Road to Revival

Not long after his conversation with Zhao Qingmin, Guo Tao came to visit, and Tao Tang had an in-depth talk with this nominal third-in-command. Guo Tao is considered the nominal third-in-command because, in terms of real power, he is inferior to Li, Han, Luo, and even Liu Xiuyun.

Guo Tao arrived at Xiaozhao at 9:30 PM. Chief Accountant Han Zhiyong was there at the time. Upon seeing Guo Tao, Han Zhiyong got up to leave, saying to Guo Tao, "I'm here to report the audit results to General Manager Tao. Chairman Guo must have important business to attend to, so I won't disturb you two leaders any longer."

"The audit results are out?" Guo Tao was very concerned about this matter because this audit was different from a normal departure audit, and the time was shorter than Guo Tao had expected.

"The preliminary results are out... There are some issues that need to be reported to General Manager Tao in advance... Before the final draft is completed, the audit team will definitely need to inform both leaders..." Han Zhiyong was somewhat embarrassed to run into Guo Tao. He had a responsibility to report this crucial audit report to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and it should have been done before reporting to Tao Tang. Because he never took the Supervisory Board seriously, Han Zhiyong habitually skipped this necessary procedure.

Normally, the audit team from headquarters should be received by the board of supervisors. However, out of habit, Han Zhiyong was assigned to receive the team and organize the provision of the accounts and materials needed by the audit team.

"Oh..." Guo Tao didn't say anything more, shook hands with Han Zhiyong, and watched him leave.

"I hope I haven't disturbed your rest this late?" Guo Tao sat down on the sofa. "Don't bother me, I don't drink tea tonight," he said to Tao Tang, who was making tea for him.

"Let's make an exception this time, it's not that weird. People our age who don't sleep well either have a weak constitution or too much psychological stress. I often drink coffee at night and I've never had insomnia."

This was Guo Tao's first visit to Tao Tang's temporary "nest" since Tao Tang took office. It was a luxurious suite, with the outer room serving as both a reception room and a study. The furnishings were different from when Song Yue was there, and the furniture had also been changed. The original black leather sofa had been replaced with a light brown one.

"You don't seem to smoke?" Tao Tang asked, watching Guo Tao fiddling with the cigarette pack on the coffee table.

I don't smoke.

"Did you never quit before, or did you eventually give up?"

"Never."

"I quit later. It's better to quit now."

Guo Tao tossed the pack of Zhonghua cigarettes onto the coffee table. "You should issue a no-smoking order. Look at all this smoke in the room. How much has Lao Han smoked...?"

"Because I've smoked before, I understand how smokers feel." Tao Tang pushed his teacup towards Guo Tao. "I was just thinking of talking to you about it. We're on the same wavelength."

"I went out for a walk and saw your light was on, so I came upstairs. What were the audit results?"

Tao Tang smiled and said, "I have to criticize you for this. As the chairman of the supervisory board, you should be aware of the situation immediately. Besides, the audit department is under your jurisdiction."

Tao Tang's primary role is chairman of the board, the highest supervisor of the vast amount of state-owned assets at Red Star. So, his statement about Guo Tao is actually quite reasonable.

"Your criticism is correct. I accept it." Guo Tao sighed. "Firstly, I don't have enough knowledge of finance; secondly, although I'm in charge of the audit department, it's just a nominal title. Lao Han is still in charge of the actual work."

"How can this be? How can the audit department be combined with the finance department? Isn't this like cat and mouse in the same cage?" Tao Tang said in surprise, and couldn't help but feel contempt for Guo Tao.

"Mr. Tao, this is what I wanted to tell you..."

"Wait, before we get to the main topic, let me briefly relay Han Zhiyong's report. The audit team believes that Hongxing has serious hidden losses, amounting to a staggering sum. I'm a bit worried about what to do..."

How many?

"It's estimated to be no less than 800 million!"

"That many?" Guo Tao was taken aback. "Looks like I should probably submit my resignation too."

"Comrade Guo Tao!" Tao Tang said solemnly, "Everyone has resigned, who's going to do the work? Hmm? You're a veteran comrade, with a very good reputation at Red Star. What needs to be done now is how to recover the losses, not just resign! The audit team hasn't exchanged opinions with me yet, I can't rush them, I can only wait. According to General Manager Han, the potential losses are mainly concentrated in two areas: inventory and external investments. In addition, there are many management loopholes, some of which are quite serious..."

"Han Zhiyong also bears a lot of responsibility. If it weren't for this outcome, he wouldn't have proactively reported it to you!" Guo Tao said indignantly.

