Chapter 9

Back these past few days, Li Dongling had been getting familiar with this place and this era, thinking of things he wanted to do—but no matter what he tried, he was stymied by the lack of resources, and none of it could escape the need for that first pot of gold.

In this wild, rough-and-tumble era, countless people acquired their first pot of gold in wildly different ways: some through fraud and deception, others by sheer talk, convincing entire cities and countless companies to fall for their schemes, swindling hundreds of millions before ultimately getting themselves caught.

Of course, there was another faction—like the giant boss Shi and Jin Shan—who built software companies, became tech heroes, reaped fame and fortune, and were worshipped by thousands.

The first pot of gold could sometimes be filthy and bloody, but it could also be clean—if given a choice, Li Dongling hoped to obtain a clean first pot of gold; once tainted by original sin, one could never wash it clean in a lifetime!

Staying at West City Wireless Plant No. 1 made it nearly impossible to earn that first pot of gold, especially given the plant’s dire condition and heavy burdens, not to mention people like Liu Jiande; even if Li Dongling stayed here for ten years, he might never gain any real voice—Old Yellow Ox Zhou Wenyang was a living example.

As for borrowing from the bank, with his current status, how much could Li Dongling even borrow?

Going to Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory seemed like being tricked—but who could say it wasn’t an opportunity?

If he could revive Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory, could he use it to obtain his first pot of gold?!

Liu Jiande, clapping, turned his gaze toward Li Dongling—he’d only spoken offhandedly, never expecting Li Dongling to immediately take the bait; now he wouldn’t have to waste his breath.

Of all the technicians sent to support Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory, Liu Jiande had no intention of letting any of them return; not only would it free up several formal worker slots, but it would also make these technicians shoulder the blame for the factory’s bankruptcy, allowing Liu Jiande to earn favor with the plant manager.

The old plant manager of West City Wireless Plant No. 1 would retire in no more than a year or two, and Liu Jiande wanted to try sitting in that chair—just to feel what it was like.

Seeing Li Dongling agree, Xu Yiqiao called out a few more names: “Hou Yongzheng, Ning Panwang...”

But unlike Li Dongling, those called out by Xu Yiqiao all adamantly refused to go to Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory.

“I’m going nowhere—I’ve worked here for over ten years. Now you want me to leave? No way. Same as before: unless you, Xu, come with me, no one’s word means anything!”

Hou Yongzheng was clearly a troublemaker, glancing sideways at Liu Jiande—he clearly wasn’t afraid of him.

“I’m not going either. If anyone dares to dock my pay, I’ll lie down right outside city hall!”

Ning Panwang, head held high, displayed such a fierce, combative attitude that even Liu Jiande felt a headache coming on.

After calling out several more names and being refused each time, Xu Yiqiao grew desperate, and reluctantly turned to his few old yellow oxen: “Zhou Wenyang, you go!”

“Me?!”

Zhou Wenyang’s face turned deathly pale—he never imagined that after years of diligent work, serving Xu Yiqiao like a beast of burden with no merit but plenty of hardship, he’d be thrown out today.

“Comrade Xu, I...”

“What ‘I’? Zhou Wenyang, do you even want to keep your job? If not, get out! If you won’t go do technical support, get out of the Technical Section—this little temple can’t hold your grand Buddha!”

Xu Yiqiao unleashed a torrent of abuse on Zhou Wenyang, venting all his fury on him; publicly humiliated and drenched in verbal filth, Zhou Wenyang stammered for a long time, face flushed red, but dared not retort or even raise a fist against Xu Yiqiao.

Seeing Zhou Wenyang’s ashen face, Xu Yiqiao knew he’d broken him—but two men were clearly not enough.

Just as Xu Yiqiao scanned the room, wondering who else he could send, a cheerful voice suddenly rang out: “Comrade Xu, let me go!”

As soon as the voice spoke, three or five others chimed in: “Count me in!” “Add me too!”

