Road to Revival

"Why not talk about it? I think this is the most important thing for you. Work is for life, but life isn't for work. Tao Tang, you know what? I just want you to be happy..."

"I know... but my understanding of life is becoming more and more conservative. Marriage is a very complicated thing, especially for someone like me... I'm so glad to see you're happy. I met your husband a few days ago; he's a very nice person."

What a downer! Why bring him up? Lü Qi said, "Yes, Lao Fan is a good man. He told me that you criticized him, but he admires you..."

"In terms of habit, the quality department's plan is acceptable, but quality cannot be controlled in that way..."

Lü Qi knew she couldn't talk about the topics she wanted to discuss, but she didn't want to end the conversation, so she changed the subject, "There's something I've been wanting to tell you, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Aren't we friends? Say whatever you want."

"The upper echelons of Red Star are very complicated... I'd like to talk to you about it... Am I being presumptuous?"

"I know you mean well. Take it as you see fit. Go ahead and say it."

"The person we need to be most careful of is Li Luo..." Lü Qi made up her mind. "He's rather cunning and ruthless. He's extremely cruel to people, and most importantly, he has connections. The higher-ups may not know, but a large group of middle-level managers below him were promoted by him... His words carry a lot of weight."

"Huh? What's going on?" Tao Tang's eyes were filled with confusion.

"He rose through the ranks from an organizer in the Organization Department, and he became deputy minister before he was even thirty. He sat in the position of Organization Minister for nine years, then joined the leadership team, served as deputy secretary of the Party Committee for two years, and then took charge of marketing until now... He has promoted at least a hundred middle-level cadres. In those years, he was very powerful as Organization Minister, and he could make decisions almost with a single word. Now, the marketing department is basically his people as well, and the key is that he controls the market."

"Oh...interesting..." Tao Tang habitually started playing with his pencil.

"Han Zhiyong and Ma Guangming are allies, but they don't get along with Li Luo... During the last headquarters inspection, tensions were high, and there were many rumors..."

"Oh……"

Lü Qi thought Tao Tang would ask how the Li and Han factions were causing trouble, but Tao Tang did not.

"Secretary Zhao isn't very ambitious. Everyone says he wants to climb the ranks, but I think he just wants a safe landing. As for relationships, Zhao doesn't really have any allies in the leadership team, even though he's been secretary for several years... The only one he's close to is Qiu Lin, the least senior member of the team. The other leaders, including Liu Xiuyun, don't really respect him..."

"Oh……"

Tao Tang's nonchalant attitude chilled Lü Qi's heart. "It seems I've made a fool of myself..."

"No, what you're saying interests me. I'd rather hear about the factions among the assistants and deputy chief engineers... The absence of factions within the party, the imperial mentality—even the old folks admit to this phenomenon. It's normal for Red Star to exist..."

"Liu Xinjun was Song Yue's man. When Song Yue fell, Liu was very anxious. Peng Jie and Liu Shulin were both Li Luo's men. Li Meng was a loner. If you have to talk about factions, he could be considered Han Zhiyong's man... Li Jianguo was not trusted by Han Zhiyong. He was not good at his job. At that time, it was probably Song Yue who, to check and balance Han Zhiyong, promoted him from the position of propaganda minister to the finance department..."

"Where is Jiang Yansheng?"

"Jiang's situation is similar to Li Meng's. He rose through the ranks from the dispatching department, served as the head of two branch factories, and has prestige in the production department. He is also very knowledgeable about the business. I think Director Jiang is quite good, just a bit stubborn."

"Where's Pan Chenggui?" Tao Tang asked, referring to Pan Chenggui, the human resources director who had left a very bad impression on him.

"He's no good. He climbed up the ranks thanks to Song Yue's predecessor, General Manager Liang; he used to be Liang's secretary. Pan always wanted to become a deputy chief engineer or assistant, but he just couldn't get it..."

"And what about Sheng Guangyun?"

"You asked me. This person is very upright. He is knowledgeable and highly skilled."

