Chapter 250: Wearing a tall hat, he wanted to jump ship.

Qin Xiangxiang acted immediately, instructing his assistant, He, to contact "Master Zhu" and say, "We'd like to invite Master Zhu to the factory for guidance!"

Assistant He stood there dumbfounded: "Invite Master Zhu?"

"Isn't Master Zhu a great writer? Last time, thanks to his article, our embroidered patchwork shirts sold so well. Let's ask Master Zhu again this time!"

Assistant He's lips twitched: "...But I don't think Master Zhu thinks that way."

Master Zhu's purpose in writing the article was not to promote Feiyan Textile Factory—although his article made Feiyan Textile Factory known to people all over the country, this was not Master Zhu's original intention.

Assistant He carefully read Master Zhu's article. The article was written with genuine feelings and was a straightforward criticism and condemnation of Feiyan Textile Factory.

Qin Xiangxiang said, "I hope he can come and learn about the achievements of our Feiyan Textile Factory in recent years, the sales volume of our embroidered patchwork shirts, and the order situation from various countries. I hope he can see it through to the end and understand it in detail."

Assistant He felt a strong sense of suffocation.

Isn't this a provocation? This is absolutely a provocation, a provocation that's taking advantage of someone's kindness.

—But Assistant He likes it!

Having read so many of Master Zhu's articles, I've long wanted to give him a piece of my mind. The factory manager gave me this opportunity, so I couldn't let it slip by.

“Okay, I’ll contact Master Zhu in a bit.”

Seeing Assistant He's eager expression, Qin Xiang felt increasingly unable to understand Su Peisheng's thoughts.

"Also, the Shanghai Municipal Light Industry Bureau is sending another inspection team to our factory."

"Another test? Everyone's studying for the college entrance exam, what kind of test?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "There's an old textile factory in Shanghai that's been losing money for three consecutive years. They're hoping someone can take it over. The people from the Light Industry Bureau went to my mother's factory first, and the people there actually recommended me!"

"This inspection... is actually just an attempt to pass the hot potato to us, to make our two factories unite and establish a joint factory with two branch factories."

"This—" Assistant He gasped. A textile factory that could lose money in Shanghai must have some serious problems. However, if this factory could be used well, Feiyan Textile Factory would definitely take a bigger step forward in the future.

Nowadays, the goods of Feiyan Textile Factory are either transshipped through Guangzhou or north to Shanghai Port. If they could have a joint branch factory in Shanghai, they would have a great advantage in logistics, transportation, and market access.

The island is close to the production base and has abundant resources, which can complement the advantages of the textile factories in Shanghai. In addition, the two places are not far apart and rely entirely on shipping, which is the cheapest mode of transportation in the world.

Of course, this is under relatively good circumstances. If the Shangpu Textile Factory is a hopeless case, then disaster is about to befall their Feiyan Textile Factory.

The two branch factories could easily fall into internal strife in the future, which would be disastrous. Right now, Feiyan Textile Factory is united... what will happen if morale collapses in the future?

With the college entrance exam approaching, a group of people will leave, and another group will join a new factory. In the end, things will change, and everyone will leave. At this time, absorbing new factories is not a good choice.

Assistant He was now undecided, but he decided to follow the factory manager's advice.

"Factory manager, this is both a challenge and an opportunity!"

Qin Xiangxiang said, "They came to inspect us, but it should be our factory that went to inspect Shangpu Textile Factory."

"Therefore, I plan to make this a bit more difficult. Even if we take over Shangpu Textile Factory, we should strive for more benefits!"

Qin Xiangxiang is not stupid; on the contrary, she is particularly meticulous. Calling Master Zhu over is just the right time for them to discuss the terms of assistance with the Light Industry Bureau.

If this Master Zhu messes things up, that's fine too, it saves us a lot of trouble.

If she were to take over Shangpu Textile Factory, Qin Xiangxiang would have to ask for a hefty sum!

Master Zhu said that Feiyan Textile Factory was terrible and that Qin Xiangxiang's skills were so poor. Qin Xiangxiang replied: "I'm so bad, I deserve help! I deserve even more help!"

The more Master Zhu nitpicks, the more it helps her to plead and negotiate.

"This is a win-win solution."

Assistant He's eyes lit up: "Factory Director, you're so brilliant! I'll go invite Master Zhu right now and hope he'll write more articles about our Feiyan Textile Factory!"

Assistant He's voice was sleazy, a far cry from the innocent and naive voice he had when he graduated, even though he wasn't exactly innocent back then.

That kind of smug voice is perfect for provoking hatred!

Time is a cruel mistress! Assistant He, who used to be so shy about even talking about crotches, is now "willing" to do bad things.

Assistant He cleared his throat. "Hello, is this Master Zhu? I'm from Feiyan Textile Factory..."

