Chapter 2263: Aligning with Zhou Andong

The director of the Sales Department is named Tian Hongwei. He has just crossed the threshold of forty years old this year. He cannot be considered young and promising, but he is in his prime.

If he is lucky enough to cross the hurdle of deputy department level in the next five years, then before officially retiring, as long as he follows the rules and doesn't make any mistakes, getting a deputy ministerial position shouldn't be too much of a problem.

However, judging solely from the current situation of the Woolen Mill, there is almost no possibility for him to go any further.

Even if he wants to find connections to jump out of the Woolen Mill, no matter which unit he goes to, he will probably only get a sinecure. One must know that every unit has a radish for every hole, and good positions certainly won't fall to him.

Thus, after careful consideration, he simply chose to resign himself to fate and stay at the Woolen Mill for the time being. After all, he has worked here for twenty years and is already familiar with the people and things here.

Compared to going to an unfamiliar environment to adapt and explore again, it is more comfortable to stay in a place he is familiar with. Anyway, it's all about grinding out seniority; it's the same wherever he grinds it.

Just when he had completely given up, a shocking piece of news cut through the sky like a thunderbolt: Zhou Andong was about to be transferred to the Woolen Mill to serve as the factory director.

This news set off a stormy sea in his heart like a heavy bomb. It is no exaggeration to say that on the day he learned this news, he didn't sleep well all night.

Zhou Andong's ability is beyond doubt. In all of China, you can't find anyone better at doing business than Zhou Andong, especially with his abundant capital and resources.

When Zhou Andong agreed to take over as the factory director of the Woolen Mill, he would definitely go all out, sparing no effort to support the Woolen Mill, constantly pouring his own funds and resources into it. And the higher-ups choosing to let Zhou Andong serve as the factory director, besides his ability, is probably one of the most important reasons.

It's just that no one knows the situation of the Woolen Mill better than he does. It is a huge pond with no bottom, the pond water is filthy, and under the surface is nothing but rotten mud. Being in it, he naturally couldn't stay untainted.

If Zhou Andong, after taking office, were to rectify the various deep-seated problems in the factory with bold strokes, clearing out the rotten mud in the pond and filtering the murky water, he would naturally find it hard to escape being liquidated, which made him feel a chill rise up his spine. That night, he really tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night.

And what he didn't expect was that the next day, the factory director personally found him and had an in-depth conversation. Immediately after, on the third day, the secretary called him over as well.

The core content of the two conversations was identical: demanding that he must firmly control the Sales Department in his own hands and unite the forces above and below, thereby achieving the marginalization of Zhou Andong's power.

In the days that followed, Tian Hongwei was always immersed in repeated thinking about this matter. If everyone in the factory could really work together and be united, then Zhou Andong's orders would certainly not even be able to leave the office.

However, what is worth thinking about is whether the more than 200 cadres at the section level and above in the entire factory can really think in one place and exert effort in one direction, tightly condensing into a powerful force to resist Zhou Andong?

In his view, the possibility of success is not high. Because there are many people, the hearts are mixed, and the Woolen Mill is not a solid piece of iron; various forces are intricately intertwined like a dense web.

There are all kinds of small circles and small groups, each acting in its own way, fighting openly and secretly, calculating against each other.

Some small circles take leaders as the core, pulling in some confidants to form their own sphere of influence. Others are alliances based on common interests or backgrounds.

These small circles and small groups check and depend on each other, making the situation of the entire Woolen Mill unusually subtle and very balanced.

However, as long as Zhou Andong takes office and doesn't kill them all, this subtle balance will inevitably be broken. Some people, out of certain interests, will naturally align with him.

By then, their so-called alliance will immediately become a joke. And this possibility is very high. Differentiating a batch, pulling in a batch, suppressing a batch, and dealing with a batch—with Zhou Andong's wisdom and means, doing these things is not a difficult task.

Therefore, Zhou Andong serving as the factory director of the Woolen Mill is both a crisis and an opportunity; the key lies in how much force Zhou Andong uses to clear the silt.

If Zhou Andong kills them all, everyone will inevitably unite for self-preservation. By then, the resistance will certainly be very fierce, and it will be very difficult for Zhou Andong to carry out his work normally.

