Chapter 67
Ye Manzhi particularly admires those who are smart and creative.
For example, Wu Zhengrong can make a honeycomb coal stove with ease.
For example, Yu Yiyuan, the master chef of Shengli Comprehensive Society, found a way to produce cement using coal slag.
Unlike other cooperatives, Shengli Cooperative was included in the first batch of factory transfer list because they disrupted the market order and were semi-forced to transfer to another factory!
The retail price of mixed cement on the market is 56 yuan per ton, but Shengli Society has reduced the price to 48 yuan and is selling it secretly.
When the Industrial and Commercial Bureau came to their door, they still refused to admit it. Later, the police came and took the president away, and finally pried the president's mouth open.
They did lower the prices, but they did it for a reason.
Cooperative member Yu Yiyuan used coal slag instead of clay to produce cement!
Since coal slag is almost free, their production costs are greatly reduced, and the retail price naturally decreases as well.
When Ye Manzhi heard this gossip at the Reform Office, she felt a little sorry for Master Yu.
The city has been emphasizing increased production and savings all day long. Yu Yiyuan uses coal slag to produce cement. This is such a good promotional material. Unfortunately, the president was only concerned with price wars and did not know how to engage in public opinion wars, so he did not promote Master Yu well.
Otherwise, it would not be a production suspension for rectification, but a scene of gongs, drums, firecrackers and big red flowers.
When Ye Manzhi arrived at Shengli Comprehensive Agency, she was greeted by President Wang, who had just been released by the police.
The old man stood with his hands behind his back and spoke listlessly.
"President Wang, how long will our Victory Society stop production?"
"It's hard to say. The city is planning to transfer us to a new factory soon, so we might have to wait until then. If you want to buy cement, go somewhere else. We can't ship it right now."
Ye Manzhi put down his teacup and sighed, "That's really wasting time! I heard our factory has developed a way to use coal slag to produce cement. Now that spring has just begun, it's a good time to buy up a lot of coal slag. When the weather warms up and everyone uses less coal, it won't be easy for you to collect the coal slag!"
"What can we do? Those people from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau will just bully us!" President Wang was worried about the rectification and had no time to entertain the young man. He reiterated, "Comrade Ye, go buy cement somewhere else. We can't sell it to you."
Ye Manzhi smiled and suggested: "It's okay if we don't sell it. How about we exchange it for some cement?"
President Wang stopped and asked, "What do you want in exchange?"
"Use coal slag."
President Wang exclaimed, "Our cement is 56 a ton! Coal slag is everywhere, and it's free. How can you exchange coal slag for cement?"
"Isn't our cement retailing for 48 and ex-factory for 42?" Ye Manzhi said bluntly. "It's no secret that you're using coal slag to produce cement. Once the news gets out, who's going to let you haul coal slag for free? I'll trade 500 tons of coal slag for 20 tons of cement. Isn't that too much?"
"How much coal slag?" President Wang raised his voice.
"Five hundred tons."
"Comrade Ye, do you think our cooperative can store 500 tons of coal slag? What use would I have for so much coal slag?"
"I'm not sending you 500 tons at once. We'll send you as much as you need, and we'll cover the transportation costs." Ye Manzhi sighed. "To be honest, I'm a child of Factory 656, and the coal slag is from our family compound. If it weren't for saving some construction funds for the new primary school, I wouldn't bother with the coal slag."
"The factory price of 20 tons of cement is 840 yuan, which translates to nearly 1.7 yuan per ton of coal slag. No, the cost is too high."
Ye Manzhi smiled. "I was also a factory director. The ex-factory price and the cost price are not the same thing. This ton of coal slag is only one dollar and twenty cents at most. President Wang, our street coal stove factory was the first to produce honeycomb coal stoves. Look, it's only been a few months, and there are already seven or eight units in the city organizing the production of honeycomb coal stoves."
"Making cement from coal slag isn't particularly difficult. I don't understand it, but there are others who do. I've heard that the chemical composition of coal slag and clay is somewhat similar, so someone with a keen eye could find the formula with a few experiments. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so secretive and unwilling to promote Master Yu, right?"
President Wang: “…”
What he regrets most now is that he was deceived for a moment and got caught selling cement at a low price.
Otherwise, this recipe can be kept for a while.
