Chapter 144
Liu Hanmin's sudden appearance made factory director Niu Enjiu quite annoyed.
The fire a while ago was a sensitive topic, and he was eager to cover it up as soon as possible, but this bastard Liu Hanmin actually made a fuss in front of the provincial and ministerial leaders!
He simply said in front of everyone, "The factory leadership took Liu Hanmin's report very seriously. But he simply claimed that Deputy Director He asked him to leave early, and there's no record of his attendance on the duty roster that day. Comrade He Dali sacrificed his life saving state property. Who can we turn to for verification?"
Deputy Factory Manager Jiang Wenming chimed in, "If we allow him to use Old He's name to exonerate himself, won't the other people responsible for the accident do the same thing and shift the blame onto Old He, who's already speechless?"
Liu Hanmin pulled the man hiding behind him over and defended himself, "I wasn't the only one who left my job that day. Lao Guo and I both left because of Deputy Director He's advice, and we were both fired from the factory!"
No one present was speechless.
As I said, there is no evidence after death.
Who can guarantee that these two people are not in collusion to shift the blame to Director He?
Liu Hanmin looked at the unmoved Director Sun and said anxiously, "Boss, you can check your previous attendance records. Ever since I became a safety officer, I've always been committed to my post and never left for a single day! On February 27th, I listened to Deputy Director He and went home for the holiday. How did the fire happen?"
"You've only been a safety officer for half a year, right?" Niu Enjiu snorted and said to Director Sun and Ye Manzhi, "Liu Hanmin has been targeting Comrade He Dali, but the higher-ups have already made the final decision on He Dali's case. He sacrificed his life saving state property. Liu Hanmin keeps throwing mud at He Dali, and how can his family feel about it? He's family has already come to the factory to protest several times."
The factory had just held a memorial service for He Dali and called on all employees to learn from Deputy Director He's spirit of risking his life to save national property.
If you want to say that there is something wrong with He Dali, you need solid evidence.
Liu Hanmin couldn't produce any strong evidence and just kept saying that it was Lao He who asked him to go home. How should the factory leaders deal with this?
Niu Enjiu glanced at his watch and said, "Time waits for no one. We have a factory-wide staff meeting soon. Liu Hanmin, don't you want to file a complaint against the factory leadership? I won't stop you! Go back and write a complaint and give it to me. I'll personally deliver it to the provincial leaders!"
Liu Hanmin: “…”
The factory director promised in front of Director Sun and the factory leadership team that he would facilitate his complaint.
Then, he called the office clerk and persuaded the two uninvited guests who suddenly appeared to leave.
Ye Manzhi thought that Niu Enjiu had been the factory director for so many years and was very experienced in dealing with such emergencies.
He spoke frankly and behaved in an upright manner.
But Liu Hanmin has already been fired from the factory. After what happened today, it is hard to say whether he will be able to enter the food factory next time.
It would be even more difficult to hand over the materials reporting the factory director to him.
Ye Manzhi ate the welcome banquet as usual and was not affected by this little episode.
Every man has his own reason, and every woman has her own reason.
It was her first day in office, and she was too concerned about reporting on factory leaders, which put her at odds with other factory leaders.
Before she understands the ins and outs of the food factory, she'd better not get involved.
*
Director Sun was still worried about the mess at the food factory and was afraid that someone else would come out to complain.
After the welcome banquet in the cafeteria, he hurried to the factory auditorium and read out the appointment of Ye Manzhi by the Party Committee of the Department at the factory-wide staff meeting.
At this time, Ye Manzhi had calmed down. She stood up with a smile and appeared in front of all the employees in the factory.
"Comrades, when I received the appointment from my superiors, I was nervous and excited. I wrote several versions of my speech for today's meeting." Ye Manyi shook the manuscript paper in his hand and said with a smile, "But now that I am actually standing on the grounds of the First Food Factory and have the opportunity to communicate with you face to face, I don't want to read the speech anymore. Today, I just want to say a few sincere words to all the workers."
"Director Sun just introduced my basic situation to everyone, saying that I'm a college student and previously a cadre in the Provincial Department of Industry. But I want to emphasize that, like many of you here, I come from a working-class background. My hometown is Donghe Village, Hongxing People's Commune, Tonglan County, Binjiang City. My father and brothers both worked on the front lines of factory workshops. I can proudly say that I am the daughter of the working-class and peasant class. Farmers and workers raised me, and the country nurtured me!"
The workers in the audience clapped and applauded the deputy factory director who also came from the working class.
