Road to Revival

"President Tao, you spoke very well at the production administration meeting yesterday. It was my fault for not doing my job well..." Zhao Qingmin came to Tao Tang's office as soon as he arrived at work on Wednesday morning and found that Tao Tang was not wearing his work uniform today, but a short-sleeved shirt. "Your criticism is correct."

"Please have a seat. Secretary Zhao, I have always believed that state-owned enterprises are different from private enterprises that pursue profits as their sole objective. We bear responsibility for such a tragedy that occurred at Hongxing."

"Chang Wenhai reported the situation to me. It's truly a pity. I plan to organize a donation drive among all branches, and the union will also contribute some money as a token of our sympathy."

"Okay. But donations must be voluntary. How about narrowing it down to the two levels of leadership? You can decide. What I'm thinking about is how to prevent this from happening again. He was a very good employee, with positive feedback from all sides. He was diligent and hardworking, but he was overwhelmed by the difficulties of life. This shouldn't have happened, it really shouldn't have happened."

"The key issue is that our salaries are still too low, but this didn't just happen today, and it has nothing to do with you. Mr. Tao, I don't think it's appropriate for you to donate a month's salary. To quote an old saying: 'There are many such issues; let's coordinate a solution.'"

Zhao Qingmin had been the Party Secretary for six years, yet he couldn't recall ever discussing such an issue with the top leader. He received the news that morning and heard that Tao Tang had gone to Compound No. 2. Yesterday before leaving get off work, he overheard Tao Tang barging into Ma Guangming's routine meeting and criticizing him. Because Tao Tang hadn't informed him and hadn't invited him, the Party Secretary, to attend, he hadn't shown up. He thought about it for a long time last night and felt it wasn't appropriate, so he came early this morning to make amends. He wasn't sympathizing with the young worker who committed suicide, but rather unwilling to create a rift with Tao Tang over such a small matter. He was already fifty-seven years old, a full fourteen years older than Tao Tang, and his ultimate ideal was to serve one more term and retire peacefully.

"Even with low salaries, this shouldn't have happened. Wang Luochuan joined the factory at twenty and has worked at Hongxing for nine years, during which time he was twice selected as an outstanding employee. If he wanted to quit, he would have done so long ago. This shows that our salary structure is not the root cause of his suicide. Based on my limited understanding, a failed relationship may have led to his despair. Yes, relationships are personal matters, and the organization cannot and should not interfere, but if the branch factory administration, the branch factory party branch, and the workshop director had discovered this and talked to him to offer guidance, I think he might not have become so desperate. Moreover, I don't believe our salaries are absolutely low. I understand that we have all the five social insurances and one housing fund, plus hidden income, so Hongxing is not necessarily worse than ordinary private enterprises. I have already instructed the human resources department to conduct a survey on the salaries of state-owned and private enterprises in Pingquan City. The labor bureau certainly has this data. Secretary Zhao, I think how to leverage the advantages of state-owned enterprises and how to carry forward the traditional power of our Party's political and ideological work is always a major issue, and we still have a lot to improve in this area."

"You're right," Zhao Qingmin nodded. He thought to himself that headquarters had really made a mistake; they should have let this guy sit in his chair. Look at the work he'd been handling since he came to the factory—aside from assigning a few trivial matters at the general manager's meeting, all his energy had been focused on Party and mass work. Li Luo? Li Luo would definitely be laughing his head off. Song Yue had started by seizing financial power, and this guy was now challenging him.

"I was just about to tell you, I'm taking a few people to Donghu Group today."

"Oh," Zhao Qingmin thought to himself, "You're so capable, you can go wherever you want." In the past, Song Yue never told him when she went out.

"Last night, Chairman Tang Yikun of Donghu called me, hoping I would come to his place to discuss cooperation. Chairman Tang is my high school classmate, and we had dinner together last Saturday. I brought up the cooperation with him, and he agreed to strengthen our collaboration. Yesterday afternoon, I happened to check with the production department about the product matching situation with Donghu Machinery and Donghu Mining, and I felt that there was potential for cooperation between the two sides, especially in the mining machinery sector. I plan to bring the heads of marketing, production, planning, and research institutes with me."

