Chapter 164
When Ye Manzhi first heard that Guo Qingfu was the deputy director of the boiler factory's office, four big words immediately appeared in his mind - steam boiler.
This is exactly what the canning factory urgently needs!
As for what Guo Qingfu said, that he could help her get a permanent job at the boiler factory, she completely ignored him.
Every unit's recruitment is watched by many people. It's pointless for her to get that job, so there's no need for her to wade into the muddy waters of other units.
It is more economical to get a set of equipment for the food factory!
After she finished speaking, Niu Enjiu frowned and thought for a long time.
"Director Ye has given us a new idea. Although the city doesn't have a complete production line, we can still put together some individual pieces of equipment. We can indeed contact manufacturers like the machinery factory and the boiler factory, but..."
Hearing the "however" that indicated a turning point, Ye Manzhi sighed secretly. It seemed that Director Lao Niu would not give in easily.
Others also turned their eyes to Niu Enjiu.
Chen Qian even complained in his heart, what else is this?
The two cadre positions are assigned to the Production Planning Department and the Supply and Marketing Department. Purchasing equipment is the task of the Supply and Marketing Department. Wouldn't it be perfect to ask the factory employees to help make the contact?
Besides, they are not taking advantage of other people's factories without paying, they just agree on a time limit and pay later after using the products.
Niu Enjiu took a sip of tea and continued, "It might take some time for someone from another factory to contact the canning equipment department; the equipment purchase process won't be finalized in a day or two. But many people are watching this recruitment effort, and our factory is currently at the center of this controversy. I think it's best not to create unnecessary complications; we should announce the results as soon as possible."
Wang Shihu, who had just been reported, agreed, "Yes, let's cut the Gordian knot and finish the recruitment work quickly."
Jiang Wenming, who also didn't want to cause any more trouble, then said, "Director Ye, there's no rush for the canning workshop. Let's think of other solutions."
If he continues to delay because he cannot get the positions of these two cadres, who knows how many more letters of complaint will come out.
There was no need for him to eat with them.
There were five factory managers in total, and three of them clearly expressed their opposition. Even if Chen Qian was willing to support her, it would be useless.
"..." Ye Manzhi was silent for a moment, then said regretfully, "Then we'll have to wait and see."
The food factory had been reported several times because of a recruitment incident, and she could understand everyone's reluctance to make trouble.
It’s a pity that I missed the opportunity to get the equipment again.
However, as the saying goes, "first time is new, second time is familiar", perhaps the continuous setbacks made her more resilient, and this missed opportunity did not make her feel disappointed for too long.
After get off work, Director Xiao Ye was invited to watch the ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" with Lin Qingmei, and he became energetic again.
*
At Niu Enjiu's request, the Personnel Department announced the admission list at an extremely fast speed.
Ye Manzhi didn't worry about other people and only paid attention to the ranking of his fourth brother.
A total of fifty people were admitted, and he was ranked ninth from the bottom, so he could only work as a temporary worker.
Although he was not a formal employee, the Personnel Department took care of the employee's family and arranged a relatively good job for him - making mooncakes in the pastry workshop.
Fourth brother really didn't expect that the food factory would let him make mooncakes. Doesn't this mean he would be in the same line of work as his wife, Shen Liangmei?
However, no matter how much he disliked it, thinking that this was a job he had obtained through his own ability, Fourth Brother still went to work in the food factory.
He is in his thirties, and this is the first time he has achieved such a good score in the exam!
Old Ye's expression became much better when he faced him, and he praised him for the first time.
On the first day that fourth brother started working at the factory, he had lunch with his sister openly.
After hearing that he was Director Ye's brother, the lady in charge of serving food at the window, Zhou Ruyi's mother, gave him a spoonful of stewed beans and two large slices of fat meat.
These two pieces of fat successfully comforted the fourth brother's wounded heart.
"The factory is so short-sighted," Fourth Brother muttered, "A young and strong man like me is so suitable to be a security guard!"
"Gatekeepers are regular employees. The top 20 this time all have high school educations, so it would be a waste to have them guarding the gate. So the factory transferred a 50-something-year-old man from the workshop to guard the gate and put the young people on the front line." Ye Manzhi picked out the fat meat from her lunch box and gave it to him. "Even if he becomes a regular employee, the factory won't let a male worker in his prime be a gatekeeper."
"Can I go to another workshop? I don't like making mooncakes, and five-nut mooncakes are not tasty."
Ye Manzhi glared at him and said, "Don't be so picky. Deputy Director Wang's nephew also took the job exam. He has a family background in pastry making, but he didn't get a job at the factory because his written exam score wasn't high enough."