The speaker was Zhang Ao; the others who volunteered were all connections shoved in—others feared leaving and never returning, but they didn’t care; worst case, they’d be transferred to another department or state factory in Pingyang City. This trip to Shangguan Town? They treated it like a vacation—freer than at West City Wireless Plant No. 1.

Seeing seven or eight volunteers, Xu Yiqiao finally sighed in relief and said to Liu Jiande: “Manager Liu, we’ve selected the technical staff from our section to support Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory!”

“You represent West City Wireless Plant No. 1—go there and work hard, show the spirit of our plant: fearless of hardship, willing to shoulder responsibility...”

Before the meeting ended, Liu Jiande delivered a long speech full of empty platitudes, but Li Dongling had zero interest—he walked back to the dormitory building with Zhang Ao.

“That Liu Jiande’s got no good intentions—why did you agree to him? That old bastard’s full of scheming tricks!” Zhang Ao said to Li Dongling.

Li Dongling glanced at Zhou Wenyang, trudging behind them with a gloomy face: “When the old man lost his horse, who knew it wasn’t a blessing? Going there might be an opportunity.”

But Zhou Wenyang couldn’t hear a word Li Dongling said—he’d joined this factory when he first started working, rising from apprentice to formal worker, spending over fifteen years here.

Now he was suddenly being expelled. Though officially labeled “technical support,” Zhou Wenyang was no fool—he knew the current state of the wireless plant: they were desperate to get rid of people, and once you left, you’d never be allowed back.

Zhou Wenyang had always assumed he’d spend his whole life here, retiring, maybe even being rehired to mentor apprentices—this sudden upheaval made him feel like the sky had collapsed; his entire life had lost its purpose.

Not just him—workers at state-owned factories facing closure and layoffs all felt the same: the iron rice bowl was gone, the lifelong belief that had sustained them for decades had shattered, and mentally, it was unbearable.

After packing their belongings, Li Dongling and Zhang Ao and the others headed to Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory to report in. Zhou Wenyang, though reluctant and sighing constantly, still followed along.

He couldn’t bring himself to give up completely—unless he dared to abandon his iron rice bowl, even today’s public humiliation by Xu Yiqiao in front of the entire Technical Section was unbearable; if the factory held a full-plant meeting to criticize him, Zhou Wenyang would be so ashamed he’d crawl into a crack in the ground.

Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory occupied a large area, but now it looked desolate—no delivery trucks stood at the gate; only a few bicycles were parked in the workshop sheds.

Hearing they were here for technical support, the gatekeeper’s face showed no smile; he muttered under his breath: “What good are a bunch of kids?”

Li Dongling surveyed the Yuanqi Factory before him—it was clearly shut down, eerily quiet, yet spotlessly clean, suggesting the management had at least kept things orderly.

“Director Zhang, these are technicians sent from West City Wireless Plant No. 1 for support!”

The gatekeeper pushed open the director’s office door and called out.

“Come in!”

A rough voice rang out. As Li Dongling entered, he saw a big man seated there, staring at them with sharp eyes; just seeing him, Li Dongling and the others instinctively felt this man had been a soldier, discharged and returned.

“Damn it, Liu Jiande is just messing with me! Sending a few technicians—what good is that? I need orders, I need money! Do you think I’m short of these few people?!”

Zhang Xiaocheng immediately launched into a tirade against Liu Jiande, not caring at all that Li Dongling and the others were right there. After yelling, he said: “Go, wherever you want—just don’t bother me with your presence!”

Hearing this, Zhang Ao and the other connections felt as if they’d been granted amnesty; without a word, they hurried out. Moments later, motorcycle engines roared as they all fled.

Left alone were Li Dongling and Zhou Wenyang. After waiting a while, Zhou Wenyang couldn’t hold back: “Director Zhang, is there anything we can do?”

