Road to Revival

"You haven't changed, you're still as beautiful as ever. No, you've gained a little weight, but you're even more beautiful than before."

"Nonsense..." Seeing Tao Tang staring at her, Lü Qi felt a little embarrassed.

"How many years has it been since we last met? Oh, twenty-five years! Time flies. How have you been these years? Hey, that's such a lame question," Tao Tang laughed. "You look the same as always, so I know you've been living a comfortable and carefree life. Look at me, my hair has all turned white... Nobody will think of us as classmates anymore. I remember we were the same age, but now I look at least ten years older than you."

"You..." Lü Qi was in a state of confusion, looking at the man in front of her, not knowing how to answer.

"I inquired about you in Yanjing..."

"With whom?"

"Song Yue. What happened? Didn't he tell you?"

"No……"

"Old Song... I saw your name and phone number on the list the Organization Department gave me last night. I was thinking of calling you, but I thought it was too late. Haha, I didn't expect to meet you this morning."

"You're looking for me today?"

"No. But I'll definitely contact you," Tao Tang said frankly. "You didn't expect we'd become colleagues, did you?"

"Not just colleagues. Now you're the boss, the big boss."

"Haha... Where's the child? Boy or girl? Is he in high school? Where's your husband? How are your parents?" Tao Tang bombarded him with a series of questions without pause.

"It's a boy, a first-year high school student this year. My husband is also one of your subordinates, in the quality control department. My parents are both well. Where is your wife? Why didn't she come with you? Where is the child?" Lü Qi calmed down.

"My daughter is only in her final year of junior high. My wife... she passed away..."

"He's passed away..." Lü Qi was taken aback.

"Let's not talk about it anymore, it was all a long time ago."

"What about the child? You're back, but who will take care of the child? Your parents? I know they're with you."

"She's studying in Binjiang with her parents, and they're in pretty good health. I'm not planning to transfer her to another school. First, transferring would have a huge impact on her, and second, I'm afraid I won't have the energy to take care of her. By the way, Tang Yikun is treating us to dinner Saturday night, let's go together. I also want to see my classmates, this is a good opportunity."

"Okay," Lü Qi agreed without hesitation. "Oh, by the way, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor..."

"you say."

"There's someone in our class named Li Suyi, remember her?"

"I don't remember... What's wrong?"

"She's your soldier now. Something happened in her family..." Lü Qi briefly recounted the Huajin Road incident.

"Oh, what do you need me to do?"

"Can the factory offer legal assistance?"

"It should be fine... Someone died, so the relevant departments in the city must have intervened..." Tao Tang stood up, extended his hand to Lü Qi, "Sorry, I have something to do, I won't bother you any longer."

……

Upon receiving Tao Tang's instructions, Li Zhibin dared not delay and immediately reported to Director Zhang Xingwu.

"A used bicycle? Mr. Tao really said that?"

"Yes. Mr. Tao explained it very clearly."

"Then do as General Manager Tao instructs. From now on, you don't need to consult me ​​about anything General Manager Tao asks you to do. Go quickly, take Wang Fumin with you. Remember to get an invoice."

Tao Tang buying a bicycle was undoubtedly for use in the workshop, which was somewhat unusual. Even General Manager Ma, who was in charge of production, took a car to the branch factory. By doing this, General Manager Tao was putting the other leaders in a difficult position... Zhang Xingwu pondered, then dialed the security department's number, "Old Fan, I need to talk to you about something..." He told him about the gatekeeper management that Tao Tang had asked about that morning.

Security Minister Fan Yong immediately tensed up. "Hey buddy, what else did General Manager Tao say?" He was worried that the new leader's first act would be to target him.

"That's all. I wasn't there at the time."

"Thank you, thank you. I'll get it sorted out right away."

"You'd better report directly to General Manager Tao; he's taken over General Manager Song's original office."

"Okay, okay."

Just as he hung up the phone, it rang again. Looking at the number, Zhang Xingwu jumped up and rushed to Tao Tang's office. "Mr. Tao, you wanted to see me?"

"Here's the thing, tell Xiao Zhao not to cook for me anymore, I'll eat at the cafeteria. Have someone buy me some meal tickets and cutlery." With that, Tao Tang took out his wallet, pulled out three red bills, and handed them to Zhang Xingwu. "Oh, and about the clothes, have you arranged that?"

Zhang Xingwu felt like he'd been given a hot coal. "President Tao, this isn't appropriate. How can you eat in the main canteen? Besides, the clothes were arranged by Deputy Director Jia."

"Why can't you go? You go and handle it. Tell Xiao Jia to return the clothes." Tao Tang looked at the thick folder on the table and began to review the documents.

