Reborn in '77, I have a job panel!

Chapter 115 Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.

With the Jinzhou matter settled, Qian Cheng felt half relieved. Half relieved, though, because while the contract was signed and the direction was set, there were still a lot of things to do before things could actually be implemented.

Three days after returning from Jinzhou, Old Zhao from Yixian County arrived in the provincial capital. The old man, in his sixties, had rarely traveled far from home in his life; this was his first time in the provincial capital. Qian Cheng had Old Li pick him up at the station. The old man carried a snakeskin bag containing a bundle of scallions, a bag of eggs, and two pairs of shoe soles sewn by his wife. Old Li led him to the company, where the old man stood at the entrance, looked up at the sign hanging upstairs, and remained motionless for a long time.

"Master Zhao, come in," Old Li urged him.

The old man nodded and followed him upstairs. Qian Cheng was waiting in the conference room. When he saw him come in, he stood up to greet him. The old man was taken aback when he saw him, probably not expecting the manager to be so young.

"Master Zhao, you must be tired from your journey."

The old man put down the burlap sack and rubbed his hands together. "No trouble at all, Manager Qian. How can an old man like me be of any help?"

Qian Cheng invited him to sit down and poured him a glass of water. "Master Zhao, you used to work at the agricultural technology station, so you know the technology. Our company is going to expand in Jinzhou next year, and we need someone to go down there and teach farmers how to grow vegetables. You have a lot of experience, so we'd like to ask you to give some advice to the new recruits."

The old man took a sip of water, thought for a moment, and said, "No problem. Growing vegetables is both difficult and easy."

The key is to be attentive and keep a close eye on it. Once the seedlings have sprouted, you need to know exactly when to water them, when to fertilize them, and when to prune them—not even a day off is acceptable.

Qian Cheng nodded and called in the newly recruited group of people. There were fifteen of them, all from the countryside, ranging in age from their early twenties to their forties. Old Zhao looked at them, his eyes lighting up; he probably figured they were all farmers and would be easy to talk to.

The training lasted three days. Old Zhao spoke practically, avoiding any fluff. The first day he talked about land preparation: when to till the soil, how deep to till, what kind of base fertilizer to apply—he explained everything in detail. Someone asked, "What's the difference between growing vegetables and growing crops?" Old Zhao replied, "Growing crops is a gift from God; growing vegetables is something you have to cultivate yourself. Crops, once sown, will grow if it rains, and even if it doesn't rain, they can still yield a harvest for several days. Vegetables are different; they wilt in a day of drought and rot in a day of flooding, you have to watch them every day."

The next day, they talked about seedling cultivation. Old Zhao took out several packets of seeds from his burlap sack—spinach, chives, scallions, cucumbers, and tomatoes—and laid them out on the table. He picked up a packet of spinach seeds, opened it, poured the seeds into his palm, and showed it to the people below.

"Look, these spinach seeds are round and thick-skinned. They need to be soaked overnight before planting so they're fully hydrated and will sprout quickly. You can skip soaking them, but they'll be slower and the seedlings won't emerge evenly." He then picked up some leek seeds. "Leek seeds are different; they have thin skins and will rot if soaked for too long. Soak them in warm water for two hours, then drain them, let them dry, mix in some wood ash, sprinkle them down, and cover them with a thin layer of soil. Don't compact it, or they won't sprout."

The people below listened attentively, some even taking notes. A young man raised his hand and asked, "Master Zhao, what about cucumbers? How do you grow cucumber seedlings?"

Old Zhao said, "Cucumbers are afraid of the cold, so we have to wait until the weather gets warmer before planting them in the ground. First, we raise seedlings indoors using paper tubes or earthenware pots. We put two seeds in each hole, cover them with a finger's width of soil, water them thoroughly, and place them in a warm place. They will sprout in seven or eight days. Once they have grown two or three leaves, we can transplant them into the ground."

""

The young man then asked, "What about tomatoes?"

Old Zhao laughed: "Tomatoes are more delicate. When raising seedlings, the soil can't be too wet or too dry. If it's too wet, the roots will rot; if it's too dry, they won't grow. You have to keep an eye on them every day. Water them when the soil dries out, but don't water them too much at once. Transplant them when the seedlings are about a hand's length tall." He held up his hand to show how long they were.

On the third day, he talked about pests and diseases. Old Zhao pulled out an old, yellowed booklet from his pocket, opened it to reveal several sheets of paper inside, on which were drawings of various insects and diseased leaves. He showed them to the people below, one by one. "This is a cabbage caterpillar, it eats only cabbage leaves. You have to catch it when you see it, otherwise it will eat everything in one night. This is an aphid, they are densely packed, they suck the sap from the vegetables. Spraying with wood ash water, or with water soaked in tobacco leaves, will work. This is downy mildew, white hairs grow on the back of the leaves, it is easy to get when the weather is humid. It needs ventilation, and you can't plant it too densely."