She felt that there were major problems with the personnel department's recruitment arrangements this time.
A pastry workshop needs skilled pastry chefs. Whether one is educated or can write does not hinder one from making pastries.
However, this recruitment process resulted in several letters of complaint, and the personnel department, fearing suspicion of corruption, ranked all admissions based on grades.
Her fourth brother was sent to the workshop to make mooncakes, while someone like Wang Zhiming, who really had the skills, couldn't even get a job as a temporary worker.
"If you don't want to make mooncakes in the pastry workshop, you can only go to the pickle workshop and move pickle jars." Ye Manzhi put down his chopsticks and said, "Male workers are quite useful in the pastry workshop. Do more of those heavy lifting and show your ability. And keep reciting Chairman Mao's quotations. Don't fall behind."
“I’ve already passed the exam, do I still have to memorize it?”
"Of course, the Chairman's Quotations are always fresh. I attend study sessions every week, and even study my family's words regularly." Ye Manzhi whispered, "You are still just a temporary worker. Study hard, perform actively, and strive to become a regular employee as soon as possible."
This recruitment caused too much noise, and letters of complaint came in like snowflakes. The food factory will not recruit again for one or two years.
If there are vacancies for regular employees in the future, it is very likely that they will be resolved internally by converting existing family workers and temporary workers into regular employees.
Ye Manzhi gave him one jin of her monthly two jin cake ticket and said, "Today is your first day at work. Go to the store at the door after get off work and buy some cakes for your sister-in-law, Mai Duo, and Qi Qiu. It can be considered a fresh start and a new beginning."
The fourth brother put the cake ticket into his pocket and patted his chest to assure: "Don't worry, I'm in the cake workshop and I'll keep you informed of the first-hand news in the workshop!"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Wang Shihu is in charge of the pastry workshop. Apart from the supply and marketing work, she doesn't really interfere in the affairs there.
But it was rare for Fourth Brother to have some enthusiasm for work, so she nodded solemnly and told him to get back to work.
*
Ye Manzhi didn't take her fourth brother's promise seriously. The pastry workshop didn't require her to worry about it, so she had to sort out her own work first.
The canning equipment has not been found for the time being, but the Japanese soda production line has already been established in Binjiang.
Niu Enjiu is personally in charge of the soda business. He has been running to the soda workshop these days, hoping to officially launch Binjiang brand soda before National Day.
Ye Manzhi took advantage of the opportunity when he was too busy to take care of other things and continued to implement the "Angang Constitution" in the canning workshop, establishing eight factory-wide systems including the post responsibility system, safety production system, and economic accounting system.
As long as the canning workshop makes breakthrough progress in the quarterly summary, she will find a way to persuade the factory party committee to promote it throughout the factory.
National Day is coming in a month. This year is the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the food factory also needs to prepare National Day gifts.
That day, when she was discussing with Chen Qian how to present the gift, her fourth brother poked his head in and walked to the office door.
Seeing this, Chen Qian put away his notebook and said cheerfully, "I'll think of other options. It's almost time to get off work, so you guys can chat."
Ye Manzhi sent him out the door and then invited the fourth brother into the office.
This was the first time that Fourth Brother came to visit her office. After looking around with his hands in his pockets, he sighed in his heart, "Being a factory manager is different. Look how bright his sister's office is!"
There are several pots of flowers on the windowsill!
He walked to the window, took a closer look, and said with disdain, "You're not taking good care of your flowers. They look so lifeless and droopy."
"It was growing well before, but when I was on a business trip for more than half a month, Ruyi watered it too much for me." Ye Manzhi asked, "Brother, what do you want from me?"
Fourth Brother took a pair of scissors from her desk and helped her shape the azalea pot.
While making a sound, he said, "It seems like someone is trying to steal sugar from the pastry workshop!"
Ye Manzhi nearly choked on the boiled water. Her eyes widened as she asked, "Who wants to steal sugar? And how?"
She immediately thought of He Dali, the former deputy factory director who resold canned food.
But the pastry workshop is a collective operation. Stealing a handful of sugar might be possible, but taking too much is not allowed.
"I heard from the deputy director of the workshop that there is not enough sugar for making mooncakes. If we want to keep production going, we have to get some from other warehouses."
"You guys are running out of sugar for making mooncakes?"
"As a temporary worker, how would I know if there was enough sugar? I overheard the team leader talking to the deputy director."
Smoking was not allowed in the workshop. He had been moving bags of flour for the whole morning and was so tired that his back and waist ached. He took the opportunity to go to the toilet to smoke a cigarette outside, and then he heard the conversation between the two young leaders.
As soon as I heard the furtive tone, I knew they were up to no good.
