Chapter 185 Temporary Dean
When the management office announced the list, everyone curiously gathered around.
The moment to witness a miracle has arrived. Neither Lab 13 nor Lab 24 is willing to concede to the other, while Lab 5 is just there to make up the numbers. Everyone is waiting for the moment when the dust settles.
However, the names of the five lab supervisors were listed together under the vice president of the "Dawn Research Institute".
It is indeed rare for five vice deans to appear at once. This shows that the situation is very fair, so fair that Zhou Yiheng and Wang Yitong cannot start an argument.
So who is the dean?
Laboratory No. 6 – Zhang Sirui.
"ah?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"It must be a typo."
"Who is Zhang Sirui? I've never heard of her."
"It's that spy who used to work under Song Heng, he's back with a different name."
"Why should she be the dean?"
"..."
An uproar erupted among the crowd.
Lin Xi stood outside the crowd and watched silently. She understood everyone's feelings very well because she had the same reaction at first.
But she and Lu Wei had a very clear conversation. The current situation in the laboratory is that although everyone has made some small progress over the past two years, no real and effective results have been achieved.
We are all researchers, and we all know that scientific research is not something that can be achieved overnight, nor is it something that can be accomplished simply by working hard.
They had lived a stable life at the base for too long, and over time they had become accustomed to the fact that they could not produce effective results in their research. They clocked in and out every day, and although they were diligent, they lacked drive.
Life at the base was boring. At first, a group of excellent scholars and staff members could discuss things together, but later, there was a covert suppression.
Looking at the big picture, the entire research institute is now divided into three states: those like Zhou Yiheng who are impetuous, those like Song Heng who are obsessed and anxious, and the rest who take a normal approach to their work.
All five teachers are indeed excellent, but the existence of five such teams clearly indicates a lack of strong management skills. No matter who takes the position, there will be discontent, and they will not be able to truly "manage," leading to a worsening of interpersonal relationships.
Anyway, there will be people who are dissatisfied with whoever takes the position. If we transfer someone down from the upper management of the base, that person will not be familiar with the situation in the laboratory. So we simply let Lin Xi take the position.
After everyone had discussed it for a while, Lin Xi announced over the loudspeaker: "'Dawn Research Institute' is officially established today. All mentors and staff are requested to go to the conference room in 10 minutes to attend the meeting. Those who are absent will bear the consequences themselves."
"Who's speaking? Is it Dean Zhang Sirui?"
"This announcement must be a joke. Zhang Sirui bypassing several teachers to become the dean? That's ridiculous!"
"I'm not going."
"I want to hear what instructions this 'dean' has." /chuckles
"She said if you don't go, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself. Oh dear, who knows what the consequences might be?"
“Zhang Sirui is very good at kung fu. Last time, Zhou Yiheng was beaten up when he tried to take something from her. If you don’t go, you might get beaten up too.”
Lin Xi watched as people entered the conference room one after another. Their expressions were quite varied: some were surprised, some were curious, some were disdainful, and most had expressions of watching a show.
More than half of the people were late, except for Song Heng, all the other mentors arrived late.
They appeared calm, but never looked directly into Lin Xi's face.
The whispers among the people below never stopped.
Lin Xi counted them off, then walked confidently to the podium and picked up the microphone: "Including myself, all 76 colleagues of the 'Dawn Research Institute' are present for the first meeting."
She glanced at her watch: "But 32 colleagues and 4 professors were late. 21 of them were more than 10 minutes late."
The conference room is not far from the laboratory, and the innermost laboratory is only a 2-minute walk away.
Lin Xi knew these people were defiant towards her, so she could give them a hard time.
She said coldly, "Considering this is your first time, I will only give you a verbal reminder. I will notify everyone in advance of the next meeting, and anyone who is late will be dismissed."
The microphone was too loud, so Lin Xi changed her tone, and the firmness in her words momentarily stunned everyone.
Someone whispered, "They'll be expelled for being even a little late?"
"That's too harsh."
"Who gave her the audacity to act so arrogantly in front of several professors?"
"He really thinks he's the dean."
Once someone starts, others join in, and the noise grows louder and louder.
Apart from Song Heng's team, everyone else was criticizing him.
Someone deliberately spoke loudly: "Directly appointed by the base? That's some serious connections."
Someone loudly echoed, "I heard he had an affair with a high-ranking official at the base and used this method to get promoted."
Lin Xi tapped the table, amplifying the sound through the microphone, followed by armed security guards entering the room.
Xiang Xin and Qian Zetao, who were in the lead, stood behind Lin Xi.
