When it was lunchtime and no one was around, Xia Liang was making clothes in the workshop, while her eldest daughter, Gu Yunxi, and niece, Xia Xinran, were reading in the shop. If a customer came, the little girl would call out to her. Gu Yuanzhi, who was playing with Xia Yuxuan at the door, saw someone coming and ran in, saying, "Mommy, there's an uncle outside buying clothes." Xia Liang came out at the sound of her voice and saw Ji Xiao. Seeing his happy face, she didn't remember to speak but first poured him a glass of water. After Ji Xiao took a big gulp, he said, "Sister-in-law, we've found a factory. Several factories have closed down in the past few months, some nearby and some far away. There was a cannery and a furniture factory, and now there's a garment factory for sale, along with all the machinery. But the location is quite far in the suburbs." Xia Liang was very happy to hear that there was a ready-made factory and machinery. This way, she could start working right away as soon as she bought it, saving her the trouble of buying the machinery herself. The two of them discussed it and prepared to talk to the factory leaders. Xia Liang asked her brother to watch the shop while she and Ji Xiao went to talk.
Upon arriving at the factory, they found it desolate; all the workers had been laid off and gone home. Only an old man guarding the gate remained. The old man had seen Ji Xiao the day before and remembered him. Knowing they weren't there to cause trouble, he didn't ask any questions and let them in. As they walked, Ji Xiao introduced the factory to Xia Liang. The factory covered about ten acres. To the left of the entrance was a workshop with about five hundred sewing machines. Directly opposite the gate was a three-story red brick building with eight rooms on each floor, totaling twenty-four rooms. These were the offices of the leaders. To the right was a two-story red brick building with four rooms on each floor, totaling eight rooms, which were the dormitories of the factory leaders. Behind the dormitories was the factory canteen, which covered about one acre and could accommodate all the employees to eat together. The two walked and talked for a short while before arriving at the factory manager's office. Seeing that the door was not closed, they knocked twice. The factory manager, who had his head down inside, looked up and said, "Come in!" Xia Liang had heard Ji Xiao say that the factory manager was a middle-aged man of about fifty years old, but looking at his full head of white hair, he seemed to be more than ten years older than his actual age. After exchanging greetings, they sat down to talk in detail.
The factory manager insisted on 400,000 yuan, including the disposal of all the machines, refusing to budge an inch. Xia Liang practically wore herself out trying to negotiate, but couldn't get even a single yuan off. Just then, they heard a commotion outside. The factory manager, who had been calmly leaning back in his chair drinking tea, suddenly frowned and looked tense. Curious about what was happening, Xia Liang followed the manager to the window and looked out. There was a large group of people outside, preparing to storm into the factory. The old gatekeeper, quite frightened, was trembling with fear. Luckily, the factory gate was closed, otherwise they would have already rushed in. Xia Liang asked the factory manager in confusion, "What's going on?" The factory manager looked dejected and sighed, "These are all former factory workers. Now the factory has closed down, and everyone has been laid off. The factory can't even pay severance pay. All that's left are some unsold clothes. But what do the workers need so many clothes for? They're not food or drink, so they come to the factory to cause trouble every few days." Hearing this, Xia Liang felt she could negotiate a better price and smiled, "Factory manager, I have a way to help you solve this problem." The factory manager looked at the young and beautiful woman in front of him, wondering what solution she could offer. But considering she was willing to buy the factory, she must have some ability. A glimmer of hope ignited in the factory manager's heart, and he excitedly asked, "What's your solution?" Xia Liang said calmly, "If you sell the factory to me, I'll continue running the garment factory and keep all the workers. That way, they can still go to work as before, and your biggest problem will be solved. But what about the price?" Xia Liang didn't say anything more, letting the factory manager think about it himself. The factory manager clapped his hands: "Great! Comrade Xia, if you can keep the workers, you'll solve our biggest problem. Price and everything else are negotiable." Xia Liang pressed his advantage: "Then, factory manager, what price do you think would be appropriate for me if I keep the workers?" The factory manager's face flushed with excitement: "As long as you can take in all the workers in the factory and guarantee not to fire them arbitrarily, the factory will give you 150,000." Actually, the factory workers were the biggest problem. After all, there were many families behind each worker. If they lost their source of income, they might not even be able to eat, and who knows how much unrest that would cause. Xia Liang bargained, "I definitely won't fire anyone arbitrarily, but I absolutely won't take anyone with a criminal record or shady dealings. Also, the price is a bit high. Look how far away your location is; it's not very convenient for me to manage. And these factory buildings are quite old. I'll have to repair them after I take over, and repairs cost money, which I don't have that much money." The factory manager considered for a while and nodded in agreement. After all, buyers like Xia Liang are hard to find. It wasn't that no one had inquired before, but they wanted the factory for other purposes, couldn't afford the robots, and couldn't solve the worker problem, so they hadn't reached an agreement. Today, they finally settled on a price of 100,000 yuan for the entire factory and land, but he had to take over the factory's workers.
After signing the agreement, the factory manager seemed much more relaxed, as if he had suddenly regained his energy. He led Xia Liang and the other man out of the office building to the factory gate. The manager asked the old man who was supposed to open the gate to do so. The old man hesitated for a moment: "Manager, what if you get bumped into when I open it? Your injuries from the beating haven't healed yet." The manager said cheerfully, "Grandpa, please open it. I've already solved their employment problems." The old man was also beaming: "Really solved? Then what factory can accommodate so many people all at once?" Seeing that the old man didn't make a fuss despite all the questions, the manager continued to smile and said, "You'll see soon enough. Open the gate and let them in." The old man happily opened the gate, when suddenly a young man stumbled and almost... He tripped and fell flat on his face. It turned out he had been kicking the door the whole time, and had even gathered his strength from the outside. Just as he was about to kick the door shut, it opened from the inside, causing him to almost fall. Seeing the door open, the crowd, ignoring the young man's blunder, rushed forward and surrounded the factory manager, shouting, "We don't want to be laid off! We want to continue contributing to the factory!" Xia Liang and Ji Xiao, who were following behind the manager, were caught in the circle of people, their heads spinning from the noise. The manager raised his hand and said, "Comrades, quiet down, quiet down and listen to me." Everyone cooperated; except for a very few who were still shouting, the rest quieted down and listened to the manager's words.
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