That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1667 Disassemble and Reorganize
The next morning at eight o'clock was the time the workers were notified to receive their wages, as stated in the announcement. However, starting from six o'clock, some people were already waiting at the location indicated in the announcement.

As time went on, more and more people gathered, and with so many people, things easily became chaotic, with everyone talking at once, and the scene quickly became noisy.

"Hey Lao Liu, aren't you from the painting workshop of the second factory? I remember your payday is from 10 to 12, why are you here so early?"

"Can't we just not come? Look at all these people coming to get their wages, and no one's even directing them. They don't even know how to line up. By 10 o'clock, it'll be complete chaos!"

"Didn't they say it would be arranged according to time slots? What? Lao Liu, do you think this is like squeezing onto a bus? Whoever gets on first gets a seat?"

"Is it any of your business? I'm older than you, and I take the bus later than you, so you still have to give me your seat."

"Hey Lao Liu, are you being unreasonable? Eight to ten o'clock is our factory's payday. You're coming early and crowding us in. What are we supposed to do?"

"Exactly! We never see you, Lao Liu, so enthusiastic when you're working. But as soon as you hear about payday, you're the first one running off."

"."

Logically, a large company should distribute wages in a "bulk" manner, with payments made to various branch factories and workshops. However, the announcement instructed everyone to come to this place to receive their wages.
Although the announcement specified different time periods for different branches and workshops, there were still many people like Lao Liu who rushed to get paid because they were afraid of being left behind.

Old Liu was a little annoyed: "I'm not going to squeeze in with you, why are you in such a hurry? Couldn't I have come earlier to see the excitement?"

"Where am I in a hurry? It's clearly you, Lao Liu, who's in a hurry, okay?"

"Alright, alright, everyone stop arguing. Actually, it doesn't matter whether the salary is paid first or later, as long as we get the money today. My wife was nagging me all night yesterday that the kids haven't had meat for two months."

Hearing this, Old Liu felt a pang of sorrow: "Your family hasn't eaten meat for two months? We haven't eaten vegetables for a week, we've been eating pickled vegetables every day."

"Stop complaining. I heard from Director Yue from Beijing that Li Ye is known for keeping his word. If he says he'll pay today, he definitely will."

Li Ye was unaware that his reputation for "keeping his word" had spread throughout the southwest region with Yue Lingshan and others, becoming a glimmer of hope for the workers amidst their confusion.

Around 7 o'clock, a light drizzle began to fall again. Although it wouldn't wet everyone's clothes for a while, it made the workers on site even more anxious.

However, everyone quickly calmed down because Li Ye and several dozen people arrived ahead of time.

Moreover, the fact that all these dozens of people were carrying boxes of money immediately gave people a sense of trust that they were financially well-off.

A dozen or so tables were set up in front of the office building, with computers and briefcases on them. When the briefcases were opened, they were full of brand-new banknotes, and when the computers were turned on, they contained the workers' information and data.

"Everyone, please take your work ID cards and line up according to the department/workshop indicated on the sign. Do not push or make a scene."
Because we haven't resumed production yet, performance bonuses and performance-based pay cannot be calculated. Today, we'll distribute salaries based on basic wages. If you have any objections, please discuss them with your department head after the distribution is complete.

"."

The sound blaring from the loudspeaker made everyone who was standing on tiptoe to look at the suitcase feel uneasy.

A worker's wage consists of many parts. The basic wage is only one part, while various subsidies and bonuses account for at least half. If only the basic wage is paid, the amount will inevitably be much less than expected.

However, no one at the scene voiced any objection.

Because when a person stays in a difficult environment for a long time, the unpleasant feeling of inferiority will unconsciously take control of their mind and body.

What if you object and they simply stop paying your salary?

So everyone just silently queued up and waited, even if they could only get half of their wages today, they could still buy a pound of meat for their children when they got home, right?

However, after the wages were distributed, a slight commotion broke out at the scene.

Today, not only were wages paid, but these workers were also reassigned to different job positions.

The person in charge of distributing wages simply taps a few times on the computer and then hands the worker a piece of paper and a few banknotes.

"Li Mingxuan, 280, take this job assignment certificate and report to the third riveting and welding workshop tomorrow."

"Wang Hongjiu, 260, take your assignment certificate and report to the spray painting workshop of Factory No. 2 tomorrow."

"."

Because the money was actually in their hands, many honest kids left bewildered after receiving the money and new allocation certificates. However, some people were serious and naturally wanted to ask for clarification on the spot.

Wang Hongjiu was an honest young man. After receiving the money, he asked in confusion, "Boss, look at my work ID. I used to work in the painting workshop of Factory No. 1! How did I get assigned to Factory No. 2?"

