Zhao Zhijie looked at the adorable Hua Bao to comfort himself, his old eyes growing wetter. But to keep Hua Bao from seeing, he had to turn his head and secretly wipe away the tears from his eyes.
When he turned back, Zhao Zhijie had controlled his emotions. "Grandpa isn't sad," he said. He then pulled at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, but it took a long time to succeed.
"Old Zhao, I think you should step down from the director's position for now. Otherwise, our factory can't operate normally," the stout leader suddenly stepped forward to advise Zhao Zhijie.
Hearing this, Zhao Zhijie smiled without speaking.
Seeing his silence, the thin leader joined the persuasion. "In this situation, it's not something you can control alone. You should obey the organization's arrangements. Starting tomorrow, you'll return to the kitchen as supervisor and cook well.
We will hold a new vote to elect the factory director. Whoever takes the lead will depend entirely on everyone's wishes."
"Old Zhao, you don't have the people's support, which is why this happened. This is your dereliction of duty.
When Old Yan was here, there were never such major loopholes."
"That's right, your ability is indeed insufficient to lead everyone. Those who are capable should be in charge, so you should step aside."
The two leaders, speaking in unison, left Zhao Zhijie speechless.
Old Cai downstairs was overjoyed. He opened his mouth and said, "As long as Director Zhao steps down, we won't make trouble. We'll work properly tomorrow."
His goal was for Zhao Zhijie to step down so that the Cai family members could take over.
Although Zhao Zhijie didn't particularly want to be the factory director, he also didn't want to see a villain succeed. "What kind of person are you? You're threatening me?"
Hearing this, Old Cai's face turned red and his neck was thick with anger. But seeing the two leaders present, he could only change his tune, his expression displeased. "I'm nothing, but you've made so many mistakes that you're not fit to be our director."
"It's settled then. Old Zhao will resume his position as kitchen supervisor tomorrow, and the new director will be elected by vote tomorrow. Does anyone have any objections?"
"Don't cause any more trouble. Old Zhao has already been dismissed from his position as director. Now, you should go home if you need to go home, and come to work properly tomorrow."
After the fat and thin leaders finished speaking, they saw a man who looked somewhat familiar walking quickly towards the stage. As the man approached, they gasped in unison.
"It's you?"
"Comrade Zhang Liunian?"
Hearing the exclamations, Zhang Liunian looked up and saw two people who looked somewhat familiar. After a moment's thought, he remembered who they were. They were the people who had listened to his pronouncements about future affairs on the second floor of the Nan Cheng Department Store that afternoon. He hadn't asked their names.
So, were they also from this factory?
Zhang Liunian was a bit confused but didn't greet them. Instead, he walked directly to Zhao Zhijie and asked with concern, "Uncle Zhao, what's going on?"
"Daddy," Hua Bao, seeing her father arrive, immediately extended her arms towards him, wanting a hug.
Zhang Liunian picked her up but still looked at Zhao Zhijie with concern.
Zhao Zhijie gave a wry smile. "Don't worry about this, it has nothing to do with you. It's just that in the future, your uncle might become unemployed."
"Uncle, if I'm here, will you ever be short of work? I just bought a food factory this morning and was worrying about needing a director. I'm delighted you can come help me."
What was there to fear about not having a job? He, Zhang Liunian, was a job creator, and the last thing he lacked was work.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhijie smiled with relief and then looked at the vast crowd below. "I'm done! I'll fulfill your wishes!"
His voice was loud, and all the employees below heard him. For a moment, they didn't know what to say. They had only come to ask Zhao Zhijie to step down as director, not to drive him out of the factory. Thus, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
The two leaders on stage exchanged glances and walked up to Zhang Liunian, asking in low voices, "Comrade Zhang Liunian, what is your relationship with Old Zhao? Could it be that you are the nephew Old Zhao mentioned?"
They desperately hoped it wasn't the case. Otherwise, wouldn't they have offended someone who could very well become the commercial overlord of Nan Cheng in the future?
"That's right, what about it?" Zhang Liunian did not know that these people had just used him to attack Zhao Zhijie.
So, when they sought confirmation, he was a little confused.
However, as he admitted it, the two leaders broke out in a cold sweat. But considering the factory's operations, they couldn't retract their words.
"It's nothing. It's just that everyone has some misunderstanding with Old Zhao. You are magnanimous, please don't hold it against us!"
Zhang Liunian raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhao Zhijie, only to see him looking at the leaders who had just spoken with surprise, as if he couldn't believe those words came from them.
Zhang Liunian thought for a moment and understood why they said that. Perhaps the banquet today had given them a different impression of him.
"Just now, I think I heard you saying that my Uncle Zhao doesn't deserve this position. If he doesn't deserve it, then who does?" Zhao Zhijie was an uncle recognized by Zhang Liunian, a relative. He wouldn't pretend not to hear if so many people were bullying him.
Zhao Zhijie was happy that Zhang Liunian was helping him, but he didn't want Zhang Liunian to lose the opportunity to cooperate with the factory because of him, nor did he want him to offend these two, making it difficult to procure equipment from the factory in the future.
So, he actively pulled Zhang Liunian's sleeve and whispered, "Liunian, they are my superiors. Don't offend them."
His voice was very low, but the stout and thin leaders, who were only two steps away, heard it.
To Zhao Zhijie's surprise, even after hearing this, the two leaders didn't gloat. Instead, they looked embarrassed.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, it's alright, it's alright. It was really a misunderstanding just now. It's not that we were trying to bully people, but Old Zhao doesn't have the people's support, and we can't do anything about it."
"Exactly. The factory can't let them strike, nor can it dismiss half of the employees. Moreover, there are many orders to rush recently, and not a single day can be delayed. There's no other way."
"..."
Zhao Zhijie looked at the two men whose attitudes had suddenly changed and wondered what Zhang Liunian had gone through with them.
Why were the leaders who had been so imposing earlier now acting like they were facing their own boss when they saw Zhang Liunian?
This was unreasonable. Although Zhang Liunian had some reputation in Nan Cheng, he had no particular standing here.
Zhao Zhijie did not yet know that Zhang Liunian had, on the rooftop of the department store that day, first nearly bid millions for the provincial department store and then expressed many of his views, earning the respect of many, including these two leaders.
"It's useless to explain to me. I only know that you were bullying people, and a basic apology is always necessary.
Ask who took the lead in today's matter and apologize to Uncle Zhao, otherwise, we'll handle it officially and escalate the issue completely."
Zhang Liunian feared escalating the matter the least.