The people below listened attentively, some even leaning closer to examine the papers. After Old Zhao finished speaking, he pulled Qian Cheng aside and whispered, "Manager Qian, this old man of mine can talk for a few days, but when it comes to actually doing the work, I'm afraid I won't be able to."

Qian Cheng said, "Master Zhao, you don't need to work in the fields. You're in charge of teaching them, and once they've learned, they can work in the fields. You'll be a technical consultant, and we'll pay you a salary every month."

The old man was taken aback: "You're still paying wages?"

Qian Cheng nodded: "Yes. After you go back, please keep an eye on those villages in Yixian County for us. When you're planting vegetables, go and check on them. If you have any questions, please give us some pointers. It won't interfere with your own work in the fields."

The old man thought for a moment and nodded. On the way back, Qian Cheng packed him two packets of snacks, a carton of cigarettes, and stuffed thirty yuan into his hand. The old man declined for a long time, but finally accepted it.

After the training, the fifteen people were assigned to various cities: three to Liaoyang, three to Anshan, three to Fushun, three to Yingkou, and three to Jinzhou. Old Li personally led the three to Jinzhou to visit villages and finalize contracts.

Qian Cheng thought things would proceed smoothly, but he didn't expect trouble to come faster than he anticipated.

Something happened in Jinzhou.

When Lao Li called back, his voice had changed. "Xiao Qian, there's a village in Yixian County. The contract was signed, the land was tilled, and the seedlings were planted, but a few days ago a cold snap froze most of the seedlings to death."

Qian Cheng's heart sank, but his voice remained steady. "How much damage have been done?"

"More than 100 acres were all frozen. The farmers are now making a fuss, saying that we have harmed them and that they should pay us compensation."

Qian Cheng asked, "Did we provide the seeds?"

"Yes. We planted the seedlings ahead of time, following Old Zhao's method. Who would have thought we'd have such a cold snap in spring? We haven't seen anything like this in years."

Qian Cheng was silent for a moment, then said, "You keep them calm for now, I'll go over tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Qian Cheng sat in his office for a long time, deep in thought. The late spring cold snap was a natural disaster, not human fault, but the farmers didn't care about that. All they knew was that the seeds were provided by the company, the methods were taught by Old Zhao, and if the seedlings died, the company would be responsible. If this matter wasn't handled properly, not only would Yixian County suffer, but several other counties would also be affected.

The next morning, he took Lao Zhao to Yi County.

When he arrived at the village, a crowd had gathered at the edge of the field, making a racket. Seeing Qian Cheng arrive, they immediately surrounded him. An old man, with the loudest voice, pointed at the seedlings in the field and said, "Look at this! These are the seeds you gave us, the methods you taught us, and they're all dead! Over a hundred acres of land, completely ruined!"

Qian Cheng squatted down to examine the seedlings. The spinach, chive, and cucumber seedlings were all wilted, their leaves turning yellow and black, and some had rotten roots. He dug into the soil and saw that the roots underneath were indeed rotten. The late spring cold snap had come suddenly, and the seedlings couldn't withstand it.

He stood up and dusted his hands off. "Grandpa, don't worry. We'll take responsibility for this."

The crowd fell silent for a moment. The old man was taken aback, not expecting him to recognize him so readily.

Qian Cheng said, "We provide the seeds, we teach the methods, and we take responsibility if the seedlings die. If this batch of seedlings is gone, we'll replant it. We provide the seeds, we teach the techniques, and we compensate for any losses."

The old man stared at him, speechless for a long time. A middle-aged woman beside him asked, "How will you compensate us?"

Qian Cheng said, "The compensation is based on the acreage. Ten yuan per acre, is that enough to buy seeds and fertilizer?"

Below, people whispered among themselves. Ten yuan per mu, a hundred mu would be a thousand yuan. In those days, that was no small sum.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Ten yuan isn't enough. What about the labor we put in? Turning the soil, planting seedlings, watering—don't those cost money?"

Qian Cheng said, "Grandpa, you're right, the wages have to be calculated too. Here's the deal: fifteen yuan per mu. The extra will be used to pay everyone's wages."

This time, the gossip stopped, and everyone looked at him. The old man nodded and said, "Alright, you keep your word?"

