Road to Revival

When Tao Tang entered the petition office five minutes early, the office director Zhang Xingwu, the petition office director Yao Qiufa, and two petitioners were already waiting there. Clearly, the petition office had just been cleaned; water stains were still visible on the tiles.

"We didn't expect you to actually come..." said the tall, dark-skinned man with a buzz cut. "Okay, you're a man of your word."

Tao Tang didn't pay attention to the other person's tone. He sat down, took out his notebook and pen, and said, "What are your names? Let's get to know each other first."

The tall man is named Wu Guisheng, an external electrician at the power company; the short man is named Zhang Rong, a boiler operator at the property management company's boiler room.

"We're talking about the same thing," Zhang Rong said loudly. "Factory manager, we want to report your concerns about our children being sent to the factory. You need to stand up for our workers' children."

Tao Tang nodded. "Then tell me, what's the situation?"

The matter is actually quite simple. Zhang Rong and Wu Guisheng's children both graduated from university last year and wanted to return to work at the factory, but they were blocked. The reason is that the company has a policy that only graduates with master's degrees or undergraduate degrees from 211 and 985 universities can be directly hired; for others, it depends on their major, and those with urgently needed majors can be considered on a case-by-case basis. Their children don't meet either of these criteria. Zhang Rong's daughter studied law at a third-tier university, and Wu Guisheng's son studied finance at a second-tier university, so they are not eligible under this policy.

However, Wu and Zhang pointed out that the regulations were not strictly enforced. The children of company leaders, and even the children of relatives and friends, were all admitted to the factory regardless of their education or major, while the children of workers were kept out.

"Do you have any evidence?" Tao Tang asked.

Wu Guisheng glanced at Yao Qiufa and Zhang Xingwu, who were taking notes, and said, "Of course! I'm not afraid of retaliation. Our manager's son only has a third-tier university degree, but he's working in the publicity department, isn't he?"

Zhang Xingwu harbored resentment in his heart, but he couldn't utter a sound, so he pretended to be taking notes.

"Hmm, the child graduated last year?"

"Yes."

"Director Zhang, are you familiar with the company's regulations regarding the recruitment of college graduates?"

"I'm not quite sure about that."

"And you?" Zhang Xingwu had just introduced Yao Qiufa, but Tao Tang didn't remember his name, only his position.

"The regulations are as they say..." Yao Qiufa carefully chose his words, "It's also true that Mao Xiaobin, the manager of the power company, had a son who was admitted from a third-tier university. However, the company lacks writing talent, so it was handled according to the rule that exceptions can be made for urgent needs. I've explained this to them countless times. Is that right?"

Wu Guisheng stood up. "Isn't it up to you to interpret it? You say there's an urgent need, so there's an urgent need. How are we supposed to know? Anyway, officials have the big mouths."

"Master Wu, please don't get agitated. I basically understand the situation. How about this, give me some time, and I'll give you an answer."

"Explain clearly, how long?" Zhang Rong pressed.

"Zhang Rong! That's enough. General Manager Tao has only been at the factory for two days!" Zhang Xingwu stood up.

Tao Tang waved his hand. "I think it won't be later than next Friday. Is that okay?"

"Okay." Zhang Rong was satisfied with the timeframe Tao Tang provided. "Alright, Lao Wu?"

"Okay. I hope you'll keep your word, Mr. Tao."

"So, shall we leave like this? Please, both of you, return. I have a few words to say to them."

"Okay, we're leaving." Zhang and Wu went out.

"Is the petition office an independent agency or subordinate to the General Manager's Office?" General Manager Tao asked.

"It belongs to the office, at the section level." Zhang Xingwu became nervous.

"Look at this room. Does it look like a petition reception room? Hmm? What if more people come and the petitioners have to stand and talk? And why isn't there hot water? Just because they're troublemakers?"

"President Tao, I haven't done my job well, I..." Yao Qiufa became nervous.

"Comrade Director of the Petition Office, how old is your child?" Tao Tang asked in a friendly manner.

"Mr. Tao, my name is Yao Qiufa... My son is in his first year of high school."

"I'll handle today's matter personally. Of course, you still need to follow the procedures. I'll give you a question today. Go back and think about it: if you were one of them, would you understand your answer? That's all." Tao Tang put away his notebook and left.

"Director..." Yao Qiufa felt wronged.

"Let's make the necessary changes according to General Manager Tao's instructions, starting with fixing the hardware." Zhang Xingwu pointed to the tables and chairs in the room.

"I've submitted reports multiple times, but they haven't been approved yet."

"That's in the past!" Zhang Xingwu glared at Yao Qiufa, then got up and left.

Zhang Xingwu wanted to catch up with Tao Tang, but Tao Tang had already disappeared. The square in front of the office building was full of people dancing, the music blasting loudly. Zhang Xingwu tried to calm his thoughts. He had been in the position of office director for over two years and knew that the secret to keeping this position was understanding the minds of the bosses, especially the top leader. Tao Tang's style over the past two days had left him feeling lost. Clearly, this was a guy whose style was completely different from his predecessor's: buying a used bicycle, returning his clothes, eating in the cafeteria, and personally receiving visitors tonight. He didn't know how the HR department or even Vice President Liu would explain this to President Tao; it wasn't his problem. Liu Xiuyun was his predecessor; she had risen from office director to vice president. But he had to adjust his work approach, or he would be in a very passive position.

Lü Qi didn't reply to the question about the clothes. He wanted to call her to ask, but didn't make the call.

At that moment, Lü Qi was listening to her husband talk about the canteen.

"...Anyway, Wang Jingfu was terrified. I saw him yelling and shouting at the entrance of the cafeteria when I got off work, while Zhou Bing stood there with a dark face. Isn't that funny?" Fan Yongcheng was telling his wife the story he had heard with great interest.

