In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 426 No Smoking
"It was Lao Liang who insisted that this outfit would make him look less ordinary when discussing collaborations with others, and would also earn their respect." Duan Dahai looked embarrassed; in fact, he also felt that this kind of attire was strange and uncomfortable at all.

Yu Dawei shifted his gaze to Boss Liang. Boss Liang seemed to sense Yu Dawei's unfriendly gaze, or perhaps he remembered Yu Dawei's earlier instructions. In any case, Boss Liang's gaze not only darted away, but he even started to move his feet back little by little.

"Why are you hiding? What did I tell you before I left?" After saying this, Yu Dawei noticed that some pedestrians on both sides of the road were about to stop and watch the drama unfold. He clicked his tongue helplessly and said, "Get in the car. I'll drive it into the yard first."

The two of them looked at each other with reproachful eyes, like elementary school students who had made a mistake, and followed Yu Dawei into the little red car.

The old man guarding the gate was truly dumbfounded. It was clearly General Manager Duan who had taken over the flour mill, but judging from the current situation, it seemed like this young man was the real owner.

The more he looked, the less he understood. Fortunately, he knew that the other party was going to drive into the yard, so he turned around, walked quickly to the gate, opened the two gates, and watched the little red car drive into the yard.

Inside the car, neither Duan Dahai nor Boss Liang dared to sit in the passenger seat of Xiao Hong's car. The two of them were not short for the North, and now they could only huddle in the narrow back seat of Xiao Hong's car.

Boss Liang was somewhat afraid of Dawei, mainly because he had messed things up again, and he had even been "turned to the side" by Lao Duan, who lent all the money he had returned for the excavator parts to Duan Dawei.

It can be said that he was not only physically in Cao Cao's camp but also loyal to Han, but a complete and utter traitor.

As for Duan Dahai, who was standing next to him, he had always regarded Yu Dawei as a younger brother and knew that the other party was very opposed to his acquisition of the flour mill. So, while the other party was away on a business trip, he secretly made a big move and acquired the entire flour mill.

Furthermore, Yu Dawei's abilities are becoming increasingly outstanding. Among the three, he and Lao Liang admire him for both his work and his planning.

That's why I was a little embarrassed to face those scrutinizing eyes just now.

The two men exchanged glances in the car, each trying to shift blame. In the end, Boss Liang was persuaded by Duan Dahai's threatening glances.

“Dawei, after much consideration, we still think it’s worthwhile to acquire this flour mill. Brother Duan can guarantee that the flour mill will turn a profit within a year!” Boss Liang put his hands on the driver’s seat and leaned in close.

Yu Dawei ignored him and instead began to observe the situation inside the flour mill.

The flour mill occupies a large area, but there are not many buildings. The long row of large rooms on the right should be the operating room. Yu Dawei can see the green-painted machines inside through the open door in the middle.

On the left is a two-story brick and tile house. Through the windows, you can see the processed flour, although it seems to have different compartments.

Yu Dawei was a complete layman and didn't quite understand what this meant. Besides the two buildings, he also saw a grain unloading pit and a flour silo.

Finally, at the farthest point in the courtyard, you can see the living and office area, a small two-story office building.

Currently, the flour mill appears to be too rudimentary. Although Yu Dawei has never seen other flour mills, he imagines that with the addition of various modern technologies, it would certainly not be this simple.

After Liang finished speaking, he realized that Yu Dawei was ignoring him, so he could only turn his gaze to Duan Dahai.

Left with no other choice, Duan Dahai could only explain, "Dawei, you know I've collected enough garbage, and this old flour mill is a precious memory of our generation."

“At first, Lao Liang did try to persuade me, and I agreed. After all, when it comes to changing industries, we ourselves are not sure what to do.” Duan Dahai looked at the empty factory outside and sighed. “But later, I heard from Factory Director Yu that some bosses from the city came and wanted to take over the land of the flour mill and turn it into a glass factory.”

"I feel a bit uneasy. Why can flour in our town be sold for cheaper than elsewhere? It's because there's a flour mill here. Besides, people are being laid off from the flour mill one after another, and it makes me feel sad to see so many people without jobs."

“There’s a guy in town named Lao Jiao who works at the flour mill. His whole family depends on him to earn money to support them. He was one of the last batch of workers to be laid off recently. His son has asthma and has to take medication every day. After this incident, the family’s only source of income is gone.”

Although Duan Dahai's expression remained calm, he was inwardly feeling a mix of emotions: "I'm not some kind of savior of suffering. I have to admit that I acquired the flour mill partly because I valued its profits, partly to improve my image and prove myself, and only secondarily to ensure that these people wouldn't have to struggle to survive."

