Chapter 148: Factory Echoes

Li Rui drove Yang Congxin home first.

Xu Chen stayed with his father, Xu Zhiquan, standing by the roadside and lighting up a cigarette.

“Son, over the next couple of days, help me brainstorm how to present everything to the leaders on the 13th.”

Xu Chen: “I’ll work with Fang Jun to put together a speech script.”

Xu Zhiquan: “That would be perfect!”

The father and son chatted casually for a while, and Xu Chen noticed that his father held Fang Jun in very high regard.

Initially, they had only valued Fang Jun for her financial background and her knowledge of the Mechanical Factory’s finances and operations.

But after spending time with her, they realized her overall abilities, dedication, and hard work far exceeded expectations.

Xu Zhiquan couldn’t help but say:

“Having Teacher Fang around is like finding a real gem!

She was wasted at the Mechanical Factory before.

“Once we get the electric vehicle factory up and running, she’ll be a huge help with operations.”

……

After waiting a bit longer, Li Rui returned in the car.

Xu Chen saw that his father had mostly sobered up from the alcohol and said:

“Dad, I’ll head home tomorrow afternoon.

I need to check out of the school dormitory and pack my things.

Tonight, since the college entrance exams are over, I’ve got plans with classmates to hit the internet café for some gaming!”

Xu Zhiquan chuckled and patted Xu Chen’s head, saying:

“Go for it! Now that the exams are done, have some fun!

When you come back tomorrow, just get in touch with Li Rui!”

Li Rui parked the car and walked over.

Xu Chen helped his father into the car, exchanged a few words with Li Rui, and then watched the black Accord drive away…

The night breeze was cool.

Xu Chen made his way through the darkness to the internet café.

The place buzzed with noise—a crowd of students who had just finished their exams, pulling all-nighters to game.

Chen Dahai turned and spotted Xu Chen, grinning as he shouted:

“Tonight, it’s on Xu Gongzi’s tab!

Xu Chen: “……”

……

……

As the saying goes, ‘You can’t hide fire under paper.’

Just a day or two later, rumors spread through the nearby residential communities that the Mechanical Factory might be converted into a chemical plant.

This issue, which affected their livelihoods, sparked widespread panic and discussion among residents.

Some reacted strongly, but most held back; still, they expressed their discontent and opposition in various ways.

Local media outlets conducted interviews and reports on the matter.

A couple of days after that, with opposition growing louder, the Mechanical Factory’s leadership team likely considered the broader social impact and issued a denial and clarification.

It’s clear that this wave of public opinion caught the attention of city officials.

……

Inside the Mechanical Factory.

Facing bankruptcy and restructuring, unease rippled through the workforce.

In the past few days, departmental employees organized to discuss their legitimate demands and submitted them through the factory’s restructuring committee.

The main demand was that the committee and city authorities not only address compensation but also consider future jobs and livelihoods for the hundreds of employees.

Everyone hoped to ‘keep contributing’ and ‘support Tiancheng City’s development.’

……

Over these days, Xu Chen, Fang Jun, and Yang Congxin revised the presentation plan for the 13th.

Following Xu Chen’s suggestions, they cut out a lot of the verbose content, kept the core points, and added elements that the review committee might focus on.

Fang Jun, having seen Xu Chen’s drafts and proposals before, fully adopted his ideas.

Director Yang had a few doubts and debated with Xu Chen on some points.

Especially for the sections he had poured effort into but were now slated for removal.

Xu Chen explained everything in detail, helping Director Yang accept the changes.

“These parts are great and important.

They’ll be key guiding documents for setting up the electric vehicle factory.

But not everything needs to be in the 13th presentation.

The presentation has a core purpose, so anything unrelated can be set aside.

The main thing is that time is limited—we need to cover the essentials first.

If leaders bring it up in the Q&A, we can dive in then.

As for these, we’ll just keep them ready!”

Director Yang, with his stubborn streak as a tech expert and intellectual, could still be convinced.

And after these interactions, Xu Chen really liked the director.

He was straightforward, spoke his mind without games, and was knowledgeable in tech and business.

The original ‘electric tricycle’ plan at the Mechanical Factory was his initiative.

It fell through due to internal issues.

This time, the electric vehicle production line plan was mostly his work.

From a feasibility standpoint, it was already solid.

With funding in place, they could start right away.

……

On the afternoon of the 11th, at Jinfeng Business Tower.

Director Yang had returned to the Mechanical Factory—he was still technically on the clock, so he could only help after hours.

Xu Chen and Fang Jun sat at the computer, still tweaking the presentation document.

Xu Zhiquan, as the boss, was fetching tea and water for them, enjoying every moment.

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Xu Zhiquan pulled out his mobile phone, glanced at it, and muttered:

“It’s about the Mechanical Factory…”

He stepped into the meeting room alone to take the call and returned a few minutes later with a smile:

“The Review Committee wants to chat with me.”

Fang Jun: “Now? Do you need me to come along?”

Xu Zhiquan: “Not yet, I’ll check it out first.

From what I heard, they’re seriously considering our proposal now.”

Xu Chen smiled: “That’s great news!”

Xu Zhiquan: “The chemical plant idea is hitting major roadblocks, and the two real estate developers can’t solve the layoffs…

If they don’t go with us, they’re out of options!”

With that, Xu Zhiquan grabbed his bag, called to Li Rui, and hurried out.

……

……

That evening, Xu Zhiquan returned from the city meeting.

Once Director Yang arrived, Xu Zhiquan said with a grin:

“This time, it’s looking solid!

On the 8th, there was a ‘closed-door meeting’ mainly with Changsheng Chemical and Fengrong Commerce.

We didn’t even get to listen in back then.

This afternoon, they called me for what amounts to our own ‘closed-door meeting’.

The situation is crystal clear now—we’ve gone from being outsiders to a top contender.

They gave me some inside info today, including the factory’s debts and employee issues.

The debt details match what Fang Jun knows, so our quote should be fine.

They emphasized employee relocation again, probably because of the stir at the factory lately.

We owe a lot to Director Yang…

It’s obvious this meeting was to give us clear guidance—what price range to quote and what to highlight on the 13th…”

Xu Zhiquan lit a cigarette and smiled at Xu Chen:

“All of this lines up almost exactly with what you predicted.

Let’s stick with the current plan for the presentation—I think we’ve got this in the bag!”

As his words sank in, everyone relaxed and shared smiles of relief.

The pressure had been building for a while, and now that victory seemed within reach, it hit them all.

Yang Congxin adjusted his black-framed glasses and said with a laugh:

“When Fang Jun told me that getting Xu Chen involved could ‘turn the tide,’ I didn’t believe it at first.

Now, I truly do…”