Ye Manzhi asked, "When other cement factories in the city also start using coal slag to produce cement, do you think the purchase price of this coal slag will increase? Moreover, many factories are now engaged in infrastructure construction and need a large amount of cement. Some factories have the technology and funds but also several coal slag mountains. If the factory leaders are tempted to build a cement factory, wouldn't it be even more difficult for our Shengli Society..."
President Wang knew that the "factory" she was talking about was most likely Factory 656.
He frowned and pondered for a moment, then bargained: "Five hundred tons of coal slag won't do, I need at least two thousand tons!"
Shengli Society produces 8,000 tons of cement annually, but 500 tons of coal slag are only enough for them for half a year.
He needs to store at least two years' worth of raw materials.
Just as this cadre Xiao Ye said, coal slag can be turned into treasure, and the price may increase next year.
Ye Manzhi smiled and said, "President Wang, coal slag is of no use to us, and I don't mind it. How about this: Factory 656 will be responsible for transporting 500 tons. We will also send 1,500 tons to Shengli Society, but you will have to transport it yourself. As long as the yard has coal slag, we will keep it for you and will not give it to other units."
The coal slag in the military industrial compound has always been difficult to deal with. Giving them the coal slag to produce cement is a good thing that benefits both parties.
I just don't know whether the residents' coal burning speed can keep up with the production speed of Shengli Society.
She suspected that the coal slag in the yard might not be enough.
*
After the subdistrict office, Shengli Society and Factory 656 signed the contract, Ye Manzhi returned to the unit and called Zhao Erhe to go to the compound to clean up the coal slag together.
"We only need 50 tons for now!" Ye Manzhi shouted through a loud speaker. "We'll take away the coal slag from the building in front of whichever residents' group can send people to load the truck first!"
"Comrade Xiaoye, you're really fast! When do we start collecting the coal slag?"
"We'll start as soon as the logistics truck arrives!"
Ye Manzhi greeted the residents with a smile, and when he turned around, he found that the large truck sent by logistics had already entered the compound.
Fourth Brother pushed open the passenger door and jumped out of the truck.
"Brother, how are your driving lessons going?"
But the fourth brother ignored her concern and ran to the flower bed, vomiting violently.
Ye Manzhi: “…”
What is going on?
The driver, Master Liu, leaned out of the cab and said, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's the diesel fumes that are causing it. Just spit it out and it will be fine."
"My brother has been learning to drive for quite some time, right? Why is he still vomiting?"
Fourth Brother emptied his stomach and sat down on the empty space nearby, complaining, "I told you I couldn't learn to drive because I vomited as soon as I got in the car. But Third Brother insisted I was lying and that I had the body of a young lady and the life of a maid! Come on, you've seen it now! You have to bear witness for me!"
Hearing this, Ye Manzhi couldn't help laughing out loud. She took out half of the handkerchief and put it back, then wiped her fourth brother's mouth with his own worn gloves.
"If you don't learn to drive, wouldn't Third Brother's money be wasted?"
Ye Mangui also wanted to take the steering wheel and go for a ride, but his physical condition did not allow it!
The smell of diesel makes my stomach churn.
He has been learning for almost two months, but he still hasn't gotten used to the smell!
Ye Manzhi handed the loud speaker to Zhao Erhe, squatted down next to her fourth brother and said, "Why don't we let our mother or fourth sister-in-law learn for you?"
"..." Fourth Brother glared at her, "Are you kidding me?"
"I'm not kidding! Right now, only Mom, Fourth Sister-in-law, and Mai Duo are idle in our family. The money Third Brother spent on sending you to driving school can't be wasted, right? Mom is a bit old, and she won't be able to find a job after she finishes the driving school. Why not let Fourth Sister-in-law give it a try?"
The fourth brother thought about it for a while and decided that it would be okay to let his wife learn to drive. At least the benefits would not be wasted on outsiders.
However, Shen Liangmei had recently made money from the coal furnace factory and was extremely arrogant. She insisted that he learn from his third brother and pour footwashing water for his wife.
How could Ye Mangui do such a thing!
Thinking of this, he got up from the ground and said, "I'd better hold on a little longer."
Ye Manzhi didn't know what he was thinking. She didn't expect that her fourth brother was so strong-willed despite his disability. Even after vomiting like this, he still refused to give up.
"Then you should learn from Master Liu. After the first batch of coal slag is hauled over, you can also help me haul the 20 tons of cement back and deliver it to the elementary school construction site. Fourth brother, you know the way to the elementary school pretty well, right?"
