Leng Qingshu originally thought that the commune had given its approval.
Setting up a factory and hiring people are both quite simple.
Little did they know, the villagers started making a fuss before the factory was even built.
As for the reason, it lies in the wages!
The carpenter that Leng Qingshu found was paid one yuan a day, which would amount to thirty yuan a month!
Farm work, even if you work yourself to the bone all day, only earns you ten work points, which translates to about 35 cents.
Even if you add the two or three hundred catties of grain you get throughout the year, it's still far less cost-effective than building a factory.
Furthermore, once the factory is built, it will need to hire workers.
Does that mean they can shed their "farmer's skin" and become workers?
The villagers of Lengjiagou all know that the minimum wage for factory workers in the town is 15 yuan a month, which works out to 50 cents a day.
And they are protected from the wind and rain, and are always dressed cleanly.
Who wouldn't envy such a clever skill?
"Village chief, I'm pretty good at carpentry too, can I work for a couple of days?"
"That's right, village chief, we can't let them have all the good things. We need to change people."
"Village chief, I won't compete for the carpentry work, but my family must have one of the worker slots. My wife is excellent at needlework!"
"My wife is also very skillful with her hands, she's definitely as good as two people, and so are my mom and my sister, they're both fast and good at needlework."
......
Leng Qingshu's head was throbbing from the noise.
He had no choice but to flee to Guan Yuxi's house and ask her for advice.
Leng Lie curled his lip. "That's easy, just draw lots."
Leng Qingshu's eyes lit up. This was a great idea!
Guan Yuxi nodded gently and smiled, "Drawing lots is also an option, but Uncle should think it over beforehand. What if someone is only after the wages but does a terrible job?"
Seeing that both Leng Lie and Leng Qingshu looked thoughtful.
She laughed again and said, "Uncle can tell them that if they do a good job, they will get paid, and if they don't do a good job, they will have a day's work points deducted."
In addition, my uncle pushed all the work of recruiting workers onto me.
All workers entering the factory must undergo an assessment.
Leng Qingshu nodded, then shook his head in distress and said, "But how do we judge whether someone has done a good job or not?"
Even if I told them, they might not listen.
He didn't want to use force to suppress matters involving money.
Besides, he has only been in office for a short time, and gaining the support and trust of the villagers is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Guan Yuxi smiled gently, "Why does Uncle need to judge?"
How well they do their work is ultimately judged by the people who do it.
Uncle Leng pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Let's do it this way!"
I'll go make the arrangements first.
Guan Yuxi tugged at Leng Lie, "Let's go, Brother Lie, let's go take a look too."
The factory will be operated by them from now on.
She didn't want anyone to do a shoddy job and ruin her reputation!
When the three arrived, the atmosphere at the scene was very serious.
It's almost reached the point of being on the verge of war.
In particular, the standoff has begun between carpenters who are already working and those who want to do carpentry work.
"What are you all doing? This is utter nonsense!"
The factory hasn't even been built yet, and they're already fighting amongst themselves. What's the point of doing anything like this?
If this small amount of money affects neighborly relations, what will become of us in the future?
"It's better to stay poor forever!"
Leng Qingshu pulled the group apart, who were rolling up their sleeves and hurling insults at each other, and gave them all a dressing down.
Until everyone quieted down.
He then explained the principles of carpentry.
He said that if we didn't do a good job, we would lose work points, and that everyone who worked with us that day would have their points deducted.
Those who were making a fuss about wanting a piece of the pie immediately shut up.
After all, everyone in the village knows who the best carpenters are.
They were all brought here by Leng Qingshu.
"What about hiring workers?"
“There are more than just a dozen or twenty people in our village who are good at needlework.”
"Exactly, it can't be that we haven't gotten our turn yet."
The villagers were silent for a moment, then they realized the crux of the problem.
Guan Yuxi nudged Leng Lie.
Leng Lie was somewhat surprised.
"Brother Lie, it was agreed that you would manage this factory!"
Don't even think about slacking off.
Guan Yuxi nudged him again and smiled slyly.
Leng Lie's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded.
"When recruiting workers, the factory conducts assessments, and only those who pass the assessments can start working."
Don't take things so lightly.
Although working in the factory means you don't have to be exposed to the wind and sun, you might have to work overtime all night when things get busy.
Furthermore, it wasn't as easy as everyone imagined; we didn't even get government-provided food rations...
All of this was something they had planned long ago.
This includes not paying overtime wages, but only issuing bonuses at the end of the settlement period.
This will also minimize the situation of people scrambling to find candidates during the initial recruitment phase.
After Leng Lie finished speaking, he said it in a cold and ruthless manner.
Everyone started whispering among themselves.
The initial enthusiasm has largely dissipated.
Guan Yuxi stood next to Leng Lie with a smile and said loudly, "What the village chief and Brother Lie are talking about are the current practical problems."
Of course, if our factory does well, there will be many benefits.
First, if the factory does well, it will give everyone bonuses, and the amount will be quite substantial.
Secondly, although it's just a small workshop now, I'm confident that we can definitely turn it into a large factory at the commune or even city level!
At that time, it wouldn't have been impossible to develop our Lengjiagou into a town and provide everyone with access to commodity grain.
However, this requires everyone to work together.
If everyone starts fighting over every little bit of profit, that day will never come!
Leng Qingshu and Leng Lie acted as the bad cops, coldly explaining the rules.
Guan Yuxi then played the good cop, encouraging everyone and making grand promises.
Sure enough, her words were followed immediately.
The villagers immediately erupted in excitement.
"Xiaoxi, will we really be able to get government-supplied grain?"
"Xiaoxi, I'll sign up first. Just for your boldness, I'll stick with you!"
“Yes, I’m signing up too. Whether I get selected or not, I want to do my part for Lengjiagou.”
......
Leng Qingshu was overjoyed to see that she had changed everyone's attitude so drastically with just a few words.
He gave Guan Yuxi a thumbs-up, then turned to the crowd:
"From now on, you have to call him Director Guan. Don't call him by his name anymore, it makes him lose face."
"Closing the factory...wait, isn't that a bad way to address it?"
Everyone looked at each other, then turned to Guan Yuxi.
Guan Yuxi shook her head and chuckled, "Everyone can just call me Xiaoxi as before."
In the same village, prestige isn't determined by a single title.
She didn't care.
The villagers were not having it.
"That won't do. We'll be dealing with external affairs in the future."
"That's right, we can't let outsiders call our factory director by his nickname too."
"How about we call her Factory Manager Xi?"
The villagers quickly reached a consensus.
Guan Yuxi could only remain speechless once again.
"The Western Depot?"
Wouldn't that make her a eunuch in charge of the factory?
Well, thank goodness she's not a man, otherwise I would never have agreed to this "affectionate nickname"!
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