Chapter 210: Anticipated Difficulties

The train roared as it departed from the platform. Watching the Yanjing station gradually recede, Su Han sighed and said to Zhou Ming, "I didn't expect so many people to be taking the train today."

Su Han's voice revealed that she was still shaken by the crowd at Yanjing station earlier. Zhou Ming smiled and explained, "It's inevitable. With the Spring Festival approaching, everyone who's been working here in Yanjing for a year is heading home to celebrate the New Year. But it's fine now. If it were ten or twenty years from now, as the capital's economy develops and more people come here to work, the train station crowds would be something you really wouldn't understand."

What Zhou Ming said was true. Due to the deep-rooted tradition of family reunions in China, especially for those working away from home, the Spring Festival travel rush, or "Chun Yun," is a unique phenomenon. The Spring Festival holiday, in some ways, also serves to meet public demand.

"If, according to what you're saying, we are also in the midst of the Spring Festival travel rush?" Su Han asked.

Zhou Ming wasn't sure when the term "Chun Yun" originated, but he assumed that as long as the Spring Festival exists and economic development remains uneven, with people traveling for work, the travel rush would continue. Su Han, who had mostly stayed local in Linyang, hadn't experienced the travel rush before.

"Sort of. It's just that our travel rush isn't as strenuous as others'," Zhou Ming said with a yawn. 

What he said was indeed factual. After all, they had done so much in Yanjing and received awards from Elder Yang, and with friends like Du Peng, arranging a couple of sleeper tickets was a minor issue. After signing the contract with CCTV, they had asked Du Peng to get them two tickets back to Linyang.

However, this trip to Yanjing was significant for Zhou Ming. Initially, they had only planned to advertise on CCTV and sponsor the Spring Festival Gala exclusively. But then they encountered the mysterious foreign girl on the street and later had a debate at Yanjing University, which reminded Zhou Ming of certain historical events. This led him to contact Du Peng and report his thoughts to the central government.

What Zhou Ming had initially considered a safe political gamble ended up causing a slight deviation in the historical trajectory. The Eastern European upheaval began earlier than expected, and Chairman Dong Zhen's fall from power happened sooner.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ming suddenly had a flash of insight: if these events happened earlier, could the major event that would affect the entire country also occur sooner?

He shook his head, self-mockingly thinking his imagination was running wild. However, Zhou Ming couldn't foresee that his seemingly whimsical thoughts would later become reality.

At this time, the train's speed was not comparable to that of the future. From Yanjing to Linyang, Zhou Ming and Su Han reached their destination only on the third day.

Upon disembarking, they saw two familiar faces waiting on the platform: Yuan Zhigang, the sales manager of Factory 760, and Li Hua, the production manager.

Both were veterans who had survived two rounds of restructuring. They knew that Zhou Ming was now the undisputed authority in the factory, so they had volunteered to pick them up.

Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua took Zhou Ming and Su Han's luggage and said, "Mr. Zhou and Manager Su, you're finally back. We now have a guiding force. There's a lot of work in the factory waiting for you to make decisions."

Despite having been busy with important matters in Yanjing, Zhou Ming still regarded Factory 760 as his home, a place where his parents had spent their lives. Even though his past life had its regrets, he had made up for them in this life. Thus, he took this seriously and had kept abreast of developments through phone calls.

Therefore, Zhou Ming didn't rush to say anything but waved his hand, signaling to discuss it later.

As the saying goes, "A poor general leads a poor army." The demeanor of a leader greatly affects those below. Seeing Zhou Ming's calm demeanor, Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua also settled down.

Subsequently, Zhou Ming and Su Han got into the factory's only Crown sedan and were taken directly to the administrative building's conference room by Yuan Zhigang and Li Hua.

The four of them, along with the office director Sun Jie, who had been waiting there, sat down in the conference room. Zhou Ming first announced that Factory 760 had officially signed a cooperation agreement with CCTV and that their Eight Treasure Porridge would be the exclusive sponsor for this year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

Upon hearing this news, the three of them immediately clapped excitedly. This wasn't just for show; for ordinary people, CCTV is a very distant central department. For Zhou Ming to bring their small factory, which had been abandoned by the county, to advertise on CCTV was an extraordinary achievement!

Seeing their reactions, Su Han felt even prouder of Zhou Ming. She thought that if they knew Zhou Ming had been honored at Zhongnanhai by Elder Yang and awarded the Red Star Medal, they would be even more amazed!

Zhou Ming, however, didn't have the demeanor to show off. There was no point in boasting in front of these small-town officials, so he refrained from mentioning it.

