Chapter 2444: Again, Rumors

Xiong Wanhua nodded in deep agreement; yes, if it weren't for this Su Xinghui, they would have succeeded in bankrupting the company by now.

Is bankruptcy a good thing for a company? Of course not—it's always a bad thing, proving the company is beyond saving, and leaving its workers with no future.

Yet as leaders of the Yan Textile Group, they genuinely wished for its bankruptcy—wasn't that strange?

But it wasn't strange at all: if Yan Textile Group could successfully go bankrupt, it would bury its shameful past along with the leaders' hidden misdeeds.

These leaders had already raked in enough from Yan Textile Group, yet they still held deputy provincial or full departmental ranks; under the current system, they could never be demoted.

Maybe bankruptcy would leave a stain on them, but so what? As long as they bribed the right people, they could simply move elsewhere and remain in power.

This was the general atmosphere in Yanbei Province and Yanzhong City: promotions didn't depend on performance, but on connections.

Thanks to Deng Fuping, Xiong Wanhua, and others, Yan Textile Group was nearly bankrupt—but for some reason, a work team had been sent down, bringing Su Xinghui, who shattered their hopes all at once.

Not only could they not go bankrupt now, but Su Xinghui had hired an accounting firm to audit their past books, filling them with both hatred and fear toward him.

Xiong Wanhua said: "The night before last, Young Master Lu unexpectedly backed down from Su Xinghui—he's never been like that before. If they'd fought that day, maybe we could've brought Su Xinghui down. What a pity."

Deng Fuping also felt deep regret: if Lu Guojun had truly clashed with Su Xinghui that day, if the incident had blown up, even with Su Xinghui's backing, he'd still be no match for local power in Yanbei Province—Deputy Provincial Governor Lu wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Deputy Provincial Governor Lu Keren also had deep connections: his father-in-law was a founding revolutionary; though long dead, the family still had several accomplished descendants, ensuring its prosperity. Lu Keren's rise to deputy provincial governor at just over fifty owed much to his wife's family's influence.

Lu Keren's future was bright: rumors said he might soon be promoted to deputy secretary of the Yanbei Provincial Party Committee, putting him one step away from full provincial rank—very likely he'd reach that level before retirement.

If Su Xinghui had truly fought Lu Guojun, Deng Fuping was certain that with Lu Keren's power in Yanbei Province, Su Xinghui would suffer terribly—perhaps even be removed, making the entire work team and audit vanish into thin air.

Given Lu Guojun's usual temperament, Deng and Xiong had expected a fight that day—but to their surprise, Lu held back. Though Lu joked about giving Xiao Tao to Su Xinghui, Deng and Xiong, who knew Lu well, could tell he was genuinely wary.

In fact, Deng and Xiong had intended to provoke them into fighting—but they knew none of these people were fools; if their scheming became obvious, they'd be buried without a trace, so they held their tongues.

Deng Fuping said: "It's fine—maybe Young Master Lu has a better plan. Anyway, they all now know Su Xinghui is investigating Yan Textile Group. Can they not find a way to deal with him?"

Xiong Wanhua felt slightly reassured; he nodded—yes, Su Xinghui investigating Yan Textile Group was the same as investigating these leaders. Could they possibly not act against him?

Yet looking down at the cheerful workers below, Deng and Xiong still felt uneasy—how could Su Xinghui have such charm? How, in just a few days, had he won so many workers' hearts?

They felt some regret: perhaps they shouldn't have taken this path. Hadn't they once been beloved factory leaders themselves? That feeling of being cherished and respected was truly wonderful.

But now they were vermin hunted by all, condemned by thousands—this feeling was unbearable.

How long had it been since they'd slept a peaceful night?

Though they had full confidence in Deputy Provincial Governor Lu's power and that of other provincial and municipal leaders, for some reason, they harbored a persistent sense of dread—this dread left them in constant terror.

Unlike these group leaders, the workers were now joyful, full of hope for the company, discussing when production might resume.

Dozens of finance staff in the company's finance department were swamped, distributing living allowances—this time, each worker received two hundred yuan, making the finance staff the busiest. Yet hearing every worker thank them, they felt their labor worthwhile.

Hou Wenli also personally joined in distributing money today; watching the workers' joy, she was momentarily transported back over twenty years, when she was a young cashier just starting out, and distributing wages to workers was her most frequent task.

Back then, though busy and poorly paid, she had been so happy—but now, though wealthy, she had lost far more, and lost happiness entirely.

Today, while handing out money, Hou Wenli felt she had regained a little of that old joy—but how long would this joy last? She truly didn't know.

But no matter what, at least today she was happy.

Because of today's living allowance distribution, Yan Textile Group had people rejoicing and others in panic—but everyone could see the entire company was utterly different from just a few months ago.

While workers collected their allowances, Su Xinghui stared out his office window; anyone else in his position would've rushed downstairs to meet the workers, hear their gratitude, perhaps even invited reporters to photograph and interview him for the papers.

But Su Xinghui was not that kind of man—he truly didn't want to see workers bowing in gratitude to anyone; as the Internationale sang, there was never any savior, and Su Xinghui didn't want to be seen as one either.

In truth, these workers should be the true masters of Yan Textile Group—they shouldn't have lived like this. They should've lived with dignity. Yan Textile Group's decay wasn't their fault—it was the state that failed them.

Others might feel comforted or even proud hearing workers' gratitude, but Su Xinghui felt only discomfort whenever he heard it.