Chương 58: Go Get Reinforcements!

The capture of Wang Mazi and his gang of hooligans caused no stir in the textile factory. In this era where village feuds could escalate to the point of involving cannons, the people were known for their martial spirit and had seen it all. Even Aunt Zhao, wielding a kitchen knife, could easily make Wang Mazi scream in pain—this was nothing new. However, the fact that Wang Mazi's affair involved Huang Fusheng, the head chef of the canteen, immediately piqued the gossip of the textile factory workers.

News from the security department said that Huang Fusheng had instructed Wang Mazi and others to sabotage Zhou Erwa's restaurant by putting stolen oil in the food, damaging the restaurant's reputation. After the incident was exposed, Huang Fusheng was arrested and interrogated by the security department for an afternoon, and was suspended from his duties, awaiting the factory's decision. This news made the workers overjoyed.

Ever since Huang Fusheng replaced Xiao Lei as the head chef of the factory canteen, the food had become worse every day. Now that Huang Fusheng has been suspended, will the food in the factory canteen taste better? Everyone is already looking forward to Chef Xiao's return as head chef, so he can cook delicious meals again.

"Will Chef Xiao come back? I heard he's working as a kitchen helper now."

"Huang Fusheng is gone, but I doubt Chef Xiao will come back as head chef! When he was removed from his position, the factory issued a notice, alleging multiple violations, but the procedures were perfectly sound."

"I heard Chef Xiao was the scapegoat for all that, framed by a villain."

"Just name names. As long as Wang Defa is in power, it's unlikely Chef Xiao will come back. If they arrest Huang Fusheng, they can just promote Wang Fusheng. Whether the food tastes good or not doesn't matter, as long as he's obedient."

"That guy is like a rock in the latrine—hard and smelly, just disgusting!" The workers huddled together for breakfast, drinking porridge and eating steamed buns, chatting about the latest gossip. Director Wang, stern and unpleasant-smelling, sat in his office chain-smoking, the smoky air unable to conceal his sour face. The arrest of Huang Fusheng had caught him off guard, causing him to panic and consider fleeing.

Fortunately, Wang Mazi and his gang hadn't escalated the situation at Zhou Erwa's restaurant, preventing injuries or serious property damage. However, Huang Fusheng, as the instigator, couldn't escape unscathed; punishment was inevitable, and he'd lost his head chef position.

"That bastard! He hired those brainless hooligans and turned a simple matter into this mess, putting me under immense pressure!" Wang Defa muttered, gritting his teeth in anger." Huang Fusheng's skills are barely good enough to be a butcher. My cousin's culinary skills have improved rapidly these past two years; he makes twice-cooked pork and stir-fried pig liver quite well. He could be the head chef," Sun Meili said, handing him a water glass and smiling as she went behind Wang Defa to massage his shoulders.

"Sun Qiao?" Wang Defa frowned in thought.

"That's right, Sun Qiao said he's planning to take the Level 3 chef exam this year, and he's got a sure thing." Sun Meili said with a smile, "Sun Qiao is obedient. If he's the head chef, we can still get our kickbacks from the ingredient purchasing department. If we let Xiao Lei come back, he'll cause a huge uproar. That brat is stubborn and won't listen to reason."

"I definitely can't let Xiao Lei come back as head chef. If he comes back, I, as the canteen director, will have no authority in the kitchen." Wang Defa nodded.

"Okay, at today's meeting, I'll push Sun Qiao up and let him temporarily take over as head chef."

"Great idea." Wang Meili leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I've also thought of a way to deal with Zhou Yan. Isn't his business booming? Let's increase his rent. Fifteen yuan a month is too cheap for him."

"How much?" Wang Defa turned to look at her.

"If we increase it by ten or five yuan, it won't affect him at all."

"Then let's raise it to 100 yuan a month. He'll have to make up the difference this month." Sun Meili's lips curled into a sneer.

"He dares to steal our canteen's business; he's causing state-owned assets to be lost. What right does a small business owner have to earn so much money?"

"One hundred yuan?" Wang Defa frowned.

"And just adding him? Isn't that too much?"

"If he thinks it's too much, he doesn't have to pay. We're just trying to get rid of him." …

"What? One hundred yuan a month? Director Sun, you must be confused!" Wang Wei looked at Sun Meili sitting behind her desk with a bewildered expression.

"The rent for shops under the textile factory's name is usually around ten yuan. Zhou Yan's shop is near the factory gate, so we'll charge an extra five yuan, making it fifteen yuan a month. That's already high rent." Sun Meili's smile froze, her eyes widened instantly, and she slammed her hand on the table, standing up angrily.

"Wang Wei! What kind of attitude is that! I'm your boss, the director of the finance department in charge of the canteen. How dare you insult me?"

"I won't scold you, I should praise you." Wang Wei curled her lip and sneered, "So what if you're a leader? Workers have the right to object to and voice their opinions on unreasonable demands and orders from their leaders."

