Chapter 127
Ye Manzhi's proposal is so reasonable that there is no reason to object.
Recently, there have been too many people coming to the province to use connections to get in through the back door. In addition to the food industry review team, review teams in other industries have also encountered similar problems.
If we don't find a way to curb this unhealthy trend, the situation will only get worse.
After the loophole in the "Evaluation Regulations" is plugged, it will have little impact on most units. Even if gifts have been given before, it will not count as long as they are not caught in the act.
The only one who was anxious and angry was Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory.
On the day the notice was sent out, Director Niu of the First Food Factory came to Xia Zhuyun to plead for mercy.
"Director Xia, the food factory is the darling of our Industry Department! How can their eligibility for the selection be revoked just like that?"
Xia Zhujun's face was stern, and she angrily asked, "What if I don't disqualify him? Liu Sheng from your factory publicly admitted to giving gifts to the review team. Comrades from the General Office, the Commerce Department, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and several other units were present. How can I help you cover up for you?"
"Liu Sheng is a stubborn person. He never could have anticipated such serious consequences! He told the truth when questioned by his superiors." Niu Enjiu was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. "Director Xia, we're not the only ones involved in this gift-giving incident. Otherwise, the review committee wouldn't have suddenly issued a ban on bribery, right? Besides, Liu Sheng only gave one gift, and our factory stopped it in time. Doesn't that mean the impact hasn't escalated?"
"Liu Sheng is the head of the supply and marketing department at your factory, right? We all know whether he's stubborn or not. The review committee wants to make an example of him as a warning to others. When no one else admits to giving gifts, your factory's Liu Sheng admits it. Who else should they remove if not you?"
Xia Zhuyun sighed and said, "Lao Niu, you're the only food factory in the province directly managed by the Industry Department. You should set an example in matters like this. Now that things have gotten this bad, our Industry Department is embarrassed in front of other units."
Niu Enjiu said anxiously, "If we had violated the rules by giving gifts after the selection regulations were updated, we would have accepted the punishment. But Liu Sheng gave the gift before the selection regulations were updated, so this rule doesn't apply to us!"
"The previous selection regulations didn't mention bribery," Xia Zhuyun asked seriously, "but you should be familiar with the three major disciplines and eight points of attention for party and government officials, right? What is the nature of giving gifts to the review team?"
She felt that the leadership of the food factory was not wronged. Then, could Liu Sheng give gifts on behalf of the factory without the permission of the factory leaders?
But Niu Enjiu did not instruct Liu Sheng to give gifts, so he really died unjustly!
The First Food Factory is large in scale and has a wide variety of products. In order to win more provincial excellence titles, the factory specially set up an excellence creation team.
Liu Sheng, as the head of the supply and marketing section, is also a member of the excellence creation team.
As soon as he found out that he had given gifts to the judges, Niu Enjiu stopped him immediately.
The product quality of the First Food Factory is among the best in the city. He feels that he can build relationships with the judges, but there is no need to give expensive gifts.
Liu Sheng agreed to it in person, but that bastard was more of a hindrance than a help, and actually admitted in public that he had given gifts to the members of the review panel!
According to past experience, Liu Sheng took the initiative to explain the problem and admitted his mistake with a good attitude, so he didn't cause any big trouble.
But the province suddenly wanted to catch an example, and he was the only one who exposed himself. Isn't he being used as a warning to others?
*
Ye Manzhi had already heard that the director of the First Food Factory was seeking help from the superiors.
She actually doesn't care much about the final result. If the province is willing to give the First Food Factory a chance to participate in the evaluation again, she has no objection.
Giving gifts was Liu Sheng's personal behavior. Because of his mistake, thousands of employees in the factory had to pay for it, which was also unfair to ordinary employees.
What Ye Manzhi was more concerned about was why Liu Sheng targeted her over the gift-giving issue.
They had never even met before, so it was pure nonsense to say that there was any personal grudge between them.
Ye Manzhi suspected that Liu Sheng might have received instructions from someone, and this person was most likely from their Chemical and Light Industry Department.
Only her colleagues can keep an eye on her.
If Liu Sheng was not sure that she really accepted the gift and did not hand it over, there would be no need for him to publicly reveal that he had given the gift.
