Courtyard House: Starting in a Ceramics Factory

The lunch break bells rang out melodiously, and the hustle and bustle of the factory gradually subsided, replaced by a more tranquil rhythm that belonged to the afternoon work.

After finishing his strong tea, Li Feng glanced at his "Shanghai" brand watch on his wrist; the hands pointed to two in the afternoon.

It's time to head to the office.

His office was in a three-story office building next to this dormitory building, located on the second floor at the far east end. It was originally the office of Director Zhu Hongjie.

Now that Director Zhu is about to be transferred, this place will temporarily become his territory.

of course!

In the old factory, Li Feng also had an office.

Li Feng put on the brand-new blue Zhongshan suit hanging in the closet, buttoned up the top button, and looked even more energetic and upright.

He locked the dormitory door and slowly walked towards the office building.

The afternoon sun streamed through the corridor windows, casting bright patches of light on the terrazzo floor.

The air was filled with a faint smell of ink and paper, mixed with the scent of old-fashioned wooden furniture—a smell unique to government office buildings.

Pushing open the heavy door with the bronze plaque that reads "Factory Director's Office," a spacious and bright space comes into view.

The layout of his office was similar to that of his dormitory, both being simple and practical.

A huge desk occupied the center of the room, with a dark green velvet cloth on the surface and a thick glass plate on top.

Beneath the glass panel, there was a floor plan of the factory and a national map.

On one corner of the table, there was a red rotary telephone and a black "red phone" with encryption function, next to which was a white porcelain pen holder with the words "Serve the People" printed on it.

The office also has an entire wall of bookshelves, filled with all kinds of documents, books and technical materials, which is in stark contrast to the empty bookshelves in his dormitory.

Li Feng walked to the large leather swivel chair behind the desk and sat down. The chair and everything else were new, and the leather had been polished to a shine. Li Feng found it exceptionally comfortable to sit in.

He leaned back in his chair, rested his hands on the edge of the table, and scanned the entire room with his gaze.

From this day forward, he will be here, issuing orders, strategizing, and deciding the future direction of this large factory with thousands of employees.

A profound sense of responsibility arose spontaneously.

He didn't rush to look at the documents on the table, but sat quietly, familiarizing himself with the environment and allowing his mind to settle down completely.

"Dong dong dong."

A polite knock sounded on the door.

"Please come in," Li Feng said in a deep voice, sitting up straight.

The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged cadre in his forties, slightly overweight and wearing glasses, poked his head in with a respectful yet slightly reserved smile on his face.

"Director Li, are you there? I hope I didn't disturb your rest."

Li Feng recognized him; he was Han Liye, the head of the personnel department.

"Oh, it's Section Chief Han. Please come in." Li Feng stood up and greeted him politely. "I just arrived and am getting familiar with the place."

"Of course, of course." Han Liye strode in and closed the door behind him.

He carefully walked to the desk, holding a brown paper file bag, and handed it over with both hands, bowing slightly.

"Director Li, the matter you asked me to handle has been taken care of." Li Feng's heart skipped a beat. He took the package and asked, "Oh? What was it that was done so quickly?"

"It's about the appointment of Comrade Zhou Jianjun." Han Liye's tone carried a hint of seeking credit, but he handled it very well and didn't sound obsequious. "You brought it up yesterday morning, and our personnel department immediately went through the procedures."

I met with several factory leaders in the afternoon, and everyone agreed.

These are the appointment documents and related materials. We will send someone to deliver them to the department for filing before the end of the workday this afternoon.

Li Feng opened the file bag and took out the files inside.

At the top is an official document with a red header, titled "Decision on Appointing Comrade Zhou Jianjun as Deputy Director (Deputy Section Chief Level) of the First Branch Factory's Throwing Workshop," stamped with the bright red seals of the Party Committee and Administration of Wuxing Ceramics Factory.

Attached to this was Zhou Jianjun's personal file, resume, and evaluation opinions for this promotion; the materials were very detailed and standardized.

Li Feng's gaze lingered on the "inspection report" for a few more seconds.

The higher authorities spoke highly of Zhou Jianjun, saying that he was "politically sound, professionally competent, energetic, and an outstanding representative of young employees," and so on.

He couldn't help but laugh.

The efficiency and the skill level are truly remarkable.

He mentioned it briefly at the meeting yesterday, and the official document came out this afternoon, with even the department's filing process arranged.

This shows that the factory's administrative system operates very efficiently, and also shows that Han Liye, the head of the personnel department, is a capable and efficient person.

"Thank you for your hard work, Section Chief Han." Li Feng put the documents back in the file bag, looked up at Han Liye, and smiled approvingly. "Your personnel department is very efficient. You deserve praise."

Upon receiving the new factory director's affirmation, Han Liye's smile brightened considerably, and he seemed to straighten his back a bit: "This is what we should do, to share the burden of the leaders and serve production."

The main reason was that Comrade Zhou Jianjun himself was exceptionally outstanding and had a strong grassroots following, so the procedures went very smoothly.

These words were perfectly worded, flattering the leader, affirming Zhou Jianjun, and conveniently distancing himself from any involvement in his own work, as if everything was perfectly logical.

Li Feng nodded, gesturing for him to sit down and talk.

"Section Chief Han, please have a seat. It's perfect that you're here. I have some ideas I'd like to discuss with you."

"Okay, okay." Han Liye sat down in the chair opposite him, flattered, only sitting on half of his buttocks, leaning forward and adopting a posture of listening attentively. "Director Li, please give your instructions."

Li Feng leaned back in his wide chair, his hands clasped over his abdomen, his gaze calm and profound.

"Section Chief Han, our Five Star Ceramics Factory is now a large and powerful enterprise. With the main factory and branch factories alone, we have several thousand employees. With such a large operation, people are the foundation."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Han Liye's ears clearly.

Han Liye immediately became serious and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you are absolutely right. Talent is the primary productive force."

"How many technical personnel do we have in our factory now? How many painters, pottery throwers, and model makers are there at each level? What is the average age of the middle and senior managers? Have we formed a reasonable talent pool?" Li Feng asked a series of questions.

These questions get straight to the heart of the matter.

A fine layer of sweat instantly appeared on Han Liye's forehead.

He didn't expect that this excessively young acting factory director, on his first day in office, would focus not on production data or financial statements, but on such macro-level yet such specific personnel issues.

He had a general idea of ​​these figures, but he wasn't sure if he could pinpoint the exact numbers.

Although he was in charge of personnel, he hadn't thought about this aspect of the overall picture yet. (End of Chapter)