novelraw Chapter 46 Termites
Chapter 46 Termites
As soon as Lin Yu spoke...
Liu Jianguo, who had just been smiling obsequiously, froze instantly, and the other factory leaders behind him also subconsciously lowered their heads.
He began to suspect that he had flattered the horse but ended up hurting it.
Is the new leader the kind of person who can't stand being bossed around by workers?
The workshop was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.
Liu Jianguo rubbed his rough hands, the two gold rings on his hands, each inlaid with a huge green jade, gleaming brightly.
His voice became somewhat hoarse, and he forced himself to speak:
"About half of the workers were mobilized; they all came voluntarily."
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and glanced around the steelmaking workshop.
Every corner of the workshop was spotless.
"voluntary?"
Lin Yu turned around, his gaze sweeping over the nervous and apologetic faces behind him.
They had all been told that the young man in front of them was a big shot sent from above.
Faced with Lin Yu, they, who were used to being domineering, instinctively became obsequious.
"How much money does our factory have in its accounts right now?"
Zhang Xiuying, the head of the finance department, was a woman in her forties. She wore fashionable glasses, and her hand adorned with a gold bracelet pulled a leather notebook from her pocket. After flipping through a few pages, she began to speak:
"Director Lin, there are still 8,753.62 yuan in the account."
Lin Yu nodded, then asked:
"Then tell me, how many months' wages are owed to the workers?"
Zhang Xiuying's voice became even lower.
"Three months."
"Including this month, it's been four months."
Lin Yu's fingers traced the cast iron outer shell of the open-hearth furnace.
The surface of this cast iron was polished to a high shine, and the reflection on it was so bright that it could even show one's image.
"What about the raw materials?"
"Production section chief," Old Sun took over. He was a dark-skinned man in his fifties, whose fingertips were tanned from years of handling ore.
"Gone. All the coke, iron ore, and limestone are gone."
"The factory shut down after the last batch of materials was refined last month."
As Lin Yu spoke, he walked to the window at the east end of the workshop and looked out through the glass, which was polished to a shine but still had some dust on the inside.
The factory area is very large, estimated to be over a hundred acres.
But apart from these main factory buildings, the rest of the place is empty.
Dark steel slag can be seen on the snow-covered open ground.
Lin Yu asked again:
How many people are still working in the factory?
Liu Jianguo replied:
"There are 746 employees in the recycling industry, but only the ones you see today are actually on duty, plus the 23 people on duty in the workshop."
"Where are the others?"
Deputy factory director Li Aiguo smiled wryly:
"They went to find their own way to make a living. Some went to construction sites to carry bricks, and some set up stalls to sell breakfast. The factory couldn't pay wages, and we couldn't let everyone starve to death."
Lin Yu nodded without saying anything. He walked around the workshop.
The rolling mill, cutting machine, and overhead crane were carefully inspected.
These devices are all old equipment from the 1950s and 60s. No matter how well they are maintained, they can't hide the aging and decaying aura they are about to die.
But none of them were not polished to a gleaming shine.
Lin Yu looked around but didn't see a single new piece of equipment.
Hongxing, a 30-year-old factory, has generated countless profits and has never invested in major projects like equipment. How did it end up in a situation where it can't even afford to buy ore?
"Director Liu... so you mean that the factory hasn't paid its full wages for three months, and the workers have all gone out to find other ways to make a living. And half of the workers are willing to give up their time preparing for the New Year to voluntarily come and clean the workshop?"
"The cleaning is so meticulous?"
Liu Jianguo's smile froze instantly, then returned to its respectful yet obsequious tone, and he said with a barbed edge:
"Yes, yes, the workers have all heard that a big shot has been sent down from above."
"We're all counting on big shots to help us get the factory up and running so we can settle our debts."
"Don't you all agree?"
After Liu Jianguo finished speaking, the group of factory leaders behind him echoed his words.