Ye Manzhi sat at the desk, wrote the names of several colleagues on the manuscript paper, and then drew wavy lines under the names of He Ping and Wang Qin.
Before she was assigned to Comprehensive Department 3, He Ping and Wang Qin were both responsible for the docking work in the food industry.
Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is an enterprise directly managed by the Department of Industry. The factory leaders are appointed by the Department of Industry and have close relations with the cadres in the department.
She would not be surprised at all if Liu Sheng had any private dealings with He Ping or Wang Qin.
While Ye Manzhi was pondering her thoughts in the house, Kuihua in the yard started barking wildly. Within two seconds, her Wu Yuzhuo's childish voice was heard scolding her: "Kuihua, stop yelling! This is my aunt!"
Little Wu Yuzhuo ran to the doghouse, hugged the puppy's neck, and waved his hands, saying, "Auntie, come in quickly! Kuihua is not barking anymore!"
Ye Manjin said to his sister who came out to greet him, "Luckily we met at the gate of the family compound and we had an agreement. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to tell you your house number and I wouldn't be able to get into this compound!"
"Haha, this is East Courtyard No. 28. Just say my name at the door next time."
Ye Manzhi invited her sister and brother-in-law into the house, then turned and asked her daughter, "Why did you run to the gate of the compound again? Didn't I tell you to play in the yard?"
"Brother Momo took Yiyi and me there!"
"That won't do either! Don't run towards the compound gate next time!"
Ye Manzhi sighed tiredly. She was just happy a few days ago that her daughter had become friends with the little girl.
Within two days, I discovered that Yi Yi was also running around with her brother all day long.
Her next-door neighbor is another deputy director of Institute 1062.
Deputy Director Zhou has four children. The eldest son, Zhou Wu, is already in junior high school, and the youngest daughter, Zhou Yi, is still in kindergarten and is the same age as Wu Yuzhuo.
The two little girls are neighbors and classmates in kindergarten. Except for going home to sleep, they play together almost all day long.
However, the younger children like to follow the older ones. Zhou Mo, the third child in the Zhou family, is three years older than the two girls. He is at the age where he can't sit still, and he runs around the yard with his two younger sisters all day long.
Wu Zhengrong was very worried that his daughter would be turned into a wild monkey by the boy next door.
So, these days I have been wanting to put more pressure on my daughter in her studies and not let her go out to play.
Ye Manzhi helped her put on her woolen hat and said, "Go to Uncle Zhou's house next door and call your father back. Tell him that your uncle is here!"
"Youyan is so young, why do you always tell her what to do?" The eldest sister carried her niece into the house, took off her gloves and hat, and said, "We are here to find you, not your brother-in-law. There is no need to call your brother-in-law back!"
Ye Manzhi lifted the kettle from the coal stove and made tea for the guests. She glanced at the washbasins her eldest sister had brought and asked with a smile, "Why did you bring me so many enamel basins? Did my brother-in-law get some defective ones again?"
"What defective goods? This time I brought you all good stuff!" The eldest sister picked up an enamel basin from the ground and knocked on it. "Look, there's not a single flaw."
Ye Manzhi pushed the teacups to the two of them and asked in confusion, "Sister, how did you become so generous? You actually gave me so many intact enamel basins!"
"Your eldest sister has always been generous to you," brother-in-law Hu Jiannan chuckled. "When you got married, she even gave you a sewing machine. What are these enamel basins?"
The eldest sister rolled her eyes at him and said, "What does our conversation have to do with you? Go drink your tea!"
"Haha, that's what I said." Hu Jiannan smiled apologetically and sat aside listening to the two sisters chatting.
Ye Manzhi grabbed a handful of melon seeds and put them in her elder sister's hand. She asked curiously, "Sister, is there something wrong with you two coming here so suddenly? If so, just tell me what's going on."
Sisters usually don't give each other gifts when they visit each other. At most they bring some fruits or buy some snacks for the children.
An enamel basin costs several dollars and requires industrial coupons. No one would give such an expensive gift to relatives.
Her eldest sister sent four or five at a time, so the matter must be serious.
