Chapter 321 A Gathering of Heroes
“…What is this?”

The winter sky is cloudy and the wind is cold.

Ji Jue stood in front of the desolate and dilapidated factory area, still holding on to a glimmer of hope, and mustered up the courage to ask.

“Factory area.” The middle-aged man answered immediately.

“What district?”

“factory.”

The middle-aged man smiled naively, just like a foreman on an assembly line facing the new arrivals, telling them that they were welcome to the factory and that this was how the factory was.

People always have to accept reality. Are you done with it?

Now that you have accepted this, let’s start screwing the screws happily!

Ji Jue’s expression suddenly became the same as that of all the cattle and horses, difficult to describe.

There is no love in life.

“Come on, please come in.”

Amid the harsh friction sound, he struggled to pull open the iron gate and warmly welcomed Ji Jue into the factory: “Old Liu! Old Liu! Where have you been? Hurry up, someone is coming here, boil some water quickly…”

“Minister Yan… Minister Yan, you don’t have to do this.”

Ji Jue coughed: “I just came to take a look.”

“Of course. It’s a rare visit for you. Come, have some tea. Please come this way.”

The middle-aged man Yan Jian smiled as if a chrysanthemum had bloomed on his face, and every wrinkle on his face was filled with joy and anticipation: “With Mr. Ji here, there is a future, and with Mr. Ji here, there is a way out!”

Ten minutes later, the elite backbones of the Coast Automobile Factory gathered in the leaky office and completed the assembly.

Next to the coal stove, everyone, covered in dust, blew on the fire, lit the coal, boiled the water, and held the first reorganization meeting, holding tea in enamel pots or disposable paper cups.

They are the newly appointed acting factory director Ji Jue, Liu Jinzhu, the security guard, gatekeeper, caretaker and old farmer at the Coast Automobile Factory, Wang Haichuan, the personnel, finance and boiler heating manager, and the most important of them, Yan Jian, the director of the Technology Department, Equipment Department, Assembly Department and Production Management Department of the Coast Automobile Factory.

And the temporary worker who was busy doing his elementary school homework at the small table next to him was Liu Jinzhu’s nephew Liu Xiaobao.

Sitting on the ‘luxury office chair’ with the cushions all over the cracks and peeling, Ji Jue held a disposable teacup and looked at the young dragons and phoenixes in front of him, tears almost flowing down his face.

I feel like my life is over.

It can be reopened.

He originally thought that the Coast Automobile Factory would be in a bleak state, but he never expected it to be so bleak.

It’s better to just order a bowl to start with!
Among this bunch of young talents, the doorman Lao Deng Liu Jinzhu came to work part-time because he heard that he could earn 400 yuan a month by guarding the door and get the land to farm for free. He also brought his nephew with him, one of whom was responsible for farming during the day and the other for sleeping at night. His importance is self-evident and he is indispensable.

Wang Haichuan, who is in charge of finance and human resources, is over 60 years old this year and has premature dementia. He can’t even use a calculator, doesn’t know what to ask, and is unclear about what to say. He is going to retire this month and is just waiting to go home to collect his pension.

The only person who was still reliable was Yan Jian, the bald middle-aged man who had run to the front to lead the way for him.

He is actually a first-class mechanical engineer!

God, first level…

There is still one level one left in this damn place?!

Ji Jue looked at the ID displayed on the middle-aged man’s phone screen in disbelief, stunned: “Why didn’t you leave?”

“…”

Yan Jian gave a smile that was not much better than crying.

Don’t I want to leave?

The automobile factory has fallen into such a state that those who actually work there have no worries about finding a new job and have already found other ways out. Those who should and can leave have left decades ago.

Yan Jian wanted to, but he couldn’t run away…

I was too happy too early. When the factory was being built, I was greedy for the signing fee and signed a 50-year contract in one go, which almost tied me to the job for life.

When the years were better, he was still enthusiastically leading everyone to work and organized everything from scratch. It can be said that even if he could not be the biological father, he was at least a half-adoptive father of the Coast Automobile Factory.

The only copycat mini-van of Coast Auto that is still available on the market today is the one he “developed” back then.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Life became increasingly difficult. The factory was getting worse and worse, and there was not even enough space to drive screws. However, for various reasons, the factory had to deceive itself and pretend to retain a certain number of staff and establishment. As a result, Yan Jian took on more and more positions, and in the end, he became the last remaining cow and horse who could drive screws in the empty shell.

Over the years, I have watched the winds and clouds rise and fall, and I have been paid a salary with no performance. Even if I want to run away, I can’t. In addition to drinking tea and smoking every day, when I am bored, I can only open an online store to develop a side business.

Anyway, there is money to be made. Although it is not much, it is stable, isn’t it?

In other words, there is still a glimmer of hope in my heart.

Maybe the difficulties are only temporary?
Maybe if you hold on, you’ll see hope?
Maybe the pie the leader has drawn can really be eaten? Also, maybe the damn leader’s whole family will die tomorrow?
Now I have been looking forward to it for a long time, and finally got a call informing me that the operation will be resumed and a great man named Ji Jue came from the sky. It would be a lie to say that I am not excited.

