Chapter 1649: A New Generation Replaces the Old

Li Xuewu waited for Gao Yaqin all morning, but he didn't wait for her; instead, he waited for the news that the Economic Group discussion had been upgraded.

Originally, he thought the two of them would communicate privately before discussing it in the group, and then set the general direction before finally making a statement report.

I don't know what Gao Yaqin was thinking; did she think that pulling Old Li in could balance his attitude and opinions?

"Come, I was just about to let Liu Bin call you."

Seeing him appear at the door, Li Huai De waved his hand to signal the sofa area and said, "Comrade Wenxue will be here soon."

"General Manager Gao." Li Xuewu first nodded to Old Li before looking at Gao Yaqin, who was sitting on the sofa.

This greeting made Gao Yaqin's molars ache, but she was open and honest. Without waiting for Li Xuewu to ask in a roundabout way, she took the initiative to explain, "I applied for Director Li to preside over the discussion."

"You two have made achievements in economic work and have both contributed to the development of the Group."

Li Huai De picked up his teacup and took a sip, saying, "My idea is for you to organize the discussion, report an opinion to the Management Committee, and then conduct a statement and comprehensive discussion."

He put down his teacup, pointed to Gao Yaqin, and explained with a smile, "Comrade Yaqin expressed a different opinion to me."

"This is indeed my opinion."

Gao Yaqin glanced at the door. At this moment, Dong Wenxue walked in with a notebook and nodded to the few people to greet them.

"Since Comrade Wenxue is here, you should speak about your opinion first." Li Huai De waved his hand to signal Liu Bin to serve tea, while he walked out from behind his desk with his teacup.

"I don't know if everyone has received the statistical results of this year's national economic situation, but I have some news here."

Gao Yaqin opened her notebook and introduced, "Just speaking about the industrial situation related to us, the total output value is expected to be 208 billion yuan, an increase of 30.7% over the previous year."

"Industrial product output: steel, 17.79 million tons, an increase of 33.5% over the previous year; raw coal, 354 million tons, an increase of 33% over the previous year; power generation, 115.9 billion kWh, an increase of 23.3% over the previous year; railway freight volume, an increase of 147.65 million tons over the previous year."

"Infrastructure aspect: total investment in capital construction was 31.255 billion yuan, an increase of 11.172 billion yuan over the previous year; 235 projects were completed and put into production; new fixed assets were 20.4 billion yuan."

"Economic aspect: total retail sales of social consumer goods were 85.8 billion yuan, an increase of 7% over the previous year."

Speaking of this, Gao Yaqin patted her notebook and emphasized to the few people, "The total import and export trade volume we are more concerned about is 11.39 billion yuan, an increase of 190 million yuan over the previous year."

"I found a connection to check the total import and export trade volume of our Group this year: 36.79 million yuan."

Her gaze swept toward Li Xuewu, and she nodded slowly, saying, "The main commodity categories are automobiles, hardware, and the food industry."

"Weapons are covered in the hardware category, right?"

Li Huai De had been listening carefully and was also thinking about the problems reflected behind these data.

"Does it also include those gas canisters?"

Dong Wenxue lit a cigarette after entering the room and suddenly asked this, making everyone laugh.

Gao Yaqin's smile was a bit forced; she shook her head slightly and said, "I asked General Manager Jing for a summary of annual export commodity profits, and the result was very surprising."

She handed the prepared materials to the three people and explained, "According to profit estimates, the amount should exceed 10 million, but the data given by General Manager Jing is only 8.72 million."

"So little?" Li Huai De couldn't laugh anymore; he frowned and asked, "A decrease compared to last year?"

"That is the problem I want to talk about."

Gao Yaqin looked at the few people and nodded, saying, "The import and export trade amount is increasing steadily year by year, and the total import amount is increasing synchronously, but the profit is decreasing."

She placed the materials on the project investment and industrial production status of the Group this year on the coffee table and emphasized, "General Manager Jing gave a financial warning as early as the end of the third quarter. The investment-to-revenue ratio this year is very unhealthy."