"This is all your brother-in-law's fault for being too talkative," the eldest sister glared at the man again and complained, "He bragged to his colleagues at work that his sister-in-law was a leader in the Industry Department. As a result, their company manager assigned him a task to try to find a connection with the leader of the Industry Department."
"Haha, my brother-in-law is really good at bragging. I'm just running errands in the department, how can I be considered a leader?"
Hu Jiannan laughed and said, "Why not a leader? If you went to our glass and enamel company, you could at least be a section chief!"
"Okay, let's just say I'm a leader, brother-in-law. What's going on? Tell me and I'll give you some advice. If I can do it, I'll help you. If I can't, think of other ways."
When Ye Manzhi got married, her elder sister and brother-in-law gave her a sewing machine.
She will have to repay this favor sooner or later.
In the past few years, my elder sister has never asked her to do anything for her. Of course, the main reason is that her rank was not high enough before. She was just a small street cadre and could not help with big things.
Her brother-in-law needs her help now, and she will definitely do anything within her ability.
Hu Jiannan said, "The head of our supply and marketing department is going to be transferred, and a new position will be vacant soon."
"Brother-in-law, do you have a chance to become a section chief?"
Her brother-in-law has been the deputy section chief of the supply and marketing department for several years. As long as the section chief doesn't move, he can't move either.
Now we finally see a glimmer of hope.
"It's just an opportunity. Our company's supply and marketing department is a large department with two deputy section chiefs. The other deputy section chief is older and more experienced than me, so I don't have much of an advantage in this area." Hu Jiannan said embarrassedly, "The province is recently holding a quality product evaluation. The company manager heard that my sister-in-law works in the Industry Department and is on the evaluation team, so he wanted you to help look after her."
Ye Manzhi glanced at the pile of enamel basins on the ground and asked, "Could this be a gift your manager asked you to give?"
"Hey, it was indeed given by the company."
"Then take it back quickly. It's okay if you give me a few defective products, but don't give me such good stuff." Ye Manzhi spread his hands and said, "I was just reported for taking bribes a few days ago and was almost kicked out of the review team."
"Ah?" The eldest sister and her husband exclaimed at the same time.
The eldest sister hurriedly asked: "What happened? How are you now?"
Ye Manzhi briefly explained what happened and advised, "Brother-in-law, forget about the gift-giving thing. Once bribery is discovered, your qualification for the competition will be revoked."
Hu Jiannan said nonchalantly, "If you don't tell me and I don't tell anyone, who would know? As long as you don't catch them in the act, it doesn't count!"
"Why won't you listen?" the older sister gave him a light kick on the leg. "The province is cracking down on bribery, and you insist on going against the boss, don't you?"
"Hey, if you don't understand, just leave it alone."
The eldest sister glanced over and said, "Okay, I don't understand, then don't ask my sister to do anything for you!"
Ye Manzhi tried to smooth things over and said, "You two should stop flirting in my house. My daughter has a very good memory. She will remember everything you two said today and tell her grandma about it later."
"Is Youyan so awesome?" The elder sister looked at the little kid sitting on a small stool and peeling orange peels seriously.
"Well, when I talk to Wu Zhengrong about important things, I have to do it behind her back, for fear that she won't know the seriousness of the matter and shout it out." Ye Manzhi got back to the point, "Brother-in-law, this time the provincial excellence evaluation is quite extensive. This year's evaluation is mainly for the textile and food industries. Your glass enamel evaluation may be scheduled for the end of this year or next year."
"So late?"
"Yes, so after you submit your application, don't rush to use your connections. A strong iron must be forged with strength. We must ensure that the quality of our products in the coming months is stable. After receiving the application, our review team will send people to conduct random inspections of each unit to check product quality and perform physical and chemical tests."
Ye Manzhi spoke frankly to her elder sister, "Brother-in-law, I was only selected to join the food industry review team, responsible for the review preparation work. The review rules for each product category are different, and I'm not very clear about the other review teams. I need to go to the company and ask my colleagues."
"Okay, go ahead and find out. If you have any news, tell your brother-in-law."
Nowadays, food quotas are fixed on a per-person basis, and visiting relatives usually requires bringing food rations or food coupons.
The eldest sister and her husband had not originally planned to have dinner at her younger sister's house, but Wu Zhengrong came back halfway and, when they met, he warmly invited his brother-in-law to stay for a drink at his home.
