"Da Mao, things have changed at the new factory."
Xu Damao, who had just entered Li Xuewu's office, heard the bad news.
In fact, several months have passed since the last meeting at the steel rolling mill, and more and more people have sensed that things might change, but no one expected it to actually happen.
"The establishment of the new factory was not approved?" Xu Damao asked anxiously.
"No, the personnel department of the ministry has already approved our plan and it will be submitted to the ministry meeting soon. However, someone has taken a liking to the manager of the auto repair shop and he may be transferred there," Li Xuewu said angrily.
When setting up a new factory, the factory manager holds the most power, and only by controlling the factory manager can one better control the new factory. But how can one not be angry when someone else steals the credit for a plan that one has painstakingly prepared and persuaded countless people?
But he could only be angry; he couldn't do anything else.
It turns out that when the ministry's evaluation team visited the steel rolling mill last time to assess the plan, one of the team members was the secretary of the vice minister who led the team. This secretary was in his early thirties, but had been the vice minister's secretary for several years and was deeply trusted by the vice minister. He was currently a deputy division-level cadre.
This evaluation at the steel rolling mill made him realize that the top executive of such a large factory really has tremendous power. Even the subordinate secondary factories manage hundreds of people, which is much more powerful than a section chief in the ministry.
This secretary was originally due for promotion to the division-level cadre position, but due to his lack of seniority and grassroots experience, he could only remain a division-level secretary in the ministry at most, with no other good positions available.
But this inspection trip led him to discover a brilliant way to enhance his resume. The position of director of a secondary steel rolling mill, also located in Beijing and within the jurisdiction of his former superior, was practically the best possible opportunity. After serving as director of such a secondary mill for a few years, he could leverage his former superior's connections to advance to a deputy director-general position within a ministry, or, as a last resort, become the deputy director of the steel rolling mill.
Back at the ministry, the secretary mentioned his desire to take a position there, and the vice minister agreed after a moment's thought. His secretary was somewhat related to him, and given the increasing emphasis on work experience at higher levels, with grassroots experience being a key factor in future promotions, a job at the steel rolling mill seemed like a good option.
"The steel rolling mill has two new plants. Which one would you like to go to?" the deputy minister asked.
"I have no preference, so please give me some guidance," the secretary said.
"In that case, let the steel rolling mill decide this matter. They've set up two new plants, so they must have considered candidates for plant managers beforehand. We'll take one, and they can decide for themselves which one." The vice minister was very familiar with this kind of thing and knew the ins and outs.
Later, the vice minister informed the steel rolling mill of this decision. However, he said at the time that he was sending a talented person to the steel rolling mill, hoping that the steel rolling mill would use the talent where it was needed.
Yang Zhenhua was also dissatisfied when he learned of this news, but he couldn't argue with the government unless Li Xuewu decided to shut down both factories. Furthermore, as the top leader, he believed he had the right to make the first choice, so he informed Li Xuewu of the matter, saying that the position of factory manager for the auto repair shop would be given to his secretary.
As the top leader, Yang Zhenhua said that since the other party had to choose between two positions, he should give the position of the auto repair shop manager to the other party. Li Xuewu had nothing to say.
You can't have the position the top leader wants gone, but the position the third-in-command wants still exists. He might not say anything, but he'd be cursing under his breath.
He originally planned to transfer Qiao Dayou, the former deputy director of the first branch factory, to be the director, and Xu Damao to be the deputy director, so that he could have full control over the auto repair shop.
Qiao Dayou was doing well at the branch factory, but he wouldn't be able to become the factory manager anytime soon. This opportunity came along, and Qiao Dayou approached him, and they hit it off immediately. But now the factory manager position was gone just like that; how could he accept it?
Xu Damao felt alright after Li Xuewu explained the situation. As long as his position as deputy factory director remained unchanged, it didn't matter who the factory director was.
"Da Mao, I know you're always full of clever ideas, help me think of any way to salvage this. This auto repair shop is your idea, we can't let others ruin your dream." Li Xuewu suddenly asked Xu Da Mao for his opinion.
A few years ago, he would never have asked Xu Damao about this. But ever since Xu Damao gave him the large yellow croaker, he had developed more trust in Xu Damao. In Li Xuewu's eyes, they were the same kind of people, only concerned with the result, not the process.
"Factory Director, the problem is quite clear now. The ministry needs a factory director position, but we have two factories, one a machine repair shop and the other an auto repair shop. Although the ministry gave us the steel rolling mill to choose from, we don't really have a choice, because the top leader has a natural advantage."
"My idea is to either let the ministry choose the machine repair shops proactively, or let them choose passively. That would make things easier, and Secretary Yang wouldn't be able to blame us," Xu Damao said.
"Tell me in detail what constitutes 'active' and what constitutes 'passive choice'?" Li Xuewu asked.
"If you choose a machine repair shop, you need to find someone to persuade them, saying how good the machine repair shop is, how promising it is, and how much it is valued by the top leaders, while saying how bad the auto repair shop is, so that they feel that choosing the machine repair shop is the right thing to do, and that choosing the auto repair shop is a big mistake."
But this is more difficult. They're clearly just here temporarily, to get their credentials and then go back; they don't care what factory they work in or what they do.
"If we're going to be passive, then we'll prevent him from choosing a car repair shop. He's after a division-level cadre position, so if the repair shop manager isn't at that level, he won't choose it," Xu Damao said mysteriously.
"What do you mean?" Li Xuewu pressed for an answer.
"The rolling mill's machine repair shop and auto repair shop are currently tentatively set at the division-level, but this hasn't been officially finalized and hasn't been approved by higher authorities. If the auto repair shop ends up being set at the deputy division-level, I don't think the other party will choose the factory director. Of course, this is also a way to sacrifice ourselves, and we shouldn't use it unless it's absolutely necessary," Xu Damao explained.
"You mean we voluntarily downgraded the size of the auto repair shop by half a level?" Li Xuewu asked.
"Yes. Unlike the machine repair shop, the auto repair shop was originally just established based on the auto repair group of the transportation department. It's perfectly fine for it to be upgraded to a deputy division-level factory all at once. If it develops well in a few years, it can definitely be upgraded further."
Actually, now that I think about it, setting up a factory at the deputy division level wouldn't be bad. With a deputy division-level staff, the departments below would be at the deputy section-level, and key personnel like Huang Shu could be directly promoted to deputy section-level. If the level is too high, they can't become department heads," Xu Damao said.
He had another unspoken point: in a factory at the deputy division level, Xu Damao could be directly promoted to the top position. In a division-level factory, one would have to start as a deputy and wait several years before even having a chance to compete for the top position.
Xu Damao's statement was novel and bold, and Li Xuewu needed to carefully weigh the pros and cons. He understood the other unspoken meaning behind Xu Damao's statement: if it really was a deputy-department-level factory, he had to find a way to ensure that Xu Damao became the top leader.
After a long while, Li Xuewu let out a heavy sigh.
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