"Mm—" Dong Wenxue also frowned, pointed to the materials in his hand with his cigarette-holding finger, and said, "The three industrial zone infrastructure projects are the main culprits for exceeding the budget."

"Especially the Yingcheng Port Area." Gao Yaqin pointed to the materials on the coffee table and emphasized, "The budget was exceeded by 34% this year, and General Manager Jing is worrying about this big hole."

"I know about this situation."

Li Xuewu put down his folded right leg, looked at Li Huai De, and explained, "The Yingcheng Port Area Management Committee and the representatives of the United Construction General Company have already reported to me. They rushed the construction period by 3 months this year, and the budget overrun is within the normal range."

"Three months of construction period, 34% overrun." Li Huai De thought for a while and nodded slowly, "This is still worth it."

"However, you still have to keep an eye on it."

He pointed to Li Xuewu and reminded, "Of course it's a good thing to advance the construction period, but it cannot be at the expense of project quality."

Obviously, after he finished this sentence, Dong Wenxue's expression changed, but he didn't say anything.

Li Xuewu nodded and responded, "The port projects are being submitted for acceptance one after another, and I have already organized a special team to manage them."

"This must be taken to heart." Li Huai De nodded and emphasized again, "Don't make an international joke."

The Red Steel Group invested a huge amount of money to build an international standard port; if there were truly problems with quality, wouldn't it become an international joke in the eyes of foreign ships?

"What's going on with the decline in export trade profits?"

Li Huai De brought the topic back to the right track, pointed to the document in his hand, and looked at Gao Yaqin.

Gao Yaqin continued to report, "Combined with the explanation given by foreign trade, it can be roughly divided into three aspects."

"First is the issue of the fixed exchange rate system."

She frowned and emphasized, "It's not just us; the Import and Export Trade General Company is also reacting to this problem."

"Policy-based losses, right?" Li Xuewu looked at her and asked with a frown, "But our import and export settlement exchange is structurally optimized through Oriental Times and United Savings."

Here is a simple explanation of what policy-based losses are; the exchange rate issue mentioned by Gao Yaqin is the root cause.

Simply put, in this era, our currency was overvalued, leading to our currency income often being lower than production costs when export commodities were settled at the official exchange rate, thus presenting a "loss" state on the books.

This problem cannot be solved by Li Xuewu; just as Gao Yaqin said, it is not a problem for the Red Steel Group alone.

The time to truly solve this problem was pushed to 1981, when the internal settlement price for trade foreign exchange began to be implemented.

"Precisely because our import and export trade tries not to be calculated through settlement, we have such a high profit ratio."

Gao Yaqin tilted her head and said, "Go ask if the profit of the Import and Export Trade General Company is as high as ours."

This doesn't need to be asked; the capital management model of the Red Steel Group determines that it can largely avoid this trap.

The funds obtained from export commodities will be stored in the Oriental Times Bank in Hong Kong and used to purchase raw materials and technical equipment.

Long-term exports without settlement will inevitably lead to capital accumulation and internal capital shortages. How to solve this problem?

Very simple: sell the excess foreign exchange quota to other enterprises and replace it in the form of raw material and equipment introduction.

Furthermore, there is credit cooperation between United Savings and Oriental Times Bank, capital risk mortgage, and asset replacement.

Now United Savings Bank holds many investment shares of Oriental Times Bank domestically, while Oriental Times Bank also holds investment shares of the Red Steel Group abroad.

The iron ore project located in Australia is a typical case; the Red Steel Group mortgaged exports to take out a loan of 30 million and jointly invested with the Santa Ya Group, China Resources Investment, and other enterprises.

The ore dressing center under construction in the Yingcheng Port Area is a supporting industry for this project, and another order hit for Yingcheng Shipping this year is ore bulk cargo ships. Last month, Shunfeng Ocean ordered 17 more ships in one go, which can be called a big move.

With the Red Steel Group and China Resources participating in the investment, the decision to hand over the mineral transportation project to Shunfeng Ocean is basically a nailed-down decision.