"Yes, yes, yes, we really owe it to you back then! You are a great blessing to our Feiyan Textile Factory! If it weren't for your article, our factory wouldn't have been able to make such a splash at that time."

"Our factory owes its success today entirely to you."

"Looking back on the many years of development of our Feiyan Textile Factory, we have had two lucky leaders, one of whom is you—"

...

Qin Xiangxiang listened to Assistant He's phone call from the side, and she was stunned. Assistant He's tone and demeanor made them look like a tyrannical emperor and his lackey Wei Zhongxian.

That's incredibly arrogant and deserves a beating.

Master Zhu hung up the phone and sat on the sofa, furious. "This Qin Xiangxiang has the nerve to invite me to give her guidance? Does she have any shame? Does she have the nerve to do that?"

"How dare you bring up those previous articles!"

A shadow fell over Master Zhu's face. His article had brought great fame to Feiyan Textile Factory, but it was the biggest setback he had ever suffered in his life. He had never been treated with such humiliation before.

To lift a stone only to drop it on one's own foot; to try to steal a chicken but lose the rice instead.

"A patchwork embroidered shirt, from the movie 'The Blue Sea and the Silver Shuttle.' This Qin Xiangxiang truly has the cunning and shrewdness of Zhuge Liang, manipulating people's hearts and using all sorts of tricks. This is all her conspiracy, this insidious woman!"

In Master Zhu's eyes, everything Qin Xiangxiang and Feiyan Textile Factory did was a conspiracy they had planned in advance, and the movie clips they filmed were the same.

All this typhoon relief work is just a show! It's all fake! It's a conspiracy!

"She's taking the crooked path instead of the right one. This little girl is really giving herself a hard time. She's so arrogant!"

“I just came to visit your Feiyan Textile Factory and give you some guidance... Why would I write an article for you? My article is impartial and will tear you to shreds.”

...

Master Zhu was furious and couldn't sleep because of Assistant He's tone, especially since the guy kept calling him "Lucky General." Master Zhu was so angry about the term "Lucky General" that he was furious.

"Little brat, you're too cocky! Don't be so arrogant!"

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Light Industry Inspection Team also headed to the island. The two groups happened to be on the same boat. When the people from the Light Industry Bureau learned that Master Zhu was coming, they were overjoyed: "Master Zhu, you are also going. We can go to Feiyan Textile Factory together to learn about its actual situation."

Master Zhu, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, snorted.

"So you're going on an inspection tour? Look how smug she is. She's too young to handle this. A little praise makes her so arrogant. Young people can't handle praise."

Deputy Director Sun of the inspection team nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, young people really can't take praise."

The group that came to inspect this time was led by Deputy Director Sun. Deputy Director Sun was a man who had been reduced to such a hard job. He was also not successful in his unit, so this dirty and tiring work was assigned to him.

Apart from him, the rest of their inspection team consisted of a few clerks who were just coasting along, plus an accountant.

Ostensibly an "inspection," its real purpose was to persuade Qin Xiangxiang, the young female factory director, to take over the mess that was "Shangpu Textile Factory."

The Shangpu Textile Factory was in a state of chaos. In addition to problems such as outdated machinery, outdated production technology, and continuous losses, it was also an old textile factory. Back then, every household had children who had gone to the countryside. Now that the educated youth had returned, the factory could not pay too many wages, nor could it accept too many returning educated youth. Brothers were driving away their younger siblings who had gone to the countryside, some were getting divorced, some were causing trouble, and some were trying to find jobs by deceiving people... It was a complete mess.

This was a mess that no one wanted to take on, and they had to try their best to persuade (or even trick) the young female factory director, Qin Xiangxiang, to take on this arduous task.

Deputy Director Sun, along with his group of lazy bums, couldn't think of any other way, so they decided to use flattery to get Factory Director Qin Xiangxiang to agree to the matter without him realizing it.

Young people are prone to pride and arrogance, and she's willing to take on even the biggest challenges.

Deputy Director Sun wasn't exactly a smooth talker, and when he boarded the ship, he was still thinking about how to flatter Qin Xiangxiang and persuade her. But now that he'd met Master Zhu, it was like meeting a savior.

"Master Zhu, please do us a favor. When we go there for an inspection, please praise Feiyan Textile Factory's achievements over the years and give Director Qin a lot of praise. Write a few articles about it in the future. Your articles used to be very good!"

The rest of the inspection team chimed in, "Yes, yes, it's just a coincidence! Master Zhu, please lend us a hand!"

"If we can gain your approval and sincere praise, Director Qin will be very happy."

"This young girl is truly remarkable and extraordinary at such a young age!"

Master Zhu: "?!?!"

At this point, Master Zhu wanted to jump ship.