[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-restarted-life-1992":3,"chapter-my-restarted-life-1992-my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-47":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Restarted Life: 1992",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2279597,4460,"Chapter 47: The Joke Went Too Far","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-47",47,"\u003Cp>“What good news?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming asked curiously; as his secretary, a top graduate from Peking University, he was only twenty-seven but extremely level-headed—never before had he seen him walk with such energy, face beaming with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Yuan pulled out a newspaper from his briefcase: “I went down to get a bottle of water, flipped through the newspaper rack in the lobby lounge, and spotted today’s newly arrived People’s Daily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming was puzzled—what good news in Jiangzhou warranted coverage in the People’s Daily? And if it was this big, why hadn’t he heard anything?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He handed the newspaper over, pointing with a raised finger: “Look right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming froze: “Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Wine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Yuan said: “It’s the new liquor launched by the municipal distillery—they printed tons of wall calendars for promotion. The secretariat even received a few copies. Since you’ve been touring enterprises these past two days, I hadn’t had a chance to tell you yet. Didn’t expect it to make the People’s Daily today—this Imperial Tribute Wine really has become imperial tribute.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming urged: “Quick, tell me what happened.” Then he waved his hand: “How could I forget—Gao Qingkui is right in the meeting room. With the man himself here, why ask you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming strode toward the meeting room, unable to suppress a burst of laughter: “That Gao Qingkui—he’s dropped a whole satellite and kept it hidden! This old comrade really knows how to handle things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Yuan opened his mouth to speak, but Zuo Peiming had already pushed open the meeting room door and slapped his forehead: “This joke might’ve gone too far.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the meeting room, before Zuo Peiming even entered, they’d heard his laughter and were all startled—what good fortune had their leader encountered to laugh so loudly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming entered, still smiling, glanced back at Gao Qingkui seated at the back—the old comrade was still capable, just about to retire. Maybe we can rehire him; this distillery truly can’t do without him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Leader, what good news made you so happy?” asked the middle-aged man with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on, Guanghui, take a look!” Zuo Peiming sat down and handed the newspaper to the man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Guanghui took it, his expression changed instantly, then returned to normal: “This really is good news—Lao Qiao, you should see this too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He passed it to another slightly overweight middle-aged man—Lao Qiao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Qiao took it, spotted the close-up of Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Wine, and smiled without expression: “Let everyone take a look—let’s all share the joy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Qiao handed the newspaper to an outstretched hand, then cast a cold glance at Gao Qingkui. He and Xie Guanghui had both called yesterday and believed Gao Qingkui’s story—but this People’s Daily article had put them in a tight spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zuo Peiming found out they’d known about this but ignored it, they’d be scolded without mercy—so they had to pretend ignorance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper circulated among them. Zuo Peiming glanced over and smiled: “The Jiangzhou Distillery has launched a major satellite—it truly surprised me. When enterprises hit hard times, don’t always reach out to the city for money. Change your thinking—if one path is blocked, take another.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You should all learn from the distillery—take lessons from Comrade Gao Qingkui. If he can do it, I believe you can too. As long as you’re willing to think and dare to try, no obstacle is insurmountable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zuo Peiming’s words, everyone turned with strange expressions toward Gao Qingkui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qingkui sat at the very back, hadn’t seen the newspaper yet, but already sensed something amiss from Zuo Peiming’s tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The newspaper was now in Liu Qingjun’s hands—but he didn’t pass it to Gao Qingkui: “Director Zuo, I think you may have misunderstood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming blinked: “I misunderstood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!” Liu Qingjun said: “The distillery’s reform, moving into the mid-to-high-end market with a new liquor—has nothing to do with Factory Director Gao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qingkui’s face changed—he leaned forward to snatch the paper, but Liu Qingjun was ready, dodged aside while gripping the newspaper, and grinned:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Factory Director Gao, why the rush? Wait till I finish reporting to the leader before you look.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—!” Gao Qingkui turned ashen, speechless with rage, his heart suddenly fluttering with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming’s brow twitched slightly—he realized something was seriously wrong here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qingjun grinned at Gao Qingkui: “As I understand it, this reform plan was devised by a worker named Zhou Andong. The factory’s Party secretary, Gu Bing, pushed it through despite opposition.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Developing a new liquor requires too much time and capital—the distillery can’t afford it. More urgently, Lunar New Year is coming, and over a thousand workers haven’t been paid. Meanwhile, there were eighty tons of high-quality sorghum sitting unsold in the warehouse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Comrade Zhou Andong proposed repackaging the eighty tons of sorghum under a new name and launching it on the market—this would save massive funds and time, and even if it failed, losses would be minimal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, through a series of strategic marketing efforts by Comrade Zhou Andong, the transformed sorghum—now called Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Wine—entered the view of mid-to-high-end consumers. But when individual merchants and wholesalers called the distillery to inquire and prepare to order Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Wine, Factory Director Gao and Zhang Deyou began tearing down their own house—clearly telling customers: ‘This Jiangzhou Imperial Tribute Wine is just the old sorghum—buy it and you’re getting scammed.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming asked coldly: “How do you know all this in such detail?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t know—I used to be deputy factory director at Jiangzhou Distillery, transferred to the electronics factory years ago. The current deputy factory director in charge of logistics, Qian Zhen, is an old friend. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so yesterday we met for drinks—he told me all this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Qian Zhen also told me Zhou Andong is a college graduate—a rare talent. Last year, he was supposed to be promoted to deputy section chief, but for no reason, the promotion was revoked. Then Zhang Deyou transferred him to the radio station, where he spends his days reading newspapers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Qingjun sneered: “Such talent—many enterprises would fight to get him. I can’t understand how Factory Director Gao and Deputy Director Zhang Deyou could waste him like this. If they don’t want him, I’d gladly transfer Zhou Andong to our electronics factory—if he can revive it, I’d give him my position as factory director.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming glanced at Gao Qingkui—his gaze was icy, making Gao Qingkui shiver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s enough for today’s meeting.” Zuo Peiming stood and walked out. He was furious inside, but still gave Gao Qingkui face—said nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>",1107,"2026-06-20T01:18:49.036Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e3c7d555774d084aa0c2659ea72e120f2de761cd801a2dd095089e652bc67278","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-48","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-46",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-restarted-life-1992-cover.jpg"]