Road to Revival

"Old Lü, did you tip off General Manager Tao? This job wasn't easy, but I'm fairly satisfied. At least I'm satisfied." Just as the afternoon shift started, Zhao Zhenghong, the director of the legal office, rushed to Lü Qi's office.

"What kind of job?" Lü Qi didn't understand.

"You didn't know? Yesterday, General Manager Tao called me over and asked me to represent the company in negotiations with Donghu."

"What are you negotiating?"

"Of course it's your classmate's messy affairs." Zhao Zhenghong, nicknamed "Big Face Cat," is the director of the legal office, but he doesn't act like a lawyer at all. He snatches Lü Qi's water cup and drinks it all in one gulp. "I'm so thirsty. It's so hot today."

Lü Qi was both amused and exasperated. Being a bit of a germaphobe, she probably couldn't use that water cup anymore. "It's done? What's the result?" she asked, noticing Zhao Zhenghong's smug tone.

"I didn't get back from the city until 1 a.m., damn it, they didn't even provide a meal. I just went to report to General Manager Tao's office, but the propaganda department was there, so I came here instead." Zhao Zhenghong picked up a magazine from the table and fanned himself with it.

"My dear Director Zhao, please explain yourself clearly! What exactly did you manage to win back?"

"The total is 75, including the hospitalization fees they advanced. Do you think this result will satisfy Mr. Tao?"

"75...that sounds like a lot. Li Suyi's husband probably earns less than 3000 yuan a month...let's say 3000. In ten years, that's 3 yuan, and in thirty years, that's 90 yuan...Li Suyi is the same age as me, and her husband's age is unknown. He should be able to live another thirty years, right? What's the average life expectancy for men published by the government again? It's about seventy-five, isn't it? We also have to consider wage increases..."

"That's not how you calculate it," Zhao Zhenghong exclaimed. "Little sister, you're going to ruin me with this calculation. The Municipal Bureau and the Xicheng Branch have also gotten involved, so we're not entirely without responsibility... Besides, Donghu is going to compensate us with a house."

"The house is what they should have compensated for, isn't it?" Lu Qi recalled the violent demolition process she learned during her second visit to Li Suyi and felt that this amount of compensation was really not much.

"Hey, if you were the boss, I'd have to quit. You should also consider the cost of capital. Can he really earn 750,000 right away? Even if he just put 750,000 in the bank, he'd still get 20,000 to 30,000 in interest every year, right? What if he bought funds, stocks, or started a business?"

"Whose side are you on? I'm curious about your attitude."

"Grandma, you have no idea how difficult negotiations are. If it weren't for President Tao's intervention with Donghu, they would never have conceded. A lawsuit? Just you wait."

"Will Donghu pay for this?"

"Nominally, it's Deng Guoming's Yinqiao Company that made the payment, but a representative from Donghu participated. Yinqiao Company and Donghu have a cooperative relationship. A lawsuit definitely won't involve Donghu; Yinqiao Company is an independent legal entity." Zhao Zhenghong poured another glass of water from Lü Qi's cup onto the water dispenser. "Little sister, can you give me your opinion? Will President Tao be satisfied with this result?"

"I don't know. But I can tell you that President Tao will definitely ask you about the compensation standards in Pingquan City," Lu Qi recalled the scene when she first reported to Tao Tang in his office last week. "Our new boss values ​​rules, that's for sure."

"The compensation standards are different. Because the case was classified as negligent injury, we also have to bear some responsibility here. If we calculate it according to this, I'm afraid it won't be this much," Zhao Zhenghong pondered.

"That makes things much easier to report."

"The key is Li Suyi. I'm afraid you'll have to step in and talk to her. If she agrees, she can sign and we can get the money. If she doesn't agree, things will drag on..."

"Have you seen her?"

"Who?"

"Li Suyi."

Why would I see her?

"Hey, you're representing the company to fight for her rights, how can you not meet with the victim?"

"I had Han Ruilin talk to her, and she said she needed 100 million. She's really desperate. No, it wasn't Li Suyi who said that, it was her father."

"Oh, I almost forgot, since it's manslaughter, there must be a murderer, right? They won't just pay some money and let it go, will they?"

"Investigate. Why wouldn't we investigate? Party Secretary Wang personally gave instructions, and the police are taking it to heart. The murderer has been identified, but he's on the run and we're currently searching for him. That's why Yinqiao Company is very dissatisfied; they probably feel that being fined and punished is too unfair."

"Is this just acting?"

"No, no. The police went too, and they won't lie for Deng Guoming..." Just then, Zhao Zhenghong's phone rang. It was Li Zhibin calling, saying that President Tao wanted her to come over.

"I have to go now." Zhao Zhenghong hurried away.

Tao Tang still inquired about the matter… Lü Qi thought, 75 yuan in compensation sounded like a lot, plus a house and the return of her husband's pension and housing provident fund contributions… Perhaps Li Suyi could never save such a large sum of money in her entire life. The house belonged to the old lady, and Li Suyi only had a share, but the compensation belonged to Li Suyi, and no one else could contest it. With this money, Li Suyi could support her child's education and almost help her child get married… The price was losing her husband and enduring the pain of midlife widowhood. Lü Qi took out her phone, wanting to tell Li Suyi about the news Zhao Zhenghong had brought, but then thought about it and felt there were several uncontrollable factors, so she didn't call. Her thoughts somehow turned to Tao Tang, perhaps brought up by the phrase "midlife widowhood" that had just flashed through her mind? Even now, she still didn't understand how Tao Tang's wife had died, or how he had managed all these years. Of course, Tao Tang wasn't Li Suyi; he probably wasn't short of money, but he would still suffer the pain of midlife widowhood and couldn't escape it.

