Chapter 15: Sold Out Overnight

“No worries, things will sort themselves out tomorrow.”
“Has all the liquor been prepared over at packaging?”
Chai Jin didn’t look up.
Liu Qingwen’s face was anxious. “It’s ready, quality and quantity guaranteed.”
“But Jin, how about we hit the market together tomorrow? There’s so much stock piled up in the warehouse.”
“It’s been so long, and not a single item has sold. How come you’re not worried at all?”
Chai Jin put down his pen and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Monkey, what do you think is the most important quality a general manager should possess?”
“Quality? What kind of quality?” Liu Qingwen was puzzled.
Chai Jin patiently explained a great deal to him.
Calm in the face of trouble, confident in one’s plan, unmoved by others, orderly in executing one’s strategy—
These are the essential traits of a leader.
If you let every trivial matter weigh on your mind, how can you steer your team in the right direction?
No one had ever spoken to Liu Qingwen about such things.
He was a farmer, whose whole life revolved around working the fields.
Unexpectedly, he understood everything Chai Jin said.
This was the talent he’d carried over from his previous life as a pyramid scheme ringleader.
Rumor had it he’d initially been duped into joining, and after a few months in the den,
he managed to poach the entire operation and went independent.
But that’s another story.
That afternoon, there were indeed many people who came to the factory to cause trouble.
The most vocal was Liu Fengxian, a stingy and sharp-tongued woman, who, upon hearing rumors that wages might not be paid, raised a ruckus fiercer than anyone else.
She rallied a dozen people from the factory and blocked Zhang Aiming’s office.
In the end, Zhang Aiming promised that if wages couldn’t be paid tomorrow, he’d issue IOUs, or let them move liquor out of the warehouse themselves. Only then did the crowd let him leave for home.
The fire had truly reached their eyebrows.
That night, the Chai household was unusually quiet.
Chai Minguo had heard from Zhang Aiming that his son had taken over the distillery.
Halfway through dinner, he sighed and walked into his room.
He came out with a handful of crumpled bills.
“There’s over eight hundred yuan here, no debts this year. After settling the late rice harvest and the government grain, there was quite a bit left.”
“I’d thought to save the money from selling rice so you could learn a trade, but since you’ve taken over the factory, there’s no need to keep it.”
“Take it for factory cash flow. Zhang Aiming told me the factory’s in tough shape.”

Chai Minguo’s skin was dark, and years of hardship had carved deep lines into the face of this man not yet fifty, making him look sixty.
Chai Jin pushed the money back and took a bite of his meal.
He then smiled warmly and patted Chai Xiaoshan’s head.
“Dad, I won’t need this. Keep it and find a school for Xiaoshan, see if she can enroll next year.”
Hearing this, Chai Minguo instinctively glanced at Chai Fang and the two siblings.
He understood the truth that knowledge changes fate.
But for years, their family had struggled just to survive; how could they afford to send the children to school?
Chai Fang and Chai Jin had both dropped out after second grade.
His eyes grew moist. “Dad’s useless, I’ve let you all down.”
“Dad, don’t say that. None of us have ever thought that way.”
Being a daughter, she’d always felt for her father. Chai Fang quickly put down her chopsticks and interrupted.
Chai Minguo took a deep breath, suppressing his guilt toward his children.
“So, Jin, how will you solve the factory’s troubles?”
Chai Jin smiled calmly. “There’ll be change by tomorrow morning, maybe even tonight.”
“If nothing goes wrong, we’ll have a good New Year.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But didn’t Zhang Aiming say there’s no money for wages?”
Chai Jin placed a piece of meat in Chai Minguo’s bowl.
“Dad, I said before, our family won’t live on its knees anymore.”
“Leave these matters to me. Just help Xiaoshan find a school.”
“Spend whatever it takes. If the school’s willing to accept her, I’ll cover the rest.”
Chai Minguo looked at Chai Jin, stayed silent, lost in thought.
After dinner, the three siblings tidied up together.
Chai Minguo, cigarette in hand, stood at the doorway, gazing at the old mulberry tree as he puffed clouds of smoke.
Still uneasy, he fetched the eight hundred yuan from the rice sale and left the house.
His son had reached such a crossroads—how could he not worry?
He didn’t know how much a factory needed to pay in wages, but he knew that eight hundred would cover a few people.
He wanted to help however he could.
Crossing the empty rice fields, Chai Minguo finally stood before the distillery.
But upon arrival, he was stunned by the scene before him!

At the front gate, at least a hundred people lined up with tricycles.
Inside the factory, lights blazed and activity raged.
Cart after cart of liquor was hauled out of the plant.
Everyone’s face was tense, full of complaints.
Zhang Aiming and Liu Qingwen each held a loudspeaker, shouting at the gate.
“Please queue up, don’t push or grab. If you crowd and someone gets hurt, the factory takes no responsibility. There’s plenty of stock for everyone!”
“We’ll distribute according to plan—everyone will get their share.”
“And please prepare cash. No credit given for factory goods!”
…
Each case contained twelve bottles, nearly nine hundred cases in total!
In a single night, everything was snatched up.
At twenty-four yuan per case, that meant—just overnight—
the factory took in more than twenty thousand in cash.
Next morning, as production workers arrived for their shift, they stared in shock at the emptied warehouse!
Liu Fengxian cared only about her own wages.
This sharp-tongued woman slapped her thigh amidst the crowd, wailing, “They’ve swindled us!”
“Zhang Aiming’s gone and skipped town!”
“Damn those capitalists! They don’t care if ordinary people live or die. What are we supposed to do?”
Her words whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
A veteran worker, trembling with rage, shouted, “Zhang Aiming, I’ve worked for you for decades, and now you pull a stunt lower than a dog’s!”
“We demand an explanation!”
“That’s right, we demand answers. If there’s no pay today, we’ll tear down the factory and petition together!”
“I refuse to believe the state won’t care if we live or die!”
Liu Fengxian stood up, fanning the flames, turning dozens of workers into a powder keg on the verge of exploding.
They surged toward Zhang Aiming’s office.
Zhang Aiming, having worked all night, hadn’t gone home after coming back to the factory for overtime.
Resting in his office, he heard the workers cursing outside.
His temper flared, and he yanked open the office door.
“What’s all this shouting? Don’t you care about the factory’s reputation in the morning?”