78: Bringing his wife and children to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 153 Door-to-Door Visit

Chapter 152 Door-to-Door Visit

Seeing this, Fatty Deng took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table.

"This is the debt statement. Look, it's 5,280 yuan. We didn't even ask for the change."

Ye Bingwen took the paper and looked at it, then pleaded, "Old Deng, could you give me another ten days?"

Fatty Deng shook his head.

"Director Ye, it's not that I don't want to give you face, it's that my factory director doesn't want to give me face. When I went back to report last week, my factory director slammed his fist on the table and yelled at me, saying that I should collect the debt immediately, or I could forget about my bonus this month."

"Hey Lao Deng, let me be honest with you. There's a loan in the city that's being approved and should be coming through in the next couple of days. Once it's approved, I'll pay you the money first, okay?"

"loan."

Fatty Deng raised an eyebrow.

"Director Ye, I know this loan thing very well after all these years of doing business. How many of the loans I've talked about actually come through? The approval process can take a whole year."

"This time is different. It's a special interest-subsidized loan for small and medium-sized enterprises that the city government is personally involved in."

When Fatty Deng heard the name of Vice Mayor Liu, he was visibly taken aback.

"Vice Mayor Liu, which Vice Mayor Liu?"

"It's the one in charge of industry."

Deng Pangzi's expression wasn't so bad anymore. He kept looking at Ye Bingwen, plotting something in his mind.

"Director Ye, I believe what Vice Mayor Liu said, but I, the factory director, may not. How about this, you give me two thousand yuan today, and I'll give you an extra half month for the remaining three thousand two. After half a month, you must settle the debt regardless of whether the loan is approved or not. Is that acceptable?"

Ye Bingwen remained silent, lost in thought.

Yesterday, Chen An quoted him 342.7 yuan. Adding the 60 yuan that Liu Xiaojun made from selling two scrap metal pieces this morning, the total is only 402.7 yuan. He can't come up with 2,000 yuan.

Ye Bingwen fell silent and did not speak again.

Fatty Deng could tell that Ye Bingwen was indeed in trouble. He sighed and said, "Director Ye, let's be frank. If you really don't have it, we'll just have to take that batch of materials back."

"Old Deng, we can't pull the fabric."

Why?

"That batch of materials was ordered by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. It's a special type and there's no stock on the market. If they're taken, my work will have to stop."

When Deng Pangzi heard the words "Commission on Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense," his brows furrowed.

"Director Ye, you're exaggerating."

"I'm not exaggerating, the contract is in the office cabinet. I'll show it to you if you don't believe me."

Fatty Deng looked at Ye Bingwen and pondered for a while.

"Okay, then let me take a look."

Ye Bingwen quickly handed over a copy of the contract from the cabinet.

Fatty Deng took it and flipped through it, and indeed saw the seal of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Fatty Deng placed the contract on the table and stroked his chin.

"Director Ye, I need to go back and report this to my director."

"Old Deng, could we not haul any materials today?"

"Okay, I'll go back and report first, and I'll call you this afternoon to tell you."

Fatty Deng got up and left, but when he reached the door, he turned back to Ye Bingwen and said, "Director Ye, let me make this clear from the start: I'll try my best to talk to the factory director, but if he doesn't give in, you know I'll still have to take him away."

"I know, thank you, Lao Deng."

Fatty Deng waved and left.

Ye Bingwen sat motionless in his chair, staring blankly ahead.

At that moment, Chen An walked over from the next room.

"Director Ye, is he really going to haul materials?"

"If the factory manager doesn't give in, he'll pull the plug."

"So what do we do?"

Ye Bingwen didn't answer; instead, he took out an account book from the drawer and started calculating.

The first page of the ledger contains the income and expenditure records.

In the expenditure section, material costs, wages, electricity costs, and equipment maintenance are all clearly and explicitly listed.

In the income column, the payment from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense is listed at the top, with a parenthesis next to it: Not Received.

Ye Bingwen suddenly looked up.

"Chen An, call the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense again and ask when the payment will arrive."

"I just asked them a short while ago, and they said they would make the payment at the end of the month."

"Then ask again and urge them."

Seeing this, Chen An could only nod and go out to make a phone call.

Ye Bingwen sat in the chair, staring blankly at the numbers in the ledger.

Ye Bingwen himself knew that urging him was useless.

In places like the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, there are procedures for handling accounts. After acceptance, you need to go to the finance department to make an invoice, and after that, you need to go through the approval process before the funds can be released.

Ye Bingwen knew that following the normal procedure, the process could be completed and the payment made in one or two months, which was fast, but he still made Chen An make that phone call because he had to do something.

At noon, Chen An returned and told Ye Bingwen about the reply from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

"They said the payment is already in the process, but they can't guarantee when it will arrive."

Ye Bingwen listened without saying anything.

An accident happened in the workshop at 2 p.m.

Liu Xiaojun rushed into the office in a hurry.

"Uncle Ye, Xiao Zhang is leaving."

"Which Zhang?"

"Zhang Jian, the new apprentice who arrived last month."

Ye Bingwen stood up and went straight to the workshop.

In the innermost corner of the workshop, Xiao Zhang stood with his head down, surrounded by two or three other people.

Mr. Li stood to the side smoking without saying a word.

"Xiao Zhang, what's going on?"

Xiao Zhang is only seventeen years old. He came here from a rural area near Linkou. His family is not well-off. His sister got married last year and gave a lot of dowry, which made things even tighter for the family.

Xiao Zhang only looked up when Ye Bingwen asked him a question; his eyes were red.

"Director Ye, I want to go home."

Why?

"My father wrote to me, asking me to go back to farming."

"Farming?"

"My dad said that if I can't make money here, I might as well go back home and farm. At least I won't starve if I go back home and farm."

Ye Bingwen did not respond immediately after hearing this.

Ye Bingwen knew that Xiao Zhang's salary was owed last month and was also in jeopardy this month.

It's not surprising that Xiao Zhang received a letter from home; what's surprising is that Xiao Zhang dared to resign at this time.

Ye Bingwen squatted down and looked at Xiao Zhang.

"Xiao Zhang, to be honest with you about the wages, the factory has indeed had some problems these past two months, and the wages are indeed owed, but the factory keeps track of how much is owed, and you won't be shortchanged a single penny."

"Director Ye, I believe you, but my father doesn't."

"I'll write a letter to your father."

"Director Ye, that's not what it is."

"My dad is in poor health. He had a stomach hemorrhage and was hospitalized. He owes the hospital seventy yuan. My mom told me to go back and borrow some money as soon as possible."

After listening, Ye Bingwen patted Xiao Zhang on the shoulder.

"Then you should go back."

Xiao Zhang was clearly taken aback; he thought Ye Bingwen would try to persuade him to stay.

"Director Ye, what about my salary—"

"I'll pay you part of your wages first, and once the factory's cash flow improves, I'll have Chen An send the rest back to you."

Xiao Zhang wiped his eyes.

"Director Ye, I'll be going now. I'll come back in a couple of days if you still need me."

"Okay, go back and take care of things at home first."

Ye Bingwen took out fifty yuan and gave it to Xiao Zhang.

These fifty dollars represented all of Ye Bingwen's savings.

"Take this first, use it to buy tickets on the way, and leave the rest for your father to buy medicine."

"Director Ye, how could I possibly accept this?"