Chapter 409: A Windfall!
“Ring-ring-ring!”
The sudden ringing of the phone startled Li Yi, who had been furiously writing at his desk.
To avoid disturbing Jiang Xue and the child in the bedroom, Li Yi quickly picked up the phone.
No sooner had he picked it up than Jiang Longcheng’s boisterous voice came through the receiver: “Bro-in-law, are you up yet?”
“I’m up. Why are you calling so early?”
“Didn’t we agree yesterday to hold an early return-to-work meeting for the guys at the factory? Did you forget?” Jiang Longcheng shouted.
“I haven’t forgotten. Isn’t the meeting at ten o’clock? It’s so early…”
“What do you mean ‘this early’? It’s already nine o’clock. By the time we get to the factory, it’ll be almost ten!” Jiang Longcheng said.
Li Yi instinctively glanced at his watch—and sure enough, it was true.
He’d ended up writing for over three hours without realizing it—no wonder his eyes felt a bit sore.
“Alright, then come over. Bring Xinyao with you—have her keep Xiao Xue company this morning!” Li Yi said.
“Got it. You just tidy up a bit—I’ll be there in ten minutes tops!”
“Alright!”
After hanging up, Li Yi immediately reorganized the finished proposal on his desk, stapled it together, and then slipped it into his shoulder bag.
Then he stretched and walked out of the room.
In the courtyard, Jiang Shiying was washing up.
Seeing Li Yi come out, she immediately said to him, “I’m heading back to Guangdong Province this afternoon. The house is in your hands!”
“Leaving so soon? Can’t you stay a few more days?”
“There’s an urgent matter in the province that needs handling—I have to go back!” Jiang Shiying said.
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye on things here!”
Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “When it comes to business, know when to stop. Don’t be greedy. The situation isn’t entirely clear yet—don’t let a little money ruin your future!”
“Got it!”
“Also, it’s already February now, and there are less than five months left until the college entrance exams. Don’t worry about the paperwork or anything—I’ll take care of it!”
Then, changing the subject, Jiang Shiying continued, “But I heard from your mother that Xiaoxue’s grades in a few subjects aren’t very good. Once she’s out of her postpartum confinement, I’ll have your mother find a few tutors to help her catch up. You’ll need to keep a closer eye on her studies!”
“I’ll do everything I can to support Xiaoxue for the college entrance exams…”
Just as they were speaking, the sound of a car engine suddenly echoed from outside the courtyard.
Immediately after, Jiang Longcheng’s loud, boisterous voice echoed through the courtyard.
Li Yi and Jiang Shiying immediately looked toward the entrance and, sure enough, saw the man walking in from outside with Zhang Xinyao.
Once they reached the two of them, Jiang Longcheng first greeted Jiang Shiying, then sent Zhang Xinyao inside to find Jiang Xue, while he took Li Yi and left the Jiang family’s old residence.
Soon, the car arrived at the cotton mill!
By then, the small conference room at the cotton mill was already packed with people!
All the factory officials who had received the meeting notice were present, exchanging well-wishes—whether sincere or insincere.
No matter how much dirty business there was behind the scenes, at least the atmosphere was harmonious for the moment.
Since the factory had received two consecutive payments from Li Yi, it had finally managed to pay out the overdue wages to the employees around the Lunar New Year.
Having received their pay and being able to celebrate the New Year at home, the workers and managers were naturally delighted.
Just as the factory leaders were engaged in constant laughter and conversation, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the conference room.
Immediately afterward, the conference room door swung open, and Plant Manager Jiang Longcheng walked in alongside Li Yi.
Li Yi wasn’t technically authorized to attend the cotton mill’s internal meetings, but given his special relationship with the factory and the fact that his presence was essential for today’s discussion, he had been invited.
Upon seeing Jiang Longcheng and Li Yi enter, everyone in the conference room immediately fell into their seats and quickly fell silent.
After entering, Jiang Longcheng glanced at the group and said with a broad grin, “Happy New Year, everyone!”
“Happy New Year, Director! Happy New Year, Comrade Li Yi!”
“Happy New Year, Director…”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Longcheng took his seat at the head of the table and motioned for Li Yi to sit beside him!
“Comrades, I’ve called you all here today primarily to discuss a few matters. First and foremost is the resumption of work and production!”
Jiang Longcheng continued, “From last November until now, our factory has been shut down for three and a half months. We’ve identified the reasons why our products aren’t selling and why the factory has been operating at a loss, and most of the issues have been resolved. It’s time for us to resume production!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Deputy Plant Manager Chen Rui hurriedly interjected, “Plant Manager, to resume production, we must resolve the raw material issue. But right now, our plant has no money, and we have no way to settle the outstanding payments to our suppliers. I’m afraid no supplier will be willing to sell raw materials to us!”
Without hesitation, Jiang Longcheng declared loudly, “Debts must be repaid—that’s only fair. If we don’t have the money, we can ask the district government for assistance or take out a bank loan.”
“In short, as long as they haven’t adulterated the raw materials to cheat us, or colluded with that bunch of scoundrels led by Gao, we’ll repay every single cent of what we owe them!”
At that moment, He Tianming chimed in from the side: “I agree we should resume production. After all, it doesn’t make sense for thousands of workers to be stuck here studying all the time. Production is the factory’s top priority. But who are we going to sell our cloth to?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than other cadres chimed in: “That’s right. Our factory’s fabric has a terrible reputation—no one wants to buy what we produce!”
“You’re absolutely right. If we can’t sell what we produce, we might as well not produce it at all!”
“Right, sales are a major problem…”
Just then, Jiang Longcheng slammed his fist on the table, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
He then looked around the room and made a startling announcement: “From now on, we won’t sell the fabric we produce!”
“Whoa!”
The moment those words left his mouth, it was as if a depth charge had been dropped into calm waters—the room instantly erupted in chaos.
“Director, why aren’t we selling it anymore?”
“Exactly! If we don’t sell it, what else are we supposed to do with it?”
“Director, you can’t just do whatever you want—this affects the livelihoods of all 2,000 of our factory workers…”
“Smack!”
Jiang Longcheng slammed his fist on the table again and shouted, “Quiet! What’s all the commotion about? I said we won’t sell it, so we won’t sell it. From now on, all the fabric produced by our factory will be used by us!”
The conference room fell instantly silent!
After a long moment, He Tianming suddenly fixed his gaze on Jiang Longcheng and said, “Director, are you saying our factory’s main business will no longer be fabric? Do you want to move into the ready-to-wear market by producing and selling our own garments?”
Jiang Longcheng grinned and said, “Old He, you’re a sharp one. That’s exactly what I have in mind. If our factory wants to survive, we have to make changes!”
He Tianming glanced at Li Yi beside him, then asked, “If we enter the ready-to-wear market, what will happen to Comrade Li Yi?”
At that moment, Li Yi cleared his throat and said, “I’ve already discussed this with Director Jiang. Once I’ve sold off the remaining batch of fabric, I’ll transfer the operational rights to Feixue Apparel—including the flagship stores and sales channels—entirely to your cotton mill to manage…”
Before he could finish, a buzz of murmurs filled the conference room. Everyone was stunned speechless by Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng’s decision.
They all knew just how wildly popular Feixue Apparel and the two flagship stores Li Yi had set up were.
Now, to hand them over to their cotton mill? This was truly a windfall!
At that moment, He Tianming fixed his gaze on Li Yi and said, “Comrade Li Yi, I don’t suppose this comes for free, do you? If there are any conditions, please just lay them out clearly!”
As soon as he spoke, the conference room fell silent once more, and all eyes turned to Li Yi.