He asked someone to call the Public Security Bureau in an attempt to get the wool mill's production back on track.

However, Xia Enruo had already spoken to Wu Meixia and made arrangements, so no matter who pleaded for her, she wouldn't let it go.

This matter must be handled in accordance with the law.

Wu Meixia was, after all, a deputy director. Once she made a decision in a meeting, no one dared to speak up or say anything nice to her. Even the director had to give her face.

After trying for a long time without success, Duan Mingrui finally had no choice but to swallow his pride and go to the municipal government to find the mayor.

They figured the local leaders would have to help their state-owned factory resolve this issue.

Currently, the wool mill's main source of income is from manufacturing clothes for Diwei.

Now Xia Enruo has canceled the cooperation and is not paying the final payment, and the clothes she secretly produced have been seized by the police.

The wool mill has basically shut down, and hundreds of workers are facing starvation, leading many employees to become disgruntled.

He arrived at the municipal government and knocked on the door of Mayor Guan Dezheng's office.

Guan Dezheng, who had heard rumors early in the morning, looked very grim.

Upon seeing Duan Mingrui enter with a stooped posture, he cursed at him even more irritably.

Even the most arrogant Duan Mingrui knew to keep a low profile in front of his superiors and silently put on a brave face.

He kept replying, "Yes, yes, yes, yes~~~ Good, good, good~~~~~"

Finally, seeing that Mayor Guan had finished his tirade and had nothing more to say, he began to plead for leniency.

Duan Mingrui had worked in the factory for many years. He was very shrewd and could make up lies in the blink of an eye.

He spoke ill of Xia Enruo without any conscience.

"Mayor Guan, this whole thing was a trap set for our factory by that wicked woman, Xia Enruo."

What confidentiality agreement? Our factory has been running for over thirty years, when have we ever signed anything like that?

She had long planned to use this opportunity to ruin us, causing hundreds of workers in our city to lose their jobs and go hungry.

She, a private enterprise, wants to dominate the city and insists on going against our state-owned factory!

Guan Dezheng could tell from Duan Mingrui's outdated management methods that he was ignorant of the law.

There are quite a few people in government agencies who don't know anything about the law, which explains why the state-owned factories in Yongning City are becoming increasingly unsuccessful.

The main problem lies in the leader's vision and knowledge.

They're still clinging to the planned economy mentality, the old days of being waited on hand and foot, but times have changed.

"Alright, alright. Stop saying that private enterprises are going against large state-owned factories."

Now and in the future, it will increasingly be the domain of private enterprises.

In the developed provinces of Fujian, tax revenue is largely supported by private enterprises.

Do you still think it was during the crackdown on speculation and profiteering before the reform and opening up?

As a factory manager with no education or culture, how can he view problems from a developmental perspective?

I already know the details of this matter; it was your factory that infringed on the design patent first.

Did you know that all of Xia Enruo Company's clothing designs have been patented and are protected by national law?

No one, not even myself, can violate this.

You've been the head of the factory for so many years, how come you have no legal awareness at all?

They're still running their factories and doing business with the same old ways of doing things, no wonder their profits are getting worse and worse.

Now that it's in the newspapers and caused a huge uproar, it's difficult for me to plead for you.

The letters of complaint from citizens are piling up in the mailroom, and we can't even hold them all. If we don't keep quiet, we're in trouble ourselves, let alone your factory.

Go back and wait for news. Consider these few days a break for the workers. Anyway, without Xia Enruo Company's orders, you have nothing to produce.

Let it stop if it's already stopped. We must do a good job of talking to the workers, calm their emotions, and not add fuel to the fire by causing trouble.

This is quite serious; even the provincial government knows about it.

"You, Duan Mingrui, haven't been arrested for privately producing clothing that infringes on patents; the city is already showing you leniency because of your father. Go home and reflect on your actions!"

Guan Dezheng showed no mercy this time and gave him a good scolding in his office.

The idea that he could rely on this powerful figure for shelter and have his troubles solved with a single word was completely shattered in Duan Mingrui's mind.

He always felt that his secret production of clothing was a trivial matter.

No matter how big a small private enterprise becomes, it's still just a featherless pheasant and can never amount to anything.

They didn't dare to be defiant when facing state-owned enterprises, but this time they unexpectedly ran into a tough nut to crack.

That little bitch Xia Enruo is really something, she's even giving the mayor a headache.

That's a fucking blunder.

Duan Mingrui had no other choice but to do as Guan Dezheng said.

When the workers at the wool mill heard that production would be suspended for several days so they could go home and rest, everyone was filled with anxiety.

There were even rumors that the wool mill was about to go bankrupt and all the workers would be laid off and lose their jobs.

This caused several other large state-owned factories in Yongning City to tremble with fear. The workers talked about it privately, each one worried that they would be next.

Guan Dezheng's biggest concern about this incident was that hundreds of workers would lose their jobs.

This is a major factor of social instability, especially if the wool mill is sued and goes bankrupt due to insolvency.

Hundreds of families losing their jobs instantly—this could lead to a major disaster.

The workers will definitely petition everywhere, eventually reaching Beijing, and then I will lose my official position and be punished one by one.

I never expected Duan Mingrui to really stir up a hornet's nest this time.

He increasingly felt that Xia Enruo was no simple woman; she could easily stir up a bloodbath with just a few tricks.

In all the years I've been in office in Yongning City, this is the first time I've encountered such a formidable person.

Although Guan Dezheng knew that the wool mill was in the wrong this time, he couldn't just ignore it because it concerned the livelihoods of so many families.

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