Chapter 89 Deputy Factory Director/Let Me Give It a Try
For Yunmei now, the most valuable things are the production equipment in the workshop. Jiang Lili frowned when she heard this: "Is he sure he is not mistaken?" Cheng Yuntian went to Yunmei to see the equipment in the first place, so he would not be mistaken. Therefore, there is only one explanation, that the equipment was replaced or sold in advance by Yun Heping.
"Have you told Sister Mei about this?" Jiang Lili asked.
"I just called, but she's busy. I'll wait for her to call back." Cheng Yuntian had originally thought this was just a simple favor, but now it seemed like a hot potato. So, it was better to let Mei Huixiu decide for herself.
"Yun Heping probably sold the new equipment ahead of time, and then got a set of old equipment to fill the gap," Jiang Lili paused. There were only so many toy factories in Yuncheng, and she quickly made a decision: "Sister Cheng, wait a minute, I'll ask Director Yang if their factory has purchased any new equipment recently." After all, they and the Tongqu players were the only ones in Yuncheng who needed toy factory equipment, so it was easy to rule them out.
"It's true that three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. I had forgotten about this." A smile flashed in Cheng Yuntian's eyes. If it can be confirmed that Factory 1 has purchased new equipment, then it can be basically confirmed.
Jiang Lili glanced at the time. It should be lunchtime at Factory One. She picked up her chopsticks again and said, "Let's eat first. You can call him in the office later."
"Yes, yes, let's eat first. The aunt in the cafeteria has been a little too busy recently. I was thinking about hiring another aunt to help so that everyone can have an easier time." Cheng Yuntian noticed that the workload of all the employees in the cafeteria had increased due to the increase in the number of workers, so there must be a rule for recruiting people.
"It's up to you to decide." Jiang Lili and Jiang Yulan have always been sensible and will not get involved in these matters.
"Well, do you have anyone suitable to recommend? Preferably someone who is quick and nimble." Cheng Yuntian said as he took a sip of soup. To be a canteen helper, one has to be diligent.
"If you are sure you want to recruit people, we can go and ask around." Jiang Yulan said cautiously. Many people were laid off from the cotton mill, and they had all been neighbors for many years. If there was a suitable candidate, Jiang Yulan wouldn't mind helping them.
"Well, Sister Jiang, you go and ask. We need an aunt who is quick and nimble, mainly responsible for cutting and washing vegetables and dishes. We can discuss the salary in person when the time comes." Cheng Yuntian also came to the cafeteria yesterday to understand the situation.
"Okay, I'll go back and ask when I get off work tonight." As Jiang Yulan spoke, several suitable candidates flashed through her mind. However, she went out early and came back late every day, and she was not sure whether they had found new jobs. She would go back and ask tonight.
"Then I'll trouble you, Sister Jiang." After the three of them finished lunch, they went to Cheng Yuntian's office together. Thanks to Jiang Lili's good memory, she still remembered Director Yang's office phone number. After dialing the number and waiting for a long time, someone finally answered: "Hello?"
"Uncle Yang, it's me, Lili. Did I disturb your lunch break?" Jiang Lili said apologetically.
"No, I'm old and can't fall asleep so quickly. Is there something you want to talk to me about at this time?" Director Yang's voice came from the receiver with a teasing tone.
Jiang Lili felt a little embarrassed. His words almost accused her of being a nobody. But since he was so direct, she didn't need to beat around the bush and asked directly, "I just wanted to ask if your factory has replaced any equipment recently?"
"Are you Tongqu players also interested in Yunmei's equipment?" Director Yang quickly understood her implication. They had just bought Yunmei's equipment two days ago.
"Indeed, we went to see it before, and when we went to Yunmei again yesterday, we found that the equipment seemed to be different from before. Our factory manager originally planned to take over the factory as well." Jiang Lili explained.
"You are a little late. Their equipment is in our factory, and now they regard it as our old equipment." Director Yang's hearty laughter came through the phone line. Factory 1 has always had orders for cross-dressing dolls, and Yunmei only has two pieces of production equipment. They can exchange their old ones for ours, which is equivalent to spending only half the money, so Director Yang is so happy.
