Chapter 57 A Warm Welcome

In light of yesterday's incident, the Industry Bureau received the news and specially dispatched a minibus to pick up and drop off the group during their visit.

Early in the morning, the group went to the Industry Bureau for a meeting.

Shen Jiao was so angry last night that she didn't sleep well. Knowing she had to meet with the leaders from the Industry Bureau today, she got up early to wash and put on makeup. The jade pendant that could add color to her look was gone, and she hadn't brought any other ornaments. She did have a gold bracelet in her bag, but it was too conspicuous and clearly a new style. She put it on and took it off repeatedly, finally regaining her composure and stuffing the bracelet into her bag. Those wicked people who can't stand seeing others do well—they even criticize her for wearing a gold bracelet! One day she'll wear all her treasures and make them all green with envy!

That damned Yao Fanghua, you good-for-nothing, a jinx! You deserve to be poor your whole life! Just pray you don't fall into my hands.

She glanced at the time, then straightened her back and walked out of the room.

Yao Fanghua had just finished getting ready and was heading out.

The two met in the corridor; one was mature and charming, the other was energetic and vibrant, both capable and proud.

Upon seeing Shen Jiao, Yao Fanghua cursed her under her breath as a good-for-nothing mad dog.

Fate brought them together, and the two turned away and went their separate ways.

Once on the minibus, we sat one in front of the other, at the furthest distance from each other.

Upon arriving at the Industry Bureau, the leaders there gave Shen Jiao a special visit. They knew about yesterday's events; being robbed as soon as she arrived was indeed damaging Shenzhen's image. Those thugs hanging around the various nightclubs should have been dealt with long ago, but that wasn't his responsibility, nor was it something he could interfere with.

Shen Jiao is the best at feigning weakness in front of her superiors. Her eyes are red with grievance, and she almost wants to use a coquettish voice, which is completely different from when she pointed at Yao Fanghua and went crazy yesterday.

Yao Fanghua resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The others lowered their heads, pretending not to see what was happening.

As the only two female colleagues, they both received some attention; both were young, beautiful, and promising, and neither could be favored. After inquiring with Shen Jiao, the leader also spoke briefly with Yao Fanghua, learning that her boyfriend planned to build a factory here, and expressed his strong support and encouragement. In short, they welcomed anyone investing in factories in Shenzhen. It was all about performance. As for the two women's private affairs, they pretended to be completely unaware.

Shen Jiao twisted her fingers fiercely. "A scrap collector actually owns a factory? Where did he get the money?" She thought. "When we get back to Beijing, I'll have my family investigate him thoroughly. Look how smug Yao Fanghua is! She's just hooked up with someone with a little money. What's there to be proud of? Since ancient times, the common people haven't fought with officials. There are precedents. Making them bankrupt is a piece of cake."

In business, any investigation will inevitably uncover problems, so she'll start by targeting her man. She wants to make Yao Fanghua, and everyone involved with her, fall into the mud and never be able to recover!

Shen Jiao wasn't very clear about the feud with the Wu family. She was still young then, and being a girl, how could her family possibly let her know such secrets? However, she vaguely knew that her family had become wealthy and had taken down many people. Later, she learned that the Wu family, the nouveau riche family she was most proud of having taken down, was partly her family's doing. But she never associated Wu Peng, the ragpicker, with any enemy.

The Shen family did pay attention to the Wu family later, but after the Wu family was basically wiped out and Wu Peng went to jail, they paid little attention to them. Many years have passed, and they are destined to never recover.

Shen Jiao only remembered her family's past glory and thought she could replicate those methods and achievements, failing to realize that times had changed. Furthermore, Shenzhen was a completely different place; it wasn't a place where the Shen family, far away in Beijing, could interfere.

At the meeting, everyone gave brief self-introductions and a simple welcome. They then gained a general understanding of the itinerary for the trip. Comrade Zhang from the Industry Bureau would lead them throughout the trip.

The first stop was a Shenzhen machinery factory, tomorrow it will be a Shenzhen mold factory, and afterwards there will be all sorts of factories, big and small, including even a few joint ventures...

The purpose of the quick tour was probably to broaden their horizons and expose them to the advanced equipment and management concepts here.

Yao Fanghua was particularly interested in the mold factory. This factory could provide molds for radios, televisions, washing machines, and other plastic products. Wu Peng had mentioned this factory yesterday, saying that they might cooperate with it in the future. Therefore, Yao Fanghua was paying closer attention and planned to take a good look at it when she went tomorrow.

The Shenzhen Machinery Factory is quite large. When they arrived at the factory, they went to the office building first, where they were received by the office director. After exchanging pleasantries, the group put on safety helmets and entered the workshop.

In addition to the director of the general office of Shenzhen Machinery Factory, the director of its technical department also led them on a tour of the workshop.

The technical director had initially posed a few questions to test the capabilities of this group, but to his surprise, the technical representative always seemed to have a point. Despite being a woman, she could even operate the machine tools, possessing a thorough knowledge of various equipment, explaining their functions, principles, and uses. She even pointed out two potential safety hazards that needed to be addressed, which impressed him greatly. As for the others—well, those who weren't technically skilled—that was understandable. He began to approach this group with greater caution.

Yao Fanghua, representing the fan factory, stole the show, and Director Geng was honored.

"It's just that our factory didn't send any technical experts, otherwise we wouldn't have let you steal the spotlight like this." The machinery factory naturally wanted to say a few words to save face.

Director Geng always smiled and agreed, "Yes, yes, very good, very good, very good." After all, everyone had seen it for themselves, and with representatives from the Industry Bureau watching, the factory's level couldn't be judged with just a few words. Besides, there was another college graduate with a technical background there, and he didn't say a word either. It seems that not only him, but everyone else had a more direct understanding of the utterly incompetent level of the last-place factory.

Shen Jiao pulled her helmet brim down low, hating Yao Fanghua for being such a show-off.

We listened to the explanations as we went, and before long it was noon. We ate lunch in the factory canteen and rested in the conference room before continuing in the afternoon. After visiting the workshop, we went to various offices to experience the working atmosphere.

Yao Fanghua was alright; she knew she would be walking a lot today, so she specially wore flat shoes.

Shen Jiao was in a terrible state. She had specially worn high heels to match her outfit, and by the end of the day, her feet were covered in blisters. Her soles and heels ached terribly every time she walked. In the end, she limped back to her room.

The next day, Shen Jiao learned her lesson and put on flat shoes and two layers of socks.

Although Yao Fanghua wasn't limping, she was tired and her legs ached after walking all day. Fortunately, she was young, and after a good night's sleep, she was full of energy again the next day.

No wonder Wu Peng was clamoring to buy a car; having one is so convenient. After a quick breakfast, we stepped out of the hotel, and the minibus was already waiting. After walking so much, the advantages of having a car became truly apparent.

The mold factory in Shenzhen is also very large, even more impressive than the machinery factory. And today the mold factory seems particularly welcoming, with lanterns and colorful decorations visible from afar, and a large red banner hanging at the factory gate.

They joked around in the car, laughing and saying that the mold factory was much more welcoming than the machinery factory they met yesterday. They said the banner was so festive and overly polite, and that if anyone from their area ever visited Beijing, they would definitely hang up a banner just as big to welcome them.

After a few words, as we got closer, we finally saw clearly that it read: "Warmly welcome the delegation from Gangcheng to visit and guide our factory!"

It was even bilingual, with a welcome message written in English below.

Yao Fanghua and her group looked at each other in surprise. It seemed that the mold factory had more than just them as guests today, and that they were clearly being warmly welcomed by other guests.