That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1055: So This Is What It Means to Be a Henchman
On March 21st, Li Ye arrived in Chengdu, covered in dust.

After setting out from the capital, he traveled through many provinces and cities including Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi, driving nearly 3,000 kilometers, deeply experiencing the hardships and feelings of long-distance bus drivers of that era.

I have to say that driving a car for long distances in the 1980s was not a job for humans.

There is no expressway along the whole route, and the national highway is full of potholes and rottenness. Trucks driving 300 kilometers a day can be exhausting.

Moreover, the first branch was not full of commercial vans, there were also 1041 and mini trucks. Li Ye couldn't always act like a big shot, could he? He had to experience all kinds of cars. As a result, even though he was strong, his back and waist ached and his buttocks were numb.

Because of some unexpected situations on the road, Li Ye had only a few days to rest after arriving in Chengdu. According to the plan, the relatives of the martyrs would arrive in two days. Li Ye could only ask everyone to hurry up and maintain preparations to prepare for the more arduous journey ahead.

That afternoon, Xiao Zhu, the technical section chief, came to report: "Brother Li, our commercial vehicles are in very good condition, and 1041 is also normal, but those mini trucks have some minor problems. Do you think we can still let them participate in the next trip?"

"Of course I want to participate."

Li Ye said without hesitation: "Don't be afraid that our car will break down on the road. Every time it breaks down, it means we have found a quality risk.
Tell the test drivers that whoever can make the car break down will get a bonus, and whoever drives the car to the point of breaking down will get a raise."

Xiao Zhu was surprised and asked, "Brother Li, you dare to say that? Aren't you afraid that they will destroy the car?"

Li Ye smiled and said, "Xiao Zhu, a car is a dead object. As long as we can find problems with it, it proves that we still have room for improvement. So I am not afraid of the car breaking down. I am afraid that after the car breaks down, you technicians will still be stubborn and refuse to admit that your skills are not up to par."

"My brother, I really admire you."

Xiao Zhu was really impressed by Li Ye's ideas.

Li Ye was really good to the technical staff, and his welfare benefits were better than those of ordinary state-owned factory directors.

But Li Ye is really demanding of his technical staff. If a screw becomes loose during use, Li Ye will ask the technical staff to write a practical improvement plan and solve the problem within a deadline.

Li Ye's work attitude was absolutely fresh in the 1980s.

But decades later it is not new at all.

For example, if some extremely popular new energy vehicles have experienced sprained footsteps when turning or broken axles when passing through potholes, no matter how the drivers drove them, the technicians will definitely make improvements to address this problem to avoid such incidents in the future.

A good car must be improved step by step according to actual use. How many days has the car been produced in a factory? Isn't it normal for it to break down?
If the technical staff turns a blind eye to various defects or deficiencies and only pushes all the responsibility onto the users, then the factory will inevitably be lost in the long river of history like countless other automobile brands of this era.

When Xiao Zhu finished his report and was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and said to Li Ye: "By the way, Brother Li, when I contacted the factory today, they said that Secretary Niu and his team had arrived in Golmud, two days earlier than originally planned."

"Two days early? Lao Niu's wrist is pretty good!"

Li Ye was quite surprised, because Lu Zhizhang had an "informer" in the main factory's fleet. He knew before they set off that everyone was resentful and there was a high probability that something unexpected would happen on the road, and slacking off would be the least of their worries.

But Niu Hongzhang actually arrived two days ahead of schedule, which was really too fast.

This is not the age of highways that go all the way. Driving 300 kilometers a day on a national highway in the mountains can be exhausting enough. How can a group of state-owned workers with iron rice bowls overcome difficulties and travel day and night?

"Yes, the wrist is really amazing."

Xiao Zhu pouted and said, "Lao Niu has learned the style of the main factory of living beyond one's means, and he has surpassed his teacher. He paid April's salary in March, which is like a shot of chicken blood, forcing those people in the main factory to work day and night!"

"Eating food for tomorrow?"

The main factory has always advanced dividends from the first branch factory three months later, so everyone now knows what "eating the food of the next year in the current year" means, but it is rare to pay April's wages in March.

Xiao Zhu walked back and sat down, and said in a vivid voice: "This is what happened. I heard that just as Lao Niu and his team entered Taihang Province, some people in the convoy began to slack off.
As soon as he saw that something was not right, he quickly called a meeting to ask for everyone's opinions. Wasn't that opinion obvious? More work, less pay! Then Lao Niu followed our lead, but no one believed him."

Xiao Zhu talked for several minutes. Some of the content was from his phone calls with people in the factory, and some of it was from his own imagination. Anyway, he spoke with great excitement and it was very exciting.

"Hiss, this move is also quite familiar!"

Li Ye also found it very interesting.

He had experienced something like this in his previous life. The company's performance was poor, so it withheld employees' salaries for two months. When the employees' resentment reached its peak, the company made up the full salary in one lump sum, and then everyone was as happy as if it were New Year's Day.

This means first exploiting and then compensating, using the money that should have been paid to give employees an extraordinary sense of satisfaction.

Li Ye said to Xiao Zhu, "Don't spread this matter in our army. We don't have the rule of giving out grain in the first month before the next. If you disrupt our army's morale, I will hold you accountable."

"Hey, Brother Li, you think too much," Xiao Zhu said nonchalantly, "Brother Li, you underestimate your credibility. Even if you owe us a few months' salary, we don't have any complaints because we believe you will not treat us unfairly."

"Okay! If I'm a liar and I sell you out, you all have to help me count the money."

Li Ye cursed with a smile, then said, "Go out and ask everyone if they are tired. If anyone is not tired, I will treat them to hot pot in an hour. If you don't eat hot pot in Chengdu, it's a waste of your trip."

