Chapter 1415: Arrogant and Self-Indulgent

What is Yin Zhongyao doing back at the Group company?

This brings us to the recent personnel changes at the Steel City Metallurgical Plant, specifically regarding the appointments of key personnel in various offices and divisions.

Starting from the end of March, the Leadership Group Office took the lead in organizing a fixed asset audit covering all industrial enterprises under the Group in Liaodong.

Accompanying the audit work was a personnel assessment campaign, a response to the organizational structure reform action for all industrial enterprises in Liaodong under the Group, which had been issued by Group Secretary-General Li Xuewu at the beginning of March.

In fact, this was not limited to the Group's industrial enterprises in Liaodong; since the beginning of this year, the entire Group had undergone a unified organizational structure reform.

In principle, apart from the Group level, other management branches would no longer establish management committees; all management structures were to revert to a business leadership responsibility system.

Factories implemented a factory director responsibility system, while branches implemented a general manager responsibility system. Business and organizational work were divided by level and layer, with resources uniformly allocated and managed by the Group's major departments, while business operations were decentralized.

To put it simply, apart from business operations, the Group maintained highly centralized management, while business operations were instead decentralized for management.

Previously, factories did not have independent financial management authority, but now they did. Previously, branches did not have independent decision-making authority, but now they did too. Branches also gained relatively independent personnel management rights.

The benefits of doing this were obvious: branches became more flexible and competitive in responding to market changes and business adjustments.

However, for personnel work, this created an invisible and intangible ceiling—the so-called organizational structure barrier.

Previously, personnel between sub-factories or branches and the main factory were interchangeable. Those with connections could go from the main factory to a sub-factory, or return from a sub-factory to the main factory, as long as there was a position and a person in charge willing to accept them.

But after the organizational structure reform, the Group's organizational personnel structure was reshuffled, and the management of branches also underwent a certain degree of adjustment and integration, diluting personal relationships significantly.

Now, to be transferred down from the Group company, one must possess certain capabilities or meet business needs. For example, if there are young cadres who need cultivation, they can be placed in suitable positions for training, or if a branch has technical or special positions requiring specific talent support, then they can be dispatched downward.

The practice and method of promoting people by transferring them to branches instead of conducting organizational assessments became history starting this year. According to the latest organizational structure management measures, all positions and duties require assessment and competition.

If cadres in branches or sub-factories want to advance, they must first break out of their own factory's competitive circle, be discovered through assessment by the Group company, and then either be transferred horizontally for training or assigned to a suitable position.

The decentralization and centralization of personnel power emerged in two directions. One direction was that sub-factories and branches gained higher management authority over their own cadres, while also needing to bear the necessary responsibilities for this management authority.

The Group unified the management of position transfers between units and the Group, which to a certain extent stabilized morale and reinforced the sense of responsibility and initiative of grassroots and middle-level management cadres.

In a word, you only get ahead if you do a good job; if you don't, then that's it. There must never again be any of those sordid affairs of changing locations just to slack off.

So, some might ask, from the perspective of Group management, shouldn't this policy be an inevitable process for an enterprise to adjust its management methods after developing to a certain extent? What is Yin Zhongyao opposing?

It's very simple. He is not opposing the Group's management policy, but the person executing the policy. He hates Li Xuewu; he hates that the person executing the personnel reform and management structure adjustment is Li Xuewu and not him.

Therefore, he wants to return to the Group company to report problems, to report on Li Xuewu's overbearing style in Liaodong and at the Steel City Metallurgical Plant.

Actually, at first, Yin Zhongyao didn't want to return to the capital. After all, he's an old fox of many years; how could he tear off the mask and confront Li Xuewu right here?

However, there's no shortage of bad people to stir up trouble. When the audit team launched a comprehensive asset inventory of the Group's industrial enterprises in Liaodong, the method of handing over clues to the Discipline Inspection Department as soon as they were found truly scared many people.

From the day the audit team moved into each unit on March 31st, the doorsteps of the heads and leaders in charge of each unit were almost kicked down; it was truly a bustling scene.

The old women at home were complaining that life was unbearable; there were even people coming to their homes to give gifts in the middle of the night.