Zhang Xingwu returned to his office, deep in thought. Clearly, this top leader was a man who didn't play by the rules; he was just trying to gain fame! Perhaps this was the right thing to do at this time?

He had a premonition that the new leader was not benevolent, but he had to carry out his orders without hesitation. He summoned his secretary, Chen Yan, and instructed her to go to the property management office to buy meal tickets for Tao Tang and to the store to buy tableware.

"Choose your tableware carefully. Oh, and buy me a set too." Zhang Xingwu decided to eat at the cafeteria with Tao Tang for a few days.

"President Tao is going to experience life in the cafeteria? That's great! We've finally made it through!" Chen Yan, who was having lunch in the cafeteria, was overjoyed upon hearing the director's instructions.

This girl is definitely not suitable to be a secretary! When General Manager Han recommended her to the factory office, he couldn't refuse because of the "God of Wealth," but this beautiful and outspoken girl seriously lacks the basic qualities of a secretary.

"Xiao Chen! How many times have I told you! You always turn a deaf ear! Doing more and talking less is the most basic requirement in our line of work. You better shut your mouth. Hurry up and get on with it, it's already eleven o'clock." Zhang Xingwu regretted entrusting this matter to Chen Yan.

Mr. Tao wanted to return the clothes... Zhang Xingwu picked up the phone and called Jia Jianxin over.

Hearing Zhang Xingwu's words, Jia Jianxin became nervous. "Is it because President Tao doesn't like it? It was Director Lü who chose it."

"Lü Qi?"

"Does our factory have a second Director Lü? Secretary Zhao sent her to work with me on this."

"Follow the leader's instructions."

"I don't know if I can get a refund..."

"We'll see if it doesn't work."

Zhang Xingwu waved Jia Jianxin away and decided to talk to Lü Qi. He had seen President Tao greet Lü Qi in the corridor earlier, so it seemed they had a good relationship. Perhaps Lü Qi had a better idea for him?

As soon as he stepped out of the office, he saw two workers approaching. Zhang Xingwu worried that they were there to see Tao Tang. They were always like this; every time the top leader changed, the people below would get excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

"Who are you two looking for?" Jia Jianxin rushed forward to greet them.

"We want to see General Manager Tao."

"What do you want?" Zhang Xingwu asked. They've come, just as he expected. He thought.

"You can't control what happens to our children's employment! We want to see General Manager Tao!" said a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man with a buzz cut, who was leading the group, angrily.

"For employment issues, go to the Human Resources Department (the department's usual name). If they can't handle it, they'll report it to Vice President Liu. You can't go directly to President Tao for everything. President Tao just arrived and has a lot on his plate; he doesn't have time to see you," Zhang Xingwu said.

"He's the boss, he makes the decisions. Of course we'll go to him. We've already tried contacting the labor department and General Manager Liu, but they haven't solved the problem," another small, elderly worker with oil stains on his work clothes shouted.

"Keep your voice down! This is Building 3, not a market! If you don't want to go through all that trouble, you can go to the petition office to report your problems during the designated time. The petition office will compile your case into a document for circulation, and President Tao will see it. President Tao just arrived, he really doesn't have time." Zhang Xingwu lowered his voice, "Let's talk in my office first."

Tao Tang came out upon hearing the voice. "Gentlemen, I am the new general manager, Tao Tang. I heard what was said earlier, but I really don't have time right now... Xingwu, is the petition office in the evening?"

"It's every Tuesday evening."

"Let's make an exception. I'll arrange to receive them tonight," Tao Tang said, turning to the two workers who had "barged" into the office building. "I'll wait for you at the petition office tonight, is that alright?"

"Alright then." The big worker looked at Tao Tang. "You're not lying to us, are you?"

"No." Tao Tang turned and went back to his office.

Zhang Xingwu followed him in. "President Tao, I want to apologize to you..."

"What are you reviewing? The security guard didn't stop them? That's not the solution. Which building is the petition office in? Notify the petition office to take notes."

"Next to the guardhouse on the first floor of Building 1. It's 8 PM. Mr. Tao, I may be wrong, but their complaints are all trivial matters. How could you possibly have time to handle them personally? Should we ask Vice President Liu to go instead?"

"What are the regulations regarding the petitioning system?"

"The regulations are not very clear... Generally, the petition office records the information, compiles it into a document for circulation, and then submits it to the relevant departments for processing."

"What might be trivial to me could be a huge deal to them. You're right, there are some things I don't have the energy to handle personally, and I don't know the company's specific regulations yet. But today is an exception, I have to go." After saying that, Tao Tang sat down and continued reviewing the documents.

