Siheyuan: Rebirth of a comfortable life starts with Shazhu

It must be said that Yan Jiekuang's sixth sense was quite remarkable.

Not only did he get beaten up, but the boss surnamed Zhang also got beaten up.

People risk being arrested as migrant workers, working hard all the way from Jiangxi, southern and northern Hunan to Guangdong to find work, hoping to earn a few coins to go home.

That damn, heartless boss keeps fining them money.

Yan Jiekuang wasn't afraid of being fined twenty yuan because he had a 'grand' dream.

But not everyone dreams of getting a promotion, a raise, and marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman.

Most people are very self-aware.

He still wanted to work hard for a few dollars, go home, build a house, and feed his wife and children a few good meals.

These days, there aren't many simple people who can come all the way from the inland to this place.

Especially for those who work in small factories.

For example, the Ho Group's factories here recruit people from the mainland, which involves contacting the local government and requiring various examinations.

These people were vagrants in the market before they entered this factory.

He smuggled himself across the train; he usually did the hardest and most tiring jobs in Guangdong Province.

They fight every few days in order to get good jobs.

If they earn money and go back to their hometown, they have to spend money to make up for the work points they missed while they were away from home, through the commune.

Otherwise, the commune would cause them trouble.

Therefore, they are extremely careful with every penny they have.

It is absolutely impossible for them to willingly accept punishment just because it wasn't their fault.

So Yan Jiekuang was beaten until his head bled and was immediately sent to the local health center.

The one surnamed Zhang only had a bruise on one eye.

There's nothing we can do about it; they have a lot of relatives working at the factory.

Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for a while.

We pay those people high salaries all the time so that they can step up when something happens.

The key issue is that the local neighborhood committee found out about this.

It was that same Zhang who took the initiative to shout and call out to the comrades in the office.

According to the man surnamed Zhang, those workers were robbers and bandits, and they should all be arrested and imprisoned.

But he forgot that we are still in the early stages of reform and opening up.

And those workers also had mouths.

Neither in mainland China nor in Hong Kong has anyone ever treated workers this way, like the Zhang family.

So when the street leaders came over and seriously questioned Mr. Zhang about what exactly happened...

The man surnamed Zhang changed his tune, saying he knew nothing about the matter.

It was all done by Yan Jiekuang, the workshop supervisor.

Actually, by the time the neighborhood leaders came to find him, Zhang had already regained his intelligence.

He knew very well that the old methods used in illegal workshops were simply not working in mainland China at that time.

No matter which organization it is, it is impossible for them to support his approach.

Therefore, he also thought of passing the buck and pushing the matter down to others.

Yan Jiekuang was the one who took the blame.

But Yan Jiekuang came all the way from Beijing precisely because he was taking the blame.

Although he didn't know the extent of the matter, Boss Zhang sent someone to tell him to take the blame. Yan Jiekuang's first reaction was to resist.

When the street leaders came to question him, Yan Jiekuang did not choose to cover it up. Instead, he told the street leaders the whole story about how Boss Zhang had violated the employment rules after he entered the factory.

It should be said that this decision saved his life.

There was no other reason; the local authorities had originally intended to make an example of this case. If Yan Jiekuang took all the blame upon himself, given the current situation, he might even be labeled as a bully who abused his power to oppress lower-class workers.

The guy surnamed Zhang is definitely in trouble. Fines, factory closures, expulsions—those are all just formalities.

Although the local government is indeed trying to attract investment, no one dares to cover up such a thing.

The truth is, the factory owned by the Zhang family is too small, so it's a good example to use them as a case study.

If it were a large factory like the He family's, which invests tens of millions and hires thousands of workers, things might have other unforeseen circumstances.

This can be considered Yan Jiekuang's turn of fortune, probably related to the dog poop he stepped in that morning.

In Guangcheng, He Yuzhu, dressed in his pajamas and holding a local newspaper, pointed to an inconspicuous news item and smiled at He Xinghua, who was sitting in front of him, saying, "When you eat at a place, you have to follow its rules."

All foreign investors who want to invest in the mainland must abide by our rules.

In our family, the workers have been the masters for nearly thirty years.

They've become accustomed to being the master and believe that everyone is equal.

The small owner of this plastic flower factory was even thinking of bringing in the dregs from Hong Kong Island.

This result is normal.

"Father, how should we manage our factory?" He Xinghua asked humbly.

He hadn't fully grasped He Yuzhu's cautiousness before.

But this incident also made him understand more deeply the reason why He Yuzhu told him not to rush to start work, but to first arrange the workers' learning and living conditions.

Last time, He Yuzhu suggested to him that he should do this or that.

At the time, he thought his father just wanted him to spend money to get some empty fame.

Unexpectedly, problems have indeed arisen.

Although the factories run by the He Group are unlikely to mistreat their workers like the Zhang family does.

But to be honest, the managers who came from Hong Kong Island with the Ho Group did have some contempt for the mainland.

It's like city dwellers looking at their poor relatives in the countryside.

There's always a sense of superiority about them.

The newspapers only briefly mentioned the plastic flower factory.

Instead, it described many things that disrespected workers and offered criticism.

The subtitle of that news report was something like 'mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit...'

If He Xinghua still doesn't understand this explanation, then he is not suitable to be the head of the He Group.

"The power that should be held must be taken without hesitation."

For example, finance, sales, and technology.

Things that need to be managed must be handled in a reasonable and orderly manner.

The factory rules must be clearly defined, and the workers must be organized to study them carefully.

Tell them that they are not allowed to bring those bad habits from the old collective factory.

union···
We should approach our interactions with them with an attitude of peaceful coexistence and close cooperation.

To put it simply, it's like this news article says: mutual respect, equality, and reciprocity. ..." He Yuzhu patiently explained to his son how factories are run in mainland China.

The rules that need to be followed now must be followed.

Many people in later generations have misunderstood these matters.

Before the full implementation of reform and opening up, the factories that came in from outside were actually quite law-abiding.

Later, it became a mixed bag, with all sorts of people opening factories in the mainland, which led to a lot of trouble.

Of course, some localities have become obsessed with attracting investment, prioritizing economic development, which has created opportunities for unscrupulous businessmen to take advantage of them.

He Yuzhu felt pained when he thought about the changes to come.

But there are some things that he truly cannot change on his own. (End of Chapter)