Chapter 511
Envy, Envy
Chapter 511 Envy, Envy
1993 was a year that started off badly but ended badly for the people of Anning County.
Before the Spring Festival, the entire county town seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of smog.
The young men were itching to head south.
Seeing a once thriving industrial county gradually decline, no one expected that Anning County, which no one had high hopes for, would suddenly shudder and revive on the eve of the Spring Festival in 1993.
"Son, aren't you home for the New Year?" In the cannery's residential compound, the lights were on in a family room on the third floor.
The small 60-square-meter room was packed with people.
The eldest daughter, who had traveled south, returned to her parents' home with her son-in-law and a large bag. There she saw her younger brother carrying a large black travel bag, preparing to leave.
His elderly mother, with her white hair, clung to her younger brother's arm, her cloudy eyes filled with reluctance.
Northeastern girls are all capable of taking charge and making decisions.
This one is no exception.
The eldest sister raised an eyebrow and glared at her: "Why aren't you home for the New Year? What are you doing? Don't you want your sister and brother-in-law to come back?"
The young man looked helpless and repeatedly begged for mercy: "Sister, what are you saying? How could I dare! Please don't stop me. The company is sending me to Guangdong Province for a major mission, which could cost tens of thousands of yuan in minutes!"
The older brother-in-law chuckled: "Little brother, even if we're not home in the south, we know that all the factories in Anning County have gone out of business. Who would still go to Guangdong Province to set up a branch? And tens of thousands of people... You're just bragging."
The mother-in-law couldn't stand her son-in-law talking so badly about her son, so she quickly said, "Da Yan'er found a job as a salesman at Changhong Factory. The boss values him highly. This time, out of hundreds of salesmen sent out, he and that kid from the Ming family are the ones in charge of the outposts!"
The eldest daughter, who was moving things, rolled her eyes. In her mother's eyes, even her younger brother's farts smelled sweet: "Alright, alright, there's no rush for this business trip. You can come with us to Guangdong Province after the New Year. You're unfamiliar with the area, what if something happens to you on the way? It's better if the three of us go together, so we can look out for each other."
The eldest daughter didn't take her mother's words to heart at all. In Anning County, any factory that can still pay wages is considered a good factory, and the factory manager is considered capable!
She dragged a large cardboard box towards her home, saying, "Make way! Dad, Mom, this is something we brought back from Guangdong Province. It was so hard to get! The advertisements for it were everywhere. If I weren't a junior manager at the mall, I wouldn't have been able to get any."
"What is this?" The old mother put on her reading glasses and stared at it for a while.
The cardboard box was very sturdy, and a seagull was printed on it.
The more Big Eyes looked at it, the more it seemed like something from their own factory: "Sis, you didn't buy a Haiyan brand sauna tub, did you?"
"Oh? You guys know about this too? This factory is amazing, their ads are everywhere, even we've heard about it here! Let me tell you, this thing is really useful, from now on Mom can take a bath at home in the winter, she won't have to go to the public bathhouse anymore. It's cold and slippery in the winter, you're getting old, what if you fall down?"
The eldest son-in-law, standing to the side, rattled off the advantages of the Haiyan brand folding sauna tub.
The clock on the wall pointed to 5 p.m.
Big Eyes interrupted anxiously, "Mom, Sister, I really have to leave! Sister, this bathtub is made in our factory. You should have said you wanted to buy it earlier. I have an employee discount, which is 50 yuan cheaper than outside."
"What?!"
The eldest daughter and brother-in-law stood there dumbfounded, and Da Yan'er took the opportunity to pick up her bag and run away.
"Mom, is this bathtub really made here?!" "Yes, it is. It's from the Changhong Radio Factory, which used to make tape recorders. They have a new factory manager, a young woman named Lin, who is very capable. She's also one of the owners of the newly opened Pang Donglai Supermarket in our county."
"My goodness! This bathtub is extremely sought after in the south, and you even have to pay extra to buy it. I never imagined that it would be a product of our Anning County!"
The story of Changhong Factory is so dramatic that it's a classic topic of conversation when people gather together.
The elderly mother chatted with her eldest daughter about crickets, which left her and her son-in-law astonished: "Changhong Factory hired 500 workers and over 300 salespeople in one go?! Tsk tsk tsk. Longtai Electronics Co., Ltd. is just a shell company? I really want to know how Director Guanhai is feeling right now."
How are you feeling?
I'm about to vomit blood!
Before this, Guan Hai had been praising Lin Xiaohe's excellence everywhere, just to flatter her to death.
As it turned out, the attempt to flatter him backfired, becoming a stepping stone for him. Lin Xiaohe's name became firmly established within the county's standing committee, and even city leaders had heard of him.
Guan Hai sat on the sofa, smoking one cigarette after another.
In the living room, the Guan family was still chatting enthusiastically.
"Old Guan is a former leader of Changhong Factory, can't he just take two bath tubs with him?"
A bathtub costs over 800 yuan, which isn't a lot of money, but it's not insignificant either.
Guan Hai's wife, spitting out sunflower seed shells, said irritably, "Don't underestimate Director Lin just because she's young. She's very strict about the rules. The factory's regulations are much stricter than before. Even though the old director helped her so much, she can only get the employee price when buying a bathtub, a discount of 50 yuan."
"How can you be so heartless?" Many people were surprised.
Are workers really that obedient?
We've all worked in factories; who doesn't know who?
Guan Hai's wife sighed, "You know, he's small, but he's cunning. He makes sure every step of the production, sales, and inventory process is documented. Each procedure requires someone's signature, and the responsibility is assigned to that person. I heard they're going to implement some kind of paperless office system soon and need to buy computers."
"Computers?! Those things aren't cheap, they cost over ten thousand yuan each. Changhong is really making a fortune!"
The person who spoke secretly pinched their thigh, feeling deeply regretful.
If she had known that Changhong Factory could make a remarkable comeback, she wouldn't have spent so much money on bribes and had her son go with her to Longtai Electronics Co., Ltd.
Longtai Electronics Co., Ltd. sounds impressive, but it hasn't even started operations yet, and hasn't received a single penny.
Another stylishly dressed middle-aged woman was much calmer: "My husband told me that every household in the government compound has bought a folding bathtub. Director Lin said that Changhong Factory was able to get up and running thanks to the support of the county government. To express our gratitude to the county government, we gave government staff a 50-yuan discount coupon. Even the county head and the secretary have bought one."
"The county head and the party secretary's homes are quite spacious, do they really need a folding bathtub?"
The stylishly dressed woman clicked her tongue twice: "You really don't understand politics. Director Lin has already given back to the county government. As the top two leaders in the county, shouldn't you take the lead in supporting the county's industries?"
At that moment, the others understood and slapped their thighs in disbelief.
"Good heavens! We were just saying that Director Lin didn't know how to get along with people, but he actually went straight to the county magistrate and even curried favor with him! This isn't just that he doesn't understand, it's that he understands everything!"