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow:
"Oh? Wasn't Director Liu transferred? Why do you need me to guide you?"
Lin Yu glanced around.
"So, mobilizing the workers was a collective idea?"
After being swept over by Lin Yu's gaze, everyone fell silent, but Liu Jianguo insisted:
"No one deliberately mobilized them; it was all voluntary. The workers had all heard of Director Lin's reputation and came to clean the factory to welcome him back."
Lin Yu chuckled.
Lin Yu does have some reputation, but that reputation is all within the scope of confidentiality regulations.
Chief Hou kindly helped him handle the beginning and end of the matter, but now it seems he may have overdone it.
These people probably think he's one of those spoiled brats who use power and influence to gain prestige.
Even if he is that kind of person.
You can't start throwing your weight around before he even arrives, can you?
The steel mill is full of rough men, and Lin Yu didn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on if they managed to clean it up like this.
Making money is already difficult before the Lunar New Year, and the workers are being made to clean repeatedly even though they can't be paid. I really don't know how much of their time has been wasted.
The number of workers who can't earn money will determine the number of families who will have a tough year.
Lin Yu despises bosses who are harsh and exploitative of their workers, but unfortunately, in this era where wage arrears have become commonplace, there are many such people.
I don't know whether the workers were there voluntarily.
"Whether it's voluntary or not, everyone has their own reasons. I can't figure it out either, so let's leave it at that for now."
Upon hearing this, Liu Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had made the right bet. After all, flattery never fails.
But Lin Yu changed the subject:
"But whether the workers get paid after they've done the work is something I really care about."
"It's one thing to not pay wages when the factory is shut down, but how are the workers paid for cleaning?"
Lin Yu patted Liu Jianguo on the shoulder with a smile:
"The time before the New Year is the most precious time."
"Don't tell me, Director Liu, that the overtime pay for the workers was embezzled and not paid out."
"I'll ask you one more time, was mobilizing the workers a decision made by all of you together?"
Liu Jianguo still insisted on his position:
"We did this together, and the workers were all volunteers. We all want to warmly welcome Director Lin."
Lin Yu clapped his hands:
"Great, well said!"
"Half of our factory's employees came to do cleaning, that's 373 people."
"I won't make things difficult for you."
"Let's calculate it at eight yuan per person per day."
"Pay for the number of days the cleaning was done."
Finance Department Chief Zhang Xiuying seemed not to understand Lin Yu's meaning and continued to say:
"Oh dear, factory manager!"
"How can this be allowed?"
"We don't have that much money in our accounts at all."
Lin Yu glanced at the gold peony necklace around Zhang Xiuying's neck and sneered.
"The appointment was made a few days ago; at that time, I was the factory manager."
"Without my orders, who gave you permission to mobilize the workers to do these useless things?"
"The production workshop can't be cleaned at all, but you made it so clean that even the cast iron surface is reflective."
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old? Do you think you can fool me with a perfectly clean, superficial facade?"
"Whoever mobilizes the workers shall pay their wages."
"The workers haven't been paid for four months, and you're all dressed in gold and silver?!"
"Don't say I'm disrespecting you. If you split the cost, I'll pretend this never happened."
"Using public funds? Dream on."
The room fell silent the moment Lin Yu said this.
Zhang Xiuying, this middle-aged woman, seemed to have been touched on a sore spot and immediately started cursing:
"Where did this brat come from? Don't push your luck."
"Let me tell you! It's completely against regulations for someone so young to become a factory manager."
"I'm being polite by calling you 'factory manager,' but if I'm not, I'll report you."
"We earned all our money through our own hard work."
"Trying to get money out of us? No way!"
Seeing that these people weren't willing to pay even a few days' wages, Lin Yu let out a cold laugh:
"oh?"
"Then let me check the ledgers."
"The accounts are clean, I'll pay you."
"Even if the accounts aren't clean, I'll still pay the money."
"But whoever is at fault should go to jail or pay compensation."
"How is it?"