That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1307 Certificate of Surrender

Niu Hongzhang sent someone to "invite" Li Gang over. As soon as he entered, he asked in a sinister tone, "Li Gang, are you determined to side with that kid and become his henchman?"

Li Gang rolled his eyes and said bluntly, "Be a thug? I'm starving to death. Do you think I have the strength to fight anyone? Can I even lift a finger?"

Niu Hongzhang glanced coldly at Li Gang and tossed a newspaper to him.

"Don't get angry with me yet. Take a good look at the newspaper, think about the situation carefully, and don't rush into selling yourself out of anger, only to end up in a fire pit."

"Have you fallen into a fire pit?"

Li Gang took the newspaper and looked at the front and back pages twice, but he couldn't see where the fire pit was.

Niu Hongzhang sneered, "Li Gang, your political awareness is still so low. When we attended the training course together, we were all about the same. But look at you now, if your awareness were higher, you wouldn't be the factory manager of a small factory anymore."

Li Gang coldly raised his head, a sneer on his lips, and said mockingly, "Old Niu, you got promoted faster than me, is it really because you have higher moral character? I heard that you betrayed your best friend and climbed up by stepping on his head."

"."

Niu Hongzhang seemed to be radiating a cold aura, as if he were about to jump up and strangle Li Gang at any moment.

But in the end, he only took back the newspaper and pointed to an international news item on it with his finger.

Li Gang looked intently and discovered it was news of Turkmenistan declaring its independence.

So he said sarcastically, "What does this have to do with us? Is this what you call enlightenment in conflict?"

Niu Hongzhang snorted and said, "I told you you're not enlightened enough, but you didn't believe me. Have you counted how many member countries Sugo has left?"

There's only one left, just one Kazakh. Once Kazakhstan gains independence, will Sugo still exist?

Li Gang was stunned for a moment, feeling somewhat dazed.

Although he still felt that these things had nothing to do with him, the fact that the once vast country in the north had fallen to the point of "the end of the song and the departure of the people" still gave him a sense of melancholy.

When Li Gang was full of vigor and ambition, who would have thought he would end up like this?

Niu Hongzhang noticed Li Gang's dazed expression and said calmly, "Actually, when Lithuania declared independence last year, I felt something was wrong. And after the August 19th incident this year, within ten days, nine member states, including Ukraine and Lithuania, declared independence."
It now seems highly likely that Su Ge will fall from power. Do you know why?

Li Gang glanced at Niu Hongzhang and said impatiently, "You've gotten more and more fond of playing coy these past few years. Just say what you have to say, or I need to rush back to the factory to arrange production!"

Niu Hongzhang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and then said in a deep voice, "It's because of the reforms that caused this disaster. Gorbachev started reforms after coming to power, and in just six or seven years, he ruined the seventy-year-old Soviet Union."

We've been reforming for over a decade, and all sorts of problems have emerged. The gap between the rich and the poor has widened dramatically. Some people can earn tens of thousands of yuan with a simple gesture, while others toil for a month but can't even earn a few dozen yuan.
So, do you think we won't be wary? Do you think the higher-ups will tolerate us following the same path as Su'e? Do you think Li Ye's branch factory can thrive forever? They are a pilot unit for economic reform.

Li Gang stared at Niu Hongzhang in shock, then suddenly asked, "So what do you think will happen in the future? Will we go back to the planned economy era?"

Niu Hongzhang said calmly, "I've been analyzing the situation for the past few months and I've found that the tone of the news in the newspapers has indeed changed. No matter how difficult the days of the planned economy were, would your factory be unable to pay wages?"
Considering Su'e's current situation, I think it's not impossible for her to go back.

Li Gang was stunned for several seconds, then suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "What? You're still waiting for society to go back to the 1970s?"

Niu Hongzhang was also stunned; he couldn't understand why Li Gang would react so strongly.

During the days when Su E was in trouble, many people were discussing similar issues. Why did Li Gang react so strongly?

But the next moment, Li Gang's shouting made Niu Hongzhang's face turn green.

"Niu Hongzhang, no wonder you've been hindering my contact with the First Branch Factory and doing everything you can to prevent me from communicating with Director Li. So you're hoping to go back to the planned economy era! You're a leader in this unit; your thinking is completely out of step with the directives from above!"

"Li Gang, what are you yelling about? What are you yelling about?"

"Why am I yelling? I just want everyone to hear how you're dragging our other units down."

Li Gang pushed open the office door and began shouting at the crowd watching the commotion in the corridor, repeating the same thing over and over—Old Niu was an obstacle to our merger with the First Factory, ruining our plans. "..."

The news quickly reached the First Factory.

Lu Zhizhang laughed and said, "What is Li Gang up to? Didn't you say he and Lao Niu are good friends?"

Li Ye chuckled and said, "Maybe they want to prove their loyalty to us?"

Lu Zhizhang had also read "Water Margin," and immediately chuckled, saying, "A pledge of allegiance? Hehehe, interesting. So, will you accept his pledge of allegiance?"

Li Ye smiled calmly, neither confirming nor denying.

The reason he and Li Gang disliked each other wasn't because of Niu Hongzhang, but because of Niu Hongzhang's arrogant and cowardly behavior on the plane.

So if you're willing to process parts for me at a low price, I'll do business with you so your factory workers can have a job. But if you want to become "good colleagues fighting side by side" with us, that's absolutely impossible. You can turn against Niu Hongzhang for my sake today, but what about in the future?
. . . . . . . . . .

Many days after Li Gang left, Director Han of the Red Star Manufacturing Plant arrived late, looking rather embarrassed.

Li Ye believed that he was only coming at the last minute because he wanted to save face, especially since the situation at the Eighth Machinery Factory was becoming increasingly clear.
If the merger does happen, Director Kong's power will not be diminished much; on the contrary, he will receive technical and financial support, which is indeed a very attractive outcome.

But as it turns out, Li Ye was wrong sometimes.

After Director Han arrived, he immediately asked the First Branch Factory for personnel.

"Two factory directors, now that you've chosen to cooperate with the Eighth Machinery Factory, shouldn't our twenty workers finish their inspection and head back?"

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Haven't they gone back yet? I'll call and ask."

In front of Factory Director Han, Li Ye made a phone call to the departments below. The answer on the other end was very clear: "Those people don't want to leave. I told them they'll get a month's salary at the end of the month."

After hanging up the phone, Li Ye informed Factory Director Han, "I've checked, the production department has arranged for them to work until the end of the month so they can be paid."

Factory Director Han raised his eyelids slightly and said slowly, "Our unit also has production tasks. I would appreciate it if the two factory directors could settle their wages now and let me take them back personally."

Li Ye frowned, somewhat displeased.

I gave Director Han face earlier by not mentioning that people from his unit didn't want to leave, and now he's getting even more aggressive.

"Alright, I'll arrange for them to leave today."

Li Ye immediately called the production department: "Notify the comrades at Hongxing Manufacturing Plant to go to the finance department immediately to settle their wages, and then be led away by their unit leader."

But then Factory Director Han suddenly said, "We'll pay the wages ourselves."

"."

"What? You don't need us to pay your wages anymore?"

Li Ye was a little puzzled. Was Factory Director Han really that tough?

However, Factory Director Han blushed slightly and said again, "We have our own wage standards, so please settle their wages with us."

"."

"You're going to take their wages with you? You're going to collect their wages for them?"

Li Ye couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

[What the hell? Did you learn this from General Kim?]

(End of this chapter)