Guan Haishan watched the excitement for a long time, but he was already very anxious. You know, it takes two hours to ride a bike from the county town to Tianwa Village. He was still thinking about finishing the story as soon as possible and going home early. His wife and children were waiting for him to go back home for dinner. But who would have thought that this delay would cause the sun to set and the sky to gradually darken.

Wei Zhi saw Guan Haishan's anxious look and quickly poured him a glass of water. Guan Haishan took the cup, drank it all, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his inner anxiety. At this time, Liang Sumei couldn't help but joked: "Brother Guan, you are so anxious, is there a fire at home? Is there something you have to say today?"

Guan Haishan waved his hand helplessly, signaling Liang Sumei to stop joking. He said seriously, "Xiaomei, let's make it short. There is an abandoned granary in the north of the county. I think it can be used directly as a factory after a little renovation. However, the problem is that this land belongs to the government, so we have to find a suitable relationship to get the right to use it."

Hearing this, Liang Sumei immediately understood the seriousness of the matter. She was a decisive person, and she immediately decided to go to the county town to find County Magistrate Ji early the next morning to see if she could solve this problem through his connections. This was great news, but time was running out. If the factory site could not be determined as soon as possible, subsequent work would not be able to proceed.

When Guan Haishan returned to the city, he also carried back the bean sprouts that he was going to sell on the black market the next day. There were two large sacks full of them, which were much more than what Liang Sumei usually gave him.

The next day, Liang Sumei and Wei Zhi went to the county government to see County Magistrate Ji. As soon as they entered the county government compound, they saw the driver Jin Ruirui. Jin Ruirui's eyes lit up when he saw Liang Sumei, and he hurried over to her. Regardless of gender differences, he took Liang Sumei's hands and began to say, "Xiaomei, the two auto repair books you gave me have been used as a part-time job. They have helped me a lot. Now I don't ask others to repair my car. I have become an expert in car repair myself."

Wei Zhi frowned when he saw the two hands holding Liang Sumei. He walked forward, grabbed Jin Ruirui's arm tightly, and warned: "Let go quickly, you're hurting Xiaomei!"

Jin Ruirui finally reacted and quickly let go of his hand, with an embarrassed look on his face. However, he did not give up, but stretched out one hand and gently held Liang Sumei's hand, and with the other hand he carefully stroked the back of her hand, and asked with concern: "Does it hurt?"

After Liang Sumei pulled her hand away, a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face, while Wei Zhi rolled his eyes fiercely at Jin Ruirui and cursed quietly: "Rogue!"

Jin Ruirui stared at Liang Sumei and asked enthusiastically: "Who are you looking for? I'll take you there."

When Liang Sumei was about to answer, Wei Zhi was worried that Jin Ruirui would take the opportunity to touch her hand again, so he quickly took the lead and used his tall body to block Liang Sumei, then said politely: "Hello, Comrade Jin, we want to see County Magistrate Ji."

Jin Ruirui looked up at Wei Zhi, and the enthusiasm in her eyes disappeared instantly. When she heard that they were looking for County Magistrate Ji, her attitude immediately became serious. She said expressionlessly: "Come with me."

Afterwards, Jin Ruirui brought Liang Sumei and Wei Zhi to the door of an office and motioned them to wait outside for a moment while he went in to report.

When County Mayor Ji learned that the visitors were from the educated youth center in Tianwa Village, he immediately became very interested. So he temporarily put aside his work and decided to meet them in person.

Liang Sumei briefly expressed their demands to County Magistrate Ji. When County Magistrate Ji heard that it was about the abandoned warehouse in the north of the county, he frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

Wei Zhi looked at County Magistrate Ji's embarrassed expression and couldn't help wondering if there was something hidden. He couldn't help but say, "County Magistrate Ji, it's such a pity that this warehouse has been abandoned here. It's simply a waste of resources. If we can reuse it, we can not only save a lot of time, but also start making profits earlier!"

County Chief Ji took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and then slowly said: "You are not the only ones who want to take possession of this warehouse. In fact, there are other people who have been eyeing it. If I give it to you, those people will definitely have objections."

Hearing this, Liang Sumei hurriedly asked: "What do they plan to do with this warehouse?" County Magistrate Ji shook his head helplessly and sighed: "The people at the cotton mill think that the current mill is too small and can no longer meet their production needs, so they want to expand it."

Wei Zhi frowned and continued to ask, "Did they make this request recently?" County Chief Ji waved his hand and explained, "No, they told me about this a long time ago, but the problem is that the cotton mill has not been very profitable in the past two years and there is not much income, so I have not agreed to their request yet."

After hearing this, Liang Sumei had doubts in her heart. A cotton textile factory with no revenue actually wanted to continue to expand its territory. Is there something fishy about this? Are they trying to embezzle state-owned assets? According to her memory of her previous life, a large number of workers were laid off in the cotton mill in the early days of reform and opening up, and the factory leaders exploited huge amounts of money. Some were imprisoned, and some went abroad for asylum. Therefore, this abandoned warehouse must not be occupied by the cotton mill.

"County Mayor Ji, the bean sprout market is very broad now. The vegetable purchasing stations and canteens in our county are in urgent need of purchasing bean sprouts, but they cannot meet the demand due to insufficient production. We have also considered setting up a factory in the educated youth site, but the transportation there is not as convenient as in the county. If we want to approve the construction of a new factory, it will take a long time. By then, the beans planted in our village may have rotted in the fields." Liang Sumei said.