Fourth Brother: “…”
It’s quite familiar, I’ve been pulling sand there for several days!
…
Ye Manzhi got the cement needed for building the school without spending a penny.
Saved nearly a thousand dollars.
This made Director Mu extremely happy.
"That's great! The last charity performance only raised 400 yuan, and if we bought bricks, we couldn't buy cement," Mulan said with a smile, clapping her hands. "Xiaoye, you've quietly accomplished something significant! These 20 tons of cement will solve our Anti-Imperialist Primary School's urgent needs!"
There has been some unrest internationally recently. The first primary school on Guangming Street has been named the "Anti-Imperialist Primary School."
Ye Manzhi said modestly, "This is a coincidence. If you hadn't recommended me to work as a liaison for the district reform office, I wouldn't have had the chance to know that Shengli Society can produce cement from coal slag!"
The funding for building the Anti-Imperialist Primary School troubled Mulan for almost the entire winter.
The city has given her a quota for school construction, and she intends to achieve some results with this "publicly run and privately assisted" primary school.
However, the scale of the street office is only this big, and the funding source is extremely limited. She raised 200 yuan from grassroots cadres and street activists, and organized a charity performance some time ago, raising 400 yuan. Together with the funds that the street office can mobilize, the total is only 800 or 900 yuan.
According to her budget, even building a medium-sized primary school would cost at least 1,800 yuan.
Ye Manzhi, a girl, went to work in the district and still thought about building a primary school. She solved the cement problem without any hesitation.
No one else could understand Mulan's mood at this moment.
The more she looked at Ye Manzhi, the more she liked him. She couldn't help but say, "Xiao Ye, can I introduce you to someone?"
Ye Manzhi: “…”
We were just talking about elementary school, why did we end up talking about introducing someone to someone?
Besides, she already has Wu Zhengrong!
Mulan looked at her and smiled. "You should have seen this guy before. He's Liang Yan from our street's Industrial and Commercial Bureau. He's a college student who just graduated from the spring semester and was assigned to the bureau. His parents are both cadres, and both he and his family are well off."
She had a good relationship with Liang Yan's aunt. After the Chinese New Year, Aunt Liang came to ask her about Xiao Ye's situation.
This kind of inquiries by elders are usually made by the children themselves, who ask their parents to test the waters.
Although Mulan is the director of the street, he never acts as a matchmaker for anyone. If he finds the wrong matchmaker, it will easily cause trouble.
At that time, she only told Aunt Liang Yan about Ye Manzhi's general situation. It happened that Ye Manzhi was working as a liaison officer in the district and seldom returned to the street office, so she changed the subject.
However, Liang Yan is a good guy, and Xiao Ye is an ambitious lesbian. Mulan is in a good mood right now, so she is willing to help the two of them get together.
Ye Manzhi quickly waved her hands and said, "Director, I have a partner!"
She remembered Liang Yan. She had met him at the anti-imperialist rally before the Chinese New Year. The mayor disguised himself as an ordinary old man and questioned him. He was very honest at the time and answered every word.
I didn’t expect that he is still a college student!
Mulan was surprised and asked, "When did you find a partner? I remember you were a single lesbian!"
"It's been there for a long time."
Ye Manzhi thought that when she and Wu Zhengrong came to the company to get their marriage certificate, Director Mu would know about it sooner or later, so she gritted her teeth and said, "You know this person too. It's Wu Zhengrong from Factory 656."
Mulan: "..."
It took her a while to react before she remembered that Wu Zhengrong was the military representative of Factory 656.
How come she remembers that Wu Zhengrong and Xiao Ye's father are of the same generation?
How did these two people start talking about their partner?
Ye Manzhi did not miss the surprise on the director's face; she knew this would be the effect.
It was okay with others, but she was actually a little embarrassed in front of the director.
At the beginning, she followed Lao Ye's instructions and only said that Wu Zhengrong would write a letter of recommendation for her because they were friends.
Director Mu believed it.
Therefore, although many people in the factory knew about her relationship with Wu Zhengrong, she did not specifically mention it at work.
Just wait for Director Mu to discover it himself and accept it silently.
Who knew that Director Mu had been kept in the dark the whole time!
Guangming Street is so big, and Mulan doesn't often go to the military industrial compound, so no one has ever mentioned this to her.
