As the person in charge of the warehouse, Xu Keke was fortunate enough to attend the factory's management meeting the next day.
The meeting room was small, with a red slogan painted on the front wall: "Grasp revolution, promote production, and serve the people."
Two tables were set up at the front facing the crowd, where three factory leaders sat. In the middle was Director Wu from the factory office, who was also the host of this meeting.
To his left was the factory director, and sitting upright were the heads of various departments. To his right was Director Du, who was in charge of production, and to his side sat several workshop directors.
This arrangement reminded Xu Keke of the civil and military officials standing in two separate rows.
Xu Keke walked in without thinking much about which side she should be on. She simply slipped to the side and sat in the last seat closest to the back door.
Sitting next to her was the old head of the statistics department. He was a little old man surnamed Sun, with a hunched back, wearing thick round glasses, and his head was almost touching the notebook on the table.
He was writing furiously with a pencil, but it was impossible to tell what he was writing down. He was wearing floral arm warmers on his arms, which were resting on the table.
Xu Keke was positioned so that she could see the temple of his glasses, which was wrapped with white tape next to his ear.
The first to speak was Director Wu from the factory office, who shouted slogans for a long time, saying that we should exceed our targets and work hard in response to the city's requirements.
After a long speech of empty talk, Director Wu finally made a substantive request: the factory office decided that everyone should work overtime for 100 consecutive days starting now.
After he said that, there was a deathly silence below.
"Why do we have to work overtime again? Is it really necessary? We're processing shoes for Xinda Shoe Factory, and they didn't have any deadlines for this batch of shoes. Why do we have to work overtime to catch up?"
"If we work normally, there's plenty of time. This constant overtime is simply unsustainable for the workers."
Liu Mei, the workshop director sitting at the front, was the first to jump out and object.
Director Wu, holding his Hero fountain pen, pointed to the notebook spread out in front of him. "The whole city is going all out for a 100-day campaign, and our factory can't fall behind. Once we finish the work at Xinda Factory, we can finish the rest and store it in the warehouse. Shoes don't really wear out anyway."
Many employees have asked me why other factories are thriving, while ours is barely making a ripple. Aren't we, as leaders, ashamed? We can't deprive workers of their right to work and dampen their enthusiasm.
Although she felt that the worker who made this request was out of his mind, Xu Keke had become numb to the workers' awareness in this era, thanks to the original owner's request.
Clearly, Liu Mei dared not accept accusations of undermining workers' enthusiasm or depriving them of their right to work. Although she was indignant, she kept quiet.
At this point, Factory Director Du came forward to support Liu Mei's idea. He also believed that there was no need for overtime work.
Following his statement, the other workshop directors also expressed their disapproval of this approach.
Director Wu fought against several people alone, and quickly found himself at a disadvantage.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Factory Director Chen cleared his throat. "Alright, everyone's intentions are good, and it's all for the good of the factory. It's only right that we have disagreements when it comes to work."
My suggestion is that we stick to the old system and have a 100-day all-nighters campaign. Continue with the three shifts; this way, the workers won't have to work overtime, and we'll still be responding to the call for a 100-day intensive work effort.
As soon as he finished speaking, he received the approval of most of the section chiefs. Judging from the fawning expressions on their faces, this secretary must have some influence.
Looking at the workshop foreman, they all seemed to think that the situation was hopeless and they didn't want to say anything more.
After a few words, the decision to work late into the night was made.
Xu Keke couldn't understand it from that day on. Why did a leather shoe factory have to work three shifts every few days? And with the merger imminent, why did they still have to work overtime every day? Did they really have that much work to do?
These two people on the stage, one offering advice and the other making an exception, they really know how to have fun.
Regardless of how these shoes are sold or where they end up, we'll keep making them, even if we have to stockpile them in the warehouse.
The reason for doing this is simply for a slogan. For something to sound good, for a little political achievement. These people have truly mastered the art of formalism.
"Section Chief Sun, are we going to work overtime?" Xu Keke whispered to Section Chief Sun.
Section Chief Sun was surprised that someone was talking to him. When he turned around, the fear in his eyes could be seen even through his thick glasses.
Xu Keke also happened to see what he had been keeping in his notebook: it was filled with revolutionary poems.
He nodded to Xu Keke, his voice a little hoarse from not speaking. "Of course we should add it."
Afraid of disturbing others, he quickly wrote two words on a piece of paper and showed them to Xu Keke: "Sleep."
Now Xu Keke finally understood: the frontline workers in the factory were working overtime, exhausting themselves, while the people in the higher-ups were sleeping in their offices, taking shifts.
So the factory's eventual acquisition was not without reason.
Xu Keke raised her hand, causing Section Chief Sun's glasses to slide off in surprise.
Factory Director Du quickly gestured for her to speak.
"In order to cooperate with the factory's work, our warehouse is ready to respond to the call and work hard. The front-line workers are working so hard, we can't be idle. Our warehouse is old and in disrepair, and the walls are damp, so we can take this opportunity to repair it. However, we don't have enough manpower in our warehouse. Some are old and some are disabled. We need the factory leaders to help us allocate personnel and give us some support in terms of financial and human resources."
As soon as Xu Keke finished speaking, before anyone else could react, Director Du slammed his hand on the table.
“Well said. Each department should learn from the warehouse. In order to support your work, each department should also arrange three shifts every day. Then take the people from the night shift to help out at the warehouse. Everyone in each department, including the factory office, should participate. You, Master Zeng, will make the arrangements. If you need anything, just submit an application. The factory will fully cooperate.”
Seeing that the Party Secretary and the Director were looking at him, Director Du mustered his energy and said, "Isn't it supposed to be labor? That's perfect, let's all work together."
Before anyone else could react, Director Du had already made the decision.
Seeing the looks she was getting from the various departments, Xu Keke cursed inwardly. That old fox, he'd sold her out.
While she wasn't looking, Du Yi took back the proposal she had written yesterday. He informed her first thing this morning.
He said his factory manager uncle told her that someone would notify her to attend a meeting today. She was to use the meeting to assess the situation, raise her demands for rectification, and then he would arrange manpower and funding for her.
This is the manpower he arranged for himself. Everyone in the department had already planned to sleep during their night shifts. Now they're being sent to work in the warehouse. I bet they're kicking him right now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
