Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 157 Chapter 156 Struggling Cheng Aimei
Cheng Aimei expressed her excitement at discovering a big secret: "In the first half of the year, the President issued a new decree, halting the construction of factories across the country under the pretext of environmental protection."

"In most areas of Daxuan, the law is strictly enforced, but not in Fancheng. Everyone knows the reason. The highest official in Fancheng may be the mayor, but in fact, he has a great duke above him."

"And the planning department is in charge of the construction of new factories."

Cheng Aimei gave Feng Xiuhu a look whose meaning was self-evident.

Feng Xiuhu understood what he meant. With the change of ownership of the Planning Department, the power of speech returned to the hands of the government office, and the President's decree was implemented.

So this is the purpose of the mastermind behind this?

Maybe that's how Cheng Aimei sees it, but Feng Xiuhu knows better.

For Daguogong, the factory is not only an economic lifeline, but also a channel of faith.

The setback in the factory business cut short the Duke's progress in gaining trust, which was the same as closing down a mental hospital.

And from the timeline, the decree came first and the closure came later, so the closure of the asylum was actually the church's revenge on the president.

Although Feng Xiuhu has not yet figured out why the two brothers, the President and the Duke, want to collect faith, it is obvious that both things are carried out with the support of the temple and the church, so in the final analysis, this is still a battle between the church and the temple.

Cheng Aimei sighed. "If you ask me, it's all a waste of effort. We can't even take care of the existing factories, so why build new ones?"

"what happened again?"

Feng Xiuhu asked.

Cheng Aimei almost laughed out loud: "How dare you ask me? Didn't it all start with you detaining the Owl Man?"

"Workers are having a hard time these days, and the atmosphere in the factory is particularly depressed."

"After losing the Owl Man, in order to maintain the factory's efficiency, they had to arrange for some of the ordinary workers to work night shifts. However, even then, the ordinary workers' efficiency was far inferior to that of the energetic Owl Man, and this only made the workers more and more upset."

"After the closure of the asylum, the workers' living expenses have already increased. Due to various factors, the workers' mental and physical stress has increased day by day. In the past few days alone, several conflicts have occurred."

Cheng Aimei counted on her fingers, explaining the cause and effect relationship to Feng Xiuhu: "You've deducted wages from the Owlman, and the workers' workload has become heavier, which has reduced their efficiency and the factory's profitability. So, instead of increasing their wages, you've deducted them. With less wages, the workers' lives have become even more difficult, so they've started to riot. And once they riot, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the factory's operations – it's become a vicious cycle."

Feng Xiuhu listened intently. Seeing that he was silent, Cheng Aimei didn't bother to continue. "This involves knowledge related to sociology and economics... Forget it, you don't understand anyway."

Feng Xiuhu asked him, "How come you, a person from the upper city, know so much about these things in the lower city?"

It would have been fine if Feng Xiuhu hadn't mentioned it, but once Cheng Aimei mentioned it, she felt discouraged: "I found a new job and I spend most of my time running around the factory area—"

He looked at Zheng Sumei beside him and smiled bitterly: "Sorry, I still haven't sold a single order today."

Feng Xiuhu was curious: "You got a new job so soon, you're really impressive. What do you do?"

Cheng Aimei didn't feel embarrassed and said frankly: "I'm selling leather shoes."

He took out a pair of brand new leather shoes from the briefcase tucked under his arm and put them on the table for Feng Xiuhu to see.

Cheng Aimei explained: "Exquisite and elegant leather shoes have always been exclusive to upper-city residents. They are usually made of more expensive leathers such as cowhide, sheepskin, deerskin, and crocodile skin."

"But our company has taken a different approach and launched pigskin shoes. Pigskin is abundant and inexpensive. Although it is hard in texture, it is durable. So our target customers are ordinary people in downtown, especially the working class."

At this point, Cheng Aimei smiled awkwardly: "But like I just said, the workers haven't had much money recently, so I haven't been open for several days."

Feng Xiuhu picked up the leather shoes and examined them repeatedly, feeling quite satisfied: "I want them." Cheng Aimei rubbed her nose: "You don't have to feel sorry for me."

"Who pities you?"

Feng Xiuhu squinted at him and said, "I really want them, but not this pair. I'm planning to get a pair for each of the choir members. Go back to my house and talk to the housekeeper."

Cheng Aimei looked at Feng Xiuhu in astonishment.

Feng Xiuhu stood up and patted Cheng Aimei on the shoulder: "Remember to maintain me as a big customer, and I will make you the sales champion."

……

Carrying several boxes of snacks, Feng Xiuhu returned home with a full load.

Except for Mike, Xi Yaoer and Xiong Guiyuan said goodbye to the three female relatives and followed them back.

On the way, Xiong Guiyuan told Feng Xiuhu about the past of Cheng Aimei and Zheng Sumei.

"Zheng Sumei is the youngest daughter of Zheng Muwen, the director of the Education Department. She comes from a prominent family, while Cheng Aimei is just an ordinary person."

"Their relationship was opposed by their families, and Cheng Aimei fought hard for it. To show his sincerity, he even changed his name - which is the one you know now."

"But it was no use. Director Zheng still disagreed and locked Zheng Sumei at home, not allowing them to meet."

"Zheng Sumei was determined to get married and caused many disturbances at home, even threatening to hang herself. In the end, her mother gave her a way out – she cut off ties with the family and let her go."

"You know what happened next. Zheng Sumei opened her own dim sum shop, and Cheng Aimei got a job as a factory manager. Although they were no longer aristocrats, they still lived a comfortable life, and their relationship was always good."

Feng Xiuhu took a bite of the cupcake and said, "It sounds like a cheesy love story."

Mike asked, "I see his dim sum parlor is making quite a bit of money. Why not help his wife run it? Why bother working out there all day to make money?"

Xiong Guiyuan shook her head and said, "It's different. Cheng Aimei has always had a thorn in her heart. She wants to impress Director Zheng with her own abilities, so that one day she can hold her head high and bring Zheng Sumei home."

Xiyao was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes: "That Cheng guy may look fat and big-eared, but he is actually a man of integrity."

Feng Xiuhu admired another thing about Cheng Aimei: "He's educated, right?"

Xiong Guiyuan nodded: "Yes, I heard from Zheng Sumei that Cheng Aimei went to university in the capital and studied mechanics, so she was promoted by Lu Hongxi to be the factory manager."

"Hey, college student?"

Feng Xiuhu was genuinely surprised and asked, "Then why didn't you stay in the capital, but came to Fancheng instead? And you're not doing so well."

Xiong Guiyuan smiled and shook her head: "I don't know about that. You can ask in person later."

Feng Xiuhu winked at her: "You are also an intellectual who studied abroad, so you are no worse than him."

"uh-huh."

Xiong Guiyuan raised her eyebrows slightly and uttered a cute nasal sound: "What's wrong?"

Feng Xiuhu glared at her. "I asked Xiyao to come here to learn from you and broaden her horizons, and you ended up bringing her along to hang out with these shady people?"

(End of this chapter)