51: Chapter 51 Safety Inspection, Production and Business Suspension

Evening.

Uncle Zhou Jianmin returned home, looking furrowed-browed.

However, seeing Shen Weiyue there, he still perked up to ask a few questions about the College Entrance Exam, then poured a glass of medicinal wine at the dinner table, looking deeply troubled.

"Old Zhou, what's wrong? Did something happen at the factory again?" Aunt asked with concern.

"Sigh, yeah. The Bureau of Work Safety inspection didn't pass. This time, they issued a notice for rectification within a time limit. If we can't pass the re-inspection within ten working days, we'll have to suspend operations for three months and pay a fine. The factory's performance has been bad for the past two years, and they were already going to lay off a batch of people. If we suspend production now, I'm afraid..."

Zhou Jianmin didn't finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant; if production stopped, he would definitely be laid off.

Aunt panicked too; the whole family relied on this income.

"Doesn't the factory director have connections? Can't we just stuff some money in their pockets? Didn't we always get by like that before?"

"You know that was in the past. The previous director of the Bureau of Work Safety was sentenced to six years. This new director is taking office with a 'three new fires' policy—he refuses all invitations to dinners, is completely incorruptible, and only follows the rules. Even the factory director is helpless."

"Then what does he mean? Does he just want to kill the Cement Factory?"

"He publicly announced that we can resume work once the rectification is complete. If the rectification isn't up to standard, it won't matter who we ask for help, unless someone above removes him from his post. He doesn't want to get dragged down by the enterprise's illegal operations."

"Oh, so he's an honest official then?"

"Who knows. Maybe he's just cautious because he's new and wants to use us to set an example."

Uncle and Aunt talked while eating. Shen Weiyue gathered the gist of it: the Cement Factory had been found to have problems and needed rectification.

He asked curiously: "What problems does the Cement Factory have?"

Zhou Jianmin took a sip of wine and replied: "The official said the furnace has an explosion risk, flammable and explosive gases exceed limits, dust concentration control isn't up to standard, and there are other issues like non-compliant tank cleaning operations and incomplete emergency plans—problems I can't understand..."

He glanced at Shen Weiyue and scratched his head: "The factory director said these are easy to handle; we can just fix what needs fixing and buy what needs buying. The main trouble is that the so-called safety system and regulations aren't perfect. That stuff is very troublesome."

"Why is it troublesome?"

"I don't get it. Everyone in the factory is a rough guy who just burns cement. Who understands what those officials mean by 'safety compliance' and such? Flipping through books and writing materials—our factory doesn't have any experts."

"What about paying someone to do it?"

"That's how it was done before. We used to find the former director's brother-in-law to do it, and he'd stamp it once he got the money. This one wants it written for real. I heard other factories were hit before us, and the stuff people in the county wrote for them couldn't pass the inspection at all."

Cousin Zhou Xiaonan interjected: "Then just go find an expert in the province."

"You think I don't know that? The factory director is even more shrewd than you, you little brat. Right now, the experts in the province who can do this have already been hired by other factories. By the time they have free time, the rectification period will have passed, and the fine will be at least five hundred thousand..."

"Wow, that's ruthless. You don't even make twenty thousand a year, and the fine is that much."

"That's why I told you to study hard and not come out to do manual labor. Do you think money is that easy to earn?"

The more Zhou Jianmin spoke, the angrier he got. He slapped his cousin on the head, hitting him so hard he almost face-planted into his bowl.

Shen Weiyue listened calmly.

Building emergency systems was his old line of work; he was, in fact, extremely professional at it.

The reason he was the youngest Deputy Director in the county in his later life wasn't because of his deep background, but because he was one of the few domain experts in the entire province.

At that time, Shen Weiyue held an intermediate safety engineer certification while still young and had obtained the title of provincial senior engineer. In reality, he had the ability of a senior safety engineer; he just hadn't received the certification yet because the national-level exam policy hadn't been clearly established.

As a member of the provincial expert database, his words carried considerable authority in the field of production safety. The county had given him the position of Deputy Director to retain his talent.

At this moment, hearing his Uncle talk about the factory, Shen Weiyue wanted to help resolve it, but he decided to understand it more deeply before making a decision.

"Uncle, are you still going to the factory tomorrow?"

"I have to. At a critical time like this, how could I dare to slack off? I need to show my face at the factory more and try not to be among the first batch of people laid off."

"Oh, can I go with you to take a look? I want to see if I can learn something. It might be a good reference for choosing a major when I fill out my College Entrance Exam application."

"What's there to see at a rural Cement Factory? It's just guarding the furnace and burning cement..."

"Nah, I'm mainly hesitating about whether to choose a civil engineering major. The cement supply usage in a region can be used to judge the development prospects of this major. If cement usage isn't high, it means civil engineering is a sunset industry, and I won't choose it."

"Fine. I don't understand what you're saying, but if you want to follow, then come along."

Zhou Jianmin agreed without hesitation when he heard him speaking so seriously. He took another sip of wine and followed up on the topic: "By the way, I haven't asked how you did on your exam?"

"I feel great. Getting into a key university won't be a problem." Shen Weiyue answered confidently, his words full of conviction.

Zhou Jianmin was stunned, then happily said: "Good! I knew you had a bright future, kid. Our family is finally going to have a college student!"

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Xiaonan, who was focused on devouring ribs, and his anger flared up. He slapped him again, knocking his eldest son into his rice bowl.

"Dad..."

Zhou Xiaonan raised his head with a mournful face, covered in rice grains and vegetable sauce, on the verge of tears.

"Still eating? Look at your brother—he's already a key university student, and you're still slacking off in your studies. It makes me angry just looking at you."

Zhou Jianmin, feeling that his son wouldn't live up to his expectations, was about to slap him again.

Zhou Xiaonan hurriedly said: "My brother said he would tutor me personally, what else do you want?"

"That's right, Uncle. I will supervise and tutor Xiaonan during his third year of high school. I will definitely make him study hard and strive for good grades."

Shen Weiyue helped smooth things over, saying earnestly: "We're family, no need to be formal. When I have a successful career in the future, I will definitely take care of Xiaonan."

Only then did Zhou Jianmin feel comforted. Watching the scene of brotherly harmony, he felt satisfied, drank half a glass of medicinal wine, and was extremely happy.

Aunt was also very happy, putting ribs into Shen Weiyue's bowl one after another, which made Zhou Xiaonan extremely resentful.

Who is the real son here, anyway?

After dinner.

Zhou Xiaonan pulled Shen Weiyue into the room again and asked anxiously: "Brother, are you really going to supervise me personally?"

"Cut the crap. I've already bragged about it, so I definitely have to strictly whip you into shape. Your goal is to get into a second-tier university, so don't even think about internet cafes or anything like that this year."

Shen Weiyue rubbed his hands together and grinned menacingly.

Zhou Xiaonan wailed: "Damn it, I'm not cut out for that. You might as well just kill me now."

"Damn, you're seventeen years old, can't you be more mature? Look at what Uncle said—the Cement Factory is about to go under, and there's a risk of layoffs at any time. Are you still counting on them to earn enough for your down payment on a house or your bride price?"

"I'm not getting married!"

"Stop talking bullshit. If you don't get married, do you think Uncle and the others won't hang you up and beat you? It would have been better to give birth to a piece of roast pork than you."

"A key university student, yet you speak so hurtfully."

"Yeah, so what? Is this your first day knowing me?"