By the time the two of them went out in the dark, Hu Jiannan's tongue had grown twice as big.
"Your brother-in-law is really this!" Hu Jiannan gave a thumbs up, "You can drink even more than me, a supply and marketing guy!"
"How can a soldier drink more than you?" The eldest sister didn't want to help him and said disdainfully, "When you talk to my sister next time, be more careful with your words!"
"When did I stop guarding the door?"
"Who told you to mention that sewing machine in front of Lai Ya?"
"If I don't mention it, will she be able to do anything for me?"
"Tsk, do you think everyone is like those people in your family?" Ye Manjin rolled his eyes and said, "That's my sister. Even if she doesn't have a sewing machine, she can help me as long as I ask! Look at you, you mentioned the sewing machine as soon as you walked in, as if you were afraid that I would forget it. It's really cheap! You remembered a sewing machine for several years! Fortunately, Wu Zhengrong was not there at the time, otherwise you would have been laughed at to death!"
On the other side of the compound, Wu Zhengrong, who was not present at the time, was listening to his daughter parroting how she met her aunt and uncle at the gate of the compound, and how her aunt and uncle gave gifts to her mother.
"Mom said the basin was too expensive, and my uncle said he even gave away Feng Feng Chicken, so the basin was nothing!"
Wu Zhengrong raised his eyebrows and asked, "What is Fengfeng Chicken?"
Ye Manzhi: "Sewing machine!"
"..." Wu Zhengrong didn't laugh at his brother-in-law for having memorized a sewing machine for several years. He just sighed, "From now on, I really can't talk about serious matters in front of this little thing. We need to establish a confidentiality agreement at home."
"You should first take care of her habit of running out to the street," Ye Manzhi said, glancing at him. "I don't know who she is, but she's so curious. A three-year-old girl always runs to the gate of the compound."
Wu Zhengrong, who had always been running down the street since she was two or three years old, rubbed his nose and changed the subject, saying, "Send her to the old house this weekend."
Grandpa Wu has always wanted to raise his great-granddaughter in the same way he raised his grandson.
Let Wu Yuzhuo also learn what her father learned when he was a child.
Wu Zhengrong wanted to give his daughter a carefree childhood and did not want her to feel academic pressure too early, so he never agreed to his grandfather's proposal.
However, his daughter Wu Yuzhuo seemed too carefree. If he didn't give her something to do, she would always meddle in other people's affairs.
Ye Manzhi felt pity for her daughter who was about to be shackled for a second, stroked her soft hair and said, "People take taxis to the Children's Palace for gymnastics classes. Just take Youyan to grandpa and treat it as an interest class."
*
After arranging a place for her daughter to go in her free time, Ye Manzhi remembered the task her elder brother-in-law had asked her to do.
When I went to work again, I deliberately inquired about the evaluation of glass enamel products.
There are only three provincial awards for enamelware, but this number can be increased to four if there are particularly outstanding ones. However, more than a dozen companies have already applied for the provincial award for enamelware.
The Binjiang Glass Enamel Company where my brother-in-law works is a relatively large enterprise, so the probability of winning the award is actually very high.
However, the specifications and styles of enamel products are similar, and the production processes are also similar. The biggest difference between enamel products of the same price from different manufacturers lies in the patterns and colors.
No one can guarantee that their products will definitely win the provincial quality title.
The leader of the glass enamel and light industrial machinery review group is Director Guo of the Department of Commerce.
Only He Ping from the Department of Industry and Zheng Renjie from the Department of Science and Technology were selected to join the review group to carry out preparatory work.
Ye Manzhi wanted to ask He Ping about the selection rules for enamel products, but He Ping was a "researcher" and had been conducting research at the grassroots level these days.
The official selection of enamel products will not be held until next year, so she did not rush to ask anyone and joined the "product sampling group" to conduct sampling surveys in food companies.
That day, when returning to the city from Dongyang County Food Factory, it was already past the working time. Ye Manzhi was going to take the samples back to the unit with everyone. When passing by the office bathhouse, she happened to see He Ping coming out wearing a big cotton jacket and holding a washbasin.
Ye Manzhi greeted him with a smile: "Director He, are you back from the grassroots? I haven't seen you for several days!"
