The machinery factory has been losing money every year. If it weren't a state-owned enterprise, it would have been unable to pay wages long ago. Bonuses are practically unheard of in the county machinery factory.
Dong Damei has been working in her hometown for several years since graduating from university, but she doesn't know what a bonus is. While other companies have raised their salaries, theirs has never increased. The couple still earns only about thirty yuan a month.
Dong Damei is a grassroots cadre in the factory. Her husband's salary is even lower. The family lives on a fixed salary of a few dozen yuan a month, and they have a very difficult life.
Dong Qing walked to his eldest sister's door and knocked. The door opened instantly, and Dong Da Mei said, "Little brother's here, please come in."
They sat down on the sofa, and the eldest brother-in-law said, "Your second brother-in-law brought us the New Year's goods this morning, thank you, little brother!"
"Brother-in-law, you're too kind. We're all family. You and my sister helped me a lot when I was down on my luck." After sitting down, Dong Qing asked, "I heard your machinery factory is planning to contract it out. Is that true?"
"It's true." Dong Damei paused for a moment and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Dong Qing said, "Of course I want to contract the machinery factory."
In Dong Qing's past life memories, the county machinery factory was contracted out in early 1985, but the contractor mismanaged it and suffered losses every year after the contract was taken over. In his past life, Dong Qing contracted the factory in 1988 and set up a production line for agricultural tricycles. At first, they produced single-cylinder diesel engine tricycles, and later double-cylinder and four-cylinder diesel engine agricultural tricycles. In the 21st century, they produced four-wheeled agricultural vehicles. In his past life, he made his fortune by contracting the county machinery factory. In the 1990s, he bought the county machinery factory and became a billionaire in the 21st century.
After his rebirth, he absolutely could not give up this opportunity; he had to obtain the contracting rights.
“Brother, you need to think this through carefully. The county machinery factory loses money every year. You’re going to lose money by taking over this mess!” Dong Damei paused for a moment and said, “Let’s not even talk about whether you can make money after taking over. The county machinery factory is in the city center, it occupies a large area, and many people want to take over it. I’m afraid you won’t be able to get it.”
Dong Qing knew better than anyone whether he could make money after contracting the land. Others would never make money by contracting it, because there were precedents from his past life, and in the end, they all ended up contracting it to him.
Who gets the contract to the machinery factory depends on who offers the most gifts. Some leaders these days are quite audacious and have huge appetites. Offering too few gifts won't do. Ultimately, who gets the machinery factory depends on who offers the most gifts.
“It’s all about human effort. Different management methods lead to different incomes. Since I’m considering leasing the machinery factory, I have my reasons.” Dong Qing paused for a moment and asked, “Sister, who decides whether to lease the machinery factory?”
Dong Damei said, "Factory director Yi Minghui has the final say."
Dong Qing was startled when he heard Yi Minghui's name. He was none other than Yi Xiaofan's second uncle. Although he did not know Yi Minghui, he definitely knew him.
Last spring, Li Yuzhu married him without breaking off their engagement. After all, Yi Xiaofan was his nephew, so there was no reason why he didn't know that.
After Yi Xiaofan was arrested this year, Yi Minghui also thought about getting his nephew out through his wife, but as a factory director, he didn't have that much power.
Of course, his wife Yi Feifei had the ability to do so, but such things inevitably cost money, and they had to pay for it themselves. It wasn't her own son, so she wouldn't let her husband manage it. In the end, Yi Xiaofan was sentenced to prison.
Dong Qing and Yi Minghui have intermittent conflicts, all stemming from their wives.
Dong Damei said, "You should know that Yi Minghui is Yi Xiaofan's second uncle. Yuzhu later married you, and the Yi family hates your wife to death. There's no way he would contract the machinery factory to you."
Yi Xiaofan is just Yi Minghui's nephew, not his son. He wouldn't let his nephew's trivial matters and money bother him. Dong Qing said, "That's not necessarily true. Just give me his home address, and I'll go over and meet him."
Dong Damei said, "If you insist, I won't stop you. They live upstairs from me. I just heard some noises from their floorboards, so they should be home. I'll take you there now."
Dong Qing said, "Okay, I'll go out and buy a bottle of wine. You can't visit someone empty-handed!"
Dong Damei said, "Brother, I'm sure I heard you right. Bringing you a bottle of wine is less effective than bringing you something empty-handed!"
"It would be even worse to bring nothing at all, because they wouldn't like anything I gave them, so I brought a bottle of wine."
Dongqing walked out of the house amidst the doubts of her elder sister and brother-in-law.
An hour later, Dong Qing returned from outside carrying a bottle of wine.
The packaging of this bottle of wine is exquisite, but the wine itself is very ordinary, costing just over two yuan a bottle on the market. Giving such a bottle of wine as a gift is like slapping yourself in the face.
Dong Damei looked at the gifts her younger brother had bought and really wanted to throw them away. Although Yi Minghui was a factory manager, he was very greedy. The workers all got their jobs based on their rank. If you didn't give him a gift, he wouldn't give you a promotion. There were very few workers in the machine factory who hadn't given gifts.
Dong Damei was a department head at the factory, and she also had to give gifts. He really couldn't bear to see gifts worth thirty or fifty yuan. She said, "Just give this. Listen to your older sister, don't give anything else. Let your brother-in-law drink it at home. Giving a bottle of wine like this is worse than not giving anything at all."
Dong Qing said, "Let's go, I'll just give them this. Maybe they really like this kind of wine."
Dong Damei herself didn't have much hope, and helplessly shook her head as she walked out of the house with her younger brother.
The siblings went up to the fourth floor and arrived at Yi Minghui's door. Dong Damei whispered, "Give me the wine, or let me take it inside!"
Dongqing understood what her older sister meant. She and Yiminghui were colleagues, so it didn't matter what kind of gift he gave. But if he gave a gift like that, he would be kicked out as soon as he entered the door.
Dong Qing handed the bottle to his older sister, Dong Da Mei. Taking the bottle, she sensed something was off; it felt heavier than a bottle of wine, but the texture didn't feel like alcohol. She whispered, "You didn't put money in there, did you?"
Dong Qing whispered, "Money is more useful than any gift. Hurry up and knock on the door."
Dong Damei looked at her younger brother with a puzzled expression. How much money would it cost to pack something so heavy?
But she didn't ask anything. Maybe the money inside was of small denomination, and the smaller the denomination, the heavier the weight. Only then did she feel relieved and handed the liquor box back to her brother.
"Is it more appropriate for you to bring the gift, or for you to bring it in yourself?"
After Dong Damei finished speaking, she raised her hand and knocked on the door.
The door opened instantly, and it was Yi Minghui's wife, Yi Feifei, who was from the same village as Yi Minghui, so she also shared the surname Yi.
Yi Feifei currently works in the county government. Yi Minghui and his wife are not old, only in their thirties. In the 1970s, they were just ordinary workers in the county machinery factory. Yi Minghui became the factory director because of his wife.
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