Chapter 173: The Simple Use of Authority

After seeing off Director Guo and the police officers, Zhou Ming turned around to face a dozen pairs of eyes filled with fear, panic, and confusion in the conference room.

They couldn't help but be afraid and anxious. In the past month, Cai Zhongxian had established absolute authority in the factory, with all department heads obeying him without question. Even the factory manager and deputy manager, the Zhou couple, and General Manager Su Han had been sidelined by him. Yet just now, this same person had no ability to resist Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming had ordered dismissals and arrests with ease.

In addition, the county party secretary Gu Ping's words had struck them hard. Was it really true that the collective 760 Factory was becoming Zhou Ming's personal property? Was Zhou Ming now the emperor of the 760 Factory, and would everyone have to depend on him for their livelihood?

The sudden shift from public to private was unacceptable to them, but the recent events left them with no choice but to accept it. After all, if even Cai Zhongxian could be easily subdued, what could they possibly do?

Zhou Ming sat back down with Su Han and Zhang Lei, gesturing for everyone to sit and then said, "I'm sure you all saw what happened earlier. I won't say any more unnecessary words. As long as everyone works well in the factory, I won't treat anyone unfairly. Of course, if anyone tries to cause trouble here, I won't let them off easily. Do you all understand?"

Zhou Ming's words weren't intended as threats, but everyone present couldn't help but shiver at his tone. They nodded vigorously, signaling their commitment to avoid mistakes.

Zhou Ming was very satisfied with their reactions, but he also understood that today's events had already exceeded their psychological limits. The meeting was unlikely to continue in a productive manner. Thus, he asked everyone to submit any report documents and instructed the HR department to quickly select new candidates before ending the meeting.

As everyone gradually left the conference room, Zhang Lei returned to the factory's TV station, and Zhou Ming took Su Han back to her office.

Zhou Ming sat Su Han down on the sofa and said, "How does it feel to personally dismiss so many officials today?"

Su Han shook her head gently and said, "As long as the 760 Factory still belongs to you, Zhou Ming, that's better than anything else. If Cai Zhongxian had really taken over the factory, I wouldn't know how to face you."

"Fool, stop thinking about such impossible things," Zhou Ming said, ruffling Su Han's hair. Seeing her look as if she wanted to say something but held back, Zhou Ming smiled and asked, "Are you curious why I didn't dismiss everyone who supported Cai Zhongxian?"

Su Han nodded. Zhou Ming continued, "The reason is quite simple. These people are old officials in the factory and are the most familiar with its affairs. I still need them to work for me. If I dismissed them all at once, it would be quite troublesome. Moreover, only a few people truly supported Cai Zhongxian with a firm stance. Most people were just going along with the tide. With Cai Zhongxian gone, they no longer pose a threat."

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and added, "There's another important point. Cai Zhongxian was dismissed in front of them today. This will serve as a strong deterrent, making them work for me with caution and not dare to create any more trouble."

Su Han's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands in delight, saying, "Yes! Zhou Ming, this is using authority rather than just showing off!"

"There's no such thing as showing off. I'm just simply using authority," Zhou Ming said. "Since these officials come from the old system and share similar views, it doesn't matter who I use. It's better to keep them. After today, they'll think twice before trying anything."

"You're so smart, Zhou Ming. I didn't think of this at the time. I just wanted to get rid of all the bad guys trying to take over your factory!" Su Han said angrily.

"That's understandable, but as a leader, you can't act impulsively," Zhou Ming said. "I'm explaining my reasons for keeping these people to help you understand and become a qualified leader in the future."

Su Han, however, was quite unsure and said, "Do you think I can do it?"

"You have to believe in yourself. You definitely can!" Zhou Ming said. "Even if you're unsure, you must succeed because I won't stay in the factory forever. I'm leaving it to you. You can't expect me to keep coming back, right?"

Su Han nodded firmly, saying, "I understand. Don't worry, Zhou Ming. I will work hard!"

Zhou Ming nodded approvingly. At that moment, his pager went off with a message from Du Peng. Zhou Ming sat at his desk, picked up the phone, and dialed Du Peng. The call was quickly answered, and Du Peng immediately asked about the situation. Zhou Ming responded, "Of course, there's no problem. With you, Du Shao, arranging things, how could there be any issues?"