He was too busy. Even from the outside, Lü Qi could sense Tao Tang's heavy workload. He had only been at the factory for less than ten days, and the atmosphere in the office building had changed dramatically. The main change was that people were arriving earlier, especially the middle-level managers; there was no longer any instance of arriving late after the bell rang. Liu Xinjun, the head of the Development and Planning Department, was a prime example. The habitually late assistant Liu started arriving fifteen minutes earlier, always afraid Tao Tang would call him. But Tao Tang never did, and Lü Qi sensed Liu Xinjun's unease. This was especially true after Tao Tang suddenly dismissed Quan Jianhe from his post.

The reason for Quan Jianhe's dismissal had already spread. That man was a close confidant of General Han, always arrogant and spoiled. Many people were privately happy about Quan Jianhe's dismissal. But Lü Qi was somewhat worried. Would Tao Tang's elimination of Quan Jianhe while Han Zhiyong was away on business push Han Zhiyong to the opposite side? Among the company leaders, Li Luo formed his own faction, possessing the greatest power, while Han Zhiyong and Ma Guangming formed another faction, always closely allied. Tao Tang had already shown signs of targeting marketing; how could she create another powerful enemy? If both factions were pushed to the opposite side, her work would be very passive… In her experience, the top leader sometimes had no choice but to make unwilling compromises; wasn't Song Yue the best example? When she heard the news of Quan Jianhe's dismissal, Lü Qi even regretted not proactively telling Tao Tang about the complex and sharp power struggle among the top management of the Red Star Factory. She hated this pointless struggle, but her husband, who only wanted to be a commentator and not an athlete, ridiculed her naiveté. Old Fan believed that struggle was absolute, harmony was relative. The essence of power is struggle; without struggle, one cannot control power. Tao's choice of targets might be negotiable, but sacrificing key figures is essential. Who's afraid if a few fools aren't eliminated? She didn't argue with Lao Fan about this further, because she could never win against the "learned" but actually incompetent Lao Fan.

She had planned to take the opportunity this morning to go to his office and talk, using the report on the back pay as a good pretext. After the news spread, the whole factory was jubilant, praising the new boss as generous and a good leader. But she knew he was sacrificing himself for others. Ironically, Lao Fan shared the same view, a rare instance of them agreeing. The arrears were a legacy of the previous boss, not his responsibility. Now, with the back pay plus this month's wages, it's all gone in a flash, nearly two hundred million! With the old debts cleared, what about future production and operations? Production was already in dire straits. She was in charge of top-level performance evaluations, so she knew the overall situation clearly. Jiang Yansheng from the production department said the 15 million in outsourcing fees was just a drop in the bucket, a minor burden; the real problem was yet to come. Qiu Lin's material costs were even greater, at least three or four hundred million every month. To ordinary people, two or three hundred million was an astronomical figure, but for Hongxing's decision-makers, ten million was just a drop in the bucket. Electricity alone would cost ten million every month, and financial expenses were an even bigger burden. Adding to the already escalating legal risks of outstanding debts, isn't this exactly what led to Quan Jianhe's downfall? The little money Tao Tang brought back simply wasn't enough. Of course, the main channel for funding is marketing; if the upstream is dry, the downstream will naturally be parched. But shouldn't he have immediately adopted a strong stance of overhauling marketing? Isn't that exactly what Li Luo used to challenge the bosses? Holding the marketing team in his hands is like holding the bosses by the throat. Lü Qi knew that Song Yue and Li Luo's relationship had been extremely tense at one point, but Song Yue ultimately gave in; he didn't dare risk losing market share, as that would lead to collapse.

Should she tell him? Lü Qi hesitated. She was just a deputy section chief; to talk to the top leader about factions within the leadership team? Wouldn't that be presumptuous? What would he think of her? But she felt she wasn't just any ordinary deputy section chief. He trusted her; he hadn't forgotten her, at least he considered her a friend. What he said at the Donghu meeting that day, what he asked her about the marketing personnel—weren't those the best proof? She had mentioned Li Suyi's predicament to him; hadn't he sent "Big Face Cat" out and achieved results? Besides, he was a good person, a good official; he was still the cheerful, enthusiastic, sunny, and upright Tao Tang she remembered. For his future, she should still tell him…

Zhao Zhenghong is back.

"How is it?" Lü Qi snapped out of her thoughts.

"President Tao asked very detailed questions, but I've basically finished my task."

What does it mean to have basically completed the task?

"Isn't there your classmate on the other end? Can you do me a favor and persuade her to let it go? To be honest, if it weren't for President Tao's help, she definitely wouldn't have agreed so readily."

"So we should thank them?"

"Old Lü, do you really live in a vacuum? Behind Yinqiao is Donghu Lake. What can the city do to Donghu? Donghu Hanlin is a project personally overseen by Mayor Shangguan. Huajin Road has become a major bottleneck. Donghu is under pressure from the city, and Yinqiao is under pressure from Donghu. Aren't they anxious too? I only heard their asking price when I went there. To be honest, it's really excessive. I reported the situation truthfully to General Manager Tao, and only then did he nod. It's clear that General Manager Tao values ​​relationships. He even asked you to buy some gifts to express the company's condolences to Li Suyi, but he really doesn't have time; he has a publicity meeting tonight. Old Lü, what kind of boss would do that? Ah, of course, you're classmates."

"Did he really say that?"

"Hey, would I dare to forge an imperial edict?"

"What's wrong with publicity? That's Secretary Zhao's responsibility. Why should he be involved in publicity?"

"How would I know? Just now, General Manager Tao got angry and scolded the publicity department. I saw Minister Cui leave with a long face."