The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 206 Undercurrents Are Tough, Leading the Team Is Not Easy
The day before yesterday, we were assigned a new apartment; today, we'll be assigned a new office.

The Supply and Marketing Cooperative is a large compound. The main building is the office building, facing south, and there are two side buildings on the east and west sides.

The second floor of the Oriental Annex Building has now been renovated and used as offices for foreign businesses.

The two outbuildings were not well maintained on a regular basis. Because they were too close to the sea, the buildings were very damp, and the paint on the first floor was peeling off like age spots.

Qian Jin stood at the entrance of the second-floor corridor, watching the workers hammer nails into the newly painted "Foreign Business Affairs Office" sign.

The sound of the hammer striking echoed in the empty corridor, making the windowpanes rattle.

"Director Qian, your office is this way." Xiao Zhang from the administrative department said, rattling a bunch of keys.

There are five offices on the second floor, including two large offices and three small offices.

Naturally, the three small offices were used by the three leaders respectively.

As the director, Qian Jin had the right to choose the office he wanted, and without hesitation, he chose the largest one with a south-facing window.

Then the workers quickly moved in office supplies, filling the 20-square-meter space with a brand-new desk, two metal filing cabinets, and matching wooden chairs.

The All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives had obviously decided on their office locations long ago. These offices had been cleaned up a few days ago, with fresh plaster on the walls and white ceramic tiles on the floor, making them spotless.

Cheng Xia and Liao Chunfeng then chose an office.

The two small offices, one with a south-facing window and the other with a north-facing window, are roughly the same size, each about ten square meters.

Cheng Xia, displaying the decisive and efficient work style of a veteran, pushed open the door to the small south-facing office without saying a word and said, "Hmm, this place is nice. I'll work here from now on."

Liao Chunfeng pushed open the door across the hall and looked around, his face grim.

The north-facing office is very damp; the putty on the walls hasn't even dried completely, possibly due to autumn dampness. In any case, it's not very suitable for living.

After thinking for a moment, he smiled and directed the workers to move his desk into the main office.
"I'd rather work with my colleagues; that way, we can discuss things together."

"After all, we are a new department, and there is still a lot to learn in the future."

The staff of the Foreign Investment Office are mostly young people, with few over 30 years old, and they are all in the prime of their youth.

Upon hearing Liao Chunfeng's words, several people spontaneously applauded: "A warm welcome to the leader to work with us."

Ma Dehua received the loudest applause: "Director Liao, you're awesome!"

The title 'Director Liao' was practically shouted out.

Liao Chunfeng is only in his early thirties, but he already has the demeanor of a leader.

He humbly lowered his hands and smiled, "Welcome what? What's all the fuss about? We're going to be comrades in arms from now on, so it's only right that we get closer together."

"If you have any questions about work in the future, feel free to ask me. Of course, there are also things I don't understand, so I'll have to trouble you all then."

The young people greeted him warmly: "Director Liao, just let us know if you need anything in the future."

Cheng Xia frowned deeply when he saw this scene at the door. In the end, he had no choice but to shake his head, mutter "Damn it," and slam the door into his office.

The workers moving office supplies asked Liao Chunfeng with difficulty, "Deputy Director Liao, where would you like to put your desk? And what about these things? Do you want to move them in as well?"

Qian Jin inspected the new tables and chairs that the workers had brought up at the door.

Liao Chunfeng's office supplies were even more complete and better than his: a brand-new solid wood desk and a high-backed chair, the desk was also equipped with a desk lamp, and the desk lamp even had a green shade.

What's outrageous is that he somehow managed to get a sofa and coffee table set on the table, things that even Qian Jin's director's office didn't have.

Liao Chunfeng pointed to a spot in the middle of the large office: "I'll put my desk here. I want to be closely united with my comrades, haha, just kidding. Don't think I'm being bureaucratic."

The young employees all laughed and said, "No, no."

"Who doesn't know that Director Liao loves to mingle with the masses?"

"Director Liao, may I sit next to you? I'd like to learn from you."

"You're kidding me, there's going to be a sofa next to Director Liao."

Liao Chunfeng waved his hand: "The sofa isn't for me, it's for all of us."

He pointed to the southwest corner and said to the workers, "Move the sofa and coffee table over there. When we get tired of working, let our colleagues have a place to rest."

Upon hearing this, the room erupted in cheers once more.

However, a few young men with grim expressions came out, glanced at Qian Jin, and then went into Cheng Xia's office.