Qian Cheng took out the contract from his pocket, wrote a supplementary agreement on the spot, specifying the amount of compensation and the replanting plan, signed it, and pressed his fingerprint.

"Grandpa, is this alright now?"

The old man looked at the agreement for a long time before handing it to a literate young man next to him. The young man read it once and nodded.

The old man grasped Qian Cheng's hand tightly.

"Manager Qian, you're an honest person. This was a natural disaster, not your fault. If you can accept that, we'll respect it."

Qian Cheng said, "Grandpa, this isn't our problem, nor is it yours. No one can predict natural disasters. Let's make up for the losses and be more careful next time we plant. In the future, when raising seedlings, we'll check the weather forecast more often, and if it gets cold, we'll cover them with straw mats in advance."

Those nearby nodded in agreement. The middle-aged woman asked, "Is it too late to replant?"

Old Zhao chimed in from the side, "There's still time. The late spring cold snap has passed, the weather will warm up, and we can still replant in time. This time we won't raise seedlings, we'll just sow the seeds directly. Although it will be a few days slower, we won't be afraid of the frost."

Qian Cheng stayed in the village for two days, watching the replanting finish before leaving. When he left, the old man saw him to the village entrance, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed it to him.

"Manager Qian, here you go. It's not a very good cigarette, please don't be offended."

Qian Cheng took it; it was an old-fashioned dry cigarette, wrapped in newspaper. He'd never smoked this kind before, but he accepted it anyway. "Thank you, sir. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

The old man nodded, watched him get into the car, and remained standing there even after the car drove away.

On the way back to the provincial capital, Old Li sat beside me, silent for a long time. He only spoke when we were almost there.

"Small change, this time I lost over a thousand yuan. The account balance—"

Qian Cheng said, "Deducting from the accounts as necessary and recording it as necessary. This is my responsibility; I didn't consider the late spring cold snap."

Old Li said, "It's not your responsibility; nobody expected it."

Qian Cheng shook his head: "I'm the manager, so it's my responsibility if something goes wrong."

Back at the company, Qian Cheng told Lao Wang about it. Lao Wang did the math: the loss of over a thousand yuan, plus the cost of replanting seeds and fertilizer, would easily exceed two thousand yuan. Year-end profits would be significantly reduced.

Qian Cheng said, "Uncle Wang, money can be earned back. But if you lose your reputation, everything is over."

""

Old Wang nodded and didn't say anything more.

But the trouble wasn't over yet.

A few days later, another incident occurred in Liaoyang. Sun Li called to say that a village reported that after the vegetables were harvested and delivered to the warehouse, the weights didn't match up when weighed. The farmers said they weighed them at home, but several kilograms were missing when they arrived at the warehouse. They suspected that the warehouse was tampering with the weights.

Qian Cheng asked, "Have you checked?"

Sun Li said, "We checked. The warehouse said they didn't tamper with it; it was the farmers who made inaccurate measurements."

Qian Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Don't rush to conclusions on either side. I'll go and take a look tomorrow."

The next day, he went to Liaoyang. First, he went to the village, took their own scale, weighed out twenty jin of vegetables, loaded them onto the truck, and then delivered them to the warehouse. At the warehouse, in front of the farmers, he weighed them again using the warehouse's scale. Twenty jin, not a liang off.

The farmer was stunned, scratching his head: "Then why was there less last time?"

'

Qian Cheng said, "Last time, the scale might have been inaccurate, or the moisture might have evaporated on the way. If vegetables are left for a long time after being cut, the moisture will evaporate, and they will naturally be lighter. From now on, you should cut the vegetables the night before and deliver them first thing the next morning, instead of leaving them overnight."

The farmer nodded and stopped making a fuss. But Qian Cheng knew in his heart that this matter was not so simple. He had Lao Li keep an eye on things in the warehouse for a few days, and sure enough, they found a problem. It wasn't that the warehouse staff were tampering with the goods; it was that the receiving staff were taking shortcuts and were careless when weighing them. Sometimes they wouldn't place the scales flat before reporting the weight, and sometimes several baskets of vegetables would be stacked together and the total weight wouldn't match.

Qian Cheng called the warehouse staff together for a meeting. "Weighing is a big deal; it concerns the farmers' money and the company's reputation. If you do it sloppily, the farmers won't trust us. From now on, weigh each basket one by one, and make sure the scale is level before reporting the number. Anyone who tries to cut corners or cheat will face my wrath."

""

The warehouse workers kept their heads down and remained silent. From then on, there were no more mistakes in weighing the goods.

But the most troublesome thing is yet to come.