However, the Santa Ya Group and Geely Star Shipping are also actively intervening in this project, and both have ordered cargo ships from Yingcheng Shipping.

"The second problem is that the export commodity structure is dominated by primary products, with low added value."

Gao Yaqin continued to explain, "In this macro environment, export trade is difficult to obtain high profits."

"Our Group's situation is still okay, but this problem exists in the export products of hardware projects."

"The third problem is that the price of imported raw materials this year has increased, and taxes have also increased."

She frowned and emphasized, "Furthermore, there is the circulation link; transportation cost is a major item for profit reduction."

"This problem still has to fall on the port construction." Li Xuewu said, "Once the Yingcheng Port starts operating, the key industries in Liaodong will be connected to the port area by rail, and the transportation cost problem will be greatly improved."

He looked at Li Huai De and said, "We are also trying to find ways to solve the problem of imported raw materials, but it mainly relies too much on others, and domestic industrial foundations and processes do not meet the standards."

"Is it a problem with the macro environment?"

Li Huai De frowned at the materials, looked up, and asked Li Xuewu and Gao Yaqin, "Is there a need for adjustment in the Group's internal management and mechanisms?"

Li Xuewu knew that Gao Yaqin must have something to say, so he looked at the other party, waiting for her to speak first.

Gao Yaqin saw the few people looking at her, thought for a while, and then said, "I think there is a problem with the mechanism."

After she finished speaking, Li Xuewu clearly saw the change in Old Li's expression; it was surprise, and also confusion.

Today, Gao Yaqin took the initiative to apply for him to preside over the discussion meeting, so Li Huai De was not angry.

"From my perspective, there is still a problem of over-reliance on decision-making and a lack of initiative in management."

Gao Yaqin sat up straight and explained very seriously, "Judging from the feedback on data and economic situation, the general companies, branch companies, and factories lack a sense of responsibility."

"Of course, I am not criticizing the heads of these units, because the current system limits their performance."

She picked up her teacup and took a sip before continuing to explain, "The first is the budget formulation and financial management authority."

Li Xuewu knew she was going to fire a shot, but he didn't expect it to be aimed directly at the most core part of the Group at present.

Old Li was a person with a strong desire for control; his core management philosophy consisted of two words: personnel and finance.

Personnel decides who does this work, and finance decides whether he lets this person succeed in the work.

If you have great ability but don't obey me, and I don't give you money, can you turn stones into gold?

This is why many people in the Group have to obey Li Xuewu. When Yang Yuansong suppressed him so much, he couldn't suppress him. He was stuck in finance and personnel, but he created an automobile maintenance project and completely broke through the ceiling of rank promotion.

But that was him; ordinary people don't have this ability, which also reflects that Jing Yunong's power in the Group is evident.

Finance and personnel are both in her hands; who dares to fight with her? Even Gao Yaqin has to call her General Manager Jing.

"At the present stage, the Group's financial management mechanism is overall planning and budget control, which greatly concentrates management power and ensures the consistency of the Group's policies."

Gao Yaqin first praised the current financial management mechanism before starting to elaborate on her point of view.

"But I think that with the stability and operation of the Group's basic organizational structure, we should appropriately give general companies and some branch-level units budget and financial autonomy."

She looked at Li Huai De and reported, "If the general companies and branch companies have money in their hands, they will have the courage to do things. If they possess the power of fund allocation, the bonuses and overall income of employees at all levels of the enterprise will have an actual comparison."

"Only by forming a comparison in bonuses and overall income can we generate the motivation for positive struggle."

Why did she emphasize making a fuss about bonuses and overall income instead of specifically about employee wages?

The logic is simple: the wages of workers across the country are planned and issued centrally. You are a first-level fitter in a category 6 region, and he is a third-level welder in a category 7 region; your wage standards are different.

In the Red Steel Group, for the same Grade 1 fitter, there is no difference in the manifestation of wages. Who earns more this month is reflected in bonuses and other income.

Since the Red Steel Group fully realized profit and revenue from tertiary industry, it has formulated and implemented a bonus reward policy.

