The arrest of Wang Ma Zi and his gang of hooligans caused no stir in the textile factory.
In this era where village feuds could escalate to the point of involving cannons, the local people were known for their martial spirit and had seen it all.
Even Aunt Zhao, wielding a kitchen knife, could easily make Wang Ma Zi scream in pain; this was nothing new.
However, the fact that Wang Ma Zi's affair involved Huang Fusheng, the head chef of the canteen, immediately piqued the gossip of the textile factory workers.
News from the security department claimed that Huang Fusheng had instructed Wang Ma Zi and his gang to sabotage Zhou Erwa Restaurant by adding cockroach to the dishes, damaging the restaurant's reputation.
After the incident was exposed, Huang Fusheng was arrested and interrogated by the security department for an afternoon, and was suspended from his duties, awaiting the factory's decision.
This news delighted the workers.
Ever since Huang Fusheng replaced Xiao Lei as the head chef of the factory canteen, the food has gotten worse everyday.
Now that Huang Fusheng has been suspended, will the food in the factory canteen become better?
Everyone is already looking forward to Master Xiao's return as head chef, hoping he'll cook up a storm again and make the big pot dishes delicious.
"Will Master Xiao come back? I heard he's working as a kitchen helper now."
"Huang Fusheng is gone, but I doubt Master Xiao will come back as head chef! He was removed from his position by a factory announcement, accused of multiple violations, but procedurally, there were no problems."
"I heard Master Xiao was a scapegoat, framed by a villain."
"Just name names. As long as Wang Defa is in power, it's unlikely Master Xiao will come back. If they arrest Huang Fusheng, he can just promote another Wang Fusheng. Whether the food is good or not doesn't matter, as long as he's obedient."
"That guy is like a rock in a latrine—hard and smelly, just disgusting!"
The workers huddled together for breakfast, drinking porridge and eating steamed buns, gossiping about the latest news.
The hard and smelly Director Wang was sitting in his office, chain smoking, the smoky air unable to hide his sour face.
Huang Fusheng's arrest caught him off guard, and he was so panicked that he wanted to run away.
Fortunately, Wang Ma Zi and his gang didn't escalate the situation at Zhou Erwa Restaurant; no one was injured, and there was no serious property damage.
However, Huang Fusheng, as the instigator, couldn't escape unscathed and would inevitably be punished; he'd lost his position as head chef.
"That bastard! He hired those brainless hooligans and turned something so simple into this mess. Now I'm under so much pressure!" Wang Defa muttered, gritting his teeth in anger.
"Huang Fusheng's skills are barely good enough to be a helper. My cousin brother's cooking skills have improved rapidly these past two years; he makes twice-cooked pork and stir-fried pig liver quite well. He could be the head chef." Sun Meili said, handing him a water glass and smiling as she went behind Wang Defa to massage his shoulders.
"Sun Qiao?" Wang Defa frowned in thought.
"That's right, Sun Qiao said he's planning to take the Level 3 chef exam this year, and he's got a sure thing." Sun Meili said with a smile. "Sun Qiao is a good boy. If he's the head chef, we can still get our kickbacks from the ingredient purchasing department. If we let Xiao Lei come back, he'll cause a huge uproar. That brat is impervious to reason and threats."
"I definitely can't let Xiao Lei come back as head chef. If he comes back, I, as the canteen director, will have no authority in the kitchen." Wang Defa nodded. "Okay, at today's meeting, I'll push Sun Qiao up there and let him temporarily take over as head chef."
"Okay." Wang Meili leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I've also thought of a way to deal with Zhou Yan. Isn't his business booming? Let's increase his rent. Fifteen yuan a month is too cheap for him."
"How much?" Wang Defa turned to look at her. "If we raise it by ten or five yuan, it won't affect him at all."
"Then let's raise it to 100 yuan a month, and he'll have to make up the difference this month." Sun Meili's lips curled into a sneer. "He dares to steal our canteen's business; he's causing state-owned assets to be lost. Why should a small business owner earn so much money?"
"One hundred yuan?" Wang Defa frowned. "And just his shop, isn't that too much?"
"If he thinks it's too much, he doesn't have to pay. We're just trying to get rid of him."
...
"What? One hundred yuan a month? Director Sun, you must be confused!" Wang Wei looked at Sun Meili sitting behind her desk with a bewildered expression. "The rent for shops under the textile factory's name is usually around ten yuan. Zhou Yan's shop is close to the factory gate, so we're charging an extra five yuan, fifteen yuan a month, which is already high rent."
Sun Meili's smile froze, her eyes widened instantly, and she slammed her hand on the table, standing up angrily. "Wang Wei! What kind of attitude is that! I'm your leader, the head of the finance department in charge of the cafeteria! How dare you insult me?"
"I won't insult you, I should praise you." Wang Wei sneered. "So what if you're a leader? Workers have the right to object to and voice their opinions on unreasonable demands and orders from their leader."
"Fine! Fine! Fine!" Sun Meili trembled with anger, pointing at Wang Wei. "You're disobedient, insulting your leader, disorganized, and undisciplined! I'm transferring you to guard the warehouse, to move goods!"