If Zhou Andong, as he analyzed, differentiates a batch, pulls in a batch, suppresses a batch, and deals with a batch, he will inevitably grasp the right to speak very quickly, and only then will the subsequent bold reforms of the Woolen Mill go smoothly.

Zhou Andong, such a wise person, will certainly not choose to kill them all. That would not only have no benefits for him but would have many disadvantages.

When Tian Hongwei figured all this out, he couldn't suppress his excitement. He knew his own affairs; for so many years, he had received many gifts, but not much money.

After all, in this position, and in a special state-owned enterprise like the Woolen Mill, some gifts were sent to his hands, and he had to take them.

As for the money, after Zhou Andong takes office, he will hand it over at the first opportunity, and then nothing will happen.

Thus, Tian Hongwei began to calculate in his heart how he could establish contact with Zhou Andong, and it had to be before he officially took office.

Only by walking ahead of everyone, only by aligning with Zhou Andong before everyone else reacted, would he be the first minister to follow the dragon once the Woolen Mill's restructuring succeeded. By then, even if he couldn't go to a branch factory to serve as a director, serving as a deputy director at the main factory shouldn't be a problem, right?

Just when he was racking his brains and looking for ways to connect with Zhou Andong, one day his wife mentioned in casual conversation that his cousin Hu Lan, who had almost no connection with his family and was eight poles away, had actually become related to Zhou Andong!

The moment he heard this, Tian Hongwei was so excited that his heart almost stopped. Hu Lan is the daughter of his distant cousin. Although they work in the same factory, they almost never meet except for meetings.

And the two families didn't interact, so even if they met occasionally, they would at most nod to each other.

After his wife told him that Hu Lan's sister-in-law had gotten engaged to Zhou Andong's younger brother, Tian Hongwei's originally somewhat confused eyes lit up instantly, as if a candle in the dark had been suddenly lit.

Immediately after, he grabbed the phone on the coffee table and called the Publicity Section of the Jinshiguang Fashion Factory, finding the deputy section chief, Hu Lan.

First, he was polite for a few sentences, then implicitly expressed that he wanted to see Zhou Andong and hoped Hu Lan could help, to see when Chairman Zhou would be convenient.

Hu Lan could serve as the deputy section chief of the Publicity Section at Jinshiguang, so she was naturally not a stupid person. Otherwise, even with a father-in-law at the ministerial level, she would have been eaten clean.

And so, when she heard Tian Hongwei's words, she instantly understood that he intended to align with Zhou Andong. This was definitely a good thing for Zhou Andong.

But Hu Lan didn't rush to agree to Tian Hongwei's invitation, but instead, after communicating with Zhou Andong, set the meeting time for the afternoon of the 1st.

Originally, Tian Hongwei was thinking of finding a restaurant with a better environment, where everyone could sit down and drink while chatting, so as to enhance their relationship.

But Zhou Andong didn't agree, deciding to go to the Woolen Mill himself, and by the way, wander around the factory and take a look.

…………………………

At this time, Tian Hongwei had already brewed tea—it was Pu'er that he couldn't bear to drink himself, which he had treasured for several years. Even if he didn't drink it, smelling the heat rising from the teacup, it carried a rich tea fragrance.

It's just that, seeing Zhou Andong not coming for a long time, he began to feel a bit anxious, his mind constantly thinking about whether Zhou Andong wouldn't come, or if something had delayed him.

Tian Hongwei looked up at the quartz clock on the wall from time to time, and then cast his gaze toward the office door. Time seemed to become unusually long, as if every second were infinitely stretched.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Finally, a knock came at the tightly closed office door. Tian Hongwei sprang up from his seat as if electrocuted, his body reacting subconsciously.

He quickly took two big steps, reaching the door in the blink of an eye, then reached out to grab the doorknob, pulled hard, and opened the door.

However, when he saw that it was Wu Daijun standing outside the door, he was so angry that he opened his mouth to scold, "You damn thing, why did you come back right after leaving?"

But before he could scold, he saw Zhou Andong, Gu Bing, and Hu Lan appear at the door one after another, making the greeting that Tian Hongwei was about to rush out of his throat be forcibly held back.

His complexion changed instantly, and the previous anger and dissatisfaction disappeared without a trace in an instant. Replacing it was a face full of smiles, and then he quickly reached out his hand, just about to speak, when he saw Zhou Andong wave his hand.