Everything today had been arranged by Zhou Ming before he returned. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Su Han to call the police and have them arrive so quickly. It was also unlikely for a county party secretary to be waiting for Zhou Ming's call in the office.

Additionally, due to the customs of the era where everyone was used to collective resources and lacked the concept of private property, even though Zhou Ming was the owner of the 760 Factory, if everyone still followed Cai Zhongxian, he might not have been able to manage well. Delaying the issue would only make it more troublesome. Therefore, Zhou Ming had to make a decisive move and resolve the situation as quickly and simply as possible.

"Du Shao, did you call just to ask if I had any setbacks at home?" Zhou Ming asked.

Du Peng laughed, "Actually, I wanted to. But since even Hua Shao and Tan Ge couldn't get anything out of you, I didn't believe anyone else could."

After a bit of banter, Du Peng said, "However, Zhou Ming, I didn't call to give you good news today!"

Zhou Ming had anticipated this: "Go ahead."

"Do you remember Tan Ge? After the stock market crash last time, he reported the situation to the central government. You handled it perfectly, but Tan Ge was very unhappy. He's looking for trouble with you again," Du Peng said. "I've heard that he's targeting the 760 Factory you acquired in Linyang. It seems he wants to make a move against your factory. Be careful."

"Really? But Du Shao, you seem to be a bit late with this news," Zhou Ming said.

Du Peng was very surprised: "What do you mean?"

Zhou Ming didn't answer immediately but asked Du Peng, "Du Peng, tell me, is Tan Ge trying to use the guise of enterprise reform to get the county and city to cancel all cooperation with the factory, letting the factory fend for itself?"

Du Peng was even more surprised: "Yes, that's what I heard. He wants you to lose a few million. But how did you know?"

"Because Tan Ge has already made a move," Zhou Ming said, looking at a document on his desk. "There's a document here from the county committee stating that to better promote the enterprise reform pilot, the city will cancel the 760 Factory's qualification as a designated production unit. This means the city and county will no longer place orders with the factory."

Du Peng jumped up, "Damn! Tan Ge moved so quickly?"

"I think it's not that he moved quickly, but that we received the news too slowly," Zhou Ming said. "If I'm not mistaken, Du Peng, if you know this news, it's likely Tan Ge deliberately leaked it to you to catch me off guard and make me despair."

"Tan Ge is too ruthless. Does your factory have any problems? I heard that when you bought the 760 Factory, its performance was poor and couldn't even pay wages. It was barely surviving on county orders. Now that the county and city are cutting off orders, won't your factory be doomed?" Du Peng exclaimed.

"It's more or less like that," Zhou Ming said with a wry smile.

Du Peng thought for a moment and said, "How about I call Uncle Xiong and see if they can come up with a solution?"

"That's fine, but I don't think it will be of much use," Zhou Ming said. "Since Tan Ge dares to make this move, it means he must be well-prepared. Like the stock market crash last time, Governor Xiong is just an ordinary vice governor. If he intervenes rashly, it might even backfire on him, which isn't good."

"Then how about this: Your factory has a metalworking workshop, right? Uncle Chen said the central government has negotiated with Audi to transfer production to China this year. The province has secured the project in Lingnan and is discussing setting up a factory. How about I ask Uncle Chen to allocate some automotive parts processing orders to your factory? Your factory should be able to handle that, right?" Du Peng asked.

Zhou Ming nodded, "That's doable, but the distance from Jingchu to Lingnan is too far, and our factory isn't very large. The costs will be high. However, we could transfer our workers directly to the new factory."

"That's feasible. I'll ask Uncle Chen about it. I heard the Audi factory will be quite large and will need many workers," Du Peng said. "But this will only

 solve the employment problem for your factory's workers. What about the factory itself?"

"I have other plans for that. I'll let you know later," Zhou Ming said.

"Okay, no problem. If there's anything, just call me on my mobile. It's convenient and you can reach me anytime," Du Peng said.

Zhou Ming agreed and ended the call. After hanging up, he saw Su Han standing in front of him, her face filled with worry. It was clear she had heard part of his conversation with Du Peng and guessed that something might be wrong.

"It's just that the county has canceled our 760 Factory's designated unit qualification. This was expected and isn't a big deal. Please call Director Yuan and Director Li to come here," Zhou Ming said.