It is mainly divided into labor rewards, style rewards, and technical rewards, as well as other reward policies such as commendations.

Among them, labor rewards have the biggest difference, even accounting for two-thirds of the total employee rewards.

At the present stage, the bonuses obtained by employees can already account for one-fifth of their total income.

What is this concept?

For example, your monthly wage is 40 yuan, plus 10 yuan in piece-rate and other bonuses, your total wage comes to 50 yuan.

In the wage system from Grade 1 worker's 33 yuan to Grade 8 worker's 99 yuan, a difference of 10 yuan is a grade difference.

If you get 10 yuan more, it's equivalent to getting one more grade of wages. This difference is not just a little bit.

What could 10 yuan buy in this era?

10 yuan could buy 54 jin of rice and flour, 15.6 jin of peanut oil, 3.3 jin of tea, 23.8 chi of black cloth...

With these 10 yuan, a family's quality of life could be significantly improved, and the enthusiasm of employees could also be greatly improved.

The Red Steel Group has more than 50,000 employees, with an average monthly expenditure of 500,000 in various bonuses, which is 6 million a year.

The export profit of the Group this year is only more than 8 million. Giving bonuses to employees alone takes away more than half. Where do other constructive expenses come from?

This is not to mention that the Red Steel Group has been actively driving domestic demand since last year, creating supply and marketing service departments within the Group.

At the same time, it has built a supply and marketing service system nationwide, and the Sales General Company has ushered in an era of rapid development.

The establishment of the Jiangnan area has greatly improved the Group's market share in the southern region.

The feedback of foreign market profits into technical innovation and enterprise development has in turn improved the competitiveness and market share of Red Star brand products domestically.

Unlike the situation of purchasing with coupons in the supply and marketing system, the Red Steel Group's sales system does not require industrial coupons, only money.

Although at the request of the Supply and Marketing Company, the Red Steel Group has increased retail prices at the sales end, it has also more extensively provided after-sales services and differentiated services.

This year, Old Ma from the Beijing Supply and Marketing Company called Li Xuewu to complain that when citizens gave opinions to the Supply and Marketing Company, they mentioned the Red Steel Group's sales department many times.

To be more detailed, the Red Steel Group has several special supply service departments in the city, which don't occupy much influence.

The automobile sales store is still a bit far for the public, but the market in the Liangma River Industrial Zone is not far away.

They go to the Liangma River Ecological Industrial Zone to play, visit the market by the way, look at the purchase price of Red Steel Group's internal employees, and then look at the range of purchasable commodities, it would be a lie to say they aren't envious.

Although ordinary citizens can also purchase commodities in the market, and there are no purchase restrictions or coupons, the price makes their hearts ache.

Only those who don't lack money, have few idle mouths in the family, and have many working population families are willing to consume here.

Citizens, of course, also know that the Red Steel Group's supply service department cannot be opened at parity. If it were truly opened, a Red Steel Group supply chain would absolutely not be able to bear the consumption of citizens.

They are also not asking the Supply and Marketing Company to cancel purchase vouchers, but hope to learn from the Red Steel Group to increase product categories, improve service quality, and not choke people as soon as they open their mouths.

Li Xuewu can, of course, hear the opinions in Old Ma's words, but he is powerless about this.

It is not a contradiction or cognitive gap between the two, but the competition of the real market, the gap between market economy and planned economy in comparison.

Higher prices, better service, more complete categories, no purchase restrictions; some citizens have already chosen to vote with their feet.

The Supply and Marketing Company, of course, doesn't mind citizens shopping in the Liangma River market; this can also reduce their supply pressure.

But in the feedback of opinions, especially the requirements for service quality, it can be said that the Red Steel Group has internalized its peers.

It seems that employee bonuses occupy most of the export profit, but we must also see the ability to pull domestic demand.

Export profit is decreasing policy-wise, but domestic marketing profit is greatly improving, which is also a kind of progress.

However, he agrees with Gao Yaqin's suggestion of delegating part of the budget and financial autonomy to general companies and branch-level units to improve overall enthusiasm.

