Courtyard house: Just the right amount of pressure, leaving you bewildered but not brain-damaged.

After seeing off Sun Youtian and He Yuzhu, Gao Xiaosheng sat in a chair with a cigarette in his mouth, tapping the table lightly with his fingers.

Sun Youtian was being a little too honest. After being teased by Sha Zhu for a long time, he finally couldn't take it anymore and started to explain, his face flushed and stammering.

Some workers at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill have indeed recently increased the amount of smuggled goods.

The reason is simple: everyone discovered that the security officer was completely different from the previous black-skinned security guard.

The officers on guard were all very friendly, with no hint of menace on their faces. There was no body search, not even any physical contact. They simply kept emphasizing not to crowd and to enter and exit in an orderly manner.

It has absolutely no deterrent effect.

As for why Sun Youtian didn't say anything at first, it was because he was worried that Gao Xiaosheng, the rookie security officer, would be unhappy. After all, Gao Xiaosheng was also a member of the security department.

With the theft of waste materials confirmed, Gao Xiaosheng became even more suspicious.

He didn't believe that the work group and Section Chief Zhou were unaware of something that even an apprentice who had been working in the factory for six months knew.

But these people didn't seem to be in a hurry to solve the case, especially Section Chief Zhou, who even said that the workers couldn't escape.

Isn't this just blatant inaction?

What's the use of just arresting people? Can you recover the waste?

Could they possibly fine someone so badly they'd be bankrupted? It's obviously impossible.

With a belly full of questions, Gao Xiaosheng packed up the bed sheets and towels and rode his bicycle back to the factory.

The steel rolling mill was eerily quiet. When the gatekeeper saw Gao Xiaosheng in his security uniform, he skipped the inspection and waved him through.

"Hey, Xiao Gao's here."

At the office door, Li Shuguo was leisurely smoking when he saw Gao Xiaosheng and took the initiative to come over.

"Brother Li, is Section Chief Zhou here?" Gao Xiaosheng asked after parking his car.

"Yes, our section chief only goes home two days a week at most. He's either on patrol or in the office most of the time."

Li Shuguo glanced at the bed sheet on the back seat of the car and continued, "Do you need to see him?"

"Um."

"Then you should go quickly. I'll take the sheets into the lounge for you." Li Shuguo didn't ask any further questions and left with his things.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Enter."

"Section Chief Zhou."

"Xiao Gao is here, have a seat."

Gao Xiaosheng sat down in the chair opposite Zhou Jiasheng, his back straight and his hands resting flat on his thighs.

"Section Chief, I asked my neighbor who works in the workshop about the theft of scrap materials. He said it's true and has been going on for several years, and it seems to be getting worse recently."

Without knowing what Section Chief Zhou's intentions were, Gao Xiaosheng chose to handle things officially, first correcting his attitude and then explaining the facts.

"Hehe, you're quite impatient. Okay, let's talk about this then."

Zhou Jiasheng got up, poured a glass of water, and placed it in front of Gao Xiaosheng.

"They knew about this from the day the work team entered the steel rolling mill and obtained the account books."

"But they haven't dealt with it yet. They just mentioned it to me briefly, asking our security department to think of a solution."

Do you know why?

Gao Xiaosheng knew there was something going on, and he figured out two possibilities at home.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a general idea."

"Tell me about it." Zhou Jiasheng nodded with satisfaction. If the security officer wasn't quick-witted, he would have endless worries in the future.

"There are two possibilities. One is that the bulk of the waste is monopolized by a certain person or group, and in order to take over the steel rolling mill smoothly, it is not convenient to take action for the time being."

"Secondly, a large number of workers are smuggling waste materials, and strict inspections could lead to instability within the factory and affect production progress."

Gao Xiaosheng shifted slightly, his posture no longer as upright as before.

"Haha, you're pretty smart, you even thought of monopoly."

Zhou Jiasheng patted Gao Xiaosheng on the shoulder, his admiration evident.

"It's not that serious. Boss Lou and the capital manager are very cooperative, and the handover is going very smoothly. The public-private partnership transformation will be completed as early as the end of the year, or at the latest by next summer."

"Moreover, Boss Lou and those investors do not have the conditions for a monopoly."

"Of course, it's normal for you to make this judgment because you don't know much about steel rolling mills."

"Come on, have a smoke, and I'll tell you about the specifics of our steel rolling mill."

Zhou Jiasheng dragged a chair over to sit next to Gao Xiaosheng, took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

These days, about nine out of ten men smoke, and many women in their thirties and forties are also heavy smokers.

This is a legacy issue from history.

Who told foreign tobacco factories to dump cigarettes at low prices during the war, bringing the price down to the point where even the poor could afford them?

Their plan was to first expand the market with low prices, and then reap huge profits once the scale was large enough.

As a result, the market was cultivated quite well, but foreign capital slunk away, leaving behind only hundreds of millions of smokers.

"Our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill can be divided into three stages."

"48 years ago, the factory had four shareholders, and Boss Lou had the smallest share."

"Later, Chiang Kai-shek fled to the island, and the three major shareholders also fled, selling their shares to Boss Lou at a low price. In return, they brought Boss Lou's son to Hong Kong."

"It was from that time that it was renamed Lou's Steel Rolling Mill."

"Then at the beginning of this year, the working group moved in. Boss Lou was very understanding and agreed to only receive dividends and not participate in management."

"That's why I said that our factory doesn't have the conditions to monopolize waste materials."

"The managers and department heads were all new hires from 48 and 49. They were working right under our noses. There was so much waste, we couldn't even find buyers to sell it."

"Moreover, ever since Boss Lou bought the steel rolling mill, he usually stays at home and rarely goes out. He has no interest in managing it and is eager for us to take over as soon as possible."

Gao Xiaosheng then understood why Li Shuguo had said that Section Chief Zhou's words should be taken with a grain of salt.

That actually makes a lot of sense.

What does it mean to "have no interest in managing it and can't wait for the working group to take over"?

They bought back the shares from the three shareholders with real money, so why would they be so generous as to hand over management rights and a large portion of the dividends?

It's all because of the circumstances; when you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

You have no choice but to buy the shares. The three major shareholders are clearly trying to fleece him before they leave. If you dare not buy, your whole family might just happen to die on the same day.

Buying a property and then neglecting it shows a lack of self-preservation. Does a capitalist who flaunts his wealth all day long think he has too much time on his hands?

Now they're even spending money to ensure safety; as long as they're alive, there's always hope for the future, since their son is in Hong Kong.

Zhou Jiasheng took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "The truth is the same as your second guess."

"The working group estimates that there are at least 80 to 100 workers involved in smuggling waste. If we really crack down on it, it will have a bad impact."

"After all, they used to work for capitalists and were exploited every day. If they didn't come up with a solution, their mothers, wives, and sons would all go hungry."

"Now it's different. It's an internal contradiction within our working class. We have to handle it discreetly and avoid provoking confrontation, otherwise it will delay the progress of the public-private partnership."

"That's the situation. I originally wanted to delay it for a while, until you got to know the people in the factory better, before handing it over to you to solve."

"Since you brought it up, let's figure out what to do."

"Three requirements: it must not be handled as a mass case, it must not cause panic, and the loss of waste must be eliminated or at least significantly reduced."