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "For me, Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory has been an unattainable existence for a long time. Why do you say that?"
"Our factory produces canned Binjiang yellow peaches, delicious cucumbers, Great Wall steamed pork cans, Binghua biscuits, and so on. They are all high-end products to me. When I was a child, I would only beg my parents to open canned fruit for me when I was sick."
The workers applauded proudly.
It is no exaggeration to say that the products produced by the First Food Factory are considered "luxury goods" when placed in stores.
As employees of a food factory, they can come into contact with these "luxury goods" every day, and occasionally they can buy some defective products from the factory to take home as a snack, which makes them very proud among relatives and friends.
Any new product launched in the factory can become a topic of conversation at family gatherings.
The lives of food factory workers are actually quite comfortable.
Of course, this was before the fire.
Various canned products are an important pillar of food factories.
The four largest canning workshops in the factory were burned down by a fire, and it is unknown when the post-disaster reconstruction will be completed.
Most of the workers stopped working to await the birth of their babies.
Someone in the audience sighed: "Oh, the days ahead will be tough."
"I heard yesterday that the new factory director is from the Industry Department. I was quite happy. We can get the department leaders to allocate funds to buy new equipment." The person next to him muttered, "But Director Ye is a woman, and so young. I guess she won't have much influence over the higher-ups."
The female worker in the front row turned around and retorted, "What's wrong with being a woman? I think female factory managers are pretty good. Director Ye is from our working class! Women hold up half the sky. Stop looking down on us female comrades!"
Ye Manzhi's speech on the stage continued.
"The First Food Factory has just experienced a traumatic experience. As a longtime Binjiang resident, I share the heartache of everyone here. When I first entered the room, I heard some veteran comrades ask, 'Why did the Industry Department send a young girl to be the factory director? Can someone so young actually manage the factory?'"
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "Women hold up half the sky. I won't dwell on such clichés. I'll just talk about something more straightforward. I wonder if anyone has heard of the Binjiang Guangming Coal Furnace Factory?"
Some people in the audience nodded, while others looked blankly.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of it. 40% of the honeycomb briquettes in our city are produced by this factory. The honeycomb briquettes that many of our comrades are using at home may be products of this factory," Ye Manzhi said proudly. "And I am the first director of this coal stove factory!"
Wow--
It seems that the new deputy factory director has some skills.
At least he has experience as a factory manager.
"Before I took office at our factory, the organization department asked me what I thought about the development of the First Food Factory and whether I had confidence in the post-disaster reconstruction work."
"My response at the time was that I was optimistic about the development of the First Food Factory and had great confidence in the reconstruction!" Ye Manzhi said seriously, "These were not polite remarks or slogans."
"On the night of the February 27 fire, I was at the fire scene at our No. 1 Food Factory. When the fire broke out, many of our factory employees, regardless of their own safety, risked their lives and rushed into the fire scene to save state property."
"Some comrades may still remember me. I scolded a man named Fang Yu that day to prevent a second explosion and stop everyone from risking their lives by entering the fire scene. A heated argument ensued between the two sides. Although the experience was not pleasant, I still admire him deeply."
"We have a group of comrades like Comrade Fang Yu in our factory who treat the factory as their home, are dedicated to the public good, and are determined to protect the safety of state property. With such will, determination, and drive, why should we worry about not completing the post-disaster reconstruction work?"
After her reminder, some employees at the fire scene that day finally remembered.
"I was wondering, Director Ye looks familiar! So she's the one from that night!" a small team leader in the canning workshop said with trepidation, "Luckily I listened and didn't go into the fire scene to rescue the equipment. Otherwise, I'd be hanging around with Director He right now."
"Shh, stop talking nonsense!"
The workers below the stage were talking about it, while the factory directors sitting on the podium had different thoughts.
Don't be fooled by the new factory director Ye's young age, but his ability to win people's hearts is truly extraordinary.
She first said that she was the daughter of the working class and peasant class, then said that she had been the director of a coal furnace factory and had relevant leadership experience. Now she brought up what happened on the night of the fire.
Before officially starting work, I became closer to the workers through our shared experience on the day of the fire.
Ye Manzhi stood in front of the microphone and continued speaking.
"The history of Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory can be traced back to the opening of Binjiang as a port. From a small canning factory with a dozen employees to a large factory with thousands of employees today, we have come a long way over half a century and carry the memories of generations of Binjiang people."
"The food factory was born out of a small cannery. Over the past half century, it has experienced war and gun smoke, depression and bankruptcy, and many veteran workers have even experienced pain and sacrifice."
