"Shazhu, let's not talk about anything else for now. Let me ask you, if I switch Aunt Jia and Liu Lan, and Aunt Jia goes to your canteen to work with you, and you prepare special meals for her to serve to the leaders, would that work?" Xu Damao asked Shazhu.

"Why should they? You know those special meals are for the leaders. They eat there just to have a good time. If you send Liu Lan, they'll be happy. But if you send Aunt Jia, what will they see? Her fatness or her ugliness?"

"Xu Damao, I've realized you're really stupid. You don't even understand such a simple principle, yet you can be a leader." Sha Zhu felt good about himself.

"If you can't even handle the small kitchen, why do you think Aunt Jia, who serves high-ranking officials every day, can be competent?" Xu Damao retorted to Sha Zhu.

"Huh? An old man asked Aunt Jia to work as a waitress in the general affairs department?" Sha Zhu asked uncertainly.

Seeing that Xu Damao did not answer, but only nodded, she silently lowered her hand that had been blocking Xu Damao, and then stood aside.

Even if he were stupid, he would know that the waitresses in the general affairs department were the factory's most important people. It would be more appropriate for Qin Huairu to go, but Aunt Jia, just thinking about it makes his eyes water.

"This old man is really unreliable," Sha Zhu couldn't help but complain.

-------------------------------------

Regardless of what's going on outside, Xu Damao is still the head of the personnel department at the No. 1 factory, and he should continue to work as usual.

"Section Chief, this is great news! Your transfer order has been issued and it's in Director Li's office."

A young girl from the personnel department suddenly ran excitedly to the door of Xu Damao's office, and then everyone else in the personnel department ran out to see what was going on.

"What nonsense are you talking about? They haven't even come to our area for inspection yet, how could the transfer order be issued? You're in personnel too, don't you understand this simple principle?" Another personnel officer scoffed when he heard this.

He's right. Under normal circumstances, the head of the general affairs section of the main factory office is an important position. Xu Damao, the head of the personnel section of a branch factory, didn't change his rank, but he was still being promoted. That's called being given an important position, and it requires going through an evaluation process.

Only after passing the inspection and finding no problems will a transfer order be issued. However, so far, no one from the head office has come, which is not in accordance with the procedure.

"I'm not lying to you. I just delivered some documents to Director Li and saw someone from the personnel department of the main factory come with a transfer order. I was just about to inform the department head and rush home. I reckon someone will be in the office soon," the young girl said.

Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than someone from the office came to call Xu Damao over, saying that it was Director Li who had summoned him.

As soon as Xu Damao heard the girl speak, he knew something was amiss. Having worked as the head of the personnel department for several years, he knew their methods and style intimately, and they had a good relationship with him. However, he hadn't received any prior notice this time.

This indicates that this transfer order is somewhat different, and as mentioned earlier, the person was sent without any prior assessment.

"Factory manager, you called me?"

"Section Chief Meng, Staff Member Wang, you're here too, welcome, welcome." Xu Damao entered Li Xuewu's office and saw that in addition to Li Xuewu, there was Meng Jian, the head of the cadre section of the main factory, and another staff member.

Meng Jian and Wang, the clerk, simply nodded awkwardly but did not say anything.

"Da Mao, take a look at this." Li Xuewu said with a stern face, handing a piece of paper to Xu Da Mao.

This is the transfer order from the main factory. "Due to work needs, Xu Damao, the head of the personnel department of Branch Factory 1, is hereby transferred to the Transportation Department of the Logistics Department of the main factory. Please complete the handover procedures and report to the main factory within 3 days."

Political Department of the Steel Rolling Mill.

It turned out to be the Transportation Department, completely different from the previous General Affairs Department—the difference was like night and day. The Transportation Department was responsible for managing all the vehicles on site, essentially the equivalent of a "Horse Keeper" in this era.

Some people say that drivers are the most promising workers of this era, and that's absolutely true; however, the fact that drivers are the most promising doesn't mean that the head of the transportation department is the most promising.

First, while the Transportation Department claims to manage all the factory's vehicles, its actual management capacity is limited. The drivers in the motor pool serve every leader, and each one is more powerful than the leader himself; the department head's word doesn't necessarily carry weight with them. As for specialized vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances, their management primarily falls to the departments that use them. Therefore, ultimately, the Transportation Department mainly manages the trucks used for transporting goods.

Furthermore, the head of the Transportation Section is far removed from the center of power, a world apart from the head of the General Affairs Section. It's safe to say that the head of the General Affairs Section will almost certainly be promoted when the time is right. But someone in the Transportation Section might be stuck there for life.

Of course, it wasn't entirely without its advantages. Because of the drivers, the transportation department also received some subsidies, resulting in slightly higher salaries than other departments. But for those ambitious to climb the corporate ladder, this place was practically exile.

Xu Damao glanced at the transfer order, then looked at Li Xuewu. Li Xuewu remained expressionless. He then looked at Meng Jian, who, upon seeing Xu Damao looking at him, immediately looked away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Xu Damao was staring intently, and having no other choice, he had to speak up.

"Da Mao, brother, this really wasn't my idea. You know I don't have that kind of influence. It was all arranged by the leaders, and they just sent me to deliver it to you. Don't look at me like that anymore. I'll definitely treat you to some good wine next time."

Meng Jian knew what the Transportation Department meant to the young and promising Xu Damao. The change from the previously rumored General Affairs Department to the Transportation Department was a major blow.

"Which leader?" Xu Damao knew from the other party's voice that he was likely to become a victim of the power struggle this time.

"Ahem, brother, which one of me..." Meng Jian stammered, completely at a loss for words.

"Alright, Da Mao, this has nothing to do with Meng Jian, so don't make things difficult for him," Li Xuewu said, helping Meng Jian out of the predicament.

Meng Jian looked at Li Xuewu gratefully. Damn it, this power struggle among the leaders really put him, a mere section chief, in a tough spot. But thinking about Xu Damao's experience made him feel better. A person's joys and sorrows are entirely relative.

"Would you still be the head of the transportation department? It's not written here," Xu Damao teased Meng Jian.

"Brother, you're slapping me in the face. That's definitely the section chief. You know, the transfer order never says that; they'll issue an official document appointing you after you get to the head office."

Meng Jian and his group came and went in a hurry, not wanting to stay even a second longer—it was torture. Thinking of the drinks Xu Damao had treated him to earlier, he felt like vomiting them up.

"Da Mao, actually someone is warning me about this."