"Okay, I'll go inform them right away. Brother Li, you should prepare to bleed! Don't leave any of the hundreds of people behind."

Xiao Zhu went out to greet everyone, and sure enough, everyone came to support Li Ye. They wanted to go out together to taste Chengdu's delicacies and observe Sichuan girls.

I heard that the humidity in Sichuan and Chongqing is high, so the girls from Sichuan and Chongqing have moisturized skin, and there are many uphills in this place, so the girls from Sichuan and Chongqing lift their hips when they walk, so... um, um, anyway, the young drivers are talking a lot.

Li Ye went to ask the hotel owner which hotpot restaurant had a bigger storefront, tasted better, and didn’t overcharge customers.

The hotel owner was very enthusiastic in introducing the route to Li Ye, but because of his accent, he kept talking about the route in a confusing way.

The popularity of Mandarin in this era was far lower than in later generations, and it was very normal to speak different languages ​​when going out.

At this time, several middle-aged women came in, said something to the hotel owner, and then looked a little disappointed.

Li Ye asked the hotel owner what happened, and he said, "They saw so many of you were going out, so they asked if you needed a car. I said you had your own car." Li Ye quickly said, "It's okay, just tell them we need a few cars, and they will lead the way for us."

"Haha, comrade, you are really enthusiastic, but their vehicle is a tricycle."

"Tricycle?"

"They pedal tricycles? Uphill and downhill, can they pedal?"

Not only Li Ye was surprised, but Xiao Zhu and others around him were also surprised.

There are many "Ban'er Ye" in the capital, so Xiao Zhu and others don't find it strange, but female Ban'er Ye are rare.

The hotel owner said: "Don't underestimate the girls here, they are very capable."

Xiao Zhu and others sincerely admired: "Yes, yes, we admire the working people the most."

When Li Ye saw the female rickshaw drivers were about to leave, he stopped them again and asked them to follow his car and lead the way, and he paid them every penny for the guide's money.

Several women happily agreed and led the convoy of a branch factory around a corner and arrived at the hot pot restaurant with delicious food. Li Ye then sent a van to take them back, and the women thanked him with a smile.

"Xiao Zhu, you guys go to the kitchen and keep an eye on it. Don't let the chef kill us with the spicy food."

After entering the hot pot restaurant, Li Ye first arranged for someone to go to the kitchen and tell the chef to be considerate of the poor ability of northerners to tolerate spicy food.

Because if you ask them not to put chili in the dish, they won’t know how to cook, and you have to remind them.

Then Li Ye took out his mobile phone and called Ergou, asking him to come to the hot pot restaurant for dinner.

Pan Xiaoying's national mobile plan went smoothly, and her mobile phone was able to make calls easily in Chengdu.

"Ergou! Are you busy? If not, come and eat hotpot."

"Brother, I've been waiting for you! If you don't come, I won't be able to do anything. I'll be there soon."

Ergou is now the vice president of Pengcheng Fengyu, but in order to support this tomb-sweeping activity, he also came to help, and he was in charge of the advance work along the way.

Who made Li Ye the leader? He was obviously older than Li Ye, but he called Li Ye "brother", and Li Yue was a person who dared to scold Li Ye at any time. Isn't Li Yue's business more important than his mother's business?

Moreover, Ergou had been working in the recruitment field in Sichuan and Chongqing for several years and was relatively familiar with the field, otherwise he would not have been able to get this job!

Ergou arrived soon and drank happily with Xiao Zhu and others, without any airs of a vice president at all.

After a few drinks, Ergou started talking.

"Brothers, please don't mind my straightforwardness! I'm reminding you all, after we leave Rongcheng, don't mess with the local girls on the road. If you mess with them, you won't be able to leave. Either you stay or you have to take them away."

"."

"Follow us if you provoke us? What do you mean?"

"I'll go home with you and be your wife! The girls here are brave and capable. I have hired tens of thousands of workers here, and I know them too well."

Ergou's experience as a veteran successfully aroused the interest of a group of young drivers, who became more and more excited as they talked.

[You are so capable, is she serious? ]

Li Ye knocked on the table and said to Er Gou: "Be careful with your words! Don't talk nonsense."

Ergou said aggrievedly: "What I said is true. The girl here is really capable. She is only 1.5 meters tall, but she can carry a bag weighing over 100 kilograms and work on the sewing machine for ten hours at a stretch."

Xiao Zhu and the others took a deep breath and couldn't help asking, "If a woman is asked to carry a bag weighing over 100 kilograms, what are the men doing?"

Ergou slapped the table and said, "Men play cards! In many families here, women work outside, and men are comfortable at home."

"Have you seen the movie "The Horse Herder"? The capable Xiuzhi is a girl from Sichuan!"

"Oh my god. The one he married wasn't a wife, but a maid!"

Xiao Zhu and others were shocked.

Having grown up in the male-dominated world of the north, they did not understand what Ergou was talking about.

Ergou said, "Don't get me wrong! I'm not a maid. Women here have a very high status in the family. The workers I hired have the final say at home. Why do they have the final say? Because women are the backbone of the family!"

"Hiss, if women are out there earning money and men are at home playing cards, it's fine to have the final say."

Several young people who "don't want to work hard" all expressed their fantasies thoughtfully.

Li Ye was also a little surprised.

Isn’t this the “henpecked” phenomenon that made northern men shudder in later generations?

[So this is the origin of the term henpecked! ]

Li Ye really didn't expect that behind the earliest henpecked man, there was a strong woman who earned money to support the family!

(End of this chapter)