Chapter 278 What Time Is It?
In state-owned enterprises, those who can become cadres are all smart people.
When Luo Mingliang heard this, he immediately gave up the idea of bringing Zhou Jianguo here directly.
If you mess with his father, his son will fight you to the death, not to mention that he is a successful criminal policeman in the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
"No, I have to report this to the factory director immediately, otherwise something serious will happen."
Zhou Jianguo actually had no idea what was going on. After all, he had been mediocre for most of his life and had never done such a thing.
But he believed in his son. Ever since the night his father had the accident, he felt that his son had become a different person. He had matured a lot and was even transferred to the Municipal Bureau.
He had discussed this matter with Zhou Yi's mother, and the final conclusion was: smoke was coming out of the Zhou family's ancestral grave.
But even if these things didn't happen, he would still listen to his son.
Zhou Yi has been busy investigating a case these days and has no time to take care of his parents' affairs.
That very night, the factory sent someone to the Ergang dormitory to look for Zhou Jianguo, but Zhou Yi was still at the bureau and had not returned home, so there was no one at home.
The next morning, Zhou Jianguo went to the factory at eight o'clock as Zhou Yi had instructed, and then walked around the factory with his hands behind his back.
He was actually quite panicked, fearing that things might not turn out as Zhou Yi expected and that it would end badly.
But as expected, the security department soon found him and said that the factory leaders wanted to talk to him to see if he had any difficulties in life and could help him solve them.
It was not until this moment that Zhou Jianguo finally breathed a sigh of relief, because his son Zhou Yi had predicted everything correctly.
Zhou Jianguo sat in the huge conference room, opposite him were Luo Mingliang, the head of the security department, the director of the steel rolling mill, and the head of the personnel department.
Zhou Jianguo has been working in the factory for 30 years and has never faced so many leaders alone.
But now that it has come to this, just make up your mind.
"Comrade Zhou Jianguo, if you have any difficulties, you can tell the factory. There is no need to make everyone nervous." The head of the personnel department said kindly.
"Old Zhou, you are one of the first veteran workers in our factory. I, the director of the branch factory, have less experience than you." The director of the steel rolling mill said in a friendly manner.
"Master Zhou, impulsiveness can't solve any problems. It would be better if we sit down and talk like this." Security Section Chief Luo Mingliang said, handing over a cigarette.
"Do you have any requests? The factory will try its best to find a solution." The three asked in unison.
Zhou Jianguo glanced at them, turned away and said, "I won't talk to you. You can't make the decision. Call the factory director."
Then he asked Luo Mingliang: "What time is it?"
Luo Mingliang looked at his watch and said, "Eight fifty-two."
Zhou Jianguo nodded, crossed one leg over his other leg and said, "Okay, I have something to do at ten o'clock."
The three of them looked at each other, and no matter what they said, Zhou Jianguo didn't respond.
Finally, the director of the steel rolling mill had no choice but to ask Luo Mingliang to go outside to see if the director had arrived.
At 9:12, Ding Zhengchang, the director of the Second Steel Plant, drove into the factory through Gate No. 3.
A large number of workers have gathered at Gate No. 3, and more and more people are coming here. It seems that there are more than a hundred people now.
Ding Zhengchang was afraid of being recognized by the workers, so he quickly turned the steering wheel in another direction, then circled around and arrived at the office building.
When Luo Mingliang, who was waiting downstairs, saw the familiar car, he hurried to greet it as if he had seen a relative.
"Hey, Director Ding, you're here." Luo Mingliang hurried forward to open the car door.
"How's your talk with Zhou Jianguo going? Didn't I tell you to just pay him his salary first to stop him from causing trouble? There should be some left in the financial account."
As the two walked inside, Luo Mingliang said, "Director, we... haven't talked about anything yet."
"Huh? What are you doing?"
"He refused to talk to us, saying we couldn't make the decision and had to wait until you came."
Ding Zhengchang wondered, "When did Zhou Jianguo become so difficult to deal with?"
Ding Zhengchang hurried upstairs, pushed open the door of the conference room, took a look at the situation in the room, and immediately walked towards Zhou Jianguo. He grabbed Zhou Jianguo's hands and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Master Zhou, I'm late and you've been wronged."
Zhou Jianguo's answer surprised Ding Zhengchang and directly disrupted his plans.
"I don't feel wronged. It's the 1,325 laid-off workers who feel wronged."
"This..." Ding Zhengchang was speechless for a moment.
I just wanted to be humble and polite, but you came right up and slapped me in the face?
But he had been the factory director for so many years that he immediately changed his tone, saying, "Master Zhou is telling you that I, Ding, have let down these over a thousand workers, and the families behind them. The factory has been in trouble for a long time. Two months ago, the factory leaders held a meeting to discuss layoffs, but I, against all odds, kept the matter on the table for two months, hoping to see if there was a chance to revive No. 2 Steel. Alas... I, Ding, have let down the over 5,000 employees of the entire factory."
It is impossible for Zhou Yi to be so predictable and guess every word in the negotiations, not to mention that these leading cadres are so shrewd.
He knew very well that Zhou Jianguo could not win the argument with them, and might even be led astray by them.
