The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 280 Announcement of Appointment: Party Official and Factory Director

"Comrade Zhiqiang, get ready. It may not be long before the appointment process for you begins, and we will announce it at your factory."

Upon hearing Director Ren's words over the phone, Zhou Zhiqiang replied, "Understood, leader. I will take responsibility."

However, I thought the department would find another colleague to work with me, which would reduce my workload.

"This is indeed an alternative plan, but we can't find a suitable candidate for the time being, unless we transfer people from positions in several departments within the ministry."

But the ministry is also very busy, and it's difficult to fill the gaps no matter who's transferred."

The streamlining of cadres in recent years has led to a shortage of manpower, and there are not many cadres at the bureau level or above, unless they are recruited from other places.

Furthermore, there was another method that Director Ren did not mention. This was the final choice of their department's Party Committee. They had another plan: to make Zhou Zhiqiang the Party Secretary and then promote one of the two deputy factory directors to the position of factory director.

This is not to firmly grasp the power of Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory, but rather to prevent friction within the factory's Party Committee and ensure smooth production.

However, the downside is that Liu Wenzhou and Sun Yifei haven't shown any signs of potential for promotion.

Although things are usually alright, they were promoted one level last year due to the upgrade in administrative status.

Without any significant achievements, they won't be promoted consecutively. Promoting Sun Yifei and Liu Wenzhou would probably be even more difficult than getting Zhou Zhiqiang transferred to a lateral party position.

The appointment should be finalized in the next few days. The deputy leader's approval is basically the final word, and the Organization Department will not delay.

According to Director Ren, the Organization Department really went too far this time. Although it was within their scope of responsibility, they usually wouldn't object to the recommendations of the Personnel Department of the First Ministry of Machine Building.

Moreover, this time, the Organization Department ignored the opinions of several parties, including the factory, the previous secretary Li Younian, and the personnel department of the Ministry of Machine Building.

They just stick to that old regulation and won't change their tune, constantly changing regulations and systems. If regulations and systems were really that important, there are still many cases in China where the Party Secretary and Factory Director hold the same position.

These were all things that hadn't been removed for several years, and the Organization Department hasn't made any changes.

To put it bluntly, it's still driven by self-interest that some talented people, after living in the city for over a decade, have already forgotten their original aspirations.

After finishing his conversation with Director Ren, Zhou Zhiqiang hung up the phone.

This morning we also saw off the people from the Industrial University and Tsinghua University. There are still two people left in the factory who are recording data from continuous processing operations.

Composite CNC machine tools are a worthwhile topic to cover in class at both universities, so they need to back up some of their materials.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhiqiang originally wanted to go to the CNC branch factory, but then he thought about the things that the main factory needed to deal with.
Zhou Zhiqiang then picked up the phone and called Tian Wenguo to inquire about the production situation of the CNC branch.

Previously, Tian Wenguo knew nothing about semiconductor production, but Zhou Zhiqiang ordered him to learn about it, so now he can answer questions about various aspects.

"How can a factory director be so ignorant? Do you even want to be promoted in the future?" Zhou Zhiqiang used this sentence to spur Tian Wenguo, who was in his early forties, to study hard again.

Now, Tian Wenguo is handling some production tasks and factory scheduling in a very orderly manner.

Based on the current production status of the CNC branch, after September, the CNC branch will be able to meet 40% of the main plant's demand for integrated CNC systems each month.

By April next year, the CNC division will be able to replace one-third of the original photolithography process with the newer photolithography process.

Proximity lithography equipment is already considered semi-automatic production, which reduces the need for cumbersome operations by technical personnel and can significantly improve production efficiency.

Furthermore, the CNC branch will also receive a share of the investment next year. Although there are no specific figures yet, if the main factory has more than 20 million, then the CNC branch will receive at least a quarter of the investment.

We can build several integrated workshops and expand several production lines, increasing production capacity by one-fifth or even more.

Zhou Zhiqiang had already spoken with Tian Wenguo on the phone beforehand. Now that it was already the second half of the year, it was a way for him, the factory director, to prepare in advance.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhiqiang thought for a moment and then called Zhang Yaoguo over.