"We have formulated a new production plan, so naturally we need to rearrange the production structure. You just need to report for duty according to your assignment certificate."

"Oh, well... I have another question. My basic salary should be 216.5 yuan, but you gave me 260 yuan. Did you make a mistake?"

The finance staff member in charge of payroll smiled: "There's no mistake. This will be your basic salary from now on. Once production resumes, there will be additional performance bonuses and full attendance allowances."

Wang Hongjiu asked in surprise, "You mean I got a raise?"

The finance staff member smiled and waved his hand: "If you have any questions, go ask your new workshop director. I'm only in charge of issuing salaries."

"Oh, thank you."

Wang Hongjiu then realized what was happening, happily took the money, and caught up with his colleague in front of him.

"Hey, Lao Li, is your salary right? I got a raise of over forty yuan!"

"Shh, you silly kid, do you think you have too much money? Are you afraid people won't know you used to have a low salary? Would you like a pay cut next month?"

"How could that be? They said my basic salary from now on will be 260?"

"You're such an idiot! Have you forgotten about the performance bonus Dong Shan arranged the other day? This month it's two hundred, next month it'll be one hundred and fifty."

"I'm not stupid! I heard from Director Yue that Deputy General Manager Li treats the workers the best, and he raises their wages every year!"

"Yes, yes, you're not stupid, it's those people from Beijing who are stupid, stupid and rich, okay?"

Is Li Ye stupid?

of course not.

Li Ye led a team from Beijing to take over Southwest Heavy Truck, a typical example of "managing a large company with a small force" and parachuting in to manage the company.

The locals stick together and are naturally distrustful of outsiders like Li Ye.

And what is the current situation of Southwest Heavy Truck?
The management team has made two consecutive mishaps, leaving the company heavily indebted and riddled with defaults. The atmosphere is tense and rife with rumors, making it a complete mess.

Right now, if you talk to them about "a bright future" or "a sense of collective honor," they simply won't believe you. Their beliefs have already crumbled with each and every disappointment.

Making empty promises is unrealistic; you might believe it after one meal, but if you eat it every day, you'll choke to death.

To quickly gain control of such a group, one must either resort to violence or use incentives to motivate them.

Li Ye is a kind person, so he chose the method of "driving people with profit".

Another reason is that, according to reports from Yue Lingshan and other "insiders," because Li Ye only retained 20% of the management team, those people have recently been actively colluding and instigating the workers, vowing to teach Li Ye a lesson. [Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake! Do they think they can just use whomever they want? That's ridiculous!]

[Exactly! He bought such a huge factory for just over 20 million yuan; he's already made a fortune. And now he wants to take away our livelihoods? No way!]

And for these people who want to cause trouble, today is a good day.

. . . . . . .

Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang stood inside the office building lobby, watching the workers outside slowly inching forward in the drizzle. Seeing the relief on their faces after receiving their wages, they couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

These workers have very low demands; they are content as long as they receive a wage. So what does the failure of Southwest Heavy Truck over the years have to do with them?

On the contrary, it was those who instigated workers to cause trouble, misled everyone into rebellion, and tried to sideline the management parachuted in from Beijing that were the root cause of the chaos at Southwest Heavy Truck.

Because they are beneficiaries of the old system, they have the desire and ambition to seize power and profit.

Desire and ambition have no limits. If you let them embezzle 10,000, they'll want to embezzle 20,000. If you give them an official position, they'll want to replace you. If you don't teach these people a lesson, they'll inevitably cause endless trouble in the future.

But as it approached nine o'clock, and most of the first batch of people had already received their wages, the scene remained very quiet and orderly, which puzzled Li Ye.

"Old Lu, do you think those people will come back? If they can't give us a warning today, then we'll never have another chance."

Lu Zhizhang smiled and said, "They wanted to give us a hard time! But who would have thought you would pay the workers' wages first?"
When those people were instigating the workers, their main argument was that we didn't treat them like human beings. But after the payroll notice was posted yesterday, those misled workers all said, "Let's get the money first."
Now that they've received the money and even gotten a raise, who would still believe those people's instigation and misleading?

Creating a disturbance requires considerable skill.

Think about it! First, you need to reach a consensus among a group of people, and then collectively issue the same request at a specific time. There are just too many details that need to be coordinated in this process.

"Get the money first" may seem like a win-win mentality, but once the money is actually received, people's hearts change. Without a sound, the consensus of the group is broken. Does the opportunity to "start a rebellion" still exist?

Once ordinary workers receive their money, 99% of them will behave themselves. Only those sophisticated and self-serving organizers can stir up any more trouble.
Throughout five thousand years of history, uprisings without the participation of ordinary people have never had a chance of success.