"This is great news. Donghu Mining is the largest mining group in Pingquan. They've bought up half of the city's coal mines. They're incredibly powerful. President Tang, your relationship with them couldn't be better. This is a good thing."

"That's settled then? I'll be off now. I'll leave things at home to you, brother."

In front of Zhao Qingmin, Tao Tang called Zhang Xingwu in and said, "Go to Donghu Industrial. Notify the marketing, production, planning, technology, quality, and research institute departments. In addition to the main leaders of each department, bring along the comrades in charge of contracts and R&D. Have the office arrange a larger car."

"Is a Coaster okay?"

"Of course. Oh, and please inform General Manager Li and General Manager Jiang to go as well."

"I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Xingwu turned and left.

"Wait, I'll give you the specific tasks once I get on the bus."

"Understood." Zhang Xingwu glanced at his watch and hurriedly went to inform them.

"I just remembered something and wanted to tell you." Zhao Qingmin walked to the door but then turned back. "The investigation into Han Ruilin's matter has yielded results. It's not what the rumors say. Li Luo, that person, believes everything he hears."

"really?"

"Indeed. Chang Wenhai arranged for the security department to investigate, and the woman's brother confirmed that he was mistaken."

"Understood. By the way, I've arranged for the Human Resources Department to pay the back wages. It's almost May Day, and I was originally planning to wait for the Development and Planning Department to recalculate, but I can't wait any longer. We can't let the employees pay for our mistakes."

"That's good. Do you have enough money?"

"Han Zhiyong will get at least 200 million yuan back this week."

"That's great." Zhao Qingmin smiled. "President Tao, things are different now that you're here."

"That was originally our money... The headquarters really knows how to get along with people. Look, even you, the secretary, are grateful."

Half an hour later, Tao Tang boarded the Coaster waiting outside the building. There were already more than a dozen people on board. Zhang Xingwu and Li Zhibin were standing at the front. Tao Tang thought for a moment, "Xiao Li, you don't need to go. Stay here. Call me if anything happens." He then got on the bus. Besides Li Luo and Jiang Shangyun, the Marketing Department Director Liu Shulin, the Development Planning Department Director Liu Xinjun, the Deputy Director Lü Qi, the Research Institute Director Li Meng, and a few others he didn't recognize were also present. Zhang Xingwu, following behind, introduced them to Tao Tang: General Manager Assistant and Production Department Director Jiang Yansheng, Deputy Chief Engineer and Technical Department Director Ren Liansheng, Quality Department Director Chen Yongliang, Marketing Department Deputy Director Zuo Yun (female), Section Chief Lin Fule, and Research Institute Director Ren Linwei, among others.

Tao Tang noticed Lü Qi in the car. He was a little surprised, wondering why Lü Qi had been notified. He didn't say anything, but sat down in the most spacious seat reserved for him, saying, "Let's leave now that everyone's here." The car then started moving.

After leaving the factory, Tao Tang turned around and said, "Comrades, due to time constraints, we haven't had time for detailed arrangements. Last night, Mr. Tang Yikun, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Donghu Group, called me and invited us to Donghu headquarters today to discuss cooperation matters. Since I made a request to Mr. Tang a couple of days ago, our purpose today is to further expand the depth and breadth of our cooperation with Donghu Group to broaden our product line. Because I am not very familiar with the cooperation with Donghu, you can handle the specifics, especially the marketing department. Vice President Li?"

Li Luo, sitting in the row behind Tao Tang, bowed slightly. "The main principles still need to be decided by President Tao. We'll just follow the direction set by President Tao."

Tao Tang nodded. "How many contracts did we sign with East Lake this year?"

Lin Fule stood up, but just as the car turned a corner, he was jolted back down and sat down. Tao Tang smiled and said, "Section Chief Lin, right? Let's talk while you're seated."

"Reporting to President Tao, there are 4.85 million in contracts that have been officially signed, and another 3.45 million are under negotiation but have not yet been signed."

