Chapter 43: The greatest sorrow is a dead heart

  Selling off the inventory of plowshares was a major decision made by Wei Baolin himself.

  He was not unaware of the technical innovations that Xiang Jiyong, Leng Yuming and others were working on in the workshop. From Xiang Jiyong's report to him, he also knew that this technology, called high-frequency induction welding, could indeed solve the problem of poor wear resistance of rotary cultivator blades, thereby reviving the 200,000 blades in stock.

  However, Wei Baolin thought of other things. He believed that what Xiang Jiyong and others did was actually a strategy to covertly resist the conversion of washing machines. It would take several months to repair all the cultivator blades, and if the sales of cultivator blades picked up, the voices supporting the continued production of agricultural machinery would become stronger, and the urgency of converting to washing machines would be greatly discounted.

  After becoming the factory director, Wei Baolin went to the Administrative College to study enterprise management for a period of time. He remembered that the professors who lectured mentioned many principles of enterprise management, including the requirement of firmly implementing established strategies, which is said to be one of the manifestations of entrepreneurial spirit.

  He used the Boston matrix learned in class to analyze, and believed that agricultural machinery belonged to low-growth, low-market-share "dog projects" that needed to be abandoned decisively. Washing machines, on the other hand, belonged to high-growth, high-market-share "star projects" that were worth actively promoting.

  With this idea in mind, he made up his mind to eliminate all distractions and stick to the goal of producing washing machines. Since Xiang Jiayou and others had pinned their hopes on the rotary tiller blades, he had to dispel their notions, and the best way to do so was to get rid of these blades.

  According to Wei Baolin's idea, these blades can be directly sold as scrap steel to the recycling station, which is the simplest way. However, considering the preservation of corporate property, he still let people contact some township enterprises to ask if they were willing to purchase these blades. The person who came to pick up the blades today was from a township enterprise in a neighboring county, and they were willing to buy all the blades at a price of 2 cents per piece. As a result, the original plan to sell the blades as scrap metal suddenly increased in value to a total of 4,000 yuan, which Wei Baolin thought was a very cost-effective deal.

  Who would have thought that a well-planned event would suddenly go awry? Xiang Jiyong somehow got wind of the low-priced disposal of the blade and hastily rushed to the factory gate, blocking the truck carrying the blades. He then began to loudly berate the office building, demanding that Wei Baolin come out and confront him.

  Xiang Jiayong's shouting attracted a large group of onlookers, including cadres and workers. Upon hearing Xiang Jiayong's account, some people were indignant like him, while others stepped forward to advise him not to make a fuss, as the factory director was responsible for management, and he, as a production section chief, didn't need to worry about it.

  Because Xiang Jiyong scolded really badly, Wei Baolin had to arrange for Di Jianguo to go downstairs and negotiate with Xiang Jiyong. When Di Jianguo arrived in front of Xiang Jiyong, before he could even open his mouth, he was scolded by Xiang Jiyong, and the people on the scene didn't even dare to fart.

  The personnel of the township enterprise that came to pick up the blade did not understand the situation and did not dare to act rashly, so they could only let the truck be blocked by Xiang Jiyong. At this time, the social status of the township enterprise was still not high, and it had a somewhat timid attitude in front of state-owned enterprises. The team leader ran to Wei Baolin to ask for advice, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally made a phone call and asked Security Department Head Ma Dahong to bring a few people with him to go and reason with Xiang Jiyong.

  "Lao Xiao, you haven't studied corporate management and don't understand the reasoning behind this. These piles of blades in the warehouse not only occupy space but also waste funds, which is a kind of cost called shadow cost. The factory has decided to get rid of these blades, with the goal of clearing out space and ensuring that the factory's major objectives can be smoothly achieved." Wei Baolin walked up to Xiao Dongping and said this to him with emphasis and sincerity.

  "Wei Baolin, Wei Changzhang! I'm Xiang Jiyong, a student of engineering, I don't understand what enterprise management is. But I know that this batch of blades that can clearly be repaired and sold for a good price were sold as scrap by you, this is a stupid decision! You're really something, doing it like this, you're a stupid egg!" Xiang Jiyong said gritting his teeth.

  Before today, Xiang Ji Yong regarded Wei Bao Lin as the factory director and at least didn't dare to scold him with foul language in person. But today he was really furious, so he said all the things that he usually didn't dare to say.

  Wei Baolin's face changed, and it was not just since he became the factory director, but also since he started working, that no one had ever scolded him like this in front of his face. This feeling was really too bad. In front of a large crowd of onlookers, he didn't dare to argue with Xiang Jiayong, so he sank his face and turned to the surrounding onlookers, shouting: "Which workshop are you all from? And Old Wang, Little Li, don't your departments have work to do? Luan Suqin, what is your labor department doing? Don't check attendance during working hours? Don't deduct wages for unauthorized absenteeism?"