Li Huai De also saw this point from his eyes, so he turned to ask for Dong Wenxue's opinion.

Dong Wenxue thought for a long while before looking at Gao Yaqin and asking, "Do you have any opinions on the proportion?"

"I've thought about this, but it still needs collective discussion."

Gao Yaqin said cautiously, "My opinion is to formulate relevant proportions on the premise of ensuring that the Group has the ability to concentrate forces to do big things and can regulate the healthy development of all units."

Here, there is a point she deliberately hid and didn't say, which is the revenue turnover proportion other than the planned production shares of the Rolling Mill and Metallurgical Plant.

At the present stage, the revenue and expenditure of all units in the Group are two lines, overall planning, and how much is regulated by the Group.

According to Gao Yaqin's meaning, since we want to relax financial and budget control, we must make a fuss about revenue turnover.

Just think about it: without revenue distribution, where would the general companies and branch companies have financial shares to operate?

"Mm, since you are both of this opinion, then I am not opposed."

Li Huai De thought for a while and said, "Appropriately giving general companies and branch companies financial management authority can improve production capacity and efficiency to a certain extent. Calculating this account is still cost-effective."

"However, we all know that there is no management system in the world that is perfect; the key is to balance the pros and cons."

He sat up straight, put the materials in his hand on the coffee table, and then leaned back.

"I'll be a bit cautious, and you two be a bit bolder." Li Huai De pointed to Gao Yaqin and Li Xuewu and said, "We can invite Comrade Yunong to organize experts to demonstrate the proportions, but I want to say that the budget must be a bit conservative."

"In principle, general companies and branch companies are allowed to formulate budgets for the next year according to their own needs and benefits."

He thought for a while and emphasized, "But we must also audit and regulate the overall budget; they cannot do whatever they want."

"And once a gap is opened in finance, effort must be put into auditing and supervision; this is a problem that must be considered in advance."

"The financial and budget management of production units can be tightened; don't give them too much slack."

Li Xuewu said after he finished speaking, "The nature of the production end determines that overall planning has more management strength."

"Mainly work on technology and production capacity?" Dong Wenxue looked at him and asked, "Is that what you mean?"

"Yes," Li Xuewu nodded and said, "The equipment and production situation of modern industrial enterprises have determined that technical research and development must be deferred to the front end, which is the research institute stage."

"I don't deny that there are capable people within the factory who can come up with good ideas and create new technologies during the production process."

He shook his head slightly and said, "However, the primary task of the factory is not research and development, but ensuring the improvement of production capacity."

"Whether it is product definition or the research and development process, a mature result must be formed in the research institute."

Li Xuewu looked at Li Huai De and emphasized, "Research and development, manufacturing, and sales assist each other, but they must be separated; this is the standard management model for modern industrial enterprises."

"Mm, I can understand this." Li Huai De nodded, looked at him, and asked, "You want to put the focus of incentives on the sales end and the research and development end, right?"

"Yes, because the number of people at the research and development end is the smallest, but they are the most elite; we must use differentiated bonuses to stimulate new ideas."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "The responsibility of the sales end is the most important; we must use achievement rewards to stimulate enthusiasm."

"Only the production end has the largest number of people, and the requirements for labor ability and technical differences are not very high."

He pointed and emphasized, "Our pursuit of the production end is not the more the better, but quality and quantity."

"What the production end needs to stimulate is labor attitude and restraint; this aspect can be regulated through collective systems."

"To be honest, I'm a bit surprised."

Gao Yaqin looked at him, raised her eyebrows, and said, "I thought you would want more authority."

"Is this the reason why you gave up the group discussion and insisted on asking Director Li to preside over the work?"

Li Xuewu looked at her, nodded slowly, and said, "You still lack trust in your comrades."

"Hahaha—" Li Huai De smiled and pointed to the two, "I like this attitude of being sharp against each other."

He stood up with his hands on the armrests, walked around the office, and said, "Comrade Yaqin's opinion is very pertinent and also sees the needs of the Group. I agree with this attitude."