“Come on, Mr. Ji, please follow me. Ouch, be careful, there is more dust over there.”

After the short meeting, Yan Jian took the initiative to lead the way and asked Ji Jue to inspect his loyal production department. He kept flattering and praising Ji Jue along the way. He felt that he was beating around the bush, but in fact he was obviously trying to find out about Ji Jue’s situation and background.

Want to figure out what exactly happened.

Until Ji Jue sighed helplessly: “Minister Yan, don’t be like this, we are all in trouble together. If things go wrong, we will all be blamed together.”

Yan Jian was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and became more enthusiastic: “Mr. Ji, that’s not the case. What our automobile factory lacks is you and the advanced management and work experience you bring.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never been in charge of this. This is my first time in a car factory.” Ji Jue told the truth, “I don’t have any investment from other car factories, let alone any financial support. Even this position as factory director was forced upon me, and I’m still an agent.”

Yan Jian’s smile froze for a moment, and he coughed: “Before that…”

“I’ve never done it before, never seen it, and have no experience.”

Ji Jue said flatly: “If you insist, does having worked in a car repair shop count? I often repair your car. The stability is actually better than the original one, but the engine leaks oil easily.”

“…”

Yan Jian’s expression twitched, but he still held on to a glimmer of hope: “Then you…”

“My parents died young, and I had to take out loans to go to school.”

Ji Jue decisively extinguished his last glimmer of luck: “As for me, I haven’t graduated from university yet, and I’m still a graduate student. I have nothing to do with being all-powerful, and my family wealth of billions is only in my dreams.

Here, if you don’t believe me, this is my student ID card.”

Yan Jian was stunned: “Then why did you…”

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

“My teacher arranged it for me, as an internship.”

Ji Jue answered bluntly, raised his hand, and pointed to the dusty giant press in the open factory: “Could you please tell me what that is used for? I have never seen this model before. How many tons is it?”

“…”

Silence, a long silence. Yan Jian looked at him blankly, as if there was a breaking sound.

I don’t know whether it was luck or the disillusionment of hope.

Only his face gradually turned red, and his expression twitched, as if he was extremely angry, but he didn’t know who he was angry at. In the end, all that came out of his mouth was silence.

Even a helpless and numb sigh.

“Come with me.”

He lowered his head and walked ahead weakly.

Only the back that had just straightened up gradually became hunched.

First the material storage, then the production workshop, and then the empty finished product warehouse.

A lonely roll of rusted steel covered with dust, a dozen bundles of scattered cables, seven or eight boxes of screws, and two hardened tires. These are the raw material reserves that would make even rats cry.

The silent press machines covered with dust, the conveyor belts that had long been stopped, the equipment that could not be put together after being disassembled, and the hangers and assembly facilities that could not be moved would make anyone with common sense in modern industry couldn’t help but shed a few tears.

It’s just like visiting a body at a funeral home.

Or the kind that was smashed to pieces at the scene of a car accident and had to be put back together again at the request of the family members.

It seems like every part is there, but they all seem to be missing something, and nothing is right. The only thing in common is that they are almost dead.

Transparent!

It can be vaguely seen that the founder at that time was still very ambitious and idealistic, and all the processes were once complete.

From the production and assembly of the car chassis, the processing of the frame and subframe, the body stamping, welding, painting, electrophoresis, and final assembly…all of them can make people feel that this body was once quite beautiful when it was alive.

Moreover, many key equipments were still available. Although some were broken or scrapped, they could still be used after repair. At least Ji Jue was not left with a wasteland to rub with his hands…

It can be used, can be used, and can be opened.

Although it has long been outdated and worthless, it at least exists, just like Yan Jian who was abandoned here, no one cares about it and no one pays attention to it.

Yan Jian is reliable and conscientious in his duties.

Even if hope is extinguished, there is no need to give up.

After all, I have been holding it in for so many years. If I wanted to go crazy, I would have gone crazy a long time ago. If I wanted to go numb, I would have gone numb a long time ago. It is nothing more than another destruction.

He has been here for so long since the factory was built. No one knows the dire situation on the coast better than him. It would be a foolish dream to expect to turn things around overnight.

If he hadn’t occasionally maintained them over the years, even the last batch of equipment and machines would have been scrapped or resold long ago, without even a trace left.

Give up hope and accept reality.

Just think of it as a tour guide for the newcomers in the pit.

Along the way, Ji Jue touched things here and there in front of his eyelids, jumped up and down from time to time, and found everything new to him.

Occasionally he would interrupt to chat about parameters and details. If he hadn’t seen Ji Jue’s student ID, Yan Jian would almost have thought that it was a colleague from somewhere who was teasing him.

But his half-knowledge look didn’t seem like he was acting at all.

I really haven’t seen it before.

But, the way he smiles is the same as he was back then.

His eyes sparkled as he stroked the machine and talked about the details.

Yan Jian sighed silently and looked away.

No more looking.

(End of this chapter)