Chapter 816

After changing into slippers, he unzipped his down jacket and pulled out a stack of gold bars neatly tied with hemp rope from the inner pocket.

That's right, he had actually tied them with hemp rope.

These gold bars were different from what the bank sold publicly; the country now needed both foreign exchange and gold, so banks basically didn't retail them.

A few days ago, when Qin Hengzhi earned merit, he was supposed to receive a bonus, but he told his superiors directly that he didn't want cash but gold bars. The leaders agreed, and since the local old gold mine was still being mined and processing was keeping up, he requested twenty small gold bars.

If it wasn't enough, he could pay the difference; after weighing them, Qin Hengzhi paid an additional two hundred yuan or so.

"This is for you, please accept it." Qin Hengzhi handed the gold bars over.

Lu Qiaoge took them with a smile and weighed them in her hand; the gold was heavy, glowing with a warm, gentle luster.

"It's wonderful, I love gold the most." Her eyes were sparkling.

"As long as you like it." Qin Hengzhi looked at her, his eyes filled with a smile.

What virtue or ability did he, Qin Hengzhi, have to possess a lover like Lu Qiaoge?

Lu Qiaoge laid the gold bars out one by one, arranging them neatly in a row.

The room was warm, and under the contrast of cold and heat, a thin layer of water mist covered the gold; she wiped it with her finger, and it shone dazzlingly.

She looked at Qin Hengzhi, and Qin Hengzhi looked at her, neither speaking, but what was contained in those eyes was clearer than anything that could be said...

Yes, they both understood in their hearts, and it was all in each other's eyes.

Qin Hengzhi: I know you took risks for my safety and my work.

Lu Qiaoge: I still like this kind of disguised compensation, and of course, I like it even more when things are understood without being spoken.

Lu Qiaoge didn't wait for Secretary Ye to find her; instead, after Qin Hengzhi went to work, and it happened to be the afternoon, she went to the factory office.

She and Secretary Ye had to have a good talk about this welfare matter; no matter who convinced whom, there had to be a result.

Very quickly, Lu Qiaoge stood at the gate of the factory office. There were many people coming and going, some Lu Qiaoge knew and some she didn't. Among those she knew was Sister Zhao, who had come to handle some business.

Seeing Lu Qiaoge, her eyes widened instantly. Once she came to her senses, she immediately pulled Lu Qiaoge to the side. Lu Qiaoge didn't break free but followed her force to a corner with Sister Zhao.

Sister Zhao was now in charge of the hygiene products factory. From the moment this factory was created, no one had paid it any mind, but now it was an enterprise second only to the food factory, though it couldn't expand due to raw material issues.

As for those old state-run enterprises similar to the Second Textile Factory, insufficient raw materials were one aspect, but more importantly, there were many workers and few who actually worked. Even with three shifts, they didn't produce results, and it was the "big pot of rice" mentality—whether you slacked off for a day or worked yourself to the bone, you earned the same money, so the efficiency was increasingly low.

Of course, none of the enterprises Lu Qiaoge built had these problems.

The employees worked harder, but they also earned more, and there was no phenomenon of getting less for working more or getting more for working less.

Now, ordinary government and enterprise units rested four days a month, but the Xiang Yang Food Factory rested six days a month.

Because it wasn't a government agency but a production unit, they implemented a system of compensatory leave.

However, even so, thriving enterprises often faced a situation of resource scarcity.

This wasn't something that could be achieved just by being anxious.

The country's machine couldn't be driven by one particularly powerful small part alone.

Even for hybrid rice, which had begun to be popularized, most of it was concentrated in the south; it wasn't in the north yet, and even in northern state-run grain stores, rice was a scarce commodity, and rice wasn't planted on a large scale in the north yet.

The one that wasn't short on resources was the craft factory.

Their raw materials were truly everywhere and extremely cheap.

Speaking of stable development and high profits, it was actually the craft factory.

But this market was still limited.

For example, if you were selling these crafts to people in Jiangcheng, there weren't many buyers; you could only take the export route.

But hygiene products were different.

Currently, they were in short supply in Jiangcheng.

Sister Zhao had come to the factory office building to handle business for her unit.

She just hadn't expected to run into Lu Qiaoge. Seeing her appearance, she knew she was here to visit Factory Manager Hao, and she would definitely have to see Secretary Ye as well.

Sister Zhao said to Lu Qiaoge in a low voice: "Secretary Ye's temper isn't very good... but that's actually a minor matter; the most important thing is that your philosophies are different. Even if you have a dispute, just go along with him, don't go head-to-head with him..."

Lu Qiaoge blinked and said: "Sister Zhao, don't worry, I won't go head-to-head with him. Besides, I actually agree with Secretary Ye's philosophy."

The country was currently in a difficult period; tightening our belts to build our country well—only when the country is strong can we have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

This actually didn't conflict with her philosophy, but it wasn't something that could be explained in a few words.

She found Factory Manager Hao first.

Old Hao was buried in a pile of reports, and when he saw her enter, he didn't even have time to take off his glasses: "Comrade Xiao Lu, you've finally come. Secretary Ye has been waiting for you; as soon as he heard you were coming to report on your thinking, he specifically cleared out half an afternoon."

Lu Qiaoge smiled: "Factory Manager Hao, I'm here to report on my studies at school and my work at the General Administration of Foreign Trade, and there's also a matter I need to seek the opinions of you two leaders on."

Factory Manager Hao smiled gently; it could be said that he had watched Xiao Lu grow up.

He said: "You must have heard about the welfare matter, right?"

Lu Qiaoge smiled and said: "Yes, I heard about it as soon as I got back."

Factory Manager Hao glanced at Lu Qiaoge and, without any polite pleasantries, asked directly: "Xiao Lu, what is your take on this decision?"

Lu Qiaoge pondered for a moment and said in a sincere voice: "I admire Factory Manager Hao. It can be said that I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of Factory Manager Hao, Director Hu, and many other leaders. I have always been learning from you, but this doesn't affect my equal admiration for leaders like Secretary Ye. The four words 'devoted to the public'—I think Secretary Ye has truly achieved them, and I feel that I still need to continue working hard in this regard..."

Factory Manager Hao's smile became even gentler.

Yes, people like Secretary Ye were truly devoted to the public.

Even including himself, he didn't dare say he had truly achieved it now.

Especially after being here for a long time, he dared to say it even less.

It stood to reason that the higher-ups had their considerations when sending such a leader.

The previous situation was that all enterprise profits were turned over, and then the state would allocate funds, but many times, it wasn't very timely.

For example, the funds needed to start a project would take several months to arrive.

But because the factory had the "golden doll" of instant noodles, it earned quite a lot, so the higher-ups specifically approved that a portion of the funds could be retained directly...