Terrific! It's Director Ji, We're Saved!

The next morning. Having set out bright and early, Ji Jue drove to the factory grounds. After taking a walk around, he heard the whine of an electric scooter approaching. The balding, middle-aged rider was pale with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having gotten little sleep the previous night. "You're here, Engineer Yan?" Ji Jue waved to him and smiled. "How have your thoughts settled? I spoke with them; the severance can be pushed to—" Yan Jian cut him off. "I want to stay and give it a try first." Ji Jue paused for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Then stay. Do you have any conditions?" Ji Jue told him, "Everything is open for discussion. Regardless of whether you stay or leave, a new contract will be signed anyway. Ah, your seniority will be preserved, don't worry." "As for conditions... let's talk about that later." Yan Jian sighed. Glancing at Ji Jue's calm demeanor, his own expression grew even heavier, completely devoid of joy or relief. Rather than soaring ambition to start afresh, it was more like the numb resignation of accepting reality—things had come to this, so he might as well just coast along. It was terminal anyway; the worst that could happen was death. Flailing about again counted as a deathbed struggle at best. At worst, he'd just end up right back in the pit—what else could happen? Bankruptcy? That'd be wonderful! He'd be a free man again, free to start anew. Back then, he had helped the old director build this plant from the ground up with his own two hands. While he couldn't say every single brick and tile was laid by him, he at least had some affection for the place. After those high-spirited days, the old director passed away. Having wasted so many years here, he had to see it through to some kind of conclusion. Consider it seeing things through from beginning to end. "I'll go inspect the equipment. A lot of it is broken; not much of it can even run." Yan Jian finished his cigarette and said, "Take a look later—what needs fixing, what needs patching, what needs replacing. It won't be a small sum." He paused, glancing at him. "Word has already spread that the plant is planning to rebuild and Haian is restarting. You'd better brace yourself." "Don't worry." Ji Jue waved calmly. Then, five minutes later, he saw it... A surging tide of people, pouring in like a mighty wave! In over a decade, Haian Auto Works had never been this lively. Cars lined up from the front gate out into the main road, and even more people had simply taken cabs or buses. Flocking from every direction with buzzing excitement, people greeted one another jubilantly. Across their weathered faces beamed unrestrained joy and delight. The moment they heard Haian Auto Works was preparing to resume operations, they had rushed over day and night. This was only the first wave. Seeing Ji Jue strolling across the factory grounds, the crowd swarmed forward at once—some offering cigarettes, some shaking hands, each extending warm and eager greetings. "Director Ji! You must be Director Ji!" Excited lights shone in their eyes. "I heard the factory is resuming operations. Is it true?" Ji Jue was stunned too, his face flushing with embarrassment and a deep sense of unworthiness. He had never imagined that after all these years, so many people still cared about this broken-down plant, rushing back the moment word got out. Such deep sentiment! "Yes, yes, that's right." Deeply moved, Ji Jue felt flustered for a moment. "Please rest assured, everyone. Haian will definitely resume operations. In the future, we will certainly—" At that, the crowd grew even more agitated, wild with joy and celebration. Delight practically materialized between their smiling faces, brimming with happiness and hope. Someone wiped away tears of excitement, practically weeping for joy. Terrific! This is truly terrific! Haian Auto Works is finally saved! "So... would it be convenient to settle the previous payment for goods?" The man rushing at the very front pulled an IOU from his pocket and thrust it right before Ji Jue's eyes. "And mine! The final balance hasn't been paid in years!" "Director Ji, Phase Two of the plumbing and electrical work hasn't been paid for yet!" "Mine! Mine! Look at mine!" "And me!" In an instant, the surging tide of people nearly swallowed Ji Jue whole. IOUs and contracts flew like snowflakes, fluttering into the air and raining down as Ji Jue watched in stunned silence. Burying him underneath... Before he could even begin to struggle. In the distance, squatting in the corner of a workshop smoking a cigarette, Yan Jian couldn't help but shake his head. I told you to be careful... For the entire morning, Ji Jue accomplished practically nothing. He spent the whole damn time receiving creditors. At the same time, he cursed his own naivety. What was I thinking?! Did you think this was some hot-blooded, inspirational morning drama?! Think with your heels—after this crappy dump of a factory sat idle for so many years, how could there possibly be this many die-hard loyalists? No, if people had truly been this united in purpose back then, would it have fallen to such a state in the first place? As the saying goes: lovers might abandon you, brothers might betray you, but creditors will never leave your side. When they say they won't leave, they won't leave—every word etched in iron, bound to you for life. Now that's what you call a blood-pumping bond! In anime, maybe a delicate beauty with long, straight black hair would blush and say, "It's a promise, okay? You have to pay me back for the rest of your life!" In reality, it was countless aging faces bearing smiles, fury, or panic and anxiety that he might skip out on the bill, blocking the doorway and refusing to budge. Sitting in the drafty office, Ji Jue felt his heart turn colder and deader than zombie meat frozen in a warehouse for eighty years. Bereft of the will to live. To their credit, the creditors proved relatively civilized—mainly because continuing to holler in a chaotic racket made it impossible to get anywhere with everyone talking over one another. So, they very politely formed a