This was still a normal reaction; there were also abnormal ones.

You tell me, in this day and age, where are there any proper temples or Taoist shrines left? But don't say that; people who have done too many guilty things can always find alternative ways to solve problems.

If you can't find monks or old Taoists, then find a Shaman; if you can't embrace the Buddha's feet, then invite an immortal to descend to earth.

Good heavens, it was a foul atmosphere, with rumors flying everywhere. Today this one was investigated, tomorrow that one was taken away. Yin Zhongyao, who was in charge of personnel work, was quite passive.

Those who had guilty consciences didn't dare to go and question Li Xuewu, so they all came knocking on his door.

In a word, whose idea was it to conduct the audit and personnel assessment at the same time? If you, Vice Factory Director Yin, want to curry favor with the Secretary-General, there's no need to use us as scapegoats.

Good heavens, Yin Zhongyao was sitting at home when disaster struck from the sky; he was both aggrieved and angry.

Especially when someone instigated him, deliberately listening to his explanation first, and then goading him that this matter could not be tolerated.

"Factory Director Yin, this matter cannot be tolerated!"

"That's right! If we tolerate this, today it's us, and tomorrow it will be you!"

"Everyone, don't make things difficult for the leader. The leader isn't having an easy time either; how could he afford to offend that person!"

Now you can see what "don't fear bad things, just fear bad people" means, right? Yin Zhongyao was in a bind.

He was now stuck; he couldn't advance and he couldn't retreat. If he showed weakness in front of his old subordinates at this time, he couldn't expect to have any say or do anything in the Metallurgical Plant in the future, let alone expect everyone to support him.

Furthermore, he was the one who first proposed the personnel assessment and adjustment opinions at the meeting, and Li Xuewu was the one who directly rejected them at the meeting. How did it turn out that Li Xuewu was the one leading the organization of this action?

He was unconvinced. Li Xuewu was the top leader of the Metallurgical Plant, but he was also the leader in charge of personnel work at the Metallurgical Plant. Why didn't he respect his opinions?

Therefore, Vice Factory Director Yin decisively went to the Group company amidst everyone's shouts of "support."

Now the audit and discipline inspection teams were encountering difficulties. These cadres were all waiting for good news from Vice Factory Director Yin, and one by one, they chose silence.

Faced with this kind of non-cooperative behavior, the working group fed the situation back to the Leadership Group Office. Now it was Zhang Jing's turn to report this situation to Li Xuewu.

After listening to Zhang Jing's report, Li Xuewu said with a very calm expression: "No one has the qualification to resist the audit and investigation. Handle it according to relevant management regulations."

"Alright, I understand."

Seeing the leader's stern tone, Zhang Jing responded softly and returned to the office. Before long, he issued a notice to each working group in the form of an official document. The notice required the comrades of the working groups to be conscientious and responsible, to actively handle the problems encountered in their work, and if there were any intentional delays or resistance to organizational work, to first report them to the Organization Section for suspension and handling.

"Oh my, Director Liao, look at this—oh my, tsk tsk, you take a look, oh my—"

Zhou Yongyuan, Deputy Li Kezhang of the Finance Section, knocked on the door of Liao Jinhui's office with the notice document. As a result, after entering the door, he only focused on shaking the document; he didn't say a single proper word, just a bunch of nonsense.

Liao Jinhui glanced at him, then looked at the door behind him, secretly hating that this bastard was truly difficult to deal with.

Earlier, when people went to block the door of Vice Factory Director Yin's house, he had thought about the "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold" routine. As a result, Vice Factory Director Yin went to the capital, and he became the shield.

That's right, he had been very low-key recently, thinking that a smooth landing would be best, even if it meant retiring to the second line or being adjusted to some small unit to wait for retirement; just don't fire him directly.

The more low-key he was, the more people thought about him. These bastards couldn't stand to see him doing well, and they didn't want him to be the only one to have a smooth landing, so they came to annoy him every day.

Isn't that right? Just as Zhang Jing issued the notice, Zhou Yongyuan came knocking on the door.

With his little thoughts, Liao Jinhui could see it even with the corn on his inflamed big toe.

