But that last meaningful smile sent a shiver down Xu Keke's spine.

She had now been categorized as a military officer. She had been firmly placed in Director Du's camp. She felt truly wronged for choosing this side.

Most of the people had left, leaving only Director Du, Section Chief Sun, the head of the security department, and Du Yi.

Factory Director Du rubbed his lower back. "Young Master Zeng, I've been working myself to the bone for your warehouse. My back is going to be ruined!"

That old fox, instead of complaining about being dragged into this mess, he actually tried to take credit for it.

Seeing that Xu Keke hadn't fallen for it, Director Du followed her to their small, shabby office.

He sat down in Du Yi's chair. He was no longer smiling; instead, his face was serious as he spoke to Xu Keke.

“I’ve seen your plan. Your move isn’t just affecting your warehouse. It’s affecting all the departments and workshops.”

"To be honest, I was already thinking of leaving. It was after seeing your plan that I had the same idea again. Since you want to do things well, coincidentally, I have the same idea."

Since we've reached the same conclusion, why don't we collaborate?

Xu Keke not only enjoys talking to intelligent people, but also to frank and intelligent people. "How do we cooperate?"

If they continue to use me as a pawn, I will no longer cooperate.

She was at the very bottom of the food chain in this factory. The people above her were all powerful figures, and they held all the power and profit in their hands.

There was no one she could afford to offend. She couldn't possibly focus all her energy on guarding against and dealing with these people.

Factory Director Du smiled. "Tell me what the final result will be. I'll cooperate with you."

Du Yi stood behind his uncle, listening like a complete idiot.

Xu Keke took out her plan and said, "I saw Section Chief Sun's calligraphy practice book the other day. It was an arithmetic book, and your handwriting was on it."

So, as you know, right now the factory mixes all the incoming materials together, creating a complete mess. Unless you wait until the very end, you won't know if you're making a profit or a loss. Right?

Therefore, we need to at least know the cost of each pair of shoes. We need to know at what price we can sell them without losing money.

Right now, the processing we're doing is making money for other factories, but we're constantly losing money, right?

Director Du nodded. No one in the factory knew that although they looked like they were working overtime every day to complete their tasks, they actually relied entirely on the bureau's annual funding to survive.

This was the thing he couldn't understand most after coming to the factory. He came from a management background. He could manage people well, but he couldn't understand the problems in this factory.

Even though all the workers are working overtime, their year-end bonuses are only paid out through funding applications from higher-ups.

Then it became a vicious cycle. Everyone felt their bonuses were too low because they weren't working hard enough. So they continued to work overtime. But it was still the same. The factory's accounts didn't balance by a single penny.

He couldn't figure out where he went wrong. He talked to many people, but ridiculously, no one in the factory thought there was a problem.

No, there's someone, Section Chief Sun. He told me that the factory's numbers were incorrect.

The materials they received and the number of shoes they ultimately produced never matched.

Even after realizing the numbers were wrong, he still didn't know what to do. So he decided to give up. He thought that if he left, he would suggest that his superiors send someone knowledgeable to handle the situation.

It wasn't until Du Yi showed him the warehouse planning document written by Xu Keke that he knew there was hope.

The problem should be solvable. It's just that Xu Keke's plan only covers the warehouse; he needs to know how the other departments should proceed.

He didn't want this matter to take too long, because the sooner it was resolved, the better for the factory and the workers.