang Xuelin was filled with shame after hearing this: "I'm useless and the workers have no food to eat because of me." Zhenzhen smiled politely but did not comfort him because it was the truth.
The next morning, relevant leaders from the city and district came to the furniture factory. Zhenzhen signed a series of agreements with the government and paid the transfer fee according to the agreed amount. The furniture factory officially belonged to Zhenzhen.
After sending the government officials away, Zhenzhen looked at the shabby signboard of the Zhenhua Furniture Factory at the door and gave her first order: "Pay the wages."
Upon hearing this, the employees who had been waiting for news in the workshop cheered immediately. The uneasiness and panic in their hearts disappeared in an instant, and what followed was a feeling of surprise and recognition of the new factory director.
Although there were still some procedures to be completed, Zhenzhen felt that gaining the recognition of the employees was the most important thing. She called all the employees to the auditorium and introduced herself in front: "Hello everyone, my name is Li Mingzhen, and I will be the person in charge of our furniture factory in the future. I know that everyone has had a hard time in the past period of time because of the poor management of the factory, but I believe that this situation will not happen again in the future. Okay, let's stop talking nonsense and let the accountant pay everyone's salary first, okay?"
"Good!" There was a deafening cheer from the audience, and each employee stared at the accountant with green eyes.
The accountant held the account book with a bitter face, looking at Zhen Zhen but not knowing how to address her: "Li... Li..."
"Just call me Director Li." Zhenzhen replied.
"Ah, Director Li, well, we only have less than 100 yuan left in our account, which is not enough to pay the salaries."
Zhenzhen nodded and turned to look at him: "I've been prepared for a long time." In full view of everyone, Zhenzhen took out ten stacks of big unity from her bag, and took out a thousand yuan in change. Hearing the gasps from the audience, Zhenzhen pushed the money in front of the accountant: "Remember to do the accounting later, and enter the remaining money from the salary payment into the account first, so that the company can operate normally."
The accountant counted the money quickly, and the office director called out the names of the workers and directed them to line up. After the accountant counted the total, he checked the amount with Zhenzhen and found that there was no problem with the total amount. Only then did he pay the workers one by one.
The first few people to receive their wages were all veterans in the factory. After they received their wages, Zhenzhen called them and Director Wang aside and asked, "I saw that there are still dozens of sets of furniture without patterns or carvings in our factory warehouse yesterday. I want to change them into furniture with imitation carvings from the Republic of China or Qing Dynasty. Is it easy to change them?"
A dozen old masters looked at each other and said, "It's OK to add carvings, but it may not be the most traditional style."
"It doesn't matter. I've seen that our furniture is made of high-quality materials. You are all masters and know more about this than I do. You should put in more effort to make the furniture as exquisite as possible. In the future, as long as it is such finely crafted furniture, I will give you 10% of your salary in addition to your salary." After looking at them, Zhenzhen said solemnly: "So the quality of the carving must not be a problem."
More than a dozen craftsmen have been making flat-pack furniture for more than a decade, and their enthusiasm is almost worn out. This time, when they heard that they would not only be allowed to do their own craftsmanship, but also receive extra commissions, their eyes immediately lit up and they repeatedly assured: "Don't worry, Director, we make a living by our craftsmanship in this life, and we will never ruin our jobs."
Director Wang stood aside and looked very conflicted: "Director Li, we should focus on serving the people and not thinking about making money."
Zhenzhen looked at him and smiled: "Who said that serving the people means you can't make money? How can you call it serving the people if you can't even sell the products like you did before? That's a waste of national resources." Looking at the employees who had not yet left, Zhenzhen deliberately raised her voice: "Now the country calls on us to develop the economy rapidly. If a company doesn't make money, it will be eliminated in the reform. So on the basis of serving the people, we must create benefits, we must let employees earn high wages, and we must make everyone's life better."
"Director Li is right." The workers had had enough of not even getting their wages paid, and they immediately raised their arms and shouted in response to what Li Mingzhen said. Zhenzhen glanced at Wang Xuelin and shook her head gently: "Director Wang, you should change your mindset."
The workers had received half a year's salary, which was quite a lot. Zhenzhen estimated that they were not in the mood to work, so she simply gave them a day off today, allowing them to save money and buy meat to celebrate. She kept several responsible personnel from the factory and assigned them a series of tasks. The first was to change the factory name to Tengda Furniture Factory and remake the plaque. The second was to let the old masters lead a group of experienced workers to transform the inventory at the furniture factory. The third was to let the purchasing department go to Beicha Hydrolysis Factory to purchase panels to produce panel furniture that was more acceptable to the general public.