"Sit, sit, what is it that's so urgent? Did you get promoted again?"

These words were meant to brush off Zhou Yongyuan, and also to remind Zhou Yongyuan to stop while he was ahead and not to talk nonsense.

The Metallurgical Plant's Finance Division was reformed into a Finance Section, and Zhou Yongyuan, the former Deputy Li Kezhang of the Finance Division, was retained.

It must be said that Li Xuewu gave full consideration during this organizational structure adjustment process. He saw the "clear water has no fish" routine very clearly.

But there were just some people who were short-sighted, never satisfied with taking advantage, and even lacked gratitude and repentance. Faced with the high-pressure situation of the Group implementing comprehensive organizational work reform, they still acted recklessly, neither stopping nor letting go.

Let's put it this way: even Liao Jinhui himself couldn't stand the conduct of Zhou Yongyuan and his ilk.

Could he not know the purpose of these bastards instigating Vice Factory Director Yin to go to the Group company?

Regarding these people, Liao Jinhui only wanted to say that pitiful people must have hateful aspects, and they deserve to die.

"Promoted? Promoted to what? Promoted to heaven, more like—"

Zhou Yongyuan acted crazily, slapped the document in his hand onto Liao Jinhui's desk, and without caring about politeness, sat down on the chair opposite.

Liao Jinhui frowned slightly. Even if he was a phoenix without feathers that was no better than a chicken, he was still a cadre of some rank. Could he really be treated with such contempt?

Since he took the position of Office Director, no one had ever been so presumptuous as to run wild in his office.

Slamming the table? Even Director Dong and Secretary-General Li had never treated him like that. What right did Zhou Yongyuan have?

Zhou Yongyuan perhaps saw that Liao Jinhui was displeased, but he didn't care, because in his view, this phoenix Liao Jinhui was just a bird without feathers, no better than a chicken.

"Just for this? Is it worth it?"

Liao Jinhui couldn't be bothered to engage with the other party. At this moment, he wanted to keep a low profile and was even less willing to invite trouble. Therefore, he chose to endure it, just treating it as a dog barking.

"You still haven't seen it, have you—"

Zhou Yongyuan pushed the notification document that Liao Jinhui had pushed back toward him once more, and pointing at the last sentence on it, he reminded him: "What do you call this? You tell me."

"What do you call this?" Liao Jinhui only glanced at it, then looked into his eyes and asked indifferently.

"Do I still need to tell you what this is called?"

Zhou Yongyuan said with eyes full of indignation: "What does he take us cadres of the metallurgical plant for? Lambs to be slaughtered at will? Suspending us whenever he says so."

"Have they suspended you?" Liao Jinhui picked up the document and began to read it, asking in a tone that remained indifferent: "How come I haven't heard of this matter?"

"It's coming soon, you'll hear about it soon—"

Zhou Yongyuan curled his lip and emphasized: "Don't play dumb with me while knowing the truth. He is clearly targeting us; he's going to reshuffle the deck!"

"Watch your tone when you speak!"

Liao Jinhui narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Zhou Yongyuan opposite him, saying: "What do you mean by playing dumb while knowing the truth, what do you mean by him targeting us, and what do you mean by a reshuffle?"

He put down the document in his hand, his tone becoming a bit more serious, and said: "How come I don't know when I understood and when I was confused?"

"Furthermore, who is targeting whom? And who are we? How come I don't understand what you're saying?"

"If you don't understand—"

Seeing that he wouldn't take his bait, Zhou Yongyuan widened his eyes and said: "Then you're just pretending."

He was also furious, slapping the document Liao Jinhui had just put down with his palm, and said: "The old saying goes that husband and wife are birds from the same forest, but when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways. I should have expected this day would come."

As he said this, he didn't care about Liao Jinhui's increasingly gloomy gaze, snatched up the document, stood up, glanced at the other party brazenly, and said: "It seems we were being sentimental. You, Director Liao, must have your own good fortune and have long since latched onto a big, thick thigh."

"There is one thing I must remind you of: since ancient times, no one has ever escaped the rule of 'when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked.' When you look for a stepping stone to please that person, don't let your eyes deceive you. If it happens to be a landmine, that would be bad; you'll be blown to the west heaven along with it."

