Chapter 352: The Best Opportunity

When the director of the Reform Committee interrogated him with a question, Secretary Song was also a bit stunned.

Tan Kaiping returned to oversee the Snow Removal Machine Project, and only a few insiders knew; the workers were unaware.

Worried about causing a bad impact, Tan Kaiping normally could not come to the Factory Area and kept a low profile at home.

When he was forced to visit the factory site to inspect issues, it was always late at night, after the workers had all left.

Most of the time, if an unsolvable difficulty arose unexpectedly, it was Pan Jihai and a few other leaders who went to inquire.

This demonstrated Tan Kaiping's professional ability; even without commanding on site, he could still win battles on paper from thousands of miles away.

When Lu Cheng suddenly mentioned the name "Tan Kaiping" at the conference, many did not recognize it, but some veteran workers' thoughts quickly returned to the past.

Their Chief Engineer Tan Zonggong was an old revolutionary; at work, diligent and responsible, he had led workers to overcome many difficulties, and in dealing with people, he was kind and amiable—any worker in trouble would always receive Tan's personal financial help.

Such an impeccable person was suddenly transferred to the Farm because of an academic issue.

They didn't understand what an academic problem was; they only knew that Chief Engineer Tan was a good person.

But when they heard Lu Cheng say that Chief Engineer Tan also participated in this Snow Removal Machine Project, many veteran workers started looking around, searching for that familiar figure.

"Has Chief Engineer Tan returned? Where is he? Why haven't we seen him?"

"I don't know, but it should be true; for the Snow Removal Machine to be produced so quickly, only Chief Engineer Tan could have done it."

"But Chief Engineer Tan was transferred to the Farm, his hat hasn't even been taken off; how could he return to oversee the work…"

Hearing the rising chatter, Secretary Song's face showed some displeasure; he wasn't trying to erase Chief Engineer Tan's merits, but the special status made such discussion at a conference overly impactful.

This young comrade from Capital City was too bold, not considering what kind of occasion this was!

Secretary Song was just about to order Lu Cheng to be pulled down when Dean Gao of the Iron Institute spoke up.

"Let him continue; whatever happens, I'm responsible."

Dean Gao still admired this young comrade; when Lu Cheng first went to the Iron Institute to host a project, he didn't take it seriously, assuming Captain Lei had personally arranged the call, so he just gave a casual title.

What he didn't expect was that the kid acted with poise, actively coordinating various resources, greatly advancing the project's progress.

But today his impression of Lu Cheng inevitably changed anew.

This fellow clearly likes to earn merit, yet isn't greedy for it; the key is his sense of gratitude.

For example, today he dared to bring up Chief Engineer Tan, who contributed the most, in front of so many people; few can do that.

Sure enough, the newborn calf isn't afraid of the tiger; Dean Gao likes this vigorous young man.

But Secretary Song was a bit at a loss; he exchanged a glance with the Reform Committee director, saw the other didn't intervene, and said nothing further.

Anyway, those from Capital City aren't afraid, so they have even less reason to be.

Lu Cheng noticed the situation here and gratefully nodded to Dean Gao.

"Tan Kaiping is a good comrade; in this Snow Removal Machine Project, he made many contributions. Of course, I know everyone must have doubts—how could Chief Engineer Tan, clearly not in the Factory Area, have directed the work?"

Regarding this question, I can tell everyone clearly that Chief Engineer Tan has always been working behind the scenes, and his toil is no less than any of ours.

Because of his special status, he cannot be on site today, but we must not forget his achievements because of that…

…

In a small farmhouse, Xiaoli pulled his father out.

"Xiaoli, it's daytime now; Dad can't go out."

"Dad, come out quickly, I heard Brother Lu Cheng's voice."

Tan Kaiping had just yesterday heard his son muttering, asking why Brother Lu Cheng, now in Shencheng, didn't come to stay at home.

"Xiaoli, your Brother Lu Cheng is attending the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony today, and is certainly speaking on stage right now."

Xiaoli knew he had just gone to the site with his friends to watch.

"Dad, listen quickly, Brother Lu Cheng mentioned you at the conference."

"Mentioned me?" Tan Kaiping couldn't help but frown; he knew his status gave him no right to be mentioned at the conference.

But when he pried his ears open and listened carefully, although the loudspeaker's voice was faint, he could still discern that Lu Cheng was indeed speaking of his contributions.

"Dad, did you hear?"

Tan Kaiping lightly nodded; he heard it—his name was so abrupt that everyone turned pale when speaking of him, how could he not hear it?

"Dad, just now at the conference, those senior leaders didn't dare mention you; only Brother Lu Cheng did. Lu Cheng is a good man; he hasn't forgotten you."

At this moment, Tan Kaiping felt very conflicted—on one hand worried about affecting Lu Cheng, on the other hand, hearing the three words "Tan Kaiping" spoken at the conference gave him a sudden feeling of standing in the sunlight.

Chief Engineer Tan's wife also came out, patting her son's head: "Xiaoli, you should learn from Brother Lu Cheng and become a person who knows how to repay gratitude in the future."

Xiaoli nodded heavily: "I know, Mom. In the future I also want to become a Train Police and help Brother Lu Cheng."

Tan Kaiping smiled with satisfaction; his wife, her gaze complex, said: "Old Tan, the Snow Removal Machine Project is finished, and your mission is complete. Our family being together this long has already been blessed by Lu Cheng's fortune."

Tan Kaiping nodded; he knew what his wife meant: "Yes, my issue hasn't been clarified yet; I can't keep holding Lu Cheng back. You go tidy up some things for me; today I will return to the Farm."

Chief Engineer Tan's wife looked full of reluctance, but even so she knew she couldn't involve Lu Cheng; having the family reunited for this period already satisfied her greatly.

"Won't you come in and tidy up with me?"

Chief Engineer Tan shook his head: "I'll listen a bit longer."

Chief Engineer Tan's wife shook her head helplessly; her husband said he didn't care, but in his heart he clearly longed to return to the Factory Area and earn the comrades' approval.

Tan Kaiping stood there, hands clasped behind his back, and from the loudspeaker he heard Lu Cheng begin speaking again about Railway reform, which brought a satisfied smile to Tan Kaiping's face.

He felt this young comrade had a certain spirit and would surely achieve great things in the future.

After Lu Cheng finished his speech over there, Pan Jihai was already sweating nervously.

"Lu Jingzhang, why didn't you follow the script?"

Lu Cheng stepped forward: "Sorry, Director Pan, the sudden change in speech was unavoidable. Chief Engineer Tan did so much; we couldn't even omit his name, right?"

Pan Jihai couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, I've felt the same way; I even wanted Chief Engineer Tan to attend the conference, but his status doesn't allow it."

"That's why I deliberately brought it up in front of so many people today, so I could rehabilitate Chief Engineer Tan."

Pan Jihai was surprised: "You want to rehabilitate Chief Engineer Tan?"

Lu Cheng shook his head slightly: "It should be said that many workers here want to rehabilitate Tan Zonggong, and today is the best opportunity."

"Today is the best opportunity? Lu Jingzhang, what do you want to do?"