"What's so fun about this? It's just Tao Tang experiencing life in the cafeteria, is it really worth getting so worked up about? The property management has problems, they should have fixed it a long time ago." Lu Qi originally wanted to talk about the clothes, but seeing Lao Fan's neurotic reaction, she immediately lost interest. Knowing Lao Fan's personality, what would his reaction be if he heard that Tao Tang had spent a long time chatting in his office?

"You're just good at handling business. You don't understand, this is a very clever tactic, a strategy. Only by grasping the problem can you establish your authority."

Lü Qi was in a good mood today. "Heh, look how capable you are. Did he report to you?"

"Don't deny it. When it comes to political acumen, you're no match for me," Fan Yongcheng said smugly. "Look, after we gave Wang Jingfu a warning, Zhou Bing couldn't sit still anymore. Your classmate is no ordinary person; no wonder he's made a name for himself in Shengdong. Among the team members, Zhou Bing is undoubtedly the weakest. He picks the softest persimmons in the middle of the night."

"Are you belittling him or praising him? What kind of skill is it to bully the weak?" Lü Qi said, both amused and exasperated.

Rarely did his wife agree to talk to him, Fan Yongcheng became even more interested. "Zhou Bing used to be in charge of procurement, so there's definitely something wrong with him. After Song Yue's incident, everyone was saying that Zhou Bing was also going to be finished. Think about it, President Tao used to be the director of the Policy Research Office, he had access to confidential documents, and he must know the connection between Yang Wenhuan and Song Yue's cases. Removing Zhou Bing won't affect the stability of the team, but it will serve as a warning, making Zhao Qingmin, Li Luo, Han Zhiyong, and their gang afraid to trip him up. Anyway, Zhou Bing is almost at the end of his career, so we can promote a couple of trustworthy people, or transfer one or two capable old subordinates from Shengdong, and the situation will be pretty much under control. Haven't you heard? Fan Yong was also reprimanded, because of the gatekeeper management. Look, those are all departments that Zhou Bing managed, right?"

"He even gave the factory office a dressing down. How do you explain that?"

"What? The factory administration got a scolding too? Was it Zhang Xingwu or Jia Jianxin?"

"Is there any difference?"

"Of course there's a difference. Don't forget who Jia Jianxin works for." Jia Jianxin is Li Luo's nephew, and Li Luo is the company's executive vice president.

"He might not know that, no, he absolutely doesn't know. And he might not even care," Lü Qi scoffed. "Do you think Tao Tang would be afraid of Li Luo?"

"Don't let Tao Tang's status as a Red Star's son fool you; he has zero connections within Red Star. Who is Tao Jin? He probably only became famous in the last couple of days, right? Not to mention Tao Meiling. But Li Luo's influence shouldn't be underestimated. Jia Jianxin is nothing special, but how many years has Li Luo been a vice president? Starting from the Organization Minister, how many middle-level cadres have been promoted through his hands? You can't even count them all! Before Song Yue, he was already the executive vice president, and his popularity was very high. Song Yue suddenly appeared and blocked his path. In those years, Song Yue was quite domineering, wasn't she? She treated everyone else like grandsons." However, they dared not go too far with Li Luo. Song Yue had fallen, and unexpectedly, Tao Tang had appeared, so young. What hope was there for Li Luo? Even a clay figure has some temper; do you think he would willingly accept his position and sincerely assist Tao Tang? But then again, Tao Tang's other strategy to open up the situation was to control Li Luo. If he controlled Li Luo, Red Star would truly belong to Tao. Actually, Zhao Qingmin and Guo Tao weren't really obstacles; they wouldn't be at peace until the Song Yue case was adjudicated. But Li Luo wouldn't get involved in the Song Yue case, because Li Luo was Song Yue's opponent.

"You've really put yourself in the wrong position." Lü Qi didn't like listening to these back-and-forth analyses of infighting. "So, Tao Tang can only truly seize power through struggle?"

"Yes! That's really true. I remember Secretary Niu once said that authority is just power; the organization can only give you power, not prestige. Power is just for show. But you have to earn prestige yourself. How can you gain prestige without struggle? You must know who's in charge at the Eleventh Branch Factory. Is it Tong Zhengjie or Dai Dapeng? It's obvious. Even though Dai Dapeng is the branch factory director, his orders are useless without Tong Zhengjie's approval."

"That's an exception." Lü Qi was well aware of the strange situation at the Eleventh Factory, and the deputy factory director's orders carried more weight.

"Let's not get sidetracked. You just said that General Manager Tao was disciplining the factory office? Who did he criticize? Zhang or Xiao Jia?"

"It wasn't exactly criticism. They bought Tao Tang some clothes, like shirts and underwear, but Tao Tang didn't seem too happy and had Xiao Jia return them." Lü Qi didn't go into details.

"That's nothing! It's a pity, Mr. Tao is trying to break things up with these trivial matters. It won't work."

"You think you can do it? I think Tao Tang is quite good. He just took office and already has a very positive image."

"A good image is nothing. Even if the public gives him a perfect score, does that mean he can stay in that chair?"

"Then what do you suggest?"

"First, of course, is the appreciation from above. But it seems your classmate is fine; Feng Shizhao personally escorted him to his new post, which is quite a lot of face. However, it can also be explained as a special measure under special circumstances. The higher-ups don't want Red Star to continue in disarray. Second, of course, is political achievement. If they can't change Red Star's situation and it continues to lose money, no one can save it."

"Of all the fallacies you spouted today, this is the only one that actually holds any merit. The key is political achievements." Lü Qi sighed inwardly. What are political achievements? These days, the word has become a derogatory term.