Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

Secretary Wang and Factory Director Yang exchanged a glance, then looked at the heads of the other departments behind them. Their expressions were somewhat unnatural, but they dared not disobey and could only nod in agreement, leading Liu Yuheng and his group through the main road of the factory area towards the fitter's workshop.

The workshop door was wide open, and the roar of machine tools emanated from the entrance. Liu Yuheng stepped inside and glanced around.

The assessment was in full swing in the workshop. A dozen workers were operating the lathes, while engineers from the ministry and technical examiners from the factory sat behind several tables. Each of them had a scoring sheet and a notebook in front of them, and their pens were scribbles on the pages.

Several engineers who were taking notes at the table looked up when they heard footsteps. When they saw Liu Yuheng leading a group of people in, they immediately put down their pens and stood up. One of the older engineers quickly took two steps to greet him and nodded to Liu Yuheng: "Minister Liu, you've arrived."

Liu Yuheng waved his hand at him, speaking softly, "Don't worry about me. You guys continue with the assessment, just do what you're supposed to do. I'm just here to observe."

The engineers nodded, sat back down at their tables, and continued to watch the workers at their machines. Liu Yuheng slowly walked around the workshop, his gaze shifting from one workstation to another.

His gaze lingered on a workstation where Yi Zhonghai stood in front of a lathe, his eyes focused intently on the workpiece in his hands. Liu Yuheng stood a few steps away, watched for a moment without saying a word, and then looked away.

Looking further ahead, he saw Liang Cheng. Liang Cheng was standing in front of the lathe by the window, machining a shaft-type workpiece with high precision requirements. His movements were swift and confident, and the evaluation sheet next to him already showed several perfect scores.

After leaving the fitter's workshop, Liu Yuheng went to the forging workshop. The forging workshop was much more lively than the fitter's workshop. The furnace was glowing red, and the sound of hammers hitting the anvil was deafening.

Liu Yuheng walked around the workshop, his gaze sweeping over the people working there. He quickly spotted Liu Haizhong next to a forging hammer against the wall. He watched for a moment, then turned and left the forging workshop.

After coming out, Liu Yuheng glanced at Secretary Wang and Factory Director Yang and said, "Secretary Wang, Factory Director Yang, could you please bring over all the files of the seventh and eighth grade workers in the factory? I need to take them with me."

Secretary Wang and Factory Director Yang were both stunned for a moment. Secretary Wang reacted first, his smile freezing for a second, and he tentatively asked, "Minister Liu, this... all the files of level seven and level eight workers? These senior technicians in our factory are the backbone of production. If they are all transferred away, the production target for the second half of the year will probably be affected..."

Factory Director Yang chimed in, his tone even more direct than Secretary Wang's: "Minister Liu, what do you think, should we take a portion first?"

Liu Yuheng didn't respond immediately, but simply stood there, calmly observing them. At this moment, Cao Ming stepped forward: "Secretary Wang, Director Yang, obey orders. Minister Liu represents the Second Ministry of Machine Building. This assessment is a unified arrangement from above; all factories just need to cooperate."

Secretary Wang and Factory Director Yang exchanged a glance, their mouths seemed to move, but in the end they said nothing. Secretary Wang waved to a cadre standing behind him, whispered a few instructions, and the cadre turned and walked quickly towards the office building.

Liu Yuheng added, his tone slightly more relaxed than before: "Those who are over 55 years old and are at the seventh level should not be accepted. The older comrades should not be accepted; they should be kept in your factory. After you get the files, compile the assessment results as soon as possible and submit them to the General Office of the Second Ministry of Machine Building before tomorrow."

Secretary Wang and Factory Director Yang nodded in agreement quickly. Although their expressions still showed some reluctance, neither of them raised any further objections.

Liu Yuheng nodded when he saw that they agreed, and turned to walk towards the car parked at the factory gate.

Seeing this, Director Yang quickly followed, saying, "Minister Liu, it's noon. Have lunch before you go. Our factory canteen has prepared a few dishes," his tone carrying a habitual attempt to persuade and ingratiate himself.

Liu Yuheng waved his hand without turning his head: "I'm not eating, I have things to do this afternoon. You guys go ahead with your work, just get the list ready." He bent down and got into the car, and Cao Ming followed him into the car behind. The two cars drove out of the steel mill gate one after the other, turned onto the street, and quickly disappeared from sight.

After Liu Yuheng's convoy disappeared around the corner at the factory gate, Director Yang stood there staring at the empty road, his face as black as if he had just been pulled out of a coal pile.

He turned around abruptly and said in a low voice to Secretary Wang beside him, "Secretary Wang, if the higher-ups transfer all our factory's senior technicians away, the steel rolling mill will really be ruined! Level 7 and 8 technicians are the backbone of production. How many can a factory have? If three or five leave, who will do the remaining high-precision machining tasks? How will we meet the targets for the second half of the year? Secretary Wang, you have to put in a good word for us. You're the secretary; the higher-ups have to give you some face."

"How about we go talk to Minister Liu again? Or you could call the ministry and say that our factory has special circumstances and we really can't spare that many people, so let them choose other companies first..."

After hearing what he said, Secretary Wang slowly turned his head and glanced at Director Yang. He didn't reply immediately, but put his hands behind his back and slowly turned to walk towards the factory office, his steps unhurried, as if he hadn't heard the rest of Director Yang's words at all.

His thoughts were completely different from Director Yang's. Should he speak up himself? How could he possibly do that? Was he, a mere level 13 division-level cadre, supposed to bargain with Liu Yuheng, a level 6 deputy minister? Liu was a lieutenant general, a ministerial-level cadre, representing the Second Ministry of Machine Building, and carrying out a task imposed from above.

If he were to approach them and say, "Minister Liu, please be kind and don't transfer our factory's people away," they would shut him down with a single sentence. Secretary Wang had worked at the steel rolling mill for so many years and it wasn't easy for him to get to this position. It wasn't worth jeopardizing his future because of a few hasty words from Director Yang.

A higher rank can have a crushing effect, especially when the difference is several ranks. In situations like this, the best course of action is to cooperate obediently; saying more will only lead to more mistakes.

Factory Director Yang stood there, watching Secretary Wang's figure recede into the distance without a trace of turning back. His expression darkened further. His lips twitched; he seemed about to say something but swallowed it back. Finally, he just let out a heavy snort and turned to walk in another direction.

Anyway, the personnel transfers aren't coming from his logistics department, and if the targets aren't met, it won't be Li Huaide who gets criticized by his superiors, so he doesn't need to worry about it.

Besides, Director Yang and he had never gotten along. Director Yang always felt that Li Huaide was swindling money in logistics and wanted to make an example of him from time to time, but he hadn't done so because of his father-in-law's support. Li Huaide had been holding this grudge for a long time.

Just wait and see. Once you've accumulated enough experience in the next two years, you'll be able to take over the deputy factory director position. Then you won't have to see Director Yang's face anymore.