Road to Revival

Li Luo, the executive vice president of Hongxing Company, returned to the factory on Saturday morning. He had already learned of Tao Tang's appointment through various channels, which greatly surprised him. According to Li Luo's "plan," after Song Yue's downfall, it would be inappropriate for Zhao Qingmin to remain in his current position; he estimated that headquarters would make changes to him. In this way, even if a top leader was sent from above, he would be promoted further and take the seat of Party Secretary. In the past two years, the corporate governance structure of various subsidiaries has been gradually standardized, and the obvious trend is a new structure where the chairman and Party Secretary are the head, and the general manager and deputy Party Secretary are the deputy, with the former in charge of decision-making and the latter in charge of execution. However, for some unknown reason, the headquarters leaders, led by Feng Shizhao, continued the old model for Hongxing Company, parachuting Tao Tang in as chairman and general manager, while Zhao Qingmin remained in the position of Party Secretary, thus completely blocking his path to promotion.

The reshuffling of Hongxing's leadership actually began after Yang Wenhuan's incident. Less than half a month after Yang Wenhuan was placed under investigation, Qin Haitao led a team on a week-long surprise inspection of Hongxing. At that time, Song Yue had not yet been implicated, but everyone in Hongxing's senior management knew that Song Yue was unlikely to stay. Given the depth of his relationship with Yang Wenhuan, the possibility of Song Yue leaving unscathed was very small. Therefore, Li Luo gave a passionate speech to Qin Haitao, the head of the assessment team, detailing the operational difficulties and management shortcomings facing Hongxing, and outlining his carefully prepared ideas for managing the factory. Vice President Qin did not express his opinion, but Li Luo could tell that Qin Haitao appreciated his "speech."

No one expected Song Yue to leave in such a way. Li Luo was the only witness at the time. The Provincial Economic and Information Commission came down to investigate the so-called structural adjustment. Song Yue and he received them. They rested at Xiaozhao at noon when the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection suddenly arrived and took Song Yue away. He was listening to Song Yue complain at the time, and the look of shock and despair on Song Yue's face at that moment was etched into his memory, leaving him utterly horrified.

Hongxing Company is facing a major upheaval… Li Luo clearly recognized the reality. The position offered by Song Yueteng strongly attracted him. In terms of ability and seniority, he had the potential to rise to the top. Moreover, he knew that there were people in the headquarters decision-making level who spoke on his behalf. Over the years, he had meticulously cultivated a network of relationships within headquarters, and not only directors but also division chiefs had all bowed and scraped before him. In terms of his relationship with headquarters, although he was the third-in-command at Hongxing, he was by no means inferior to the chairman and secretary. The main leaders were also aware of this, and for the annual operating targets, they always assigned him to negotiate with the relevant departments at headquarters. Hongxing's decline was an undeniable fact, and to reverse the crisis, they still needed someone who was well-versed in the inside story to take the helm. And that person was none other than him.

But Li Luo never expected that the headquarters would choose Tao Tang. Moreover, Feng Shizhao went so far as to personally "escort" him to his new post.

Li Luo had known Tao Tang for at least ten years. At that time, Tao Tang had just been promoted to deputy director of the performance management department, making him his peer, though more than ten years younger. Tao Tang's most striking impression of Li Luo was his confident and arrogant demeanor. The performance management department was the main body responsible for determining the salaries of the leaders of various subsidiaries. Li Luo had gone to negotiate with Tao Tang over a disagreement regarding performance evaluations, only to be thoroughly reprimanded by Tao Tang, who showed no room for compromise. Tao Tang even refused to attend the dinner Li Luo had arranged, let alone accept any other benefits, leaving Li Luo extremely embarrassed and angry.

Tao Tang was one of the very few director-level officials in headquarters who had no personal relationship with Li Luo. Li Luo had once judged that officials like Tao Tang, who acted alone, had absolutely no future. But reality taught Li Luo a lesson: Tao Tang was promoted, unexpectedly becoming the head of Shengdong Company. In just over three years, Shengdong's various operating indicators improved significantly, making it a star enterprise in the group. Its lean management practices were praised by Feng Shizhao and elevated to the group's operating strategy, seemingly becoming a universally applicable truth and a magic bullet for turning losses into profits. Li Luo scoffed at this. Eliminating waste and continuous improvement could save Hongxing from its decline? To hell with it.