Toot—

At this moment, Liao Jinhui's gaze was at its sharpest, shooting over like a knife, but unfortunately, Zhou Yongyuan was a madman who didn't care about his gaze at all.

Watching the other party leave his office while cursing, Liao Jinhui really wanted to curse. But he also knew that there was no point in sitting here sulking, and it was even less worth getting worked up over such a person.

Li Xuewu wanted to adjust the organization and personnel of the metallurgical plant; was this a fact known only today? Which new leader doesn't do this after taking office?

Ah, now that you're being moved, you can't sit still, jumping up and down one by one, and you even dare to go to the group company to report problems. If this isn't courting death, what is?

Zhou Yongyuan was right just now; no one can escape the game rule of "when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked." But no matter how much of a piece of work Liao Jinhui might be, he had never done the dirty deed of using people as stepping stones or as stones to cross a river.

The past is the past, and the present is the present. In the past, everyone was playing by the same rules; how he acted was a matter of his ability. If you can't play, don't play here.

Now the rules of the game have changed, and accordingly, he is also changing, trying to adapt to the new rules.

Some people can't play, can't adapt to the new rules, and always think about retreating, returning to their comfort zone. Isn't this just asking for trouble and cutting off their own roots?

He didn't believe it; Liao Jinhui absolutely did not believe that Li Xuewu had no backup plan. Yin Zhongyao's trip must have been one where he went with high hopes and returned in disappointment; no one in the group would support him.

Conversely, Li Xuewu's actions in Liaodong were open and aboveboard, completely able to withstand scrutiny.

Yin Zhongyao is going to stumble this time!

"Comrade Han Zhan of the Security Section is not bad." Yang Zongfang took a puff of his cigarette, flicked the ash into the ashtray, and said: "The Quality and Safety Division needs young cadres with ability and ideas. Let him take the lead."

"He is not very suitable; he is still a bit too young." Li Xuewu looked at the list and profile in his hand and said indifferently: "He has ability, but too many ideas and does too little."

"If you ask me, it's your requirements and standards that are too high." Yang Zongfang smiled, leaned back on the sofa with a cigarette between his fingers, looked at Li Xuewu, and said: "According to your standards, even if you pick through the cadres of this metallurgical plant, you won't be able to find a few qualified ones."

"Then let's pick carefully; what if there is gold covered by sand and soil?"

Li Xuewu smiled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said: "Selecting the virtuous and employing the capable is the first difficult problem that tests a decision-maker; both you and I must pass this test."

"Then we must also make appropriate compromises." The expression on Yang Zongfang's face became a bit more serious; he pointed his finger at Han Zhan's name on the list and emphasized: "He has been at the metallurgical plant for three years, and his work achievements are obvious to all. As his supervising leader, I must say a fair word on this point."

"The group now advocates the rejuvenation of cadres, and I think Comrade Han Zhan should receive further training and promotion in this adjustment."

He looked at Li Xuewu, nodded, and said: "This is my opinion: let him take the lead."

"Look, haven't we encountered a disagreement?"

Li Xuewu shook his head with a smile, placed the list and documents in his hand on the sofa armrest unhurriedly, and said: "This is also a good thing. Being able to hear different opinions in discussions also saves people from saying I am overbearing and acting recklessly."

"Who is acting recklessly?"

Just as Li Xuewu's voice fell, Li Haiyang walked in with a cigarette between his fingers and documents in his hand.

As soon as he entered the door, he heard this and looked at Li Xuewu with some surprise, asking: "What's going on?"

"Hehe—me—"

Li Xuewu chuckled and waved his hand, gesturing to the sofa opposite, and said: "I was talking about myself."

"What kind of talk is that?" Li Haiyang first nodded to Yang Zongfang and called him Deputy Factory Director Yang, then bent down to flick the ash into the ashtray before sitting down on the sofa Li Xuewu had gestured to.

He asked amusedly: "Is it popular to be self-effacing now? I just met Director Liao at the door, and he had the same tone, as if he was afraid I would praise him."

