"What's wrong, can't do it?" Franklin Turner said with a smile.

The man shook his head and said, "Absolutely not! Right now, everyone at Lin Yi Machinery is restless. Anyone with any ability is trying to transfer out, so why would you want to go to Lin Yi Machinery?"

Franklin Turner asked, "Why, do you know Lin Yi Machinery well?"

The man replied, "Of course! Because I work at Lin Yi Machinery. Let me tell you, maybe you've been in the capital too long and don't know what's going on at Lin Yi Machinery. In the past, Lin Yi Machinery was one of the top workplaces in all of Linhe City—no, even in all of Dongye Province. It was really hard for a college graduate to get assigned there. But now, it's not the same. Haven't you heard? Now Lin Yi Machinery is a joint venture."

"A joint venture?" Franklin Turner said in surprise, "Isn't Lin Yi Machinery a state-owned enterprise? How did it become a joint venture?"

The man was quite pleased with himself for keeping Franklin Turner guessing. He said, "Lin Yi Machinery has been losing money for several years in a row, owing the bank tens of millions. We can't even get our salaries paid. The factory director went to the bank for a loan, but the bank wouldn't give us one. Last year, the workers at our factory only got paid three times in total. Tell me, isn't that a joint venture?"

"I'm speechless!"

Franklin Turner burst out laughing. So that's what he meant by a joint venture. Who says Chinese people lack a sense of humor?

Chapter 7: Living the Good Life

The man showed off his little trick and felt quite accomplished. He tossed aside the chicken bones he'd gnawed on like a dog, wiped his greasy, flour-dusted hands on an old newspaper covering the table, then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and gestured to Franklin Turner.

Franklin Turner waved his hand, indicating he didn't smoke. The man didn't insist, took one out for himself, lit it with a lighter, took a deep drag, and blew the smoke far away. Franklin Turner sneaked a glance at the well-made-up young woman on the lower bunk nearby and noticed that, even through her makeup, her face looked distinctly green.

The man couldn't care less about others' disapproval. In these times, smoking was perfectly normal—no one had the right to interfere.

He took a couple more puffs, then asked, "Brother, which department are they assigning you to at Lin Yi Machinery? Let me tell you, departments are not all the same. Even though the whole factory only pays wages three times a year, some good departments still get to live the good life."

"Oh, is that so?" Franklin Turner was interested. "Brother, tell me, which departments get to live the good life? Maybe I can find someone to help me get in."

"Haha, that depends on how strong your connections are." The man laughed, holding up a finger. "First, the best department is definitely the Purchasing Department. All the equipment, raw materials, spare parts, packaging materials, building materials—you name it, they handle the purchasing. Just a little kickback from all that is enough for the whole department to celebrate every day.

The head of the Purchasing Department, Old Vaughn, built a villa in his hometown last year and bought a 120-square-meter apartment in the best part of Linhe City. Where do you think that money came from?"

"I've heard of him. Wasn't he already arrested?" Franklin Turner said.

He had done some homework these past few days and knew that this time, more than a dozen factory leaders and middle managers at Lin Yi Machinery had been arrested for corruption. The Old Vaughn the man mentioned was one of them, and the amount involved was quite shocking.

"He was arrested, yes." The man looked a bit embarrassed, but still pressed on, "He was arrested, but who in the Purchasing Department hasn't taken kickbacks? Are they going to arrest everyone? After Old Vaughn went in, the benefits in the Purchasing Department aren't as good as before, but a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. It's still much better than other departments."

"Mm-hmm, that's one department. Any others?" Franklin Turner asked.

"Second is the Construction Department, you know what I mean." The man gave Franklin Turner a meaningful look.

Franklin Turner nodded. Even in later years, construction was always a hotbed for corruption, and Lin Yi Machinery was no exception.

He also knew that the head of the Construction Department at Lin Yi Machinery had also been taken down this time, with enough money involved to keep him in prison for life.

"The third would be the Sales Department. But the situation there is a bit different—basically, the bold get rich, the timid starve," the man said.

Franklin Turner said, "But I've heard that Lin Yi Machinery's sales have been terrible these past two years. With such bad sales, can the Sales Department still make money?"

The man sneered, "Bad sales are the factory's problem. For the Sales Department, whether sales are good or bad, they always have ways to make money. Let me tell you, the Sales Department is largely responsible for Lin Yi Machinery's current mess. I'll give you a simple example: say you're a salesman and you hear that a factory wants five horizontal lathes. What would you do?"

"Of course, I'd sign the order and have the factory produce them," Franklin Turner said.