Chapter 109: Part One

Chapter 109: Part One

After leaving the meeting room, Gu Yangbo shook hands with Jiao Yang with a cheerful smile, saying he represented the elders and folks of Lingjiang City in thanking the Department of Industry. Although the factory was partly owned by Lingjiang City, the Department of Industry had shown leniency by allowing the city to retain both personnel and equipment, for which Lingjiang City remained immensely grateful.

Jiao Yang, coming from a state-owned factory, was no match for Gu Yangbo, who had been tempered by grassroots experience. In the end, he could only force a smile and hurriedly bid farewell.

Vice Governor Hong shook his head with a smile and pointed at Gu Yangbo, saying, "You, you, always taking advantage and then acting coy."

He continued, "For the province, as long as the embroidery factory can continue to contribute to the economy and export earnings of Southern Province, it doesn't matter where the factory is located. Of course, I also understand the importance of this factory to Lingjiang and Jiangbei. I hope that the Lingjiang City Embroidery Factory can carry on its traditions and achieve new successes."

Shen Moer smiled and said, "Yes, Vice Governor Hong, we will definitely complete the task!"

After Gu Yangbo and Shen Moer left, Secretary Luo brought a fresh cup of hot tea to Vice Governor Hong, who was sitting at his desk. Vice Governor Hong put down his reading glasses and sighed, "It's not easy to cultivate a leading enterprise for export earnings, but destroying it is simple. Some people only care about their own interests, not the interests of the country and the people!"

Secretary Luo paused slightly, then smiled, "Isn't that why we have you to oversee things?"

Vice Governor Hong shook his head, "I'm getting old. The future depends on you."

Looking at the sunset outside the window, the gray-haired old man fell silent for a long time before murmuring softly, "Fortunately, everything is getting better. In the future, things will continue to improve, right?"

On the other side, after bidding farewell to Gu Yangbo, Shen Moer picked up little Liang Liang and Shen Yinyin from the security room, found a place to feed the child, and then took little Liang Liang, who was visiting the city for the first time, back to Jiangbei County.

"Your job isn't easy, worrying about thousands of people, and even your child has to suffer with you," Shen Yinyin sighed.

Shen Moer touched her daughter's delicate little face and smiled, "When you're in a position, you have to fulfill your responsibilities."

If at first it was just to make her own life better, after so many years, as the factory grew larger and the number of workers increased, Shen Moer truly felt the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders.

Now, she was no longer the "outsider" who had just arrived in this world, coldly observing everything. She had gradually integrated into this world, where she had lovers, friends, and family, and had become a part of this world.

She cared about the rise and fall of this land and would strive to defend the cause they had fought for together for many years.

Fortunately, the dark clouds were gradually dispersing, and sunlight would soon fill this land. Everything would get better and better.

After returning to work at the embroidery factory for a week, the relocation of the factory progressed as fast as a rocket, quickly reaching the stages of dismantling the sign, removing equipment, and transferring personnel files.

*

By the second week, the sign for "Lingjiang City Embroidery Factory" was already hanging outside the factory building.

The workers coming in and out looked at the new sign with some curiosity and confusion, but in the end, they concluded: What does it matter what the factory is called? It's still the same factory with the same people.

Thus, the last bit of anxiety and worry vanished, and they happily went to work.

The entire factory seemed to have changed, yet it also seemed like nothing had changed.

Jin Caifei grew increasingly uneasy and called Mao Jianxin.

After several years, Mao Jianxin set foot on the land of Liuqiao Commune again, feeling a mix of emotions. This was the place where his dreams had once taken off, where he had once suffered a crushing defeat, and now, it would also be the place where he would rise again.

"Leader of the Southern Province No. 2 Embroidery Garment Factory Relocation Working Group?" Zhang Ming handed the introduction letter back with both hands, smiling as he placed teacups in front of Mao Jianxin and the other staff members. "Please wait a moment, comrades from the working group. Deputy Factory Director Feng will be here shortly."

Mao Jianxin raised his eyes, "Is Director Shen not here?"

Zhang Ming smiled, "Director Shen is on flexible working hours due to her maternity leave. She's not here at the moment."

Mao Jianxin was momentarily speechless. He had intended to assert his authority as a superior and intimidate Shen Moer, but she didn't even show up. However, he quickly consoled himself, thinking that Shen Moer must be afraid of him and didn't dare to face him.

"It seems your factory isn't taking the relocation seriously. Fortunately, Deputy Director Jiao sent us to supervise the progress. With your attitude, forget three months, I doubt you'll complete the relocation in three years."

Mao Jianxin, with his legs crossed, began to criticize: "It's unacceptable to pay lip service and skimp on tasks assigned by superiors. Vice Director Jiao has said that while the province understands Lingjiang City's desire to keep its leading enterprises local, since it was agreed upon in front of Vice Governor Hong, we must proceed as agreed. We cannot deliberately hold people back or use other underhanded tactics..."

