Chapter 91 A crisis hits the factory, and someone adds fuel to the fire!

The two hostage-takers were stunned.

What's going on?

Her daughter's life is in their hands, does she really not care at all?

Or is he just pretending to be indifferent and bluffing?

"Ye Zhi Qiu, we're not joking with you!" one of the hostage-takers threatened again, his face fierce.

"I wasn't joking with you two." Ye Zhi Qiu even put away the shotgun, a slight smile playing on his lips, his face showing an expression that said, "You two can do whatever you want."

She knew very well that although her daughter had not yet learned any martial arts combat skills, her internal strength, which was comparable to that of the previous sect leader, was more than enough to deal with the two of them.

For martial arts practitioners, when the gap in internal strength becomes too large, even the best external skills cannot make up for it.

Unless the person with internal energy doesn't know how to use it.

But she had just taught her daughter how to use it, and the stone table that was overturned was the best proof of that.

This is a good opportunity for my daughter to practice.

"You really think I wouldn't dare to make a move?" one of the hostage-takers said menacingly. "I'll count to three. If you don't open the door to the training room, I'll break your daughter's arm!"

However, Ye Zhi Qiu remained calm and composed.

Enraged, the hostage-taker grabbed Ning Jinli's shoulder and tried to break her arm on the spot.

Ning Jinli immediately channeled her inner energy and simultaneously slammed both elbows to the side.

Bang!

Two muffled thuds.

Before the two hostage-takers could react, they were sent flying like sandbags, their backs slamming hard against the wall of the training room. They then clutched their dented chests, coughing up blood and dying with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Although their deaths were partly due to their lack of preparedness, they were still considered top-tier experts within their sect.

Even disciples of the same level couldn't kill him so quickly.

The deterrent effect of this scene is self-evident.

The other dozen or so people were so frightened that their faces turned pale. Without Ye Zhi Qiu needing to say anything more, they quickly took the initiative to transfer their internal energy to Ning Jin Li.

As their inner strength continued to flow in, they visibly grew weaker and weaker, their skin wrinkled, their hair began to turn white, and their appearance aged rapidly.

Ning Jinli concentrated fully, focusing all her attention on sensing, and gradually, the entrance to the space-time tunnel she had just seen became clearer...

...

Right now.

Inside Ning Jinli's factory.

Factory director Zheng Houcheng was answering a phone call in his office.

The call was from Su Qinglan.

Su Qinglan knew that Ning Jinli was very busy and usually wouldn't bother her, but it had been more than half a month and Ning Jinli hadn't contacted her even once.

Moreover, she couldn't contact Ning Jinli either.

She went to the antique company, but the people there said they had never seen the owner.

She had no choice but to contact the person in charge at the factory to find out what was going on.

“Miss Ning is busy, please don’t worry.” Zheng Houcheng said, wiping away cold sweat as he forced a smile. “Well… because the matter involves a confidential project in the factory, she really can’t contact you.”

This wasn't the first time Su Qinglan had come to ask him.

But he really didn't know where Ning Jinli had gone.

After discovering he couldn't contact Ning Jinli, he secretly arranged for people to search for her and even reported the case to the police. However, to avoid worrying Su Qinglan and to prevent panic among the factory employees, he kept the matter a secret.

"Don't worry," Zheng Houcheng reassured her, holding his phone. "As soon as Miss Ning is done with her work, she will definitely contact you as soon as possible."

After a long string of words of comfort and reassurance, Su Qinglan finally hung up the phone.

Zheng Houcheng frowned, lit a cigarette, and took several deep drags.

"Miss Ning, Miss Ning..."

Where did you go?

"If I can't find you again, or if you don't show up again, I really won't be able to take it anymore..."

He finished the cigarette quickly.

Zheng Houcheng coughed violently a few times, then took out another cigarette and lit it.

He was under immense pressure.

It wasn't just because the boss had disappeared without a trace, and he had to keep it a secret from Su Qinglan.

There was another thing that was causing him great anxiety, and he had been so worried that he hadn't slept for several days.

That is, the factory is now facing a serious problem.

Ning Jinli had instructed him not to worry about sales, but simply to get the factory up and running and get all production lines operating at full capacity as soon as possible.

Although I had my doubts, this was something the boss had repeatedly emphasized.

He tried his best to do as instructed.

Now, all production areas of the factory have resumed full production capacity.

Every day, from purchasing raw materials to producing finished products, every step of the process involves a continuous stream of money being burned.

As the warehouse filled with more and more goods, Ning Jinli disappeared.