  When Wei Baolin shouted, the onlookers quickly dispersed. Some of these people were from the workshop who came out to watch the excitement, while others were from the administrative department of the factory office building who heard the news and came out to watch the excitement. If investigated, they would all be considered absent from their posts. Although the factory's labor discipline was not so strict, it was common for people to visit each other or come out to smoke during work hours, but now that the factory director was furious, everyone thought it best to avoid trouble by staying away.

  Among the onlookers, there were also shift workers who did not exist off-duty or not off-duty, but others dispersed and they stayed here. Isn't it waiting for the factory director to remember you? The factory director was scolded as a bastard, which is considered not insulting the leader, at least it's considered leaking Qingfeng Factory secrets. In this case, if you heard it, it belongs to a crime.

  Forget it, forget it, gods are fighting, we mortals should not join in the excitement, let's disperse quickly.

  Before long, a large crowd dispersed, of course, some people left and hid in the distance to pretend to smoke and chat, sneaking a peek at the commotion here, this was something Wei Baolin couldn't control, and even the factory director couldn't manage everyone's gossiping hearts.

  After the onlookers dispersed, only the parties involved remained at the scene: the township enterprise's salesperson and driver who had come to buy razor blades, Wei Baolin and Zhai Jianguo from the razor blade selling side, Xiang Jiyong and Xiao Dongping who blocked the sale of razor blades, as well as Ma Daren and several security department cadres.

  Xiang Ji Yong stood like a half-iron tower at the factory gate, blocking the truck from leaving. No matter how brave the driver was, he didn't dare to start the vehicle and force his way through. What's the grudge between the people in the factory got to do with him? This was what those few people from the township enterprise were thinking.

  "Lao Xiang, what's the point of this?" Wei Baolin saw that the people around him had all dispersed and felt at ease. Without an audience, Xiang Jiayong's continued scolding was pointless, let alone resorting to violence, as there were security personnel nearby who would not allow Xiang Jiayong to harm Wei Baolin. With just one sentence, he had dispersed a large crowd of onlookers, proving that he still held authority as the factory director, which gave Wei Baolin a sense of confidence.

  "Lao Xiang, the factory has decided to launch the washing machine project, which is a long-term goal. Once this goal is achieved, it will enable our Qingfeng Factory to completely get rid of its losses, and at that time, everyone's salary can be doubled, bonuses can be increased by several times, and all kinds of welfare benefits will rise sharply. Why do you want to oppose it?" Wei Baolin persuaded.

  Xiang Ji Yong stood there, his lips trembling non-stop, unsure of what to say.

  Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart, this is the only feeling that Xiang Ji Yong has now. He had jumped and scolded, after venting out his indignation, he suddenly felt a little lost.

  Yes, Wei Baolin is the factory director. When he says one word, everyone runs away in fear. Everyone is afraid that Wei Baolin will deduct their wages, they would rather watch the factory's property lose value like this than dare to stay and stand up for themselves. What's the point of being oneself then?

  The factory belongs to the country, not to oneself. If you offend Wei Baolin, you will be put in a difficult position and it will hurt your own feet. I have been working in this factory for over 20 years, that's true. But whether the factory goes bankrupt or not, what does it have to do with me?

  "Director Xiang, let's talk this over properly. If not, we'd better head back to the office first. It's too hot standing here under the sun." Ma Daren reminded himself of his duties and stepped forward to persuade Director Xiang.

  Xiao Dongping also took a look at Xiang Jiyong and whispered: "Old Xiang..."

  After shouting, Xiao Dongping also didn't know how to speak. Should he advise Xiang Jiyong to give up? Not to mention that Xiang Jiyong was not willing, he himself was also unwilling. But should he support Xiang Jiyong? At this moment, Xiao Dongping's thoughts in his heart were the same as Xiang Jiyong's, also feeling confused, helpless and disheartened...

  "Wei Baolin, I don't want to ruin your great goal. I'm just a small production department head, you can get rid of me anytime. I'm just heartbroken about this batch of products... 200,000 blades, these are the result of every worker's hard work, everyone hasn't seen a bonus in two years, and even medical expenses can't be reimbursed. In such circumstances, working overtime to produce these 200,000 blades, you're willing to just throw them away as scrap?" Xiang Jiyong said to Wei Baolin in a low, slow voice, seemingly on the verge of losing control of his emotions.

  Wei Baolin heard the conciliatory tone in Xiang Jiyong's words, let out a sigh, walked forward, patted Xiang Jiyong on the shoulder and said: "Old Xiang, I understand your feelings. As the head of the production department, you've put in a lot of hard work..."

  "Director Wei, this production department head... I won't do it anymore." Xiang Jiyong mustered up the courage to say, pointing at his own chest: "I was originally a worker by birth, and with the last bit of conscience as a worker, I'm begging you, Director Wei, leave these blades behind and let us try one more time!"