Chapter 145
Chuxia listened to the conversation between Tang Haikuan and his uncle Sun Sun while eating.
After Tang Haikuan finished talking, she said to him, "Dad, please pick a time when I'm home, and you can sit and chat with Uncle Sun, and I'll listen beside you."
Tang Haikuan subconsciously thought that Chuxia was worried about her job because of this, so he said, "Even if the iron rice bowl doesn't work, it won't affect you. You are state cadres and will never be laid off."
Chu Xia said, "I'm not worried about my own job. I'm just curious about this factory. How could it be so inefficient that it can't even pay the workers' wages? If it really declares bankruptcy, Uncle Sun will be laid off and lose his job. Maybe I can help think of a solution."
Tang Haikuan was busy and had no time to think about it.
Hearing Chu Xia say this, he agreed: "Okay, I'll talk to him when he comes back next time."
He is so busy every day that he has no time to go find him.
While Chu Xia was speaking, Lin Xiaohan also came in from outside.
After Chu Xia and Tang Haikuan finished talking, he asked Chu Xia again: "Why are you in the kitchen?"
Chu Xia smiled at him and said, "I suddenly feel a little hungry. I came in to find something to eat."
Lin Xiaohan said: "Just tell me what you want to eat."
It’s already been eaten in early summer.
Having finished her words, she went out with Lin Xiaohan.
After Chuxia finished her meal and wanted to take a break, she pulled Lin Xiaohan into the inner courtyard to bask in the sun.
Lin Xiaohan prepared some fruit for Chu Xia and sat at the table and asked her, "What were you talking about just now, bankruptcy and layoffs?"
Chu Xia explained to him, "It's the factory where my dad worked before he opened the restaurant, a small pickle factory. Just now, a former colleague of his said outside the window that the factory's performance is too poor, and it can't even pay the workers' wages. It may be declared bankrupt soon. If the factory declares bankruptcy, workers like them will have to be laid off."
Lin Xiaohan handed the peeled grapefruit to Chu Xia, looked at her and asked, "So, you became interested in this factory in an instant?"
Chu Xia looked at Lin Xiaohan in a daze for a moment.
After a moment he laughed, "I wonder if you can read minds?"
Lin Xiaohan also looked at her and smiled, "I can indeed read your mind a little bit."
Chu Xia smiled and said, "I suddenly have a feeling that it's time to do something big."
After saying that, she seemed to be speaking realistically: "If it really declares bankruptcy, I want to use my connections to see if I can get it taken down. With the funds our family has accumulated over the years, it should be enough."
Lin Xiaohan asked: "Aren't you afraid that a factory with such poor performance that it closes down will lose all its money if it fails to operate?"
Chu Xia said fearlessly: "What are you afraid of? Haven't you heard the saying, Tsinghua University and Peking University are worse than being brave? In this period of social change, this saying is just right."①
Lin Xiaohan smiled and lowered his eyebrows while peeling the pomelo, "I have never heard of this saying."
Chu Xia became serious again and said, "Here's what I think. My father has worked in this factory for more than ten years. He must know this factory very well. He is familiar with the factory and other workers. If we take over this factory, it should be easier to run it."
After that, she said in a relaxed tone: "It doesn't matter even if I lose all my money. We still have the restaurant and you. Anyway, no matter how hard I try, I won't starve to death."
Lin Xiaohan handed Chuxia another peeled pomelo.
He looked at Chu Xia and said, "I have no problem with that. No matter what you want to do, I will fully support you and leave you with no regrets. However, your parents may not think so."
Speaking of this, Chu Xia subconsciously clicked her lips.
If she really takes over the factory, then she will be sure to go into business.
She has been thinking about this issue for the past six months, considering how to get into the industry. Naturally, she also thought that Tang Haikuan and Wu Xuemei would be the biggest obstacles, and they would most likely strongly oppose this matter.
It’s not that they are reluctant to let her invest money.
Rather, they probably could not accept her giving up her job in the system.
Nowadays, getting into college and working in a state agency is still the highest pursuit for people in the whole society.
Chu Xia thought for a while and said, "When the time comes, you will help me persuade them. If there is a lack of communication and they start slamming the table and arguing, you must stand by me and firmly support my decision."
Lin Xiaohan laughed, "What if they kick me out?"
Chu Xia said: "No, they like you so much."
But that's not something to worry about right now.
The main thing is to see whether we can take over the factory if it really goes bankrupt.
If you can't get it down, then you don't have to worry about what happens next.
***
Because the factory had not yet reached the point of bankruptcy, Uncle Sun did not come to see Tang Haikuan again soon.
He was muttering a few words outside the window that day, and it seemed more like he had encountered some troubles at work, so he came to Tang Haikuan to talk and complain.
Three months later, after New Year's Day, he came to the restaurant to find Tang Haikuan again.
This time he came over in the afternoon when he was not busy, and Chuxia happened to be there too.
Tang Haikuan fried him a plate of peanuts and two side dishes, brought him a bottle of wine, sat with him in the restaurant, and listened to him complain for a long time.
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan also sat next to him, listening to him and pouring him wine.
Naturally, all his complaints were about himself, mainly because the factory could no longer pay wages. Last month's wages were not paid, and he had no idea where this month's wages were. It was likely that New Year's goods could not be distributed either.
While he was complaining, Tang Haikuan was comforting him.
Then I told him, "If you really have no choice but to be laid off, if you don't mind, then you can come to my place. I'm thinking of cleaning up the west room and putting up a few tables."
Uncle Sun smiled bitterly, "I just said that casually. It's not that I dislike you. But if you really want me to come, I don't know what I can do. I can only sweep the floor, wash the dishes and take out the trash for you."
Let Tang Haikuan comfort Uncle Sun again.
Chu Xia found an opportunity to ask, "Uncle, what's going on in the factory? Why is the performance so bad all of a sudden that they can't even support the workers?"
Uncle Sun said, "I have mentioned this to the factory before, but no one paid any attention to me. If you ask me, the leaders of the factory are timid and conservative. Their thinking cannot keep up with the changes of the times and they dare not do anything. Other factories are carrying out reforms, but we are not. We are still using the old model. We cannot compete with them in anything and cannot sell the pickles we make. So, aren't we just waiting to die?"
Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan looked at each other.
Chu Xia looked at Uncle Sun and said, "When you are free, can you bring some of the pickles produced in your factory over so that I can try them?"
Uncle Sun smiled and said, "It's not very tasty. It gets worse and worse as it's cooked."
Chu Xia also smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll just taste it and see how bad it tastes."
Uncle Sun nodded and said, "Okay, I'll bring some of everything next time I come."
After listening to this, Tang Haikuan continued: "When I was there, the pickles tasted pretty good."
Uncle Sun took a sip of wine and said, "It was still passable then, but now it's getting worse and worse."
Uncle Sun took two sips of wine and continued to complain to Tang Haikuan.
They said the factory leaders were incompetent, talked about the pros and cons of the reform, and said that Tang Haikuan was foresighted in taking the lead in opening a restaurant business.
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