Liu Feng makes trouble again

The successful erection of the first beam marks a significant milestone for the project. Following this, according to procedure, comes the compilation and submission of "First Article Approval" documentation. This crucial documentation will serve as a model and benchmark for subsequent similar beam construction.

Lan Tongtong worked overtime in the data room with Lao Chen, organizing all relevant construction records, inspection reports, and video footage in a clear and orderly manner. She checked them over and over again, ensuring that nothing was wrong. This data, the result of the hard work of many people on the project team, also reflects her sense of responsibility for the project's quality.

After all the documents were prepared, they needed to be submitted to the Director's Office for approval according to the process. Lan Tongtong, holding a thick stack of documents, habitually wanted to walk to Mo Zhichi's office. Halfway there, she suddenly remembered: Oh, right, Mo Ge has been on leave these days. It seems that he encountered some problems in his hometown and rushed back to deal with them.

She paused, a subtle sense of disappointment crossing her heart. She had expected to hand the information to Brother Mo as usual, perhaps even receiving some professional comments and affirmation from him. But now, according to procedure, this information should be reported to the highest-ranking official currently in charge of the Director's Office.

And this person was Liu Feng, who was "sent" to the general office to be responsible for receiving and sending documents.

Lan Tongtong's heart sank at the thought of Liu Feng. Ever since the last review controversy and the recording incident, Liu Feng had appeared more restrained, but every time he saw her, his eyes were filled with a cold hatred and gloating delight. Lan Tongtong felt extremely reluctant and uneasy about handing such important information over to him.

But procedures are procedures. She couldn't break them just because of personal preferences. She took a deep breath, calmed herself, and told herself: The information was complete and in compliance with regulations. Even if Liu Feng wanted to make things difficult, he couldn't find any major problems.

She gritted her teeth and walked into the general office of the director's office.

Liu Feng was sitting with his legs crossed, playing Minesweeper on his computer. When he saw Lan Tongtong come in, especially the thick documents she was holding, his eyes narrowed immediately, and a forced smile appeared on his face. "Hey, Lan Gong? What a rare visitor! What brings you here?"

Lan Tongtong didn't bother to waste time talking to him. She placed the documents on his desk in a businesslike manner. "Engineer Liu, this is the first set of approval documents for the erection of the first beam. Everything has been sorted out. Please sign for it and transfer it according to the procedure."

Liu Feng slowly put down his mouse, picked up the topmost document, and flipped through it nonchalantly, clicking his tongue. "The first piece of information... This is a big deal. Boss Mo isn't here, and you're reporting it to me?" He raised his head and gave Lan Tongtong a meaningful look. "Don't worry, I'll definitely take a good look."

He placed great emphasis on the word "good", and the maliciousness in his tone was barely concealed.

Lan Tongtong suppressed the disgust in her heart and said coldly: "The information is all here. Please process it as soon as possible and do not affect the subsequent construction inspection." After that, she turned and left, not wanting to stay any longer.

Leaving the director's office, Lan Tongtong felt even more anxious than before. She had a strong feeling Liu Feng wouldn't let go of this opportunity to "choke" her. Even though the documents themselves were flawless, he could easily exploit the approval process, using various excuses to delay and find fault, creating trouble for the project department.

Back at the project office, she reported the situation to Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao. Zhang Xiao frowned, "Reported it to Liu Feng? This guy... I'm afraid he'll cause more trouble. But there's nothing we can do about it; that's the procedure. We can only hope he doesn't go too far."

Sure enough, the next few days were quiet. There was no news from Liu Feng. Lan Tongtong pressed him several times, but Liu Feng either said, "I'm looking into it," or, "There's a detail I need to verify." In short, he kept dragging his feet.

The delay in obtaining the first piece of approval directly affected the progress of the subsequent beam erection, and the project manager Liu Chao began to get anxious.

Lan Tongtong was distraught, yet powerless. For the first time, she felt so intensely the helplessness and anger of being manipulated at a single step. She also realized more profoundly how crucial Mo Zhichi, who usually worked in the Director's Office, maintained the smooth running of the project with his professionalism and impartiality.

Now, with Brother Mo temporarily away due to his daughter's work emergency, a small Liu Feng could bring the entire process to a standstill. Lan Tongtong could only wait anxiously every day, hoping that Mo Zhichi would return soon, and at the same time, she was extremely indignant at Liu Feng's shameless act of taking revenge on her own behalf.