What Red Star needs is a radical revolution, not a piecemeal reform.

Based on the factory office's notification, the marketing department prepared an analysis report on Tao Tang's current marketing situation. Before submitting it to Tao Tang, the marketing department had to have Li Luo review it. This was a rule set by Li Luo, and it was the same when Song Yue was in charge.

On Saturday evening, just as Tao Tang was taking Lü Qi and others to the Donghu Club for a banquet, Liu Shulin, the general manager's assistant and marketing director, arrived at Li Luo's house with a printed report. Li Luo had already heard the report from his trusted subordinate on the phone, and after putting down his chopsticks, he returned to his study to read it carefully.

"No, it needs to be changed. The objective difficulties must be clearly explained. This report you prepared has too much self-criticism, which is unacceptable. This year's targets are definitely going to be missed, can you blame us for that?" Li Luo took off his reading glasses and tapped the report with the knuckles of his right middle finger.

"Understood. I'll revise it right away... I'll show it to you first thing tomorrow morning." Although Liu Shulin was the general manager's assistant and a member of the Party Committee's central group, he could never stand up straight in front of his old boss.

"No need, I have some personal errands to run tomorrow. Report back and I'll revise it. Shulin, what important matters has our new leader been handling these past few days?"

"I haven't heard of any major commotion. He ate a few meals at the canteen and gave Wang Jingfu from the property management office a dressing down. Oh, and today, he spent the whole day in the workshop, visiting six or seven different units. I heard he was besieged by workers at the third factory..."

Li Luo already knew about this. "It's all for show. What's the point of reforming the cafeteria? Will it open up the market or get orders? But letting him know that there are difficulties isn't a bad thing..." Li Luo suddenly felt a little bored.

"Zhang Xingwu informed me that he would receive the materials first thing Monday morning..."

"What's wrong?" Li Luo's sharp gaze fixed on Liu Shulin. "Just tell him I've finished making the changes."

Liu Shulin wanted to share his feelings, but he held back.

If Song Yue were in charge, Liu Shulin wouldn't be so cautious. Although Song Yue is domineering, he can't shake Li Luo's power, so the marketing department has become Li Luo's private domain. Because the marketing department is responsible for collecting payments, it effectively controls the company's finances and has become the most powerful and best-paid department in Red Star.

But Tao Tang was new, and Li Luo had no leverage over him. More importantly, Liu Shulin, who had been a mid-level manager for nearly twenty years, vaguely sensed the difference between Tao Tang and Song Yue, and it wasn't just about Feng Shizhao's support... But he knew Li Luo's character; he would never tolerate disloyalty from his subordinates. So, Liu Shulin nodded, "Alright, is there anything else, Mr. Li?"

Liu Shulin thought that perhaps Tao Tang wouldn't take it that seriously, or perhaps he had already forgotten about it.

"It's impossible to bypass the marketing department. He can't do it; no one can cut off the leader. The market is in our hands. Even if Feng Shizhao came in person, he would still have to rely on us. Besides, if it weren't for our tireless efforts to maintain it all these years, Red Star would have collapsed long ago! You can go back now; I'm going for a walk."

Liu Shulin misjudged the situation. As soon as he arrived at work on Monday, Tao Tang asked Li Zhibin, "Has the marketing department's report arrived yet?"

Not having received a report, Li Zhibin hurriedly called the marketing department.

Ten minutes later, Liu Shulin arrived. "General Manager Tao, this is Liu Shulin from the marketing department. The report you requested is ready, but General Manager Li says he needs to revise it..."

"Oh? Why?" Tao Tang put down his pencil and asked sharply, "I need the marketing department's report, not Vice President Li's. Or rather, can't I see it without the approval of the vice president in charge?"

