Chapter 38: Dreams Will Eventually Blossom

Afternoon.

The weather was scorching, especially near the boiler. Seven or eight boiler workers were sweating profusely, their bodies slick with oil. On any other day, they would have slipped away when the workshop supervisor wasn’t around to find a cool spot and catch some breeze. But today, no one moved; they clenched their teeth and kept working.

The gap-toothed woman who was helping out complained, "This damned weather, I’m about to die from the heat."

Having just placed a semi-finished grinding wheel into the boiler, Lu Xiaoqing shook his head, sending sweat flying, and said to her, "Then go find a place to cool off."

The woman scoffed, "Why don’t you go? Do you think I’m stupid? If the supervisor catches us, at least a two yuan fine, not to mention if we run into Lu—the boss himself—we might get fired, and then there’d be real tears. Xiaoqing, you’re usually pretty clever. Why are you working so diligently today?"

Lu Xiaoqing retorted irritably, "What else am I supposed to do? Didn’t you see that old Zhen and the others lost even their official posts?" He grumbled, "Who knows which heartless bastard gave Lu Dahai that idea—he even managed to smooth things over with the town. Sigh, I’d better keep my head down."

The male boiler worker nearby, who had a coin-sized birthmark on his left cheek, asked, puzzled, "How do you know someone else gave him the idea? Couldn't the boss have come up with it himself?"

Lu Xiaoqing scoffed, "Him? Lu Dahai? A man who barely finished primary school inventing the 5S management system? You guys have no sense. I can tell you, whoever advised Lu Dahai is sharp. Just this management method alone could be worth fifty thousand yuan in a big company."

The gap-toothed woman was startled and stammered, "How… how much? Fifty thousand? I’ve never seen that much money in my life. Is this management method really worth so much?"

Lu Xiaoqing, young and curious, knew a lot. He kept working while telling everyone stories about big companies in Shanghai: how they managed their people, their reward and punishment systems.

Everyone gasped after hearing him. Compared to those companies, their current workshop wasn’t nearly as strict, and after implementing 5S, work actually felt easier. Suddenly, they began to believe that the management method truly was worth fifty thousand yuan.

A young man about Lu Xiaoqing’s age said mischievously, "So if I took this management method to another factory, could I make some money?"

"Give it a rest, stop daydreaming." Lu Xiaoqing curled his lip. "If nothing goes wrong, the town already knows about our management system. Secretary Li will definitely write up a report and send it up. If the higher-ups like it, they’ll promote it everywhere. You guys still hope to..."

He didn’t finish. A shout rang out from not far away.

"Lu Xiaoqing, what are you chatting about during work? Supervisor Xu, make a note: talking about non-work topics, one yuan fine."

Lu Xiaoqing looked up to see Lu Dahai and a young man had appeared in the workshop. He instantly wilted, resigned to his fate. Just a couple of days ago, he would have protested, but today was different. He pinched his nose and accepted the punishment. A fine was better than being fired.

The other workers, seeing the boss enter, shrank back like mice before a cat, and all bent over their tasks, working with renewed vigor.

Standing next to Lu Dahai, Wang Qiang smiled quietly, satisfied that his morning show of force had worked—everyone was behaving. He checked his watch and whispered, "Boss Lu, it’s half past two. Let them rest for ten minutes."

Lu Dahai hesitated, but in the end didn’t question Wang Qiang’s suggestion. He waved at Supervisor Xu to give the order.

Supervisor Xu promptly announced, "Alright, ten-minute break!"

Lu Xiaoqing was stunned.

The other dozen workers were equally surprised.

A break during work? Each of them felt a surge of emotion after their initial confusion—a strange, poignant gratitude.

People often only realize what they cherish after it’s lost. Lu Xiaoqing, who used to take lazy moments for granted, now found ten minutes of rest precious, stepping outside to smoke and greedily breathe the fresh air, savoring every moment.

Gone was the swagger of lunchtime debates.

…

Ten minutes remained before the end of the shift.

Wang Qiang followed General Manager Liao into the workshop to inspect how the 5S system was being implemented.

As soon as he entered the mixing workshop, he saw a dozen workers, some sweeping, others taking out trash, all acting with remarkable initiative.

"Hurry up."

"Don't delay quitting time."

"General Manager Liao is here—move, move!"

The workers bustled about—the floor was so spotless that not a single grain of abrasive could be seen. If it weren’t for the dusty cement, the place could have served as a mirror.

Liao Wenfeng stood at the workshop door, gesturing inside and laughing, "Wang, look at them—when have they ever been so active?"

Wang Qiang nodded, steady and calm. "Let’s hope they keep it up."

Liao Wenfeng was full of confidence. "Your management method is simply perfect—they can’t find any loopholes, and now they’ve been scared straight, so they’ll stick to it. The boss was right to bring you in."

"It’s the result of everyone’s hard work," Wang Qiang replied modestly.

Had Lu Dahai been present, Wang Qiang wouldn’t have been so humble; he would have claimed the credit, since his pay depended on the outcome after seven days. But with Liao Wenfeng, Wang Qiang felt more like a friend, and among friends there was no need for pretension. Others praise you out of respect, but you can’t let it go to your head or you’ll breed resentment. Wang Qiang was mature enough to understand this.

The two of them circled the workshop.

They found the sacks of abrasive neatly tied and stacked in the corner, and the small mixing shovels gleaming, turned upside down on the spotless mixing table.

Wang Qiang even saw two workers mopping near the entrance, where it was usually dirtier. When he first arrived at the factory, he’d never seen such conscientiousness.

Their seriousness proved his methods were working.

That was the whole purpose of coming here, and Wang Qiang nodded in satisfaction. He could say he had fulfilled Lu Dahai’s task. Whether the factory would continue to be managed well depended on how tightly the management held the reins. No matter how capable Wang Qiang was, he couldn’t keep watch over the workshop day in, day out.

Phew. The days weren’t over yet, but the job was done.

Now he could wait contentedly for the seven days to pass, then collect his payment.

Looking out at the flowerbed where yellow chrysanthemums were about to bloom, Wang Qiang suddenly felt a sense of relief. In a few days, he would have seven hundred yuan, plus what he earned from selling fish—enough to solve his family’s biggest problem and help his mother clear her debts.

Then, his dream of giving his parents a good life and winning back his wife could grow strong in these old days, and finally blossom into the most beautiful flowers.