ABT Chapter 0115

 Li Fanyu sat on the stone pillar at the entrance of the factory, with a large blister on his tongue; it was truly infuriating when you couldn't sell what you produced.

Anning had been running around tirelessly for several days, contacting all the car companies currently in need of 1.8-liter engines. The results she received were all the same — they had already signed supply agreements with Mitsubishi, so they would consider ZGX888 in the future.

Both the market and businessmen were profit-oriented. For the crucial engine component of a car, it was normal for these car companies to reject ZGX888. Currently, Mitsubishi engines were highly sought after in the market. Even if it was low-end, consumers often considered it reliable just because it was imported. This was reputation and heritage, something domestically produced engines couldn't compare to.

So the car companies' thoughts were, by using the Mitsubishi series, not only could they get a current discount, but they could also slightly increase the prices of their vehicles. With this give-and-take, each car could earn an additional ten thousand yuan. If they used ZGX888, regardless of whether it was cheap or expensive, there might be problems in the future during usage. Moreover, ZGX888 hadn't established a strong presence among consumers yet, so there might be concerns about the reliability of domestically produced engines, which could affect car sales.

As for the performance and technical differences between the two, that was easy. Salespeople could handle that; "Hello sir, although this Mitsubishi engine's technology may be a bit outdated, it has been tested by the market for a long time and has high reliability."

So, you see, everything could be solved with a strategy.

In summary, making more money was the most practical. What's the point of talking about being the first domestically produced engine? I respect it, but I won't follow along.

There were a few car companies that showed interest in ZGX888, but their models were still in the design stage, and remote water couldn't solve immediate thirst.

This was roughly the situation Li Fanyu was facing now.

After feeling depressed for a while, he saw Sun Guoyi approaching hesitantly, rubbing his calloused hands, and asked, "Boss, are we still working today?"

Li Fanyu stood up, brushed off the dust from his buttocks, "Let's stop for now." Sun Guoyi hesitated to speak, so Li Fanyu asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Well... the workers have been discussing privately, afraid... that the factory can't be sustained... wages..."

Li Fanyu sighed deeply. Everything was going wrong, and when the benefits couldn't be achieved, even the workers' morale would dissipate.

But it wasn't their fault. These people were all former employees of the motorcycle factory, specially recruited back after Zhengxin Power was established. The factory now adopted a performance-based wage system, commonly known as piece-rate. If there was work, they could earn money; if there wasn't, they would receive a basic wage. Although it wasn't great before, it was still better than earning a basic wage of only fifteen hundred yuan a month.

These people had quit their jobs to join here. Now that the factory's performance was not good, it was inevitable that there would be such worries. If it weren't for Sun Guoyi's constant reassurance, some of them might have started causing trouble.

Seeing Li Fanyu remained silent, Sun Guoyi quickly spoke to comfort him, "Boss, I have been closely monitoring the production these days. I have a good understanding of the engines we produce. Don't worry, gold will shine eventually. If you're feeling pressured, just send any workers' issues to me, I'll handle it for you first."

Li Fanyu patted his shoulder. He had indeed chosen the right person, someone with integrity. But if the workers had emotions, avoiding them wasn't a solution. Moreover, he hadn't reached the point where he couldn't pay their wages yet.

"What did they say?"

"Not much!"

"You're always like this. If there's something, just say it. If there's a problem with the workers, resolve it as soon as possible. If you keep hiding it like this for a long time, people's hearts will scatter."

Sun Guoyi rubbed his hands briskly, and after a while, he said, "They want to talk to you about wages... I've told them that the wages were set from the beginning... and they agreed..."

Li Fanyu shook his head, "Old Sun, everyone has mouths to feed. To be honest, I'm not confident about the current situation in the factory either. How about this, you call them to the office, and I'll talk to them myself."

Soon, a dozen workers crowded into Li Fanyu's office.

Seeing everyone gathered, Li Fanyu cleared his throat, "The factory is currently facing some difficulties in sales, and I heard some of you have concerns about wages. Today, I called everyone here to seek your opinions. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to tell me."

The group of workers didn't expect Li Fanyu to be so direct, and for a moment, they were a bit tongue-tied. These were all grassroots workers who usually complained casually, but when it came to real matters, they felt a bit embarrassed.

In essence, they were all men who needed to earn money to support their families. If it weren't for the fact that they were tight on money and seeing that this month's wages wouldn't be much, they wouldn't have raised such objections.

After more than half a minute, a tall and strong man stood up, mustering his courage and said in a low voice, "Boss, it's been a few days since we started work, and there's no work in the factory now. It looks like this month's wages won't even reach two thousand. This wage can't support a wife and children. The worst month I had at the auto repair shop was still three thousand five. I think you're a straightforward person. I don't know about others, but if I can earn this amount in a month, I'll keep working here."

After the man finished speaking, the other workers echoed his sentiments.

"That's right, we all quit our previous jobs to come here. If it was the same as before, we could overlook it out of sentimentality for the old factory. But now, earning just over a thousand a month, it's better to go sweep the streets."

"Exactly, the porters downstairs at the supermarket make two thousand a month. We technicians can't fall behind laborers, and on top of that, commuting costs over a hundred yuan a month."

"That's true."

Before Li Fanyu could speak, Sun Guoyi slammed the table, "You all know the current situation in the factory. The work you're doing now, is it worth three thousand five? You get paid according to how much work you do, that's the rule!"

This sudden outburst startled Li Fanyu; in his impression, Sun Guoyi had always been honest and straightforward, so this unexpected outburst was quite frightening.

But before he could react, he saw Sun Guoyi turn his head and wink at him very conspicuously.

Li Fanyu almost couldn't hold back a laugh; this guy was pretending to be serious! It seemed like he wanted to put on a show together...

So you see, don't underestimate honest people. They also have their ways and strategies.

Li Fanyu gestured with his hand, "Old Sun, don't worry. What everyone is saying makes sense. Everyone needs to support their families, and we can't let you all be unable to explain to your wives and families. How about this, give me a month. Let's not use the piece-rate system for wages this month, and we'll pay according to what you said, three thousand five a month. If the benefits still haven't improved next month, we'll reconsider. What do you think?" 

After whispering among themselves for a moment, everyone agreed.


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