Chapter 269: Turning in the Assignment

Staring at the questions on the notebook in front of him, Jiang Cheng felt a headache coming on. He was good at managing workshop employees or fixing mechanical issues—that was his strong suit.

But running a company? Dealing with the problems it faced?

That was where his brain started to short-circuit. He just couldn’t come up with any good solutions.

Time slipped by.

By the time he returned from headquarters, it was already afternoon.

He’d spent a long stretch in the conference room holding meetings with the staff, and before he knew it, the workday was over.

He glanced at the time.

With a sigh, Jiang Cheng picked up his notebook and headed toward the employee dormitory.

He didn’t go to the cafeteria. With all these unresolved problems swirling in his head, he had no appetite at all.

Back in the dorm,

He sat down at a small square table. Beside it stood a single-row bookshelf filled with books—his wife, Wang Juan, had bought them all.

He read them every day, though only under his wife’s watchful eye.

In her words:

“President Chen values you enough to make you General Manager of the Clothing Factory, but let’s be real—you’re not qualified for the job based on merit alone.”

“You got lucky landing this position. If you want to be worthy of it, you’d better start studying.”

Most of the books were on economics and management. They made his head spin. But under his wife’s supervision, he had to read them daily.

Not long after,

A shuffle of footsteps echoed through the hallway of the employee dormitory.

Jiang Cheng checked the time. The employees who lived in the dorms were back from dinner and heading to their rooms to rest.

About half an hour later, the dorm door opened, and his wife, Wang Juan, walked in.

“Why didn’t you eat?”

She looked at Jiang Cheng, still seated at the table, and placed a takeout meal box on the table.

“No appetite,” Jiang Cheng replied with a faint shake of his head.

“Even if you don’t feel like eating, you still need to eat. I’ve already brought dinner back for you. Whatever’s bothering you, think about it after you eat.”

Wang Juan opened the meal box and pushed it in front of him.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng slowly set his notebook aside and began to eat.

“Alright, spill it. What’s bothering you?”

Once he finished eating, Wang Juan finally asked.

After all these years of marriage, she knew her husband’s temperament like the back of her hand. The way he was acting now, he was clearly troubled by something.

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then laid out the current issues the company was facing.

Afterward, he looked at his wife and asked tentatively, “Do you think I should report this to President Chen and see how he wants to handle it?”

“No,” Wang Juan shook her head without hesitation. “You’re the General Manager now. If you can’t even handle a small issue like this and have to report it, then what’s the point of having you in charge?”

“But how am I supposed to solve it?” Jiang Cheng gave a bitter smile. He knew full well this wasn’t something he should escalate.

But after thinking about it for so long, he still hadn’t come up with a good solution.

Wang Juan fell into thought as well. She slowly picked up the notebook where Jiang Cheng had jotted down the problems and studied it carefully.

After a while,

She looked up and said slowly, “The biggest issue here is the lack of available workshops. I think you should talk to Li Maode, the Park Manager, and see if it’s possible to rent more workshop space.”

“I’ve thought about that too,” Jiang Cheng said with a wry smile. “But the problem is, there aren’t any vacant workshops left in the park.”

Wang Juan shook her head.

“If there aren’t any available now, then we need to figure out how to create some. Get other companies to leave the industrial park.”

“But how? We can’t just kick them out. And even if we tried, they might not leave.”

“No need to kick them out. They’ll leave on their own.”

“That’s impossible. Who would willingly move their company?”

Jiang Cheng looked completely baffled.

Wang Juan just smiled.

“There’s a way. But it’ll require Park Manager Li Maode’s cooperation. As long as word gets out that our Clothing Factory is expanding and needs a large number of workers, I guarantee the other companies in the park won’t sit still—they’ll leave on their own.”

As she spoke, Jiang Cheng suddenly saw the light.

It was just like what had happened with the Mechanical Factory not long ago.

If news spread that the Clothing Factory was expanding and hiring en masse, the other business owners in the park would definitely panic.

After all, they were all in the same park. Once their employees heard the Clothing Factory was hiring, they’d definitely be tempted to jump ship.

Those bosses wouldn’t want to stay in the park any longer. Not only would they lose current employees, but even new hires might leave once they learned more about the Clothing Factory.

To truly solve the problem, there was only one solution—get as far away from Changfeng Apparel as possible.

Seeing the change in her husband’s expression, Wang Juan knew he’d figured it out. She continued,

“But before we do this, you’ll need to get President Chen’s approval. We have to guarantee that once the other companies move out, Changfeng Apparel will lease all the newly vacated workshops. Otherwise, Li Maode won’t go along with it.”

“Alright, I’ll report it to President Chen tomorrow.”

Jiang Cheng nodded. He knew his wife was right.

After all, Li Maode’s income was tied to how many workshops were leased out.

If they couldn’t promise to take over all the vacated spaces, there was no way Li Maode would agree.

But to make that promise, he’d need President Chen’s approval first.

Fortunately, during the last meeting, President Chen had already expressed a willingness to lease all available workshops in the park.

So as long as nothing unexpected happened, tomorrow’s request would definitely get the green light.

With everything clear in his mind now, Jiang Cheng looked at his wife in disbelief.

He hadn’t expected his wife to be the one to come up with such a clever plan.

“Honey, how did you even think of that? Where’d that idea come from?”

“From reading, of course. What, you think I bought all those books just for decoration? I’ve read a ton of them while making sure you read yours too.”

Wang Juan snapped impatiently.

She had stopped going to school after elementary because her family couldn’t afford it.

But lately, in order to supervise Jiang Cheng’s reading and studying, she’d been reading alongside him. At first, she didn’t think much of it—but once she started, she found the books surprisingly interesting.

Even when she wasn’t keeping an eye on Jiang Cheng, she’d sneak in some reading during breaks at work or in her free time.

“You’re amazing, honey.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled sheepishly. He had just solved a tough problem at work, and his mood had lifted considerably.

“What are you grinning about? Hurry up and get back to your reading. And… once you’re done, don’t forget to hand in your homework.”

With that, Wang Juan walked into the bathroom.

The moment Jiang Cheng heard the words “hand in your homework,” his smile froze on his face.