A series of orders were issued, and Wang Xuelin felt a little uneasy when he saw Zhen Zhen's bold and decisive actions. "Will Director Li come to work tomorrow?"
"I have something to do. I guess I won't be back for half a month. During this time, you guys should hold up the factory. Do the work as I say. I'll take care of the rest when I get back." Zhen Zhen looked at her watch and stood up: "Do you have anything else to do?"
Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief. He originally thought that he would be fired, but it seemed that Li Mingzhen had no intention of touching him, so he immediately relaxed: "Director Li, don't worry, we promise to do as you arrange."
Zhen Zhen nodded, and after leaving the factory, she went back to the courtyard to say hello to her family, and prepared to invite a few people from other places. Some of these people were celebrities that Zhen Zhen had seen on the news in her previous life, and some were old craftsmen that she had discovered with her consciousness during this period.
To do business seriously now, many things have to be done according to the rules. Although Zhenzhen can teleport to any place, for the sake of safety, she still bought a train ticket, but did not board the train.
Zhenzhen teleported to a county town in Hubei. She came here to find a 30-year-old young man named Sun Rende. During the movement, Sun Rende, who was only 20 years old at the time, took a few hundred yuan from selling his ancestral home and opened a wood carving factory with 30 workers. He surveyed everywhere to find the right market position. The next year, he got an order for 20 sets of carved boxes and cages at the China Import and Export Commodities Fair, with an amount of up to 10,000 yuan. Unfortunately, in that era, Sun Rende had just tasted the joy of success when he was criticized as a typical new bourgeois element. Not only was the factory forced to close, but he was also demoted. Now Sun Rende is penniless. He is in his thirties and doesn't even have a wife. Even if the former employees are willing to open a factory with him, he can't pay their wages.
Zhenzhen entered the space. Apart from reading and eating, she spent the rest of her time observing Sun Rende. It was not until a few days later, when the train from the capital to Hubei was about to arrive, that Zhenzhen came out of the space.
Taking out a roast duck, a roast chicken and a bag of steamed buns from the space, Zhenzhen knocked on Sun Rende's door.
"Who is it?" Sun Rende put down the carving knife in his hand and stood up.
"Is Director Sun at home?" Zhenzhen called out.
When Sun Rende heard this name, he was dazed for a moment, then shook his head and said with a wry smile: "What Director Sun? There was no Director Sun ten years ago." He walked to the door, and the sunlight suddenly shone in, blinding his eyes. He raised his head to block the sunlight and adapt to the light outside. Only then did Sun Rende see a very beautiful girl standing at the door of his house.
"Who are you looking for?" Sun Rende hid his hands covered with sawdust awkwardly and smiled at Zhenzhen uncomfortably: "Did you find the wrong person?"
Zhenzhen looked at him with a smile: "Are you Sun Rende, the former director of the Dawo Wood Furniture Factory?" Seeing Sun Rende nodded, Zhenzhen smiled and said, "Yes, I'm looking for you. Don't you want to invite me in?"
Sun Rende quickly made way and invited Zhenzhen into the house. Seeing that she was holding food in her hands, he quickly took out a table and two chairs from the house, wiped them clean with a rag, and then invited Zhenzhen to sit down.
Zhenzhen raised the chicken and duck in her hands and said naturally, "It's time for dinner. I happened to bring some cooked food. How about we eat while we talk?"
Although he didn't know why this beautiful girl came to his house, Sun Rende felt that there was nothing worth remembering now. Since there was a guest, he should treat her well and not think too much. He went to the kitchen to wash a few plates, ripped the chicken and duck and put them in place. Sun Rende also went to the backyard to pick some fresh vegetables, fried them with garlic slices and brought up two plates, which made four dishes.
Zhenzhen had just finished her meal. Since she hadn't started eating yet, Sun Rende hadn't had much meat in recent years. He smelled the aroma of chicken and duck, and then he wolfed down a chicken leg and half a roast duck. Then he looked up and asked, "What do you want from me?"
"My name is Li Mingzhen. I own a furniture factory in the capital, and I would like to invite you to be my factory director." Zhenzhen looked at him and said seriously.
Sun Rende laughed sarcastically: "I have only been the factory director for more than a year. Now I am penniless. Aren't you afraid of losing money by hiring me?"
Zhenzhen smiled and said, "I invited you to be the factory manager because of your courage and your insight into the market. The orders you closed at the Canton Fair that year are still talked about with great relish. Whether you are poor or not is irrelevant."
Thinking of the glory days of the past, a trace of nostalgia flashed across Sun Rende's face, and he couldn't help but mutter, "It's a pity that I was born at the wrong time." Then he realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said, and looked at Zhenzhen with some vigilance.
