Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

In the family compound of Tangshan Town, Chen Jun, the wife, excitedly told Wang Dong some good news as soon as she got home.

"husband……"

"You told me before that strictly checking attendance and increasing workload could drive away a lot of workers who were trying to slack off... and it actually worked."

“I heard from my former colleagues that since the steel rolling mill started strictly checking attendance and made the junior technical workers in the workshop work as warehouse porters alongside the regular employees, more than a thousand workers gave up their secure jobs and resigned to find work outside in less than a month.”

“Those workers who resigned all said: Rather than suffering every day in the steel rolling mill and only receiving a monthly wage of thirty-odd yuan, it is better to go out and work.”

"For the same job and the same working hours, you can earn at least 150 yuan a month."

"My former colleagues also told me that the steel rolling mill is planning to continue to strictly check attendance, and make junior technicians and regular employees continue to work as warehouse porters until the total number of employees who have left the factory exceeds 2,500 before it stops."

Wang Dong was completely baffled until his wife finished speaking, at which point he realized what was going on: "Wife... how did you manage to pass these methods on to the steel mill..."

"The steel rolling mill was already insolvent and was about to go out of business."

"Now they have successfully laid off more than 2,000 workers, and those workers left voluntarily. The steel mill does not need to give them any compensation."

"With fewer workers in the factory, production costs will naturally decrease, and it might even be possible to turn a profit. Then my plan to buy the steel rolling mill will become even more distant."

Chen Jun rolled her eyes at Wang Dong and replied, "Husband..."

"Your wife isn't stupid..."

“I know you want to buy the steel rolling mill, but I’ve asked around to see if anyone else is interested in selling it.”

"To put it more bluntly, no leader dares to be the first to try something new and sell a state-owned enterprise to a private individual. They might even lose their official position."

"So you won't have a chance to try your luck with steel mills for the next two or three years."

"In that case, we might as well find a way to help the steel rolling mill recover and continue to survive."

"Even if you do get the chance to take over the steel rolling mill in the future, you will find a way to fire those people who just coast along in the mill, who only know how to cheat and shirk their responsibilities and don't know how to do anything."

"Since these people will be fired sooner or later, it's better to let the current leaders of the steel rolling mill be the villains."

"in addition……"

"I also inquired about the steel rolling mill's operations for you..."

"It's worse than we imagined."

"Even if the steel rolling mill takes this opportunity to lay off more than 2,000 workers, it will not be able to turn a profit."

"Just like you said before..."

"Those who cheated and shirked their duties had to leave because they couldn't stand the steel rolling mill's strict attendance system and heavy workload."

"But those who are truly capable should stay, otherwise the steel rolling mill will not even be able to complete the most basic production tasks."

"So at least half of the money saved by those retired employees will be used to compensate the hardworking veteran employees, especially the senior technicians."

Chen Weinan breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "As long as the steel rolling mill hasn't turned a profit..."

"But thinking about it, it makes sense..."

"The reason why the production costs of steel rolling mills are so high is partly because there are too many workers in the factory who slack off and don't do much work."

"On the other hand, the leadership structure of the steel rolling mill is too bloated, with too many leaders, and many of them just take a salary without doing any work."

“As long as these bloated leadership structures continue to exist, the steel rolling mill can forget about ever truly turning a profit.” His wife, Chen Jun, added, “There’s another reason…”

"The raw materials used by steel rolling mills are too expensive..."

"I don't know why, but the raw materials they buy are always 10% or 20% more expensive than those from private companies outside, and sometimes the quality is even worse than the cheaper goods bought from private companies outside."

Seeing his wife's brows furrowing deeper as she spoke, Wang Dong immediately comforted her, "Wife..."

"Those in positions of power should fulfill their responsibilities..."

“You’re no longer a manager at the steel rolling mill, so there’s no point in thinking about it anymore.”

"Even if you were the manager of the steel rolling mill now, you wouldn't be able to solve many problems given the complex web of interests within the mill. You could only watch helplessly as the situation at the steel rolling mill continued to deteriorate."

“As long as the steel rolling mill can be sold to the public in the future, we will buy it and it will become a private enterprise. At that time, I will be in charge of the steel rolling mill.”

"No matter what kind of monsters or demons are inside, expelling them is just a matter of my word. We can figure out how to set things right later..."

"correct……"

"Didn't you tell me before that you were going back to the county town?"

"Almost half a month has passed, why is there still no news?"

"It'll be soon..." Chen Jun was quite happy when he mentioned his upcoming promotion and answered immediately.

"I heard from my superiors that there should be definite news about the investigation of the leaders in the next few days, and that I should be prepared."

"I've already started the handover process these past few days..."

"But once we get to the county town, work will definitely get busier and busier, and then we'll have fewer opportunities to see you?"

Wang Dong smiled and replied, "Wife..."

"I'll take care of the children, you just focus on your work..."

"I believe that once you've sorted out your work in the past few weeks, things will definitely get easier and easier later on."

"With me at home, I guarantee you'll have food waiting for you every day when you come home..."

"Moreover……"

"The baby doesn't need to be breastfed anymore..."

"I plan to hire a nanny to help me take care of the child after I go back to the county town. I'll also wander around the county town and see if there's anything I can do to help you..."

Chen Jun has no objection to hiring a nanny.

If I remember correctly, several leaders in the county town have nannies in their homes.

Many leaders come from dual-income families, and both are leaders themselves. They are usually very busy with work and don't even have time to take care of their families, let alone cook.

With a nanny to help with cooking and taking care of the family, the couple could have more time to work, and immediately agreed.

"I have no objections?"

"I just don't know if you have a suitable candidate?"

"After all, the child is only a little over a year old. If the other party has questionable character, we wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the child with her." (End of Chapter)