Road to Revival

Chapter 93 Lu Yaozu Inspects Red Star

Zhang Yulin, the deputy secretary-general of the municipal party committee, was quite puzzled by Lu Yaozu's first "inspection." However, he still carefully arranged everything, fearing any mishaps. Among the various tasks, the accompanying personnel were the most important; leaders from the General Office, the Policy Research Office, and the Publicity Department were always required to accompany him. But Lu Yaozu specifically mentioned the Environmental Protection Bureau and demanded that all its leaders go. From this, Zhang Yulin knew that Secretary Lu's purpose was to inspect the environmental protection situation of Hongxing Company. After getting into the car, Zhang Yulin wanted to ask Ai Weihua about it, but Ai Weihua and his two deputy directors were sitting in the back row, so he had no chance.

Zhang Yulin and Zou Tongqing, who had been selected to serve as Lu Yaozu's secretary, sat behind Lu Yaozu so they could be readily consulted by the secretary. Lu Yaozu's seat was the VIP seat in the Coaster, while theirs was the secretary's seat. However, Lu Yaozu only enthusiastically admired the scenery outside the window the entire way, without uttering a word. Zhang Yulin, of course, dared not disturb the secretary's enjoyment. Zhang Yulin had accompanied Wang Yi on countless trips, and Secretary Wang would invariably fall asleep in the car, never doing anything else. Secretary Lu was different in this respect; it seemed youth truly was an advantage.

The first "inspection" of a local leader should be carefully chosen, but Lu Yaozu's visit to Hongxing Company was unexpected by everyone, both in terms of timing and location. Not only Zhang Yulin, but also the accompanying staff, except for the three directors of the Environmental Protection Bureau, were all wondering: what was the deeper meaning behind Secretary Lu's choice of Hongxing for his first inspection?

Industry is and will be a pillar industry, but Hongxing is not a local enterprise; it is a central state-owned enterprise.

A champagne-colored Coaster pulled up in front of the Red Star office building, where Red Star's leaders, who were at home, were already waiting. Receiving leaders is an art, involving every detail from positioning and handshakes to walking. Fortunately, Red Star's leaders were all adept at this and needed no instruction. They consciously lined up in the proper order, with strict adherence to rules regarding who came first and who came last.

Standing next to Tao Tang in front but to the right, Zhao Qingmin saw that the first person to come down was a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt, with short hair, glasses, and looking very energetic. He wasn't sure if this was the main character. Tao Tang had already gone to greet him, and Zhao Qingmin knew that this person was Secretary Lu Yaozu. Zhao Qingmin followed behind Tao Tang and slowly went to greet him, keeping a distance of two steps.

Zhao Qingmin noticed the handshake and greeting between Secretary Lu and Tao Tang, and they were indeed quite familiar with each other. Their handshake wasn't just a polite one; it was more like old friends meeting, and they talked for a long time, leaving everyone else behind. Because of the distance and the fact that they were speaking in low voices, Zhao Qingmin couldn't hear what they were saying... Their unconventional conversation caused Lu Yaozu's entourage to be stuck in the car and unable to get out.

Then came the routine introductions. First, Tao Tang introduced the members of the Hongxing leadership team to Lu Yaozu. As Lu Yaozu shook hands with each of the Hongxing leaders, his entourage also got out of the car. After Lu Yaozu had met with the Hongxing leaders, Tao Tang, leading the group, shook hands with each of the municipal party committee and government leaders who had accompanied Lu Yaozu on the inspection. When it was Ai Weihua's turn, Tao Tang said, "Director Ai, I went to your bureau yesterday to report on environmental issues, but unfortunately I didn't get to see you. I will give you a detailed report later and offer a profound self-criticism."

"President Tao, you're too kind. It's my duty, and I hope you understand. There were some problems with our working methods, and I apologize to you." Ai Weihua was certain that there was an unusual relationship between this young leader of Red Star and Secretary Lu Yaozu, so it was better to say some things first.

"Tao Tang, I think we should go to the site first. I don't want to hear your report anymore..." Lu Yaozu and the other members of the Red Star team said to Tao Tang after meeting with the leaders who came with him.

"Okay, then let's go to the sewage treatment plant," Tao Tang said. "It's a bit far, so to save the leader's valuable time, let's take a car."

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I'll take your car," Lu Yaozu said.

"Okay then..." Tao Tang waved, and Wang Fumin drove the Audi over. Tao Tang opened the back door for Lu Yaozu.

