[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981":3,"chapter-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-878":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","That Year, the Flowers Bloomed in 1981",{"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},2295296,4489,"Chapter 878: Pouring Wash Water for the Master","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-878",878,"\u003Cp>Originally a salary of two hundred yuan, reduced to one hundred for overseas assignment—that’s pure stupidity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Old Tan certainly isn’t stupid; he immediately changed the subject: “But do we need an engineer earning eighty thousand dollars a year? We already have our own engineers!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Xing from the Technical Department has been rated as an engineer for over a decade, and Zheng Qiang, just arrived, is a graduate from Jilin University—why is he only making two or three hundred a month?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The First Plant was originally part of the main factory, but you, Li Ye, run your own little canteen, your own little slush fund, set your own wages however you please—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main factory’s average salary is only one hundred and ten. We’re all working for the country—why should some earn a hundred, others three hundred, and someone else eighty thousand? Is the First Plant your personal estate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan spoke nonstop for over two minutes, passionately preaching the necessity of eliminating wealth disparity, on the verge of invoking the old slogan “smash the rich landlords and divide the land.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was just getting warmed up when he suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan was furious—because the person sitting beside him was his favorite disciple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m firing on all cylinders, and you’re pulling my leg? What’s this, you think I’ve been blacklisted and now you’re going to betray me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Old Tan saw his disciple frantically winking at him, he suddenly realized something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, when he turned his head, he saw the main factory director and the management team looking grim, and many workers around were smirking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan realized he’d messed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because he’d been blacklisted by the First Plant, Old Tan and all his relatives and nephews had been treated differently by the First Plant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past year, Old Tan had been quarreling daily with his wife and relatives, hating Li Ye as his mortal enemy—and now that he’d finally found his chance, how could he possibly let it go?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So in front of the workers and the ministry officials, he’d said things he shouldn’t have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These days, workers all had iron rice bowls and often cursed at management they disliked; the main topic of these arguments was always: “Why do I make eighty and you make one hundred and fifty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So wealth disparity had always existed—and because of recent wage hikes, the gap had grown even wider than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main factory’s average salary was one hundred and ten, but the director and his team earned over three hundred; their rank justified it—even Old Tan himself was close to two hundred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So talking about average salary in front of them was an indiscriminate attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【You mean, you make two hundred a month, and I make three hundred as director—that’s unfair?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan wanted to cry. He wanted to say, “That’s not what I meant—I didn’t say your salaries are too high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how could he say that in this setting? Would he want to be hated by everyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Puh-puh-puh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye tapped the microphone a few times and spoke in the calmest tone: “I can explain Old Tan’s concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From an economic standpoint, within the same group, wages are determined by a combination of individual contribution and job demand—if you’re getting what you’re owed, there’s no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, last month my salary plus bonus was two hundred and forty-nine—above the First Plant’s average, but below the frontline workers’ average. So why is it below the frontline workers’ average?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye looked at the workers below and answered himself: “Because my average daily work hours are eight, while the First Plant’s frontline workers work ten and a half hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Note—this ten and a half hours isn’t slacking off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye’s words stunned Old Tan and the others, then fired them up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, Li Ye, what are you implying? Are you saying we’re slacking off? What proof do you have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, who are you calling lazy? We all learned from the same master—why are you boasting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye looked at the discontented representatives from the main factory and smirked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, he’d been holding back a deep, suffocating rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From what Old Tan just said, he could guess one of those dozen or so denunciation letters was definitely his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, we all learned from the same master—but last year, how many cars did the First Plant produce? Everyone knows: double the main factory’s output, with a defect rate below four percent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One sentence from Li Ye silenced the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main factory’s year-end report had openly borrowed the First Plant’s output figures to look good—so everyone knew exactly how productive the First Plant was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Ye wasn’t done. Before anyone could stop him, he added: “Let me teach you a financial lesson: double the per capita output doesn’t mean double the profit—it means several times more!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the state’s principle of ‘more work, more pay,’ earning two or three hundred is not excessive—it’s barely enough!