Chapter 703

The conversation ended on a sour note, and Li Ye returned to the Supply Section. Along the way, he was again pointed at by some factory employees, and a few he could name even came over to chat with him.

"Li Ye, I saw you coming out of Director Xiao's office, and I also saw Director Lu. They weren't looking for you for something, were they?"

"Of course they were. Director Xiao said he wanted to nominate me for Outstanding Party Member and even said he wanted to promote me!"

"Whoa, that's a good thing!"

"That's for sure. Can anything that falls on me be a bad thing? It's a great thing~"

"Is that so? Then you'll have to treat us to a meal. I'll cast my vote for you when the selection voting comes around..."

"Hahahaha, then I'll have to thank you~"

Li Ye joked with his colleagues, his smile very bright, but those colleagues always felt it was a bit chilling after seeing it.

Just as he was about to return to the Supply Section, Li Ye saw his master, Old Ding, smoking downstairs.

Li Ye smiled and said: "Master, are you out here cooling off?"

Old Ding smiled helplessly and said: "It's the middle of winter and you're talking about cooling off—you're really funny. I'm waiting for you!"

Li Ye smiled: "Then Master, are you worried about me?"

Old Ding sighed, and while leading Li Ye to a quiet place, he said: "I know you're like Sun Wukong and naturally don't fear any monsters, but some things can't be solved with just a golden cudgel.

I originally thought about tipping you off first so your family could be prepared, but I didn't expect them to be so impatient. Honestly, if you don't handle this kind of underhanded trick well, the spit alone could drown you..."

Li Ye knew what his master Old Ding meant.

In this era, male-female relationships were still very pure; men and women wouldn't even dare to close the door when in the same room. Once people started gossiping, you couldn't explain it even if you had a mouth all over your body; even if you went to the hospital to get a virginity certificate, it wouldn't work.

Because hugging and cuddling wasn't normal behavior. As a married man, you could only hug your own wife; hugging someone else was not allowed.

So Old Ding's meaning was for Li Ye to quickly find connections in his family to nip this rumor in the bud as soon as possible.

Li Ye chuckled and said: "Master, don't worry, they can't drown me. But I don't quite understand—I haven't provoked anyone, so why are they so eager to kill me?"

「. 」

Old Ding was silent for a moment. He didn't answer directly but instead talked about his own past.

"When I first joined the factory, I was also valued by a leader. I was promoted to deputy section chief at a young age—my future was looking bright..."

"But later, there was a power transition in the factory. Several people qualified to sit in the top chair fought each other, and the innocent were caught in the crossfire. I didn't even know what I did wrong at the time, and then for over twenty years, I didn't move an inch—I'm still just a deputy section chief."

Li Ye was surprised and pointed to the factory director's office building: "What, is there a change in the factory's personnel?"

Old Ding chuckled and said: "You're actually asking me this? Why did Deputy Manager Ma come here from such a large unit as COFCO? He's in his early forties and already at the department level—do you think he'll still be at the department level in ten years?"

"They might not be able to guess that you're on the same line as Deputy Manager Ma, but you had a falling out with Guan Liang, which clearly shows you're not willing to be on their line either. A local official is no match for the one in charge—you must be cautious in your words and actions."

"Thank you, Master, I understand."

Li Ye nodded, finally understanding.

Perhaps ever since he refused to be "recruited as a lackey" by Guan Liang, Li Ye's path to promotion was destined to be "exciting."

When people from two different lines clash, what right or wrong is there?

COFCO invested in the Qingqi Company, and Ma Zhaoxian was transferred here from a deputy department-level position to serve as deputy manager. The Qingqi Company's unit level was low, and there were only two spots for advancement. It wasn't just Ma Zhaoxian who had his eye on these two spots.

And the radishes already in the spots were only in their early fifties. If they wanted to make room for Ma Zhaoxian, they would have to find spots higher up.

Even if there were spots above, didn't he have other radishes under him? If you don't think about the future of your own subordinates and watch as an outsider rockets up, how can you be the big brother of this faction?

A leader promotes subordinates for two reasons: first, to share in the achievements to increase their own bargaining chips for further promotion, and second, to extend their power to consolidate their control.

Whose achievements does Li Ye's work count as? And whose power does he consolidate when he gets it?

If you don't listen, if you don't take a side, won't they just manipulate you?

Mainland enterprises have an unwritten ideology: it's fine for outsiders to invest money, but they absolutely must not touch the unit's power; they must strictly guard against "power seizure."

