Chapter 876

Branch Factory No. 1 became busy quickly after the Spring Festival.

The General Factory couldn't wait to transfer Zheng Qiang, a master from Jilin University, to Branch Factory No. 1, and then kept urging Branch Factory No. 1 to complete the expansion of 1041 cars for the General Factory as soon as possible.

And the two production lines introduced from Japan arrived one after another, accompanied by the German-born engineer Ludwig from the Lighthouse Mitsubishi factory.

As soon as Ludwig arrived at Branch Factory No. 1, he immediately aroused the onlookers of the masses. Even if Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang scolded severely, they couldn't stop everyone's enthusiasm for "watching the Western scenery." If they couldn't get close, they would watch from afar.

This can't be said that the young men of Branch Factory No. 1 are impolite. It is really that foreigners in this era are not as rare as toads with three legs, but they are definitely as rare as giant pandas. If you watch a few eyes, you will have the capital to brag to your little partners, right?

"Hi, do you know? We have a foreign engineer in the factory, yellow hair, big nose, wearing a shirt in the cold spring weather, and his chest is furry and really cold-resistant..."

"Do you know? He used to be a West German, working in that Santana factory, and later went to the Lighthouse. It's really strange. Didn't the Lighthouse defeat them before?"

"."

In the days when Ludwig just arrived in the mainland, he was actually very uncomfortable. Anyone who was watched like this all day would be anxious.

But when he organized equipment with the workers and produced on the production line, especially after drinking together, this silent and old-fashioned West German gradually liked these Chinese people who smiled when they saw him.

【They are all very kind.】

This is the sentence Ludwig said most to Li Ye.

And the second sentence Ludwig said most is "raise wages."

This day, Ludwig and the technical team of Branch Factory No. 1 completed a wave of technical arguments and found Li Ye again with Zheng Qiang, who was temporarily acting as his translator.

As soon as they met, this guy said bluntly: "Mr. Li, the production conditions of your car factory are far below the standards I confirmed with you before,"

"So I must pay ten times the workload to make it reach the level of normal production. My salary must be raised. This is the respect between us."

Li Ye sat in the chair and looked at Ludwig in front of him, complaining in his heart.

【Damn it, isn't it said that Germans are all old-fashioned and rigorous technical men? How come this guy is so tricky?】

The production links and production conditions of Branch Factory No. 1 certainly cannot be compared with West German Volkswagen and Japanese Mitsubishi, but they are considered quite good in the mainland.

And with the attitude of learning, Professor Zhao led the team to form an excellent technical team for Li Ye, and most of the work was done by mainland engineers and technical personnel. Ludwig, the chief engineer, absolutely did not need to pay any "ten times the workload."

So Li Ye waited for Ludwig to talk for a long time about his hardship, and then asked directly: "Mr. Ludwig, as far as I know, you only work eight hours a day now. If you want to pay ten times the workload, do you work eighty hours a day?"

Zheng Qiang glanced at Li Ye, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.

In the past few days, mainland technical personnel and workers have been working twelve hours a day for the landing of the two production lines, but Ludwig insisted on the eight-hour work system according to the contract.

So Li Ye sprayed him with this sentence just now, and Zheng Qiang felt very relieved.

But unexpectedly, Ludwig didn't hesitate and said to Li Ye: "Mr. Li, the intensity of mental labor is invisible, but if you give me a raise, I am willing to bear the same working hours as Engineer Zheng..."

【Are you deliberately making trouble? Or are you a straight-gutted person who can't turn corners?】

Li Ye laughed angrily. Guarding Zheng Qiang himself, you said that as long as you get a raise, you will work the same hours as others. Then how much is Zheng Qiang's salary? It's not even one-twentieth of yours, right?

However, thinking of the scene when Li Ye first met Ludwig, he was collectively ignored by his colleagues, and it was not difficult to understand the other party's workplace EQ.

"Ludwig, we have a contract. You only worked in Japan for twenty days in the first few months, and we still gave you the full salary. So you tell me, what is the reason that makes you suddenly become so greedy?"

"."

Ludwig was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect that Li Ye, who had always been good-tempered, would suddenly become so sharp.

