Chapter 1

"Hey, Director Yang, Deputy Factory Manager Yun wants you to go to his office right away."

It was just past eight in the morning, and the equipment in the workshop had not yet been turned on. A petite girl with a ponytail, dressed in a loose work uniform, called out from the entrance of the workshop. Her clear voice traveled through the space, reaching the ears of Yang Dezhi, the workshop director, who was wandering around the workshop.

Yang Dezhi, in his forties, hurriedly ran towards the office building.

"Xiaoli, come over here for a moment..." As soon as Yang Dezhi left, a few young workers who were lubricating the lathes and preparing to start their day gathered together. One of them called out to Luo Xiaoli, who was about to leave.

"What's up?" Luo Xiaoli slowly walked over to the group of young workers gathered around Yang Dezhi's lathe and asked.

"Sister Xiaoli, why did the Tyrant call our team leader?"

"Give us a hint, are we going to be scolded again?"

"Exactly, we can't afford the Tyrant's anger, we need to be mentally prepared."

...

The young workers surrounded Luo Xiaoli, chattering away.

"Stop..." Annoyed by the noise, Luo Xiaoli made a stopping gesture and loudly called for them to stop.

The young workers immediately shut their mouths, looking at her expectantly, hoping to learn why the Tyrant, who hadn't called the former team leader and current workshop director to the office for several days, had summoned him this morning.

"I don't know either, but the Tyrant is in a bad mood. Be careful and get back to work. If he comes in and sees you, I won't be able to help you."

Hearing Luo Xiaoli's words, the young workers all looked towards the door, relieved to find no sign of the Tyrant. They then quickly ran to their machines.

Under the Tyrant's high-pressure rule, these young workers quickly became close friends.

Luo Xiaoli didn't even dare to ask why Yun, the deputy factory manager, had called the team leader to the office so angrily at the start of the workday. Since she was hired three months ago at Qingfeng Machinery to work as a clerk for Yun Fei, who was a year younger than her, every day had been a struggle. Even the slightest mistake would result in a scolding from the young Tyrant.

Luo Xiaoli originally thought that the 17-year-old Yun Fei must be a relative of the factory manager, as it was impossible for someone so young to be the deputy factory manager and engineer. His youth had completely颠覆edher understanding of leadership.

No one in the factory, especially the veteran workers, showed any disrespect to Yun Fei. Many times, Luo Xiaoli cursed Yun Fei in her heart, especially when she saw him scolding the veteran workers, who were around her father's age, and when he scolded her for various small matters.

Over time, Luo Xiaoli's view of the Tyrant slowly changed. At least, she learned from her interactions with the veteran workers that the Tyrant was an extremely capable person, young but with better skills than those who had worked for twenty or thirty years.

When she first heard Deputy Factory Manager Yun scolding someone, Luo Xiaoli stood up for the person being scolded. However, not only did the person being scolded not thank her, but he scolded her as well.

From then on, Luo Xiaoli began her arduous life at Qingfeng Machinery, fearing that a single mistake would cost her the high-paying job with a monthly salary of 600 yuan after her probationary period. She knew that seven clerks had been fired by the Tyrant before her, and the factory manager and HR department had not even questioned it.

Estimating that the time was right, Luo Xiaoli slowly walked towards the two-story office building next to the workshop.

"Yang Dezhi, why did you make such a low-level mistake? How could so many defective products be produced? How are you managing this workshop? What are your team leaders doing? I've been telling you to inspect frequently, but you let so many defective products from your workshop flow into the finished goods warehouse! If the finished goods warehouse hadn't discovered them, and they were shipped to the customer, would we still be in business? Huh? I've been telling you to pay attention to the milling and fitting processes. How did you manage to let 400 defective products slip through? This is your management? As a workshop director, you should be focusing on management, not running around on the production line. What the hell do I need you for..."

The roar came from the slightly ajar door of the deputy factory manager's office. Luo Xiaoli pursed her lips and withdrew her hand, which was about to touch the door.

"Luo Xiaoli, get your ass in here! Stand to the side, I'll deal with you later!"

Hearing this, Luo Xiaoli bit her lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. She took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the office door.

