Chapter 13

In the large meeting room of the silk weaving factory, the lights were blazing bright.

Han Bo sat in the center of the stage, with Instructor Gao Changxing and Deputy Squad Leader Yang Xiaomei on his left, and Industrial and Commercial Administration Officer Old Shen and Factory Office Li Suhong on his right. Li Suhong was responsible for taking notes, and she was very serious about it.

More than sixty vendors of various sizes sat below the stage. Since they had to pay money, their faces naturally did not look good, and there was no discipline in the meeting. Some were smoking, others were whispering to each other, creating a chaotic and noisy atmosphere.

To make it more intuitive, Wu Yongliang borrowed a blackboard from Workshop 2 and set it up on the left side of the stage. Using a ruler, he drew a map of the main and secondary roads of Renmin West Road, and marked dozens of stalls on both sides of the road, numbering them from east to west: South 2, South 3, North 1, North 2, North 3... It was clear at a glance.

"The situation is basically like this. Each of you will be assigned a stall, so there's no need to argue over a position. Once determined, it will remain unchanged for a year. The stall fees will not go into my personal pocket; like taxes, they will be collected from the people and used for the people. The funds will mainly be used for three purposes: sanitation, security, and industrial and commercial management."

"The police are for the people; why should we pay?"

"Your salaries are paid by the state; this is illegal charging."

Han Bo tapped the table and stood up, saying, "Police are not all the same. We belong to the economic police, and our direct superior is the silk weaving factory. Our main responsibility is to maintain the security of the enterprise, and we have no obligation to maintain the order of the night market. This fee is not collected for nothing. After you pay, we will increase the police force and patrol the night market every night.

If we encounter drunk troublemakers, people who eat without paying, or petty thieves, we won't be as helpless as before. Moreover, this is the factory's land, so you can consider this fee as a land use fee. In short, if you want to continue operating, you have to pay. If you don't want to pay, you can leave!"

Gao Changxing walked to the blackboard and pointed to the map, adding, "When you came in, you should have noticed that there are two new signs at the entrance. One of them is the Renmin West Road Police Station of the Chengxi Police Station of the County Public Security Bureau. The area from Sanhe Alley in the east to Sili Gate in the west is all within the jurisdiction of our police station.

After the temporary convenience market is set up, mobile vendors are only allowed to operate within their assigned stalls. If you operate between Sanhe Alley and Sili Gate but are not within the temporary convenience market, our team will work with the public security, industrial and commercial, and health departments to firmly shut you down."

Renmin West Road is not entirely the factory's land, and many people had indeed considered setting up their stalls a bit further away. If you're not on the factory's land, what can you do to me?

Setting up a stall 30 to 50 meters outside the night market could勉强 make some business, but if you go further, to a dark and deserted place, there will be no customers.

"We are not just taking money without doing anything. For example, in terms of industrial and commercial management, we will help you coordinate and solve problems, so you have no worries. We will genuinely maintain the security of the night market, increase the police force, and patrol every night. We can even provide a warehouse for you.

Moving tables and chairs back and forth every day is quite troublesome. After closing, you can store them in the labor service company's warehouse and pick them up directly when you set up your stall in the afternoon. As for water and electricity, you can connect to the service company's water supply, and the same goes for electricity. However, this will be charged, and we will study the specific charges later."

It was time to show off. Old Wu, a maintenance worker from Workshop 4, raised his hand: "Director Han, I want the 12th stall on the north side. How much is the management fee, and is it paid monthly or daily?"

"Han Bo, how much is the 12th stall?"

"90 yuan per month, or 4 yuan per night."

"That's 3 yuan per night. Saving 1 yuan is 1 yuan, so 90 yuan it is. Director Han, Director Gao, I don't have that much money on me. Can you let me set up my stall first, and I'll pay it to the guard room by 11:30 PM?"

"Sure, by 11:30 PM. Pay today, and change your position tomorrow."

The 12th stall was the best location, and the current occupant was anxious. He suddenly stood up: "Wait, Director Han, there's a first-come, first-served rule. I've been there for more than three years. Why should I give it up just because you say so? That's not fair!"

"Old Wu is a factory worker, so of course he helps his own people," a vendor said sarcastically.

"Money Mazi, what did you say? I, Wu Changgui, am willing to pay real money, 90 yuan a month!"

"You 90, I'll pay 100!"

...

Once Old Wu set the precedent, it was hard to stop. More than ten vendors who had been eyeing the stalls for a long time rushed to make their bids. To secure a good stall, several of them even slapped their money on the table. The stall owners, realizing the situation, became anxious. To defend their territories, some paid money, while others argued. If it weren't for the economic police standing in the meeting room, there would have been a physical fight.

What could have been a life-and-death class struggle turned into an internal conflict among the people. The party collecting the money became the mediator. To ensure fairness, they would handle each stall one by one, comparing the bids and assigning the stall to the highest bidder.

The competition was fierce, and the best ten stalls were bid up to 150 to 180 yuan each. Renting a storefront would cost much less, which shows how much they could earn in one night.

For tonight, the stalls will be set up as they are, and tomorrow afternoon, they will be adjusted according to the positions agreed upon tonight. The main positions were basically secured, and the overall adjustments were not significant. The security department collected the money, the police officers left, and the night market became lively again, just like before the rectification.

With no trouble, Jiang Guoping could go home with peace of mind. He pushed his bicycle and asked with a half-smile, "How much?"

Han Bo looked around and smiled, "More than 5,000 yuan on the books, 1,860 yuan to be refunded. After deducting the wages of the two maintenance workers and Old Shen, we'll have about 1,800 yuan left."

"1,800 yuan, that's not bad. Yang Xiaomei used to be a village cadre and can write and calculate. Let her keep the money. How to distribute the overtime and night shift allowances is up to you."

"Up to me?"

"Such matters don't require democratic decision-making. Quick and decisive action will settle things. I don't have the time, so it's up to you. Remember to make it clear to the staff that they can't eat or occupy the night market for free after paying the fees. If we find anyone, we will deal with them without mercy."

"I've considered that. Gao Changxing is the instructor; I'll let him start enforcing discipline and strengthening political and ideological work from tomorrow."

Han Bo accompanied him to the main gate and continued, "Director Jiang, I feel that the current police force allocation is not very reasonable. The town's security is better than the city's, yet the three silk reeling workshops have the same number of people as the two city workshops, which is three each. I plan to transfer one person from each workshop to the city, and adjust the duty schedule to ensure that each person can rest one day a week."

"Arrange it as you see fit, but remember to inform the factory managers of the three workshops when you transfer people." All three team leaders were present, and he knew them well. His authority was established, and with Gao Changxing, an experienced police officer, as his deputy, Jiang Guoping had no worries. He was focused on building a house and didn't want to deal with these matters anymore.

...

PS: It's a new week, and although I have only a few thousand words, I haven't signed a contract or received any recommendations, but I still want to try to climb the rankings.

Clicks, recommendations, collections, evaluations, and suggestions—whatever you need, please help me out. Thank you.

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