Chapter 85

（First update of the morning!~~~~~~~~~~~）

In the morning, the door to the factory manager's office was knocked on, and Deputy Manager Cai Zhongxian entered, greeting Zhou Ming, Wang Fengqin, and Su Han. Ever since her father insisted on going down to the workshop, Wang Fengqin no longer wanted to stay in the office alone. Therefore, Zhou Ming had to move to the factory manager's office with Su Han. The other officials in the factory found this situation unreasonable but could do nothing about it.

"Mr. Zhou, was Comrade Zhang Jianjun's surgery successful yesterday?" Cai Zhongxian asked cautiously.

"The debridement surgery was very successful. All the necrotic tissue on Uncle Zhang's back has been removed. However, due to the large wound area and the delay in the best treatment time, bacteria entered his bloodstream. He will need further antibiotic treatment and long-term convalescence."

Zhou Ming then said to Cai Zhongxian, "Manager Cai, as the factory manager of Factory 760, you always say that everyone should strive to be the master of the factory and have a sense of ownership. But now, when one of our workers has an accident, our factory doesn't even cover the basic medical expenses. If I hadn't been there yesterday, would you have let Uncle Zhang die in the hospital bed without caring? Your actions will only make people feel disheartened! How can our workers have a sense of ownership? How can they strive to be the masters of the factory? Is this just an empty slogan for you?"

Faced with Zhou Ming's continuous questioning, Cai Zhongxian lowered his head. Then he heard Zhou Ming say, "Look up, and look at me."

Cai Zhongxian raised his head, and Zhou Ming saw the cold sweat on his face and his evasive eyes. Zhou Ming pointed at Cai Zhongxian's nose and continued, "Cai Zhongxian, remember, I'm not scolding you today. I am representing all the factory workers in condemning you! If anything happens to Uncle Zhang because of this, you, as the deputy manager, will be the worst official in the history of Factory 760!"

After Zhou Ming finished speaking, Wang Fengqin pulled him. She thought that Cai Zhongxian was an old leader in the factory and was almost fifty years old. Even if Zhou Ming had bought the factory, it wasn't good to scold him like this.

Zhou Ming, of course, understood his mother's meaning and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it. How is the meeting preparation going?"

Hearing Zhou Ming's change of tone, Cai Zhongxian finally dared to exhale. He didn't even have time to wipe the cold sweat from his face and immediately answered, "Mr. Zhou, the meeting is ready. All the officials are here, just waiting for you to start."

Zhou Ming nodded and walked out of the office with Wang Fengqin and Su Han to the meeting room. As Cai Zhongxian had said, the meeting room was already full. Zhou Ming glanced around and saw that the deputy managers, office directors, and heads of various departments were all present.

Zhou Ming, Wang Fengqin, and Su Han sat down, with Wang Fengqin naturally in the center, and Zhou Ming and Su Han on either side.

The meeting began with the office director calling the roll to confirm everyone's presence, then inviting the leaders to preside over the meeting.

Zhou Ming said, "Like the last thousand-employee meeting, I don't like formalities. The main content of today's meeting was notified yesterday. Let's get straight to the point."

Zhou Ming then gestured, "Director Bai, please give us an update on the factory's financial situation."

The person called was the factory's financial director, Bai Yong. He immediately took out a prepared document and read from it, "Mr. Zhou, the factory currently owes all employees three months' wages. Since two of those months were in summer, and we traditionally provide ice room allowances, the total is 550,000 yuan. In addition, the factory owes waste disposal fees and other public expenses, totaling... 250,000 yuan."

Bai Yong felt a bit embarrassed at the end because everyone in the room was an official in the factory. Who didn't know that the so-called other public expenses were actually money these officials had spent on themselves and then found various reasons to claim from the factory? This amount was half of the total three months' wages for all employees. How could he have the face to report this to the boss? As for the ice room allowance, it was a place where the factory sold cold drinks and ice lollies to employees in the summer, and all employees could buy them with ice tickets issued by the factory.

Zhou Ming was not surprised by this situation; in fact, he would have been surprised if it were otherwise.

"So, the total financial shortfall is 800,000 yuan?"

Zhou Ming asked, his eyes scanning the room. These officials, who usually wielded power in the factory, all lowered their heads under Zhou Ming's gaze, none daring to meet his eyes.

Zhou Ming looked around again and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, the factory still has some processing fees and receivables that haven't been collected."

"Yes," this time it was Yuan Zhigang, who had taken over as the sales director from Huang Zheng, who answered, "But most of these are triangular debts, and they are mostly owed by Huang Zheng's... I mean, Huang Zheng's relatives."

"How much in total?" Zhou Ming asked.