Ye Manzhi was full of doubts about this report.
What surprised her more was that there was not enough sugar in the pastry workshop rather than someone trying to steal it.
This year's mooncakes have withdrawn from the high-priced category. In order to allow all residents in the city to eat affordable mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the city temporarily issued a production task of 200,000 kilograms to the First Food Factory.
Although it was issued at the last minute, the production materials were allocated on time.
The pastry workshop has no worries and only needs to work overtime to catch up with production.
There is still half a month to the Mid-Autumn Festival. How come the sugar is used up so quickly?
Fourth Brother said, "They want to transfer some sugar from the candy factory. You're in charge of that factory, right? If the sugar gets stolen, will it affect you?"
"Well, I'll ask someone later." Ye Manzhi really didn't understand the situation of these two workshops.
The fourth brother was anxious to go home and rest, so he informed his sister and told her the news, then ran off work like a rabbit.
Ye Manzhi didn't have to be on duty today. As she and Zhou Ruyi walked out of the office building, she whispered, "Ruyi, is there anything wrong with the pastry workshop recently?"
"No, I haven't heard of it." Zhou Ruyi shook his head.
"Is there a shortage of raw materials? For example, flour, sugar, and oil."
Zhou Ruyi had been a secretary for half a year and had grown rapidly. When Ye Manzhi asked, she immediately replied, "Director, I'll go to the warehouse tomorrow to inquire."
In fact, she did not wait until the next day, but asked her acquaintances at the raw material warehouse about the situation that night.
The exact news was given to Ye Manzhi at noon the next day.
"The sugar used to make mooncakes in the pastry workshop was taken away, and there really isn't enough."
“Who moved it?”
"It was moved to the soda workshop by Director Niu. They're currently trial-producing soda there."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
The soda has not yet officially started production and the superiors have not allocated any production raw materials.
But Niu Enjiu was determined to have the soda factory officially put into production before National Day and use Binjiang brand soda as a gift to National Day.
The pastry workshop did not dare to stop Niu Enjiu from misappropriating sugar, so they turned their attention to the candy workshop.
Is this what they call picking on the weak?
Ye Manzhi asked in confusion, "The mooncake production schedule is quite tight. Why doesn't Director Niu just use the sugar from the candy workshop?"
"The candy factory is running out of sugar and there's nothing left to move. We only put the fourth quarter's supply of sugar into storage last week."
Ye Manzhi nodded and said, "If Director Zhen from the candy workshop comes over, please ask him to come in directly."
The matter of requisitioning sugar has not happened yet. Even if she wants to help, she has to wait for the victim to come to her.
She waited for a few days and asked Meng Lie, deputy chief of the supply and marketing department, to keep an eye on the raw materials in the market, but there was no movement from the workshop. When she went to the candy workshop to wrap candy wrappers, no one mentioned this to her.
Ye Manzhi thought that the matter of "stealing" sugar was over.
However, as soon as she returned from a meeting at the provincial department on Tuesday, she heard that several workers from the candy workshop and the pastry workshop had fought in the raw material warehouse over sugar.
The pastry workshop was in a hurry to make mooncakes, so they got a note from Niu Enjiu and temporarily embezzled the sugar from the candy workshop.
However, after the fourth quarter of each year, it is the peak season for candy demand, and the workshop needs to prepare goods for New Year's Day and Spring Festival.
Once this batch of sugar is handed over, it will be like throwing meat buns at a dog - it will be gone without a chance to come back. By then, the candy workshop will fail to complete its production task, and the bonuses of the entire workshop will be delayed. Who will be held responsible?
One of the two sides had the factory director's clique, and the other thought the sugar belonged to him. They were both young and energetic guys, and they started fighting after a disagreement.
A worker had a broken head and was sent to the hospital. The directors and deputy directors of the two workshops were all called to Niu Enjiu's office and criticized.
When Ye Manzhi came back, several directors had just left Director Niu.
According to her thinking, now that the incident of "stealing" sugar has been exposed, the director of the candy workshop should come and talk to her, the deputy factory director in charge, about how to arrange production next, right?
However, it did not.
Ye Manzhi waited for a whole day, but the director of the candy workshop did not come to her door.
Near the end of the shift, Zhou Ruyi even came in to report, "Director Zhen and Deputy Director Chen went to Director Niu's office. It seems they wanted to ask Director Niu to find a way to get more sugar for the candy workshop."
When saying this, Zhou Ruyi didn't dare to look at Ye Manyi's expression.
Others don’t know that as a secretary, she is actually very familiar with the leadership’s movements.
Ever since Director Ye learned about the sugar shortage, he has been helping the candy workshop find a solution.