"Old Guo, I don't want to talk about responsibility right now. At least not now. I think we should leave the responsibility to the higher-ups to determine. What we need to do is try our best to reduce and recover the loss of state-owned assets. Even more important than that is leading the company out of its predicament; that's our duty. The key to making Hongxing successful lies with our team, especially the three of us: you, Old Zhao, and me. Right now, I feel very confused. Old Zhao seems to have no fighting spirit. As for you, you're more concerned about corruption at Hongxing, which isn't wrong in itself, since you're also the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. Comrade Guo Tao, I've always wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with you. You've said that stability at Hongxing is the top priority. Is your intention to deepen the anti-corruption campaign, or to temporarily slow down the investigation to reassure the leaders at both levels involved in the Yang-Song case?"

That's a very hurtful statement.

Guo Tao immediately became anxious upon hearing this. "Comrade Tao Tang, I swear on my Party spirit and personal integrity that while I, Guo Tao, may have been negligent or derelict in my duties, I have absolutely no corruption issues! I solemnly declare that you can organize an investigation into me, and even if I have a single penny that is ill-gotten, I am willing to accept any punishment from the organization."

"It's inappropriate for you to say that. First, I can't organize an investigation into you; second, what Red Star Company needs are a responsible chairman of the supervisory board and a secretary of the discipline inspection commission, not someone who's eager to clear themselves of responsibility," Tao Tang said bluntly.

Guo Tao was panting heavily, unsure how to respond.

"Comrade Guo Tao, my experience has taught me a lot. In certain special circumstances, some positions can indeed be difficult to fulfill their due role, such as your position as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission. Now, those who hindered your performance have been investigated by the organization and punished by Party discipline and the law. Talking about the past is meaningless. The problems disclosed in the audit report were anticipated by the headquarters leadership; they were not unexpected. It would be unbelievable if the company didn't have financial problems reflected when two current leaders, one of whom was a key person in charge, had problems. Now, what I want to say is, what should we do next? I believe there are solutions..." There are many options, but not resignation. Comrade Guo Tao, my work at Shengdong has been fully recognized by headquarters, but reflecting on my work there, I realize there were many mistakes, the most serious being in personnel management. At Shengdong, I recommended the transfer and dismissal of three company leaders and replaced nearly a hundred middle managers. This approach seemed swift and decisive, but the long-term consequences are significant. For example, now, you and Lao Zhao are both long-time leaders at Hongxing, and you understand Hongxing far better than I do. If you resign and the organization sends new Party Secretary and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, do you think that's a good idea? Can three key personnel who know nothing about the company accurately diagnose Hongxing's problems? That's just blundering.

Guo Tao rubbed his cheek. "You're right. I've been too protective of my reputation."

"What should we do next? We still need to rely on the two of you. I had a heart-to-heart talk with Secretary Zhao the other day, and we said that as long as the three of us work together and move in unison, there won't be any major problems with the leadership team. If the leadership team is stable, the middle management will be stable, and if the middle management is stable, the staff won't be in disarray. We say we rely on the staff, but the specific work still depends on the organization. You can't let the staff manage themselves, can you? That would be the biggest irresponsibility. Chairman Guo, this is what I think: First of all, the three of us must each take responsibility under the overall goal, and we can't follow Song Yue's old path again, which harmed both ourselves and others. I'll manage operations, Lao Zhao will manage Party affairs and organizational propaganda, and you, you'll manage supervision and discipline. Isn't this a perfect combination? What is the current overall goal? It's to find ways to boost operations and achieve the operational targets. Otherwise, what's the use of cleaning up the cadre team if operations collapse? So operations are the big picture, and other work can only temporarily serve this big picture; we can't put the cart before the horse. I'm not saying we don't need supervision or discipline." On the contrary, these are crucial prerequisites for successful operation. Facts have proven that Song Yue always tried to run the business unilaterally, neglecting Party affairs, supervision, and discipline inspection; the business collapsed, the team fell apart, and he didn't even achieve his goal of absolute control—Li Luo didn't listen to him. Therefore, we absolutely cannot repeat this mistake. Song Yue bears primary responsibility for past problems, and Lao Zhao, and you, also bear some responsibility. From now on, the responsibility will fall on the three of us; we can't blame others when problems arise. I sincerely hope that Hongxing will never produce another Yang or Song. Whether that's possible depends on how well the three of us perform. From now on, Lao Zhao must redouble his efforts to improve Party building and propaganda; you must rebuild the supervisory system; and I will strive to improve operations. I am the team leader, that's true, but I also need to accept your supervision. The supervisory board has the right to understand and supervise every aspect of the operation. I'm not saying this out of high ideals; I'm doing this for my own good. If Lao Song had this kind of awareness, he wouldn't have been placed under investigation.

