Before I could even settle in for two days after returning to the Red Star Factory, the factory administration's official appointment document arrived.
That morning, Liu Li was organizing the materials and notes she had brought back from the project team in the technical department when the department head walked in with a red-headed document, smiling broadly. He waved it at everyone in the department and said, "Everyone, quiet down. I'm going to announce a decision from the factory."
The department fell silent immediately, and all eyes turned to them.
"Based on Comrade Liu Li's outstanding performance in key national projects, as well as her exceptional professional skills and innovative spirit, and in order to better leverage her role as a technical backbone and promote technological progress in our factory, the factory's Party Committee has decided," the section chief cleared his throat and read out in a loud voice, "to appoint Comrade Liu Li as the deputy section chief of the factory's technical section, in charge of promoting new processes and technological transformation!"
After the appointment was announced, the department was silent for a moment, then burst into enthusiastic applause.
"Congratulations, Mr. Liu!"
"Deputy Section Chief Liu, you'll have to lead us around more often in the future!"
"It should have been done a long time ago! With Engineer Liu's skills, he's more than qualified to be a deputy section chief!"
Colleagues gathered around to congratulate her, their tone sincere. Liu Li was a little bewildered by this sudden appointment, her face flushed red with embarrassment. She waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no, it sounds better to call me Liu Li. I'm just a technician, this management..."
"Forget about management," the section chief said, shoving the appointment document into her hand and patting her on the shoulder. His tone was encouraging and expectant. "Making you this deputy section chief isn't about sitting in an office and managing people. It's about giving you greater authority and a platform to drive technological innovation in our factory! You need to find a way to implement and promote the good experiences and technologies from the project team, especially that 'online dynamic balancing' you developed, within our factory! That's the most important thing!"
The section chief's words were a wake-up call for Liu Li. Yes, this new position meant responsibility, but it also meant that she could more legitimately mobilize resources to sow and let those proven advanced technologies and innovative methods take root in the soil of the Red Star Factory, where she was born and raised.
She didn't refuse again. Clutching the appointment document tightly, she looked up to meet the expectant gazes of her section chief and colleagues, and said clearly and firmly, "Thank you for the factory's trust, thank you everyone. I will definitely do my best to do a good job in our factory's technical work, especially in promoting new processes!"
In the afternoon, she took her appointment document to Master Wang Jianguo's workshop. Master Wang had just finished repairing the tailstock of a lathe and was wiping his hands, which were covered in grease, with cotton yarn. Liu Li handed him the document.
Master Wang took it, squinted at the few lines of text, said nothing, handed the document back to her, bent down and took out something wrapped in oil paper from under the toolbox. He opened it and found a set of semi-new but very well maintained Allen wrenches.
"Here," he said, shoving the wrench into Liu Li's hand, his tone still calm and indifferent. "Even if you become an official, don't abandon your skills. Sometimes, a wrench is more effective than words."
Liu Li gripped the heavy wrench set, still warm and greasy with her master's touch, and nodded emphatically: "I'll remember it, Master."
The new appointment felt like a heavy burden on Liu Li's shoulders. But she was filled with enthusiasm. She knew this wasn't leaving the front lines of technology she loved, but rather a change in approach, a broader stage, to continue striving for the factory and career she cherished. Her stage expanded from the project team's laboratory to the entire Hongxing Machinery Plant.
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