Chapter 752: Jiaojiao 32

Chen Jiao accepted the flowers. “I’m just a minor actress; you didn’t need to do all this. Thank you for taking care of me these past few months. I hope we meet again someday.”

Liu Fu patted her shoulder. “I hope we do. I’m looking forward to working with you again.”

With Chen Jiao’s looks and figure, Liu Fu was naturally eager to work with her more, especially if she honed her acting skills.

After bidding farewell to each of her colleagues, Chen Jiao and Zong Qi left the set. The moment they stepped off the lot, Chen Jiao’s phone rang. “Brother Zhen? Okay, I’ll come to the company tomorrow afternoon. Got it. Uh-huh.”

After a brief conversation, Chen Jiao hung up. Zong Qi glanced at her. Chen Jiao stretched. “That was my agent. He wants me to go to the company tomorrow afternoon. I was planning to visit Tanhou Village tomorrow, but I guess I’ll have to postpone it.”

Zong Qi said, “Your career is more important. Li Shun and Little Liu are doing a good job over at Tanhou Village, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I heard from Li Shun that the clothing factory has started production. What about sales…”

Chen Jiao turned to ask Tan You, who replied with perfect calm, “I’ve already arranged everything. Have Li Shun and Little Liu deliver the goods to this address tomorrow… directly to the port. The payment has already been transferred to the company’s account.”

Chen Jiao was thoroughly impressed. “You’re incredible, Teacher. Closing a deal without even leaving the house. That’s amazing.”

Tan You chuckled lightly. “There’s always a way.”

Chen Jiao copied down the address Tan You gave her and handed it to Zong Qi. “Have Li Shun and the others make the delivery tomorrow. The payment is already in the company account.”

Zong Qi raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Chen Jiao’s phone rang again. Chen Jiao glanced at it and handed it to Zong Qi. He took it and answered, “What is it?”

On the other end, Li Shun was shouting in excitement, “Brother Qi! Brother Qi! A hundred thousand just showed up in the company account, and it’s in US dollars! Did Miss Chen transfer money to the company?”

His voice was so loud that Chen Jiao heard him crystal clear. Zong Qi glanced at Chen Jiao again. “No, that’s the payment from the client. I’ll send you the shipping order and delivery time shortly.”

Little Liu, Big Guy, Ah Mei, and the others were all huddled around the desk in the office, pressing their ears to the phone. Hearing that the factory was about to ship an order, they all broke into wide smiles.

They had been watching the clothes being produced piece by piece, but with no sales plan in place, they couldn’t help but feel anxious. Now that they heard an order was shipping out, they exchanged glances, and Big Guy suddenly jumped up. “I’ll go sort the goods in the warehouse.”

Ah Mei tossed her braid and was already heading out the door. “I’ll go tell the packing team to stay a bit later tonight to prepare for shipment.”

Zong Qi heard the commotion. “Have everyone work some overtime tonight. They’ll get paid tomorrow after the shipment goes out.”

Ah Mei, who had already reached the office door, stopped dead in her tracks. “Really? We’re really getting paid? It hasn’t even been a month…”

Zong Qi just smiled. “It’s the beginning of the month. We’ll pay out last month’s wages first. From now on, payday will be on the 1st of every month.”

Little Liu stood up. “Then I’ll go calculate everyone’s wages.”

Because of his meticulous nature, Little Liu was in charge of finances. Li Shun was responsible for overall coordination, Big Guy managed the warehouse, Ah Mei handled production, and the others all had their own assigned roles.

Zong Qi listened to their arrangements. “You keep a close eye on things over there. I’ll come to the factory to check on things the day after tomorrow.”

Li Shun immediately shot to his feet. “Yes, Brother Qi!”

After hanging up, Ah Mei, Little Liu, Big Guy, and the others all got busy. When Li Shun went to the workshop again, he was surrounded by several workers. “Are we really getting paid tomorrow?”

Li Shun nodded and announced loudly, “Yes! The order came in. The clothes we’re making are going to be shipped abroad! The payment has already been wired. Everyone’s going to work some overtime tonight, and after the shipment goes out tomorrow morning, you’ll all get paid!”

“Brother Qi said everyone who works overtime today gets triple pay.”

“Alright! President Li, we’ll definitely work hard!”

“We’ll go sort and pack right now!”

With money dangling before them, the workers’ enthusiasm surged. Watching this, Tan You couldn’t help but smile. ‘I’m no heartless capitalist, after all.’

Knowing the factory was busy preparing the shipment, the cafeteria specially prepared a big meal that evening. Everyone worked late into the night to get the next day’s goods ready. Just as they were about to finish, Li Shun, thinking ahead, said, “Should we leave some people on duty at the factory? What if someone comes to cause trouble…”

Big Guy scratched his head. “I’ll stay at the factory.”

Once he volunteered, the workers who were about to go home stopped talking about leaving. ‘It’ll be dawn in a few hours anyway. We can get paid then and go home comfortably. Why bother traveling on the dark roads at this hour?’

Besides, this was a clothing factory. Even if there were no dorms, there was certainly no shortage of fabric. After tidying up a bit, the female workers all crowded into the production workshop, chatting and laughing until they fell asleep.

As for the male workers, who were few in number, they found a spot in the warehouse to shoot the breeze and play cards. Those who didn’t play cards, like Li Shun and Little Liu, found a book to read on the side.

Around three in the morning, even the card players couldn’t stay awake any longer. They all slumped against the packages in the warehouse, snoring like thunder. Suddenly, the sound of a few footsteps came from outside, and Big Guy, who had been sound asleep, shot up.

A man with bright eyes got up with him. The man made a shushing gesture at Big Guy, then gently nudged the person next to him.

Big Guy followed his lead and quickly woke up all ten or so male workers in the warehouse. Li Shun had jolted awake at Big Guy’s first nudge. He listened intently for a moment, muttered something to Little Liu, and then led Big Guy and the bright-eyed man to quietly climb out of the warehouse window.

Outside the warehouse, four figures were huddled together, whispering.

“This is the warehouse, right? I hear they’re shipping an order tomorrow.”

“The boss said to set it on fire. That’ll teach ’em for poaching our people!”

“I’ll smash the window, you pour the gasoline, and you toss in the lighter…”

“Mazi, you be the lookout…”

Listening to the group’s plan, Li Shun, Big Guy, and the others gritted their teeth so hard they audibly ground. They had worked their asses off for over half a month, only for these guys to show up and try to destroy everything. This was intolerable!

With a wave from Li Shun, Big Guy and the other man moved at the same time. Big Guy lunged straight for the one holding a brick, ready to smash the window, while the other man charged the one with the gasoline. Li Shun himself roared, “Help! Thieves!”

“Catch the thieves! There’s a 500 reward for each one you catch!”

His shout instantly brought people pouring out all over the factory grounds. The male workers still inside the warehouse were practically buzzing with excitement. ‘Five hundred for one person… If I could just catch one…’

The female workers had a similar reaction. Ah Mei yanked open the doors to the production workshop and charged out, brandishing a large pair of fabric shears. Behind her followed dozens of aunties, every single one of them looking ferocious.