Xu Damao felt surprisingly relaxed after leaving Yang Zhenhua's office. He hadn't had a moment's rest these past few years, and he had indeed been mentally strained; he needed to relax a bit.
Just now, Yang Zhenhua asked him for his advice on the successor to the auto repair shop manager. He only said that it would be best to appoint someone from within the company, without giving any specific recommendations. To be honest, he knew that neither of the two men currently had any hope.
The fact that Yang Zhenhua spoke with him instead of Li Xuewu suggests an exchange of favors, with Li Xuewu backing down regarding the auto repair shop. Furthermore, neither Zuo Chang'an nor Gao Yan had been promoted from section chief to deputy director level for long; without strong support from key leaders, further promotion was impossible.
Haha, I didn't expect that Yang Zhenhua would benefit from the fight in the end. I don't know what Huang Xian and Li Xuewu were thinking.
As Xu Damao passed by Li Xuewu's office, he thought for a moment and then knocked on the door.
"Come in," Li Xuewu said without even looking at anyone.
"Hello, Director Li. I've finished my training and am here to report to you." Xu Damao still had a smile on his face, but his words were full of distance.
Li Xuewu was probably taken aback when he saw the entrance, and it took him a moment to react.
"Da Mao's back! Come, have a seat. I heard the training you received this time was excellent, and the instructors were specially selected. You must have learned a lot of useful knowledge," Li Xuewu said.
Looking at Xu Damao, Li Xuewu actually had a slight hesitation. Back when this kid was just an ordinary projectionist, Li Xuewu had seen Xu Damao's potential, and later, because of Li Tong, he gave Xu Damao a special opportunity.
But to his surprise, the young man's growth rate far exceeded his expectations, and he was already only half a step behind him. You have to understand that Xu Damao really had no background whatsoever. He had reviewed Xu Damao's career path and found that the young man had made every step very precisely and was good at leveraging opportunities.
But once people gain power, they like to have their own ideas, and he believed Xu Damao was such a person. These past few years had repeatedly clashed with his own ideas, forcing him to take drastic measures.
Xu Damao looked at Li Xuewu with similar feelings. In the beginning, Li Xuewu's character and conduct were very admirable; even though he was somewhat greedy and lustful, he still had a bottom line. But as he remained unsuccessful, Li Xuewu became somewhat without any moral compass.
While Li Xuewu might not be the most suitable mentor, he has certainly provided considerable assistance to Xu Damao's development over the years, which explains why Xu Damao accepted the outcome so calmly this time.
After exchanging a few casual words with Li Xuewu, Xu Damao prepared to leave.
"Da Mao, do you regret it?" Li Xuewu suddenly asked.
"Thank you for your care over the years, Director Li," Xu Damao replied.
Leaving Li Xuewu's office signifies a complete break with him.
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Xu Damao's appointment was very quiet, without making a fuss. He was accompanied by the deputy director of the political department, who led a group of people to the armed forces department for an introductory meeting before leaving.
The Armed Forces Department has two deputy ministers: Ma Dabao, who also serves as the head of the Security Section, and Guo Yongfa, who also serves as the battalion commander of the reserve battalion.
In addition to the above-mentioned institutions, there is also an office and a militia battalion. The office is responsible for all general affairs, and the office director is Lei Min, a middle-aged woman in her forties. The militia battalion commander, Song Shigui, is a full-time cadre, and there is one staff member under him; the other personnel are workers on a part-time basis.
Therefore, Xu Damao, as the minister, actually only directly managed the office and the militia battalion, which together numbered less than 10 people. It can be said that after ten years of hard work, he was back to square one.
After meeting with the middle and senior-level cadres, everyone made excuses and went home, leaving Xu Damao alone, bewildered in the wind. Oh, right, the office director, Lei Min, accompanied him.
“Minister Xu, shall I take you to your office?” Lei Min said.
“Let’s go,” Xu Damao replied.
The two walked and chatted. Xu Damao seemed to have brought out the same enthusiasm he had when he was chatting in the projection room when he first started working. They had a very pleasant conversation, at least on the surface.
But when Xu Damao got to his office, he felt a little depressed. The office contained only a broken table, two chairs, and a bookshelf; there was nothing else. The office window was broken and simply covered with newspaper, and the paint on the walls was peeling off without being repaired.
Seemingly noticing Xu Damao's change in mood, Lei Min became a little embarrassed; these were all part of her job.
“Minister Xu, I’m so sorry. The previous minister was very frugal; he wouldn’t even replace a broken window. Not just your office, but all of ours were like that. Over time, we all got used to it. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange for someone to take care of it for you right away,” Lei Min said.
It's clear that this ministerial position isn't a very powerful one; at least, it didn't give the office director any advance warning.
"Well, let's tidy up a bit. When we're working, a comfortable environment can improve our work efficiency, provided we're thrifty and frugal. If it's like this in winter, it's so cold, who can stand it and how can we work?" Xu Damao said.
"Yes, yes, what the minister said makes a lot of sense. That's what we suggested before too."
Lei Min said this, but in her heart she was wondering what kind of work the Armed Forces Department could do. However, if it made things more comfortable, she, as a woman, would absolutely support it. Many times before, her requests in this regard had been rejected by the old minister, and over time she stopped bringing it up.
"Could you briefly tell me about the jobs I have here?" Xu Damao asked.
"Your main job is to attend factory meetings and organize our learning sessions. Oh, and there are quite a few year-end summaries that need your approval. Everything else is fine; the deputy ministers and lower-level departments are all handling things well."
Oh, and we also need your guidance on our office work.
Lei Min briefly described Xu Damao's main job, which basically consisted of attending meetings. She probably felt that wasn't enough, so she added the work of the guidance office.
"Yes, a strong learning spirit is very important," Xu Damao said earnestly. In this day and age, one absolutely cannot afford to make mistakes in this area; one's attitude must be correct, otherwise one day it may become a source of gossip for others.
"Are there any difficulties with the office?" Since he was directly in charge of the office, Xu Damao naturally had to inquire about it.
"There are no major problems for the time being."
"On a smaller scale, there are some issues. For example, some of our expense reimbursements haven't been approved yet, but the finance department doesn't say anything about it; also, the three of us are crammed into one office, and we really don't have enough space, but the administration office won't coordinate anything for us, and the department next door isn't willing to lend us any..."
Lei Min initially didn't want to talk about those trivial issues, but once she started, she couldn't stop. The old minister was a very good person, but he was too good, and their department was always bullied. The old minister always said that suffering a loss was a blessing.
For example, other departments often see that they have less work here and ask the Armed Forces Department office to help with other departments' tasks. The old minister never argues with them and always agrees with a smile.
What the leaders didn't know was that Fuquan had been taken by them, and it was the employees below who suffered the loss.
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