Tao Tang spoke very sincerely, or at least that's how Guo Tao perceived it. "President Tao, I'm very moved and ashamed by what you said... You're right, I completely agree."

Tao Tang smiled and said, "I have a basic judgment: with the current product structure, the company absolutely cannot be left without reaching a scale of 100 billion. If the tight funding situation cannot be alleviated, employee salaries and benefits cannot be guaranteed, and the development of new products and new markets will be constrained by funding issues. As a result, the three of us will be completely mired in administrative quagmire and become mere maintenance chairmen... Therefore, no problem can impact this grand goal. I believe this is the biggest political issue for Hongxing! To put it more clearly, even if a member of the leadership team has serious disciplinary problems, if it involves the achievement of business targets, we must put it aside for now. Even with Comrade Feng Shizhao, I hold this attitude. Of course, I can't say this publicly; I can only say it to you and Secretary Zhao."

As Tao Tang said this, he was thinking, "To hell with it! The quickest and most effective way is to kill! Remove one or two high-ranking figures from their posts, and the situation will immediately improve!" But unlike at Shengdong Company, the choice of a breakthrough point was crucial…

"I understand. You're right, I bear a great responsibility. However..."

"The greatness of dialectics lies in the fact that we can never look at a problem from only one perspective," Tao Tang smiled. "No problem can be absolutized, right? If someone disregards the overall situation and treats Party discipline, national laws, and company rules as nothing, then there's nothing we can do. We'll investigate if necessary, and remove if necessary. Actually, we can do without anyone; it's not a big deal. I've never believed in superstitions. There used to be a vice president at Shengdong who was incredibly arrogant, and everyone thought we couldn't do without him. But what happened? Well, as the saying goes, 'If Zhang the butcher dies, we won't eat the hairy pig.' The work not only wasn't affected, but it actually got better... Chairman Guo, what I want to talk to you about is the issue of cadre management. I mentioned it at the meeting a few days ago, which was a good starting point. I also discussed it with the secretary. The general feeling is that there are significant problems with the work style of our factory's cadres, and this survey also reflects this." I must take some time to review those exam papers… How can we change the work style of cadres? A broad, general approach won't work. The Central Committee's Eight-Point Regulation and the rectification of the four undesirable work styles are very specific. We shouldn't wait for headquarters; we can try to take action first. I think this approach won't lead to mistakes or detours… Under the Central Committee's general requirements, the Party Committee and the Discipline Inspection Commission should issue some targeted, specific, and highly operational regulations—a few or even a dozen—to impose rigid constraints on the two levels of leadership, not only managing what happens within the eight-hour workday but also what happens outside of it… I've noticed that the guesthouse is constantly hosting banquets. Are there any that shouldn't be eaten? It's hard to say. The staff hate this the most. Perhaps we should start from this aspect, mandating a few regulations to show the staff our sincerity and changes, thereby boosting their confidence in the leadership…”

"We're on the same page!" Guo Tao had always abhorred the misuse of public funds for dining and entertainment. He was an expert in this area, and among the team members, his business entertainment expenses were the lowest. So he immediately responded, "President Tao, with your support, things will be much easier. In the past, people always said that entertainment was also a form of productivity, which is utter nonsense. But with the top leader acting like that, what can we do? I brought it up at the meeting, but no one responded."

"Let's establish a system first; without a system, it's difficult to manage. Besides curbing excessive spending on food and drink, I hope you will lead the audit department, finance department, and other units to conduct an inventory check of the warehouses of the company's second-tier units. This will help to revitalize inventory, alleviate financial pressure, and identify and close management loopholes..."

"Okay. I'll organize it as soon as possible."

Tao Tang and Guo Tao's conversation went on until late. Unlike his conversation with Zhao Qingmin, Tao Tang focused more on assigning tasks. Guo Tao was quite proactive and fully responsive. Tao Tang sensed that Guo Tao was still willing to get things done. He had been at the factory for over half a month and hadn't heard any rumors about Guo Tao's corruption, which was the premise for his reliance on Guo Tao. However, he felt that this chairman of the supervisory board was somewhat "empty" and lacked authority. Perhaps his "emptiness" was the reason for his low authority. Actually, Zhao Qingmin was the same. Tao Tang's biggest headache at the moment was the lack of a truly capable assistant, but this couldn't be rushed.