"After liberation, our factory's first production task was to provide military supplies for the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. In times of crisis, all the factory workers withstood pressure, overcame difficulties, and demonstrated patriotism, providing large quantities of canned food for the soldiers on the front lines."
"The pain we're going through recently is something that the small cannery also went through. However, in the face of these hardships, our First Food Factory overcame all obstacles and survived."
"As the only provincial food factory in the province, Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory is a collective with red imprints, revolutionary traditions, and the spirit of self-reliance and tenacious struggle!"
"Comrades," Ye Manzhi said excitedly, "I'm still optimistic about the development of our Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory. We have comrades like Fang Yu, Du Chen, and Jiang Guimei who disregard their own safety and are dedicated to the factory. We also have a fine tradition of hard work and a strong spiritual strength. As long as everyone is willing to work hard, there will be no tasks we cannot complete and no difficulties we cannot overcome!"
"Finally, I would like to borrow two lines from Comrade Chairman's poem to encourage everyone."
"The first sentence is, so many things are always urgent; the world is turning, time is pressing. Ten thousand years is too long—"
Everyone on and off the stage chanted in unison: "Seize the day!"
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "The second sentence is, count the heroes——"
Everyone shouted in unison again: "Look at today!"
*
Ye Manzhi bowed amid thunderous applause, ending his first speech at the food factory.
After escorting Director Sun out of the factory gate with other factory leaders, she returned to the office alone.
She sat in the chair in a daze for a while, and when her pounding heartbeat gradually subsided, she reviewed her performance on the stage.
In preparation for this debut, she has been secretly practicing at home in recent days.
In addition to repeatedly revising the speech, he also had to practice the speech in front of the audience Wu Zhengrong and Wu Yuzhuo.
Strive to show your best side to all the employees in the factory.
Although she had been a factory manager before and had some experience in running factories, the scale of her first two factories was not as large as the First Food Factory.
Furthermore, she was a veteran in the factory's establishment and is now an airborne soldier in the provincial department.
There are some differences in identity.
Even though the food factory had just experienced a fire and the canning workshop was completely burned down, there were still three pounds of nails in the broken boat, and some people might still regard her as a peach picker.
She sat behind her desk and recalled her performance for a while.
The slogans were shouted loudly and the arms were waved in a timely manner.
Perfect!
After passing the first hurdle in taking office, Ye Manzhi felt relaxed. He walked around the office with his hands behind his back, checking out his new office.
This is the first time she has had her own office in all her years of work!
Well, you can put two pots of green plants on the windowsill and a beautiful photo of her family on the desk.
This time she is in charge and can decorate the room however she wants!
The newly appointed factory director Xiao Ye boasted alone in his office for a long time, until the novelty of a poor man suddenly becoming rich wore off.
She finally opened the information sent by Director Ding and learned about the factory's latest work arrangements.
It is useless to shout slogans loudly. We must seriously solve the difficulties in the factory.
On her first day in office, Niu Enjiu did not arrange any meetings or divide the work.
Ye Manzhi spent the whole afternoon reading documents in the office. Just after five o'clock, she packed up and left work.
The First Food Factory has a bakery and a pastry workshop. The bread and pastries produced are not only supplied to major grocery stores throughout the city, but also to the factory's store, which is just 20 meters east of the food factory gate.
After get off work, Ye Manzhi went to the store and bought half a pound of Changbai cake, half a pound of sachima, and two round breads.
Then he carried these things back to the military industrial compound.
Chang Yue'e had just finished get off work at the meat processing factory and when she walked to the gate of the compound, she happened to meet her daughter carrying large and small bags.
"What good thing happened to you? You bought so many things!" Chang Yue'e grumbled, "You should buy less things for your parents' family in the future. There are so many people at home, there won't be enough for them to share!"
"Don't share it with them. Keep it in your room. Whoever behaves well can have a bite." Ye Manzhi put his arm around her and urged her with a smile, "Hurry home. I have great news to announce today!"
Chang Yue'e glanced at her with a smile, "You are the only one who has so many tricks up his sleeve. There are always great news!"
"This is really great news!"
When the mother and daughter returned home, Ye Shouxin had just gotten up and was about to go to the factory to work his shift.
Ye Manzhi was afraid of delaying him from going to work, so she placed her latest work ID directly on the dining table.
"Take a look, hehe~"
Chang Yue'e picked up the red work ID card, squinted her eyes and looked at it for a while, then asked in surprise, "Laiya, you don't work at the Provincial Industry Department anymore?"