When the get off work bell rang, Li Zhibin rushed back, but after looking around, he couldn't find the secondhand market. His driver, Wang Fumin, found a nearly new bicycle at his home, and Li Zhibin paid 15 yuan to have a lock made at a repair shop in the residential area. He then put it in the bicycle shed behind the office building. As he went upstairs, he ran into General Manager Tao, who was carrying a bucket-shaped stainless steel lunchbox, with Zhang Xingwu following behind.

"Mr. Tao, we couldn't buy a car. Your driver, Mr. Wang, has one that's not currently in use, so I've left it in the carport. Here are the keys."

"Master Wang, don't you need anything?" Tao Tang strode downstairs.

"No need, I'm free." Li Zhibin ran a few steps and pushed the half-new old bicycle ahead of Tao Tang.

Tao Tang took the bicycle that Li Zhibin pushed over, got on, and left, leaving Zhang Xingwu behind.

Zhang Xingwu inwardly groaned. The factory had three employee canteens of varying sizes, and Tao Tang hadn't said which one he wanted to go to. What was he going to do? He had just thought of informing the property management company in charge of the canteens, but hadn't had time. Needless to say, the canteen's situation wouldn't satisfy General Manager Tao. It was only the first day, and he already felt he couldn't keep up with Tao Tang.

"Director, where is General Manager Tao going?" Li Zhibin asked.

"He's gone to the staff canteen for lunch. You'd better catch up with him."

Li Zhibin agreed and ran after him.

Zhang Xingwu went to the nearest canteen, the second one, which was already packed with employees. He looked around but didn't see Tao Tang. He hurriedly called Li Zhibin, but Li Zhibin didn't answer. It wasn't until the third call that the call finally went through. "Director, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. We're in the first canteen..."

Zhang Xingwu hurriedly chased after him and saw Li Zhibin at the cafeteria entrance. "Where's General Manager Tao?"

"He's queuing up to buy food."

"What do you do? Hmm?" Zhang Xingwu asked, somewhat displeased.

"President Tao doesn't want me to come along..." Li Zhibin was also single, but he was used to eating at the third canteen, where his utensils were.

Where is he?

"Over there..." Li Zhibin pointed.

"Go ahead." Zhang Xingwu had already spotted Tao Tang in the queue. He waved impatiently at Li Zhibin and quickly joined the end of Tao Tang's line.

Zhang Xingwu hadn't eaten in the cafeteria for a long time. He stared at Tao Tang while surveying the surroundings. It was chaotic, the air was bad, the tables were unkempt and dirty, and the floor was greasy and sticky. He knew the property management company was in for a rough time.

Seeing Tao Tang buy his food and walk towards the other side, Zhang Xingwu hesitated, unsure whether to follow. After a moment's thought, he decided to buy his own food first. When he reached the window, the cook recognized him. "Oh, isn't this Director Zhang? What brings you today? Experiencing rural life?"

"Just give me one of everything..." Zhang Xingwu handed over the lunchbox.

"casual?"

"Any dish will do. I'll have rice as my main course." Zhang Xingwu watched as the cook scooped rice for him and piled three dishes into the food container, filling it to the brim.

"How much?"

"Hey, what money do you want?"

Zhang Xingwu tossed in twenty yuan worth of food coupons through the window and hurriedly chased after Tao Tang to his table. The table was empty except for Tao Tang. He found a stool and sat down next to Tao Tang. He saw that Tao Tang's box contained a serving of noodles and two side dishes: scrambled eggs with tomatoes and braised eggplant.

Tao Tang glanced at Zhang Xingwu, said nothing, and continued eating his food. He ate quickly; Zhang Xingwu had only taken two bites when Tao Tang finished and got up to wash the dishes at the sink in the corner. Zhang Xingwu simply stopped eating, followed him, and dumped most of the remaining food into the slop bucket.

"Mr. Tao, let me do it."

"Waste is a great crime." Tao Tang quickly washed the dishes and headed towards the door. Zhang Xingwu hurriedly washed the dishes and followed him.

"Generally speaking, to judge a company's management level, you only need to look at two places: the cafeteria and the restrooms." Tao Tang stopped. "I used to buy steamed buns here often when I was a child. The facilities have improved, but the management level remains the same. Which department manages the cafeteria?"

"Property management company."

"Tell the property management company to let their leaders eat in the cafeteria for three days."

"Yes. I'll inform them right away."

"Go home. I'm going back to my office. Don't follow me. I grew up here. Although things have changed a lot over the years, the basic layout hasn't changed much." Tao Tang turned around, glanced at the cafeteria, and headed towards the office building with his lunchbox.