queue, standing outside and forming a solid wall that shielded Ji Jue from wind and rain, following him through thick and thin. Then, they selected a few representatives to go in. To talk. They had to talk, after all. Only then was Ji Jue stunned to discover the previous director's earth-shattering wisdom and prowess. Before packing up and leaving because he couldn't stay any longer, the man, in order to sustain production, had borrowed from practically everyone across Yacheng—ranging anywhere from a hundred thousand or so to ten or twenty million... Together with the unsettled final balances, the sum had ballooned to a terrifying scale of over four hundred million. And that didn't even include bank mortgage loans... Ji Jue did some simple math, and wanted to suck in a cold breath, only to find he couldn't even manage that. On a freezing day, he broke into a cold sweat all over. This was so damn messed up. Did that bastard do it on purpose? Either he was stupid—played for a fool without even realizing it—or he was rotten to the core, smashing the pot to grab whatever he could at the very end before skipping town. Leaving this absolute mess behind for Ji Jue. "It really isn't that we're trying to be pushy. Truly, over these years, we've barely been able to survive." Tears welled in the eyes of the parts factory boss chosen as representative. "Tens of millions! I covered it all out of pocket! The bank's demanding payments, my employees need their wages—I've sold my house and car, and my factory is on the brink of bankruptcy. To this day, I don't even dare to order a hot dish costing more than thirty bucks. Director Ji, President Ji, I have feelings for Haian too, but I really can't go on like this... please have mercy." "That's right, that's right." The people beside him felt the same pain; some had reddened eyes and couldn't speak, while others silently puffed on cigarettes with bowed heads. Laying out facts and reasoning, playing the pity card, acting broke, making veiled threats... Once the whole routine was finished and the weeping and recriminations ceased, all eyes fell upon Ji Jue. An explanation had to be given. Looking at the small mountain heaped in the ashtray before him, Ji Jue—who had always steered clear of tobacco—couldn't help wanting to ask for a light. If life were going smoothly, who would touch tobacco or booze? Life was just too damn hard. "You've all seen Haian's situation." He paused, then said slowly, "As for how things stand... well, that's how things stand." Seeing the others about to speak, he raised his hand, signaling them to wait a moment. Some still wanted to weep or speak up, while others impatiently rose to demand a straight answer, but pinned beneath the gaze of those calm eyes, they all froze involuntarily for an instant. Ji Jue kept his palm raised. Total silence. "Hear me out." Ji Jue looked at them, then glanced at the figures craning their necks outside the door, and sighed. With the money Lyu Yingyue had provided, he could certainly settle these old debts, but rebuilding would be out of the question. That money was meant for factory construction and maintenance; using it to plug the bottomless pit left behind by his predecessor would be sheer stupidity. Where in the world was the logic in hacking away at one's own economy right at the start of the game? Besides, in this mess of bad debt, how much was inflated, and how much endless wrangling would it take to untangle? "At present, I have only just taken over Haian, and haven't even officially assumed office. The specific accounts will also need to be tallied and audited before anything can be confirmed. "However, if you all want an answer, I can give you one." He stated bluntly: "You want money? There is none." Boom! In an instant, the crowd surged. Everyone rose and shoved forward, curses and pleas erupting incessantly. Amid the sea of heads, an unshaven, middle-aged man shoved his way to the front, reaching inside his jacket to grip something tightly. Yet before he could pull it out, Ji Jue's eyes were already fixed on his face. With a faint, enigmatic smile. Watching him. He did nothing at all, yet merely being looked at made the middle-aged man freeze in place, shuddering with horror from the inside out. When the kindling burning faintly within those pitch-black pupils suddenly stirred, a tangible chill thoroughly engulfed the entire office. Fury, grief, mockery, calculation—everything ground to a halt in an instant. "I can understand your feelings and intentions. It is only natural that you find this unacceptable right now," Ji Jue said slowly. "A life for a life, a debt repaid—that is the natural order of things. Even if I talked until the sky fell, I couldn't overturn that principle. "Just think about it carefully. Take a serious look. Can the current Haian pay you back? Even if this broken factory were leveled to the ground and every single brick sold off, how much would that even fetch?" "Everyone, don't—" Someone in the crowd raised an arm in anger, trying to rally the room. But before he could finish, his breath hitched. He began coughing violently, gasping for air as he collapsed to the floor, his face turning bright red, then purplish-blue. "Oh no, it's an asthma attack!" Alarmed, Ji Jue rushed forward, shoving the surrounding crowd aside to check on the fallen man. "Everyone, back away! Open the windows! He's about to pass out!" The suffocating man struggled violently on the floor, clawing and grabbing at Ji Jue's sleeves, whimpering incoherently. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'll save you." Ji Jue smiled gently, comforting him: "The hospital is too far from here. I'll give you first aid. Don't be afraid, I'm a professional." As he spoke, he raised his hand and delivered a flurry of sharp slaps across the man's face. Smack! Smack! Smack! Yet miraculously, after a couple of crisp slaps, the previously suffocating man's complexion actually improved. His chest rose and fell, and he gasped out a breath. "It worked! It really worked!!!" Before the onlookers could even register their bewilderment, reality stunned them. What an amazing first-aid technique! Keep it up, Director Ji!