"Oh my, you two actually got together! Hahaha, that's great! Captain Wu is also single. I always thought he was married! Hahaha, Captain Wu is quite mature in his dealings with others. He's actually still a young man!"
After Mulan came to his senses, he said "OK" many times.
No matter what their relationship was before, they are now a couple.
Xiao Ye is a cadre of the street office. If he can find a partner like this, the two units will become relatives in the future, which will also be beneficial to the work of the street.
Mulan no longer mentioned the matter of matchmaking for Liang Yan. She asked about the wedding date of the two young people and then let the matter go.
*
After the funds, cement and red bricks were all in place, Mulan quickly began to organize the construction of the Anti-Imperialist Primary School.
In addition to the workers of the street construction team, many parents of primary school students also took the initiative to come to the construction site to do voluntary labor.
The rough outline of a medium-sized school building was completed in just about a month.
During this period, two major events occurred within the subdistrict office.
First, Wei Zhen, who was in charge of welfare work, was transferred to the District Welfare Bureau due to her outstanding work performance. This year, the district will focus on providing for the elderly and single retired cadres, and Wei Zhen has extensive experience in this area, so her promotion is based on merit.
Second, Ye Manzhi and Zhuang Ting were recommended by the street office as candidates to participate in the selection of transferred cadres in the district.
If selected by the district, they will have the opportunity to study at Binjiang Political College or Provincial Institute of Technology.
Ye Manzhi wrote down almost all of his highlights in the application form, just waiting for good news.
However, on the day when the Anti-Imperialist Primary School was officially completed, the district announced the list of transferred students who were exempt from entrance examinations this year.
There are 28 people in total, and she and Zhuang Ting are not on the list!
Like her, Zhuang Ting is also looking forward to this selection.
The two went to the district party committee compound together to look at the posted admission list.
Behind each person’s name is the unit where they work and their length of service.
The longest length of service is 11 years and the shortest is 3 years.
There is not a single one with less than three years of experience.
Zhuang Ting frowned and said, "I heard that last year someone with less than a year's service was selected. What's going on this year?"
Ye Manzhi sighed listlessly, "Many companies require three years of service when recruiting internally."
The District Cultural Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Industrial Bureau all require a length of service of more than three years.
Lin Qingmei couldn't even make it into the internal list of the unit, but Li Tingting had five years of work experience and this time she participated in the reform of the cooperative to a factory. Not only was she recommended by the unit, she also successfully made it into the final list of transferred students.
Ye Manzhi was completely depressed as the long-awaited opportunity to go to college was dashed.
The joy of the primary school building finally being completed was also diluted.
When Wu Zhengrong heard the selection results, she was mentally prepared to cry, but although cadre Xiao Ye was discouraged this time, she did not shed tears.
"My failure this time wasn't due to my work performance, but rather my length of service. People who have spent three, five, or even eleven years on a job are naturally going to produce better results than I did in less than a year."
In this regard, Ye Manzhi has nothing to complain about.
She can only blame her bad luck. If she had worked a year earlier, maybe she would have been selected last year!
When she lamented her bad luck, Wu Zhengrong had the same thought.
His marriage report has been approved by his superiors, and the parents of both parties also met while watching Ye Manzhi's quyi performance.
After several consultations, the elders chose two auspicious days.
One is May 28th and the other is August 1st.
He planned to discuss it with Comrade Xiao Ye and choose May 28th to register for marriage.
However, Ye Manzhi was suddenly rejected in the selection for transfer student, and he felt very depressed. Now was not a good time to speak.
Even though Wu Zhengrong was calm, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He scooped up the listless Ye Lai Ya and held her in his arms, comforting her, "If it doesn't work out this year, there's always next year. There are quotas for transfer students every year, so it's actually a good thing you weren't chosen this year. Once you've accumulated more years of service, you can go to school with a salary. If you were really chosen this year, with less than a year of service, the district wouldn't pay you."
"Next year's seniority won't be enough! The policies change every year. What if I'm not recommended for transfer to a cadre position?" Ye Manzhi complained. "It's all my dad's fault for being so quick-witted. He told your grandfather that I was going to college! Now that I didn't get selected, I'm bringing shame to your family!"
Grandpa Wu has always been concerned about the academic problems of his juniors. After hearing that she had the opportunity to go to college, although he did not show a particularly happy expression, he asked Aunt Wu to help her find a lot of information about provincial technical colleges!