Despite Zhou Ming's low-key approach, avoiding discussing his most glorious achievements, to Yuan Zhigang, Li Hua, and Sun Jie, Zhou Ming was already the most impressive leader in the history of Factory 760.

After the excitement and praise subsided, Zhou Ming handed Sun Jie a stack of expense receipts and said, "Director Sun, these are the receipts for the expenses incurred during my and Manager Su's business trip to Yanjing. Please keep a record."

"Mr. Zhou, Manager Su, as the top leaders of the factory, it's only natural for the factory to reimburse your travel expenses. There's no need for recording," Sun Jie said with a smile.

But Zhou Ming replied sternly, "Director Sun, it's the rule to have receipts for expense reimbursements. Every expense must be documented. The money in the factory is earned by the hard work of all the employees. We must be accountable for every penny. Otherwise, if you don't account for hundreds today, and someone else doesn't account for thousands tomorrow, won't our factory's accounts become increasingly unclear? Therefore, Director Sun, I hope you'll strictly enforce this rule. No exceptions, including for me and Manager Su!"

Seeing Zhou Ming's serious expression, Sun Jie understood the importance of the matter. He immediately took the receipts from Su Han and said, "Understood. Please rest assured, Mr. Zhou. I will make sure to keep a careful record."

Zhou Ming nodded in satisfaction. "Without rules, there can be no order. Since we have a reimbursement system in the factory, we must follow the rules precisely."

The three of them nodded in agreement. "Understood. Rest assured, Mr. Zhou. We will remember this."

"By the way, how is the improvement work on the Eight Treasure Porridge coming along?" Zhou Ming asked.

Having grasped Zhou Ming's personality from the earlier exchange, the three of them didn't waste words and immediately brought a few cans of improved Eight Treasure Porridge samples for Zhou Ming to taste. "Mr. Zhou, while you were in Yanjing, the production team didn't idle around. They've been working hard, and these are the improved samples of Eight Treasure Porridge. Please taste them and let us know what you think."

Zhou Ming tasted a spoonful of the Eight Treasure Porridge and nodded. The flavor was now quite similar to what he had experienced in his later life. He also gave a can to Su Han, who agreed that the taste was good.

"Director Li, it seems that during the time Manager Su and I were in Yanjing, your production team didn't waste any time. The improvement on the Eight Treasure Porridge is quite good! The taste has improved significantly compared to before," Zhou Ming said.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou," Li Hua replied. "This is thanks to your guidance. We've been working according to your instructions."

"What about the people from Xiling Canned Food Factory?" Zhou Ming suddenly asked.

"They're very grateful to you, Mr. Zhou. They're full of enthusiasm. They used their experience from producing canned food to provide valuable suggestions for improving the taste of Eight Treasure Porridge," Li Hua answered.

Zhou Ming said, "Director Li, remember, our Factory 760 was originally just a regular metalworks factory. Producing Eight Treasure Porridge is completely new to us. We can at most produce cans. The taste improvement relies on the expertise of the people from Xiling Canned Food Factory. Do you understand?"

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, Li Hua shivered slightly and nodded with some apprehension.

In fact, Zhou Ming's intention was to give him a warning. Zhou Ming knew that Li Hua was trying to take all the credit for himself, which was understandable as most people do the same. However, such behavior is detrimental to the long-term development of the company, so Zhou Ming deliberately mentioned Xiling Canned Food Factory to reprimand him.

As a veteran in the factory, Li Hua naturally sensed this, which was why he reacted that way.

Of course, taking credit is a common human tendency. A mild reprimand was enough; Zhou Ming wouldn't pursue it excessively. He then turned his attention to Yuan Zhigang and asked, "Director Yuan, you mentioned there

 were issues needing my decision when you picked me up at the station. Has there been a problem with sales?"

Yuan Zhigang's expression turned grim. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou. Regarding the sales of Eight Treasure Porridge, our progress has been very disappointing. During your time in Yanjing, we visited many supply and marketing cooperatives, but no one was willing to buy our product."

Zhou Ming understood that Yuan Zhigang was worried about being criticized or even punished. While Li Hua and Sun Jie had at least completed their tasks, Yuan Zhigang had failed in his duties.

Zhou Ming said, "Director Yuan, don't be nervous. After all, Eight Treasure Porridge is a new product, and our factory has never had a sales channel for food products. The situation at Xiling Canned Food Factory is even more complicated. I've essentially pushed you into a tough spot, so it's expected that there would be difficulties at the start. I won't blame you."

Yuan Zhigang sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and repeatedly thanked Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming continued, "Let's do this. Director Yuan, arrange a dinner with the heads of several major supply and marketing cooperatives nearby. We'll discuss the matter."

"Understood, Mr. Zhou," Yuan Zhigang nodded.