Zhenzhen looked back at the house, which had no electrical appliances except for a pile of wooden furniture, and sighed softly: "Director Sun, you should read the news and read the newspapers. Then you will know that you were not born at the wrong time, but were born in the best era for reform and entrepreneurship."
Three days later, Zhenzhen took Sun Rende and more than 20 carvers on the train. These carvers gave up their stable jobs to start a business with Sun Rende. After the factory went bankrupt, they lost their regular jobs and lived a very hard life. When Sun Rende heard that Zhenzhen needed craftsmen, he went door to door to ask the former employees. Some were willing to follow him to the capital to make a living, while others were unwilling to leave home and rejected Sun Rende's invitation.
However, being able to invite back more than 20 craftsmen had already made Zhenzhen overjoyed. After they returned to the factory, Zhenzhen asked the office director to take them to take a shower and shave their heads, and arranged dormitories. When the meeting was held the next day, Zhenzhen directly announced the appointment of Sun Rende as the factory director, who was fully responsible for all matters in the furniture factory, and dismissed Wang Xuelin from his position as factory director and gave him the position of chairman of the labor union.
Although Li Mingzhen had asked Sun Rende to be the factory director when he was invited back, Sun Rende never expected that Li Mingzhen would appoint him the next day. This was a great trust in him. Sun Rende was so moved that his eyes were wet. He felt his heart surge and his blood boil. He wanted to roll up his sleeves and do something to live up to Li Mingzhen's trust in him.
After receiving the appointment, Sun Rende did not convene any meeting immediately. Instead, he walked into the workshop and talked to every employee. After a few days, he was able to call out everyone's name familiarly and understood the categories they were good at. Only then did he get involved in the affairs of the factory.
Zhenzhen has not attended classes for almost a month because of the factory affairs. After handing the factory over to Sun Rende, she returned to school to make up for the lessons. She was just worried that someone would bully the new factory director. Even during classes every day, she would consciously observe the situation in the factory from time to time to prevent any trouble.
After more than a month of peace, the first batch of remodeled furniture has been completed. Looking at the delicate patterns and beautiful carvings, Sun Rende breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the quality is up to standard, there will be no problem with the sales direction he has given to this batch of furniture. He plans to take this set of furniture to this year's Canton Fair and export it to Hong Kong Island.
Zhenzhen hired Sun Rende because he was smart, had a keen sense of the market, and dared to think and act. Only such a person could lead a company to success. After Sun Rende and Zhenzhen reported to the Magic City, they took two employees to the Magic City Import and Export Company to discuss a cooperation agreement. The factory's finely crafted furniture was shipped to the Magic City as a sample of furniture.
Sun Rende was not in the factory, and Li Mingzhen only came once every month or two. Wang Xuelin took advantage of this opportunity to invite a few colleagues who had been leaders together in the past to have dinner at his home.
The room was dark and small, so Wang Xuelin asked his wife to put the table in the yard. After two glasses of wine, Wang Xuelin began to cry: "You said I have been the factory director for so many years, even if I have no achievements, I have worked hard, and then a little girl came and took me away, and then a foreigner was replaced as the factory director. Why am I so dissatisfied?"
Upon hearing this, Deputy Director Zhang couldn't help but agree, "Yeah, I've been feeling unhappy for a while now. Director Sun never tells me and Deputy Director Liu about anything he does. I don't know if he wants to promote the people he brought with him so that we can be squeezed out."
When Liu Shucheng heard this, the smile on his face disappeared: "Lao Zhang, you can't say such nonsense. Our factory is now owned by someone else. People must have bought it to make more money. We just need to do our job well and stop thinking about useless things."
"Did I not do a good job?" Wang Xuelin was immediately unhappy when he heard this: "Isn't furniture like that in the past? They just want to make it so fancy and export it. I don't believe she can do it. I heard that Director Sun was put in the bullpen because of exporting furniture. You just wait and see, he will be put in again sooner or later."
"No, Lao Wang, what do you want to say by calling us out this time?" Office Director Sun Yufeng glanced at Wang Xuelin and said, "I see that you are not happy as the chairman of the trade union?"
"How can I be happy?" Wang Xuelin poured a glass of wine into his mouth, his eyes red. "I used to be the top leader, but now I have become a few top leaders? I have been sitting in the office for more than a month, and no workers have come to me. It's obvious that I am not given power."