"Speaking of underhanded tactics, how could we dare to show off in front of Leader Mao," Feng Wei said as he walked slowly into the meeting room, smiling. "Leader Mao, I see the working group is eager to get things done. How about we skip the small talk and I take you directly to see the parts that have already been handed over and tidied up?"

Mao Jianxin's face darkened: "Deputy Factory Director Feng, what do you mean by that? I, Mao, never resort to any underhanded tactics."

Feng Wei smiled: "What, Leader Mao, do you want to sit down and first discuss the topic of integrity?"

Mao Jianxin's expression changed slightly, feeling that Feng Wei's words seemed to imply something. Knowing that arguing with Feng Wei here was pointless, and that the most important thing now was the relocation work, he finally swallowed his anger and stood up, saying, "Let's first take a look at your progress."

The other staff members exchanged glances and also stood up.

As the group walked out, someone was talking at the other end of the corridor:

"Is Director Shen here? I have something I need to discuss with her."

"Yes, she's here, but Deputy Factory Director Xing is inside. Please hold on for a moment."

"Alright, I'll wait."

The two were not speaking loudly, but the corridor was very quiet, and their conversation was clearly audible. Mao Jianxin's expression grew even more sour, his cold gaze sweeping over Zhang Ming, who pretended not to notice and continued chatting with the other members of the working group.

Mao Jianxin could only pretend he hadn't heard, or else he would have to confront Shen Moer about why she, as the factory director, didn't personally receive the working group.

Knowing Shen Moer as well as he did, he knew he would only end up humiliated.

"We have already tallied the personnel willing to relocate, and we are currently handling the handover. The personnel files have also been transferred to the county, which will review them before transferring them to the province. Fortunately, the sign for Southern Province No. 2 Embroidery Garment Factory is ready, and the personnel files can be directly transferred there."

Feng Wei said: "I'm afraid the coordination work will have to be managed by the comrades in the working group."

Mao Jianxin frowned: "All the personnel files have been transferred to the county?"

Feng Wei glanced at him and said, "It's not a major issue. Two hundred and eighty-two people, our personnel department worked overtime to get it done."

Mao Jianxin immediately raised his voice: "Two hundred and eighty-two people? That's impossible, less than a tenth! You're doing this deliberately, you're playing games!"

Feng Wei stopped and calmly said, "Leader Mao, you can eat recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly. We are strictly following the relevant documents from our superiors, adhering to the principle of voluntariness, allowing the workers to choose for themselves."

In a fit of anger, Mao Jianxin blurted out without much thought: "How is that possible? There is a willingness to relocate within your factory, and you even submitted a report to the Department of Industry. According to the report, at least half of the workers are willing to relocate."

Otherwise, this relocation plan wouldn't have passed the internal discussion at the Department of Industry.

If, in the end, only two or three hundred people relocate, not only would he and Vice Director Jiao be unable to explain, but Vice Director Jiao would also be unable to explain to Director Qiu.

"Oh, how come I don't know about such a report?" Feng Wei raised his eyebrows high. "Leader Mao, are you joking? I'm in charge of the office. How could I not know about any reports submitted? Are you being deceived?"

Mao Jianxin's eyes flickered. The origin of that report was questionable, something both he and Jin Caifei knew well. But from the moment the report landed on the desks of the Department of Industry leaders, the report had to be treated as genuine.

He panicked for a moment but quickly regained his composure: "Of course, it bears the official seal of Southern Province No. 2 Embroidery Garment Factory. How could it be fake?"

Feng Wei's eyes darkened, and he chuckled: "I wonder if I could take a look. I really don't know about any such report being submitted by the factory."

Deputy Leader Jiang interjected: "Deputy Factory Director Feng, it seems your factory's comprehensive management work is not up to par, with significant issues! There is indeed such a report, and we happen to have brought it with us. You might as well take a look. The report clearly states that over eighty percent of the employees are willing to move to the provincial capital. Moving to the provincial capital is a great benefit for both the factory and the workers. Your factory leadership should not cling to local authority and resist returning to order. Such thinking is unacceptable."

With that, Deputy Leader Jiang took the report out of his briefcase.

Mai Jianxin wanted to stop them, but he had no reason and didn't have the time.

Feng Wei casually glanced through the report, then turned to look at Zhang Ming. As someone who had personally experienced Feng Wei's chapter-switching incident, Zhang Ming almost immediately understood Feng Wei's intention. Conveniently, the document room was not far away, so Zhang Ming quickly ran to fetch a file and handed it to Feng Wei.