“Running a flour mill is dangerous, Brother Duan.” Yu Dawei parked the car not far from the flour mill’s storage warehouse, got out of the car and pointed to the control room, “Look at the large control room next to it, how close are these places to the flour mill’s storage warehouse and the office building behind me?”

"Is it twenty meters?" Yu Dawei estimated that it wasn't. Then he turned around and looked at Brother Duan. "Whether the flour mill makes money or not is another matter. The main reason I oppose your acquisition of the flour mill is because it's unsafe."

“The equipment in the factory is of varying ages. When a problem occurs, even the slightest spark can cause the entire flour mill to explode like TNT, and the chances of anyone in the workshop surviving are almost zero.” As Yu Dawei said this, the expressions of the two people opposite him changed slightly.

All three of them were laymen after all. One had spent half his life collecting garbage, another had spent half his life working with agricultural machinery. If you were to ask who among the three knew the most about flour mills, it would really be Yu Dawei, who used to watch videos, who knew more.

"It's not just machines and operations that can cause problems; even human error can lead to a flour mill explosion." Yu Dawei gestured to the large operating room not far away. "Both of you smoke, but if you go in with even a wisp of smoke, it will all be obliterated in the explosion." "I'm not exaggerating. I remember a few years ago in some county, wasn't it because someone was smoking in the flour mill in violation of regulations that several operating rooms in the entire factory exploded, killing dozens of people?"

After Yu Dawei reminded him, Boss Liang suddenly remembered the explosive news that the neighboring county had tried so hard to suppress back then: "Wang Kui, right? The news was covered up in just a few days. My shop had only been open for a short time at that time."

Duan Dahai seemed to know about this as well, and his expression was rather unpleasant at the moment.

“Our small, dilapidated flour mill has very densely packed buildings. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there’s only one operating room; it’s huge. If it were to explode, the surrounding buildings wouldn’t be spared either.”

Yu Dawei is not exaggerating. I don't know which idiot built it like this. Such a big yard, all built in one place.

Could it be that they plan to expand production in the future and build other production lines? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense why they left such a large empty space next to it.

"So, Brother Duan, if you really want to do this flour business, the first thing you have to do is quit smoking, and so do you," Yu Dawei said, then glanced at Boss Liang. "From now on, everyone entering the factory must be prohibited from smoking!"

"And we have to put up big signs everywhere saying 'No open flames, no smoking'!" Yu Dawei stared at Duan Dahai and Boss Liang with a serious and earnest look. "Otherwise, if the flour mill explodes, the people inside won't survive, and neither will the people outside."

"You two, don't forget, there's a market outside!"

Upon hearing the word "market," cold sweat broke out on Duan Dahai's forehead, trickled down his temples, and finally slid down his cheeks.

If the flour mill really explodes, then I will truly become a sinner for all time.

"No wonder, no wonder Director Yu kept reminding me before he left that safety is the most important thing in a flour mill, and that he had to emphasize safety every morning and evening." Only then did Boss Liang remember the meaning of what Director Yu had said when he had dinner with him a couple of days ago.

Yu Dawei frowned. "What happened to this former factory director afterward?"

"He got transferred to the grain bureau to live a leisurely life." Boss Liang licked his lips and turned to Duan Dahai. "Old Duan, shall we go and learn from Director Yu again?"

“We don’t know anything right now. If we can’t figure out the tricks of the trade, things could get really bad.” Boss Liang finally understood why Yu Dawei had repeatedly reminded him to persuade Brother Duan to stay.

This flour mill explosion is no small matter.

"Well, that's the only way." Duan Dahai nodded, then looked at Yu Dawei and Boss Liang. "What Dawei said earlier is also correct. We'll put up no-smoking signs everywhere. From now on, not only will I quit smoking, but everyone who comes to work in the factory will be prohibited from smoking."

"Sigh, this is all we can do for now." Yu Dawei shrugged helplessly. "Do you have any paint? We're just sitting around doing nothing, so let's get it done now?"

"Let's do it!" Duan Dahai nodded.

He and Boss Liang had been planning how to resume production at the factory, and now they had found the right direction.

The first thing to do is to ban open flames and anything related to fireworks.

Old Jin, who had always been the gatekeeper at the factory, was standing in the shade under the gate, staring at the three people in the distance with a surprised expression.

Then I saw these three people with brushes and red paint buckets, writing and drawing on the wall.

When he finally saw the four crookedly written words "No Smoking," the old man couldn't hold back any longer. After all, he used to write some of the warning signs in the factory.

He couldn't tolerate such tattered writing appearing on a pristine white wall!
So, the three of them seemed to have found the backbone of writing; wherever they pointed, Old Jin would start writing.

At Yu Dawei's suggestion, even the large iron gate at the entrance was not spared.

The four large red characters above clearly read: No Smoking.

(End of this chapter)