Chapter 279 Looking for You

Zhou Jianguo's approach is really like using random punches to defeat a master.

It's true that the soft are afraid of the hard, the hard are afraid of the tough, the tough are afraid of the stupid, and the stupid are afraid of the desperate.

The workers were laid off and had no way to make a living.

But the factory director would not do that. The director of a steel plant at the level of Ergang is not a professional manager hired by a private enterprise, but a state cadre.

As long as the matter of Ergang is handled properly, Ding Zhengchang can continue to be a leader in another place.

The worst that can happen is a demotion or a nominal position, but at least you will still have enough food and clothing.

But if it is not handled properly, the responsibility can be big or small.

So Ding Zhengchang was most afraid of something happening, but he didn't expect that his father would actually do this.

But the result is good, at least the matter has been resolved temporarily.

Zhou Jianguo said that after the factory director made the promise, he went to Gate No. 3 to announce this to all the workers who came, and even took out the document as proof to make them believe it.

In fact, Zhou Yi had thought about it from the beginning that this matter would have no essential impact on the factory leaders.

The orders obtained from Uncle San were a drop in the bucket, not even enough to pay the wages and resettlement fees for the first batch of laid-off workers, let alone change the life or death of Ergang.

So what he had his father do was a game of balancing the pros and cons. Weighing reality against the consequences, the factory director would surely choose the lesser of two evils.

You just have to consider the factory director's face and not put him in an embarrassing position.

"Dad, why didn't I realize you were such a cunning idiot before?"

"I learned that from your mother."

"Come on, my mom isn't a thief, she's a big mouth and a stingy person."

Zhou Yi asked: "Can we arrange for the steel coils to be shipped today? After all, it will take some time to deliver them, so we should do it as quickly as possible to avoid any further complications."

“It can be shipped, but there are two problems…”

"What's the problem?"

Zhou Jianguo said: "First, the factory refused to give the other party a trial roll of steel first. They were afraid that the other party might find an excuse to say it was unqualified, and the factory would lose a roll of steel in vain, which would make the account unfair."

"So... the factory requires us to advance the money for this roll of steel coil?" Zhou Yi had discussed this with his uncle before, and the money for this roll of steel coil would be paid later together with the first advance payment.

Zhou Jianguo nodded. "That's a lot of money... At the current market price, five tons of steel coils would cost eight or nine thousand yuan."

Zhou Yi didn't know the market price of steel in 1997, but he trusted his father and uncle's judgment. "One more question?"

"There's also the issue of transportation... The factory said they can lend us a vehicle, but we'll have to cover the costs ourselves."

"Doesn't the factory's delivery include transportation? I remember that the quotation my third uncle gave to the other party had already included the transportation cost. Why do we have to bear it ourselves?" Zhou Yi remembered very clearly that his third uncle told him this after he had calculated the accounts. Because Ergang's goods had never been delivered to such a far place, when he talked to the other party, he frankly raised the price increase for this part, and the other party agreed.

“Yes, the factory will recognize the normal delivery later, but they don’t recognize this trial steel coil.”

"Damn it! The factory really refuses to take any risk. No wonder such a huge steel mill has ended up in such a mess." Despite the complaints, the problem still needed to be solved. "Since the factory is willing to provide a vehicle, the only expenses are the gas and the driver. So, is the factory willing to provide a driver?"

Zhou Jianguo shook his head. "The factory director said we have to find the drivers ourselves. I'm worried about this. The drivers in the transportation department are all experienced and it's not easy to deal with them."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Dad, let me ask you a question first."

"What's the problem?"

"Does the quality of the steel produced by your No. 2 Steel Company meet the standards?"

"Of course!" Zhou Jianguo suddenly became proud when he mentioned Ergang. "Although Ergang is now in decline, its production capacity and quality have never been compromised. Don't worry, the quality is absolutely up to standard!"

Seeing his father's firm words, Zhou Yi said, "Okay, in that case, how about we advance the money for the first roll of steel and the transportation costs?"

Zhou Jianguo, who had been so confident, suddenly lost his temper when he heard this. "This... all in all, it must be around ten thousand yuan, right?"

"Why, feeling guilty?"

Zhou Jianguo stiffened his neck and said, "Why should I feel guilty? I just... our family doesn't have that much money."

"My mom has it. Isn't grandpa's passbook with her?"

"But that's what your grandfather gave you for your wedding."

"I'm not getting married right now. Besides, I'm only taking out 10,000 yuan, not all of it. As long as the tractor factory passes the trial, they'll pay the advance, and I can just take the money back when the time comes."

Zhou Jianguo lowered his head and thought, ten thousand yuan, that is not a small amount of money.

"What if your mother doesn't agree?"

Zhou Yi patted his father's shoulder and said, "Dad, you can handle the factory director, so why are you afraid that you can't handle my mom?"

Zhou Jianguo sucked his teeth and thought to himself that your mother is much more difficult to deal with than the factory director.

"So...what about the driver?"

"Then don't ask me. You have so many people supporting you. You can handle this matter on your own."

Just as Zhou Yi finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, is this Master Zhou Jianguo's home?"