"Don't flatter me!" Wang Wei scoffed. "Who do you think you are, sending me to guard the warehouse just because you say so? The textile factory isn't yours to own!"
"I think you're just jealous of Zhou Erwa Restaurant's success and want to suppress and retaliate against Zhou Yan."
"And you call yourselves leaders? You have a little power, so you want to destroy people! Is that how you show off? Your behavior is disgusting!"
After saying that, Wang Wei turned around and left the office without looking back.
"You come back here!" Sun Meili angrily slammed down her enamel cup, splashing tea everywhere.
In the outer office, the accountants exchanged knowing glances.
The middle-aged woman closest to the director's office rushed in, picked up the enamel mug from the floor, wiped it clean, and placed it back on the desk with a fawning smile. "Director, please don't be angry. These young girls are so arrogant, daring to talk back to you."
Sun Meili looked at her, her anger subsided a bit, and said, "Wu Lili, then I'll leave this matter to you. Go and collect the 100 yuan rent from Zhou Erwa Restaurant, and inform him that the rent will be 100 yuan every month starting next month. If he doesn't pay, then let the security department handle it."
"If you handle things well, the year end outstanding individual award is yours. Wang Wei was supposed to get it this year, but now I am seeing if you're more deserving of recognition."
"Don't worry, Director, I'll definitely get it done." Wu Lili nodded repeatedly, accepted the order, and turned to leave.
...
"What?! One hundred yuan? Why don't you just rob someone?!"
At the entrance of Zhou Erwa Restaurant, Zhao Tieying frowned as she looked at Wu Lili who had come to collect rent.
She had just finished her morning's work and had barely finished a bowl of noodles when a woman claiming to be an accountant from the textile factory's finance department came to collect rent, and demanded one hundred yuan right off the bat.
"Don't talk nonsense! This is a notice from the factory. You need to pay the money as soon as possible!" Wu Lili said arrogantly, hands on her hips. "If you don't pay the rent, I'll call the security department to kick you out! Let me tell you, this shop is state-owned property. You individual business owners are taking away the factory canteen's business, causing a loss of state-owned assets. You would have been arrested and imprisoned a couple of years ago!"
"What a show of power! Trying to get me thrown in jail? I'll tear that spittle off your face today!" Zhao Tieying rolled up her sleeves, ready to strike.
"Mom, don't do it yet." Zhou Yan came out of the shop, calling her back, then looked at Wu Lili and said, "Comrade, who sent you to collect this money? Do you have a notice stamped by the factory? Why the sudden rent increase? Is it for all the shops under the textile factory, or just ours?"
"I...I'm definitely here on behalf of the factory to collect this money. I don't have the notice now, I'll bring it to you next time. Your restaurant business is so good because of the good location, a rent increase is normal. Do you think you can earn all the money? If you can't afford the rent, move out, don't nag." Wu Lili looked at Zhou Yan, her confidence wavering.
"What good location?! It's Zhou Yan's cooking that's good! You're like a carrot with two eyes stuck in it, are you even human? How can you spout such nonsense!" If Zhou Yan hadn't been in front of her, Zhao Tieying would have rushed over and slapped her.
Wu Lili took two steps back in fright. This woman didn't look like a good person!
"Are you going to pay or not? If not, I'm going to call security!" Wu Lili said to Zhou Yan, her tone fierce but her voice weak.
"You don't even have the stamped documents, so I definitely won't pay. May be you're some kind of con artist?" Zhou Yan shook his head. "Since I rented this shop, the accountant Wang Wei has always been the one collecting the rent. I don't even know where you came from."
"Wang Wei? Ha, Wang Wei argued with the director because she didn't want to collect your rent, so she's being transferred to guard the warehouse and move goods. From now on, I'll be in charge of collecting rent." Wu Lili said smugly. "I'll go get you the stamped notice now; you'd better have the money ready."
Wu Lili turned and walked into the factory.
"That girl is quite generous, but what's with the rent suddenly increasing to one hundred? Should we pay?" Zhao Tieying frowned, looking at Zhou Yan with some melancholy.
She knew that fighting with that woman wouldn't solve anything; it might even get Zhou Yan into trouble.
"Exactly! There's no reason for such a sudden rent increase!" Zhou Jie, who had been watching from the sidelines, also chimed in.
"Don't worry, it's not a big problem. If it's the factory's decision and everyone's rent goes up to one hundred, then we'll pay. It's just a day's profit anyway." Zhou Yan reassured with a smile. "But if it's just us who's being targeted and suppressed, we definitely can't pay, not a single penny. If that's the first thing people do, they'll think we're easy to bully, and then there will be more of these kinds of things."
Zhou Yan turned and went back into the shop, taking a packet of Yuxi cigarettes from the counter and putting it in his pocket.
"Where are you going?" Zhao Tieying asked, watching Zhou Yan leave.
"Go get reinforcements."
Zhou Yan didn't even turn his head as he disappeared into the security office next door.