Running a factory is not child's play. Once it's up and running normally, you can't just stop production whenever you want.

Otherwise, not only would the previously agreed-upon raw material supply cooperation face major problems, but he also wouldn't be able to explain it to his thousands of employees.

So the only solution now is to sell off the ever-growing stock.

To Zheng Houcheng's surprise, all the sales channels for the relevant types of goods refused to cooperate.

Even though he managed to drive the price of his goods down to cost, he still encountered setbacks everywhere.

He couldn't understand why.

Every sales representative has a variety of reasons for refusing.

It seemed as if an invisible force was causing all the products in his factory to rot in the warehouse.

He still couldn't reveal this to his employees.

Otherwise, it will also cause panic.

Bang bang bang.

A knock came at the door.

Zheng Houcheng stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, took a few deep breaths, and sat calmly in his office chair before saying, "Please come in."

The secretary entered the office carrying a stack of documents. "Director Zheng, there are a few bills for raw materials that need to be settled. The other party is urging us to pay them. The total amount is about 40 million."

Zheng Houcheng was taken aback. "Didn't we agree to settle accounts quarterly? Why are you urging us now?"

The secretary said helplessly, "I don't know either, but they're urging us to pay. They even said that if we don't settle the payment, they won't sell us any more raw materials."

Zheng Houcheng frowned and fell into deep thought.

The secretary added, "Also, several production lines need maintenance, and it's almost time to pay the employees..."

Zheng Houcheng rubbed his forehead. "How much does it cost in total for raw material payments, production line maintenance, and employee wages?"

The secretary flipped through the documents. "A little over 130 million."

Zheng Houcheng's forehead veins throbbed violently.

The factory hasn't made a single penny so far. It has already invested a huge amount of money in the early stages, and the funds in the factory's account are being spent faster than burning paper money. Now, it only has less than 100 million yuan left.

However, they will soon have to spend another 130 million!

Where will the missing money come from?

Should we take out a bank loan to tide us over?

But Ms. Ning, the boss, isn't here, so I can't get a loan...

Zheng Houcheng subconsciously wanted to smoke another cigarette, but found that the cigarette pack was empty. He crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then got up and paced back and forth.

"Factory manager, is it... that we've encountered some difficulties?" the secretary asked in a low voice.

Zheng Houcheng forced himself to remain calm and waved his hand, "No, you can go out first."

"Yes," the secretary advised. "You should smoke less; it's bad for your health."

Wait until the secretary leaves.

Zheng Houcheng was so exhausted he could neither sit nor stand, and finally collapsed onto the sofa.

Meanwhile, Ning Hai, who was drinking tea and reading in his study at home, received a phone call.

“Mr. Ning,” the person on the phone reported politely, “Ning Jinli’s factory is about to go under.”

Ning Hai's eyes lit up. "Are you sure?"

"It's confirmed. The information came from our people at the factory. On the one hand, Ning Jinli hasn't shown up for a long time. On the other hand, according to your plan, the factory's sales channels have been blocked, all the goods are piling up, and we've also put pressure on the raw material suppliers. I've sent the specific financial data we've collected to your email."

"Well done! Let me check the data first!"

"Okay, Mr. Ning."

After making the call, Ning Hai immediately turned on his computer.

He burst out laughing when he saw the factory's financial data table in the email.

Most people might not understand it, but through these complex data, he could tell at a glance that Ning Jinli's factory was indeed in big trouble.

But to bankrupt the factory, you need to add fuel to the fire.

Ning Hai pondered for a moment, and to avoid any unforeseen complications, it was best to seize this opportunity and deliver a fatal blow.

He immediately picked up his phone and made a call.

"Listen carefully, let the workers we've planted in the factory start stirring up trouble."

"Yes, let's make a huge scene!"

"Tell them not to be afraid of anything. As long as their identities aren't exposed, it doesn't matter if someone gets killed. I'll cover for them!"

...

As soon as he finished giving instructions, the people on the other side began to take action.

It's dinnertime now.

The factory workers entered the canteen one after another.

Suddenly, someone slammed their plate on the ground, cursing, "What's going on? The food gets worse every day, and this is what we get for dinner tonight?!"

Attracted by the commotion, everyone gathered around.

"Aren't you just looking for trouble?" The canteen worker slammed down his ladle. "We have fish, meat, and vegetables, the taste isn't bad, and it's all-you-can-eat. What do you mean we're just feeding you this kind of thing? Go to other factories outside and see if any of them have food as good as this."

