Chapter 87: Establishing Credibility

"Look! The capitalist who cut our wages is here!"

Someone shouted this, and the workers who had been gathered around the bulletin board, noisily discussing, immediately turned their attention to Zhou Ming. They quickly surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.

"Why are you cutting our wages? You're from Factory 760, just like us. Even if you've made some money in Hong Kong, you shouldn't forget where you came from! The workers here are already struggling, and now you want to cut our pay? Your father was such an honest and kind foreman in the factory. How did you turn out like this? You must have been corrupted in Hong Kong!"

The complaints and grievances from the workers made Zhou Ming feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Jiang Xia, standing next to Zhou Ming, was extremely nervous, worried that the workers might lose control and assault them.

Zhou Ming hurriedly called for everyone to quiet down. After several attempts, the workers finally quieted down. Zhou Ming spoke loudly, "I understand that you all have concerns about the new wage system. I've heard your discussions, but have you considered that while you've seen the fixed wage cuts, the notice also mentions a floating wage? Your monthly salary will be the sum of your fixed and floating wages. If you complete your tasks on time and with quality, your total pay will actually exceed what you were earning before!"

"What floating wage? It's just a trick to fool us!" someone in the crowd sneered, and others echoed the sentiment.

Seeing the crowd starting to get noisy again, Zhou Ming quickly gestured for them to quiet down. Once the noise subsided, Zhou Ming continued, "Alright, if you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?" someone asked.

"A bet on your work today," Zhou Ming said. "The floating wage system is supposed to start next month, but today I'll make an exception and introduce a bonus system."

Hearing about a bonus, someone in the crowd perked up, "What kind of bonus system? Are you giving us bonuses today, Mr. Zhou?"

"Yes, I'm giving out bonuses today!" Zhou Ming replied. "If anyone can complete more than four mold tasks without requiring rework before the end of the workday, I'll give them a bonus of 100 yuan!"

The announcement caused a stir among the workers. They began discussing the 100 yuan bonus, but soon the discussion turned into jeers, "Mr. Zhou, this is just a joke. We work hard all month and barely earn a little over 100 yuan, and now you're saying we can earn 100 yuan just by completing four mold tasks today? How is that possible!"

"Exactly! How can anyone complete more than four mold tasks in one workday? And without needing any rework? That's impossible!" another person voiced their doubts.

In response, Zhou Ming said, "Why is completing four tasks impossible? You all know my father. He could easily complete five mold tasks in a day without needing any rework. As for the 100 yuan bonus, I said it's just for today as a bet. You all know I'm a capitalist, so this money is nothing to me."

The crowd once again erupted in jeers, accusing Zhou Ming of boasting. Zhou Ming had no choice but to raise the stakes, "If you think 100 yuan is too little, how about 200 yuan?"

"Why are you raising the bonus? I think you're just trying to fool us!"

Seeing that the workers still didn't believe him, Zhou Ming raised his offer to 500 yuan, "How about 500 yuan? As long as anyone completes the task, I'll pay them on the spot!"

The mention of 500 yuan made everyone gasp. They looked at each other, unsure whether to believe Zhou Ming, but 500 yuan was too tempting to ignore.

While everyone was hesitating, a thin worker stepped forward and said, "Alright, I believe you!"

His voice was like a thunderclap, shocking everyone. The other workers were surprised to see someone actually believed Zhou Ming, and they began to discuss among themselves, "I can't believe someone actually believes him! Jianguo, it's obvious he's trying to fool us. How can you trust him?"

The worker came forward, and Zhou Ming recognized him. He introduced himself, "My name is Zhang Jianguo. I'm Zhang Jianjun's younger brother. You might not remember me, but I'm grateful to you for saving my brother, so I'm willing to trust you!"

Zhou Ming smiled and patted his shoulder, "Great, I appreciate your trust. Work hard today, and as long as you complete more than four molds without needing rework, the 500 yuan is yours!"

Zhang Jianguo nodded in agreement and turned to head to the workshop. The other workers, seeing that he was really going to take Zhou Ming's bet, tried to persuade him, "Jianguo, don't be foolish! Can't you see that Mr. Zhou is just trying to fool you? Even if you complete the task, he probably won't give you the money. We should just refuse to work. What can he do, fire all of us?"

