Zombie Apocalypse: Creation

Inside the factories, workers were being put through the toughest conditions.

He was put into an easy job for the first day, just 'flip a product over' to let the machine do the rest.

But it somehow managed to strain his hand so much that he couldn't hold a pen. The manager was also constantly watching him, making sure he worked fast enough.

Cameras and managers were constantly monitoring nonstop, walking in between them to see if someone was being lazy.

Newer workers around him were being docked off left and right, even though all they did was take their hands off for a few seconds to wipe the sweat off their foreheads.

Songming himself almost passed out on the first day as the factory inside had no air conditioning.

When it came to a lunch break, it was so short that he could only eat an apple before being sent back to work.

A singular apple. Not even a styrofoam container with rice.

He was only confused even further when he asked one of the older workers what happened to the lunch, only to be told it was due to the budget cut.

Nowhere in the budget cut was the food benefit cut. Songming could specifically remember it was supposed to be a salary cut, not a cut towards basic benefits.

When he confronted the manager, he was told the same thing—the same old budget cut story.

Back on the production line, productivity was being forcefully shoved down everyone's throat.

People were being forced to work like a machine, even though a machine could easily replace the job itself.

Songming decided to ask the manager why he did not order a machine to replace his job, only to be told, 'Human labor is cheaper than a machine.'

He was right.

The cost to get a machine to flip the product was way overpriced. It was indeed more cost-saving to hire a person to do it physically.

By the time it was nine o'clock at night, the new worker got up from their seat, attempting to leave. But the managers immediately threatened their pay.

They were to work extra hours or else they would lose their bonus at the end of the week.

Everyone stayed, including Songming himself. He went back to the workers' dorm, where it was just as hot as inside the factory.

That night, he couldn't sleep at all. The work was just too grueling for him. He had never done something like this.

The next day, Songming was put into a different section of the production line. He was loading a box full of toys into the back of a semi-truck with three other people.

Working underneath the hot sun, he was sweating like crazy once again. He thought of taking a water break, but the other three just kept on working.

When he asked them why they didn't want to take a break, even as there weren't any trucks to pick up the boxes yet, they told him a single sentence.

"I don't want my pay deducted."

The workday ended early today as the four of them loaded the last box into the semi-truck.

He was allowed to head back to the workers' dorm early, but all three of his coworkers just headed back into the factory.

The managers sent them back to the simple flip job, and Songming himself was sent to a different section that examined the product for defects.

All he had to do was check for the bunny toy's tail, seeing if it was the right color. A job that seemed easy, until he almost once again passed out in the heat.

His hands and arms felt so strained that day that he thought he had gotten carpal tunnel. Fortunately, he was just tired that day.

After the whole week of work had gone by, Songming was finally back in his office. The first thing he did was to hold a board meeting.

He was to cancel all the budget cuts, which everyone at the board expected. The pressure from the news had already spread like wildfire.

When he proposed to raise the budget for workers' salaries, a small minority pushed back, but he was still able to get a majority to agree.

At the very end, he announced his real intention—a fundamental change towards how the company's factory functions.

He was directly proposing to raise the bottom-end workers' benefits. Not just a simple salary increase.

Almost all of them immediately fought tooth and nail, rejecting even the most basic, simple things like air conditioning in the factories' dorms.

Even as Songming pointed out the minuscule cost to the actual company's budget, they were all still pushing back against him.

In the end, he threatened them with his resignation letter. Only then did they agree to accept the budget increases to go through.

It hurt the short-term profit, but it avoided the real disaster.

The company managed to avoid the incoming massive waves of worker strikes and government oversight that followed right after.

---

"And that's how the story ended... Now, Yuqi, do you understand what I'm trying to tell you in this story?"

As Xiaoyun asked his question, Yuqi remained silent. Her eyes stared back at Xiaoyun as if she were the one asking the question.

"Hello? You there, Yuqi?"

"Yeah. I'm here. I'm thinking of words to answer you... Xiaoyun, I just didn't expect you to go that far down the ladder."

"What ladder?"

"You working in the factory... I just can't imagine a CEO that would go out of their way to work in someone else's shoes like that..."

"Hey, don't make it sound that crazy. A boss needs to experience the situation on the ground to get a real understanding of what's happening."

"You're right. I've never really gone out to see it for myself——"

"Ahem, let's get back on topic. Do you understand what I'm telling you in this story?" Xiaoyun asked again.

"Um... Should I try to improve the workers' lives?"

"That's part of it. But think about the worker, the stockholder, and the government's relationship."

Xiaoyun waited, looking back at her, who seemed to be zoning out, thinking of an answer to his question.

"Is it we, as the government, should incentivize companies to improve the workers' lives?" Yuqi answered.

"That's getting close. But you're still missing a key link. Think, why did the stockholder push back against Songming's suggestions?"

"Um... Because it costs money?"

"Bingo. The whole story ties back to costing money. The workers, the stockholders, and even I were all tied up in the money.

You can't obviously expect every CEO to go all the way down to the surface level of the factory to experience what it's like.

So, as the government, you need to incentivize the company owner to improve workers' conditions and make it sound good for stockholders."

Xiaoyun's answer only left Yuqi more confused than before, as all three actions sounded conflicted against each other.

"How could raising workers' conditions improve a company's attractiveness to investors? Wouldn't that cut into their potential profits?"

"Not if you fined the shit out of them. Remember, the tool you have is the gun——I mean, the law is on your side."

"I... I think I understand now. You want me to raise the fine for the labor violations? Am I getting this right?"

"Yep. Just match the fine to the company's size. The bigger they are, the bigger the fine. Don't be scared to enforce it."

"But wouldn't it discourage those companies from hiring more and hinder their expansion?" Yuqi raised her concern.

"They aren't hiring more regardless of what we do. They are just going to keep milking their current employees to the death.

We're going to slap them with the stick, make them realize labor laws aren't just a mere suggestion.

Remember, the market will resolve the losers on its own. Those who can't survive without breaking some rules deserve to be weeded out.

And those who do follow the rules will be rewarded with market share... Maybe they will even start hiring more people to make up for the shorter work hours."

Yuqi slowly nodded her head, her mind seemingly having wrapped around Xiaoyun's thinking process.

"Okay then, now that you have understood how to tackle this issue, I'll go deal with the material shortages."

"Wait. Babe, can you come over here for a second?"

Xiaoyun was a little surprised by her sudden tone change, but he didn't think too much about it as he walked around the desk.

Standing beside Yuqi, his eyes widened a little in shock as she got up from her seat and kissed him right on the lips.

She didn't dare to stick her tongue out as she quickly seperated on her own, leaving him hanging as she looked back into his eyes.

"Muah!"

"Qiqi, you..."

"Don't call me Qiqi, call me darling."

Yuqi shyly stated, her face blushing red as she tried to maintain her assertive tone while sitting back down.

"Darling... That scared me a little, you know."

"Sorry. I was just trying to reward you for being so smart today... Y-You can go back to your work now."

"See you later tonight."