Lan Tongtong waited anxiously for a few days, and sure enough, Liu Feng's "counterattack" came.

That afternoon, Liu Feng slowly walked to the door of the document room, holding the first piece of information in his hand, with a deliberately serious and businesslike expression on his face.

"Worker Lan," he knocked on the doorframe, his voice drawling. "I've carefully reviewed this information, and there are a few things that don't meet the requirements."

Lan Tongtong's heart sank, and she stood up. "Engineer Liu, what's the problem?"

Liu Feng spread the documents on the table, pointed at them with his fingers, and counted them one by one:

"First, the layout of the temperature measurement points in the concrete pouring record is not clearly marked, and the date in the signature column of the supervisor is a bit blurry and needs to be reconfirmed and signed."

"Secondly, the printout of the oil gauge reading during the prestressing process is a bit crooked, affecting the visual experience. I need to re-paste it in a regular manner."

"Third, the description of a tiny crack in the finished beam inspection record is 'suspected', which is not clear enough. It is required to change it to 'none' or clearly record the crack size. There should be no ambiguity."

Lan Tongtong's hands trembled with rage as she listened to these so-called "problems." The first was pure nitpicking; the signature and date were clearly legible. The second was even more unreasonable; the printout of the data was sufficient. The third was pure speculation; the tiny crack was simply an observation; accurately recording the "suspected" appearance was a testament to rigor.

But she knew it was pointless to argue with Liu Feng; he was clearly trying to make things difficult for her. She suppressed her anger and said calmly, "Okay, Engineer Liu, I'll take note. We'll revise and improve it as soon as possible."

"Well, hurry up and make the changes. The first piece approval can't be delayed." Liu Feng said this with a forced smile and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Lan Tongtong immediately worked with Old Chen from the documentation room to revise each document according to Liu Feng's instructions. Most of these revisions involved reorganizing the format and rewriting the document for clarity. Regarding the description of the crack, after consulting Chief Engineer Zhang Xiao, they adhered to the principle of seeking truth from facts and added a note based on the on-site investigation. Working late into the night, they finally reorganized the document to an impeccable quality.

The next day at work, Lan Tongtong brought the revised materials to Liu Feng's desk again. Liu Feng flipped through it carelessly and snorted, "Put it here. I'll take a look."

Several days passed after this "inspection." The project department was terribly anxious, and subsequent beam prefabrication and erection plans were hampered. Project Manager Liu Chao personally called Liu Feng to press the issue. Liu Feng spoke in a bureaucratic tone, "Manager Liu, it's not that I don't approve it. This first batch of data is crucial to the quality standards of subsequent large-scale construction, so it must be rigorous! I'll double-check it. It'll be quick, very quick!"

A few days later, Liu Feng appeared in the reference room again and pointed out three "newly discovered" problems:

The page numbering order of a certain material is incorrect (actually the order was slightly adjusted during binding).

The interleaving seal on a test report was a little crooked and not "rect" enough.

A request was made to add an "explanation" regarding the safety inspection record of the bridge-building machine on that day (this is a daily record of the equipment department and has no direct relationship with the quality of the beam itself).

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is completely nitpicking, and the purpose is just one word - drag it out!

Lan Tongtong looked at Liu Feng's smug expression, feeling powerless and angry. She realized that as long as Mo Zhichi didn't return, Liu Feng would use his limited power to block this crucial juncture indefinitely, retaliating against her while also putting pressure on the project team.

Liu Feng played a relentless round-robin game of revisions, submissions, wait times, rejections, and more revisions. Each time, he would raise insignificant yet significant issues that would force a rework. The project was severely delayed, costs were constantly increasing, and the atmosphere throughout the project department was becoming depressing.

Lan Tongtong was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Not only was she burdened by the pressure of work, but she also felt a deep sense of guilt, feeling that she had hindered the project's progress. She wanted to call Mo Zhichi countless times for help, but she was afraid to disturb him while he was busy with family matters, and she was also worried that doing so would make her seem incompetent.

She could only grit her teeth and persevere, revising the nearly perfect documents over and over again, enduring Liu Feng's repeated deliberate harassment. This war of attrition, launched unilaterally by Liu Feng and exploiting program loopholes, gave Lan Tongtong her first real glimpse into the darkness of certain corners of the workplace and the evil of human nature. She longed more than ever for the swift return of the figure who could uphold justice.