Chapter 136: A Lucky Find

Li Xian found himself at a disadvantage when dealing with Su Ya.

If she didn't want to communicate, she would just maintain a stern expression and not use her gestures, leaving him completely clueless about what she was trying to express.

But she hadn't ignored him.

Seeing Su Ya "change the subject," Li Xian realized that communication was futile. As he watched her move away and head downstairs to the workshop, he returned to his office to gather some documents needed for the North Forest area and then got into the car with Zhou Yong to head to North Forest.

North Forest now operates with a new management team and two separate brands. From the outside, there seems to be no change, but after the restructuring, the employees received shares, and property rights were clarified, the factory's situation has significantly improved.

Despite the recent disruptions in the factory due to changes in the pulp production process, the orders accumulated before the New Year were tight, and employees resumed work on the fifth day of the New Year.

Now, with the pulp process separated, the factory has become focused solely on paper production, and efficiency has improved significantly. It seems that the orders accumulated before the New Year will be fulfilled on time.

Previously, due to the recent change in property rights and to maintain stability, Li Xian did not want to make changes affecting employees. But now, with everything stabilized and the production line becoming more streamlined without the pulp process, some employee issues have surfaced.

Excessive non-essential positions and a complicated personnel system were raising costs and lowering company profits.

To address this, Li Xian convened a meeting upon arrival at the company and raised the issue. For the workshop's position issues, he planned to reorganize positions involving non-contributors or those unsuitable for workshop work due to age, as well as positions in the old factory that overlap with current departments like sales and accounting.

The principle of reorganization was straightforward: let go of those who needed to go and retire those who should retire.

If this had been proposed a month ago, it would have been unacceptable to the employees. However, now that the company is profitable, the proposal received widespread agreement at the meeting.

The first to speak up was Zhao Dongliang.

"Actually, this issue was raised by employees before the New Year. With everyone holding shares, why should some people do less work or not work at all? Everyone wants the company to succeed, so those affecting company efficiency must be removed. We can't be afraid of offending people on this matter!"

Seeing Zhao Dongliang take the lead, Li Xian found it amusing.

Now that the company is profitable, people have started thinking about how to maximize their dividends and remove obstacles to the company's progress.

Greed is natural, but not necessarily a bad thing.

Li Xian wasn't afraid of this. As the largest shareholder, he was more concerned about whether the employees continued to act as a unified block.

Now that Zhao Dongliang had raised the issue, Li Xian assigned this challenging task to the newly appointed production manager.

On the way back to North Forest, he had a general plan in mind.

The primary target for reorganization was those who were disruptive and had repeatedly ignored warnings. To protect the company's interests, they must be terminated.

The secondary target was older employees approaching retirement age, particularly those with children working at the factory.

One was essential to address, and the other was relatively easy to resolve.

The essential issue was to instill the idea that employees must perform well or leave. The easier issue was that employees had shares and children working at the factory, so early retirement wouldn't drastically affect their family lives.

The reorganization plan, being relatively humane, gained support from most.

With this matter settled, Li Xian felt at ease. After work, he had Zhou Yong drive him to look for a new house.

During his time in North Forest, he had been staying in a hotel. Apart from the costs, the daily inconvenience of sharing public restrooms with others was unbearable.

He felt no pleasure in basic needs being met with constant interruptions.

Moreover, as a person of significant stature with fixed assets in the millions, he was frustrated by having hands or faces poking into his space during his most private moments. This was unacceptable.

North Forest was still too small. Although new residential buildings had started in big cities, such developments were rare in North Forest, a relatively underdeveloped area.

The urban area was chaotic, with many old buildings, tube apartments, and welfare housing mixed together. Some of the buildings, dating back to the Republican era, still existed, but many had been repurposed for government offices.

After extensive inquiries, Li Xian viewed a couple of new houses but was not satisfied.

Tube apartments were becoming obsolete, and most current housing was welfare housing, or unit apartments. Commercial properties followed this model, with relatively independent facilities like bathrooms and kitchens, but the overall area was often very small.

Fifty to sixty square meters was about standard.

The prices were extremely low, around five hundred yuan per square meter in North Forest, a city not even considered a fourth-tier city.

However, considering North Forest's future development, even if he bought a house now, there wouldn't be much potential for appreciation. Li Xian decided not to make a purchase.

Zhou Yong, however, was excited by the prospect of having a house with a bathroom and a shower.

"Boss, if you don't like these, do you want a palace? If you had a house here and married a city girl... imagine the benefits."

Hearing Zhou Yong's impractical thoughts, Li Xian dismissed them.

As they aimlessly drove around the city's north side, approaching another commercial building, they encountered a noisy crowd blocking the road.

Seeing the commotion ahead, Li Xian tapped Zhou Yong's shoulder and said, "Stop the car and see what's going on."

As he lowered the car window, Li Xian heard a man in the crowd shout, "Why are you being so unreasonable? It's just a broken cup! I've bought the whole set, so what's the problem?"

"You... you... That cup was a pair! It was something my father saved from years ago. Even if you're bargaining, you shouldn't damage it like this!"

Hearing this, Li Xian frowned. He immediately got out of the car and into the crowd.

In front of a shabby house, a middle-aged man with a hunched back and glasses was stomping his feet, looking distressed at a broken tea cup split in two on the ground.

In front of him, a man in a fur coat and an American-style octagonal hat was holding the remaining cup and demanding, "Stop wasting time with useless talk. A pair of cups costs a thousand. There's only this one left. I'll give you a thousand for it. Will you sell or not? Be quick about it!"