"Congratulations, Uncle Yang and you guys." Jiang Lili raised the corners of her lips. It seemed that it was just as she had guessed.
"What's the big deal? It's more about when can you design a new model for our factory?" Director Yang's tone was full of anticipation.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Yang, this probably won't be possible in the next few years." Jiang Lili's tone was full of apology.
"It's okay, it's okay. I just asked casually. We can cooperate again if there is a chance." Director Yang understood her approach at that time, and now he can naturally understand her refusal.
"Lunch break is not long anyway, so I won't disturb Uncle Yang. You should have a good rest." Jiang Lili said goodbye politely.
"Okay, okay." Director Yang fell into deep thought after hanging up the phone. It seemed that Tongqu Players was making good profits, and they were going to develop a branch factory so soon.
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yuntian spoke slowly: "I was wondering how I could be wrong. Yun Heping actually tried to trick me into switching the dragon and the phoenix."
"So what should we do now?" Jiang Lili looked at Cheng Yuntian.
"Let's wait for Sister Mei's call. It's not us who want to buy this factory anyway. To put it bluntly, this is a game between the couple." Cheng Yuntian shook his head and decided not to get involved. Everything will be discussed after Mei Huixiu calls back.
"Okay, then I'll go take a nap first. I have classes in the afternoon." Jiang Lili said as she yawned. The weather started to warm up and she became more and more sleepy.
"Go to sleep quickly. Your task now is to study." Jiang Yulan said as she stood up and wanted to go back to the lounge in the warehouse with her. She was thinking that it would be better to let Lili not come to the factory for lunch in the future, otherwise there would be endless things to do every day.
A look of apology flashed in Cheng Yuntian's eyes. She reached out and scratched the top of her head, reminding herself to be more sensible next time.
After returning to the lounge, Jiang Yulan directly expressed her concerns and finally said, "Lili, why don't you come over at noon?"
Jiang Lili wanted to refuse immediately, but when she saw the worry in Jiang Yulan's eyes, she nodded: "Okay, then I'll go back every day." She didn't want this matter to create any estrangement between her and Cheng Yuntian.
Seeing that she agreed directly, Jiang Yulan's prepared words were useless. She raised the corner of her lips and said, "Okay, then tonight I will go find Sister Qiao downstairs and ask her if she is willing to help in the kitchen here."
Yes, during this time in the office until now, Jiang Yulan already had the most suitable candidate in her mind, that is Qiao Juan who lives downstairs from them. She is one year older than her and got married earlier than her. Now the family is working hard to prepare the dowry for their son's future, but she was laid off last time.
"Aunt Qiao? She's very nice. I remember she's a good cook." When life was still good at the factory, Jiang Lili went to Qiao Juan's house for dinner when her child had a birthday.
"Then she's the one. She's easy-going. The others are good too, but they're a bit picky, and I don't want to get myself into trouble." This is also the reason why Jiang Yulan chose Qiao Juan.
"You're right. Don't let a little kindness turn into a big one." Jiang Lili nodded in agreement. It seemed that Ms. Jiang had changed a lot in all aspects after leaving the cotton mill circle.
"Go to sleep, I'll call you later." Jiang Yulan yawned as she spoke. She was also sleepy. She got up to check the alarm clock and only fell asleep again after making sure the time was set.
When we arrived at school in the afternoon, our teacher Jian Hongmei started talking about the midterm exam. This time, the results would be ranked together with all the high schools in Yuncheng, so she reminded everyone not to take it lightly.
Jiang Lili was a bit surprised. Was there a citywide joint exam happening now? She'd been number one in Yuncheng during the high school entrance exam. Now that a year was almost over, could she still maintain that number one spot? She was beginning to look forward to this midterm exam.
Except for Jiang Lili who was expectant, everyone else was wailing. Nowadays, almost everyone had one or two relatives of similar age, but they were in different schools, so they lived a relatively peaceful life. Now that the city-wide rankings were unified, wouldn't this directly cut off their livelihood?
Huang Xiaoxia glanced at Jiang Lili next to her and saw her face full of anticipation. She couldn't help but think that as long as she had enough grades, she wouldn't have to be afraid no matter whether it was the school's individual ranking or the city's overall ranking.
