industrial overlord

Chapter 342 New Year's Eve
The Spring Festival is coming. This year's Spring Festival is the most deserted Spring Festival in the history of Jiang Shidian.

From the establishment of the petrochemical machinery factory in the 50s to the later renaming as Jiangnan Shihua Electric Appliance Factory, Jiangshi Electric has always been booming.When there is money in the factory, the welfare of the workers is also good. Every year during the Spring Festival, the factory will purchase a large number of new year goods and distribute them to the workers.The pork sent by each household is too much to eat, so they are dried into bacon and sausages and hung under the eaves, forming a sweet landscape with the characteristics of large state-owned enterprises.

In those years, whenever the new year’s bell rang on New Year’s Eve, the factory area would be overwhelmed by deafening firecrackers. Almost every household had to pick out a thousand-sounding electric firecrackers to pray for wealth in the coming year. .Every year, several Jiefang trucks are filled with firecracker shavings cleaned from the factory area.

The first day of the Lunar New Year is the busiest time for the whole factory. The factory leaders have to go to each worker’s home to pay New Year’s greetings, and the apprentices have to pay homage to their masters.There are many families in the factory who are married to each other, forming a complex network of relatives. At this time, they also have to visit each other. Various titles such as aunt, aunt, brother-in-law, cousin, etc. are very happy.

However, all of this ended with the fall of Niu Beisheng and other factory leaders and their imprisonment.Shortly after the Spring Festival of the first year, the factory fell into a state of shutdown due to a broken capital chain.The Department of Lighting and Chemicals is clumsy, barely guaranteeing that the factory can pay a discounted basic salary every month. As for the benefits, there is no one at all.There is no liquidity in the account of the factory, and the medical expenses of the employees have long been unable to be reimbursed.If it wasn't for the city government's special greetings to the power supply bureau and water company for fear of accidents, the factory would have been without water and electricity, and turned into a dead city.

Under such predicaments, some workers left their hometowns and went to the coast to work in township enterprises.Another part of the workers were poached by Hanhua Heavy Industries and went to Xunyang.There are thousands of remaining workers, who stay in the factory with nothing to do every day. Gambling, alcoholism, petty theft, and couples getting divorced all appear.

As the Spring Festival approached, the migrant workers came back one after another. Although many of them had a decent income, seeing the decaying scene in the factory, there was no interest in celebrating the New Year.On New Year's Eve, only a few families prepared firecrackers, and they were all short whips with hundreds of rings.When the crackling firecrackers sounded, what everyone felt was not joy, but bursts of tingling pain.

On the first day of the new year, all the workers chose to stay at home and not to go out. Only the ignorant children were still playing with their friends.Some children clamored for money to buy firecrackers, which annoyed the cash-strapped parents, so they broke the old custom of not beating children during the Chinese New Year, and slapped the children's buttocks a few times.As a result, naturally the mother and the child cried together holding their heads in grievance, while the man sat outside the door and smoked, seeing nothing but desolation.

Ye Yuancai was one of the unhappy employees. He was originally the deputy manager of the installation company, and used to be responsible for the on-site installation of petrochemical equipment.After the petrochemical machine was changed to Jiang Shidian, he was transferred to the refrigerator assembly workshop as a deputy director of the workshop.He is an honest person. Although he is a middle-level cadre in the factory, he has not joined Niu Beisheng's corruption group, so he was not implicated when Niu Beisheng's accident happened.

After the suspension of Jiangshi Electric, some workers went out to work. Someone once asked Ye Yuancai, saying that there was a township enterprise in the coastal area willing to offer him a monthly salary of 200 yuan to invite him to work.But Ye Yuan refused. The reason for his refusal was not that he looked down on township enterprises, but because he had a sick old mother in his family, and his wife was not in good health, and his son was young, so he couldn't leave.

For more than half a year, Ye Yuancai and his wife did various odd jobs in the suburban town where Jiang Shidian was located, but their income was very limited.When the Chinese New Year came, the family only had less than 100 yuan left, let alone bacon and sausages, and even melon seeds, peanuts and other new year necessities, the family only prepared a very small amount.He can only hope that there will be no guests at home, in case some distant relatives come, he doesn't know how to entertain them.

"Xiaohui, why don't you go and play with your classmates?"

With a cheap cigarette in his hand, Ye Yuancai sat on a stone in front of the door and said to his son beside him.

"I don't want to go." The 10-year-old son Ye Hui squatted beside his father, drawing a small figure on the ground boredly, with a lonely look on his face.

Ye Yuan raised his head and saw a few children setting off firecrackers in the distance, then looked down at his son, and he understood a little bit.He reached out his hand and took out 2 yuan from his pocket, handed it to his son and said: "Go, go to the small store to buy 2 yuan firecrackers, and go play with your classmates."

Ye Hui shook his head and said, "Mom said, the family has no money, so there will be no firecrackers this year."

"Go, dad will give you the money." Ye Yuancai said.

Ye Hui still shook his head: "I suddenly don't want to set off firecrackers this year."

"Then what do you want to play?" Ye Yuancai asked.He knew that his son didn't want to set off firecrackers, but he knew that the family's financial situation was not good and he consciously gave up this wish.It is said that the children of poor people are in charge of the family early, but Ye Yuancai would rather his son not be so sensible, because this kind of sensibleness makes him feel very sad.