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Sun Meili trembled with anger, pointing at Wang Wei and saying, "You disobey management, insult your leader, are disorganized and undisciplined, I'm going to transfer you to guard the warehouse and move goods!" If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Don't flatter me!" Wang Wei scoffed, "Who do you think you are, that I'll be transferred to guard the warehouse just because you say so? The textile factory isn't yours to run!"

"I think you're just jealous of Zhou Erwa's successful restaurant business and want to suppress and retaliate against Zhou Yan."

"Leader, you think you can just use your limited power to try and destroy people? Is that how you show off? Your behavior is disgusting!" After saying that, Wang Wei turned and left the office without looking back.

"You come back here!" Sun Meili angrily smashed the enamel cup beside her, splashing tea everywhere. In the outer office, the accountants all turned to look, exchanging glances and gossiping. The middle-aged woman closest to the director's office rushed in, picked up the enamel cup from the floor, wiped it clean, and placed it back on the table with a fawning smile.

"Director, don't be angry. These young girls are so arrogant, daring to talk back to you." Sun Meili looked at her, her anger subsiding somewhat, and said, "Wu Lili, this matter is yours to handle. Go and collect the 100 yuan rent from Zhou Erwa's restaurant, and inform him that the rent will be 100 yuan every month starting next month. If he doesn't pay, have the security department deal with it."

"Well done. The year-end advanced individual award is yours. Originally, it was Wang Wei who got it this year, but now we see if you're more worthy of being cultivated."

"Don't worry, Director, I will definitely handle it well." Wu Lili nodded repeatedly, accepted the order, and turned to leave.... The latest novels are first published on 69shu. com!

"What?! One hundred yuan?! Why don't you just rob me?!" At the entrance of Zhou Erwa's restaurant, Zhao Tieying frowned as she looked at Wu Lili who had come to collect rent. She had just finished her morning's work and had barely finished a bowl of noodles when a woman claiming to be an accountant from the textile factory's finance department came to collect rent, and demanded one hundred yuan right off the bat.

"Don't talk nonsense! This is a notice from the factory; you need to pay the money as soon as possible!" Wu Lili said arrogantly, hands on her hips.

"If you don't pay the rent, I'll call security to kick you out! Let me tell you, this shop is state-owned property. You individual business owners are taking business from the factory canteen, causing a loss of state-owned assets. You would have been arrested and imprisoned a couple of years ago!"

"What a big shot! You want to arrest me? I'll tear your mouth apart today!" Zhao Tieying rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight.

"Mom, don't do it yet." Zhou Yan came out of the shop, called out to her, and looked at Wu Lili, saying, "Comrade, who sent you to collect this money? Do you have a notice stamped by the factory? Why are you suddenly raising the rent? Is it for all the shops under the textile factory, or just ours?"

"I... I'm definitely here on behalf of the factory to collect this money. I don't have the notice now, I'll bring it to you next time. Your restaurant business is so good because the location is good, it's normal for the rent to increase. Do you think you can earn all the money? If you can't afford the rent, then move out, don't nag." Wu Lili looked at Zhou Yan with a lack of confidence.

"What good location! It's because Zhou Yan's cooking is good! You're like a carrot with two eyes, are you even human? How can you say such nonsense!" If Zhou Yan hadn't been in front of her, Zhao Tieying would have rushed over and slapped her. Wu Lili was so frightened that she took two steps back. This woman didn't look like a good person!

"Are you going to pay or not? If not, I'm going to call security!" Wu Lili said to Zhou Yan, her tone fierce but her voice weak.

"You don't even have the stamped documents, so I definitely won't pay. Maybe you're some kind of con artist?" Zhou Yan shook his head.

"Since I rented this shop, the accountant Wang Wei has always been the one collecting the rent. I don't know where you came from."

"Wang Wei? Ha, Wang Wei was transferred to guard the warehouse and move goods because she didn't want to collect your rent and argued with the director. From now on, I'll be in charge of collecting rent." Wu Lili said smugly.

"I'll go get you the stamped notice now. You'd better have the money ready." Wu Lili turned and walked towards the factory.

"That girl is quite generous, but why is the rent suddenly increased to one hundred? Should we pay?" Zhao Tieying frowned, looking at Zhou Yan with some melancholy. She knew that fighting with that woman wouldn't solve this problem; it might just get Zhou Yan into trouble.

"Exactly, there's no reason for such a sudden rent increase!" Zhou Jie, who had been watching from the side, also said.

"Don't worry, it's not a big problem. If it's the factory's decision and everyone's rent goes up to one hundred, then we'll pay. It's just a day's profit anyway," Zhou Yan reassured with a smile.

"But if it's just us who's raising the rent, specifically targeting us, then we definitely can't pay, not a single penny. If we open that door, people will think we're easy to bully, and there will be more of these kinds of things in the future." Zhou Yan turned and went back into the shop, taking a pack of Yuxi cigarettes from the counter and stuffing it into his pocket." Where are you going?" Zhao Tieying asked, watching Zhou Yan leave.

"Going to get reinforcements." Zhou Yan didn't look back as he disappeared into the security office next door. (End of Chapter)