Reborn in 1985, starting from a machine factory

The breakfast of porridge with pickled vegetables is pretty much the same every morning.

Chen Fen rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat down in the chair. Although she had washed her face, her expression was still blank.

He took a bite of the steamed bun, but it took him a while to take another bite.

Chen Gang hadn't gotten up yet; Chen Fen, Chen Mo, Li Guihua, and Chen's father were gathered around the table.

Chen Mo ate very quickly, filling his stomach in no time. He glanced at Li Guihua beside him and said, "Mom, change your clothes in a few days, make sure they're clean."

Li Guihua didn't even look up: "What?"

"The neighborhood office factory is hiring. I can find you a job; it'll pay forty or fifty yuan a month."

"What did you say?" Li Guihua suddenly raised her head.

"A neighborhood-run factory is hiring? And they're offering such high wages?"

"It should be about right." Chen Mo took a bite of pickled cabbage. "I'll go to the factory first and talk to them."

"Such a good opportunity, why don't you let your older brother go? I've asked several times, and they said they're not hiring."

"This is a perfect opportunity!"

"He idles away his days, he's no good!" Li Guihua said.

"That won't work. My older brother is too playful; it's not suitable for him to sit in an office."

"Besides, the only reason my brother isn't going out and causing trouble is because he's broke. If he really had money, Mom, could you control him?" Chen Mo said bluntly.

"Your older brother needs to find a suitable job. He's already twenty-five this year, and he doesn't even have a marriage prospective partner." Li Guihua frowned, unable to eat the steamed bun in her hand.

"Okay, I'll look for a suitable job for you later, and then we'll see if you can handle the hardship." Chen Mo lowered his head.

Beiyang Heavy Machinery Plant, Factory Director's Office.

"Snapped!"

The factory manager slammed his hand on the table: "What is the technical department trying to do?"

"Don't they even know what they're doing?"

"The workshop equipment was damaged, and they just walked away without saying anything. They weren't in a hurry at all."

Secretary Liu filled the factory manager's cup with hot water: "Factory manager, calm down. We still need to urge the technical department to fix this as soon as possible."

"Technical Department? Does the Technical Department have the capability to fix it?" The factory manager looked at Secretary Liu in front of him.

"The technical department has repaired vertical machine tools several times, so they have the relevant experience and there shouldn't be any problems."

"As for gantry milling machines, Yang and his team may still lack the necessary skills. They'll need to further their training," Secretary Liu said.

"Stop talking nonsense and tell Chen Mo to get the gantry milling machine repaired right away. We absolutely cannot delay the construction schedule of the aid project in Africa." The factory manager pointed in a daze.

"Factory manager, Chen Mo has taken leave, so the gantry milling machine can only be repaired by Engineer Yang now!"

"Didn't you say the technical department was lacking in skills?" The factory manager unconsciously raised his voice.

"yes!"

"Then you..." The factory manager's eyes were full of confusion.

"Factory Manager, take a look at this!" Secretary Liu said, placing a document on the factory manager's desk.

The factory manager adjusted his glasses, and the words "Production Alarm Mechanism" came into view.

He casually flipped to the first page:

Production is the primary productive force; of all factory activities, production is of paramount importance.

To improve efficiency, better unleash productivity, and build a modern city with four essentials.

The following suggestions are made...

The factory manager read through the reports one by one, his brows furrowing at first before relaxing.

"Xiao Liu, you didn't write this, did you?"

"Chen Mo wrote it and gave it to me first thing this morning."

"Have you seen it?"

"I've seen it!"

"What do you think?"

"The resistance is huge. Both the workshop and the technical department are like a solid block, like a private plot of land."

"No one is allowed to interfere or meddle. This is also the case with your promotion of Chen Mo, which has drawn strong opposition and difficulties from Engineer Yang."

"That's right!" The factory manager nodded slightly. "What's your plan?"

"Factory manager, I know someone at the city newspaper. Do you think we should share our advanced work experience with Beiyang City?"

"The same applies to the factory bulletin; everyone in the factory should study it."

"Observe their reaction before making a judgment," Secretary Liu said.

The factory manager leaned back in his chair: "Go and get it done."

"Also, send Engineer Yang home to reflect on his actions for a few days. When Chen Mo returns this afternoon, have him take the other engineers and get the gantry milling machine repaired first!"

"Factory manager, isn't this inappropriate?"

"Do you have anything to add?!"

"Factory Manager, this is a letter of complaint signed by Foreman Song and the workshop workers, accusing Yang Hui, an engineer in the technical department, of discriminating against workers during his work."

"Workers and cadres are just different in their roles. Such remarks and such perceptions are simply outrageous."

"Factory manager, I request the personnel department to take action, suspend him from his job and pay, and force Yang Hui to go home to reflect on his mistakes and deeply understand them."

"Hmm?" The factory manager looked up, then nodded slightly. "Okay!"

Secretary Liu carefully put away the documents on the factory manager's desk, but the factory manager suddenly reached out and pressed down on them: "Make a copy, bring it to me, and then go contact the others."

"Yes, factory manager."

...

Chen Mo walked briskly on his way back after delivering documents to the factory early in the morning.

Secretary Liu is a good person in every way, except that he doesn't speak his mind easily.

I wanted to ask him a few questions, but he just kept repeating the same things over and over again. The factory manager must be very angry.

That goes without saying!

If I don't anger the factory manager, I won't be able to hold out until they vacate the new workshop.

As this Engineer Yang increasingly oversteps his bounds, it means he's becoming more and more afraid—afraid of having his power taken away.

If I'm not mistaken, the news and rumors about the power grab must have come from higher-ups; otherwise, they wouldn't be so credible, and Engineer Yang wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Chen Mo walked for thirty or forty minutes until he approached a factory, where he stopped.

The factory buildings are made of red bricks and blue tiles, and the ground is also luxuriously paved with red bricks.

The walls were painted with slogans such as "Realize the Four Modernizations".

People were constantly going in and out of the factory, and a sign was hung at the factory gate: People's Street Subdistrict Office Factory.

Chen Mo approached the gatekeeper: "Uncle, I'm here to see Zhao Degui, Director Zhao. I made an appointment with him before."

The gatekeeper, an elderly man, asked, "What do you need Director Zhao for?"

"We're not hiring here, you should go back."

"It's not a job posting..." Chen Mo began.

Suddenly, a delighted voice rang out: "Isn't that the second son of the Chen family?"

"Who should we look for?"

Chen Mo turned his head, and a square face appeared in front of him.

Zhao Degui.

The name came to Chen Mo's mind, and he said, "Grandpa, I've been wanting to see you these past few days, but I haven't had the chance."

Zhao Degui rolled his eyes: "Come, come, let's talk in this room."

"good!"

Zhao Degui's office was small, and his expression changed instantly as soon as the door closed.

"Chen Lao Er, your mother came to me, saying she wanted me to find a job for your eldest son, but I really don't have any openings here."

"How could you possibly come looking for me during work hours?"

"Uncle Zhao, we're looking for work, but not for Chen Gang. We're looking for work for my mother," Chen Mo said in a deep voice.

"What did you say?"

"Honey, are you running a fever? Are you delirious?"