"Old Wang, for the sake of our collaboration, I advise you to be more open-minded and stop thinking about power." Sun Yufeng patted Wang Xuelin on the shoulder and said, "You had power before, but you couldn't even get paid. What's the point? If Li Mingzhen, Sun Rende and others can help us make more money and pay more, I would rather give them the little power I have."
"Look, you've only been here for a few days, and your thinking has been corrupted by them." Wang Xuelin looked at him angrily: "You were not this kind of person in the past."
Sun Yufeng sneered: "You have never experienced the days when your children could not afford tuition and could not eat meat. I am not that high-minded. I just know that I will listen to whoever pays me."
Sun Yufeng stood up and patted Wang Xuelin on the shoulder: "Old Wang, you should be more open-minded. You will retire in a few years. Why bother about your useless things? If the factory develops well, won't you be proud?"
Watching Sun Yufeng staggering out, Wang Xuelin angrily pointed at his back and cursed: "This kid is too ungrateful. If I hadn't promoted him back then, he would have become the office director. I haven't even asked him for anything, but he's here to persuade me."
Liu Shucheng shook his head and stood up. "Chairman Wang, I'm a little drunk. I'm going to go back and have a nap. You should calm down and go home early."
Wang Xuelin ignored him and took another drink: "Deputy Director Zhang, you can leave if you want."
"I'm not leaving. I'll drink with you." Zhang Zhengzong took a bite of his food and began to complain, "I don't like working under that guy either. He's only in his early thirties and doesn't know shit. Why did he become the factory director? Just because he can go out and run around? He's not steady at all."
Wang Xuelin was deeply moved by these words. He raised his glass and touched it with Zhang Zhengzong's glass: "We can't let that guy seize power. Do you dare to make trouble with me while he's not at home?"
"What's the fuss?" Zhang Zhengzong asked sullenly, "What Liu Shucheng said just now is right. The factory is now owned by individuals. Whoever she wants to be the factory director can be the factory director. It's different from the past."
"But what if Sun Rende can't control the workers?" Wang Xuelin sneered: "Let's go back and find those old workers. As long as we can persuade them to make trouble, Sun Rende will not be able to control them, and Li Mingzhen will have to ask us to help."
"Will it work?" Zhang Zhengzong asked hesitantly, "I see that the old masters have been working very enthusiastically recently, and they are all as energetic as if they had been injected with chicken blood. Can they listen to us?"
Wang Xuelin sneered, "Sun Rende brought a lot of craftsmen with him. We can then say that he plans to have those people replace the masters and drive them out of the factory. I don't believe they won't be afraid."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Zhang Zhengzong nodded.
"Pa pa pa..." A string of applause was heard. Wang Xuelin and Zhang Zhengzong looked up and found that Li Mingzhen was standing at the door at some point. They stood up in fright with pale faces.
"Good idea." Zhen Zhen laughed sarcastically, "If you put your mind to how to develop and expand the factory, you wouldn't have bankrupted a large state-owned factory."
Looking at Wang Xuelin's pale face, Zhenzhen shook her head and said, "To be honest, my factory originally didn't plan to keep idle people. At that time, I felt that you had been the factory director for so many years, and it would not be good to just let you go, so I transferred you to the position of labor union chairman. It seems that I was a bit redundant. With a talent like Director Wang, I believe he can make a career wherever he goes."
"Are you planning to fire me?" Wang Xuelin looked at Zhen Zhen viciously, "I don't accept that. If you dare to fire me, I will sue you in the government."
"What are you sueing me for?" Zhenzhen pulled out a tape recorder from under her feet, pressed a button, and the tape started to turn. The words that Wang Xuelin had just said to incite trouble were played back word for word: "Didn't I tell you not to make trouble? Okay, let's not talk about that useless stuff anymore. Do you two want to resign on your own or do you want to be fired by me?" Zhenzhen turned off the tape recorder and put it on the ground, looking at the two of them leisurely.
A ruthless look appeared on Zhang Zhengzong's face: "I will not resign, and I don't admit what I just said." As he said that, he rushed towards Zhenzhen, and it seemed that he wanted to snatch the radio at Zhenzhen's feet. Seeing this, Wang Xuelin sobered up a little and rushed over as well.
Zhen Zhen didn't even move, she just raised her foot and kicked the two people who rushed over. Looking at the two people lying on the ground with blood on their faces, Zhen Zhen sneered: "I have never lost a fight since I was a child."
Seeing the two people's unconvinced expressions, Zhenzhen walked over and left deep footprints: "Let me tell you one more thing. In the face of absolutely powerful strength, any conspiracy is just a paper tiger and can't withstand a single blow."
The author has something to say: Zhenzhen looked up at the sky and pointed at herself: I am the absolutely powerful one!