Ye Hui tilted his head and thought for a while, then said, "Dad, can you make me a gun for fun?"

"Okay." Ye Yuancai said, "Go to the firewood room and find a few pieces of wood, then bring Dad's toolbox, and I'll make you a carbine."

"Okay!" Ye Hui showed a smile on his face, and rushed to the firewood room.

"Master Ye!"

Just as the father and son were making guns with great interest, a guest arrived.Ye Yuancai put down the saw, looked up, couldn't help but greeted with a smile: "It's Xiao Shen, hurry up and sit at home."

There were 3 guests in total, the leader was Shen Jiale, and there were two young people, a man and a woman, whom Ye Yuancai didn't know.However, during the Chinese New Year, no matter what guests are invited to sit at home, drink tea, eat some melon seeds and peanuts.

"Master Ye, let me introduce you. This is Lin Zhenhua, the deputy general manager of Hanhua Heavy Industry, and this is Manager Lin's lover, Yang Xin." After sitting down in the room, Shen Jiale introduced to Ye Yuancai.

"Manager Lin!" Ye Yuancai was taken aback, "Oh, you are a rare visitor. I have heard of your name a long time ago. Oh, look, I don't even have a pack of good cigarettes at home, why don't I ask my children to buy one? Bag……"

Lin Zhenhua quickly stopped Ye Yuancai, and said, "Don't worry about it, Master Ye, I don't know how to smoke. I'm here today to give you New Year's greetings, just chat with each other."

Ye Yuancai said anxiously: "This is really neglectful. Why don't you eat some melon seeds. We cook them at home and they taste pretty good."

Ye Yuancai's anxiety was sincere. Although he had never met Lin Zhenhua, he was very familiar with the name Lin Zhenhua.After the shutdown of Jiangshi Electric, the employees in the factory were all guessing that Hanhua Heavy Industry might merge Jiangshi Electric.The most talked about is the young Hanhua Heavy Industry Deputy General Manager Lin Zhenhua, because he has created so many miracles, everyone said that if Lin Zhenhua is willing to take over Jiang Shidian, then the factory will be saved.

Ye Yuancai never imagined that Lin Zhenhua would actually come to his house to pay him New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year.He didn't know what Lin Zhenhua's purpose was, but he felt that it was an honor for him to have such a great leader as Lin Zhenhua come to his home.And he can't even bring out a pack of high-end cigarettes to entertain guests, it's really rude.

"Why, what was Master Ye doing just now?" Lin Zhenhua asked with a smile.

Ye Yuancai pointed to his son standing beside him, and said, "I'm making a gun for my child. He doesn't even have a toy when it's Chinese New Year's Eve."

"Why don't you go to set off firecrackers with the kids?" Lin Zhenhua asked Ye Hui.

Ye Hui shook his head: "Our family didn't buy firecrackers this year."

Hearing Ye Hui's words, some embarrassment appeared on Ye Yuancai's face.Seeing this scene, Lin Zhenhua immediately understood the key points.He smiled and said to Yang Xin: "Xiao Xin, didn't you say that you dare not set off firecrackers? How about this, you go and take Xiaoye to buy some firecrackers, and let him set them off for you."

"Okay." After all, Yang Xin and Lin Zhenhua had a tacit understanding. When Lin Zhenhua said this, she knew Lin Zhenhua's intentions.She stood up, walked up to Ye Hui, and said, "What's your name? Auntie will take you to buy firecrackers, okay? Auntie is timid, so you help Auntie set them off, and Auntie will watch, okay?"

"Manager Lin, no need, no need." Ye Yuancai said hastily, and then said to Yang Xin: "Miss Lin, you sit down and don't worry about him. He sets off firecrackers every year, and I'll buy them for him in a while." gone."

"It's okay, you guys talk about business, I'll take Xiaoye to play." Yang Xin took Ye Hui's hand and was about to go out.

Ye Hui tilted his head to look at his father, and cast a stern look, which clearly contained a bit of anticipation.Ye Yuancai nodded helplessly, and said, "Go, go buy firecrackers with Auntie...don't buy too much."

"Understood!" Ye Hui happily replied, then took Yang Xin's hand and walked out of the house: "Auntie, I'll take you there, do you dare to watch the light cannon, but it rang..."

Seeing Yang Xin and Ye Hui walk out of the door, Ye Yuan sighed and said to Lin Zhenhua: "Manager Lin, I made you laugh. You know the situation of our Jiang Shidian. There is no way, my mother is not in good health. , I dare not keep any money in my hand."

"I know." Lin Zhenhua said, "Master Ye, I asked Xiao Shen to bring me to you today, just to talk to you about Jiang Shidian's next step. I was entrusted by the Qinghua Department. The United States has found a company. After the Chinese New Year, this company will come to inspect the situation of Jiangshi Electric. If everything is in good condition, Jiangshi Electric may become a Sino-foreign joint venture.”

"Really!" Ye Yuancai's eyes beamed with joy.

　... Recommended a friend's masterpiece "Eye of the Sky",
　　


(End of this chapter)