Chapter 225

"The bitter sand, the feeling of it stinging my face, like a father's scolding, a mother's weeping, forever hard to forget..."

Zhou Andong was awakened by the song playing from the broadcast station. He got out of bed, opened the window, and watched the groups of workers heading toward the factory gate, a smile appearing on his face.

He hadn't stayed in the capital but had traveled back through the night. It was already past ten in the morning when he arrived home. He filled his stomach at a small roadside shop, then returned to the dormitory and started sleeping, sleeping right up until now.

"He says, what is this little bit of pain in the wind and rain? Wipe away your tears, don't be afraid, at least we still have dreams..."

This song seemed to have emerged suddenly; upon waking, it was playing all over the streets. Even while walking on the roadside, the strangers one happened to meet might be humming it.

"Searching and searching, unable to find proof of being alive. The city's asphalt roads are too hard, unable to leave footprints..."

Zhou Andong was in a very good mood. Singing along with the loudspeaker, he left the bedroom, washed his face first, and only then went out, preparing to find Gu Bing for a drink in the evening.

Just as he reached the entrance of the factory department, a figure suddenly rushed out, and then *thump*, knelt before him.

"Factory Director Zhou, I was wrong. I apologize to you, please forgive me."

"Damn it!" Zhou Andong was startled. He dodged to the side, not looking at the guy kneeling, but instead looked up to observe all around, seeing if someone was trying to set him up and filming him with a camera.

Only after seeing no suspicious characters did he let out a long breath. Only then did he look down—why did this person look so familiar? But for a moment, he couldn't recall.

"Who are you?"

"Factory Director Zhou!" A shout suddenly came from behind.

Zhou Andong looked back and saw a middle-aged man jogging over, holding a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

"We've been waiting here for you for nearly a day. I didn't expect that in the time it took to go buy a pack of cigarettes, you would have returned."

Seeing this middle-aged man, Zhou Andong remembered: "You are the captain of the Heilong Province Supply and Marketing Cooperative transport team, surnamed Liu, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The middle-aged man nodded vigorously. "My name is Liu Xingtang. Last time, because Liu Guang didn't follow the factory's rules and regulations by smoking, and his attitude was extremely bad, you canceled our supply and marketing cooperative's supply."

"After we went back, the leadership scolded us severely, and even docked Zhao Guang two months' wages, transferred him from the procurement section to logistics, lowered his wage grade, and demanded that he apologize to you in person."

At the time, after they went back, Zhao Guang was indeed scolded, but the wage reduction, fines, and transfer from his original post were all Liu Xingtang talking nonsense. Moreover, when negative news appeared about Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor, because of Zhao Guang's interference, they didn't get the goods, which instead allowed the supply and marketing cooperative to avoid huge losses. This guy suddenly became a hero of the supply and marketing cooperative, not to mention being given a high bonus of two thousand, and his wages were even raised.

Zhao Guang could be said to have infinite glory. His aunt, who was a director, even wanted to take this opportunity to promote him, and it was already in the works. But not many days later, the Jiangzhou Winery won the lawsuit.

The sales volume of Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor was rising steadily like sesame flowers blooming on a stalk, climbing continuously. Zhao Guang, the hero of the supply and marketing cooperative, was knocked down to the mortal world, and the matter of his promotion was shelved.

Immediately afterward, Jiangzhou Winery launched Jiang Xiaobai, which suddenly became a hit. By the time their supply and marketing cooperative reacted and wanted to become an agent, they were already a step too late.

Then they found the distributor. There was no chance for a first-level agency, but a second-level agency shouldn't be a problem, right? But the distributor told them that Jiangzhou Winery had already placed the Heilong Province Supply and Marketing Cooperative on a blacklist, and distributors were not allowed to provide them with sources of goods. Moreover, these were all written into the contract.

These past two years, life for the supply and marketing cooperative hadn't been easy. With Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor selling so well, if they could get the goods, their lives would certainly be much better. But just because of Zhao Guang, they couldn't get a single bottle of liquor.

However, out of respect for the director, no one said anything. But now it wouldn't do. Jiang Xiaobai was a civilian liquor that anyone could afford. Having just been on the market for less than half a month, the sales volume was terrifying, far exceeding Yugong Liquor.

But they never dreamed that Jiangzhou Winery would blacklist them, to the point where they couldn't even get goods from the distributors. This was unbearable, and everyone aimed their guns at Zhao Guang's aunt, the director.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Zhao Guang's aunt called him into the office, scolded him severely, and told him to go to Jiangzhou Winery to apologize to Zhou Andong. If he couldn't get Zhou Andong's forgiveness, he didn't need to come back.

Zhao Guang was very reluctant, but he had no choice but to come, because he also felt the pressure from those leaders. If he messed things up again this time, even his aunt couldn't protect him.

Zhou Andong smiled, looked at Zhao Guang, and said: "This time, the sincerity is quite sufficient!"

As for Liu Xingtang's words, he just listened to them; only a fool would believe them.

"Alright!" Zhou Andong couldn't be bothered to deal with them anymore and stepped onto the stairs. "You all go back. When the time comes, I will notify the distributors to supply you with goods."

No one would go against money. The supply and marketing cooperative was indeed heading toward a dead end now, but a lean camel is bigger than a horse; its perfect sales network was something no enterprise at this time could compare to. Especially in rural areas, what the common people trusted most was still the supply and marketing cooperative.

Zhao Guang climbed up from the ground, looked back at Zhou Andong, and hatred flashed through his eyes.

Liu Xingtang said happily: "Let's go, find a phone booth and call the director first."

At the Huwang Town Winery, Gao Qingkui was holding a meeting. He first glanced at Qu Hongqi, who was sitting in the back with his head down.

"The sudden passing of Comrade Zhang Deyou has caused us to lose a good leader and a good comrade. His departure is a loss for our factory, but his spirit of dedication in working diligently and selflessly, his fine style of being hardworking, simple, and frugal, and his noble character of being upright, honest, and kind, are still worth our learning and remembering."

"We must turn grief into strength, study and work hard, develop and strengthen our Huwang Town Winery, defeat Jiangzhou Winery, defeat Zhou Andong, and comfort the spirit of Comrade Zhang Deyou in heaven."

Liu Jian said: "I propose that everyone observe a three-minute silence for Factory Director Zhang."

Everyone stood up and observed three minutes of silence.

"Alright, everyone sit down!" Gao Qingkui said, sitting down. "Next, our factory is going to launch small-bottle *** liquor to fight a price war with Jiang Xiaobai and completely drive Jiang Xiaobai out of the rural market."

"Good!" There was a round of applause below.

Suddenly, the office door was pushed open. First, a middle-aged man entered, then four more people entered, and finally, more than a dozen police officers.

As soon as Gao Qingkui saw this, his face changed. He felt the arrival of doomsday, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably, but he tried his best to hide it. He stood up, supporting himself on the conference table, and said with a smile on his face.

"Director Huang, what happened, why such a big mobilization?"