Li Luo's heart skipped a beat. Based on his experience, he had already discerned that Tao Tang and the new municipal party secretary had an extraordinary relationship. Normally, Tao Tang would lead the way in a Coaster, and the municipal party secretary would never ride in the car of the company being inspected. Now it seemed that Tao Tang and the new municipal party secretary had an exceptionally close relationship... If only he could know what Lu Yaozu and Tao Tang talked about in the car... Li Luo was certain that they discussed business, not just idle chatter.

The problem stemmed from the electroplating wastewater treatment, so the group headed straight to the wastewater treatment plant in the southern part of the factory. Hongxing's wastewater treatment consists of two systems: one is specifically designed to handle electroplating wastewater, which is small in scale but technologically advanced; the other is much larger, handling both general industrial and domestic wastewater.

First, they went to the sewage treatment plant. What Lu Yaozu saw was a clean environment and normally functioning facilities.

"Isn't this great?" Lu Yaozu looked at Ai Weihua.

"I'm sorry, the problem isn't here..." Tao Tang hurriedly explained, "This is a treatment plant for general industrial wastewater and domestic sewage. It's operating without any problems, and the treated wastewater meets the standards for reclaimed water and is being fully utilized. The problem this time is at the second station that treats electroplating wastewater. The equipment has indeed malfunctioned and is currently being repaired... Leaders, please go and take a look at the second station."

Lu Yaozu glanced at Tao Tang, then turned and left the station. He thought to himself, "The equipment's malfunctioning; what kind of guarantees are you making?"

Instead of taking a car, I walked to the electroplating wastewater treatment plant where the problem occurred. The Environmental Protection Bureau had issued a shutdown order because the wastewater treatment plant was shut down. On the way, Zhou Bing, the deputy general manager in charge of environmental protection, first reported the cause of the problem: it was simple—the integrated machine used to treat electroplating wastewater had malfunctioned. It was a management problem at Hongxing. In this sense, Pingyiquan's shutdown order was not wrong.

Ai Weihua breathed a sigh of relief. Zhou Bing's report was relatively honest; at least he admitted that Hongxing had problems with the management and use of environmental protection facilities, which made things easier...

Before Ai Weihua and Ping Yiquan could speak, Tao Tang said, "Secretary Lu, Director Ai, although the equipment has been shut down, we haven't discharged the electroplating wastewater containing heavy metals... so it hasn't caused any environmental pollution..."

Previously very worried, Deputy Director Ping Yiquan disregarded his rank and asked, "President Tao, your electroplating line hasn't stopped. You don't deny that, do you?"

"Since your bureau issued the production halt order, production has stopped," Tao Tang said coldly. "Many branch factories have also been affected."

"I'm talking about before." Ping Yiquan's confidence grew. Actually, when he first came to inspect, he hadn't visited the treatment plant. Zhou Bing's admission that the treatment plant was malfunctioning was enough. "Where did you discharge the electroplating wastewater? President Tao, you can't be unaware of the dangers of electroplating wastewater, can you?"

They were now at the entrance of Station Two. Lu Yaozu's sharp gaze swept over Ping Yiquan. "Judging from your tone, you issued the production halt order without even coming here to inspect?" Before Ping Yiquan could answer, Lu Yaozu turned to Tao Tang. "President Tao, you just said there was no illegal discharge of wastewater. Surely you didn't drink it all, did you?"

"We've temporarily collected the wastewater... right behind us." Tao Tang's answer surprised the guests. Collect wastewater? How would they collect it?

That's really the case. In front of him were five iron water tanks of different sizes, the largest being over two meters tall and the smallest one and a half meters tall. Ai Weihua quickly estimated the volume; if used to store wastewater, they could last for a while.

"Upon discovering the problem with the all-in-one machine, General Manager Tao immediately instructed emergency measures to be taken, strictly prohibiting the illegal discharge of even a single drop of untreated wastewater, so some temporary tanks were put up..." Zhou Bing reported. "These two were temporarily welded together, and two more are still under construction. The manufacturer arrived at the factory on the third day after the problem occurred, and the problem has been identified. According to the manufacturer's after-sales engineer, the equipment should be back to normal by tomorrow at the latest..."

Lu Yaozu stepped forward to inspect the water tank, and Zhou Bing made a gesture, at which point two workers at the treatment station immediately lifted the iron cover.

"Isn't this great?" Lu Yaozu nodded. "I knew it. Tao Tang wouldn't be so clueless about the important things, would he?"