He Ping also serves as the office director of the "Investigator's Office". Since his position as deputy section chief was removed, everyone calls him Director He.
He Ping, who was called, seemed to be thinking about something. When he heard her voice, he was obviously stunned.
The action of holding the washbasin with one hand turned into holding it with both hands, and the sleeves of the two large cotton-padded jackets just covered most of the washbasin.
Ye Manzhi's gaze passed across the washbasin and did not stop.
Washing clothes at home in winter makes your hands cold, so many people bring their dirty clothes to the bathhouse to wash.
Usually they would also wash the underwear they had just taken off. He Ping was a gay, so Ye Manzhi politely didn't look into his washbasin.
He Ping smiled and replied, "I just got back today. I've been in the commune for several days and I'm almost smelly. I quickly came to the bathhouse to wash up."
Ye Manzhi nodded in understanding, exchanged a few words with the other party, and then went their separate ways.
When I went to the company the next day, I asked him about the evaluation rules for enamel products.
Hearing that the judges and specific rules had not yet been determined, she put the matter aside for the time being and continued to go to food companies to collect samples.
However, after Ye Manzhi had been out for a week, he actually ran into He Ping three times in the office bathroom!
Twice he went in carrying a washbasin, and once he came out carrying a washbasin.
Ye Manzhi thought to himself, Director He is really diligent. He wouldn't use up all the bath tickets issued by the company in just one week, right?
In order to save coal, water and electricity, the Industrial Department issued bathing tickets to cadres and employees, one per week in the autumn and winter seasons, and four per month, which allowed them to take a bath in the agency's bathhouse.
There are not many people like Ye Manzhi who take a bath almost every day. The main reason is that she has to have sex with Wu Zhengrong two days a week and rest one day a week. She always feels weird if she doesn't rinse in the water.
She didn't seem to have heard that He Ping had mysophobia at work, so he wouldn't go to the bathhouse three times a week, right?
He used up all his shower tickets and won't shower for a few weeks?
Ye Manzhi was feeling puzzled, but she didn't want to make small talk with He Ping. So when she saw him coming out of the bathhouse from a distance, she took a detour.
She didn't want to pry into other people's privacy, but when she took her daughter to the Wu family's old house on the weekend, the bus passed by the Industrial Hall.
Ye Manzhi held her daughter in her arms and sat in a chair, pointing to the gray building and telling her that was where her mother worked.
The mother and daughter rubbed a hole in the frosted car window. When they were looking out through the hole, Ye Manyi unexpectedly saw Director He again!
This time it wasn't at the door of the bathhouse.
It was a bit far from the bathhouse, but He Ping had obviously taken a bath before, holding his big washbasin in his hand.
As the car passed by him, Ye Manzhi subconsciously looked into the basin in front of him, where steam was rising from the washed clothes.
Just as he was about to look away, he saw He Ping pull aside the top wet piece of clothing and pull out a large colorful glass kettle from underneath the clothes.
The handle of the kettle lid is a round glass ball. Ye Manzhi didn’t see the details clearly, but I feel that the style of the bottle is quite fashionable!
Director He is quite interesting. He actually brought a glass kettle with him when taking a bath!
He couldn't be coming to the bathhouse to steal hot water, right?
"Mom, what are you looking at?" Wu Yuzhuo asked, pulling down her scarf.
"I saw my mother's colleague."
Ye Manzhi handed her daughter, who was dressed like a ball, to the Wu family's elders, as if she was really sending her child to attend an interest class. After lunch, she rushed back to the military industrial compound without stopping.
"Hey, Section Chief Ye is back to visit her parents?" asked the fourth brother. "When will Section Chief Ye find a job for your brother? He's about to go to the coal yard to grab coal again!"
"I'm keeping an eye on your work. Every unit is downsizing, and they don't have any plans to hire. What can I do?" Ye Manzhi pulled him aside and asked, "Brother, have you had nothing to do lately?"
"If something happened, my dad wouldn't have taken me to the coal yard to be a coal-grabbing hero!"
Ye Manzhi ignored his sarcasm and whispered, "Since you have nothing to do recently, how about I invite you to take a bath in our company's bathhouse?"
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