"Hmm! I'm now Deputy Director Ye of Binjiang No. 1 Food Factory!" Ye Manzhi pointed at the oil-paper bags and said complacently, "These were all bought at our factory's own pastry store!"
Ye Shouxin asked, "Deputy Director, don't you need money or tickets to buy cakes?"
"How is that possible? You still have to spend money to buy things! But the factory leaders get two kilograms of cakes and pastries every month, and the cakes and pastries can be used as food coupons."
The pastry voucher is similar to the one Wu Zhengrong received at the Western restaurant at Factory 656.
However, other people's coupons don't cost money, but she has to pay for this out of her own pocket.
She did not have Wu Zhengrong's determination. She had just received her share of benefits in the afternoon and she used two half-pound tickets.
Ye Manzhi glanced at Old Ye, whose expression remained unchanged, and asked suspiciously, "Dad, I've become the deputy factory director, why don't you seem excited?"
It's not quite the same as what she expected.
For the time being, only Wu Zhengrong and Wu Yuzhuo knew about her transfer.
In order to prevent other unexpected changes, she did not mention this to her parents before she officially took office.
Everything was finally settled today, and she rushed back to the military industrial compound to show off as soon as she got off work.
But why did Lao Ye react like this?
Ye Shouxin took a sip of tea and chuckled, "Becoming the deputy factory director is nothing special. I already knew that!"
"..." Ye Manzhi was puzzled. "When did you know? Who told you?"
"My eldest granddaughter told me that," Ye Shouxin said with a curled lip. "Youyan is the most sensible person in the family. She knows that when good things happen, she thinks of her grandfather!"
Ye Manzhi speculated in disbelief: "Youyan won't call you, right?"
She has been busy with work handover recently and has no time to take her daughter back to her grandmother's house.
It is impossible that Wu Yuzhuo told her grandfather in person.
Most likely he made a phone call.
The 1062 Institute has just installed telephones in the homes of several directors, and these phones have become the new toys of the little kids.
Wu Yuzhuo thought he could make phone calls at will, so he would call the switchboard at any time, chat with the operator, and sometimes even call Yi Yi next door.
Because of her talkative nature, Wu Zhengrong paid for the phone bill more than ten yuan out of his own pocket.
Comrade Wu Yuzhuo was punished by his father to stand for an hour until his feet were sore, and only then did he stop making random phone calls.
Ye Shouxin smiled a bit smugly and said, "You know what, when I received the notice in the workshop, I was shocked. I was wondering who could call me! But when I picked up the phone, it was my eldest granddaughter!"
When Ye Shouxin learned in the workshop that his daughter was going to be the deputy director of a food factory, he almost fainted with excitement.
Youyan even relayed his daughter's inaugural speech to him over the phone!
That momentum, that majesty!
Alas, she is worthy of being Ye Shouxin’s daughter!
He paced around in the workshop for a long time, his heart pounding so badly that he almost went to the infirmary to get medicine.
After calming down for a long time, he returned to the workshop to work humming a song.
He has to take medicine just because his daughter is only a deputy factory director. What if she becomes a deputy mayor in the future, he will have to be hospitalized!
Old Ye advised himself to take things lightly and take care of his health.
Therefore, the old Ye that Ye Manzhi saw had already been excited for two or three days. After the initial excitement passed, he now seemed particularly indifferent to fame and fortune.
How do you say that word?
A person as quiet as a chrysanthemum!
The fourth brother came home carrying the leftover melon seeds. When he heard that his sister had become the deputy director of a food factory, his reaction was much more intense than that of his own father.
"Director Ye, now that you're the factory director, you can at least find a way to get your brother to work as a worker in the factory, right?"
"You don't want to sell melon seeds anymore?" Ye Manzhi casually grabbed a handful of melon seeds and said, "You used to like this job, didn't you?"
"There haven't been any good movies lately. It's the same old movies over and over again. I'm tired of them." Fourth Brother said, "If I could get a job in a factory, at least I'd get a fixed salary and medical benefits."
Formal workers don’t have to pay for medical treatment or medicine.
Although the food factory is not as large as Factory 656, it is also recognized as a good unit.
He went to work in the factory where his sister was the factory manager. That meant he had a backer, and his life would definitely be better than selling melon seeds.
Ye Manzhi thought for a moment and said, "Today is my first day at work, and I haven't gotten to know the factory situation yet. You can just focus on selling melon seeds first, and I'll help you keep an eye on the factory's recruitment plans."
The city's employment indicators have been relaxed recently, which can really help my fourth brother find a reliable job.