After everyone entered the office, Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "Yaoguo, you went to see Secretary Li the day before yesterday. How is he now?"

Zhang Yaoguo nodded and said, "It's good. Your complexion is recovering well, and you'll be discharged soon. It'll probably be in the next few days. If the check-up is normal, you can leave."

"Oh, I see. Could you call a driver for me? I'm going to see Secretary Li today."

Zhou Zhiqiang immediately said that since he had been assigned to take over the position of a Party official, he should go and visit the old Party Secretary Li Younian.

Besides, he had worked well with Li Younian before, and Li had even helped Zhou Zhiqiang with some things. If Li Younian's health hadn't really prevented him from continuing to work, Zhou Zhiqiang definitely wouldn't have been willing to take on this party official position.

"Okay, factory manager, I'll arrange it."

After Zhang Yaoguo finished speaking, he left the office to inform the driver.

Soon the driver arrived at the factory office building, and Zhou Zhiqiang got into the car after going downstairs.

Because it was a sudden decision, Zhou Zhiqiang didn't bring much with him, so he just took a packet of tea from his office as a gift.

This tea is quite good; you can't buy it at any supply and marketing cooperative outside. It's specially allocated to high-ranking cadres.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Zhou Zhiqiang was led by Zhang Yaoguo towards Li Younian's ward.

After arriving at the door, Zhou Zhiqiang knocked and then pushed the door open and went inside.

Secretary Li

Upon entering the ward, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly noticed the doctor standing by Li Younian's bedside, seemingly saying something. He immediately raised his hand to signal the doctor to continue.

The doctor turned to Li Younian and continued, "You're recovering very well and can be discharged tomorrow. However, you should still avoid strenuous work and focus on recuperation in the near future."

If it recurs next time, even surgery won't be able to save him.

Lying on the hospital bed, Li Younian smiled and said to the doctor, "I understand, doctor. From now on, I will definitely focus on rest and recuperation."

After the doctor gave a few more instructions and left, Zhou Zhiqiang stepped forward, placed the tea leaves on the bedside table, and asked with a smile.
"Secretary Li, you look great, you seem to be recovering very well."

"It's just an appearance; in reality, it needs more time to recover."

Li Younian quickly said, "Comrade Zhiqiang, the organization has already approved my application for medical retirement. Please take on more of the factory's affairs. It's unlikely that I'll be able to return to the factory to continue contributing." "Hey, Secretary Li, why are you treating me like a wolf? I didn't say you could go back."

After Zhou Zhiqiang sat down, he casually said, "I just came today to see how your recovery is going. I should have told you the news the day before yesterday when the factory developed and manufactured the composite CNC machine tool, but I've been too busy the past two days."

“I understand. There’s been a new achievement, so there’s bound to be a lot of work at the factory, especially since you’re currently holding two positions.”

Li Younian said with a smile, "Besides, I also learned about this from Comrade Yaoguo. Zhiqiang, you did a really good job. Only when the factory is in your hands can it develop better and better."

I'm starting to wonder, what will the factory look like in your hands twenty, or even thirty or forty years from now?

Unfortunately, he is too old, almost fifty-nine years old now, soon to be sixty; and he has a lot of illnesses, so it is impossible for him to live another thirty years.

Strictly speaking, Zhou Zhiqiang is not yet thirty years old; he still has thirty or forty years of construction time ahead of him.

In just five years, the former No. 2 Machine Tool Plant has been developed into what it is today. Twenty years from now, Li Younian feels he can't even imagine what scale it will be.

"It should be the industry leader. In the future, Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory will be the heart of the world's industry. The upper limit of the world's industrial development, and how far it can develop, will depend on Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory."

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile that although his words were a bit arrogant, they were not impossible to achieve.

With the current machine tool plant and CNC branch plant as the core, and by maintaining continuous research and development over the next twenty years, we will definitely become the industry leader.

"It's a pity I won't be able to see that day."

"Take good care of yourself, nothing is impossible."

After chatting with Li Younian for a while, Zhou Zhiqiang finally got down to business: "Secretary Li, the ministry has notified me that the appointment will probably be issued in the next few days."

