Henry Carter sighed inwardly, but soon he extended his contempt for Donald Shaw to everyone at the table, because he noticed that Mark Newman and the other three young people were also scrambling for the best dishes on the table as if a whirlwind was sweeping through.

  “Henry Carter, why aren’t you eating?” Mark Newman asked, his mouth stuffed full, speaking to Henry Carter in a muffled voice.

  “I am eating.” Henry Carter smiled and joined everyone in wolfing down the food. After working all afternoon, he was indeed hungry. Although there was nothing particularly rare or expensive on the table, all the ingredients were green and natural, so Henry Carter ate with oil running down his chin, and his mood grew brighter.

  After everyone had eaten ravenously for a while and cleared more than half the dishes, they finally slowed down. Donald Shaw kept raising his glass, toasting the young people, and often finished his own drink before anyone else had even picked up their glass. The total amount of alcohol drunk by Mark Newman and the others didn’t even add up to what Donald Shaw drank alone.

  “Little Qin, I welcome you to Qingfeng Factory. But to be honest, you really came to the wrong place.”

  Donald Shaw, feeling good from the alcohol, was slurring his words and starting to ramble. He patted Henry Carter, who was sitting next to him, on the shoulder and spoke to him in a heartfelt tone.

  Henry Carter hadn’t drunk much and was still clear-headed. He smiled and asked, “What do you mean by that, Section Chief Shaw? I don’t quite understand.”

  Donald Shaw said, “I know you don’t understand. If you did, you wouldn’t have come to Qingfeng Factory. Let me tell you, a few years ago, Qingfeng Factory was the best unit in all of Pingyuan County… no, in the entire Beixi region. Great benefits, great conditions, great status!”

  As he spoke, his eyes shone, as if he had returned to those glorious days.

  “Mm, I believe it,” Henry Carter nodded. For a county-level agricultural machinery factory to have nearly 200 employees and occupy one or two thousand mu of land, it really could be considered a top-notch enterprise. Just from the fact that every single dorm room was equipped with a desk, one could imagine how extravagant the factory used to be.

  “At that time, his old man was the factory director.” Donald Shaw pointed at Mark Newman and said, “Old Ning had a bad temper and loved to scold people. He’d lecture me like I was his grandson…”

  “Section Chief Shaw… the seniority isn’t quite right,” Henry Carter kindly reminded him. After all, Old Ning’s son was sitting right there, and for Donald Shaw to say he was scolded like a grandson was a bit awkward in terms of seniority.

  “Henry Carter, Section Chief Shaw is telling the truth. My old man scolded me like I was his great-grandson,” Mark Newman explained gloomily, making up for the seniority issue.

  “Uh… alright then.” Henry Carter smiled helplessly. “Section Chief Shaw, please continue…”

  “Where was I?” While Henry Carter interrupted, Donald Shaw had downed two more glasses and for a moment forgot what he was saying.

Chapter 8: The Proud Agricultural Supplies Company

  “You were just saying that Old Director Ning had a bad temper and loved to lecture people,” Henry Carter said.

  Donald Shaw nodded, “Right, Old Ning liked to scold people, but he had the right to! Old Ning knew how to run things. When Qingfeng Factory was in his hands, it made a profit every year. And Old Ning was tight with money. When the county wanted to take the factory’s profits, Old Ning absolutely refused. No matter how much money he made, he spent it all on employee benefits and building houses. Back then, the factory gave out 10 jin of meat and 10 jin of bulk liquor for the New Year, and five jin of eggs to each worker for the Dragon Boat Festival. See that fatty over there? That’s how he got that way.”

  “……” Mark Newman was speechless. Being fat, he was a bigger target for such jokes.

  “And then?” Henry Carter asked, trying not to laugh.

  Donald Shaw said, “But as soon as Old Ning stepped down and Brian Wade, this educated and ‘enlightened’ guy, took over, Qingfeng Factory went downhill day by day. They changed products seven or eight times, and every one of them was a flop. They lost a ton of materials and equipment, didn’t make a penny, and ended up owing the bank a huge debt. The guys at the provincial agricultural supplies company used to be so polite to me, always inviting me for drinks. But now, when I go there, let alone them inviting me, I can’t even get them to come out if I invite them myself.”

  “Why is that?” Henry Carter asked.

  Donald Shaw said, “It’s obvious—they refuse to accept our goods, so of course they don’t dare see me.”

  At this point, Donald Shaw viciously kicked the snakeskin bag at his feet, which made a clanging sound of metal inside.

  “Refuse to accept? What do you mean?” Henry Carter asked again.

  Donald Shaw said, “Inside this snakeskin bag are the new rotary tiller blades our factory developed after switching production. Brian Wade saw these things in Japan during a business trip and said they were high-tech, so he told us to make them too. Actually, it’s not that hard technically, and our country has rotary tillers too, so we need blades. We delivered them to the provincial agricultural supplies company twice. At first, it was fine, but later they said our product quality wasn’t good enough and refused to accept them.”