So when two big radishes clash, it inevitably leads to a bunch of outsider radishes suffering.

Hong Kong capital and Ma Zhaoxian were both latecomers. If Li Ye was on these two lines, even if he was superficially excellent and clearly had some background, he would still be hit to make way for their own people.

In the capital, who doesn't have connections in the ministries? Are they afraid of you?

。。。。。。。。。

Originally, according to Master Old Ding's arrangement, Li Ye was supposed to coordinate the contract for the new car audio recorders, but Li Ye didn't want to "avoid the limelight," so he handed the job to Pan Dachuan.

Then Li Ye sat in the unit for the whole day, seeing many colleagues who came to the Supply Section to "chat" by chance, and accepted their sneaky glances.

Looking at the speed at which this matter was spreading, if anyone told Li Ye that no one was fanning the flames, he wouldn't believe it even if he died.

【Guan Liang has quite a lot of connections! Hmph hmph~】

By the afternoon, Li Ye pondered for a while and still made a call to Watching Liu Muhan's unit.

This matter involved Watching Liu Muhan, so Li Ye had to discuss countermeasures with her—not only to avoid damaging her reputation but also to take the opportunity to give Guan Liang a sound thrashing.

But Li Ye only found out after calling that Watching Liu Muhan was still on a business trip abroad and wouldn't be back for at least a week.

【Should I let the bullets fly for a week?】

After Li Ye got off work and picked up Watching Wen Leyu, he explained the whole thing clearly in the car.

This kind of thing must be told honestly to one's spouse; it's better to be quick about it. If the wife were the last to know and got jealous, that would be fun.

Watching Wen Leyu didn't get jealous; instead, she asked suspiciously: "Is this another case of someone sending a pillow when you're sleepy? I'll ask Uncle Ma later to see what his plans are."

After arriving home, Li Ye went to the kitchen to cook, and Watching Wen Leyu called Ma Zhaoxian.

"Oh, Xiao Yu! I only found out about this the day before yesterday. I've already called your father, and he even blamed me..."

"But don't worry, Xiao Yu, I will definitely drag out the person who is spreading rumors and making trouble. But could you let Li Ye endure it for a few days..."

"Oh, okay, Uncle Ma. I'll persuade Li Ye properly later; he was furious today. The person in the photo is someone we should call Auntie by seniority..."

「. 」

By the time Li Ye finished cooking and came back, Watching Wen Leyu had already found out everything.

"Uncle Ma said this is an opportunity. Your unit held a meeting a few days ago and has already decided to trial the ISO management standard. The big factory director is personally in charge, and Guan Liang is the team leader of the trial group."

As an outsider transferred to the Qingqi Company, Ma Zhaoxian definitely needed an opportunity to open up the situation, and the trial of the ISO standard was an opportunity. Therefore, the timing of taking down Guan Liang and who to replace him with needed to be precisely grasped.

After Watching Wen Leyu finished speaking, she smiled and said: "After this happened, Uncle Ma immediately told my dad. It seems they both believe you're innocent."

"What do you mean 'believe I'm innocent'? I was innocent to begin with."

Li Ye kept calling it an injustice, but then he said: "Do you think I should call your dad to explain? You're pregnant, and if he thinks the wrong thing..."

Li Ye said halfway, and his brows furrowed deeply.

With his wife pregnant at home and her husband involved in a scandal outside, how vicious was Guan Liang's intention this time?

But Watching Wen Leyu, while slurping her food, said carelessly: "It's fine, I'll just tell my dad later. You've been wronged and are in a bad mood, and you still have to apologize to him? Isn't that making things difficult for you?"

「. 」

After dinner, Watching Wen Leyu indeed talked on the phone with Wen Qingsheng and Teacher Ke for a long time, during which she kept letting out "giggle" laughter.

Li Ye sighed softly and couldn't help but pinch his nose.

Watching Wen Leyu was a cold and quiet girl, but today her laughter was more than it had been in the past week combined,

because the better the daughter's mood, the more at ease her father would be.

After Watching Wen Leyu finished her phone marathon with her parents, she told Li Ye: "Dad wants us to go home for dinner this weekend.

Also, he said to let you try to solve this matter yourself first; if you can't solve it, he'll solve it for you."

「. 」

Well, the father-in-law is angry.

But is he angry at him, Li Ye? Or is he angry at Guan Liang?

Sigh, having a formidable father-in-law puts so much pressure on a son-in-law!