I was promoted to the position of party official at the Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant, concurrently serving as the plant manager and party official at the CNC branch plant.

Zhou Zhiqiang now holds three positions, all of which are quite important, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he wields great power.

If we're both at the same department-level rank, his two positions might carry more power than some mayors.

Although he couldn't manage as many people, Zhou Zhiqiang had absolute authority over the entire factory.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang wouldn't do anything outrageous; the greater his power, the less interested he was in it.

When he initially switched from a technical position to an administrative one, his intention was to make his research and development projects run more smoothly, believing that power was meant to safeguard research and development.

If Zhou Zhiqiang were allowed to abuse his power and act arrogantly, he would not be able to get over it in his heart. Moreover, after meeting with the big leader, who even asked for his cane and calligraphy, Zhou Zhiqiang seemed to be influenced and wanted to develop a better life for the factory workers.

"Secretary Li, will you be coming to the factory then? The Party Committee certainly hopes to hear a speech from you, the former secretary."

Zhou Zhiqiang asked, "I asked Li Younian to come to the factory because I felt that Li Younian must also want to say goodbye to the factory."

After all, Li Younian had worked in this factory for more than ten years, or strictly speaking, eleven years.

Although I have to retire due to health reasons, I still need to formally tell my colleagues at the factory. It wouldn't be good to leave without a word.

When Li Younian heard Zhou Zhiqiang's invitation, he said excitedly, "Okay, I'll definitely go. But I have to congratulate you, Zhiqiang."

"What's there to congratulate me on? You know I hate trouble the most."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "Not only has the salary not increased, but there's also a ton more work to do. I'd rather you hadn't gotten sick and had gone back to work with me."

"Hehe. Wait a while before you apply to the leaders, or consider Comrade Wenzhou or Comrade Yifei."

Li Younian smiled upon hearing this. He believed that Zhou Zhiqiang genuinely disliked power and had entrusted all matters to him before, so naturally he wouldn't be happy to hold two positions at the same time.

------

The next day.

After the Organization Department made a phone call in advance, Zhou Zhiqiang instructed Zhang Yaoguo to notify all members of the Party Committee and key cadres of the factory.

At 10:00 a.m., the director of the Cadre Allocation Bureau of the Organization Department and the deputy director of the Personnel Department of the First Ministry of Machine Building arrived at Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant.

After the vehicle entered the factory, Zhou Zhiqiang and other cadres were waiting in front of the factory office building.

After the three cars were parked, the personnel from the Personnel Department and the Cadre Allocation Bureau got out of the cars.

After getting out of the car, Deputy Director Liu of the Personnel Department said with a smile, "Director Zhou, let me introduce you. This is Director Xue Hua of the Cadre Allocation Bureau of the Organization Department. He is here to announce the appointments."

"Director Xue, Deputy Director Liu."

Zhou Zhiqiang stepped forward and nodded, then said, "The meeting room is ready. Shall we go over there?"

"Okay, let's go then."

Director Xue nodded in agreement and acted swiftly, following Zhou Zhiqiang and his group directly into the conference room.

Upon arriving at the conference room, everyone took their seats in the pre-arranged locations.

"Let's get down to business first."

After Director Xue finished speaking, he took out a personnel appointment notice from his briefcase, then stood up and announced...
"After organizational research and decision, and with the approval of higher authorities, Comrade Zhou Zhiqiang is hereby appointed as a Party official of Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant."

Effective immediately, while continuing to serve as factory director, responsible for party and government propaganda, production management, and logistics administration within the factory.

After hearing the announcement of Zhou Zhiqiang's appointment, everyone else, who had all heard rumors beforehand, still looked surprised.

This gave Zhou Zhiqiang far too much power. He could practically control everything in the factory. He didn't even need to hold meetings of the Party Committee; Zhou Zhiqiang could sign his name and represent all the members of the factory's Party Committee.

Inside the meeting room, the one with the ugliest expression was Deputy Factory Director Hou Yufeng. He thought that although Li Younian had been a yes-man before, at least there were some things he could discuss with him.

But now the Party Secretary and the Factory Director are one person, and he, as the Deputy Factory Director, seems to have no other choice but to obediently follow orders.

(End of this chapter)