Chapter 78

(Bowing to thank "jetbbc" for the monthly vote support!)

"Zhou Ming, quick, look at the factory TV, there's a big news story about you today!"

In the evening, after Zhou Ming and his parents, along with Su Han, finished dinner and were sitting under a tree by the door to cool off, Zhang Lei came running over from a distance, shouting excitedly to Zhou Ming as he ran.

Looking at Zhang Lei, who was panting like a bull, Zhou Ming said with a smile, "Da Zhuang, what's the rush? Can't you slow down a bit?"

Zhou Ming then asked Su Han to go back inside and get a cup of water for Zhang Lei, and said, "Take a sip of water and catch your breath. There's no hurry, but thank you for helping me get that promotional article today."

Zhou Ming was referring to the promotional article he had taken out from the factory auditorium this morning to expose Huang Zheng and Ma Jianjun. Originally, this article was prepared to be released after they had secured the contract for the factory, to lower the price. In his previous life, they had done exactly that, and after repeated propaganda by the factory's publicity department, the entire workforce eventually accepted the price of 1.5 million yuan.

However, they probably never imagined that the promotional article they had prepared to make money would ultimately become the first shot fired against them.

Of course, since the article had not been released, it was difficult for ordinary people to obtain it. Only Zhang Lei, who worked at the factory TV station, had the means to do so. Therefore, Zhou Ming had asked Zhang Lei to pay attention to this before going to Nanjiang. Zhang Lei had kept it in mind and, upon seeing the article at the TV station, managed to print it out and bring it to Zhou Ming as soon as he returned.

Zhang Lei waved his hand and, after catching his breath, said to Zhou Ming, "It's no big deal. Look, the factory TV is about to broadcast your news!"

Factory 760 was once a star unit in Nanhui County with good benefits. In response to certain calls, they had built their own factory TV station. Besides broadcasting radio in the morning, they would occasionally air factory news for the entire workforce.

However, televisions were still rare at the time. Zhou Ming's family was not well-off, and with the cost of his education in the previous years, they had no money to buy a TV. Therefore, they could only follow Zhang Lei to the workers' activity center to watch.

The workers' activity center was actually a small activity room next to the factory auditorium, equipped with table tennis, badminton, and two small black-and-white TVs, supervised by the factory's logistics department.

Since it was the time for the factory news, there were not many people in front of the TVs when Zhou Ming and the others arrived. Zhou Ming and Zhang Lei set up two long benches and sat down together.

"Zhou Ming, Zhou Ming, it's your news now," Su Han said, tugging at Zhou Ming's sleeve as she watched the TV.

Actually, without Su Han's reminder, Zhou Ming had already seen that the news being broadcast was about the restructuring meeting this morning.

'Reform spring breeze blows across the land, we are walking in the great era of change. As a star unit in Nanhui County, our Factory 760 has taken on the pilot task of enterprise restructuring! This morning, Comrade Chen Da, the mayor, and Comrade Gu Ping, the county party secretary, along with other city and county leaders, personally attended our factory to hold the restructuring meeting. A total of over thirty veteran employee representatives attended the meeting.'

Listening to the characteristic passionate tone inherited from the previous era, Zhou Ming felt a bit nostalgic. However, it must be said that this tone was more spirited than the cutesy and coquettish tones of later times.

Suddenly, Zhang Lei nudged Zhou Ming with his elbow, "Don't get distracted, it's your turn."

'At the meeting, Mayor Chen Da announced that after research by the city party committee and government, it was decided that the factory would be contracted to Comrade Zhou Ming, a Hong Kong businessman. This decision reflects the outstanding vision and knowledge of the city party committee and government leaders, and Comrade Zhou Ming is also a revolutionary comrade who has left our factory. When Comrade Zhou Ming returned from his studies and saw the declining performance of the factory, he was very anxious and resolutely responded to the call of the country's reform and opening up, traveling to Hong Kong to learn advanced foreign experience...'

Listening to the broadcaster's words, which sounded like a eulogy for a revolutionary hero, Zhou Ming was speechless. He turned to Zhang Lei, "Did you write this news article?"

Zhang Lei chuckled, "How about it? Not bad, right? I had to work hard to get this job from my boss. My boss also knew that I have a good relationship with you, so he gave me this task."

"What is this all about?"

Zhou Ming sighed. To him, the news article was completely nonsensical, but seeing his parents and Su Han, as well as a few other onlookers, listening very seriously, and Su Han's eyes filled with admiration for him, Zhou Ming could only feel helpless. Perhaps in the eyes of people of this era, he should be so noble and have such high awareness.

After reciting Zhou Ming's glorious deeds, the broadcaster turned to Huang Zheng and Ma Jianjun.