"His heart disease is hard to cure now, so don't provoke him." Seeing him say this, Yang Zongfang also felt it was funny, picked up his teacup, and said: "You came just in time. The Secretary-General and I have different opinions, a one-to-one tie. You come and be the referee."

"Oh? What kind of situation is this?"

Seeing that he spoke interestingly, Li Haiyang looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and asked: "What you just said, could it be because of this?"

"Hehehe—" Li Xuewu shook his head, smiled bitterly, picked up his teacup, and didn't explain anything.

Yang Zongfang pointed to the personnel-related documents on the sofa armrest and introduced: "We are discussing the candidate for the person in charge of the Quality and Safety Division."

He gestured in Li Xuewu's direction and said to Li Haiyang: "The Secretary-General expressed concern about my candidate, so we are deadlocked here."

"Isn't that so? We were just talking about the topic of being able to listen to opinions versus not being able to listen to opinions."

Yang Zongfang also joked: "Now the Secretary-General is in a difficult position. If he follows my opinion, he has worries in his heart; if he doesn't follow my opinion, he is afraid I will say he is overbearing and acting recklessly."

"Hehe—hahaha!"

Li Haiyang understood the meaning behind these words in an instant, first chuckling, then laughing out loud.

Yang Zongfang, who said this, was also laughing, and even Li Xuewu followed with a helpless smile.

"If you ask me, this matter is easy to handle." After laughing for a while, Li Haiyang looked at Yang Zongfang and said: "I won't ask who your candidate is." He looked at Li Xuewu again and said: "And I won't ask what your worries are."

"Let's deal with the matter as it stands. Why not let this person work for three months first? If it works, it works; if not, change the person. What a simple matter!"

He spread his hands and said with a smile: "This way, no one will be wronged. If he can't do the job well, don't blame us for not giving him a chance. This personnel appointment originally has a probation period, right? Emphasizing it now is nothing."

"Look, you are the one in charge of personnel work after all. I think Comrade Haiyang's idea is very good."

Yang Zongfang looked at Li Xuewu and suggested: "Why don't we follow this opinion and let him try?"

"Who is it?" Li Haiyang looked at the document in his hand and asked: "Director of the Quality, Safety, and Environmental Protection Division?"

"Han Zhan, currently of the Security Section, what do you think of him?" Seeing that Li Xuewu still didn't respond, Yang Zongfang turned his head to look at Li Haiyang.

Li Haiyang quickly located Han Zhan's name from the list and then quickly browsed his resume.

Actually, there was no need to look carefully; Han Zhan's qualifications were already in his mind. Before coming to the metallurgical plant, he had already done background checks and side-understandings of the cadres here.

Why else would people say he is Li Xuewu's virtual apprentice? The two had never talked about apprenticeship, but anyone who came could see Li Xuewu's shadow in his style of doing things, even the preparations for his transfer were the same.

He hesitated for less than three seconds before Yang Zongfang's question, then raised his head and said: "If your candidate is him, then I have even less to say."

Li Haiyang looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and said: "Secretary-General, your concern about 'not avoiding relatives when recommending' doesn't apply to Han Zhan, right? Just because of a colleague relationship, you want to block him; this is also unfair to Comrade Han Zhan."

"Look, in the end, I was the one who was wrong?"

Li Xuewu said amusedly: "When did I ever say I wanted to worry about 'not avoiding relatives when recommending'?"

After joking, he became serious and looked at Yang Zongfang, saying: "If you want to use him, you have to bear the risks and consequences of his youth and shallow qualifications."

Yang Zongfang also became serious at this time, looking into Li Xuewu's eyes and listening to his speech.

"Han Zhan's work experience is very thin, from the Security Section to the Fire Protection Section, and now he is back in the Security Section."

Li Xuewu said with a very calm attitude: "He has indeed made achievements in the Fire Protection Section, but one must also consider the actual situation and specific problems of the Red Star Factory at that time."

"Although I didn't work with him during his three years at the metallurgical plant, he was under the management system of the Security Division." He tapped the sofa armrest with his finger and emphasized: "You were his supervising leader for these three years at the metallurgical plant. I believe your evaluation of him is an objective fact."

