Around 2 PM.
Conference room in the small hall of the Municipal Machinery Bureau.
Zhao Shanhai, the newly appointed director of Factory No. 4, waited quietly there with a teacup in his hand.
He was probably in his forties, and his head was very shiny, probably due to overwork, with a few long strands of hair covering the top of his head.
The first person to push open the door and enter was Li Haomin, the director of the machinery factory, followed closely by Hou Baoguo, the director of the machinery bureau.
Zhao Shanhai quickly stood up, took the initiative to shake hands with the other party and introduce himself.
Director Hou sat down in the main seat and said, "Please sit down, everyone. Let's get to know each other first and then discuss a preliminary framework."
The two factory managers nodded to each other and offered each other cigarettes.
Hou Baoguo said to Zhao Shanhai, "Young Zhao, you've just taken office at Factory No. 4. How much do you know about the factory's situation?"
Just as Director Zhao stood up, he heard Director Hou wave his hand and say, "Sit down and talk, sit down and talk."
"The situation at the factory is not optimistic. After I took office yesterday, I went to investigate thoroughly with Comrade Zhong Hongming, a senior party official at the factory. Since the factory stopped production, it has been lacking in management and has suffered a significant loss of personnel," Zhao Shanhai said.
The other two knew about these situations. As for staff turnover? The few workers they had were still poached by Factory Director Li.
Zhao Shanhai continued, "The factory still has more than fifty yuan in its accounts. This afternoon, I spoke with three employees who are still working there. They haven't received their wages for three months and are having a very difficult time."
Director Hou glanced at Factory Director Li in surprise and then asked Zhao Shanhai, "Are there only three employees left?"
Factory Director Zhao glanced at Factory Director Li and nodded, saying, "Yes, two of them are veterans who were wounded on the battlefield and retired from the military and were resettled at the former No. 138 Cave Factory. Due to their physical disabilities, they can only do jobs such as guarding the gate."
Factory Director Li smoked silently, his face expressionless. He was fully aware of the gazes directed at him by the two men. But so what?
"Factory No. 4 is facing great difficulties, and I don't know where to start," said Director Zhao, spreading his hands.
"I called you here today to understand the situation and discuss future developments. Do you have any further thoughts?" Director Hou Liguo said.
"That's all for now. I'll follow the organization's arrangements." Zhao Shanhai rounded off, implying that the factory was currently empty and lacked everything, and since the organization had assigned him there, the organization had to take care of him.
Hou Baoguo didn't reply immediately, pausing slightly to control the pace.
He took a cigarette out of his pocket, tapped it on the table, and put it in his mouth. He took out a match, struck it lightly, lit the cigarette, and then shook the match to extinguish it.
"The bureau's idea is that Factory No. 4 will relocate to Daliuzhuang, and a piece of land will be allocated to you from there. The original factory site will be allocated to the Machinery Factory," Hou Baoguo said.
“Moving to Daliuzhuang would be far from the city center, at least ten miles away. It would be inconvenient for employees to commute to get off work. The allocation of shuttle buses needs to be coordinated between the bureau and the bus company,” Zhao Shanhai said.
"The city leaders instructed that Factory No. 4 could be contracted out, and after careful consideration, the bureau decided that you would be the contractor." Zhao Shanhai was completely unprepared for Hou Baohua's words and looked at Director Hou in shock.
Hou Baoguo continued, "The land of Factory No. 4 was sold to the Machinery Factory, and the land allocated from Daliuzhuang can be paid symbolically to the local town government. The coordination will be handled by the bureau."
Zhao Shanhai was in turmoil, unable to calm down. He hadn't expected that taking on this mess would be troublesome enough, let alone that there was a huge pit waiting for him to jump into.
He was merely promoted from a lower-level agricultural machinery station, and initially thought he was being given a critical mission, eager to roll up his sleeves and get things done. He wasn't afraid of difficulties; what he feared was the system.
He thought of one possibility: the machinery factory had its eye on the land belonging to Factory No. 4, but he couldn't guess what it would be used for.
He didn't have the guts, nor the ambition, to take over a factory that was practically blank.
"Director Hou, I need to think about it. This is all too sudden," Zhao Shanhai said, his voice tinged with mixed emotions.
"Okay, I'll give you two days. Director Li is very busy today. He specially left his foreign guests behind to come here for this matter, just to hear your opinion. That's good. Think it over carefully, but..." He paused slightly.
Standing up and holding onto the table with both hands, he said to Zhao Shanhai, "The reorganization of Factory No. 4 is also imminent. If you don't want to take over this factory, you can only submit your resignation."
Zhao Shanhai's pressure increased instantly. The implication was clear: if he didn't take on the contract, he would have to resign, and resigning meant giving up his position. These days, jobs were all filled individually; returning to the agricultural machinery station was impossible. He would have to wait for the organization to reassign him.
So many unemployed young people need work, but they also have to wait. How long will he have to wait?
Zhao Shanhai walked out of the city's machinery bureau in a daze, standing at the entrance as if trying to find his way. The road beneath his feet felt heavier and heavier.
"Xu Shuai, Xu Shuai?" Xing Baohua, who had just lay down on the recliner, leaned forward and called into the room.
Xu Shuai stepped forward and asked, "What?"
"Move the teapot out of the house and put it here," Xing Baohua said, pointing to the small round table next to her.
"Damn it, you're seventy or eighty years old and still bossing people around. Go get it yourself." Xu Shuai ignored Xing Baohua's instructions. Liu Quan, on the other hand, shook his head with a wry smile and went to get it.
"Don't spoil him, Quanzi. Lying by the door drinking tea makes him a laughingstock!" Xu Shuai said.
"If he's willing, let him lie down," Liu Quan said as he went inside to get it.
Xu Shuai took out two small stools from behind the door, sat down on one, and asked Xing Baohua, "What exactly are you trying to do with all this?"
"Fishing," Xing Baohua said.
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