The orderly ranks and the firearms naturally created a sense of oppression, but some people still persisted, saying, "What? Are you going to shoot me to silence me?"
"No." Lin Xi was never provoked by these words. She glanced at them and said calmly, "But you know, I will take action if you slander me."
She had been "running rampant" in the lab for a while, and anyone who tried to steal her things or say bad things about her would be silenced by her physical violence, since the other party was in the wrong first.
She turned the microphone volume up to the maximum, but her tone remained calm:
"I know that many people are dissatisfied with my position as 'dean'. Let me give a brief explanation first."
"Before today, the Dawn Base had five laboratories. The base had only ever supported research projects, but never really managed them, which resulted in uneven distribution of internal resources and conflicts between laboratories. Now that the management office has been established, the base has appointed me as the interim director."
"This is different from the dean you had in the 'Research Institute' before. I am not above the outstanding mentors. The management office I am in charge of will only perform administrative functions, mainly including material management and distribution, staff attendance, and everyone's salaries and benefits. From now on, there will be dedicated personnel to guard the property management office and access control. Please keep order. New details..."
Lin Xi first complimented and encouraged the five teachers, saying that he, as the dean, was only there to maintain order. If the Dawn Research Institute were a unit, the management office under Lin Xi's leadership would be more like a combination of the personnel department and the finance department.
She had no authority to interfere with scientific research, and the laboratories would continue as normal. She simply became more strict with employee management.
Once the management rules are published, they will be strictly enforced. Currently, Xiang Xin and Qian Zetao are leading a group of military personnel to serve as the enforcement team to maintain order and safety in the laboratory.
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After the base decided to strongly support the development of the laboratories, in addition to merging the five laboratories into a research institute and establishing a management office, it also set up a small factory to produce the consumables needed by the research institute.
With the support of a batch of supplies, Lin Xi abolished the previously inactive property management office and replaced it with personnel dispatched from the military region, implementing military-style management.
All supplies are no longer distributed equally among laboratories, but are instead used by each laboratory as needed.
Since its establishment two years ago, the base has gradually improved its infrastructure and increased its resources. However, since the laboratories have not been unified into one unit, no one has applied for welfare benefits, and the staff and professors' treatment remains the same as when they first joined the base.
In addition to providing supplies to the "Dawn Research Institute," the base also provides a large number of points, all of which are currently being managed and distributed by Lin Xi.
Xiang Xin, who had been reassigned to the research institute, exclaimed with admiration, "So much money is being managed by you! Brother Lu trusts you so much!"
Lin Xi couldn't laugh: "What a huge mess."
Lu Wei had said that Lin Xi had a talent for hoarding supplies and managing items, and was suitable for this kind of work.
However, the base's research institute had no management rules to refer to before, so Lin Xi's work can be described as groundbreaking.
In the following days, under Lin Xi's management, the research institute descended into chaos.
As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, and Lin Xi, upon taking office, offered three sweet treats.
The experimental consumables were originally supposed to be collected by each laboratory after the property management office notified them, and stored in the laboratory until the next batch of supplies arrived.
Now it's been changed to a registration-based system, and all the laboratories look down on "Zhang Sirui," the dean. Unfortunately, they're not as good as him in terms of fighting or fighting, and they don't have guns, so they can only find various opportunities to verbally ridicule him or make things difficult for him when he comes to collect supplies, submitting application forms under various pretexts.
"I don't believe there are really that many supplies right now."
"Didn't she say that we could take as many as we wanted as we needed to submit an application form? Well then, let's take as many as we want."
Jiang Shenyi, the new manager of the property management office, hesitated for a moment, and Zhou Yiheng started shouting: "What? Didn't our 'director' say that we can get it just by submitting an application form?"
"Take it," Lin Xi instructed Jiang Shenyi.
We still have enough stock, let them take as much as they want, I don't believe they can keep making a fuss like this forever.
When the lab is full and there's not enough space, they'll naturally get scolded by the teacher.
The second thing Lin Xi did was to increase the base salary of all staff members of the research institute by 8%, and the salaries of several professors by 15%.
Most people wouldn't restrain themselves from doing this without acknowledging Lin Xi's authority; instead, they would feel that Lin Xi, the "dean," was easy to manipulate. They would thank him on the surface, but become even more unruly behind his back.
The third thing is distributing benefits. In addition to salaries, the base invests in other benefits for the research institute, but these are all distributed in the form of goods or points vouchers.
Since there haven't been any major holidays recently, Lin Xi just sent it out directly.
With these two sets of skills, the laboratory was well-stocked with supplies, and the happiness index of all the staff increased.
If these messages come from a highly respected elder, or are for some form of recognition or reward, everyone will be greatly encouraged.