"Old classmate, what year did you become a middle manager?" Tao Tang asked with a smile.

"He became section chief in 2005, deputy director in 2009, and he's still here now." Lü Qi wanted to ask about Tao Tang's resume, but didn't. In 2009, he was already the top leader of Shengdong, while she herself was quite pleased with herself for being promoted to deputy director. There's simply no comparison between people…

"Thank you." Tao Tang stood up and poured Lü Qi some water. "Actually, I don't care about these things. Do you know why?"

"have no idea."

"Guess." Tao Tang's eyes were mischievous.

"Because you're General Manager Feng's confidant? Everyone's saying you came with an imperial edict."

"Wrong. I am not anyone's confidant, nor do I have the imperial sword to behead people at will. I don't care about factionalism because we are all members of the Party, all members of the Red Star."

Lü Qi laughed, finding Tao Tang quite amusing, like someone giving a report in a very formal setting.

"I'm not joking. If I were a vice president, say, transferred here as an executive vice president, these things would be very useful to me. But I'm the chairman and general manager, so they're not as significant. Having factional thoughts inevitably leads to factional behavior, which actually restricts my actions... I don't care what they did before, or who allied with whom in the past. I only ask one thing: to be dutiful and responsible."

Lü Qi picked up the pretty glass of water, took a sip, and looked at Tao Tang sitting opposite her.

"That's what I really think. Factionalism all stems from the top leader. If the top leader draws a circle first, it's not fair to blame those below for doing the same. I'm not going to do something that foolish. What Red Star needs is unity and cooperation, not internal strife."

"You're really standing on high." Lü Qi's heart was not in her words. She felt that Tao Tang was either hypocritical or foolish. Obviously, it couldn't be the latter... So, it must be her who was foolish. Lü Qi remembered a saying: "To speak when one should and not speak is to lose a person; to speak when one should not speak is to err." She must have erred, but she was really afraid that he would suffer... Lü Qi looked at Tao Tang in front of her.

Tao Tang and Lü Qi looked at each other. "There's nothing inherently wrong in the world; it's just that fools create their own troubles. This saying is true most of the time. Lü Qi, I read your questionnaire, and there was one question you answered very well; it really resonated with me..."

"Which question?" Lü Qi couldn't recall which question in her answer sheet had impressed him.

"It's about the company's development direction. You said something like this... The important thing isn't adjusting the industry or products, but focusing on doing a good job with the current products and markets."

"It's just a cliché."

"Old sayings are often the truth. This applies not only to Red Star, but to other companies as well. It's not that adjustments aren't important, but rather that we lack the conditions for such adjustments. If I had more profitable industries and products, like making chips like Texas Instruments, I certainly wouldn't be making mining machines, agricultural machinery, or gearboxes. Right? Conversely, if we achieved Texas Instruments' level in mining machines and gearboxes, we would be very prosperous. Unfortunately, many people don't see this, so I'm proud of you... because there's only one answer like that. If you're not in a hurry to go home, how about we talk some more?" Tao Tang said with a smile, seeing that Lü Qi seemed a little embarrassed.

"I haven't slept before midnight."

"I can't. I have to be rested by 11 pm, otherwise I have a hard time falling asleep... Tell me, how would you rate me?"

"You care a lot?"

"No one is indifferent. Those who say they are indifferent are either incredibly strong-willed or just being pretentious. I am neither."

"Next, they'll say you're a good leader. Everyone's saying, 'We've finally got a good leader!'"

"I know you won't hear the truth. Because we have a relationship. What is a relationship? You and I don't actually have a relationship, because everyone knows we're classmates. Only relationships that are unknown to others are relationships. For example, your colleague Duan Hui and I might have a relationship."

Lü Qi laughed, "You're really funny. It's like a tongue twister."