Qian Jin turned a blind eye to this.

Yesterday, I was dragged aside by my boss for a long lecture, and I obviously missed some important developments.

His two deputies are no pushovers; they probably started their power struggle yesterday.

Someone approached and said, "Director Qian, there's a meeting in the finance department that you need to attend."

Qian Jin nodded and left.

This meeting was scheduled yesterday.

There are many expenses to be incurred after the establishment of the new department. The finance department had already prepared the budget for the foreign business office's expenses last month, and he was in charge of reviewing the funds at the meeting.

If there are no objections after the review, he can take the money out.

The finance department meeting went smoothly. This matter was spearheaded by key leaders such as Wei Bin. There were no issues with the budget; Qian Jin was just going through the motions, and the funds could be withdrawn tomorrow.

Five thousand yuan, that's a lot of money.

When they returned, the workers were sweating profusely. Qian Jin waved to one of his employees.

The employee pretended not to see it, crawled under the table, and kept muttering, "Where did it go? Where did it go?"

Qian Jin smiled but said nothing.

He personally went out and bought a box of popsicles, then called out to the workers and employees, "Come on, it's hot, everyone's been working so hard today, have a popsicle to cool off."

The workers swarmed around it.

The employees looked at each other, and for a moment no one moved.

A few people wanted to step forward, but seeing that the others didn't move, they had no choice but to withdraw their steps.

Qian Jin smiled and said to Liao Chunfeng, "Comrade Chunfeng, are you hot?"

Liao Chunfeng, who was tidying up the documents, looked up at him blankly: "Huh? What? I'm sorry, Director Qian, I was focused on the documents and didn't hear you clearly."

Qian Jin laughed and said, "It's alright, you're too kind. I was asking if you're hot? I bought some popsicles, have one if you're hot."

Liao Chunfeng said helplessly, "Thank you for your hospitality, Director Qian, but unfortunately I don't have the chance to enjoy it. I used to be so busy with work that I ruined my stomach, so I don't dare to eat cold food."

He lowered his head and continued working, as did the other employees.

Cheng Xia walked up casually and said, "I have a good appetite, I can eat two."

Seeing this, seven or eight young employees smiled and said, "Then give me one too..."

With these people taking the lead, some other employees came up and took popsicles to eat.

But in the end, a dozen or so employees, like Liao Chunfeng, did not come up to get their popsicles.

Qian Jin stood at the door of the main office, looking at the arrangement of the desks inside.

The forty desks were like chess pieces on a chessboard, clearly divided into two camps.

The tables on the left side were polished to a shine, and each table had a standard enamel mug in the upper right corner.

The tables on the right side were uniformly covered with plastic notebooks, ink bottles, and fountain pens.

"Deputy Director Cheng's people sit on the left, and Deputy Director Liao's people sit on the right," Xiao Zhang whispered to Qian Jin. "Those empty tables in the middle are reserved for colleagues who come to work later..."

Qian Jin chuckled in a low voice, "Deputy Director Cheng's men? Deputy Director Liao's men? They've only been working for one day and they're already forming cliques?"

Xiao Zhang said, "I was just guessing, hehe, because I noticed that Deputy Director Cheng has a habit of putting his teacup in the upper right corner of the table..."

The same is true.

Qian Jin noticed that Liao Chunfeng also had a notebook, pen, and ink set on his desk.

This is very interesting.

He returned to his office and sat down.

It was a hot autumn day, and the office was stuffy and warm.

He wanted to open the window for some fresh air, but found that the latch had long been rusted shut.

The glass was covered with a thick layer of dust, and through the dirty window, he saw Liao Chunfeng leading a few people out the door.

Before long, they returned, chatting and laughing, each with a bottle of orange soda in their hand.

"Director Qian!" A loud voice came from the doorway.

Qian Jin turned around, and Cheng Xia strolled in with his hands behind his back, three pens clipped to the pocket of his Zhongshan suit: "Well, it's like this, you know I'm a retired military officer, used to leading troops." "Our new department is opening, and we urgently need capable core comrades, so I'd like to take two people under my wing. What do you think?"

Qian Jin asked, "Bring two people with you? Are you planning to pick two good comrades from among our colleagues and personally train them?"

Cheng Xia waved her hand: "No, I'm planning to pick two good people from my own department to help our foreign business office set up shop."

Qian Jin said, "I understand. You feel our department is understaffed and want to add more staff?"

Cheng Xia smiled and said, "Yes, that's what I meant. I wanted to ask for your opinion."