Tao Tang began, "That's how it happened. After the incident, we held two meetings, one of which was an on-site meeting. We investigated the cause and assigned responsibility. The treatment station wasn't primarily responsible, as they had already reported the potential hazards in the equipment's operation. The main responsibility lay with the mechanical department, which was in charge of equipment management. On the surface, we didn't cause any environmental problems, but it exposed shortcomings in the company's management, especially with this expensive machine, which needs to be properly addressed... Leaders, this is currently the peak production season for Hongxing, with a very full schedule. The shutdown of the electroplating and other surface treatment lines—including the electrophoretic coating line—has a huge impact... Should we lift the production stoppage order? Alarming Secretary Lu is really going too far."

He didn't mention the Environmental Protection Bureau's arrogance anymore. Back then, the Environmental Protection Bureau neither came to the site to inspect, and even when he, as the chairman and general manager of Hongxing, personally went to the Environmental Protection Bureau to report, they wouldn't listen to his explanation.

"Not excessive." Lu Yaozu waved his hand, interrupting Tao Tang. "One of the government's functions is to serve businesses. Of course, they should report difficulties. Now it seems the problem lies with the government, not the company. As a central state-owned enterprise, Hongxing has the necessary environmental awareness. The measures are a bit clumsy, but they're effective. I'm wondering, the company didn't do anything wrong in this matter, did it?" Lu Yaozu then fixed his gaze on Ping Yiquan. "You're the deputy director of the Environmental Protection Bureau? You're here to inspect? I'm asking you, in what way do these temporary measures violate existing environmental regulations? And what harm have they caused?"

Ping Yiquan was completely on the defensive. He cursed his brother-in-law in his heart for ruining him. He thought, "Why don't you explain the situation clearly before you file a complaint?" He didn't believe that Hongxing hadn't illegally discharged wastewater, but he couldn't produce any evidence. Now was not the time to curse Ren Dao; now he had to face the questioning from the municipal party secretary.

"I..." For a moment, Ping Yiquan couldn't find the right words to explain.

"Stop talking! Director Ai, does the Environmental Protection Bureau even need your approval to issue a production stoppage order? Do you know the consequences of issuing such an order? Is this how you serve businesses? Furthermore, let me ask you, what percentage of your companies have sewage treatment facilities like Hongxing's? What level of sewage treatment facilities does Hongxing have in Pingquan? Good? Basically good? Or the worst? If Hongxing's are relatively good, then have you issued any production stoppage orders to other companies this year?" Lu Yaozu's questions came like a machine gun.

Ai Weihua stammered, "Secretary Lu, there are shortcomings in our work..." Ai Weihua could easily see Lu Yaozu's favoritism towards Hongxing, and now he could only offer self-criticism. He hated Ping Yiquan to the core. He knew about the production halt order because Ping Yiquan told him that he had reported it to the deputy mayor in charge according to procedure, and he had agreed to it.

Aside from Tao Tang, all the other leaders of Hongxing Company breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Lu Yaozu's questioning of the Environmental Protection Bureau. Zhou Bing, in particular, was astonished that Tao Tang was so resourceful, managing to summon the newly appointed municipal party secretary to the scene with a single phone call, and that Secretary Lu was clearly on Hongxing's side.

Tao Tang helped Ai Weihua out of the predicament. "Secretary Lu, please allow me to add a few words. We do have problems with our understanding and management of environmental protection. The problem is that our actual management is inadequate, which in turn proves that our understanding is inadequate. As a large state-owned enterprise, Hongxing Company has a responsibility to take the lead in fulfilling its environmental protection responsibilities. Therefore, the Environmental Protection Bureau's handling of the matter can be considered a lesson for us. I am reporting to you not to complain about the Environmental Protection Bureau, but to hope that the ban will be lifted as soon as possible."

"It's okay to file a complaint. People speak out when they feel wronged. I admire the attitude of the leaders of Hongxing Company. Environmental protection is the responsibility of everyone, and state-owned enterprises should take the lead in fulfilling their duties. After seeing Hongxing's sewage treatment plant, I feel at ease. The treated wastewater meets the standards for reclaimed water, so it can be used for watering the land, watering flowers, and cleaning. That's great... The Environmental Protection Bureau should not only strengthen supervision but also improve its services."

"Yes, we will definitely follow Secretary Lu's instructions," Ai Weihua hurriedly replied.

"So, is that it?" Lu Yaozu looked at Tao Tang. "Now that we're on your turf, shouldn't you show me the production situation? Don't bother with reports; you're new here too, and you might just mislead me."

(End of this chapter)