Chapter 379 Yang Xiu'e's Loss of Composure
In an era when everyone was thin, Lou Yuchun, like Liu Cheng, was a middle-aged man with a slightly protruding belly.
Song Lubai would occasionally try to get closer to Liu Cheng, and between their conversations, she would urge Lou Yuchun to eat more.
Yang Xiue, Xiao Feng, and the other two remembered Song Lubai's words and were to take good care of Lou Yuchun, so their attitude towards Lou Yuchun was both attentive and cautious.
Lou Yuchun was used to being treated this way. Although he didn't feel particularly pleased, he still appreciated it and understood that Song Lubai didn't intend to offend him to death.
Just as the conversation in the private room was getting lively, the door was pushed open, and a round-faced female staff member with a fair complexion came in carrying a bowl of sweet soup with egg flowers and fermented rice.
This person was Hao Yumei.
After noticing Hao Yumei enter, Song Lubai first turned her gaze to Lou Yuchun.
She stood up, took the soup bowl from Hao Yumei, and asked, "Comrade Hao, we don't think we ordered this."
Hao Yumei smiled and said, "You ordered a lot of food, this was a gift from our manager, so please don't waste it."
Song Lubai said, "Don't worry about that. We'll pack up any leftovers and take them with us. We won't waste any food."
She smiled as she saw Hao Yumei out, turning back without looking at Lou Yuchun.
Too much of a good thing can be bad; you can't afford to offend someone too much.
When Lou Yuchun stopped eating and started smoking, Song Lubai said, "Boss, it's getting late. Your wife has probably been looking towards the door several times already. Let me take you home."
Lou Yuchun nodded and said, "I'm full, so I'll head back now."
He thought to himself, "At least Song Lubai has some sense."
After seeing Lou Yuchun off, everyone ate for a while in the private room. When Liu Cheng put down his chopsticks, Xiao Feng, being observant, poured him a cup of tea and lit a cigarette.
Now it's time to get down to business.
Before discussing the price, Song Lubai took the initiative to say, "Director Liu, I see that there are quite a lot of defective fabrics piled up in the warehouse. Surely it's not that your factory's workers are not skilled enough, but shouldn't the machines be replaced?"
Although the cotton mill has only been established for ten years, the machines inside are already many years old.
The machine is old and has many malfunctions, and the repair costs are considerable every year.
The cost is one thing, but the main problem is the disruption to production.
Because of Lou Yuchun, Liu Cheng was quite polite to Song Lubai. He did not feel any rejection or contempt for Song Lubai just because she seemed to be a shrewd and capable woman.
"It's a problem with the machines. There's nothing we can do about it. New machines are too expensive. The factory has to support so many people and has production targets every month. If we were to replace them, we simply couldn't afford it."
Song Lubai said, "Just because we can't afford it now doesn't mean we won't be able to afford it in the future. The cotton mill is something that people in Xinjiang province really value..."
She gave a thumbs up.
"When your factory upgrades its equipment in the future, if you need to phase out this batch, you must contact our regiment first. Who knows, with the support of your factory, our 16th Regiment might be able to improve its economic situation."
Pei Youfu, who was focused on eating at the table, perked up his ears.
Before this deal was even settled, Song Lubai brought up another one. He wanted to say that she was really thinking ahead, but she was really just daydreaming.
Even if it means eliminating outdated machinery, it still costs a considerable amount of money and is a huge burden for the farm.
However, Pei Youfu felt that Song Lubai was really quick-witted.
After chatting for a while, Song Lubai and Liu Cheng got down to business.
Yang Xiue's heart, which had been pounding with tension all day, began to tremble again.
When Song Lubai and Liu Cheng made the atmosphere in the private room a little tense, Yang Xiue was the first to break down.
Holding her teacup, Yang Xiue mustered her courage and stood up, saying, "Director Liu, I'd like to offer you a toast. I know that in the past, I wouldn't have been qualified to sit here and eat this meal with you, but now I'm the foreman of our regiment's shoe-making team. I just want you to lend us a hand and give us a way out. As long as we have this way out, our regiment's conditions will be better."
"You don't know, Director Liu, Comrade Pei, even though the women in our corps can make shoes, they never get new shoes all year round. In the dead of winter, many of their shoes are worn out, and their feet are covered in chilblains. Last year, more than 700 educated youths came to our corps. Grain production is so low that every household has to endure hunger and save their food during the winter, otherwise the allocated grain won't even last until the New Year. If we could have some extra income, we could stop everyone from living in dugouts and buy some cloth to make ourselves a pair of warm shoes..."
Yang Xiu'e and Wei Zhao had visited the company in February and knew what kind of life the employees there lived.
Compared to those comrades who had regular jobs and received a salary, the company staff and educated youth who couldn't even earn a few yuan a month were truly suffering.
Yang Xiu'e was a soft-hearted woman, but also a woman with ambition. Since arriving in Shicheng, Song Lubai had been handling things, and she wanted to contribute as well. At this moment, she was speaking in a trembling voice because of her nervousness.
Yang Xiue didn't intend to cry, but everyone heard her sobbing.
In the end, Yang Xiue hated herself for being so weak, and she cried out of anger, tears streaming down her face.
Liu Cheng: "..."
He didn't bully the female colleagues; he just wanted to raise prices to secure more profits for the factory.
However, it sounds like the 16th Regiment is really poor.
Song Lubai patted Yang Xiue on the back and comforted her, saying, "Sister Xiue, don't cry. The fact that Director Liu is willing to sit here and talk to us on behalf of the factory is already a good thing for us."
Yang Xiu'e wiped away her tears and said to Liu Cheng, "Director Liu, I'm so sorry you had to see this. I wasn't pressuring you, I just felt so bad thinking about the current situation of our regiment. Even the restaurants in our regiment can't afford a meal like this..."
Yang Xiu'e rambled on and on, and Pei Youfu's hand, which was reaching for the last piece of braised pork rib, stopped.
He didn't even know whether he should put the chopsticks on or not.
Should he give the braised pork ribs to Yang Xiu'e? Perhaps it's her first time eating braised pork ribs at a restaurant?
Pei Youfu was a kind person who was occasionally kind; he gave the last piece of pork rib to Yang Xiue.
"Comrade Yang, I see you haven't eaten much. Although important matters are causing you a lot of worry, you should still eat properly when it's time to eat."
Song Lubai glanced at Pei Youfu and thought to herself that it was really something that he, who only cared about food today, would actually give up the last piece of pork rib.
Yang Xiu'e's crying effectively broke the slightly tense atmosphere that had been building up.
Liu Cheng didn't let Yang Xiu'e cry in vain. He said, "Alright, I'll give you another cent. That's the bottom line. Any lower and it won't do."
"Although they are defective goods, they still have a market. If the price is lower, we might as well sell them to the department stores in Shicheng."
Song Lubai knew this was Liu Cheng's rhetoric.
The so-called sellable defective products are the "good" fabrics picked out from the pile of defective products, accounting for less than 30%. Selling them to department stores is not as profitable as selling them all the defective products together.
However, the price is indeed quite good. Song Lubai picked up her teacup and said, "Director Liu is very righteous. Your good deed today has given our 16th Regiment a good path to the future. Let's toast to you together."
Liu Cheng sighed and said, "You guys have it tough too."
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