Calculation
Wang Sirou's behavior wasn't outrageous, but it was certainly different from everyone else who had come to inspect before.
No need to overthink it, the only variable is the two new products this year.
Meng Songying went to remind the factory manager, since she couldn't keep blocking him from seeing it forever. The key to chocolate-covered candies was creativity, and there weren't many aspects of the process that needed to be kept secret.
When they arrived, Li Yuanhong and Wang Shuitao were coming out of there. It was during working hours, so the two didn't chat much.
It was during dinner that Meng Songying learned that Taozi had gone with Sister Li to run around dealing with building the new workshop and constructing the perimeter wall.
Once the bricks and stones are in place, finding bricklayers will also be a challenge. They will be paid wages, and the first beneficiaries will be the families of the sugar factory workers. However, even with this, they still cannot find enough workers.
As Wang Shuitao put down her plate, she was still saying, "I have to go to night school tonight, and I'll go back to the countryside tomorrow to find some people."
Li Yuanhong instructed her: "Find an honest and reliable person as soon as possible."
Wang Shuitao agreed: "Yes, I found someone to vouch for me, and there haven't been any problems before."
Resources are scarce, and red bricks are rare and hard to come by. Even with the security department guarding them day and night, the amount of bricks that were brought in and piled up in the corner of the factory for only two or three days was still insufficient.
If the bricklayers are of bad character and cut corners to save money for their own use, it wouldn't be as simple as undermining socialism.
Hundreds of people work in a workshop every day; if the building collapses, countless people will die or be injured.
Wang Shuitao was so confused from searching for people that she could only think, "No wonder the contractor can make money; he's capable of managing dozens or even hundreds of strong men under him."
They can immediately provide laborers to help people wherever there is a need, which makes them quite like intermediaries.
She glanced at Director Sun, who remained silent, and asked Meng Songying, "What's wrong?"
Meng Songying: "I guess they're thinking about the provincial officials coming to inspect."
Seeing Peach's tired face, he said, "I'll make some mints. Come pick them up from me tomorrow."
Wang Shuitao lifted her half-closed eyelids: "Okay, add more mint extract."
Meng Songying nodded and immediately finished packing up her lunchbox to make candy.
The two people beside them were used to it; it was obvious they were already a couple and were just waiting to receive news of their wedding.
After finishing his meal, Li Yuanhong wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and asked, "Old Sun, didn't you say a few days ago that it was just a formality? It sounds like something else has gone wrong."
Sun Ming was also puzzled and said, "Yeah, when we went to get the bricks before, we agreed that we would handle this order from now on, and they wouldn't bother with it anymore. Why doesn't Wang Sirou seem like she's given up?"
No one said it was just Wang Sirou's own curiosity. Since she was arranged to come and inspect, she wouldn't be so oblivious to this.
Li Yuanhong stood up and looked down at the cafeteria: "I don't think I saw her anywhere. Did she go out?"
Sun Mingcai began wolfing down his food, mumbling, "I was just rebuffed by Engineer Meng this morning. I guess I felt ashamed. It would have been better if I had gone back."
Of course, this was just a wishful thinking on Director Sun's part. Wang Sirou went to find the batch of sugar made from the sugarcane raw materials at the Pearl Sugar Factory this year.
She couldn't believe that such a large output didn't exist. What was infuriating was that the people here were overly guarded. They were all smiles on the surface, but in reality, they wouldn't give her a single piece of useful information.
But she knew her father's intentions and specifically requested this mission, so how could she give up easily when she encountered the slightest difficulty?
However, she didn't come to steal the technology; she came to poach people.
After finding the white and brown sugar she wanted and tasting them, Wang Sirou became even more determined to poach both Wang Shuitao and Meng Songying.
People always strive for higher positions; I bet they're tempted. Right now they're employees of the Pearl Sugar Factory, but once they become part of our own company, won't they share their technology too?
However, seeing that both of them had a somewhat arrogant attitude, Wang Sirou didn't like it. She glanced up and saw the state-run restaurant nearby. After hesitating for a moment, she went inside.
Just then, after visiting quite a few places, she was also hungry and didn't want to go back to eat at the sugar factory canteen, which, to be honest, was quite mediocre.
At mealtime, all three round tables and five square tables inside were full of people.