"So I won't oppose your candidate, but you must be cautious, and then even more cautious."

He looked at Yang Zongfang, nodded, and said: "Cultivating a cadre requires a huge amount of time, manpower, and material resources, but destroying a cadre only requires one wrong personnel appointment. This is your responsibility and mine."

"I understand what you mean." Yang Zongfang nodded and said seriously: "I stick to my opinion, but I also agree with yours. Putting the right person in the right position is our shared responsibility."

"If every position candidate requires such a difficult discussion," Li Haiyang said with a bitter smile, "then completing the personnel adjustment before mid-year would be considered fast."

"After coming to Liaodong, I have a heavy burden on my shoulders." Li Xuewu sighed slightly, looked at the two, and said: "The slightest mistake will lead to total destruction and eternal regret, so every opinion of mine must be extremely cautious."

"I understand what you mean." Li Haiyang nodded and said: "This is the difference between a leader in charge and a supervising leader. I still need to learn more from you."

"It's getting more and more serious. Let's talk about personnel work." Li Xuewu waved his hand amusedly and said: "If we really have to wait until mid-year, I'll be the first one who can't stand it."

"Hahaha—"

"Secretary-General, take a look at this."

Zhang Enyuan walked into the office and placed a newspaper on Li Xuewu's desk.

Li Xuewu was reading documents, turned his head to glance at it, but couldn't help but examine it carefully.

On April 15th, the Yangcheng Export Commodities Fair was held as scheduled, but this session was a bit special, and many rules that had been set in the past had changed.

This session of the Yang Fair proposed to respond to the "rumors in the international trade market that we have nothing left after industrial and technological changes" and the "belittling of the important significance of our changes," that is, to propose at this year's Spring Canton Fair to change the practice of export trade to capitalist countries.

Although the Yang Fair still emphasizes unified foreign trade, the same commodity must be operated, quoted, negotiated, and concluded by a single trading group or general company, and contracts must be signed uniformly with the outside world, but prices can be set according to different commodities and different markets, and a commission of about 5% is allowed to be given to intermediaries.

This is the first limited change made by the Yang Fair.

The reason why Zhang Enyuan paid more attention to this news is that he felt it must be acknowledged that this decision was influenced by the experience of the Red Star Steel Group in foreign trade work.

And the statement that the Red Star Steel Group is a pathfinder for economic development in the new era has been confirmed once again.

And what Li Xuewu can see between the lines of this article is that economic work has currently made adjustments, and adapting to market changes and development laws has been tacitly accepted.

You can say that the changes in foreign trade rules of this Yang Fair are very small, even negligible. But you must realize the fundamental significance of this change.

From the beginning of the formulation of the Yang Fair, in response to the "chaotic phenomena" and "market free competition tendencies" of inconsistent foreign trade that appeared at that time, the "Decision on Foreign Trade Must Be Unified" was specially formulated.

Considering from a positive significance, this regulation basically eliminated bad phenomena such as keeping secrets internally while being open externally, snatching business, fighting for customers, and lowering prices for sales in the past.

But times have changed, the international trade market and the internal market have undergone fundamental changes, and the corresponding rules should also be adjusted.

The Red Star Steel Group has shown a positive side in foreign trade work, and even more so a united side, combining foreign trade with economic construction.

Especially the Trade Management Center located in Jinmen, as well as the International Business Department extended and established from the Trade Management Center, have achieved coordinated unity in transforming extra-plan products, which is an effective action that conforms to market laws.

In terms of current trade scale, the Jinmen Trade Management Center absolutely cannot catch up with the Yang Fair, but it has surpassed it in the flexibility and durability of foreign trade.

From the performance of the loosening of bargaining power in foreign trade at this Yang Fair, it will be more convenient for the Joint Trade Center and the International Business Department to carry out foreign trade work in the future.

This is the unique advantage of being a pioneer and an experimental enterprise, not afraid of trial and error and rule restrictions.

The impact caused by the newspaper sent by Zhang Enyuan is still continuing. Following the adjustment of foreign trade policies at the Yang Fair, the Red Star Steel Group received another notice of adjustment of hardware export policies.