As soon as class was over, Ke Sisi came over, notebook in hand. "Lili, you have to save me." She had a cousin who was the same age as her. Because they were the same age, their family always compared them to each other, so they had always been at odds. In the past, everyone only talked about class rankings during exams, but this time it was different. It was a direct competition, and she couldn't afford to lose to her.
"What do you want me to do? I can cooperate with you." Jiang Lili looked at her with some amusement.
"Can you lend me your notes first, and then help me highlight the key points?" Ke Sisi said in a low voice. She also felt that her request seemed a little too much, but who could blame Lili for always marking the key points so accurately?
"Okay, I'll give you the notes. Give me your textbook when you're free." Jiang Lili nodded in agreement.
"I knew you were the best." Compared to Ke Sisi's melancholy, she looked very happy when she left.
Seeing Ke Sisi leave, Huang Xiaoxia mustered up the courage to look at Jiang Lili: "Lili, could you please help me mark the key points?" She would borrow her notes every day during evening study to improve her own.
"Of course." Jiang Lili nodded at her, and Huang Xiaoxia smiled happily.
"Old deskmate, please, can you lend me your notes?" Zuo Xingwei also ran over at this time. He clenched his fists and looked like he was begging, which made her laugh.
"You came a little late. Sisi borrowed it first. Just wait until she is done using it." Jiang Lili spread her hands towards him.
"Okay, thank you then." Zuo Xingwei said as he went to find Ke Sisi on the other end.
"It seems that the city-wide ranking is more powerful." Jiang Lili sighed.
"After all, if it's the school ranking, only parents will know about it, which is embarrassing. But if it's the city ranking, all relatives and friends will know." Huang Xiaoxia is in the same situation. She and her cousin are not in the same school, so she feels deeply touched.
"You make sense." Jiang Lili thought about it and agreed with her.
After the news of the city-wide ranking came out, most people chose to cram in the classroom during breaks, hoping to get a few points in.
The tense study atmosphere continued until the end of evening study. Jiang Lili looked at Lu Jiaze next to her and saw that he was also frowning. She was a little surprised: "Are you nervous too?"
"A little bit. There are three people in the yard where my parents live who are all in the first year of high school. It would be bad if I were much taller than them." Lu Jiaze explained to her.
"Okay, I thought you were worried about what would happen if you performed worse than them in the exam." Jiang Lili never expected that he was worried in the opposite direction.
"Just their grades? I'm just worried that the gap will be too big and they'll be sarcastic in front of my dad about it." When talking about the other party's grades, Lu Jiaze's eyes were full of disdain.
"Then what are you going to do?" Jiang Lili looked at him curiously after saying this. Now he was also worried about Uncle Lu's situation. It turned out that everyone was growing slowly in places that others could not see.
"Just take the exam like this. My dad should be able to handle it." Lu Jiaze thought about it and decided to trust that his dad would be able to make the best use of his time.
"It's okay as long as you figure it out. Other people's opinions are not that important." Besides, Uncle Lu has been in the unit for so many years, he should be familiar with such things.
"Yeah." Lu Jiaze quickly sorted out his emotions.
When they got home, the first thing Jiang Lili asked was, "Mom, is there any news from Sister Mei?"
"Well, she called Xiao Cheng back and told her not to buy it for now. Yun Heping probably did this because she was back in Beijing. She plans to take some time to come back quietly. Let's see how Yun Heping explains it to her then." Jiang Yulan brought the freshly cooked wontons to the table while speaking.
"Well, let them handle their own affairs." Thinking of the Jiang case in later life, Jiang Lili felt that it was right to stay out of the affairs between the couple.
"That's right. When Xiao Cheng mentioned this before, I felt something was wrong. But if I said anything then, it would have been hindsight. It's fine like this now." Jiang Yulan sat down next to her.
After swallowing the wonton in her mouth, Jiang Lili finally spoke: "Have you gone to see Aunt Qiao? What did she say?"
"What else can I say? It's hard to find a job nowadays. She keeps thanking me. I'll notify her after I confirm the time with Xiao Cheng tomorrow. I also told her in advance that I'm just introducing her and I have no control over the subsequent procedures." Jiang Yulan was also afraid that her kindness would be backfired on her.