Of course, compared to Zhou Ming, Zhang Lei's words about them were quite harsh, calling them the disgrace and maggots of Factory 760, corrupting the factory's atmosphere, and describing them as beasts in the guise of leaders.

Finally, the broadcaster said, 'However, bad people cannot last long. Today, under the witness of all veteran employee representatives, Mayor Chen Da personally ordered the strictest investigation of Huang Zheng and Ma Jianjun. They will face the punishment of the party and the people!'

After watching the entire news segment, Zhang Lei asked Zhou Ming happily, "How about it? The news I wrote for you is pretty good, right?"

Zhou Ming held his head in his hands, "I just feel ashamed!"

Zhou Ming's words made his mother, Wang Fengqin, unhappy, "How can you talk like that? I think the news Da Zhuang wrote is very good!"

Su Han also joined Wang Fengqin in criticizing Zhou Ming, "Auntie is right. Da Zhuang is helping you write news and do publicity, how can you say such things?"

Zhou Ming raised his hands, "Okay, I'm wrong. But with today's news and Da Zhuang's publicity, we probably won't have a peaceful life from now on!"

Wang Fengqin and Su Han looked at Zhou Ming in confusion. Zhou Ming explained to the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, "It's simple. There were so many veteran employee representatives at the restructuring meeting today. These people are all old hands in the factory. They know they stood on the wrong side today and spoke against us before the meeting. Now that I'm going to take over the factory, they will definitely come to visit us to secure their jobs."

"But if they were going to come, they should have come earlier, right? It's already evening, and they haven't come yet, so they probably won't come," Su Han suggested.

Zhou Ming shook his head, "They didn't come earlier because they still had illusions. They were still wondering if I could really take over the factory. Now that they see the news and how highly I'm portrayed, they should realize the situation. If they don't come now, will they really wait for me to settle accounts with them in the fall?"

After Zhou Ming's explanation, Wang Fengqin and Su Han realized that he was right. These veteran employee representatives were all very shrewd and would definitely come to secure their positions.

"What should we do?" Wang Fengqin asked.

Zhou Ming shrugged, "It doesn't matter. Dad will be the factory manager, and Mom will be the deputy manager. You can treat them the way they treated you in the past."

As if to prove Zhou Ming's prediction, as soon as he finished speaking, several middle-aged men walked into the activity center. They saw Zhou Ming and immediately approached with smiling faces, calling him "Boss Zhou."

Zhou Ming had seen these men in the morning; they were among the veteran employee representatives who attended the meeting.

Seeing these men come to greet them, Zhou Guoping and Wang Fengqin instinctively stood up to greet them. Zhou Ming knew they were his father's workshop leaders.

Since his parents stood up, Zhou Ming, Su Han, and Zhang Lei also stood up to greet them.

"Boss Zhou, I represent all the employees and their families to thank you! To be honest, we veteran employee representatives have long been dissatisfied with Huang Zheng and Ma Jianjun's actions. They abuse their power and create chaos in the factory. We have been angry but dared not speak out! Now that you have taken them down, it's a great relief!" the leading veteran employee representative said, giving Zhou Ming a thumbs up.

Another veteran employee representative praised Zhou Ming, "Yes! We all know they have been secretly selling the factory's equipment. We have been hoping for an investigation by the county!"

Another one said to Zhou Ming's father, "Old Zhou, you are truly remarkable. You have raised a great son. Despite his youth, he has great abilities. As the news said, Zhou Ming is the first person to lead our factory into the new era. I believe under Zhou Ming's leadership, our factory will regain its former glory!"

Listening to the flattery of these veteran employee representatives, Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow, "Are you afraid I will take revenge on you in the future?"

Faced with Zhou Ming's blunt words, the veteran employee representatives' faces stiffened, and they awkwardly smiled, "How could that be? Boss Zhou, you are a big boss in Hong Kong and the future factory manager. You are like a prime minister who can hold a ship in his belly. How could you hold a grudge against us?"

"Who knows? I have a very good memory. I still remember what happened this morning," Zhou Ming said.

The veteran employee representatives were stunned for a moment, but they were also shrewd. They then put on a sad face, "Boss Zhou, what happened this morning was our fault. We were confused. Old Zhou is a well-known honest person in the factory. How could he have a problem? It was all due to Huang Zheng and Ma Jianjun's incitement. They threatened to fire us if we didn't do as they said. We had no choice!"

Seeing the exaggerated acting of these veteran employee representatives, Zhou Ming waved his hand in disgust, "If you have nothing else, please leave. I have some things to discuss with my parents."

The veteran employee representatives understood that Zhou Ming was truly annoyed and left with smiles and flattery.

Watching them leave, Su Han said, "Zhou Ming, you were right. They did come to flatter you."

"This is just the beginning. We will have more to deal with in the coming days," Zhou Ming said.

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