The moment she pushed open the shop door, a wave of warm, rich aroma of meat wafted out. A layer of grease had already formed on the surfaces of the solid wood tables, a result of the two waiters' carelessness in cleaning, which Wang Sirou was used to.
As long as you're not eating at a small, privately run restaurant, it doesn't matter where you go; there's nothing to complain about.
Today's main dish is a stew in an iron pot, which Chef Zheng learned from Jiang Manyun. There isn't much meat; the whole pot is filled with pork bones, spine bones, and spare ribs.
Meat near the bone is full of fat but doesn't have the greasy texture of fatty meat. If it weren't for the fact that there are too many bones and the price is too low, I guess there would be more people who like to gnaw on bones than those who like pork belly.
The iron pot stew contained hand-pulled noodles made by Chef Zheng. Hearing the slurping sounds of people chewing their noodles at the counter, Wang Sirou couldn't resist and ordered another serving of iron pot stew.
She only ordered a bowl of stir-fried shredded pork with pickled vegetables and pickled garlic.
Amidst the bickering between Jiang Manyun and Zhang Fengzhi, Wang Sirou ate her usual daily portion in one meal.
She glanced at Zhang Fengzhi, who flung the curtain and walked out the door, and chuckled inwardly. But after slowly paying the bill, she still walked up to Zhang Fengzhi, who was wiping away tears and angrily tearing at tree branches.
"Hurry up and wipe it off. I saw it all. That woman really bullied you. Don't be sad, okay?"
Zhang Fengzhi looked up in a daze. For the first time in so many days, someone was on her side. Even her parents were scolding her when they heard about it.
Wang Sirou listened patiently to her complaints and even helped analyze the situation: "If you ask me, Chef Zheng only treated her this way because that woman is an acquaintance of the sugar factory's leaders. You know, with her background, Chef Zheng could just give her any recipes he wanted. It's all because she has powerful backers."
Zhang Fengzhi had never heard such words before, and immediately felt that they made perfect sense. She burst into tears and complained, "Why are we ordinary people always being oppressed by the mountains? Why don't we defeat them all?"
Wang Sirou glanced at her with disdain. She complained about everything because she herself was incompetent. It reminded her of when her younger sister got promoted and received a raise, and people always said behind her back that she was relying on her father.
He quickly put on a gentle mask and said, "I think the young couple from the sugar factory are the leaders. They seem to come here to eat often and are familiar with Jiang Manyun. If you don't want to be suppressed forever, you'll have to find a way to get rid of those two."
Zhang Fengzhi's heart tightened, and she snapped out of her comforting reverie. It turned out to be Wang Shuitao and the man who was always following her, their enemies. No wonder they came up to her.
But she didn't expose them. She just looked over and tentatively said, "But what can I do? I'm just a waiter here. They're just here to eat."
Wang Sirou slowly approached her: "Do you think they're having an affair?"
When she returned to the sugar factory, Wang Sirou simply didn't go to the workshop. She was too lazy to care about other people's opinions. You know, she came from a good family and had never been so embarrassed since she could remember.
They all thought they couldn't see through their tight security measures.
It doesn't matter now. Now that Wang Shuitao and Meng Songying's reputations have been ruined, they definitely won't be able to stay in this small place any longer. Then, she can take them to the provincial capital as their savior.
This is what you call a win-win situation. It allows me to vent my anger over the grievances I've suffered these past few days, and it also puts down the arrogance of the two of them. No matter how talented they are, they can't climb over my head. They should obediently go to their father and let him see that their abilities are no less than their elder brother's.
Thirdly, once they arrive in the provincial capital, they will be under my father's control, so I should maintain some goodwill with them to make things easier in the future.
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Wang Shuitao and two female classmates were chatting and laughing as they came out of the night school. Just as they were about to walk to Meng Songying, who was waiting a little further away, a person suddenly appeared in front of them.
Zhang Pingkang's face appeared before them; the bruises and contusions were gone, and he had regained his handsome appearance.
Meng Songying's pupils shrank suddenly. She rushed over, pulled Wang Shuitao over, and tucked her behind her.
Seeing the commotion, the others also stopped in their tracks, not getting any closer, but gathering in small groups to peek out and try to find out what was going on from those around them.
Zhang Pingkang disregarded his pride and knelt down with a thud: "Please, save me!"
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