"No, that's not it..." Faced with Tao Tang's sharp gaze, Liu Shulin immediately felt immense pressure.

"What is that? Is there such a rule in the company?"

"Mr. Tao, please don't misunderstand..."

"Go and get the materials!"

Liu Shulin felt as if he had been granted a pardon and went back to reprint a copy and sent it over.

Tao Tang closed the folder and immediately began reading.

Ten minutes later, Tao Tang slammed the six-page report onto his desk. "Director Liu, is this the report you gave me?"

"President Tao, please criticize me if anything is inappropriate..." For many years, Liu Shulin had not been under such heavy pressure.

"Tell me, what are the responsibilities of the marketing department?"

In his panic, Liu Shulin stammered and couldn't get a word out.

"Whose responsibility is market development? Hmm?"

"Mainly ours..."

"You listed a whole host of problems in your report: the market is shrinking, orders are decreasing, targets are not being met, and the root causes are quality issues, technical issues, pricing issues, and supply issues. But what about the marketing department? I ask you, with the decrease in orders, what has the marketing department done?"

"We tried many methods..."

"Be more specific, what method?"

"Increase investment in GG and strengthen customer relations..."

"That's all? Why didn't you analyze the underlying reasons for the market contraction? What specific requirements were made for product upgrades? From your report, all I see are objective unfavorable factors. What about subjective efforts? Market competition is so fierce. Apart from a few industries protected by the state, which one is a seller's market? Also, who are our competitors? Have their market share increased or decreased? Why are our orders declining so severely when the overall market size is increasing? Are you ignorant or deliberately concealing the truth?"

Li Zhibin stood in his office, stopping several groups of leaders, including Vice President Zhou Bing, from entering to report or request instructions. Li Zhibin had heard every word of Tao Tang's reprimand of Liu Shulin and felt extremely satisfied. How could the marketing department, which once held such authority over all other departments, be in such a sorry state… He suddenly realized that leaving Tao Tang's office door open was inappropriate and quickly closed it. But the door opened again soon after, and Liu Shulin, his face ashen, emerged clutching the report and hurried away. Li Zhibin gently knocked on Tao Tang's door, "President Tao, Vice President Zhou was looking for you…"

"Please invite him over. From now on, we won't need to announce our arrival when company leaders come over..."

Zhou Bing came to report on the renovation of the dust removal equipment in the Ninth Factory. After receiving instructions from Tao Tang yesterday morning, he organized an extra shift to produce a plan. Actually, there was one before, but it was reviewed again.

"I'm not going to look anymore. How much will it cost? How long will the project take? How many similar questions are there?" Tao Tang gestured for Zhou Bing to sit down.

"The renovation of the polishing workshop in Plant 9 alone is estimated at 1.9 million yuan, including the renovation of the factory building. This figure has been verified with the equipment and construction departments, and the difference shouldn't be too significant. As for the construction period, one and a half months should be enough. Other similar situations still need to be carefully investigated, mainly concentrated in the power and electroplating units, and the heat treatment problem in Plant 7 is also quite serious..."

"I inspected the polishing workshop, and the situation is very serious. There are not only occupational health risks, but also significant safety hazards. Mr. Zhou, issues like this should be included in the safety measures plan; why has it been delayed until now?"

"It's not a funding issue. With your emphasis on safety and environmental protection, my job will be much easier."

"This isn't a question of whether the job is easy or difficult; it's a matter of life and death... Okay, let's go to a meeting to discuss this. It involves millions of yuan, a truly serious matter. There's a system for general manager's office meetings, right? What day of the week are they held?"

"There were rules... but I can't remember them all. It used to be more casual and not so strict."

"Xiao Li..." Tao Tang called Li Zhibin in. "Go check how the General Manager's Office Meeting system is set up. President Zhou, please take the lead in sorting out issues similar to those at the Ninth Factory and try to bring them up for discussion at the meeting. No matter how tight the budget is, we can't joke around with the health and safety of our employees. By the way, you're also in charge of logistics. Organize a medical examination immediately, and have those jobs involving occupational hazards go through it for me in batches."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

After Zhou Bing left, Li Zhibin returned and said, "President Tao, the rule is that the general manager's office meeting will be held every Monday afternoon."