"That sounds like a lot. How much did you do with East Lake last year?"

This time, it was Zuo Yun who answered—a very masculine woman sitting next to Lü Qi in the last row: "President Tao, the actual output value of Donghu last year was 11 billion yuan."

"Oh. You mentioned earlier that a contract worth over 300 million couldn't be finalized. What was the reason?"

Li Luo coughed lightly, "It's mainly because of the price. Donghu has requested a price reduction, with the largest reduction reaching 10%. The finance department calculated that they couldn't afford it, so it's been delayed."

"I understand. What's the reason for the nearly 30% drop in total volume this year?"

"Their market is also shrinking." Li Luo directly blocked other people's reports.

Tao Tang kept a close eye on Lin Fule, who looked somewhat disheveled. He noticed Lin Fule pursing his lips, seemingly disapproving of Li Luo's statement. But Tao Tang remained calm. "Oh, it seems they're not having an easy time either. Comrades, even 8 million is a major client; it's definitely worth the trip. Isn't it?" Tao Tang noticed that Jiang Shangyun, the eldest chief engineer in the team, was sitting in a single seat on the other side. "President Jiang, how many projects do we have for the Donghu development?"

"Quite a few. There are dozens in total, but I don't remember the exact number." Jiang Shangyun asked Lin Wei, the second-in-command, "Xiao Ren, you can report now."

"Keep it simple," Tao Tang advised.

"We have more than seventy varieties, and the three institutes have some more, totaling more than ninety. East Lake is urgently seeking about ten varieties."

Is everything progressing smoothly?

"It's basically under control."

"What do you mean by 'basic'?" Tao Tang frowned. He valued precision and hated ambiguity. If he were a manager at Shengdong Company, he would never be fooled with words like "basic," "more or less," or "roughly."

"There are two, no, three new products that will definitely be delayed..." Ren Linwei noticed Tao Tang's dissatisfaction.

Why?

Ren Linwei looked to Li Meng for help, and Li Meng said, "President Tao, the situation is like this: the main problem is the shortage of manpower, and also, the other party has repeatedly changed the technical specifications..."

"Director Li, I don't care what methods you use, you must complete the new product production on time, okay?"

"We'll go back and study it, mobilize our resources, and strive to complete it on time," Li Meng said.

"It's not about striving, it's about guaranteeing. I'm keeping an eye on this; I'll go to the Second Institute to see for myself when I get back. President Jiang, please take some time to look into this."

"No problem." Jiang Shangyun nodded.

Tao Tang stopped asking questions and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep. The others naturally fell silent as well.

"They're all worthless..." Zuo Yun, who was sitting at the back with Lü Qi, whispered to Lü Qi.

Lü Qi remained silent. She harbored some resentment towards Tao Tang, but couldn't tell anyone. This was her third close encounter with Tao Tang since last Saturday. The first time was when he summoned Luo Chong and herself to his office to discuss the performance evaluation system—a completely businesslike affair, as if nothing had happened at the Donghu Club that day. The second time was yesterday afternoon's production meeting, where she was moved by Tao Tang's genuine concern for his employees. Even if it was an act, it touched her. The third time was now. She liked Tao Tang's sharp style; it was a long-lost seriousness she hadn't seen in a long time. She completely agreed with Zuo Yun's words: these people were just spineless cowards; when questioned and reprimanded by Tao Tang, they immediately yielded.

Seeing Zuo Yun close her eyes to rest, she took out her phone and found Tao Tang's text message again. She understood the song "Partridge Sky," and could barely match the lyrics Tao Tang had given her. A beautiful woman with a melodious voice and alluring figure—why not drink when such a beauty offers? The wine was finished, the party was over, but the effects of the alcohol lingered, her song still echoing in her ears. The night was so peaceful and beautiful, the sky a clear blue, and I was still thinking of her face. But she was like a goddess from Wushan, ethereal and unattainable. I, lost in a spring dream, cast aside all propriety and quickly tread through the willow catkins to find my beloved.

Is he willing to abandon "etiquette"? And what about me? Lü Qi felt a tightness in her chest.