*
Ye Manzhi had dinner at her mother's house. After returning home that night, she complained to Director Wu about Comrade Wu Yuzhuo.
"Captain Wu, your daughter secretly called again! She called Factory 656, looking for her grandfather!"
Wu Zhengrong dragged his daughter to stand against the wall while asking, "Youyan, do you know grandpa's name? How did you find him?"
It is enough for kindergarten children to remember their parents’ names; they never teach their children the names of other elders.
Wu Yuzhuo huddled in the corner, his eyes wide open as he confessed, "I'm looking for Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong's father!"
Although Wu Zhengrong has left Factory 656, the switchboard operators are still the same group of people.
Everyone knew about Ye Shouxin's relationship with the former military representative. After hearing the child's request on the phone, the operator quickly transferred the call to the machine repair workshop.
“…”
After listening to his daughter's confession of the crime, Ye Manzhi suggested with mixed feelings: "Captain Wu, why don't we lock the phone at home like at work?"
Wu Yuzhuo said innocently, "I haven't called since I was punished to stand last time. I called grandpa before I was punished to stand."
Therefore, she shouldn't be punished now!
Ye Manzhi: “…”
The couple adjusted their battle plan overnight and prepared to strengthen the management of their preschool children.
When going to work the next day, Ye Manzhi was still muttering in her heart that it was difficult to control the child now that he had grown up.
She arrived at the office a quarter of an hour early, but someone else arrived earlier than her.
As soon as she put down her bag, Director Ding seized the opportunity and came over to knock on the door.
"Director Ye, there's a team meeting at 9:30. Director Niu might want to adjust the team's division of labor." He placed several resumes on the table. "Here are four secretary candidates the office has screened for you. Please take a look and see if there's anyone suitable."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Director Ding."
Ye Manzhi flipped through the resume and put it in the drawer.
Then I took my notebook, got up and went to the conference room to wait for the meeting.
She thought she was the first one to arrive at the meeting, but when she entered the meeting room, except for Director Niu, the other three deputy directors were already there.
Ye Manzhi subconsciously looked at his watch. It was a quarter past nine.
There is still a quarter of an hour before the meeting.
As soon as she sat down, Director Niu came in.
Ye Manzhi: “…”
If she hadn't come fifteen minutes earlier to wait, would she have been late?
What is the meeting habit in the food factory?
Niu Enjiu took the main seat and said directly, "Everyone is here, so let's start the meeting now. Although we already welcomed you yesterday, today is the first meeting of our new team. On behalf of the factory party committee, I would like to once again welcome Deputy Director Ye to his new position!"
Ye Manzhi quickly stood up and greeted him.
"Okay, let's get down to business first." Niu Enjiu took a sip of tea and said, "Director Ye, you should be familiar with the situation in our factory. We just had a fire. The four most important canning workshops were completely burned down. All that's left is a pile of scrap metal. There's not much that can be used."
"Canned goods have always been the mainstay of our food factory, and we've always focused on key business areas. Several production lines were added last year, and one was even imported. We still owe the bank a large sum of money to buy these equipment."
Ye Manzhi listened and took notes, wondering what he meant by these words.
"There are about 300 employees in the factory waiting to return to work."
"So many? Didn't the factory arrange other work for the employees?"
"Yes, the situation is quite serious. Most of the employees have been called upon to clean up the burned-down factory buildings. We can find ways to rebuild the factory buildings ourselves, but it is difficult to purchase production equipment."
Ye Manzhi stared at the notebook.
The other party introduced so many difficulties, and it was most likely that they wanted to push the idea of buying equipment onto her.
Niu Enjiu really thought so, and what he said was very frank.
"Director Xiao Ye, since you've come to our food factory, you're one of us from now on. We're all in this together, so I won't be polite to you. The factory is short of funds to purchase equipment. You came from the provincial department and were once Director Xia's secretary. Director Ye, can you find a way to get the Industry Department to approve some funds for technical upgrades?"
Ye Manzhi put down his pen and glanced at the faces of several deputy factory directors.
Then, in a puzzled tone, he asked, "Director, I just heard Director Ding say that today's team meeting will discuss the division of labor. Are you planning to assign the canning business to me?"
Each deputy factory director has his own division of labor.
As the deputy factory director, she should have worked for the welfare of everyone and could of course go out to beg for alms, but her division of labor had to be clarified first.
Raising such a large sum of money is no small matter.
If she went through so much trouble to get the funds and equipment back, but ended up making wedding dresses for others, wouldn't she be a complete victim?
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