The person who smashed the food tray persisted, "I work here, why should I care about other factories? Just tell me, isn't the food at our factory worse these past few days than it was at the beginning!"

"You..." The cafeteria employee blushed, "So what if you replaced some fresh meat with frozen meat? The frozen meat is all qualified products, what's wrong with eating it!"

So you're admitting it? Ha! I just don't like frozen meat!

"Eat it if you want, or get out!"

"Huh? What kind of attitude is that!"

"So what if I have this attitude? Even if we used some frozen meat, it's still cleaner and more hygienic than other cafeterias! Don't be so ungrateful!"

The argument escalated, and before other employees could intervene, the person who smashed the plates grabbed a large plate full of food and threw it at the cafeteria staff.

The situation instantly spiraled out of control.

The cafeteria staff rushed over and started fighting with him.

"Damn it! He actually hit my buddy? Brothers, let's kill him!" Several more assembly line workers rushed over from the crowd and joined the fight.

These people are actually in cahoots.

One person was responsible for starting the argument, and the others immediately cooperated, pinning the cafeteria employee who was arguing to the ground and beating him.

When the other canteen staff saw their colleague being beaten, they thought about how hard they worked every day to prepare meals for these assembly line workers. A few days ago, the person in charge gave an order to save a little money while ensuring food safety. They had all tried their best to make the substitute ingredients as delicious as possible, but this was the attitude they got in return.

This is absolutely intolerable!

There's not much to explain, they all rushed over and started fighting.

Now, the other workers couldn't eat either, so they all stayed away and watched the commotion from the sidelines.

Soon, the cafeteria manager arrived with several security guards.

The two groups were fighting so fiercely that they couldn't be stopped at all.

Left with no other option, the person in charge had to call the factory manager.

A moment later, Zheng Houcheng also rushed over in a panic. Disregarding his own safety, he rushed directly into the center of the brawl, shouting, "We're all colleagues! Don't ruin the harmony. If you have any problems, come at me and report them to me!"

Bang!

A muffled thud.

He didn't know whose fist hit him in the face.

He stumbled and fell to the ground, his eye flying out.

"Factory Manager!" The canteen staff were shocked and, forgetting their fight, quickly protected Zheng Houcheng.

The others who were deliberately causing trouble exchanged glances and then stopped.

With the help of the cafeteria staff, Zheng Houcheng stood up unsteadily. "Everyone, let's get straight to the point, don't resort to violence... Tell me, what exactly happened?"

The person who started smashing the plates shouted, "The food has gotten worse! We have a problem with that!"

Zheng Houcheng naturally knew the reason behind it, but he certainly couldn't say it was because the factory was facing a shortage of funds. Besides, the so-called deterioration was only compared to the situation in his own canteen some time ago.

“I admit, our food isn’t as good as it was at the beginning,” Zheng Houcheng said thoughtfully, “but it shouldn’t be bad, right? I know about the other factory canteens; even if our food is downgraded two levels, it’s still better than theirs…”

Seeing that the factory manager's forehead was bleeding from the beating, yet he was still speaking kindly, some of the surrounding workers couldn't stand it anymore and began to murmur among themselves:

"The factory manager is right!"

"Our food is good enough, there's no need to make such a fuss."

"That's right, you guys are too ungrateful!"

The discussions grew louder, and most of them were on the factory manager's side.

After all, everyone knows what kind of person the factory manager is and how well they are treated in the factory.

Faced with the crowd's support, the ringleader raised his voice and deliberately shouted aggressively, "Are you all stupid? Didn't we come here because of the high wages and good food? If the standards are lowered a little today and a little tomorrow, won't it get worse and worse? Think about it carefully, isn't that right?"

These words immediately silenced the others.

That makes perfect sense.

The other workers frowned in thought, their faces showing a mixture of emotions.

"No, no, no!" Zheng Houcheng hurriedly explained, "This... it's just that some of the suppliers we used to buy ingredients for have run out of stock, so I had the cafeteria temporarily buy other things. Please bear with it, everyone. In a while... I promise to restore the food to the original quality."

Zheng Houcheng didn't want to tell such a lie, but if he didn't, there would be no way to quell the situation.

"Ha!" The ringleader sneered and shouted, "Who are you trying to fool with this nonsense? The food standards have dropped, it must be because the factory has financial problems. Now the food is getting worse, then they'll reduce welfare benefits, and then they'll cut our wages, right?"

Upon hearing this, all the workers' expressions changed.

Even the cafeteria staff and the security guards present all turned serious, their eyes fixed on Zheng Houcheng with sharp, piercing gazes.