The father and son looked at each other, and Zhou Yi said, "Why are you looking at me? Look for yours, Dad."

Zhou Jianguo went to open the door and saw a middle-aged man in his forties standing at the door.

"You are..." Zhou Jianguo found that he didn't know the other person and had never seen him before.

"Are you Master Zhou who drives the forklift?" the man asked.

"Yeah, are you also from our Ergang?"

The man nodded and asked, "Do you have a son?"

Zhou Jianguo turned to Zhou Yi and said, "Looking for you."

Zhou Yi felt strange. Why did the people from the steel plant come to see him?

As soon as he walked over, the middle-aged man suddenly knelt down.

This caught the father and son off guard. The man knelt down and was about to kowtow, but was stopped by Zhou Yi.

Wow, a stranger comes up to you and kneels down to kowtow without saying a word. Anyone would be shocked.

"Master, please get up first. I don't know you. What's going on?" Zhou Yi asked as he and Zhou Jianguo pulled the man up.

The middle-aged man said excitedly: "You saved my father's life. You are my great benefactor, Huang Xiaomao."

Zhou Yi suddenly realized that he was the son of the old man who wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the river that day.

…

Zhou Yi looked at the clock on the wall and thought, well, he's definitely going to skip this morning's shift. He'll go back and ask Captain Wu for approval and say he's out on a field trip.

Zhou Jianguo moved a stool for Huang Xiaomao and listened to his story of how the factory leaders had deceived and harmed him. Then he said that after he was released and returned home, he heard his father talk about this matter, so he quickly inquired about it and came to thank him.

"So you just got out of detention?" Zhou Yi asked.

Huang Xiaomao nodded: "As soon as I got home, my father told me that he had met a very good person, otherwise he would have jumped down at that time." Huang Xiaomao couldn't help wiping away tears.

"Master Huang, please don't be so impulsive in the future. After all, hitting someone is illegal."

"Oh, I just couldn't help it..."

Zhou Jianguo immediately explained: "My son is a policeman."

Huang Xiaomao suddenly felt a little more awed, after all, he had just been released from the detention center.

"Master Zhou, Officer Zhou, please lend my father some money. I will temporarily..."

Zhou Jianguo didn't understand, but Zhou Yi knew what he was talking about. He had given his father's name and said it was a loan just to let the old man take the money without any burden.

"Master Huang, there's no rush. Let's talk about it later. I know your family is in a difficult situation right now."

Huang Xiaomao was moved to tears.

"Has the old man gone to the hospital for a physical examination?"

"Alas, he refused to go, saying he needed the money to buy food first."

Zhou Yi tried to persuade him a few times, but he did not insist too much. Everyone has their own choices, and he has tried his best.

Zhou Jianguo casually asked, "Master Huang, which workshop are you in? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Oh, I drive a truck in the Ministry of Transport."

The so-called driving a big truck means being responsible for driving a large truck that transports steel coils.

Zhou Jianguo is responsible for driving a forklift to transport steel coils in the workshop. After the steel coils are produced, they will be sent to the warehouse for registration first, and then loaded, unloaded and shipped by the transportation department according to demand. So it is normal that he has never seen Huang Xiaomao.

Zhou Yi and Zhou Jianguo looked at each other, and the father and son were both surprised and happy.

Zhou Yi hurriedly asked, "Master Huang, were you also on the list of people laid off yesterday?"

Huang Xiaomao sighed deeply: "When I got home, I listened to what my wife said. How am I going to live in the future?"

Zhou Yi quickly recounted what happened yesterday, and Huang Xiaomao was shocked. He didn't believe it until he saw the receipt Zhou Jianguo took out.

"Master Huang, we were just wondering who to find to deliver the goods, and we didn't expect you to come."

Before Zhou Yi could ask, Huang Xiaomao nodded repeatedly and said, "I can, I can deliver the goods."

Zhou Jianguo was overjoyed. Zhou Yi asked, "Master Huang, this isn't difficult for you, is it?"

"I've already been laid off. What's the big deal? Since the factory is willing to provide a truck, there's no problem. A five-ton truck is a small coil, so I can handle it by myself. But it's over a thousand kilometers to the south, right? I've never driven that far before."

Zhou Yi urged him to drive safely, not to rush, and not to allow any accidents to happen. This roll of steel represents the hope of more than 1,300 laid-off workers from No. 2 Steel, and everything depends on him.

Huang Xiaomao nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Yi told him that he could follow his father's arrangements in the future, and Zhou Jianguo would give him the money for gas and meals.

Huang Xiaomao shook his head and said that he would just need to bring some boiled water and a bag of steamed buns.

Zhou Yi felt a little emotional. They were all very simple people, but they were just a little impulsive at times.

The issue with the Second Steel has been temporarily resolved. As long as there are no problems after the first roll of steel is delivered, everything else will be fine. I will call my Third Uncle later and ask him to keep an eye on the payment.

As for what will happen next, Zhou Yi doesn't plan to think too much about it now. After all, he was not a businessman in his previous life. He just knew some trends of the times.