Hearing the workers trying to dissuade him, Zhou Ming's face darkened, and he shouted, "What are you yelling about? You don't have the guts to make money yourselves, so now you won't let others try? Stop interfering with him! If you're going to bet, do it with some dignity. You're workers of Factory 760, not street thugs!"

Zhou Ming's words hit the workers hard, and they turned their anger on him, cursing at him. Zhou Ming didn't care and personally escorted Zhang Jianguo to the workshop, saying, "I'll stay in the workshop all day today so you can see whether I'm serious or not!"

Zhou Ming escorted Zhang Jianguo to the workshop. Zhang Jianguo went to his machine and started working. Before long, a crowd gathered around his machine, pointing and commenting, "Look at this fool. We tried to warn him, but he insisted on believing Mr. Zhou's words. That's 500 yuan! We don't even get our regular pay, and now they're announcing wage cuts. How could Mr. Zhou possibly give him 500 yuan? Only someone as naive as Jianguo would believe him."

Hearing the chatter, the workshop supervisor was about to chase the onlookers away, but Zhou Ming stopped him, saying, "Let them watch as long as they don't interfere with his work."

The supervisor agreed, and Zhang Jianguo began working. At first, he was uncomfortable with so many people watching him, but with Zhou Ming's encouragement and the motivation of the 500 yuan bonus, he gradually relaxed and focused on his work. He carefully adjusted the cutting tools and started processing the molds.

Seeing Zhang Jianguo getting into the groove, Jiang Xia, who had been accompanying them, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhou Ming, "Thankfully, we have Zhang Jianguo, and it's a good thing you saved his brother. Otherwise, this would have been much more difficult."

Zhou Ming glanced at Jiang Xia and replied, "I don't think so. Even if there wasn't Zhang Jianguo, there would be a Li Jianguo or a Wang Jianguo willing to step up."

Jiang Xia was puzzled, and Zhou Ming continued, "When the reward is high, someone will take the risk. If 500 yuan doesn't work, I'll offer 1,000. I refuse to believe that everyone in this factory sees money as dirt. When Shang Yang moved the wood to establish credibility, he did the same thing, didn't he?"

If Jiang Xia had been surprised by Zhou Ming's words earlier, now he was completely shocked.

Jiang Xia suddenly remembered Zhou Ming's plan. He vividly recalled the discussion in the factory manager's office yesterday when Zhou Ming told him to think differently and shared the story of Shang Yang moving the wood to establish credibility. In the Warring States period, Qin was weak, and when Shang Yang came to Qin to implement reforms, the people didn't believe him. To gain their trust, Shang Yang set up a wooden pole at the south gate and promised ten gold coins to anyone who could move it to the north gate. The people were astonished but didn't believe him. So, Shang Yang gradually increased the reward to fifty gold coins until someone finally moved the pole, and Shang Yang gave him the reward. Only then did the people trust Shang Yang.

At that time, Zhou Ming said he wanted to use the same method to convince the factory workers that the new wage reform was genuinely beneficial.

Jiang Xia hadn't believed Zhou Ming could succeed, but from the bulletin board to the workshop, every step mirrored the story of moving the wood to establish credibility.

However, there was one question. Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Ming, hesitant to speak.

Zhou Ming sensed Jiang Xia's hesitation and asked, "Are you worried about what will happen if Zhang Jianguo doesn't finish the task?"

Jiang Xia nodded, and Zhou Ming smiled, "Don't worry. I asked my dad, and he said that if everyone works diligently and doesn't slack off, completing five tasks in a day is definitely possible. I've already lowered the standard. As long as Zhang Jianguo isn't too incompetent, he'll finish."

Jiang Xia's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't

 expected Zhou Ming to have already considered this. He knew Zhou Ming's father was a seasoned foreman in the factory and highly knowledgeable about the machines.

If that was the case, Zhou Ming might actually succeed in recreating a modern version of moving the wood to establish credibility.

Thinking about this, Jiang Xia recalled how the founding leader once praised Shang Yang as one of the greatest figures in history. So, could it be that Zhou Ming was...

At that moment, Zhou Ming turned to Jiang Xia and said, "Secretary Jiang, don't look at me like that. Our attempt to establish credibility has just begun. We still have a full day in the workshop to see if he can finish the task!"

"He will, definitely! Even if he can't, someone else will. Mr. Zhou, your plan is bound to succeed!" Jiang Xia said enthusiastically.

Zhou Ming smiled and patted his shoulder, "Thank you."