"300,000 yuan," Yuan Zhigang thought for a moment and added, "Of which 200,000 yuan is related to Huang Zheng and his relatives."

After hearing Yuan Zhigang's answer, Zhou Ming nodded and said, "Now, listen to Manager Su's plan for the factory's restructuring."

This statement left everyone, including Cai Zhongxian and Yuan Zhigang, stunned. They all looked at Zhou Ming with blank expressions, none understanding why he had not commented on the financial shortfall and sales receivables and instead jumped straight to the factory's restructuring.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion: What's going on? Did we all lose our memory? Did Mr. Zhou make a decision that we all forgot?

Zhou Ming, however, ignored their thoughts and gestured to Su Han. Su Han took out a notebook, opened it, and read, "In the future, all employees of Factory 760 will no longer have fixed salaries. Instead, a system combining fixed and variable salaries will be implemented. The variable salary will be higher than or equal to the fixed salary. For ordinary workers, the variable salary will be based on the number of molds completed, with higher completion rates leading to higher variable salaries. For workshop officials, the variable salary will be based on the overall efficiency of the workshop, and in the event of a safety accident, half of the variable salary will be deducted."

Su Han paused here, and everyone in the room perked up their ears, knowing that the next part would be about their own salary calculations.

"For officials, the variable salary will be based on the completion of quarterly tasks in their respective departments. If the tasks are exceeded, the variable salary will double. If not completed, the entire variable salary will be deducted."

As Su Han's cold voice fell, everyone in the meeting room drew a sharp breath. No one in the room was a fool; they all understood what this salary reform meant. From now on, they would have to work tirelessly for Zhou Ming, and the days of leisurely sipping tea and reading newspapers in the office were gone.

However, what they didn't expect was that Zhou Ming's purpose in introducing the salary reform went beyond this.

"Alright, everyone now knows about the variable salary system. It must be implemented within a week, and every employee must be informed. This salary system will take effect next month."

Zhou Ming then turned his gaze to the financial director, Bai Yong, and said, "This afternoon, I will transfer 500,000 yuan to the financial account to pay the overdue wages of all employees and part of the summer ice room allowance."

Hearing this, not only Bai Yong but everyone else was stunned: 500,000 yuan? What about the remaining 300,000 yuan?

This question had just formed in everyone's minds when the answer became clear, and all eyes turned to the sales director, Yuan Zhigang, whose face changed.

Sure enough, Zhou Ming continued, "The remaining 300,000 yuan financial shortfall will be handled by the sales department."

Yuan Zhigang looked troubled, "But Mr. Zhou, these 300,000 yuan are very difficult to collect!"

"That's your problem!" Zhou Ming said, "I'm a businessman from Hongcheng. In my view, a deal is only complete when the goods are sold and the money is collected. If you can only sell the goods but can't collect the money, what use are you as a sales director? Are you here to help the factory lose money?"

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and added, "Director Yuan, your current salary is 400 yuan per month. With the variable salary system, you will have a base salary of 200 yuan and a variable salary of at least 300 yuan. However, if you can't collect the 300,000 yuan, you won't get any of your variable salary."

"Mr. Zhou, that's not fair!" Yuan Zhigang protested.

"Why do you think it's unfair? Explain," Zhou Ming said.

Yuan Zhigang gritted his teeth, "Mr. Zhou, it's not that I don't want to work hard. Most of these debts are triangular debts, and some are owed by local officials. They are long-term debtors, and it's impossible to collect from them."

After hearing Yuan Zhigang's complaint, Zhou Ming said, "Perhaps you didn't hear me clearly. Let me reiterate: You, Yuan Zhigang, are the sales director, and collecting overdue payments is your responsibility. How you do it is up to you."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou, but I can't possibly do this!" Yuan Zhigang said, throwing in the towel.

Zhou Ming sneered, "Is that so? Are you planning to give up your position as sales director?"

"What?" Yuan Zhigang's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Zhou Ming.

"I said, if you can't collect the money, what use are you as a sales director? I'll replace you with someone who can. Do you think I'll keep you around just to lose money?" Zhou Ming said.

Yuan Zhigang took a deep breath to argue but couldn't find the words. He finally gave up and resignedly said, "Alright, Mr. Zhou, I understand. I will do my best to collect all the overdue payments."

"That's good. I know that a large part of these debts are old accounts. If you encounter stubborn debtors and can't collect using normal means, come to me. I'll find a way," Zhou Ming continued, "If you can complete the 300,000 yuan task within this month, I will personally give you a 300 yuan bonus."

This statement immediately brightened Yuan Zhigang's eyes, and he said excitedly, "Please rest assured, Mr. Zhou. I will work hard to complete the task!"

---

(End of the page)