Chapter 32

Gu Bing's eyes lit up. Since he took office, he had been rubbed into the ground by Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou. Whoever has experienced that feeling knows what it's like. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight back, but he was alone and weak, and his strength didn't allow it.

Going to his superiors to complain would be too shameless; asking his friends for help would be too embarrassing. So he had been like a young wife being gang-raped by a dozen men, hiding in his office every day licking his wounds. Now, hearing Zhou Andong say he could rub Zhang Deyou into the ground, he immediately felt energized.

"Tell me quickly, let me be happy too."

Zhou Andong asked with a smile: "Want to know?"

Gu Bing nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Zhou Andong crooked his finger. Gu Bing was stunned for a moment, then understood. He picked up the cigarettes and lighter from the desk, ran over, and personally lit one for Zhou Andong.

Zhou Andong smoked leisurely and said with a grin: "It's comfortable having the Party Secretary light my cigarette."

Gu Bing's face turned black again: "Tell me quickly."

Zhou Andong exhaled a smoke ring: "Think about it, what will happen if a large number of customers suddenly appear wanting to buy Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor?"

Gu Bing said: "Retail stores don't have it, so they will naturally ask the higher-level wholesalers."

"Snap!" Zhou Andong snapped his fingers, "Whether it's individual wholesalers or supply cooperatives, they will definitely contact the sales section immediately. Even those bosses, managers, and directors will personally call Zhang Deyou and Gao Qingkui. What will the result be?"

Gu Bing said: "Those two old things will definitely tear down our walls and might even tell them that Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor is just the sorghum liquor."

Zhou Andong smiled, a sneaky look on his face: "When the report about the top leaders visiting the grassroots comes out, and Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor appears in the newspaper—and it's the People's Daily—what do you think those bosses, managers, and directors will think?"

Gu Bing jumped up: "What could they think? They'll definitely be very dissatisfied with Zhang Deyou and Gao Qingkui."

"Exactly!" Zhou Andong flicked the ash into the ashtray: "When the sorghum liquor was in short supply, individual wholesalers and city supply cooperatives were begging them. For the past two years, the liquor hasn't been selling, so they went to beg others, but others didn't give them face. So, they don't care about offending these people.

But our reform is already unstoppable. If they don't repair their relationships with these people, these connections will be handed over to us for nothing. Those two old things definitely won't let that happen. Therefore, for their own selfish interests, they might very well damage the interests of the factory and the workers by selling Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor to individual wholesalers and city supply cooperatives at the price of the sorghum liquor."

"They dare?" Gu Bing slammed the table hard with a 'bang'.

Zhou Andong rolled his eyes: "I told you a few days ago to guard the warehouse well. Not a single bottle can leave through their hands. We can't work ourselves to death just to make wedding clothes for them, letting them use the liquor to build their own connections. I'm telling you very clearly today: if they are truly determined to betray the interests of the factory and the workers, you won't be able to guard those eighty tons of liquor in the warehouse."

Gu Bing's face turned red. He wanted to say something, but finally, like a deflated ball, he sat down, then jumped up again.

"You're a clever little monkey; you must have a way, right?"

Zhou Andong said irritably: "What do you mean by 'clever little monkey'? This is called being smart, wise, resourceful, strategic, and winning battles from a thousand miles away..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Gu Bing raised his hands, "Can't I just admit I was wrong?"

Zhou Andong nodded, very satisfied with Gu Bing's attitude: "Hold a factory-wide workers' meeting tomorrow. After the eighty tons of liquor are sold, we will pay the wages owed for the past two years, and starting this month, we will raise wages by sixty yuan."

Gu Bing wasn't really stupid; he understood the logic behind this. He slapped his thigh, then excitedly put his arm around Zhou Andong's neck and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Fuck!" This caught Zhou Andong completely off guard. He jumped onto the sofa and crouched on the armrest.

"Party Secretary, I'm a married man, and I'm physiologically normal. If you have any needs, there are so many men in our factory—tall, short, fat, thin, old, young, and even more who aren't too old or too young. As long as you call out, I think many people would be willing to play with you once. After all, you're the Party Secretary, a factory leader, even if you don't have much say. If someone climbed into your bed, it would be a step up to heaven."

"Get out of here!"

Gu Bing's face was dark: "I was just excited for a moment."

"Phew!" Zhou Andong let out a long breath, patting his chest repeatedly, looking terrified, "So that's it, so that's it. You really scared me to death."

Gu Bing was so angry he wanted to vomit blood, constantly comforting himself that he couldn't get angry at this bastard, otherwise, if he died of anger, he would be the one losing out.

"No, I need to smoke a cigarette to calm my nerves. That stunt of yours was too scary." Zhou Andong picked up a cigarette and lit it, then glanced at Gu Bing, who was still panting. He very cleverly changed the subject.

"Zhang Deyou is still a bit lacking, but Gao Qingkui has a lot of prestige among the workers. If he says something, the workers definitely won't oppose it, and wouldn't dare to. If he sells the Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor as sorghum liquor, we won't have any way to stop him.

But if you hold a workers' meeting and tell the whole factory that the liquor in the warehouse has been sold and that you will not only pay their back wages but also raise their wages, maybe they won't believe it at first, but when the report comes out, they will believe it. Your prestige will rise accordingly, and it won't be so easy for Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou to suppress you anymore."

Speaking of this, Zhou Andong's face revealed a sneaky smile again: "When that time comes, if those two old things want to ship the goods at the sorghum liquor price, let them."

"Why?" Gu Bing asked, not understanding.

Zhou Andong said: "Because once those eighty tons of liquor are sold at the sorghum liquor price, let alone raising wages, there won't even be enough to pay the back wages. Do you think our factory's thousand-plus workers will tear them to pieces?"

Gu Bing asked: "What if those two old things ship the goods at the price we set?"

Zhou Andong said: "Your prestige will have already risen. If you stand up to oppose them, I think many workers will stand on your side and support you."

"You're really insidious!" Gu Bing said.

Zhou Andong chuckled: "It's time to pay for the calendar printing, and the workers who are going out tomorrow should be given their subsidy fee tonight."

"I'll go to the finance section right now." Gu Bing nodded and stood up to walk out.

Zhou Andong picked up the phone on the desk and called Jiang Yuyue. This time he was lucky; Jiang Yuyue answered: "Come find me tomorrow morning."

Jiang Yuyue asked: "What time?"

Zhou Andong said: "Seven o'clock."

"Alright!" Jiang Yuyue's voice suddenly became very soft, "Mom is back, I'm hanging up."