Meng Lie from the Supply and Marketing Department was called to her office several times.
If Director Zhen came to ask for help now, Director Ye would definitely help them find a solution.
However, Niu Enjiu had accumulated great prestige in the food factory. When the junior leaders encountered trouble, the first person they thought of was to find Director Niu.
Zhou Ruyi thought with some irony that the sugar strips in the mooncake workshop were personally approved by Director Niu. If he could get extra sugar, would he still need to embezzle the sugar from mooncakes and candies?
The two directors of the candy workshop bypassed the deputy director in charge and went directly to Director Niu. No one knew what they were thinking.
Ye Manzhi thought, what else could he think? He must think she is too young and can't get things done.
…
So, after taking a shower that night, Director Xiao Ye was only wrapped in a towel and looked left and right in front of the large dressing mirror for a full quarter of an hour.
Wu Zhengrong came home from overtime work and saw her standing naked in the room as soon as he entered.
He couldn't help but curse inwardly, walked quickly to the window and pulled up the curtains.
"Ye Manzhi, what are you doing?" Wu Zhengrong rarely called her by her full name.
With the lights on, the curtains open, and just a towel wrapped around me, I wander around the house...
Ye Manzhi exclaimed, "It's okay. Open the window to let the moisture out. The wall outside is quite high, so no one can see. Besides, I was just standing behind the cabinet door and just walked out."
Wu Zhengrong is a smart man with an active mind. Ye Lai Ya was waiting for him at home naked. Considering his special situation of going out early and coming back late in recent days, Dr. Wu regarded her behavior tonight as some kind of hint.
There was some tacit understanding between the couple, so Wu Zhengrong didn't need Ye Lai Ya to hint further and hugged her without even taking off his clothes.
Ye Manzhi held onto the tub and shouted, "I have something important to do when I look in the mirror!"
"Keep your voice down," Wu Zhengrong said from behind. "When I walked in just now, I heard some noise in the room. Don't invite her over."
Ye Manzhi shut up immediately.
The water in the bathtub rippled and a lot of hot water was splashed out. When the water finally calmed down, she was flushed from face to toes and her whole body was hot.
"So, why were you looking in the mirror just now?" Wu Zhengrong asked her closely.
Ye Manzhi's mind went blank for a moment. After a moment's hesitation, she finally remembered, "I was so pissed off at work today that I came back to look in the mirror to see if it's because I'm too young that people don't take me seriously! I have to pretend nothing's wrong at work, but inside I'm pissed off!"
"So what conclusion did you come to after looking in the mirror?" Wu Zhengrong brushed her wet hair behind her ears.
"The conclusion is - I'm just young and beautiful, what can I do about it!" Ye Manyi snorted.
In order to appear mature, many young cadres wear clothes of old-fashioned colors and styles.
Ye Manzhi had also tried this method before, but she has always loved beauty. It was already uncomfortable for her that she couldn't dress up for work. If she had to wear ugly clothes to go out, what would be the point of her life?
Moreover, work ability has nothing to do with age or clothing. Director Xia also likes to dress up, and occasionally uses beautiful scarves and hairpins to embellish herself, but she still became the female director!
Therefore, Director Xiaoye's work attire remains youthful, in stark contrast to that of several other directors.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to doing this.
Perhaps they felt that she, the deputy factory director, was too young and not as reliable as the old factory director Niu. After the incident, the director and deputy director of the candy workshop simply ignored her and went straight to Niu Enjiu!
Ye Manzhi hugged her man and had a good talk with him, mocking all those who looked down on her in a very harsh way.
Then, like a villain, he secretly made up his mind that he must use this incident to make everyone see the harm of Niu Enjiu's one-man rule.
This is what happens when you listen to him in everything!
After having both her body and spirit satisfied by Dr. Wu, Ye Manzhi had a good sleep.
When she woke up the next day, she still did her own thing and wore a nice shirt to go to work.
"Baby, does this outfit look good on mommy?" Ye Manyi asked the little one before he went out to school.
"It looks good!" Accountant Wu said flatteringly, "It's even prettier than Shen Jinbu's mother!"
“Is Shen Jinbu’s mother pretty?”
"It looks good, his mother always wears skirts!"
Ye Manzhi thought proudly that she had to dress well too. Her daughter had made such great progress, and she couldn't let her lose to Shen Jinbu!
*
Director Xiaoye dressed up carefully and went to work full of fighting spirit.
But her brain waves were not in sync with Director Zhen's, so no one could hear what she whispered in private.
He went to Niu Enjiu's office for several days in a row, and even went to the Supply and Marketing Department to ask Director Niu and Liu Sheng to find a way to supply sugar to the candy workshop.