"So you won't hear a true evaluation of me. And only after I leave will you get a true evaluation. Besides, a good leader doesn't just eat in the canteen with the employees, nor does he ride a bicycle to the workshop… A good leader makes the factory run well. There are many standards for running it well, but the two most core are: first, improving the company's core competitiveness, ensuring the company's long-term vitality; and second, continuously increasing employees' income, allowing them to live with dignity. Under these conditions, it doesn't matter if I drink Moutai every day and drive a Mercedes…"

"However, a factory manager who drinks Moutai every day and drives a Mercedes will not be able to run the factory well."

"Absolutely correct!" Tao Tang slapped the sofa armrest. "I give this answer 105 points. Lü Qi, I've discovered a talent, do you know who it is?" Tao Tang laughed heartily.

"Get lost, stop joking with me."

"No, I've always believed you're the best. Really," Tao Tang said seriously.

"That's not a fair way to be sarcastic. By the way, you really like poetry?"

"It was so-so at first. It's because of my wife... she's a huge fan of classical Chinese poetry, especially the poems with varying line lengths, and she's forced me to learn a lot of it..."

"I'm sorry..." Lü Qi noticed that Tao Tang's expression had darkened.

"It's okay. I told you, it's been six years..."

"Tao Tang, I've noticed you go to the workshop every day and work overtime every day. You're pushing yourself too hard... Hongxing can't be built in a day or two, you need to take care of your health..."

"Yes, you're right. The higher-ups always talk about Party spirit, and I think Party spirit is conscience—acting according to one's conscience. If you take a high salary from the company, you have to be worthy of that money, right? By the way, don't you have a younger brother? Where is he now? I still remember him coming to your class to find you; he was fair-skinned and looked like a girl. You both inherited your mother's genes."

"He's in Pingquan, a government employee, working in the municipal party committee office. He mentioned you when he came back the day before yesterday..."

"Oh, that's good. Being paid by the government is much more comfortable than what we people have."

"His workplace isn't easy to work at either; he's always working overtime, especially lately..."

"There's something I really want to ask you. I don't have anyone at the factory I can confide in. Do you think the Song Yang case might spread?"

This is a very sensitive issue. After a long pause, Lü Qi said, "Tao Tang, I know you trust me, but I really can't say for sure. There are a lot of rumors circulating, all sorts of things, and I only know what I've heard... You know, in the eyes of the employees, I'm considered one of the power holders..."

"I'm just having a casual chat. I'm here to oversee business operations, not to investigate a case. If you can't say for sure, that's fine too."

"Yes, there are a lot of rumors about Luo Chong... Luo Chong is in charge of engineering and equipment procurement, which is a sensitive issue..."

"That's right. Anyone in that position is surrounded by rumors. It's normal." Tao Tang recalled the dozen or so complaint letters he'd recently seen, half of them against Luo Chong, the issues focusing precisely on engineering projects and equipment procurement. One of them was a named complaint, and he hadn't yet decided how to handle it. He'd locked the rest, the anonymous ones, in his safe. "Lü Qi, what's Luo Chong like?"

Lü Qi almost blurted out that he was too lecherous! But she didn't. "Well, I can't really say."

"Haha, actually you've already given me the answer. You have to believe me, I won't say these things to anyone else, including Han Ruilin. Speaking of Han Ruilin, I received an anonymous letter about him a couple of days ago, but I ignored it."

Lü Qi was certain that the anonymous letter was directed at Han Ruilin and Mu Guihua. But she didn't know what to say.

"He and I were classmates in junior high, and we always got along well. Back then, I always ate his ice cream and took advantage of him. Haha. You should talk to Lao Han and tell him to be more mindful of his behavior. But forget it, there's no need. We're not kids anymore."

Yes, I'm not a child anymore.

Tao Tang smiled and said, "It's getting late, let me take you home. Thank you so much." He stood up, indicating that the conversation could end.

"Are you still being polite with me?"

"No, don't be shy. I consider you a friend, always have been. If there's anything I've done wrong at work, please don't hesitate to point it out."

"Do you really consider me a friend?"

"certainly."

"Well, if it's convenient, may I invite you to my home for a meal?"

"No problem, it would be my pleasure."

Are you going home for the May Day holiday?

"First, go to Yanjing, then return to Binhe."