Chapter 289: So This Is What It Feels Like to Be the Factory Director

At the entrance of the lumberyard's office, seeing a group of people crowding around Guigu, shouting and complaining, Aunt Ma and others were grinning with satisfaction.

They knew well the grievances between Li You and the managers. Watching Guigu flee in the face of the crowd's anger and curses, Aunt Ma was quite pleased.

With their frustrations vented, the crowd now turned their attention to Aunt Ma and the others holding the money.

In the crowd, Wu Ergou's eyes darted around as he stepped forward.

"Aunt Ma, we're all from the same yard. We stood on the wrong side before and offended Li You. Now he's upset with us, but you have a real old relationship with us! You can't just enjoy the money and watch us suffer. You should help us out!"

"Yes, Aunt Ma, you know the situation with Old Xu's family this year. Every household is struggling with no income. Now that there's a place to process mountain goods, can you talk to Li You, or rather, Director Li, and ask him to give us a chance to sell our mountain goods and earn some money?"

Hearing the pleas from the crowd, Aunt Ma's face darkened. "Oh no, that won't work. We also rely on the factory for a living. It's already impressive that we're earning money from our work. How can we make decisions for others?"

"Aunt Ma, you can't say that! Your family's relationship with Li You is different. You've been neighbors for many years; your words should carry weight! My second son was planning to get married this winter, but with the crops failing, we have no income. Without some money, the marriage might fall through!"

"Yes, Aunt Ma, do us a favor and help us find a way out!"

Aunt Ma knew the situation in the lumberyard. Although she usually had a sharp tongue, she was warm-hearted. Seeing the crowd pleading, she felt a pang of sympathy. Remembering Li Xian's instructions, she sighed, partly in jest, "Ah, we're all from the same yard. You guys, at that time, you believed those unreliable sources and didn't trust the Li family. Now look what's happening."

The crowd understood Aunt Ma's hint and eagerly promised their support.

"Support won't change anything!" Aunt Ma waved her hand. "Li Xian said it himself. Now that the factory is running smoothly, it's difficult to make changes in staffing. If you want to collect mountain goods, you'll have to…"

"Have to do what?" Someone immediately asked when they saw a glimmer of hope.

"Have to compete with us for the work," Aunt Ma replied with a raised eyebrow, glancing at the stack of over four hundred yuan in her hand. "Instead of one person making all the money, you could all gather it. The factory's purchase price is 0.30 yuan per jin for Schisandra and 0.50 yuan per jin for Eleutherococcus. If you really want to earn some money, go collect it now before the snow falls. We'll buy it from you at 0.15 yuan for Schisandra and 0.25 yuan for Eleutherococcus."

Upon hearing Aunt Ma's terms, the crowd fell silent. After a while, someone hesitantly questioned, "Aunt Ma, isn't this unfair?"

"Yeah! Aunt Xu, what's the meaning of this? It's half the price of the processing factory!"

Hearing the complaints, Aunt Ma glared. "I've made it clear. We also need to eat, and seeing that you all have no other options, I'm only reluctantly giving you a little chance. Otherwise, think for yourselves. My family and I go up the mountain every day, collecting only about two hundred jin of mountain goods. Why should we share with you?"

"Besides," Aunt Ma added, shaking the money in her hand, "if you think the price is low, you should have worked with the processing factory earlier. If you had, you wouldn't need to come begging to me now."

The crowd fell silent, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Aunt Ma finished her speech and, with her group of sisters, left swiftly.

After Aunt Ma and her group departed, the crowd lingered at the lumberyard entrance for a while. It seemed clear now that dealing with the factory was not advantageous, as Aunt Ma's price for mountain goods was half of that offered by the processing factory. However, if they did the math…

At 0.15 yuan per jin for Schisandra and 0.25 yuan per jin for Eleutherococcus, a diligent worker could still manage to collect a hundred jin in a day.

Realizing this, the crowd dispersed. Taking advantage of the morning, they went home to grab baskets, cursing the lumberyard managers, and headed up the mountain to collect before the snow set in.

---

By early November, the mountain was already very cold.

As the people braved the autumn wind to traverse the mountain, they were dismayed to find that, after more than ten days, the nearby Schisandra and Eleutherococcus had been nearly exhausted by Aunt Ma's group. Although some remained, the supply was insufficient for the number of people, and the nearby areas were stripped bare.

To harvest more, they had to venture farther.

However, just as they had been gathering on the second section of the mountain, the first snow of the season began to fall lightly.

The snow wasn't heavy and didn't settle on the ground, but the terrain on the second section of the mountain was high and difficult. As the initial snow melted, climbing the mountain became dangerous.

Reluctantly, people had to use their four-wheelers to collect from nearby lumberyards. Facing the October wind, with their noses running and barely making any money in a day, their efforts were disheartening.

There is a saying in the West that God gives people two pockets—one for their strengths and one for their weaknesses. The pocket of strengths is in front, and the pocket of weaknesses is in the back.

Therefore, most people, when faced with perceived unfairness, tend to see others' faults but fail to recognize their own shortcomings.

Seeing Aunt Ma comfortably sitting at home, with her husband Xu Zhenye weighing mountain goods like a landlord, and then sending them off to the processing factory to earn money effortlessly, the crowd's discontent with the managers who had blocked them from collecting mountain goods grew immensely—especially with Deputy Factory Director Guigu and Women's Director Sun Fulai.

These two had been the ones who, at the time, had strongly discouraged the workers from working with the lumberyard, leading them down a path of disillusionment.

As a result, Guigu and Sun Fulai faced the backlash.

The once friendly smiles from the villagers had vanished, and now they had to avoid crowded areas in the factory, lest they be met with curses and spittle.

Both were deeply frustrated, feeling unfairly treated. They were the ones who had followed Liu Yuan's instructions, but now they were bearing the brunt of the criticism, with no way to defend themselves.

Despite their misery, there was no way for them to express their grievances.

Meanwhile, Li You was thriving.

The first batch of people who had gathered around Li You were reaping huge benefits. With this successful example, others had no choice but to pay attention to the new factory director.

On the streets, people would approach him, offer cigarettes, and address him as Director Li. The respect he received made him feel as if he were floating on air.

During mealtimes, it was even more remarkable. He couldn't walk down the street without being dragged into someone's house for a meal. If he refused, people would be embarrassed and slap themselves, claiming that Li You was not giving them face.

This treatment was something Li You had never experienced in his entire life, let alone imagined.

"Oh! Director Li, where are you going? Have you eaten yet?"

The day after the first snow.

Li You, as usual, stepped out from the office, whistling as he walked down the street. Seeing Bai Laosi, who had previously ignored him, rushing over to greet him, Li You felt overjoyed.

So this is what it feels like to be a factory director!

What did Second Brother say?

Oh right.

It's really great!

As Li You reveled in his newfound status as factory director, he noticed Li Xian, who was squatting at the doorstep of his house, looking at Su Ya with her head down, tidying up the stove.

Li Xian had been trying to find ways to get rid of Su Hui over the past few days. With one obstacle removed, Su Hui had disappeared from his sight.

However, Li Daoyun, Zou Ni, and little Li Lingling were still around, strolling in front of Li Xian and Su Ya.

Feeling Li Xian's intense gaze, Su Ya glanced over while pouring a bucket of water into the pot, making eye contact with Li Xian. Her face flushed red as she turned away.

Her shy and demure demeanor felt like a soft paw scratching at Li Xian's heart.

"No way!"

Li Xian shivered and jumped up suddenly.

"I need to come up with a plan to get everyone out of the house. Otherwise, damn it, I've been waiting for almost a year. When will I ever get rid of being single?"