"However, in terms of professionalism and practicality, you should really listen more to the Secretary-General's opinion."

Li Huai De turned back to look at her and said, "When presiding over the new three-year plan, he mentioned the inevitable trend of enterprise development to me. Your ideas coincide."

"Of course, specifically to what time and under what situation can such a judgment be made, it requires collective wisdom."

He stood in front of the desk, looked at the three, and said, "In a word, any opinion beneficial to the Group's development can be put forward, and I will give the greatest support."

"Do I need to say sorry to you?"

Coming out of the General Manager's office, Gao Yaqin looked at him and teased, "For my narrow-minded performance."

"If I say I need an apology, will you say I'm narrow-minded behind my back?" Li Xuewu glanced at her and pretended to be dissatisfied, "Then you are indeed quite narrow-minded."

"Look, my sincerity is very sufficient."

Gao Yaqin said with a smile, "It was you who misunderstood me. How about I treat you to dinner tonight to express my apology?"

"Forget it, I can't afford General Manager Gao's meal."

Li Xuewu stopped at the door of his office and explained seriously, "I have something to do tonight, it's not convenient."

"Let's wait for another day, when you're not busy, we'll gather again."

"Alright, if you don't have any emotions, it's fine if I don't invite you."

Gao Yaqin said with a smile, "I'm just afraid you're narrow-minded and it will affect unity, which wouldn't be good."

"Since you've said so, how can I be narrow-minded?"

Li Xuewu walked into the office with a smile, waved his hand, and said, "Alright, go find General Manager Jing and reach a conclusion early."

This matter really couldn't bypass Jing Yunong. Don't look at the fact that she didn't come to the economic meeting, but the specific planning and implementation had to be prepared by her.

The Group's active release of financial policy is a need for management and development at the present stage, and it cannot be implemented just by discussion.

Their opinions are important, and professional opinions are also important. If Jing Yunong can truly provide necessary reasons, the discussion result will have to be postponed.

Gao Yaqin's performance is very active, especially after she fully controlled the Group's economic work in the past two years.

This person is very smart. Although Li Huai De doesn't fully trust her, he is willing to support her work.

Li Xuewu also doesn't trust her much, but he has no opinion on this effort and positivity.

The reason for the lack of trust sounds ridiculous: Gao Yaqin has never positively shown ambition and aggressiveness.

It could be seen when she competed with him for the position of leader of the Liaodong Industrial Leadership Group, but she didn't really take it to heart.

This kind of "not fighting" makes her look a bit hypocritical and fake in front of Li Huai De and Li Xuewu.

If you can't see a person's purpose and ambition, would you fully trust them?

To give a simple example, when you are on a blind date, the woman doesn't say she doesn't like you, nor does she say she likes you. Do you think she will marry you?

You propose, and her attitude is the same: she doesn't object, but she doesn't agree, as if she is hiding her heart forever.

Even if you are married, she doesn't open her heart to you. Can you fully trust her with your home?

Governing a big country is like cooking small fish; the principle is the same.

Gao Yaqin's initiative seems a bit too familiar to Li Xuewu, as if she sees his plan clearly and even actively expresses support for his attitude.

However, Li Xuewu's plan does not include her.

Whether it is targeting or support, or even the future Group management system, Li Xuewu has not counted her in.

To gain others' trust, you must state your position and clarify your needs and goals.

Zhang Enyuan heard the movement and walked out of the secretary's office, took a look at Gao Yaqin's figure, and then entered the leader's office.

"The personnel transfer order from the Organization Department has come down."

He walked to the desk and reported softly, "Deputy Factory Director Yang is transferred to the United Savings Bank to serve as the President of the Jiangnan Branch."

"Mm, who is coming to the Metallurgical Plant?" Li Xuewu picked up the document to read and asked casually, "From the Group's organ?"

"It's Department Director Zhang Minghua from the Technical Department." Zhang Enyuan looked at him and reported, "The result has already been publicized."

"Oh—" Li Xuewu looked up, frowned slightly, thought for a while, and nodded, "I know."