In those tiny overseas regions, which are practically countries, a few nobles and a few knights might be able to overthrow an entire dynasty.
However, on the land of China, if you want to change dynasties, the peasants who are usually looked down upon by the nobles are the indispensable dominant force.

However, just when Li Ye thought those people would back down, a fierce argument finally broke out outside.

Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang exchanged a smile, both feeling a sense of relief that their worries had been averted.

Outside, at the payroll distribution site, a man wearing a Southwest Heavy Truck uniform and sporting a crew cut stood in front of a table, yelling at the young woman distributing the wages:
"Why aren't you paying my salary? I'm also a factory worker, I've shown you my work ID, why haven't I received my salary? Are you people from Beijing bullying us people from the Southwest?"

The young woman calmly said, "Comrade, your name is not in our Jingnan Group branch's personnel file, so you have been assigned to the Southwest Heavy Truck's liaison office. Your salary and position are not under our responsibility."

The crew-cut man gripped the table with both hands and said viciously, "You bought our factory, so why aren't you taking responsibility? Why did you assign me to the rear guard post? Believe me or not, I'll overturn your entire operation."

"Try lifting it yourself!"

The seemingly delicate young girl stood up abruptly, pointed her slender finger at the crew-cut man's nose, and snapped, "Go ahead and lift the lid! If even a penny is missing from the box today, or a single part of the computer breaks, you'd better not regret it!"

"Fuck you."

The crew-cut man was being scolded by a young woman in front of so many people. How could he possibly save face? He immediately braced his arms and was about to overturn the table.

But as soon as he lifted the table even a little bit, several workers around him grabbed him tightly.

"Hey Wang, don't cause trouble at a time like this. We still need to get our wages!"

"You guys get paid while I starve? I'm going to get justice today!"

"Don't waste our time while you're seeking justice. Everyone come over here and drag him aside."

A group of workers waiting for their wages got impatient and dragged the crew-cut man aside.

But the crew-cut man was clearly no pushover either. Even with his hands and feet pinned down, he remained defiant, hurling insults and shouting incessantly.

Then he got beaten up, the kind of beating that comes from a group of workers surrounding him.

A very small number of individuals who stand against the masses will certainly suffer the consequences.

However, both Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang looked regretful when they saw the workers "acting righteously".

"What a pity~"

"That's such a pity~"

The reason they gathered everyone together to pay salaries today was actually to wait for someone to cause trouble, so there were plainclothes police officers present.

The banknotes on the table represent the workers' wages, and the scene is essentially the company's finance department. The charge of vandalizing the finance department is enough to make an example of them.

So even though the crew-cut man was beaten black and blue, the deterrent effect was far less than Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang had anticipated.

. . . . . . . . .

Perhaps because the crew-cut man was beaten so badly that it scared some people, the subsequent payroll process went smoothly, and no more discordant voices emerged.

However, on the second day, Li Ye received a call from the Southwest Local Assets Management Bureau.

"Hello, I'm looking for Li Ye."

"I am Li Ye, who are you?"

"I am Hu Yanshuo. We met the day before yesterday."

"Oh, it's Director Hu! I didn't recognize your voice. Is there something you need?"

This Hu Yanshuo is the local person in charge of coordinating with Jingnan Group to take over Southwest Heavy Truck. It's obvious that his call wasn't just to chat with Li Ye.

"Hehe, it's nothing much, just asking if your receiving process went smoothly."

"Thank you for your concern, Director Hu. So far, things have been going quite smoothly."

"Really? That's good, that's good. We have high hopes for you too. But there's something I'd like to verify with Deputy General Manager Li."
Today we received feedback from workers that they were doing well in their original positions but were reassigned to other roles. Is this true?

Of course it's true! Otherwise, how could he turn a group of Southwesterners, who are known for their strong sense of group loyalty, into Li Ye's own people?
Before coming to Southwest China, Li Ye's grandfather, Li Zhongfa, told him about some of his experiences fighting decades ago.

At that time, Li Zhongfa's unit was smaller than the enemy's, but as one battle after another was fought, Li Zhongfa's side grew larger and larger.

The reason for this was that by breaking up and reorganizing the prisoners, they transformed countless prisoners into brothers who fought alongside them.

By scattering all the captured personnel, their original organizational capacity can be destroyed. Then, by re-selecting and promoting capable individuals, a new fighting group can be formed with a new power structure.

That's why Li Ye reassigned all the workers at Southwest Heavy Truck.

Li Zhongfa knew this principle, but Hu Yanshuo had no reason not to! He was an expert too! Why was he asking Li Ye a question he already knew the answer to?
(End of this chapter)