County Magistrate Ji nodded and sighed in his heart: "This little girl is really not simple!" He originally intended to grant the abandoned warehouse to Liang Sumei and others. Now that he saw that the funds for their factory construction were in place, he was deeply impressed by their ability and determination. After all, it is not easy for young people to have such courage. In addition, the excellent results achieved by Liang Sumei and others recently also made County Magistrate Ji full of confidence in them. However, the director of the cotton mill is an old classmate of County Magistrate Ji and also his wife's brother. This family relationship made him feel very embarrassed when making a decision.

Seeing that County Magistrate Ji still couldn't make up his mind, Liang Sumei thought to herself, "It seems that I have to show my true ability to make County Magistrate Ji believe in our strength." So she plucked up the courage to say, "County Magistrate Ji, you just mentioned that the cotton mill has almost no revenue in the past two years. I have taught myself some auditing knowledge. Can you please allow me to check the accounts of the cotton mill in recent years?" County Magistrate Ji was delighted when he heard this, and thought to himself, "Finally someone is here to help solve the problem! Maybe if he listens to the young man's advice, the problem brought to him by his brother-in-law can be easily solved."

County Chief Ji asked the Finance Department to quickly retrieve the annual report of the cotton mill this year. Liang Sumei and Wei Zhize carefully flipped through the pages. While reading, Liang Sumei was thinking about how to break the deadlock. Only by deeply understanding the root cause of the problem can we find a solution to the problem.

"There are 130 workers in the cotton mill, and 20 leaders of all ranks. The monthly salary and other expenses add up to more than 7 yuan, and the annual expenditure is nearly 90 yuan, while the net profit last year was only 60 yuan. This is just living off the past!" Wei Zhi couldn't help but sigh. He was shocked by this figure, and at the same time realized the seriousness of the problem.

County Mayor Ji was very pleased to see the two young men's careful analysis. Their quick thinking and keen observation made him see the new force of Ningxi County. He nodded in agreement and added: "Yes, in recent years, other counties have also built factories one after another in order to get rid of poverty, including cotton mills. The factories in other counties use new machines, and the patterns, materials, and fluffiness of the products they produce are far better than those of our Ningxi County factories. Therefore, the merchants who used to purchase from our county have cooperated with other counties. Faced with such competition, our cotton mill has to lower costs to maintain its competitiveness. But in this way, our profit margins are even smaller, and we may even suffer losses."

County Magistrate Ji's words revealed deep worries. He knew that if this problem could not be solved in time, it would not only affect the survival of the cotton mill, but also lead to more workers losing their jobs, which would in turn affect the economic development of the entire county. He hoped that Liang Sumei and Wei Zhi could come up with some practical solutions to help the cotton mill out of its predicament.

Liang Sumei was filled with emotion when she heard what County Magistrate Ji said, as if the spring breeze of reform and opening up was just around the corner, gently opening its arms to her. Although it was still the eve of opening up, the wave of competition was already looming and ready to go.

"County Mayor Ji, I will write a detailed report on the future development prospects of the cotton mill and the soy products factory and hand it over to you tomorrow. Perhaps it can provide some valuable references for the future planning of Ningxi County and your decision-making." Liang Sumei said, revealing firmness and confidence in her words.

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Ji was deeply pleased with Liang Sumei's initiative and responsibility, and in fact he was secretly inclined towards her. Even without the report as support, he would still go against all odds and allocate the abandoned granary to Liang Sumei's bean products factory. However, a detailed report would undoubtedly give him more basis to convince his wife and brother-in-law when he faced their doubts in family relationships.

In the county magistrate's office, Wei Zhi and Liang Sumei carefully recorded the key data in the cotton mill's annual report in their notebooks, and then left side by side in tacit understanding.

Outside the door, Jin Ruirui had been waiting for a long time. In Jin Ruirui's heart, Liang Sumei was not only his friend, but also a deep master-disciple relationship between them because of those two precious auto repair books.

"Xiaomei, we finally meet, let me treat you to a meal." Jin Ruirui made the invitation sincerely.

Liang Sumei smiled slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of apology and determination: "Ruirui, I'm afraid it's not possible today. I have an urgent report to rush. Let's make an appointment another day." Although there was an apology in her words, it was more about her dedication to work.

Jin Ruirui heard this, a hint of disappointment flashed across his face, but soon he changed into a more determined expression: "Xiaomei, I will treat you to this meal today no matter what. Don't be polite to me, I really want to thank you." His tone was sincere and genuine, making it hard to refuse.

Wei Zhi once again protected Liang Sumei behind him, and looked at Jin Ruirui firmly, with a barely perceptible pride: "My Xiaomei and I have important things to do, so we really don't have time to eat with you."

Jin Ruirui was displeased when he heard this, and his tone became stiff: "A good dog doesn't block the road. I'm chatting with Xiaomei, what's your business?"

Wei Zhi was so angry at these words that he pulled Liang Sumei's arm without saying anything and hurried out. Halfway through the walk, he finally couldn't stand the depression in his chest anymore, so he turned around and whispered to Jin Ruirui with a firmness that could not be ignored: "Liang Sumei is my future daughter-in-law, so don't worry about her."

Jin Ruirui couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, thinking to himself: This guy must have misunderstood. His feelings for Liang Sumei were pure and noble. He regarded her as a guiding light and worshipped her like a god, without any tainted heart. However, he really couldn't stand Wei Zhi's self-righteous look, and always felt that this guy was not worthy of Liang Sumei's transcendence.

So, he raised a sneer at the corner of his mouth and responded coldly to Wei Zhi: "Xiaomei and I are from the same hometown, and you are an outsider. After all, my relationship with her is naturally much closer than yours. Xiaomei and I can still chat in our hometown dialect in private, can you interrupt? Haha."

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