"It's right to be more rigorous. I have some paintings to draw later, so I will probably stay up late. Don't worry." Jiang Lili told her in advance.
"It can't be later than twelve o'clock." Jiang Yulan reminded.
"Okay, I will go to bed on time." Jiang Lili nodded. After thinking about it for the past two days, she planned to draw three different cartoon actions first, named Meow, Wangbao, and Money Rabbit, and the corresponding animals were cats, puppies, and rabbits respectively. If the effect is good later, she will release new members.
The characteristics of cartoons are cuteness, big eyes, and chubby elements, so Jiang Lili drew very quickly. In an hour, three paintings took shape. The subsequent modifications and coloring were left to tomorrow. She put them away before going to wash up.
When Jiang Lili arrived at the classroom early the next morning, she discovered that the two of them were almost the last to arrive. It seemed that the city-wide ranking this time had directly controlled everyone, and everyone had arrived in the classroom early in the morning to review hard.
Seeing the two of them leisurely returning to their seats, someone whispered, "Sure enough, people with excellent grades don't need to worry about these things at all."
"Yeah, they don't cram like us. I'm so envious."
"I don't even see you envying the amount of time I spend studying!"
Even though she'd blocked out the outside noise, every word still reached Ji Mingyue's ears. Disgust flashed across her eyes. Although Ji Yumo and his son had moved away, Song Zhenzhen, who was in the hospital, had been clamoring to come to their house to recuperate. Ji Yuanping and Chen Guilan had been coming to their house daily, asking them to persuade Song Zhenzhen to sign a letter of understanding. The house was like a market, and she was almost fed up. Her gaze fell on Jiang Lili. Why had she and her mother been able to get away with it so easily?
Every school is promoting the city-wide ranking of mid-term results. Ji Yushu knows about it so much that he keeps asking her to ask Jiang Lili for experience. What a joke! She already has experience with the college entrance examination, so why does she need to ask Jiang Lili for her experience?
Ji Mingyue spent this morning reading class in a state of frustration. When the get out of class was over, she realized that she seemed to have read nothing.
As the exam approached, the atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly intense. Jiang Lili finally completed the designs for the three cartoon characters on Friday. Early Saturday morning, she and Jiang Yulan took the designs to the factory.
"It looks cute, but what's the name?" Cheng Yuntian stared at the "meow" on the cat picture and asked in doubt.
"Is it considered a feature? If you think it's not suitable, Sister Cheng, let's try to solicit it?" Jiang Lili was not sure whether the name she came up with would be popular. If not, she would use the old method and solicit it from the general public.
"No need, I still believe in your ability. Wangbao and Qiantu can see the meaning of this at a glance, so I am a little confused about this 'meow'." Cheng Yuntian explained.
Jiang Lili smiled and didn't explain. After all, she simply thought meow sounded nice. Soon, the person in charge of the mold arrived, and Cheng Yuntian handed her the blueprint directly: "Just follow this."
"Let's make a few first and see. Lin Yuanqing is almost done with his work. Maybe this new product will be out soon." Cheng Yuntian thought of yesterday's phone call and raised the corners of her lips. "Yesterday, Manager Zhang asked me for authorization to hand-tear books. My dad's people went to see, and they have already produced the first batch of hand-tear books. Manager Zhang really is not honest."
"We really can't control situations like this." Fortunately, they had anticipated such situations before, so it was not that difficult to accept.
"Yeah, it's good enough that they are willing to pay. Once the pattern of this musical doll is ready, I will go to Beijing, which will take at least a week and at most half a month." Cheng Yuntian told her about this in advance.
"Are you planning to choose a site?" Jiang Lili asked.
"That's pretty much the plan. My dad has experience, and he'll go with me when the time comes. So I'm wondering if the factory needs a deputy director?" Although Cheng Yuntian was asking questions, his eyes were fixed on her.
Jiang Lili glanced at her and said, "Wait, your choice wouldn't be me, right? Let me first state that I'm still a student."
"What are you thinking about? I just think Sister Jiang is a suitable candidate. I came here to ask for your opinion," Cheng Yuntian explained.
