Chapter 275: The Face of a Nouveau Riche

Seeing Zhou Andong's smug look, Gu Bing couldn't help but strike him down: "Look at this nouveau riche face of yours. The leaders are here; aren't you ashamed?"

Zhou Andong snorted: "Ashamed of what? If being a nouveau riche is shameful, then I will lead all the factory employees to be shameful together, let them all become nouveau riches, and wear a nouveau riche face every day."

"Good!" Deng Zhangli shouted "Good": "When that time comes, let your factory employees come to me every day and show me their nouveau riche faces; I'm willing to watch."

"Hahaha..."

The crowd burst into laughter, and the beautiful reporter Shang Hui also pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. Ever since she saw Zhou Andong, her eyes hadn't left him.

Zuo Peiming patted Gu Bing on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Little Gu, your ideological awareness still needs improvement. You should learn from Comrade Andong. Leading all the factory employees to get rich and letting them all become nouveau riches—this is your responsibility and duty as a factory leader."

The light rain was falling, not heavy, but it chilled Gu Bing to the bone. Why was the script different from what he had imagined? I am the upright character, and that bastard Zhou Andong is the villain. Shouldn't he be the one receiving criticism and education?

Zhou Andong added insult to injury: "Leader, I must speak a word of justice for Comrade Gu Bing. Although his thinking is not very mature, he is very diligent and responsible in his work. Especially during the initial launch of Jiangzhou Yugong and Jiang Xiaobai, he was truly busy day and night; he is definitely a good comrade."

*Damn it*, Gu Bing cursed inwardly. He wanted to refute, but this was the reality. If he refuted, wouldn't it mean he hadn't done anything? This was clearly a compliment, but coming out of the mouth of this bastard Zhou Andong, why did it sound so awkward?

Looking at Gu Bing's constipated expression, the crowd wanted to laugh but didn't dare.

Cheng Zhanjun glanced at Gu Bing and snorted inwardly. Without that ability, why do you go out of your way to provoke him?

The Cultural Palace had become an ocean of joy. When Zhou Andong and Gu Bing accompanied the municipal leaders, followed by a large group of factory leaders, the back of the room instantly quieted down, followed by applause.

Those in the front heard the applause from the back, all turned to look, and then joined in the clapping. The enthusiastic applause, like a tsunami, swept through the Cultural Palace.

"Leaders!" Zhou Andong said: "Look at how enthusiastic our factory employees are; they are all welcoming you. Go on stage and say a few words."

Cheng Zhanjun said with a smile: "I won't speak. Old Deng, you lead us and say a few words."

Deng Zhangli nodded, and without being overly modest, walked onto the stage. Someone from backstage ran out quickly to hand him a microphone.

Deng Zhangli tapped the mic, tested it, and after hearing the *bang-bang* sound, said: "Comrades, students, hello everyone."

"Hello, Leaders!" The shout was deafening.

Deng Zhangli said with a smile: "This voice is full of vigor, letting me appreciate your mental outlook. Very good, very nice."

A burst of light laughter came from below.

Deng Zhangli continued: "A sword's edge comes from sharpening; the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Children, regardless of whether you got into a key university, a non-key one, or a vocational college, you are all excellent, and I am proud of you.

But you must remember, learning at the university stage is high-level, with its own laws and characteristics. You must be down-to-earth and do it bit by bit...

You must adjust your mindset, prepare for the upcoming university life, determine your goals for the university era, plan a perfect blueprint, aim at your goals, and pursue them with a spirit of perseverance..."

At this time, Feng Duo and Yao Shiguang arrived and found a seat at the very back. Looking at Deng Zhangli standing on the stage speaking, both of them showed smug smiles.

They hadn't expected a surprise; with the municipal leaders here, wouldn't their announcement later be equivalent to an endorsement? Wouldn't the employees all eagerly pay the money? The more they thought about it, the happier they became, their mouths grinning wide, both assuming the two of them had children who had passed the college entrance exam.

Deng Zhangli's speech was short, ending in a few minutes.

Zhou Andong thought, since the leaders are here, I must give them a chance to show their faces. Thinking this, he got up and walked toward the backstage.

"Factory Director!"

"Factory Director!"

"Factory Director!"

The employees preparing to perform backstage greeted Zhou Andong one after another.

Zhou Andong asked: "Is Director Fang here?"

"Yes!" A little girl pointed to a room, "In that room."

"Thank you!" Zhou Andong thanked her and came to the door of the room, knocking first.

"Come in!" Fang Qiao's voice came from inside.

Zhou Andong pushed the door and entered, seeing Fang Qiao, Ge Zhengrong, and Yu Qingyu all there. On a table sat an exquisite box—it was actually a Walkman. Beside it were stacks of hundred-yuan bills, all tied with red paper strips, with names and amounts written on them.

"Factory Director!" The three stood up. Fang Qiao said: "You're not accompanying the leaders in the front, why did you run backstage?"

Zhou Andong said: "The municipal leaders are here. Let them come to present the awards to Gao Yue'e and Lu Xiaohui."

"What about you?" Fang Qiao asked.

Zhou Andong waved his hand: "I won't participate. Let Cheng Zhanjun and Deng Zhangli present the bonuses, and let Zuo Peiming present the prizes. Spread the favor around; don't leave anyone out."

After finishing, he picked up a Walkman and looked at it: "You guys are really spending someone else's money without feeling the pain. Two hundred each is already quite a lot, enough to buy some school supplies. You guys are good—you bought this, spending sixty or seventy thousand all at once."

Ge Zhengrong said with a smile: "It's not like we didn't bring in over two million. I just thought about buying something practical that the children would like; spending a bit more is fine. And this Walkman is very useful for them to learn English.

Most importantly, the appeal of this thing to children is much greater than money; it will definitely stimulate the children's motivation to learn, thinking that they can get one if they participate in the college entrance exam."

"What you said does make sense."

Zhou Andong nodded and picked up a smaller, more exquisite box. After opening it, it was actually a pager, and it was the Chinese character display model that Wave jointly launched with Motorola just last year.

"Our Jiangzhou is also applying to join the network and build a paging station. By the end of the year, every factory leader will be equipped with one; it will be convenient to stay in touch."

Ge Zhengrong said: "This thing costs over six thousand; it's not as good as a brick phone."

The factory's efficiency was getting better day by day, and this group of guys below had long been itching to buy brick phones, but the two heads of the household, Zhou Andong and Gu Bing, hadn't bought any, so how would they have the guts to buy one?

At this moment, Zhou Andong brought up equipping them with pagers, so Ge Zhengrong voiced everyone's inner thoughts and then secretly glanced at Zhou Andong's expression.

Zhou Andong said irritably: "Are you dreaming? No matter how expensive this thing is, it's still more than half cheaper than a brick phone." ===== CHAPTER 276 =====