Chen Ning's righteous and awe-inspiring words were like a resounding slap in the face to Chen Tao and several other cadres.
Chen Tao's face turned bright red, like a monkey's bottom.
So, you, Chen Ning, are the only one who cares about the people? Are we all just good-for-nothings?
Besides, I'm the section chief. If you have any opinions, you can raise them in private. Why are you slapping me in the face in front of outsiders?
At this moment, Chen Tao felt utterly humiliated and was caught in a dilemma.
Wang Ming, the office director, reacted faster. He immediately put on a stern face and shouted, "Chen Ning, what are you doing! Have you had too much to drink? Who's trying to cheat the people? Our director's opinion is that this is the standard. We can discuss it further. Why are you so agitated? Sit down!"
Chen Ning realized that he had gotten a little too excited. After all, he was just a subordinate and shouldn't have questioned his leader in public or offended him.
But she really cares about this because food safety issues are so serious these days.
She had previously consulted doctors and learned that her father's illness was related to food safety. Her own family was a victim, so it's understandable that she would become emotional when it comes to such matters.
"Well, haha, our Deputy Director Chen's idea is good! He's concerned about the country and its people, and our government needs good cadres like him!"
At this moment, Li Qun said with a smile, "Director Chen, you seem to be an approachable leader. The debate and discussion between you and Deputy Director Chen just now was truly wonderful. It made us business people reflect on ourselves and always put the food safety of the people first. We ordinary people are so lucky to have leaders like you! Hahaha!"
Li Qun laughed it off, instantly easing the awkward atmosphere, but his words clearly had a hidden meaning.
This is a veiled criticism of Chen Tao, who, as his superior, is unable to manage his subordinates.
Chen Tao's expression was somewhat stiff, but Li Qun's words gave him a way out.
He chuckled and said, "Hehe, it's nothing. It's good to be meticulous at work. I always teach them not to treat me like a leader. As long as it's a suggestion that benefits the people, they should just raise it. Hehe, Xiao Chen does that very well! He's meticulous in his work, not bad at all! All of you should learn from Xiao Chen in the future!"
"Yes, Chief!"
"Yes, Director, we'll do whatever you say!"
The others chimed in with agreement.
This matter is considered closed now, and no one has brought up the issue of additive standards again.
Chen Ning realized she had acted impulsively, so she naturally didn't bring it up again. She decided to give Chen Tao some advice privately after returning to her workplace.
The meal was finished quickly.
Li Qun and several other bigwigs escorted Chen Tao and the others to the door.
Then he waved to his men.
Several of his men quickly unloaded several boxes from Li Qun's car, filled with Moutai liquor and local specialties such as sea cucumbers, and stuffed them into the trunk of Chen Tao's car.
"Oh dear, Mr. Li, what are you doing!"
"Director Chen, these are some local specialties from my hometown, just a small token to help you leaders recover!"
"You! Don't do it again!"
"This will not be allowed to happen again!"
After a brief exchange, Li Qun closed the car door for Chen Tao.
They remained silent the entire way, but Chen Tao kept a somber expression.
Chen Ning bit her lip, knowing that Chen Tao was still angry about what had just happened, so she didn't offer any suggestions regarding food standards.
A moment later, the car returned to the building.
"Wang Ming, could you distribute those local specialties to everyone later? I have to watch my child's piano lesson tonight, so I won't worry about it!" Chen Tao instructed Wang Ming, the office director, before walking towards the parking lot without looking back.
The driver, Xiao Zhang, was very observant. He took a box from the trunk and delivered it to Chen Tao's car.
Wang Ming then went to the back and distributed the remaining boxes to the others.
Chen Ning didn't even look at it before leaving.
Wang Ming immediately called out to her, "Hey, Xiao Chen!"
Chen Ning stopped, turned around, and asked, "Director, did you need something from me?"
Wang Ming shook his head helplessly, looked at the last two boxes, and said, "There's one for you too. If you don't take it, do you expect me to personally deliver it to your home?"
Chen Ning pouted, "I don't want it, and I don't think anyone else should either!"
"First of all, this is a matter of discipline! As public officials, how can we accept gifts from others so casually!"
"Furthermore, people are beholden to those who offer them food and gifts. The reason they give us gifts is simply to ask us to be more lenient in setting standards!"
"Our health department is in charge of food safety, which is a huge responsibility! We absolutely cannot lower our standards! So I will not take their stuff!" Chen Ning said stubbornly.
Wang Ming shook his head and sighed, saying, "Chen Ning, you still don't quite understand how things work within our system! You need to understand that we are all part of a whole. Look at your performance today, where was there any consideration for Director Chen's feelings or the interests of the collective?"
"Do you think Director Chen has it easy? He's under a lot of pressure too!"
"In the past two years, Xidu's GDP growth rate has been among the lowest in the country. You keep saying you're thinking about the people, but do you know that the average salary in Xidu is less than 3,000 yuan a month?"
"Ordinary people may not need to drink soy sauce every day, but they still need to eat every day!"
“Look at what you said today. If you really offend President Li and the others, and they don’t come to build the factory, do you know how big a loss that would be for Xidu? How many jobs would our people lose, and how would our GDP grow?” Wang Ming was also a seasoned veteran in the system, and he saw things very clearly.
Chen Ning hadn't considered any of this at all. Hearing Wang Ming's words, her pretty face immediately turned red. "Director, I... I hadn't thought about these things either, but I really was thinking about the health of the people!"
Wang Ming shook his head and said, "I know you mean well, but you still have to be careful about how you do it, right? You have to be more careful in the future. If there's anything, we can discuss it privately when we get back. We can't let the leader lose face in public!"
Chen Ning blushed and said, "I understand, Director!"
Wang Ming nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, stop standing there and hurry up and take your things!"
Chen Ning paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, I still can't take it. I don't think that's right!"
Wang Ming sighed helplessly, leaned closer, and said, "You silly girl, I've explained so much to you, why don't you understand? This was given to all of us by General Manager Li. If you don't take it, how am I supposed to take it?"
“If I don’t take it, how can Director Chen take it? If Director Chen doesn’t take it, how can we make progress together? Besides, what will General Manager Li and the others think? Will they think that our Xidu cadres are too arrogant and difficult to deal with? How can we cooperate in the future? Don’t you think that makes sense?” Wang Ming persuaded him with emotion and deep meaning.
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