After the meal, Bai Song went back by QQ on his own, while An Zhiyuan drove the car, taking Bai Ju, her family of five, and Li Chunhua to their accommodation.
Bai Xiao asked Bai Ju in a casual manner, "Second Sister, your factory’s performance is not doing well now, is it?"
According to the timeline, it was almost the year eighty-eight, and a major wave of bankruptcies and layoffs was about to hit the state-owned enterprises. This was just the beginning of layoffs for workers of state-owned enterprises. Although their town was small and wouldn’t be affected so quickly, if a factory’s performance was poor, it could only cease operation before going bankrupt. The workers would struggle to even receive the minimum wage, as the factory would fall behind on paying their salaries.
Bai Ju would likely be one of the first to be affected.
"Yes, the factory has already been shut down for half a month. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to come to the provincial city so early to see our eldest sister. We don’t even know when production will resume. Wei, the factory manager, did hint to me that the situation is not very good. Bankruptcies are happening at the county and city level, and a factory like ours probably won’t last much longer. He advised us to be prepared, to quickly find a way out if things really go south, either to transfer or to find our own path. The factory going bankrupt is an inescapable outcome."
Bai Ju could only sigh when talking about this issue.
The situation was life-threatening for them, both working in the same factory. Once laid off, both spouses would suffer a severe shock to the family.
He Wang comforted Bai Ju, "It’s okay, Xiao, it’s good that you are here. Give us some advice. I was thinking, at least I can drive. If things really don’t work out, I can buy a vehicle and start a transport business. There’s always a way out. What do you think?" He had plans in mind and wanted to ask his sister-in-law, since she was a college graduate and smarter than most. Didn’t he see how well his eldest sister was doing now, all thanks to Bai Xiao’s advice?
He wished to learn some business acumen from his sister-in-law too.
Bai Xiao considered for a moment, "Brother-in-law, running a transport business is tiring work. You could be away from home for several months a year. Besides, in transportation, you can’t avoid long-distance travel, right? It’s easy to run into highway robbers on remote roads, and the money you earn might not even be enough to keep them at bay.
Rather than that, it would be better for you and Second Sister to think about this: your factory is going to go bankrupt, and they will surely want to sell it. You both are familiar with the food factory, so if possible, consider buying it and running it yourselves," Bai Xiao boldly suggested.
Bai Ju and He Wang were both startled.
"How could that work? A factory employs so many people. Even the county leaders can’t handle it, what can the two of us do? Wouldn’t that be just waiting to lose money? Besides, we don’t have the money to buy a factory. How much would that cost?" Bai Ju was scared by Bai Xiao’s idea.
This girl really had guts—it wasn’t like just anyone could buy a food factory.
Bai Ju’s heart pounded with fear.
An Zhiyuan looked at the young woman sitting beside him, her face now lit with excitement. This young woman’s mind worked fast, and he was eager to hear if Bai Xiao had any revival plans.
"Second Sister, you fool, the factory is going bankrupt. The trend of state-owned enterprise bankruptcy is unstoppable. After all, the management of state-owned enterprises is outdated and lacks innovation. To a large extent, people have been relying on the factory for their livelihood, used to the big communal pot. Workers have become lazy, technicians lack the initiative to develop new products, and salespeople are used to customers coming to them. Of course, they will go bankrupt.
Now we are in an era of reform and opening up. People can find better services elsewhere. Why would they have to put up with your factory’s attitude to buy things? It’s not like they have nothing better to do."
Bai Xiao analyzed their situation.