Liu Li and Zhang Shulan returned to the Hongxing factory with a wealth of field feedback and the farmers' eager anticipation. The project team was in high spirits, ready to begin small-batch trial production. With the technology finalized and market validation passed, everything seemed to be in place, just waiting for the right opportunity.
However, before this favorable wind could arrive, an even more frigid cold front struck first, delivering a near-fatal blow to the Red Star Factory.
The threshold of the factory's finance department was practically worn down by footsteps, and the atmosphere was even more tense than during the last payroll crisis. Old Qian, the sales manager, slumped in his chair, his voice hoarse as he reported to the factory leadership:
"...We've urged them countless times, but the repayments from several major clients are still nowhere in sight. They all say they're facing difficulties themselves. As for the banks...their previous loans have matured, and we applied for renewals, but after assessing our current inventory and accounts receivable, the banks were very...very hesitant, implying that we need to provide additional collateral or...find new cash flow to prove our repayment ability."
He swallowed hard and uttered the most brutal figure: "The cash on hand, after deducting the final payment for raw materials and the minimum amount of water and electricity bills that must be paid this month... is no longer enough to support even the smallest batch of the new product production line."
The funding chain has completely broken down.
The news swept through the Red Star Factory like a silent tsunami, instantly reviving the factory that had just seen a glimmer of hope thanks to the new product. The previous fervor in the project team's office vanished, replaced by a deathly silence. Zhao Qiang slammed his fist on the table, Sun Mei helplessly covered her face, and the young technician, Xiao Zhou, stared blankly.
Hope, within reach, was cruelly extinguished by cold reality.
Inside the factory leadership's emergency meeting room, the smoke was so thick it was almost impossible to disperse. The factory director's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was terrifyingly low: "So, we have a product that can save the factory, but we can't even afford to cook the first pot of rice to produce it?"
The Party Secretary took a deep drag on his cigarette, his brows furrowed in a frown: "The bank route is blocked, and as for the higher-ups... well, they can't help us either. Could it be... could it really come to this?"
A sense of despair was spreading. The conservatives who had previously opposed the transformation were now speechless, because everyone knew that without the cash flow from new products, the Red Star Factory would only slide into the abyss faster.
Liu Li sat in the corner, her fingers gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She looked out the window; the prototype threshing machine, a symbol of hope, still stood quietly in the open space outside the workshop, its surface gleaming coldly in the setting sun. From tackling technical challenges to optimizing costs, from field research to finalizing the design, they had overcome one hurdle after another. Were they destined to fail at this final, and most realistic, hurdle?
Unwilling! A strong sense of resentment burned within her like a flame.
She recalled the eager, expectant looks in the eyes of the villagers gathered around the machines in Liujiatun, the simple praise from the old team leader, Grandpa Li, and the smiles on Tiezhu and Aunt Zhao's faces after their problems were solved. Those were more than just a few machines; they represented the hope for survival for thousands of employees and their families at the Hongxing Factory, and her promise to the trusted factory director, her comrades-in-arms, and those honest customers!
We absolutely cannot give up like this!
An extremely bold, even somewhat insane, thought flashed through her mind, which was driven to the brink of despair, like lightning, instantly illuminating the darkness called "despair".
She abruptly raised her head, her gaze sweeping over each of the factory leaders present, whose expressions were grave. Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, yet carried a resolute determination:
"Factory Director, Party Secretary, and other leaders! Could we... could we launch a 'workers' fundraising' campaign across the entire factory?"
The moment these words were spoken, the entire conference room fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stared at Liu Li in disbelief, as if frozen in place.
Employee fundraising? Getting workers to contribute their meager savings to a project with an uncertain future?
This is absolutely earth-shattering!
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