The office was small, only about twenty square meters. Luo Xiaoli's small desk was next to the door, while the desk of the Tyrant was at the far end of the office.

In front of Deputy Factory Manager Yun's desk stood several people. Luo Xiaoli lowered her head and quickly walked to the side of the people who were also standing with their heads down, preparing to be scolded.

After standing for a while without hearing any scolding, Luo Xiaoli became curious. Could the Tyrant have changed his ways today? She cautiously glanced at the young man in the boss's chair behind the desk, who was staring at the people next to her with a stern expression, and quickly withdrew her gaze.

She knew without looking that the people next to her were from the quality inspection department.

"Cheng Feng, how are you managing the quality inspection department? Do you remember what I told you on your first day? Do you remember? If you do, tell me why 400 defective products passed through your department and ended up in the finished goods warehouse? Tell me how you manage your people. Do you think that since Feiya Machinery is an old customer and their products are simple, inspection is unnecessary..."

After the young voice roared, there was only silence.

The silence made the atmosphere in the office extremely oppressive. The people in front of the desk began to sweat under the pressure.

"Ah, I don't want to say more about this incident. If it weren't for Sister Zhao in the finished goods warehouse noticing that the parts were lighter during loading, the consequences of shipping these defective products to Feiya Machinery would be clear to all of you. Now, here are the disciplinary actions: the apprentices who produced the defective products will each be fined 100 yuan, and this money will be deducted from the wages of their team leaders and mentors. Yang Dezhi will inform them. The rest of the quality inspection department will each be fined 400 yuan, and Yang Dezhi and Cheng Feng will each be fined 1,000 yuan. Starting this month, 100 yuan will be deducted each month until the fines are paid in full. You can leave. If you are dissatisfied with my decision, you can stay and argue. If you don't want to work here, you can leave."

The young deputy factory manager sighed, as if all his energy had been drained. He closed his eyes and slumped back in his chair, making the disciplinary decisions.

Yang Dezhi and the people from the quality inspection department quickly left the office. If they could, they would never want to come back to this place, which was the most dreaded by everyone in the factory.

After everyone left, the office was left with Luo Xiaoli standing with her head down and the young deputy factory manager leaning on his forehead, eyes closed, sighing.

"Director, I, you..." Luo Xiaoli mustered the courage to break the oppressive silence in the office, but she didn't know what to say.

"Go to HR, you will be regularized this month with a monthly salary of 650 yuan. Go, Chen Jie is waiting for you."

Without the expected scolding, but with unexpected kindness, Luo Xiaoli didn't know how to describe her feelings. Feeling tears welling up, she quickly turned and walked out of the office.

"Damn, why is it so hard to change these people!" As Luo Xiaoli closed the door, she heard a low, barely audible Sichuan dialect from inside the office.

After Luo Xiaoli left, Yun Fei sat up straight.

He had a very ordinary appearance, the kind that wouldn't attract a second glance on the street. But his young face was framed by eyes that had seen much of life.

Yun Fei rubbed his slightly aching head and slumped back in his chair.

No one knew that he was a mechanical and electronic engineer from twenty years in the future, who had been marginalized in a state-owned factory. He had come to this era, which his generation regretted being born twenty years too late, due to drunkenness. He didn't know if he had entered an alternate timeline or been reborn.

When he first arrived in this era in the early 1990s, he was determined to use his knowledge to achieve great things. But he hadn't expected that just as he was starting, he would feel like giving up.

The workers of this era had no quality awareness or market awareness. They just did their jobs and didn't care about anything beyond their wages, which caused him immense headaches.

It took him half a year to implement 6S management in the small factory with fewer than a hundred people. But even then, it was a stretch to say it was running. After half a year, only cleaning and sweeping were somewhat effective. If he didn't go to the workshop, the organization would fall apart within two days. The improvement efforts had little effect, and safety and discipline were even worse.

He wanted to give up and just get by. But if he did, he would feel he was letting down fate, which had brought him to this era, and even more so, he would be letting down Wang Qingfeng, who had given him a monthly salary of 1,000 yuan, provided food, lodging, and cigarettes when he was about to be homeless and starving.

Thinking of Wang Qingfeng, Yun Fei couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met him...

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