Tian Hongwei once again swallowed the words that had surged to his lips, and that feeling of grievance almost gave him internal injuries.

But he still smiled all over his face and respectfully made a gesture of invitation.

"Please come in, please come in!"

Following his enthusiastic greeting, Zhou Andong walked into the office, with Gu Bing and Hu Lan following closely behind. Seeing this, Wu Daijun thought in his heart that he should hurry in to pour water and light a cigarette, so he could perform well in front of the director.

But who would have thought that just as he lifted his foot to enter the door, he was blocked by Tian Hongwei: "Alright, there's nothing for you here, go do whatever you need to do. If there's anything you need to do, I will naturally send someone to find you."

Hearing this, Wu Daijun couldn't help but be stunned on the spot, but soon he came to his senses and hurriedly nodded in response: "I have nothing to do, how about I wait outside the door? In case there's anything, you can order me at any time."

After hearing this, Tian Hongwei shook his head slightly. This young man, who usually looked quite clever, why did he become so unobservant today?

Subsequently, he ignored Wu Daijun, turned around, gently closed the office door, and then walked quickly toward Zhou Andong, reaching out both hands early.

"Chairman Zhou, it is truly a great honor to meet you."

Zhou Andong smiled and shook hands with Tian Hongwei, responding at the same time: "Director Tian is too polite. Speaking of which, that you could take the initiative to contact me really made me feel a bit surprised.

But at the same time, it also made me feel very gratified. After all, from this matter, one can see that your original intention has never changed, and there is still conscience and a bottom line in your heart. This is also the main reason I agreed to see you."

"Chairman Zhou, no, I should call you Factory Director." Tian Hongwei said sincerely: "Factory Director, I was so anxious to see you because I wanted to confess some problems to the organization."

This guy Tian Hongwei also has a heart with seven apertures. Now that Zhou Andong hasn't taken office yet, he said he wanted to confess problems to the organization, which has two meanings.

One, publicly support Zhou Andong and clarify his own stance. Two, hand over his own handle to Zhou Andong, showing his determination and letting Zhou Andong rest assured.

Zhou Andong raised his eyebrows slightly. He really didn't expect Tian Hongwei to be so straightforward; he hadn't said two sentences before he handed over his trump card.

"Director Tian, let me introduce you first." Zhou Andong pointed to Gu Bing and said: "Gu Bing, who is about to serve as the Party Committee Secretary of the Woolen Mill."

"Ah?"

Tian Hongwei said "ah," the secretary and the factory director actually came together; he was really shocked.

When Zhou Andong was about to serve as the factory director of the Woolen Mill, the name Gu Bing naturally entered their line of sight.

But Zhou Andong's light was too dazzling, and most people ignored Gu Bing because they all thought.

Gu Bing was arranged to come in by some leader, and besides needing to cooperate with Zhou Andong to carry out reforms, it was also for the sake of checks and balances.

But no one thought that this Gu Shuji would be Zhou Andong's opponent, even Tian Hongwei had such thoughts.

Even Hu Dajun had revealed to him that when this Gu Shuji took office, he would pull him over to become their ally.

In this way, even if Zhou Andong had heaven-reaching abilities, but as a lone commander, a factory director who couldn't even get orders out of the office, what else could he do?

Tian Hongwei was only surprised for a moment, then reached out his hand again: "Gu Shuji, I really didn't recognize you, I'm so sorry."

"You don't need to say polite words." Gu Bing shook hands with Tian Hongwei: "In the future, cooperate well in your work and complete the tasks assigned by the organization; it will be of great benefit to you and to us."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Tian Hongwei nodded in agreement, but in his heart, he was thinking about Hu Dajun, who actually wanted to pull over this Gu Shuji—it was simply a joke. Being able to come over with Zhou Andong proved that the relationship between the two was extraordinary.

"Alright, let's all sit down and talk."

Several people all sat down, and Zhou Andong first spoke: "This time, Gu Shuji and I came to see you together mainly to understand the current situation of the Woolen Mill.

As the director of the Sales Department of the Woolen Mill, you must know the situation in the factory like the back of your hand. Now tell us about it. And you have to be mentally prepared; perhaps I will add some burdens to you." ===== CHAPTER 2264 =====