"My mother?" Jiang Lili was a little surprised.
"Yes, it's Sister Jiang. She manages the warehouse very well, so I think she should be able to do this job." Cheng Yuntian expressed his opinion.
"Then you ask her. If she is willing, I will tell her that she doesn't need to worry about me. I can go to my uncle's house when she is busy." This is a rare opportunity. From ancient times to the present, everyone thinks that women should be responsible for household chores, but it is obvious that women also have the ability to make a name for themselves in the workplace. She supports Jiang Yulan to be the deputy factory director.
"With you helping me lobby, I think Sister Jiang will agree." A smile flashed across Cheng Yuntian's face.
"Okay." Jiang Lili also raised the corners of her lips.
"Are you sure you have no objection to these three names?" Jiang Lili quite liked these three names. She would be very happy if all of them could be approved.
"Let's just take these three names. As you said, when it develops into a big IP in the future, the names will continue. Will they change?" Cheng Yuntian suddenly realized this problem.
"No, the only things that will change are their clothes and accessories, so this new product will be the first generation," Jiang Lili explained.
"Is that so? That's quite interesting." Cheng Yuntian became interested.
The following time was all spent by Jiang Lili discussing with her in detail the various future developments of the IP. At the end, she added: "If the effect is good, we can add an appropriate number of new members every year, and in the future we can also create a children's amusement park with them as the theme." Of course, this is just Jiang Lili's ambition.
"Your suggestion is good, but can I develop it to that scale?" After saying the last sentence, Cheng Yuntian laughed out loud. Why did she deny herself first?
"Who knows what will happen in the future? If you try, there's a chance it will come true. If you don't try, nothing will happen." Jiang Lili's tone was full of longing for future success.
"You are more open-minded than me at such a young age. By the way, Sister Mei's flight will arrive in Yuncheng today. I guess there will be something exciting going on in Yunmei. Do you want to go with me to watch the fun?" Cheng Yuntian invited.
"Forget it, I'd rather not go. It would be bad if a fight breaks out between the two sides and I get implicated. If you want to go, be careful." Jiang Lili reminded.
"Is it that serious?" Cheng Yuntian was surprised. She really intended to join in the fun.
"Otherwise, a cornered dog will do anything, just like my third uncle, who is known as an honest man." Ji Yumo's affairs have been a hot topic recently.
Cheng Yuntian thought about it carefully, shuddered, and then nodded in agreement: "You have a point. I still won't go. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Jiang Lili curled her lips and persuaded her to give up, so she got up and went to the warehouse, intending to go and lobby for Cheng Yuntian.
"Deputy Director, I can't do it!" As expected, Jiang Yulan's first thought after hearing this was to back off, thinking that she was not capable of it.
"You haven't even tried it, so how do you know you can't do it? Mom, you have to believe in yourself." Jiang Lili held her hands and looked into her eyes seriously.
"Can I really do it? Lili, I still don't think I can." Jiang Yulan shook her head. Although the title had the word "deputy" in it, Cheng Yuntian would definitely not be here often after the factory in Jing City opened, so she would have to be responsible for everything here, and she definitely couldn't do it.
"Mom, Sister Cheng said that you manage the warehouse very well, and she believes that you can manage the factory well. We all believe that you can do it, so do you want to try it first?" Jiang Lili coaxed.
"Really? She really praised me?" Obviously, this was Jiang Yulan's point.
"How could this be false? Don't worry, you can definitely do it." Jiang Lili continued to give her confidence.
Jiang Yulan hesitated. She had always been very attentive to warehouse management, and she had never expected to be praised by Cheng Yuntian. So, she must have recognized her work. If she didn't recognize her abilities, why would she have been made deputy factory manager? Thinking of this, she suddenly looked at Jiang Lili with a serious expression: "Lili, tell me honestly, you weren't the one who proposed this to Xiao Cheng, were you?"
"Mom, you don't believe me, or you don't believe yourself. This was proposed by Sister Cheng herself, and she even asked me to be the lobbyist. Just tell me if you want to give it a try?" Jiang Lili said, looking at Jiang Yulan.
Jiang Yulan thought about it, and finally said with determination: "Then I will give it a try!"
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