Seeing this, Meng Lie, deputy section chief of supply and marketing, specially came to Ye Manzhi's office and asked her what to do next.
Ye Manzhi frowned and was silent for a while before saying, "Wait a little longer."
People just bypassed her, the deputy factory director in charge, without even asking her. She couldn't be too hasty, right?
Moreover, Niu Enjiu was determined to launch the soda before National Day, and other things had to take precedence.
It is absolutely impossible to return the sugar that has been transferred to the candy factory.
Judging from the production speed of the candy workshop, the existing white sugar raw materials can only last until the end of October.
If sugar cannot be delivered before November, the candy workshop will be forced to stop production.
After November is the peak season for candy production...
The longer the time dragged on, the angrier Director Zhen became.
He went to see Director Niu several times, but Director Niu told him not to worry and that his superiors would naturally allocate sugar to the factory after the soda went into production.
However, the soda production will not start until October, and the sugar in the candy factory will last until the middle or end of the month at most. What if the higher-ups don’t provide sugar?
After all, sodas from other factories are flavored with saccharin, and there is rarely any excess raw material to allocate at the end of the year.
Director Zhen was so anxious that his mouth was foaming. It wasn't that he had really forgotten Director Ye. He had reported the production progress in the workshop to Director Ye one by one, but he just didn't ask Director Ye for advice.
Even Director Niu asked him to wait for the raw materials to be allocated from above, so it was impossible for Director Ye to conjure up sugar out of thin air.
However, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, not only Director Zhen was anxious, but even the ordinary workers in the workshop became anxious.
The food factory’s bonuses are distributed on an annual basis. Only if a workshop completes the annual production task can it receive a collective award.
If the sugar industry stops production in the last few months of the year, everyone’s bonuses for this year will be gone!
Ye Manzhi sat in the office in silence for a long time, listening to the workers' discussions conveyed by Zhou Ruyi.
Then he got up from his seat and headed to the candy workshop.
If they are allowed to continue production in the current form, they may really have to stop production after October.
In fact, if Director Zhen is rejected by Niu Enjiu a few more times, everyone will gradually come to their senses.
In order to prepare a National Day gift, Niu Enjiu used the sugar from the candy workshop to fill the gap. It was indeed for the good of the factory, but it sacrificed the interests of all the employees in the candy workshop.
No matter how high Director Niu's position is, after this incident, the candy workshop employees' trust in him will definitely be greatly reduced.
But, hey...
Ye Manzhi was walking on the way to the candy workshop.
Sometimes I feel that I am too immature and missed an opportunity to defeat Lao Niu. I don’t know when I will have such an opportunity again. Sometimes I tell myself to maintain my integrity and kindness.
Why should frontline workers pay for the leadership’s wrong decisions?
Everyone worked hard for a year, but in the end they lost the annual bonus because of the leader's mistakes.
That's too unreasonable and unfair!
Ye Manzhi silently comforted herself. When Niu Enjiu took away the mooncake sugar, didn't Wang Shihu, who was in charge of the pastry workshop, stop him?
She is not the only one who suffers from the one-man rule.
She hurried to the candy workshop, called Director Zhen out, and asked him about the production progress and the remaining sugar.
After listening to his brief introduction, Ye Manzhi asked, "Since the workshop doesn't have enough sugar, why didn't you report it to me before? We can work out a solution together."
Director Zhen said, "Director Niu said there's no sugar available on the market to support such a large-scale production. The Supply and Marketing Department can't buy sugar outside of the planned supply, so we have to wait for the higher authorities to allocate the raw materials for the soda."
Director Niu has tried all possible means from the provincial and municipal governments, but even Director Niu said he had to wait. As the deputy director, where could Ye Manzhi get the sugar?
Ye Manzhi asked, "Does the production task require us to produce a certain type of candy?"
"No, there are two categories."
One type is packaged sugar, and the other type is bulk sugar.
"Since there's no requirement to produce hard candies, soft candies, or mixed candies, can we think of a different type of candy?"
Director Zhen: “…”
"To produce 100 kilograms of hard candy, 88 kilograms of sugar are needed, but to produce 100 kilograms of soft candy, only 40-70 kilograms of sugar are needed. If you can add some nuts like peanuts, melon seeds, and walnuts to the sugar, then the sugar required for each kilogram of candy will be even less."
Ye Manzhi said sternly, "We just need to complete the required tonnage on time. The commercial sector isn't picky about candy when it comes to purchasing. They'll sell whatever we produce. Director Zhen, it's true we can't get sugar, but we can't get nuts either, right?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
