"Committee Member Xu, the comrades in the factory should go back to the meeting immediately."

In the courtyard, Xu Damao was chatting with his neighbor when he was notified by the factory's security department to go back for a meeting.

"A meeting? What kind of meeting? It's been so long since we've had a meeting. Can't Old Li just say what's going on?" Xu Damao asked curiously.

The committee claimed to be a collective discussion, but no one was willing to go against Li Xuewu. Moreover, as long as they didn't oppose Li, he was quite accommodating to the committee members, so everyone just went along with it.

"I heard it's a leader from above. Leader, quite a few soldiers came to the factory today," said the security officer.

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao thought to himself, "That's military control then." In recent years, as the struggle has intensified, severely impacting the operation of important industries, some key units and industries have been placed under military control as a last resort.

Their steel rolling mill supposedly produces important products, but so far there's been no official notification. Some say this is the result of Old Li's persistent efforts. Once regulations are implemented, the factory's power will inevitably be transferred.

I rode back to the factory with the security officers and found that things had changed a lot. There was now a whole line of soldiers standing in the factory square, looking very imposing.

Fortunately, the militia and reserve forces at the steel mill usually undergo a lot of training, so everyone is used to it.

As soon as Xu Damao entered the conference room, he saw Guo Yongfa chatting with a fellow soldier who seemed to know him well, while Li Xuewu, sitting at one side of the table, remained silent.

"Minister Xu, you're here. Let me introduce you. This is..."

As Guo Yongfa explained, Xu Damao's suspicions were confirmed: these people were there to take over the steel rolling mill. Although Xu Damao was the head of the armed forces department, he usually handled these matters directly through Guo Yongfa, so he wasn't familiar with these people.

Following the model of the previous units, the management committee will be the highest authority in the factory, and everything must be approved by the management committee. Li Xuewu, the director of the committee, will be relegated to a lower position.

No wonder Li Xuewu is so upset; he only had a little over two years of carefree life.

"Meeting is now in session. Let me first introduce you all. This gentleman is from the Jingcheng District..."

"I hereby announce that, starting today, the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill will be subject to regulation. In order to better manage the mill, I hereby announce that Comrade Li Xuewu and Comrade Xu Damao will join the management committee to participate in management."

Xu Damao never expected that he would inexplicably join the management committee.

After the meeting, Li Xuewu and Xu Damao were asked to stay behind.

"Comrade Xu Damao, we have done some research before. You have a lot of experience in factory management and have achieved good results. So we hope that you can actively cooperate with the work and make the steel rolling mill production run well."

The new comrade spoke with Xu Damao alone. Contrary to expectations of a serious demeanor, the man was quite friendly.

"Leader, I'd like to ask, shouldn't the first deputy factory director in charge of production be the one to join the management committee?" Xu Damao asked.

"Hehe, our goal is to improve production. As far as we know, since the start of the movement, it was because you strongly advocated that the security department, militia, and other organizations strengthen the security of the factory area that the factory's production facilities and machinery were not damaged."

This laid a solid foundation for our subsequent production.

Xu Damao was quite surprised by the other party's answer. It seemed that they had conducted a detailed investigation of all the leaders in the factory area, or perhaps it was Guo Yongfa who leaked the information.

Back in his office, Xu Damao found Guo Yongfa standing at his door.

"What's wrong with Lao Guo?" Xu Damao asked.

"Minister Xu, congratulations on joining the management committee at such a young age," Guo Yongfa said with a smile.

"Does this have anything to do with you?" Xu Damao guessed, seeing how eager the other party was.

"Haha, that's my comrade-in-arms. I mentioned you when we were having dinner together before. They asked for my opinion when they were coming over, so I suggested you."

"Minister Xu's abilities and competence are known to everyone in our armed forces department, and I think my recommendation is correct," Guo Yongfa said with a smile.

"Old Guo, you're pushing me into a fire pit. At my age, it's not really appropriate for me to join the management committee. But since I've already been appointed, I can only do my job well."

By the way, when you get back, gather your men together. From now on, they'll be under the command of the comrades from the army. They're not sending many people, so they'll have to rely on you a lot.

"So I hope you can do a good job of communication and coordination, especially in the production area. You must convey the opinions of our workers," Xu Damao said.

Old Guo's active efforts to get Xu Damao into the management committee clearly show that he values ​​not only his personal relationship with Xu Damao, but also represents an investment in their relationship. Now that Xu Damao has joined, it's only right to report to him.

Furthermore, with Lao Guo, an acquaintance, involved, many difficult communication issues can be resolved effectively.

"By the way, I noticed that Lao Li doesn't seem very happy. Did you say something bad about him?" Xu Damao asked casually.

"I'm not saying anything bad about him. It's just that someone has been reporting on Lao Li recently, and it's already been reported to higher authorities. He might not even be on the management committee this time, but he is the top leader after all, so the military comrades dragged you in again."

"I guess they want you to do more work in the future; Old Li is probably just a figurehead," Guo Yongfa said casually.

I hadn't seen Lao Guo have such a strong opinion about Li Xuewu before. It seems that this time an old friend has come, and he's standing up for himself.

Guo Yongfa had just left when an uninvited guest arrived.

"Director Li, what brings you here?" The visitor was none other than Li Xuewu. This was the first time Li Xuewu had ever been to Xu Damao's office, so Xu Damao was so surprised that he stood up immediately.

"Da Mao, your office is decorated quite well, it has a good layout, and these potted plants are nice too. I'll take inspiration from them in the future." Li Xuewu looked at Xu Da Mao's office with great curiosity.

"Hehe, the people in the office helped me with this, I don't know much about it. If you like these flowers, you can take a few pots with you later," Xu Damao replied with a smile.

Xu Damao had indeed put a lot of thought into these words, but it wasn't the right time to say too much. He picked up a tea canister hidden in the cabinet, grabbed a handful of tea leaves, and brewed tea for Li Xuewu.

“Xiao Xu, we first met about ten years ago. Back then you were just a kid, and getting married seemed to be against the age limit. But you’ve developed so quickly these past few years, you’re about to surpass me.” Li Xuewu picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

When Xu Damao heard this, it seemed like 10 years had really passed. Ten years on its own seems like a long time, but these years have passed by in the blink of an eye, and Xu Damao hadn't felt the passage of time.

At that time, the other party was the head of the factory's logistics department, a powerful figure in the factory, while Xu Damao was just a lowly projectionist, and he had to be very careful when talking to the other party.