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Plant’s worker representatives burst into collective applause, making the atmosphere strangely tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ve got envy? Let me cure you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, his father-in-law, Wen Qingsheng, had said he could show a little arrogance—let them know Li Ye wasn’t to be trifled with, and even if he made a small mess, someone would clean it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And who better to play that role than Old Tan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Ye, you misunderstood—I was mainly saying that engineer’s salary is too high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Red-faced, Old Tan still tried to defend himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye didn’t press further; instead, he explained seriously: “The Ludwig engineer we hired previously worked for Volkswagen in West Germany.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You all know Volkswagen’s products—Audi, Santana—they’re already being produced on the mainland. I drive a Santana—the quality is excellent. I’ve driven others’ Audis too—they’re even better. But a forty-thousand-yuan Audi, a twenty-thousand-yuan Santana—really that good?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone froze, confused by Li Ye’s point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t a forty-thousand-yuan Audi good? Wasn’t a twenty-thousand-yuan Santana good?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re way better than the Volga and the 212!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye sighed and addressed the crowd: “I’ve been to the Soviet Union and Japan—I’ve seen firsthand how most families there own a car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I ask you: even if you earn three hundred a month, when will you ever own your own car?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first time Li Ye had publicly voiced his dream—and the dream of “everyone owning a car” stunned many in the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though people had chanted for years about “apartments upstairs and down, electric lights and telephones, no oil for lamps, no oxen for plowing,” the cake was almost choking them—but this dream had never died in the hearts of the Chinese people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pfft~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan suddenly sneered, looking down at Li Ye: “I thought you were going to say something profound! Our factory was producing Satellite-brand cars back in the fifties—but no one’s ever even held a car’s steering wheel. Meanwhile, you, Director Li, already have your own car!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye was truly angry now. He finally understood why the ministry officials had come to talk to him—not just about wage gaps, but to investigate whether he’d been infiltrated by “capitalist” influences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan’s words were all designed to prove Li Ye had been corrupted by sugar-coated bullets. After these two officials reported back, they’d likely analyze him further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The label “mass discontent” was particularly nauseating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Light Vehicle Company wasn’t just full of people like Old Tan—it had another group entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Miao from the First Plant stood up and asked Li Ye solemnly: “Deputy Director Li, can you tell us how we can make everyone own a car?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Miao was older than Old Tan and had seen more of the world, but Li Ye’s words had stirred him deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Li Ye never promised empty pies—he always delivered on his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Output—tenfold, twentyfold output.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye stated firmly: “Whether in West Germany or Japan, car factories produce in the hundreds of thousands annually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When scale expands, profits surge—and costs drop to levels you can’t imagine. With higher incomes and lower car prices, our dream becomes real.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye pointed at Old Tan: “You say we were making cars in the fifties—do you know how many we made per year? Would it ever reach you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone laughed. A “good news product” producing only dozens per year? Who would ever get one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye raised his hand to quiet the laughter, then said seriously: “This Ludwig engineer knows how to achieve an annual output of three hundred thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confucius said: ‘When walking with three people, one of them is bound to be my teacher.’ You’ve all been apprentices—how should you treat a master with real skill? Do I need to explain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>China has a tradition of respecting teachers. Before liberation, apprentices worked three years without pay; to learn, you had to work harder than others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after liberation, factories still practiced “passing on skills”—master craftsmen trained apprentices, and lazy apprentices were never favored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Tan was a senior master with dozens of disciples—he knew this well—but he couldn’t admit Li Ye was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he sneered: “So now we have to pour wash water for the master’s wife?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone laughed again—but this time, the laughter held no malice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ye laughed too, bitterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said coolly: “This is a new society—we all have dignity, so we don’t pour wash water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if someone earns a fortune, don’t envy them. If your hands blister, don’t complain. If you can’t handle the hardship, don’t come to the First Plant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The First Plant doesn’t want lazybones, useless people, or envious eyes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room fell silent for thirty seconds—then, suddenly, someone began to clap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned—it was the two ministry officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else was there to wait for? The applause erupted like thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>",1649,"2026-06-20T05:05:02.628Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","214387d6370660cdcfa7430c7e1b2f4c5100c7d1cb96b60161f2034d4b9bac0c","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-879","that-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-chapter-877",884,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthat-year-the-flowers-bloomed-in-1981-cover.jpg"]