Now that she was eliminated, she didn’t know how to face Grandpa Wu in the future!
Wu Zhengrong was mentally prepared for her failure to be selected, and also helped her to inquire about information in this regard in case of emergency.
"There's more than just an organization recommendation path for transfer students. If you're still determined to go to university, you can actually take the college entrance examination next year."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
If she could pass the exam, she wouldn't be so discouraged.
"The college entrance exam for transferred students is different from that for ordinary students. Liberal arts students only take Chinese, geography, history, and politics, and are exempt from math and foreign languages," Wu Zhengrong encouraged. "If these are the only four subjects, you might not fail if you work hard."
Ye Manzhi asked, "Are you really not going to take math and foreign language tests?"
"Well, I specifically asked Jin Ping about this. Isn't she from the Municipal Education Bureau?" Wu Zhengrong patted her on the butt. "You can prepare for both scenarios. While studying for next year's college entrance exam, you can also wait for next year's recommendation quota. No matter which path you take to go to university, you will have two years of work experience by then, so you can go to school with pay."
Ye Manzhi blushed and took his hand away from her butt, glared at him and said, "I'll think about it!"
*
In order to enrich his work experience, Ye Manzhi put a lot of effort and worked hard on the two tasks of setting up the Reform Office and building a primary school.
She always felt good about herself and thought she would definitely be selected.
I have fantasized countless times about myself transforming into a college student.
There were only two students in the whole school who were admitted to college. Although Ye Manzhi was just a small street cadre, she was able to go to college through her own efforts!
Just thinking about that scene made her so excited that she couldn't sleep!
Therefore, you can imagine how great the psychological gap was for her after failing the exam.
The blow of failing the exam made her feel depressed and listless, and she even forgot about her marriage to Wu Zhengrong.
After a few days of this, she heard that Zhuang Ting was also going to be transferred.
"Sister Zhuang, are you really leaving?"
"Well, I was originally planning to wait for a quota for transfer students, but now that there's no chance of a transfer, I'll just change units and work!"
She has already found a way to get involved in the Women's Federation of the textile factory.
The textile factory is a large state-owned factory. Although it is not as big as Factory 656, it is better than the others and has a much larger platform than the street office.
She originally entered the street office through Zhang Qinjian's path, but the right to speak in the street office has always been in the hands of Director Mu.
Zhang Qinjian has no say in major matters.
She had several good opportunities but failed to compete with Ye Manzhi and Liu Jinbao.
She felt that with these two people in the street office, her development opportunities were slim, so it would be better for her to switch to a larger unit as soon as possible and seek other opportunities.
Wei Zhen got promoted and Zhuang Ting is about to leave.
In the office of eight people, two seats suddenly became vacant.
The morale of people within the subdistrict office is inevitably unstable.
Ye Manzhi believes that she gets along well with her colleagues, and she always feels sad when familiar colleagues leave one after another.
However, this is not the end.
A deputy district chief in the district people's committee was transferred, leaving a vacant position for the deputy district chief.
The proportion of female comrades in the district committee is too low, so this time one female cadre will be promoted to serve as deputy district mayor.
Guangming Street has achieved remarkable results in recent months, including pension benefits, family handicrafts, adult education, prevention and control of enemy spies, the "publicly run and privately assisted" anti-imperialist primary school, and a significant increase in the average income of street residents last year. These achievements have brought Mulan into the sight of higher-level leaders.
Director Mulanmu of Guangming Subdistrict Office is suddenly about to be promoted to deputy district mayor!
The young cadres in the street office were simply stunned!
Ye Manzhi felt really disappointed.
She has been working for almost a year and has indeed made some achievements, but she has to admit that a large part of the reason is that she met a good leader.
Director Mu is a leader who understands the rules and is willing to give young people opportunities.
If Zhang Qinjian succeeded her as director, Ye Manzhi felt that her life would probably not be easy.
"Director, are you really going to be the district chief?" The reluctance in Ye Manzhi's eyes was so real.
"That's about right, Xiaoye. You're a young cadre with drive and ideas. Keep working hard in our neighborhood office and do a good job!"
Ye Manzhi thought to herself, that depends on whether the leaders above are willing to give her the opportunity to perform.
However, she had just had a heart-to-heart talk with Director Mu in the morning and received a call from the district party committee organization department in the afternoon.
The deputy director of the Organization Department informed her that she would go to the district tomorrow for an organizational talk.
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