Chapter 10

Zhou Andong left the Broadcasting Station, wrapped his cotton coat tightly, muttered something, and ran toward the factory headquarters.

Entering the factory headquarters, he went straight to the third floor, stood in front of the factory party secretary's office, and knocked.

"Come in!" A lazy voice came from inside, listless.

Gu Bing, thirty-two years old, was smoking a cigarette, with his feet on the desk, looking at the ceiling listlessly, shaking the chair under his butt.

Zhou Andong pushed the door and entered. Seeing Gu Bing, he smiled. This was the factory party secretary who had a deep background and was arrogant but was marginalized.

"I'm Zhou Andong from the Broadcasting Station."

Gu Bing put his feet down from the desk and pressed the cigarette in his mouth into the ashtray: "You're that college student in our factory?"

"Right!" Zhou Andong sat down on the sofa by the door.

"Something to find me?"

Gu Bing looked puzzled. Since he took office more than a year ago, he had been completely sidelined. No matter what happened in the factory, big or small, he couldn't intervene, so few staff members came to him to handle things, and he couldn't handle them because no one listened to him.

Zhou Andong leaned back, crossed his legs, and slowly took out a cigarette and lit it.

The muscles on Gu Bing's face twitched. Although I, this factory party secretary, am a display, I am still a factory leader. Can you respect me, look a bit nervous, respectful, and let me have some face?

Zhou Andong exhaled a smoke ring leisurely and started his big deception function: "Secretary, our factory has reached the point of life and death. If we don't reform, it's a dead end... When that day really comes, the bowls of more than a thousand people will be gone, and you, this party secretary, have an inescapable responsibility."

Gu Bing was dumbfounded. I took office more than a year ago, and my words are only for myself to hear; no one listens to me outside the office. If the factory really goes bankrupt and the staff can't eat, what does it have to do with me? And reform—I don't even have a say in putting toilet paper in the restroom. Can I have a say in such a big thing?

"Sigh!"

Zhou Andong sighed: "I know your situation in the factory; to summarize in one sentence, you live magnificently but live stiflingly."

*Damn*, Gu Bing cursed in his heart. Can you speak less directly? Everyone in the factory knows I live stiflingly, but no one dares to say it to my face. Can you give me some face?

Zhou Andong looked at Gu Bing. He only heard that this guy had a deep background and was a second generation. But looking at him now, why is he so stupid? But that's fine, he should be easier to deceive.

"The pricing of big sorghum is no longer suitable for the current market. 6 yuan, not expensive, but those with money and status look down on it, and ordinary people can't bear to spend it. Therefore, big sorghum must be repositioned, either lower the price or change the brand to take the mid-to-high-end route..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Gu Bing finally spoke: "You know, I live magnificently but live stiflingly. This factory party secretary is a display. It's no damn use for you to tell me these things; you have to go find the old factory director or Zhang Deyou."

Zhou Andong smoked leisurely: "The old factory director will retire in two or three months. He now hopes most for a smooth landing, so how could he cause trouble by engaging in any reform? Besides, I am insignificant, and he couldn't possibly listen to me. As for Zhang Deyou, do you know why I was transferred from the Quality Inspection Section to the Broadcasting Station? Because I saw him hugging, kissing, and biting a female worker in the warehouse."

Gu Bing perked up and asked with great interest: "Who with?"

Zhou Andong's face turned black: "Secretary, the focus of your attention should be on reform, not on those things between men and women."

Gu Bing straightened his back and said seriously: "Comrade Zhou Andong, you are wrong to say that. Your thinking has a big problem. I am the factory party secretary; how can I not ask about such scandals in the factory?"

Zhou Andong curled his lips: "Can you manage it?"

"Uh!"

Gu Bing was choked by Zhou Andong until he almost couldn't catch his breath: "That, what you just said makes sense, but lowering the price is impossible, and changing the brand to take the mid-to-high-end route isn't something you can just say. And you know the situation in our factory; where is the money to engage in reform?"

Zhou Andong smiled: "We can use the eighty tons of liquor in stock to test the water, the funds are almost enough. I think the factory can still take out this bit of money."

Gu Bing leaned lazily on the back of the chair, his legs back on the desk: "After the New Year, I will apply for a transfer. The factory going bankrupt and the staff not being able to eat has nothing to do with me."

Zhou Andong had a cigarette in his mouth, leaned forward, and continued to deceive: "Think about it, the factory is going to go bankrupt, the staff can't eat, and the other leaders in the factory are all wine bags and rice sacks, with no solutions at all. And you step forward, overcome all opposition to engage in reform, and finally save the situation, supporting the building from collapsing. By then, the staff will have food to eat, and the big leaders above will also look at you differently. This kind of opportunity to write a brilliant stroke in your life resume will never happen again."

Gu Bing was deceived by these words until he was somewhat moved. His fox friends and dog buddies were all mixing up and down, only he was suppressed in this small distillery and couldn't get ahead, not knowing how many times he had been mocked. If he could really make some achievements, when he saw those bastards, he could also stand tall and say, I'm not a vegetarian either.

"How to do it?"

Zhou Andong smiled, took a last drag of the cigarette, pressed the cigarette butt hard into the ashtray, and continued to deceive. This deception lasted for more than half an hour.

Gu Bing asked suspiciously: "Can this work?"

Zhou Andong said: "Don't doubt, you have to believe in yourself to boldly try and accept the challenge. In other words, even if it fails, can the result be worse than our current situation?"

Gu Bing smacked his lips. Why did he feel that this guy was deceiving him? But why was the blood in his body boiling?

"Still hesitating?" Zhou Andong stood up, walked to the window, looked at the blue sky outside, and said loudly: "Since we don't want to be changed by this world, let us change this world together. Let those who look down on us and mock us all shut their mouths."

"Bang!"

The blood in Gu Bing's body burned completely. He slammed the table hard, stood up excitedly, and said.

"Damn it, let's do it. For more than a year, I haven't fought with them. If they still don't agree to this little thing, then don't blame me for going crazy."

This guy finally revealed his fangs and showed the edge of a second generation.

"Wait here, I'll go find them for a meeting."

Watching Gu Bing walk out of the office, Zhou Andong shook his head and sighed: "Young people in this era are still easy to deceive."