In the autumn, Director Liu called, saying that a district in the provincial capital had reported finding rotten leaves in the vegetables they supplied, and several other units had complained. Qian Cheng rushed to the district's warehouse, opened a package of vegetables, and sure enough, the top layer looked okay, but underneath, there were quite a few rotten ones. The spinach leaves were yellow and sticky, and the leek roots were rotten, yielding a handful of water when grabbed.

Old Li stood beside him, his face grim. "These vegetables came from Yingkou. They probably got stale on the way here; it was hot and there was no ventilation."

""

Qian Cheng squatted down, rummaged through the bag of rotten vegetables, stood up, and patted the mud off his hands. "Who's in charge in Yingkou?"

Old Li said, "Little Sun, Sun Li."

Qian Cheng nodded without saying a word. Back at the company, he called Sun Li over. Sun Li stood before him, his face flushed red.

"Manager, it's my fault. I checked the vegetables when they were loaded onto the truck, and they were all fine. They probably weren't covered properly on the way, and they got rotten after being exposed to the sun all day."

""

Qian Cheng looked at him, remaining silent for a long time. "Xiao Sun, how long have you been working for me?"

'

Sun Li said, "It's been a year and a half."

Qian Cheng said, "A year and a half is not a short time. You should know that if the vegetables rot after being delivered to the customer, it's our problem. Whether they rot in the field or on the road, the customer won't care that much."

Sun Li lowered his head and remained silent.

Qian Cheng said, "Return this batch of vegetables. We'll compensate for what needs to be compensated and replace what needs to be replaced. Go and tell the people in that district that it's our responsibility, and we'll take responsibility. Also, you need to rearrange the transportation in Yingkou. It's getting hot, so we need to cover the trucks with shade netting, and the vegetables can't be piled up too thickly; there need to be gaps in between for ventilation."

,

Sun Li nodded and went to take care of it.

That night, Qian Cheng came home very late. Nian En was already asleep, and Zhang Mingxi was sitting in the living room waiting for him. She glanced at him as he entered.

"What's wrong? You look terrible."

Qian Cheng sat down on the sofa and recounted what had happened that day. After listening, Zhang Mingxi poured him a glass of water.

"Qian Cheng, as the company grows, there will be more things to do. You can't shoulder everything yourself."

,

Qian Cheng took a sip of water and leaned back on the sofa.

"It's not that I'll shoulder the burden myself. When something goes wrong, someone has to step up. If I don't step up, the people below will be even less likely to step up."

""

Zhang Mingxi didn't say anything more, she just leaned on his shoulder.

After a while, Qian Cheng said, "Mingxi, do you think I'm being too hasty? Liaoyang, Anshan, Fushun, Yingkou, and now Jinzhou—I'm taking too big a step."

""

Zhang Mingxi thought for a moment and said, "You're not in a hurry, you just want to get things done. But doing things well can't be done by you alone. You have to get the people below you to take on the responsibility as well."

""

Qian Cheng looked at her and suddenly smiled. "You're right."

The next day, he called Lao Wang, Lao Li, and Xiao Liu together and laid out the recent events, reviewing them one by one.

"The cold snap in Jinzhou is my responsibility; I didn't consider the weather. The weighing issue in Liaoyang is the warehouse's responsibility; the rules weren't set up properly. The rotten vegetables in Yingkou are the transportation's responsibility; the arrangements were inadequate. Each of these issues should be addressed according to their own responsibility, and the necessary rules should be established. From now on, if something goes wrong, don't look for a person, look for the rules. If the rules are established and everyone follows them, mistakes are less likely to occur."

,

Old Wang said, "Xiao Qian, you're right. But if we set too many rules, won't the people below get annoyed?"

'

Qian Cheng said, "Even if it's troublesome, we still have to establish rules. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. Our company has grown from a few people to more than a hundred. We can't just do things on a whim like before. We need plans, regulations, and responsibilities. Who is responsible for what, what standards they meet, and who is held accountable if something goes wrong—all of this must be clearly written down."

Old Li said, "Okay, I'll go back and write it."

Qian Cheng said, "It's not one person writing it; everyone writing it together. You all need to figure out your own rules and regulations, and then discuss them at the meeting. Once they're approved, then follow them. Whoever doesn't follow them will be held responsible."

The meeting was over, and Qian Cheng sat in his office, looking out the window. It was getting dark, and the streets were bustling with cars and people. He remembered the pack of tobacco the old man from Yixian had given him; it was still in his drawer. He took it out, looked at it, didn't smoke it, and put it back.

Life went on like this, with troubles coming one after another, one solved only to be followed by another. But he knew that these troubles were all part of the necessary path. Without taking these paths, he would never reach his destination.