Chapter Forty-Eight: Mercy Does Not Command the Army

Back at the factory!

Wang Xiuzhi hurried over, looking at Zhou Meiniang with some concern. “Meiniang, are you alright? You’ve seemed distracted lately, completely out of sorts. Please, don’t do anything foolish. A man like that isn’t worth it!”

“What foolish thing could I possibly do?” Zhou Meiniang gave a faint smile, then continued, “I understand now. I was truly foolish in the past, pouring all my thoughts and energy into someone like that. Now, I don’t live for anyone else—I live for myself.”

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Shen Guodong. Her meaning could not have been clearer—she was also living for Shen Guodong.

“If you can think that way, then that’s the best thing,” Wang Xiuzhi said.

“Xiuzhi, I plan to stay at your place for a while. In the next few days, I’ll find a place near the factory. As for Wang Weihua, that scoundrel, there’s been no affection between us for a long time. There’s no need to continue this any longer,” Zhou Meiniang said coldly.

There’s no sorrow greater than a heart that is dead.

That was her state now. Rather than wasting her youth on someone like him, she might as well live her own life well. Divorce, then divorce—what’s the big deal?

In this vast land with over a billion people, it’s not as if no one has ever divorced.

How do those who are divorced live?

“If you’ve come to terms with it, that’s for the best. I won’t say more. As long as you’re fine with it, that’s all that matters,” Wang Xiuzhi replied. Fortunately, the two of them never had children, so there was no extra burden.

Shen Guodong, standing to the side, was lost in thought. If Zhou Meiniang lived near the factory, wouldn’t that mean he could visit her often? Her stunning figure had long made him yearn for her.

A woman like her—just holding her in his arms would be an exquisite pleasure.

As for Liu Yueru, he felt a bit apologetic, but since the founding of the Summer Nation, polygamy had always existed. It was only in modern society that the law forbade it! How could one discard the fine traditions of one’s ancestors?

“Wang, how about those clients you contacted? Are any of them interested in buying our factory’s machines?” Shen Guodong asked, for this was truly what he cared about.

Wang Xiuzhi shook her head. “My clients don’t seem very interested in our factory’s products. We’ve had a lot of issues with previous products, which cost them a great deal of money. Now, almost no one wants to use domestic products. Even though we’ve imported foreign production lines, it seems someone is deliberately exaggerating past problems, so now all our clients know about it!”

“How could the clients know about this?” Shen Guodong frowned. This was supposed to be a commercial secret. Even if the production line was now fine, once the clients heard, they would naturally have reservations.

That went without saying.

If the clients knew, of course they’d have misgivings! They’d hardly come back to buy from us.

Undoubtedly, this would make things much harder for the sales department.

Yet, even thinking with just his toes, Shen Guodong could guess who was behind this.

Whose interests had the sales department’s performance threatened?

First and foremost, Yuan Junfeng—for he and Shen Guodong had a bet riding on this. Then there was Wang Chenliang. If the new production line’s sales didn’t even match the previous ones, he’d have reason to challenge Director Xu. As long as Xu hadn’t officially become factory director, everything was still up in the air.

Wang Chenliang certainly wouldn’t just sit and wait for his doom.

Though he couldn’t be sure which of them was responsible, Shen Guodong was certain: no matter who it was, they were the enemy, and an obstacle he needed to overcome.

But now that things had come to this, they had to find a solution.

Zhou Meiniang looked worried as she watched Shen Guodong, his brow furrowed. She said, “Guodong, this is bad for us. The factory’s products are fine, but now that customers know the production line had problems, they’re bound to be wary. They’re afraid it might hurt their interests.”

“What do you think, Meiniang? What should we do?” Shen Guodong pondered. He already had a plan in mind, but still wanted to hear other opinions and gather insights.

Zhou Meiniang was an extremely clever woman, never short of ideas. Just as Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty had Empress Ma to advise him, Zhou Meiniang could certainly play such a brilliant role.

Liu Yueru, on the other hand, simply wanted a quiet life and had few ambitions. If a man wished to succeed, he needed a woman to support him from behind. Only then could he truly achieve greatness.

“My suggestion is that we start by inviting our clients to visit the factory—especially our old clients. They might come for old times’ sake. Then we show them the production workshops and let them see for themselves, so their doubts will be dispelled.

“Some of the long-term clients will probably start buying from us again. As for those who won’t come, we’ll have to visit them in person and win them over. We must take things step by step. Even though someone has spread the truth about our factory’s past issues, we can’t deny it. All we can do is move forward,” Zhou Meiniang said.

Shen Guodong nodded slightly. For now, that was the only approach—he had no better ideas.

“Alright, Wang, I’ll leave contacting the clients to you. Tell the others they’re all fired. Our sales department has no room for employees who can’t follow orders. They can go settle their wages with accounting and leave today.”

A benevolent man cannot command soldiers.

A soft-hearted person is destined to be a poor leader.

Business is a battlefield.

Shen Guodong would show no mercy.

Since those people were loyal to Hu Mingyuan and Wang Chenliang, they could never be his allies. Moreover, they had openly defied his orders in the factory, and that was absolutely unacceptable.

Otherwise, they would only become a threat in the future!

In truth, those fools were truly hopeless. Even if they resented Shen Guodong or disapproved of him, they shouldn’t have made it so obvious! Whatever their grievances, they should have kept them to themselves. To show it so brazenly in front of the leader—wasn’t that just asking for trouble? Did they think he was the old Shen Guodong who could be bullied at will?

What a laughable thought!