So he told Zhou Jianguo that if he couldn't follow what the other person said or felt something was wrong, the best way to deal with it was to ignore it and never follow the logic behind what the other person said, otherwise it would be over.
Just ignore him. Let him say his thing and you say your thing. Just act as if he didn't say anything.
This method can be summarized in one sentence: "A random punch can kill a master."
Zhou Jianguo ignored Ding Zhengchang's emotional words and asked Luo Mingliang behind him, "What time is it?"
Luo Mingliang looked at his watch: "Nine twenty."
"Director Ding, we can only chat for half an hour at most. I have to go to Gate 3 soon. Everyone is waiting for me."
Ding Zhengchang felt like he was punching cotton and could only sit down and talk to him.
Zhou Jianguo did not beat around the bush and said straight to the point that he had a way to sell steel coils, which could be used to pay wages and resettlement fees to the laid-off workers.
Ding Zhengchang was startled and said quickly, "This steel coil is different from other steel coils. It's not scrap metal that can be sold casually. Master Zhou, please don't be fooled. We understand your anxiety. We are even more anxious than you. We..."
Whenever Zhou Jianguo didn't want to listen to the factory director's nagging, he would just ask Luo Mingliang what time it was.
After asking twice, Ding Zhengchang looked at Luo Mingliang with dissatisfaction. Luo Mingliang had no choice but to take off his watch and hand it to Zhou Jianguo.
"Director Ding, I have a younger brother named Zhou Jianye, who runs his own business in the south. When he heard that our No. 2 Steel's steel was unsaleable, he helped find a southern company that makes agricultural tractors and was willing to purchase some. He called me yesterday to tell me about it, and I quickly shared the good news with everyone. They were so happy and said they wanted to ask you today if this was possible. I assured them that I, the director, would definitely not leave them alone. I'm more anxious than any of us to turn the steel in the warehouse into cash. Right, Director Ding?"
These words were taught by Zhou Yi, and their purpose was to put the other party on a moral high ground.
Director Ding could only nod.
"So our request today is very simple. Do we want to sell this batch of steel coils? Director, please give us a straight answer."
Upon hearing this, Director Ding started speaking in official language, saying that he would organize the leadership to study the matter and that it would not be decided in a short time.
Zhou Jianguo asked Luo Mingliang, "What time is it?"
Luo Mingliang grinned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Master Zhou, the watch... the watch is for you."
"Oh." Zhou Jianguo looked down at the time and suddenly asked, "Director Ding, do you know Kong Lao San?"
"Is it... the model worker at the steel mill?"
"Good memory!" Zhou Jianguo said with a thumbs-up. "He said if you don't agree, he'll hang himself at your doorstep."
“…”
In an instant, everyone in the room was in chaos.
Ding Zhengchang panicked: "Don't be impulsive, we can discuss this."
"That's right. I advised him and he listened."
Ding Zhengchang breathed a sigh of relief: "He's not going to hang himself anymore?"
"No, he originally said that he and his family of three were going to hang themselves in front of your house together. After I persuaded him, he said that he would go alone." Zhou Jianguo said seriously.
"Forehead……"
…
When Zhou Yi heard what Zhou Jianguo said, he was brushing his teeth and spat out a mouthful of water.
"Dad, this trick of yours is really good."
"Hey, I finally understand. None of this or that thing works. Only Kong Lao San's trick works best. I don't even want to live anymore. Let's see if you're afraid."
This may sound funny, but it is actually very sad. People who have no power and influence can only lose their lives. What else can they do?
Fortunately, we live in a new society with legal constraints, moral condemnation, and a good social structure to support it.
If this happened in the evil old society, risking one's life would be useless.
"So what happened next? Did Director Ding agree?"
"They agreed. They asked me how they planned to sell this batch of steel coils. I asked them to bring the phone over and called your uncle, who was the one who talked to them. I have to say, your uncle is a real deal maker. You can't hide anything from him. The factory director even tried to raise the price. Your uncle quoted reference prices from steel mills in several provinces, as well as current raw material prices. He said he's been involved in the market for a long time...what was the market..."
“Market research.”
"Right, right, right. Market research, I don't know anything about that. Luckily, I have your uncle, otherwise this would be really difficult to handle."
"Oh, by the way, I forced the factory director to write me a receipt." Zhou Jianguo said, taking out a piece of paper.
Zhou Yi took it and looked at it. It said: I, Ding Zhengchang, the director of Hongcheng No. 2 Steel Plant, promise that all the funds received from this cooperation with a certain tractor factory will be used first for the resettlement and compensation of laid-off workers on April 15th.
Zhou Yi asked in surprise, "Dad, you even got the factory director to write this document? You're incredible, aren't you?"
This was really beyond Zhou Yi's expectations. He originally thought that getting a verbal promise would be enough.
I didn’t expect that my father actually asked the factory director to write a receipt.
"Dad, how did you do that?"
Zhou Jianguo said proudly, "I made an agreement with Kong Laosan in advance. When the time comes, I'll have him come to us with a rope. If the factory director doesn't agree, he'll hang himself on the spot."
"Uh..." Zhou Yi suddenly felt a little confused. Is this how you play?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