Holding the two documents, Feng Wei calmly said, "Leader Mao, Deputy Leader Jiang, this report of yours is forged. If you don't believe me, take a look. The seal at the end is similar to our factory's seal, but if you look closely, you can see the differences. Most obviously, the sizes are different."

Mai Jianxin's face turned pale: "How could that be? This is your factory's seal; how could it be forged?!"

Deputy Leader Jiang frowned and took the two documents. Being such an "old hand" in the office, he didn't even need to look closely to see that the two seals were not only different in size but also had different spacing between each character.

He carefully examined the other document Zhang Ming had brought over, which was the Southern Province No. 2 Embroidery Garment Factory's report on the completion of its six-month production tasks submitted to higher-ups. This report would be sent to the desks of leaders at various levels in the city and province, and there was no way it could be fake.

Moreover, the Provincial Department of Industry had historical files from the Southern Province No. 2 Embroidery Garment Factory on record, making it very easy to verify. Feng Wei had no reason to tell such an easily exposed lie.

Therefore, the only possibility was that the report they had brought was fake.

A fake report led the Department of Industry to make the decision to relocate a leading enterprise. This... hiss.

After finishing his examination, Deputy Leader Jiang passed the two documents to the others.

He glanced at the ashen-faced Mai Jianxin. As a minor middle-level manager from the South Province Embroidery Factory, Mai Jianxin had suddenly emerged as the head of the relocation task force, which made the others suspicious.

However, since this matter was led by Deputy Director Jiao and Mai Jianxin was personally appointed by him, they naturally couldn't say much.

Now it seemed there were many more complications involved.

Deputy Leader Jiang was somewhat relieved that he was just a deputy leader; otherwise, he might not be able to shake off the blame.

Seeing that Mai Jianxin remained silent, Deputy Leader Jiang paused for a moment and said, "Let's go to the workshop and various departments to take a look. In the afternoon, we'll organize a meeting with all the factory staff and workers. We need to confirm their true wishes on-site."

Even if the report is not genuine, the fact that it reached the desks of the leaders at the Department of Industry suggests there is still some intention within the factory to relocate. The duty of their task force is to ensure proper supervision.

Feng Wei: "Alright."

The factory workshops were bustling with production. The task force members wandered around, randomly asking workers about their willingness to relocate. Almost all responses were the same: "No matter how fancy a place is, it's not as good as your own home. We're doing fine here; why move to the provincial capital? We don't even know our way around there!"

Some also said: "The conditions in the provincial capital are better, but the factory said we'd earn the same wages there. Man, everything's pricier in the city; even a single onion would cost us. Unlike here, where we can still go back to our hometowns to get some vegetables to supplement our meals. It's not worth it; moving to the provincial capital just doesn't make sense."

Others said: "I just listen to Director Shen. Wherever Director Shen tells us to go, we'll go. All actions follow orders. Following Director Shen is definitely the right thing to do. Without him, I'd still be at home tilling the fields and dealing with that old hag who's quick to hit!"

The task force members looked stumped.

They gained nothing.

"Maybe the factory set this up beforehand?"

Someone whispered to Deputy Jiang. This wasn't impossible. The old routine of enterprises and institutions dealing with inspections from above is just like this: gather a group of more 'enlightened' individuals to speak well, whitewash the situation, and cover up problems. They know this drill all too well.

"We'll see how the big meeting pans out this afternoon," said Deputy Jiang.

Since learning that the seal on the report was fake, Mao Jianxin had been restless, like a cat on a hot tin roof. The task force members noticed, but everyone pretended not to know. No one wanted to get mixed up in this; playing dumb was the safest bet.

After all, they just had to do their job as part of the task force.

At noon, Mao Jianxin hurriedly found Jin Caifei and told her about the morning's events, angrily saying: "What's your problem? You couldn't even get this simple thing right. If you couldn't get the seal, we could have thought of other ways. How could you use a fake one?! I'm telling you, if this gets back to the province, we're toast, completely screwed!"

Jin Caifei screamed: "How could that be? I got it from the document room; I saw the clerk stamp it with my own eyes! Do you think I'm a fool? Would I forge an official seal?! That's illegal; I'm not crazy, why would I do that?!"

"How could this happen? It's impossible. I clearly got the seal from the document room; she took the seal out of the drawer, and I saw her stamp it with my own eyes. How could it be fake?!" Jin Caifei was going crazy, precisely because she had seen it with her own eyes.

Seeing the stamp on the document, she had no doubt at all, let alone comparing it with other documents.

Who would have thought that the stamp from the records office was fake?!

This is insane. Completely insane.

Jin Caifei trembled all over, on the verge of a breakdown: "What should I do? I was the one who submitted the report. They’ll definitely hold me accountable. What am I going to do?!"

Mao Jianxin gritted his teeth: "It's a trap. This is definitely a trap set by Shen Moer. Damn it, that woman did it on purpose. She set us up on purpose!"