Qian Jin nodded: "My opinion is to respect your opinion. You write up an application form for additional staff, and I will submit it to the Labor and Wages Department to see how Section Chief Cui will arrange it."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xia immediately said, "Definitely not. You know Section Chief Cui; he's the most rigid person around."

"I wanted you to go directly to our club president and tell him. He mentioned it yesterday..."

“Wait a minute,” Qian Jin interrupted him with a smile, “Let’s not worry about what the president said yesterday, let me ask first.”

"You want me to go directly to the president and tell him? You want me to?"

Cheng Xia realized what was happening and immediately said frankly, "I'm sorry, Director Qian. I'm so bad at talking, I don't know where I said the wrong thing or offended anyone."

"If I have said anything wrong and offended you, please forgive me. Anyway, I have no bad intentions, I just don't know how to speak properly."

Qian Jin continued to laugh: "Deputy Director Cheng, what are you saying? We're going to work together as a team, so we have to be tolerant of each other. There's no such thing as saying the wrong thing."

"But you can't do that with the leaders. I have no problem with what you just said, but if it gets back to the leaders, they might have something to say about it."

"Think back to what you said? You wanted me to go directly to the president and tell him—do you think I can just see the president whenever I want? Let alone go directly to him and tell him. What kind of attitude is that? We decide how to do things, and then we inform the leader? Is that what you mean?"

Cheng Xia said awkwardly, "No, that's not what I meant."

Qian Jin said seriously, "I know you didn't mean that, Deputy Director Cheng, but we're new colleagues in a new department, and we're not familiar with each other yet. It's best to think carefully before you say anything."

"Otherwise, walls have ears, and it wouldn't be good if someone heard it. If it got out, it would be even worse, right?"

Cheng Xia nodded helplessly: "Yes."

Qian Jin then said, "Well, I'm glad you understand. Also, I'd like to tell you a story."

"I heard this story when I was the director of a grassroots supply and marketing cooperative. It was about a cooperative director who was evaluating the sales staff. He asked, 'Someone has a pen clipped to his shirt pocket. What's that for?'"

"The salesperson said she was a teacher. The director of the supply and marketing cooperative nodded and said, 'That's right.'"

"He then asked, 'Someone has two pens clipped to their jacket pocket. What are they for?' The salesperson replied, 'They're cadres.' The director of the supply and marketing cooperative nodded, 'That's right.'"

He then asked, "What's the purpose of having three pens clipped to someone's jacket pocket?"

Qian Jin looked at Cheng Xia.

Cheng Xia asked instinctively, "What do you do?"

Qian Jin said, "Of course, we sell fountain pens."

Just as Cheng Xia was about to laugh, she suddenly realized something and looked down at her chest.

He knew he was being mocked, so he glared at them, turned around angrily, and left.

Qian Jin smiled, opened the roster, and began to look at it.

Look at the subordinates' identities and their original departments.

More importantly, he was also observing the interactions of the people outside, and then he made annotations after each person's name based on his deductions.

Add a small circle after the names of Cheng School members, and add a triangle after the names of Liao School members.

Looking at the roster, it's no wonder Liao Chunfeng and Cheng Xia were dissatisfied with him; they were both level 22 and 23, respectively, with significantly higher ranks than him.

Liao Chunfeng, in particular, was originally the deputy head of the finance department. He joined the foreign business office from a different professional background with the aim of becoming the director.

When he arrived, he was a deputy director, which meant there was no change in his rank. So he had worked in vain or even wasted his time.

You should know that the finance department is the top dog in all units, in charge of money, and has great power and high status.

Liao Chunfeng was transferred from the finance department of the top leader to the foreign business office with an uncertain future. This was a demotion, so it's normal for him to be dissatisfied.

However, Qian Jin doesn't care.

You take your frustrations out on your superiors, but now you've come to my command to cause trouble. Well, let's see if I can get rid of you!
He studied it for a while, then heard a commotion outside. He recognized the voices as Cheng Xia and Liao Chunfeng, so he frowned and went out.

At this time, someone delivered several calculators, all of which were Japanese electronic calculators that were still rare at the time. They were very novel and very popular.

Cheng Xia pointed at the calculator and yelled at Liao Chunfeng, "Deputy Director Liao, what do you mean by this? The unit provided our department with all the calculators, and you're giving them all to your people?"

"Oh dear, what are you saying, Deputy Director Cheng?" Liao Chunfeng smiled, stroking his stubble. "Isn't it assigned according to work needs?"