At this time, he suddenly recalled the scene when he was jumping off the building, Li Ye pulled his arm and talked to him about the conditions.

At that time, he asked for a high price of 10,000 US dollars a month, and Li Ye immediately wanted to throw him down—then you might as well go die!

So later he asked for a price of 7,000 US dollars a month.

Now looking at Li Ye's appearance, Ludwig was suddenly a little flustered.

【He won't throw me down again, will he?】

So, Ludwig finally blushed and told the truth: "I only asked for the minimum living expenses at that time. I owed 350,000 US dollars, and the interest alone was more than 40,000 a year..."

"I have two children to raise, and my wife and children must have the most basic residence. I can't let them wander on the street..."

Li Ye tightened his face and said coldly: "If you don't have enough money, just say you don't have enough money. Why do you say what ten times the workload? Why do you say we are backward here? If we are not backward, what do you need to do?"

"After you came here, you only worked eight hours a day. At this rate, when will my two production lines be operational? I have no income, what do I use to give you a raise?"

"."

Li Ye's sarcasm and scolding made Ludwig blush, making the translator Zheng Qiang next to him feel a little sorry for this West German guy.

After all, he is an international friend who left his family and went to work, which is quite difficult.

So he spoke English that was not fluent to Ludwig: "You can bring your family to our China. The cost of living here is low, and there are also schools for foreign children..."

Ludwig shook his head bitterly: "Zheng, thank you, I know..."

Zheng Qiang was a little puzzled. He thought that if Ludwig brought his wife and children to the mainland, even after paying off the debt interest with a salary of 7,000 US dollars, he could live a fairy-like life.

Li Ye smiled lightly and explained to Zheng Qiang: "Do you think the bankers in the Lighthouse are all great philanthropists? Do you think they are like the mainland, where you owe the bank money and don't pay it back, and he can't slaughter you?"

"."

Li Ye's words made Zheng Qiang understand the darkness of the free world, but he still gave Ludwig a chance.

"Ludwig, if you can learn Chinese well and make the two production lines go into production smoothly, we will consider giving you a bonus at the end of the year."

The lost Ludwig immediately asked Li Ye: "How much is this bonus?"

Li Ye said seriously: "At least 50,000 US dollars. If your work is outstanding... there is no upper limit."

"Okay, I will learn Chinese well and work outstandingly!"

Ludwig, who was quite frustrated just now, immediately had the motivation and readily agreed to Li Ye's conditions.

Is it difficult to learn a foreign language? Is it difficult to work hard?

Both are ten times easier than dealing with those bankers' collection bills!

Even if Li Ye only gave him an extra 50,000 US dollars, it could make the principal of the debt decrease by a large chunk, and the remaining debt would become less and less, rather than rolling over and becoming more and more.

However, Li Ye's two conditions made Zheng Qiang a little lost, because as Ludwig's translator, he could learn first-hand experience. If he didn't need his translator in the future, he, Zheng Qiang, wouldn't be able to rank among a group of associate researchers and researchers.

Li Ye noticed Zheng Qiang's abnormality and kept him to ask: "What's wrong, Zheng Qiang, is it because Ludwig's salary is too high, so your psychology is unbalanced?"

"No, no, no, our psychology is not unbalanced. Ludwig does have skills we have never seen before. I just wonder... why do you force him to learn Chinese well?"

"Isn't this simple?"

Li Ye said with a smile: "Equipping him with a translator will make him think he is a 'distinguished guest,' but after he learns Chinese, he will be a worker of Branch Factory No. 1 just like us,"

"If he always relies on a translator, in case there is a problem with the work, it is easy to shirk responsibility because of language barriers,"

"But if he understands Chinese, even if I speak Sichuan dialect, it is his responsibility if he doesn't understand!"

"."

Zheng Qiang was stunned.

Because he suddenly found that Li Ye, who was "incomparably kind" in the hearts of the workers, actually had such a narrow and insidious side.

【No wonder some people say he is like a capitalist. It turns out it is not unreasonable. Bah, bah, bah, the more such capitalists, the better.】