Zhang Xiaocheng glanced up at him: “Didn’t I just say? I need orders, I need money! The bank’s chasing me daily for repayment—my workers are already eating at my house! What the hell do you think I need you for?!”

“If you can bring me orders, if you can get me money, I’ll kneel down and call you Grandpa—even kick this place around like a ball!”

Can’t do it?

Then go wherever it’s cool and stay there—the cafeteria will feed you one meal a day!”

Zhang Xiaocheng ranted, pointing at his own head, spitting so fiercely Zhou Wenyang couldn’t lift his eyes—he had no way to get orders or borrow money from the bank.

“Director Zhang, could we go inside the workshop and take a look?”

Zhang Xiaocheng didn’t look up, waved his hand dismissively—Li Dongling said nothing, pulled Zhou Wenyang, and walked out.

Walking through the Yuanqi Factory, Li Dongling saw that though production had halted, the workshops and warehouses still had guards—though they sat idly, it was clear Zhang Xiaocheng had made efforts, hoping one day to restart operations.

After inspecting the interior, the equipment was still well-maintained. This factory had previously produced components for West City Wireless Plant No. 1 and other state factories; now that those factories were struggling, Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory was worse off.

Since arriving at Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory, Li Dongling had eaten one meal and spent nearly all his time in the workshop and warehouse. At first Zhou Wenyang followed him, but soon, not understanding what Li Dongling was doing, he sat with the guards, idly basking in the sun.

All day, Li Dongling stayed in the workshop, learning the factory’s equipment and technical capabilities: complex machinery here couldn’t be produced, nor could they afford to produce it.

That night, Li Dongling and Zhou Wenyang returned to the dormitory building. On the way, Zhou Wenyang complained to Li Dongling: “When will this miserable life end?!”

Li Dongling rode his bicycle, idly looking up at the sky—this era’s night sky was full of stars. Just then, he saw a streak of light, like a meteor, flash across the heavens and vanish into the night.

“Sss!”

Li Dongling slammed on the brake, startling Zhou Wenyang beside him; he saw Li Dongling staring fixedly at the sky. Zhou Wenyang looked up too—nothing seemed different from before.

“I know what Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory should produce!”

Leaving behind a cryptic remark, Li Dongling rode off again, leaving Zhou Wenyang utterly baffled, clueless as to what had just happened.

Early the next morning, Li Dongling arrived at Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory and immediately saw Zhang Xiaocheng arguing with someone.

“Search me—if you find any money on me, take it all!”

“Outside are the workshops—take anything you want. I’ll even mortgage the factory to you!”

“Still not enough? Then take my life!”

Seeing Zhang Xiaocheng playing the fool, the man grew frantic: “What good is this broken factory to me? Director Zhang, when I processed your loan, you swore it’d be three months—now it’s nearly a year, and you haven’t paid a cent! If you don’t pay, I’ll lose my job!”

Hearing this, Li Dongling realized the man was from the bank—here to collect payment.

After prolonged wrangling, seeing Zhang Xiaocheng wouldn’t budge, the man finally sighed: “Fine, Zhang, you’re ruthless. Wait for the bank to sue you in court!”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaocheng actually grinned: “Perfect! If the bank really seizes this dump, even if they lock me up for years, I’ll bow down and kowtow to you when I get out—this job is no place for a human being!”

Watching Zhang Xiaocheng bang the table, the man was utterly defeated, grabbed his bag, and walked away.

“Any other problems? Spit it all out now!”

After the bank man left, Zhang Xiaocheng dropped his “I-don’t-care” facade, looking exhausted as he asked Li Dongling.

“Director Zhang, I believe Shangguan Town’s Yuanqi Factory should resume production—if not, it’ll collapse for good!”

“What?!” Zhang Xiaocheng wondered if he’d misheard.

Li Dongling ignored him and continued: “The most suitable product for this factory right now is a satellite TV receiver!”

Seeing Zhang Xiaocheng still didn’t understand, Li Dongling said plainly: “Satellite dish.”