"Our colleagues in this department have only officially started their jobs today. How can there be any distinction between your people and mine? If outsiders hear you saying this, they'll think that our department was just established and the leaders are already forming cliques."

A young man named Sun Jian seized the opportunity to chime in, saying, "That's right, Deputy Director Cheng shouldn't say things like that carelessly. It wouldn't be good if our director misunderstood that you two were engaging in factionalism."

Qian Jin watched them argue with his arms crossed, and when he heard this, he smiled and said, "Didn't Deputy Director Cheng and Deputy Director Liao start forming their own factions a long time ago?"

The two were indeed the first to form cliques. In fact, not only these two, but Sun Jian, who spoke first, was also quietly recruiting people to his own ranks.

Sun Jian is a top student who graduated from Jincheng University last year. Of course, due to the system of worker-peasant-soldier universities, it is now impossible to judge whether a student who graduates from a university is a top student based on the school.

Anyway, Sun Jian considers himself a top student.

Cheng Xia used his military transfer status to recruit demobilized military officers in the team, Liao Chunfeng used his high rank and former department status to recruit veteran employees, and Sun Jian recruited college graduates and vocational school graduates who had just joined the team in the last two years.

The three of them didn't start yesterday; they started as soon as the preparatory group was established.

At that time, they all felt that they had a chance to be selected as the head of the new department, so they recruited people early on to build their own team so that they could carry out management work when they officially took over in the future.

In fact, they did consider recruiting Qian Jin, but at that time no one considered Qian Jin a competitor.

As a result, Qian Jin was sent to the farthest village, Zidian Commune, which was considered a form of exile to the frontier.

Therefore, the few people who aspired to become the head of the new department underestimated Qian Jin, thinking he was an insignificant nobody. They not only failed to be wary of competing with him, but also didn't bother to recruit him.

As it turns out, plans often go awry, and fate can be unpredictable.

Yesterday, Wei Bin announced his new position as director of the Foreign Investment Office, and Qian Jin emerged as a dark horse, winning the title of the new department head.

Today, Liao Chunfeng and Cheng Xia are so eager to recruit more people to cause trouble; it's actually a sign that they're desperate after losing so badly.

If one of the two becomes the director, the other person wouldn't be in such a hurry, and wouldn't go against the director as soon as they join the company.

The main problem is that Qian Jin has no background or connections. He joined the company only recently and just happened to have made a few contributions, yet he has been promoted to a leadership position, which they are very resentful of.

He was holding back his anger and desperately wanted to vent it.

So when they got to work today, both of them were very irritable and ignored Wei Bin's request yesterday that they "work together" and started competing directly.

Qian Jin pointed this out.

This was unexpected for both of them.

In their view, it was extremely shameful for the head of the department to have his power usurped by his deputy.

Qian Jin would either endure it and pretend that nothing had happened.

They could either go to their boss, complain, and seek their support to criticize the two of them.

If money goes down either of those paths, both of them win:

Taking the first route involves calculating costs and incurring hidden losses.

Taking the second path of making money without any real ability will earn him a reputation among colleagues and subordinates as a weakling who "tells on others to the teacher," making it even harder for anyone to become his confidant or work for him in the future.

As a result, Qian Jin was very straightforward and directly tore off the fig leaf.

This is an unconventional road.

The two temporarily stopped arguing and were both considering Qian Jin's reasons for doing so.

Does this kid really have connections? Is he confident he can take care of the two of them, so he chose to confront them head-on from the start?

Or is this kid just reckless? He lacks political wisdom and fighting skills, and can't hold his temper, so he gets angry whenever something happens?
Qian Jin didn't give the two much time to think. He pointed at Sun Jian and said, "Collect all the office supplies issued by the logistics department and bring them to my office."

"Deputy Director Liao was right when he said that resources should be allocated according to need and used to their fullest potential. Tools that everyone has will be distributed to everyone. As for public supplies, we need to hold a meeting to discuss ownership and ownership of them."

"In addition, we will hold a general meeting at ten o'clock. We need to get to know each other and make a plan for the work ahead."

"I'm fine with it," Liao Chunfeng said with a smile. "It just needs to end soon, I have a lunch appointment with Director Li from the Commerce Bureau."

Cheng Xia said, "What a coincidence, I have to pick up the provincial guidance team at eleven o'clock."

Qian Jin said calmly, "Whether there are problems or coincidences is not important. I am not asking for everyone's opinions, I am issuing instructions."

(End of this chapter)