But these were brought by Zhang Sirui, who had little achievement and was parachuted in through connections. Many people were not grateful; they only felt that Lin Xi was trying to win them favor.
Lin Xi spends most of her time conducting research in Lab 5, delegating the guarding and management duties to Qian Zetao and Xiang Xin, and spending time each night asking questions and reviewing the proceedings.
Qian Zetao hesitated to speak about the current state of the laboratory, while Xiang Xin offered her full support without questioning Lin Xi's ideas.
Laboratory No. 5 belongs to Song Heng's team. Everyone is closely watching the progress of antibody extraction from the bodily fluid samples brought by Lin Xi. They have been waiting for this day for too long, and their expectations for this matter exceed their own gains.
But that doesn't mean they have no opinion on the current environment.
During a shift change, Zhao Jing watched as groups of two or three staff members hurriedly left work, discussing using their newly issued hot pot vouchers to treat themselves at a newly opened hot pot restaurant at the base. As she passed by, she greeted them with a cheerful laugh: "Hello, Director."
This has happened countless times. Zhao Jing sighed deeply and said to Lin Xi, "If this continues, the 'Dawn Research Institute' will be in chaos."
Lin Xi ignored him.
Zhao Jing couldn't help but say, "Your actions have made everyone more restless. Before, although there were occasional disagreements between the labs, everyone was working diligently, unlike now..."
"Mm," Lin Xi responded, telling her to shut up.
After the zombie outbreak in Nanhua, Song Heng handed over all the miscellaneous tasks to Lin Xi. After Lin Xi left, Song Heng then handed these trivial matters over to Zhao Jing.
Lab 5 is in the best condition among the labs. Song Heng's team has the fewest members. In the early stages, some people couldn't persevere and resigned, and later another group left due to layoffs. Those who remain are the ones who can endure loneliness and wealth.
After letting things run their course for a week, Lin Xi convened another general meeting of all employees.
Perhaps the threat of dismissal for being late, mentioned at the last meeting, had a certain deterrent effect, or perhaps everyone realized, after receiving benefits, that the research institute did indeed have an administrative office, that most people arrived early for this meeting.
Several professors sat below the stage with puzzled expressions. Song Heng's eyes were vacant, and he must be thinking about something else. The other four glanced at Lin Xi impatiently.
Recently, their lab has been in a state of restlessness and chaos, all thanks to this new dean.
Lin Xi glanced at the time on her watch and gave Xiang Xin a wink. The four late colleagues were stopped at the door.
Lin Xi gripped the microphone and said coldly, "I already said it last time, being late for a meeting means immediate dismissal."
She had given advance notice that the meeting room was at most a 2-minute walk from each laboratory, and there would be no difficulty whatsoever.
As soon as Lin Xi finished speaking, Xiang Xin removed the name tags from the four people.
The person whose name tag was confiscated looked surprised, and the people in the conference room whispered in disbelief, "Really fired like that? It can't be that bad!"
The four people who were trying to make a move were immediately put away by Xiang Xin as they packed their belongings and were sent out of the research institute.
"Before we begin the agenda, I need to ask those who don't belong in the meeting room to leave." Under the watchful eyes of several people, Lin Xi calmly opened the organized photo collection and read aloud:
"Based on everyone's performance over the past 7 days, and in accordance with our research institute's rules, the following 8 people have been dealt with: Zhang Xingshuo and Xu Quan have been late or left early more than three times and are expelled. Guan Jiaqi instigated trouble, and Luo Xingyuan and Wu Zhi were involved in a fight and are also expelled."
Photo evidence was displayed on the screen. After Lin Xi said the name, the management team went to ask the relevant personnel to leave.
Some people found it unbelievable, shouting, "I've only been late a few times, it's not like I deserve to be fired!"
"I'm a postdoctoral researcher! How dare you fire me!"
"Professor, help me!!"
One of the professors couldn't sit still any longer and was about to speak, but Lin Xi didn't give him the chance and continued reading:
"Zhang Xinya and Du Junping were late once, and Deng Hewei and Qin Jiawei were eating snacks and chatting in the lab. All four of them will receive a warning and have their points deducted for the month."
"Three offenses will result in immediate dismissal."
The rules for employees of these research institutes state that being late would result in dismissal, which seemed outrageous and no one took it seriously. However, it was actually implemented.
The research institute had already laid off staff, and this meeting resulted in a loss of 9 people, plus a warning to 4 others.
Hearing the whispers below, Lin Xi solemnly said, "These are the detailed rules of the 'Dawn Research Institute.' If anyone finds them too harsh to follow, they can resign now."
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