Reborn in 1981, the first to get rich start with dairy cows.

Chapter 154 Termination of Cooperation

"What did Wang Jianguo say?" Shen Dong was speechless, but the problem still needed to be solved.

"I hadn't even had a chance to go ask yet; I came straight here as soon as I heard the news," Li Hu explained. "Should I come over now?"

Shen Dong stood up and said, "Let's go together!"

The two got on their bikes and left. The Shahe Food Factory wasn't far away, and they arrived in just over half an hour. At that moment, a lot of people had already gathered in the conference room of the Shahe Food Factory.

These days, people have no awareness of food safety; they only come here seeking explanations because they're angry after getting food poisoning.

The people at the food factory knew they had a problem, so when they saw Shen Dong arrive, they first arranged for him to wait in the office.

Shen Dong sat in the office next door, listening to the commotion.

"Director Wang, our fellow villagers all trust the quality of your Jinru Yogurt, which is why we agreed not to sell other brands' yogurt. Now that you've caused this problem, what are we supposed to do?"

"Exactly! You've put everyone in a bad situation now! Even if we go back to selling other yogurt brands, they won't agree. So, what do we do now?"

Wang Jianguo stood in the middle, his hair standing on end in frustration.

He never expected his own family to be so foolish, not knowing that the milk would spoil as the weather warmed up.

Thinking of this, he glared fiercely at the production team leader.

"Everyone, please listen to me quietly. Our factory will take responsibility for your losses, okay? Surrounding me won't solve anything, will it? Let's get production running again first, otherwise we won't have the money to compensate you, will we?"

Shen Dong listened for a while but couldn't figure out what solution the neighbors had, so he went out for a walk.

The milk skin production workshop was built under the guidance of Qiu Xiaoqin, and its structure is similar to that of the dairy factory.

There were also people watching the area near the workshop at that moment.

Shen Dong pretended to be a victim as well and went over to ask people.

"Hey bro, what's going on at their food factory? How come the food went bad?"

A dark-faced man, his face full of anger, said in a muffled voice, "That damn Wang Jianguo, I heard that the employees had already reported the milk quality problem to him, but he didn't take it seriously and still made them continue to produce it, which is why this problem occurred."

"Yes, they have no conscience at all, actually letting the members eat spoiled food."

As soon as one person spoke, the others immediately started cursing.

Shen Dong then realized that what Wang Jianguo had said in the office was a lie; the problem was actually with him as the leader, and he had forced the employees to take the blame.

My impression of him immediately worsened.

It's not terrible to have problems; what's terrible is to shift the blame when problems arise. That's not what a qualified leader should do.

Shen Dong stood under the shade of the tree with a gloomy expression. After everyone had left, he went to find Wang Jianguo.

The office was in complete disarray; chairs and desks were overturned on the floor, several buttons on Wang Jianguo's jacket had popped open, and there were scratch marks on his face.

"Director Shen, you've arrived." Seeing Shen Dong walk in, Wang Jianguo sighed and greeted him weakly.

Shen Dong smiled mischievously, looked around, and said, "Director Wang, what happened? Was it stolen?"

Should I call the police for you?

"You're joking." Wang Jianguo stood up from the ground, his face full of bitterness. "Sigh, I didn't expect the production department to make such a big mistake. I've already given them a stern reprimand, and they've promised that there won't be any more problems in the future."

Seeing that he was still trying to cover up the situation, Shen Dong stopped trying to smooth things over and said directly, "Director Wang, let's be frank and not try to shift the blame to others."

"Huh? What do you mean by shifting the blame?"

Shen Dong rolled his eyes, not wanting to say anything more. "I remember when we first started working together, there was an agreement that clearly stated that if one party's fault caused losses to the other party, the other party had the right to terminate the cooperation, right?"

Wang Jianguo frowned, nodded, and said, "Are you going to terminate the cooperation?"

"Yes! I think our factory can't cooperate with someone who is irresponsible to his subordinates." Shen Dong finished speaking and prepared to leave.

"Stop right there!" Wang Jianguo shouted angrily, grabbing Shen Dong's arm. "Who do you think you are? You think you can just cooperate when you want and not cooperate when you don't?"

"Yes, it was your food factory that begged us to get it in the first place, wasn't it?"

Wang Jianguo was momentarily speechless, then continued, "So what? You can't have all the decisions. Our Shahe Food Factory disagrees!"

Shen Dong smiled dismissively. "I'm not discussing this with you; I'm informing you!"

Ignoring Wang Jianguo's hysterical shouts behind him, he got on his bike and rode away.

The incident at Shahe Food Factory served as a wake-up call for him. Given people's current awareness of food safety, similar incidents could very well occur at the other joint venture factories. He had to go there and explain the implications.

However, before that, we still need to resolve the cooperation issue with Shahe.

Even if Shen Dong is in the right, this matter will definitely still be reported, since the joint venture is strongly promoted by the higher-ups, and canceling it now would be considered going against the grain.

Although Shen Dong had never met the director of Shahe Commune before, he had only seen him at the county's year-end summary meeting, so this visit didn't feel so unfamiliar.

"Director Niu, I apologize for bothering you."

Niu Hongmin was a middle-aged man with some gray hair, who looked to be almost fifty. He had a cheerful demeanor and warmly invited Shen Dong to sit down.

"Oh dear, I've never had the chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with Director Shen before, and this is finally the opportunity." Niu Hongmin handed over a porcelain jar, which Shen Dong stood up to take.

"We've produced quite a few talented people in our county over the years, but I've never seen anyone as young and as fast as Director Shen!"

Shen Dong's face immediately showed an expression of "I dare not accept such praise".

"Director Shen, there's no need to be modest. I've always believed that young people should be energetic, have courage, and be able to forge ahead. We are on the path of progress in this era, and we desperately need young people like you."

Shen Dong was a little doubtful after hearing this. When did this old guy become so open-minded? Isn't it said that people nowadays are very conservative?

"Yes, I completely agree with Director Niu. I'm here today to discuss the path forward."

"Oh? Go ahead!"

Niu Hongmin was very interested in what Shen Dong said and immediately sat up straight to ask.

"I just came from Shahe Food Factory. They had a serious food safety problem there, and I was just about to tell you about it."

Niu Hongmin nodded and muttered, "I've heard about it too, but it shouldn't be that serious, right?"

Shen Dong said with a serious expression, "There are no small or insignificant food safety issues. Once a major problem arises, it involves lives, and that would be a huge problem."

Niu Hongmin agreed with this point, but still unsure of Shen Dong's thoughts, he hesitated and asked, "Then...?"

"I'm prepared to terminate my partnership with the food factory!" Shen Dong said without hesitation.