This notice was not issued to the Red Star Steel Group alone; almost all hardware industries received it, and even Ji Weidong sent news back from the port city.

Can there be anything good in this kid's letter?

When Yuan Dehua, factory director of the Red Star Steel City Weapons Manufacturing Plant, excitedly found him with an order, Li Xuewu knew what kind of "good fart" Ji Weidong was holding back.

The order was a big one, and it was a targeted export, with the direction being Asia, Africa, and Latin America; there's no need to mention the specifics.

Li Xuewu looked at the procurement list in detail before raising his head to ask Yuan Dehua: "Can our inventory in the warehouse meet these requirements?"

"Can't meet them, no way to meet them."

Yuan Dehua shook his head decisively and said: "We have inventory in the warehouse, but it can't withstand orders coming one after another. The order for Aite hasn't been finished yet."

At this moment, the excitement and joy he had when he first arrived were gone from his face, and facing reality, it all turned into bitterness and helplessness.

Li Xuewu couldn't stand his old face, tapped his finger bones on the order document, and still emphasized: "If you can't finish it, don't do it. Tell them that if the order quantity cannot be completed, it should be reduced appropriately."

"Leader, this—" Yuan Dehua questioned excitedly: "Why? The order has been delivered to our door; why don't we expand production capacity?"

"How to expand? Add people or add equipment?"

Li Xuewu leaned back in his chair, spread his hands toward the other party, and said: "I won't stop you if you want to do three shifts, but don't even consider adding people or equipment. The group cannot open this gap for you."

"Is the quota set so rigidly?"

Yuan Dehua frowned and looked at Li Xuewu, touched his chair, sat opposite him, and said: "You just help me consider it; I guarantee I can support these people."

"The group is going to complete the final organizational and personnel changes this year, and all personnel work must have a summary." Li Xuewu stretched out his hand and made a cutting motion on the table, explaining: "The previous form of personnel work ends here, and the future form of personnel work starts from here. You should have studied the relevant documents."

"It's just compliant operation—"

Yuan Dehua touched the cigarette in his pocket with some anxiety to light it for himself, and then said: "The group won't recruit workers from society starting this year, but will cultivate new-era workers within the vocational education system."

"That's one point you mentioned." Li Xuewu explained to him very patiently: "The recruitment of new employees needs to change, and the cultivation of existing employees is also a key point."

"You can't just look at the immediate benefits and ignore future work. Can you guarantee that the orders for the weapons factory will always be there, and that they will be higher year after year?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and asked: "There are still more people in this world who yearn for peace, don't you think?"

"What do I think?" Yuan Dehua raised his head, looked at Li Xuewu, and said frankly: "I think our factory can support another 1,000 people. As long as you give me this quota, I will support them even if I have to smash the pots and sell the iron."

"My words just now were in vain."

Li Xuewu was also very helpless; what else could he say when facing such a stubborn and serious comrade in his work?

You can't say Yuan Dehua is short-sighted; after all, he is almost fifty years old, and his perception of the future will be influenced by his past work experience, and the situation shown in his work is a bit rigid and stubborn.

But you cannot deny his beliefs and ideals. The fundamental reason why Li Xuewu trusts and supports Yuan Dehua's work at the weapons factory includes this consideration.

"Leader, just give us a chance."

Yuan Dehua said very eagerly: "I believe we will always love peace, but where are there such good people as us in this world? Sooner or later, we will have to fight again."

"You're one of those people who don't think the trouble is big enough, aren't you?" Li Xuewu looked at him amusedly and said: "I remember I should have told you that workers are valued for their quality, not their quantity, especially in your factory, which relies most on technology."

"Now that you have finally managed to raise the average technical level, if you add another thousand people, won't the product quality be dragged down? Is it worth it?"

He said earnestly: "You might as well stabilize, deeply cultivate technical development, and hone the workers' craftsmanship."

"Starting next year, the first batch of students from the Vocational and Technical College will graduate. Wouldn't it be better to assign these top students to you then?"

"We want the top students, and we also want the current workers." Yuan Dehua still didn't intend to let Li Xuewu go, just pestering him like this, with the posture that he wouldn't leave if Li Xuewu didn't give him the quota.