"Also, Gu Cheng's transfer order has come down."

He raised his eyebrows and reported, "He didn't go to the sales end, but went to the Organization Section of the Medical and Educational Bureau to serve as Li Kezhang."

"Mm, that's quite good." Li Xuewu nodded and said, "It's the same everywhere; tempering is the main thing."

He didn't know if this was Gu Cheng's choice, but he listened to the advice he gave.

Perhaps he went home to ask his father-in-law, which led to the answer, or perhaps Su Weide didn't meet his wishes, or there was a problem with the personnel arrangement, so he couldn't go to the sales end.

Gao Yaqin's temper is a bit special; to put it bluntly, her subjective consciousness is too strong, and she doesn't consider other people's feelings much.

Li Xuewu is not criticizing this style of work for being too heartless, but believes that subjective consciousness will affect judgment.

However, he didn't pay attention to Gu Cheng's arrangement, so he couldn't know his result, but it looked okay.

The Medical and Educational Administration Bureau is a professional management organization established earlier by the Red Steel Group, responsible for the management of the Red Steel Group's medical and educational systems. The responsibility and burden are not light.

At present, the Red Steel Group United Hospital has two main hospital areas, one in Beijing and one in Steel City. There is another branch hospital area in Yingcheng, and there is another sanatorium in Steel City.

The Beijing hospital area is defined as the general hospital, and the Steel City hospital area, Yingcheng branch hospital, and sanatorium are defined as branch hospital areas.

It sounds complicated, but these are two management systems, and the statements and definitions are different.

The United Education System has also perfected four main school districts this year:

The Beijing school district covers the United Vocational and Technical College as well as middle school, primary school, and kindergarten stages.

The Steel City region has stages from middle school to kindergarten.

The Fengcheng school district and Yingcheng school district only have kindergarten and primary school stages, and the middle school stage is under construction.

Because the reception time for Fengcheng Machinery Plant, Yingcheng Shipping, and the port area is short, the educational resources for employees' children are incomplete, which requires docking with local educational resources.

However, it has been determined that as long as they are employees' children, they have the qualification to apply for middle school entrance exams after completing the primary school education stage, and they can choose to study in Steel City or Beijing.

The vertical education system determines that Red Steel Group employees' children have more and better opportunities to enter vocational and technical colleges.

This is the cradle of Red Steel Group workers and cadres.

Going to the Medical and Educational Bureau for organizational work shows that this kid is still holding a breath in his heart.

Li Xuewu wants to see if he can become a talent.

As for the Technical Department Director Zhang Minghua who replaced Yang Zongfang at the Metallurgical Plant reported by Zhang Enyuan, this might not be Dong Wenxue's person.

Although Dong Wenxue is now in charge of technical work, he has been in trouble since returning to Beijing and hasn't been able to fully control the situation; otherwise, Old Li wouldn't have said it was a pity for him.

He returned in high spirits, but didn't expect to stumble; it's just like Gao Yaqin's evaluation of the Group's economic work at the present stage: it looks like a flower cluster, but there are a lot of problems.

"Hey, Li Kezhang Zhou, off work."

Gu Cheng came back from the market with chopped chicken in his hand. Seeing Zhou Tan greet him, he nodded with a smile.

Zhou Tan saw the chicken in his hand and asked with a smile, "Why? Improving life today?"

"Hehe, my wife gave birth." Gu Cheng said with a smile, "This is preparing rations for my son."

"Oh! This is a happy event!" Zhou Tan was slightly surprised, then praised with a smile, "It's a double happiness!"

"Hahaha, you know." Gu Cheng said with a smile, "Anything tonight? Come home for a drink?"

"Oh, what a coincidence, Miaomiao is back today." Zhou Tan said with a smile, "I'll drink the wedding wine when the full month comes."

"Definitely, I'll send out the happy invitations!"

Gu Cheng emphasized seriously, then said goodbye to the other party, pulled open the building door, and went upstairs.

Zhou Tan looked at his back, his eyes filled with indescribable envy.

Married for three years, Zhou Miaomiao still didn't want children, while Gu Cheng, who married later than them, already had a son.