"That's today. Give the notice, it's 4 PM. We'll discuss the implementation of this year's safety measures plan, including logistical aspects such as the management of the staff canteen and dormitory, as well as the evaluation of this year's key performance indicators. The heads of the relevant departments need to attend."

"Yes, I'll inform them immediately." Li Zhibin diligently memorized Tao Tang's instructions and went to make the arrangements right away.

Chief Accountant Han Zhiyong knocked and entered. "President Tao, I'm going to Yanjing this afternoon to handle the funds. Is there anything else you need?"

"There's an office meeting this afternoon, so I'll leave tonight or tomorrow. When you get there, go straight to Chairman Feng. Be loud and don't worry about upsetting the boss. They say cash is king; having cash on hand makes you feel secure."

"I've never even been inside Chairman Feng's office. Perhaps you could give Chairman Feng a call?"

"Okay." Tao Tang thought for a moment, picked up the landline, and dialed Feng Shizhao's number. The other party happened to be on the phone.

"Boss, let me report to you about my work." Tao Tang waved, signaling Han Zhiyong not to leave. "Don't rush to criticize. How can I report if I don't understand the situation? Hongxing is such a big operation, a few days isn't enough time. Yes, I understand, I'll be careful. What is it? You understand me so well, Boss. It's just to fulfill your promise. Tomorrow I'll send Chief Accountant Han Zhiyong to headquarters to collect the money. I hope you can give me a word with the finance company. General Manager Qi? Why should I look for General Manager Qi? I was sent down for reform by you, who else should I look for? Lu Yaozu?" Tao Tang glanced at Han Zhiyong standing by the sofa. "I haven't seen him in a long time, I guess it's okay... May Day? I'm not planning to go back... Okay then, I'll go back. I'll call you after I contact him."

Tao Tang waited until Feng Shizhao hung up the phone before slowly putting his down himself. "There's no problem. But you need to meet with President Qi first, and then with Chairman Feng. The minimum is two hundred million, no less."

"Thank you, Mr. Tao," Han Zhiyong said, feeling a sense of relief. "With these two hundred million, my life will be much easier."

"It's not like that," Tao Tang picked up a stack of documents on the table. "These are requests and reports just sent by the purchasing and production departments, almost all of them require money. You definitely have a copy. There are also cases in the legal department that have entered the judicial process, which also require money. Two hundred million sounds like a lot, but in reality..."

"Yes, I simply can't do this job properly. I feel much better now that you say so."

"Has the 50 million yuan order placed last Friday been given to the purchasing department?"

"Not yet. Their procurement plan needs approval, and the procedures must be followed. In addition, I want to allocate about ten million to the production department. The outsourcing is handled by the production department, and the outstanding debt is too large. Without some funding, the business can't operate."

"Have you discussed it with General Manager Qiu? If he agrees, I have no objections."

"How could Qiu Lin agree? You've only allocated 50 million. What's the use of just solving the main material problem? Even missing a screw will delay production."

Tao Tang recalled Sun Dunquan's saying about the suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death, and asked, "President Han, have you always been the one to give final approval to the funds for materials?"

Han Zhiyong keenly sensed Tao Tang's dissatisfaction. "Normally, the leader in charge of procurement could just sign it off, but we've been facing financial difficulties for several years, so it's always hard to get everything right. That's why the rule is that I have to make the final confirmation..."

"Production cannot be delayed, and the efficiency of the finance department's remittance process needs to be accelerated. You should discuss the outsourcing funds for the production department with Vice President Qiu."

"OK."

After Han Zhiyong left, a series of requests for instructions and signatures came and went like a revolving door. Tao Tang listened patiently to the questions but offered few answers, citing his new arrival as the reason, and told them to go to the vice president in charge. Apart from a few expenditures in the General Manager's Office, Tao Tang did not approve any requests for spending. Some thought it wasn't urgent, while others believed the vice president's signature was sufficient. According to the organizational chart and departmental structure provided by the Development and Planning Department, the only units directly under his supervision as Chairman and General Manager were the General Manager's Office and the Policy Research Office. The former was his administrative department, while the latter was his policy advisory body, also responsible for drafting important written documents.