Li Xuewu had a headache; this mushroom is really grinding.

If he really let him grind here for half a day, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Forget it, he can't afford to offend such a person.

"There are no 1,000 people, don't even think about it." Li Xuewu pretended to be serious and looked at him, saying: "If you dare to sign a military order, then I can specially apply to the group and give you 300 people."

"But I want to emphasize one thing: this is the only time, no next time. Don't come to me for people again in the future."

"Secretary-General, I'll write you a blood letter. Can you give me another 200 people to make it a round number?"

As soon as Li Xuewu let go, Yuan Dehua knew there was a way, straightened his back, looked at him, stretched out his fingers, and said: "I'll write you a guarantee letter right now."

"Even if you dig out your eyeballs to write it, I can only give you 300 people. Am I bargaining with you in the market?"

Li Xuewu was both angry and amused, took a piece of document paper with the Red Star Steel Group's name on it, wrote an opinion, signed his name, dropped the time, and pushed it to the opposite side.

Although Yuan Dehua was a bit regretful that he couldn't get another 200 people, he was quite pleasantly surprised looking at the white paper and black ink in front of him; he had no confidence in asking for people.

When he came, he was prepared to return empty-handed, because the good workers had already been divided up by the group's various industrial enterprises and branches, and the roster had already been set.

The cultivation plan for existing workers that Li Xuewu just mentioned is true; he knows it very well.

Specifically at the grassroots level, the production workshops of various branches will receive a batch of excellent workers. Now is the time when the old and new are not connected. Personnel changes have screened out many workers with immature technology in the workshops, and there is an urgent need for the replenishment of excellent workers.

A portion of these excellent workers waiting to be assigned are young workers who were screened out two years ago. After training and self-improvement, they have returned to industrial positions.

Where did those workers who were screened out and did not complete self-tempering go?

According to their ability and technical level, they were uniformly adjusted and assigned, and many went to engineering construction companies.

Since they couldn't do technical work well, they could only do physical work. Isn't two years enough to learn?

Sometimes, learning ability is also an important indicator for testing potential development. Just like the college entrance examination, you can't say that everyone who gets into college is a talent, nor can you say that everyone who doesn't get into college is trash.

But college students screened through the college entrance examination have more room and potential for cultivation than young people who enter society after graduating from high school or even junior high school, right?

In the final stage of personnel changes, the technical level of the workers who can stay is remarkable, and they must have cultivation value. Factories and branches are all fighting for quotas.

Li Xuewu could approve 300 people for him, so other branches would have 300 fewer. He was very satisfied.

The Steel City Weapons Manufacturing Plant is not a big factory, and these 300 people are enough to cope with general orders.

Yuan Dehua had already planned that these 300 people must not be mixed with the old workers. It really should be as the Secretary-General said, three shifts.

Even if the new workers' technology is poor, they can be cultivated slowly. Find some technicians to lead them. This is a process of gradually increasing production capacity; that's what he thinks.

"Did you eat honeyed shit? Why are you so happy?"

Wang Shengli, Deputy General Manager of the United Construction Engineering Corporation, went to the third floor and bumped into Yuan Dehua.

The two knew each other. Seeing him holding documents and smiling as he came out of the leader's office, he said this.

Yuan Dehua proudly shook the paper in his hand, raised his eyebrows, and said to Wang Shengli: "You are not a fish, how do you know the joy of a fish."

"Hehe, how old are you."

Wang Shengli looked at Yuan Dehua, who was like an old child, amusedly, and teased: "You must not jump back; people might think you have a mental illness."

"You're the one with a mental illness—"

Yuan Dehua glared at him and asked casually: "What are you doing here? Are you here to ask for people too?"

"Ask for people? Ask for what people?" Wang Shengli was also confused and explained: "The group wants to build a large cinema in the Workers' New Village, and I'm here to report to the Secretary-General."

"Build a large cinema?" Yuan Dehua asked in surprise: "Is it in the Steel City Industrial Zone Workers' New Village?"

"Hehe, what are you thinking?"

Wang Shengli shook the document in his hand, imitating the way he had just shown off, and said: "Liangma River Ecological Industrial Zone."