To say he cared about that little thing before, but now Zhou Miaomiao had no contact with that person.

This kind of thing didn't need him to observe, let alone look at; Zhou Miaomiao had never hidden it from him.

The reason she didn't want children, besides being busy with work, was the instability of her career.

In Zhou Miaomiao's words, anyone could replace her in her current position.

Pregnancy couldn't bear such heavy pressure and the status quo of frequent business trips, unless she took the initiative to propose a job change.

But she couldn't accept this result.

After so many years of effort and dedication, she finally had the opportunity and status. How could she be willing to start over just to have children?

It wasn't the first time the family had urged them, but fortunately, their progress in their careers made up for this regret.

They were still young, thinking that as long as they stabilized, they would arrange a plan to have children.

However, watching others hold their sons, he still had an indescribable taste in his mouth.

After returning home, looking at Zhou Miaomiao who was tidying up the room, he didn't greet her, put down his briefcase, and went to the study.

Zhou Miaomiao looked back at him, not knowing what had happened, walked to the door, looked at him, and asked, "What's wrong? Dinner is ready, eat?"

Actually, to be fair, Zhou Miaomiao had a disgraceful history, but she was active and responsible enough in her marriage.

No matter how tired she was after returning from a business trip, she would tidy up the housework and prepare dinner for him, but today he just couldn't get interested.

In the past, he wouldn't have been able to hold back; he could skip dinner, but he would have gone into the bedroom to reminisce first.

"What's wrong? Speak—" Zhou Miaomiao walked in, hugged her arms, and asked, "Are you dumb?"

"Met Gu Cheng downstairs just now."

Zhou Tan leaned on the chair, looked out the window, and said, "The Group publicized his transfer order today; he's going to the Medical and Educational Bureau to serve as Li Kezhang."

"Just for this?" Zhou Miaomiao looked at him with amusement and comforted, "What are you comparing with him? He's the leader's secretary; the organization has to give some face."

"Besides, you're not bad either. In your department, you're considered the youngest section-level cadre, right?"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Zhou Tan looked up, looked at his lover who was hugging him from behind, took a deep breath, and said, "His wife Qian Youqiong gave birth to a fat boy."

Hearing him say this and looking at his eyes, Zhou Miaomiao already knew why he was disappointed.

The smile on her face disappeared; she stood up straight and frowned, saying, "Didn't we discuss this?"

"Yes, I admit it." Zhou Tan nodded, lowered his eyes, and said, "I'm just a bit envious of him."

Not hearing Zhou Tan's complaints and defenses, Zhou Miaomiao lost the reason to be angry, but instead felt a bit more guilty.

"We will have our own children."

She reached out and put her hand back on his shoulder and said, "Just wait for me for a year or two, give me some time."

"Mm, I know." Zhou Tan nodded and said, "Let me calm down; I'm not targeting you."

"Mm, just sit for a while, don't forget to wash your face, I'll wait for you to eat." Zhou Miaomiao left the study understandingly, giving him space to think.

This couple was too realistic, even to the point of treating each other rationally, treating the other party as a partner.

There are also examples of having this kind of relationship but not having a harmonious marriage, such as Nie Xiaoguang and Han Lu.

Unlike Zhou Miaomiao, who actively distanced herself from Li Huai De after gaining career opportunities and changed this relationship, Han Lu had been standing still.

This year's organizational structure change in the theater saw her divided into the Property Management Company, still as the manager of the theater.

This greatly limited her room for progress and also lacked necessary tempering opportunities.

Especially her dependence on Li Huai De had reached a pathological level, to the point of ignoring Nie Xiaoguang's feelings.

The dance troupe has newcomers every year; a new generation replaces the old. Not many of the batch she was in are left.

Good sisters like Xiaoxiao have become dance coaches and no longer perform, not to mention others.

If she wants to compete for opportunities with those little girls, she has to show an attitude that makes Li Huai De even more obsessed.

Without freshness, all she has left is technical leadership. ===== CHAPTER 1650 =====