This is standard practice. Therefore, expense reports from the general manager's office can only be signed by him. He noticed something amiss, but didn't investigate further and signed anyway.

"Xiao Li, hold off the others for a bit. I need to speak with the Development and Planning Department about something." After instructing Li Zhibin, he called Lü Qi. "Director Lü, if it's not urgent, please come over here."

Suppressing her inner turmoil, Lü Qi immediately went to Tao Tang's office. Since her "confession" on Saturday night, she hadn't yet formally faced him.

"You were looking for me?"

"Sit down, sit down." Tao Tang calmly got up from the executive desk and sat on the sofa. "Sit down, it's not appropriate for me to talk if you're standing."

"You're the leader, I'd better stand."

"No, I'm not the leader right now. I have a few relatively private questions I'd like you to help me with."

Lü Qi sat down on the double sofa opposite Tao Tang.

Are you familiar with the marketing department?

"That depends on what you want to know. I worked there for three years." Lü Qi relaxed a lot, but was also a little disappointed.

"That's great. Within the marketing department, are there any outstanding individuals who are being suppressed? Don't worry, I won't tell a second person."

"You want to make a breakthrough through marketing?" Lu Qi blurted out.

"Haha, watch your words. Marketing is the key, and the pressure to meet our targets this year is immense," Tao Tang said as he poured water for Lü Qi. "I don't want to be fooled."

"Li Luo is a tough opponent; even Song Yue couldn't handle him in the past. He has deep roots in the factory, and I heard he has connections at higher levels too." Lü Qi glanced subconsciously at the door. "I was worried you'd hire Wang Zhiping as your secretary. Jia Jianxin is Li Luo's nephew; you need to be careful..."

"See? You still don't consider me a friend. Why didn't you tell me that day?"

Lü Qi rolled her eyes at Tao Tang. That glance sent a shiver down Tao Tang's spine.

"I'd like to say something, but who knows if the big boss will listen? Besides, it takes time. I advise you not to touch Li Luo's territory yet. He controls the market, so he's fearless."

"You might not believe me when I tell you. I don't want to touch anyone; everyone just needs to focus on their own little plot of land. But that won't do. The marketing department's report is miles away from the target. Complaining to the higher-ups is secondary; twenty or thirty thousand people are waiting to be fed. Lü Qi, I'm pressed for time. Can you give me an answer to that question right now?"

“There are three people,” Lü Qi pondered, “Lei Yun and Lin Fule… Lin Fule is the head of the Third Section, in charge of machine tools. Lei Yun was originally the head of the First Section, responsible for mining machinery, but Li Luo removed him from his post.”

"Aren't there three?" Tao Tang carefully memorized the two names.

"The third one, let's not talk about it."

"Just tell me. Don't beat around the bush with me."

"Zuo Yun, female, deputy director of the marketing department..."

"Which area are you in charge of?"

"She didn't have a specific job description, but I think she's capable..."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Zhang Xingwu can be trusted. He's always had a rough time. If Song Yue hadn't fallen from grace, he'd probably have been kicked out of the general manager's office." Lu Qi heard the knock on the door, stood up, and said, "President Tao, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Alright, then, let's contact each other again. Please come in." Tao Tang wanted to shake hands with Lü Qi, but then withdrew his outstretched hand.

Zhao Qingmin came in. "Oh, it's Xiao Lü. What are you old classmates talking about? Did I disturb you?"

"President Tao asked about a few numbers... I won't disturb the two leaders' discussion of important matters any longer." Lü Qi nodded to Zhao Qingmin and left. As she walked out of Tao Tang's office, she remembered Han Ruilin's matter. She felt she should tell Tao Tang, but firstly, she hadn't figured out how to say it, and secondly, Tao Tang's attitude just now was completely that of a superior to a subordinate, making her hesitant to speak.