dognovel Chapter 1397 Willing to Go All Out
Chapter 1397 Willing to Go All Out
Chapter 1397 Willing to Go All Out
How many bowls of rice can you eat in one meal?
Fu Zhidong looked at Bang Geng curiously and asked, "Can you eat three bowls?"
"Three bowls of rice is nothing, I can eat six bowls in one meal!"
Banggeng curled his lip, glanced at the kitchen, and said to the child beside him, "I'm afraid I'll eat your family out of house and home."
"That's amazing!—"
Fu Zhidong looked at him with an expression of admiration, his eyes wide as he asked, "How do you eat?!"
"Nonsense, of course we eat with our mouths." Banggeng squinted and said, "What else would we eat with our butts—"
"Heh—" Fu Zhidong couldn't help but laugh out loud, then he felt that Bang Geng was really rude. He looked the other person up and down, his gaze revealing a strange look.
Bang Geng could certainly sense the disdain emanating from this little brat, but he had recently come to understand a principle: when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
If you eat someone else's rice, you have to put up with their disdain.
He used to be treated like a little emperor at home, and had never been treated like this before, but he could accept it.
Uncle Wu is busy every day, leaving early and returning late, so he has no time to pay attention to him. Aunt Zhou is also busy, besides housework, she also has to go to the dock and the company. His daily task is to follow Aunt Zhou around aimlessly.
Uncle Wu treated him exceptionally well, and Aunt Zhou was also kind to him, especially in terms of daily life; she even bought him new clothes.
Except for the first day when we didn't know his appetite, the amount of staple food at home doubled after that, so he could eat his fill.
They say a half-grown boy can eat his father to death, and he's at the age where he eats lunch at 11:30 and gets hungry again by noon.
He complained about feeling wronged and helpless, but if he really thought about it, he had been in this family for a week, and apart from not treating him like a child, Uncle Wu and Aunt Zhou really couldn't find anything wrong with him.
Perhaps only this little kid beside him treats him like a child, but he disdains being seen as one of his own kind.
What kind of future can a child who feels guilty for swearing have? Only a strong and upright man can be considered a real man.
He could only swallow his anger when he was looked down upon by a little brat, after all, this was Aunt Zhou's child.
"I have something to ask you, but you have to keep it a secret—"
Banggeng glanced in the direction of the kitchen and study, then asked Fu Zhidong in a low voice, "Who are you sleeping with tonight?"
"What would I do by myself?" Fu Zhidong gave him a wary look and reminded him, "If you're scared to sleep alone at night, just turn on the light. Don't expect me to come and keep you company."
"Who's scared!" Banggeng glared, as if slandering him was more important than the question he had just wanted to ask, and explained forcefully, "I'm not scared even if I sleep in a graveyard!"
“Bullshit—” Fu Zhidong curled his lip and said with a look of suspicion, “If you say that, do you think I’d follow you to the cemetery in the middle of the night to watch you sleep? You’re lying.”
"Coward—" Banggeng shook his head and said, "Uncle Wu slept in cemeteries when he was a kid. It's a tradition for us kids in the alley to build up our courage. What do you know—"
"You need to train your courage? That just means you have no guts—"
Fu Zhidong always had something to say. He looked Banggeng up and down and said, "You really are afraid to sleep alone at night."
"Go away, go away, go away—" Bang Geng waved his hand impatiently, then remembered the question he wanted to ask.
"What was I just about to ask you? I almost forgot."
He leaned closer and asked softly, "If you're sleeping alone, what about Aunt Zhou and Uncle Wu...?"
"Zhidong, Jiageng, dinner's ready."
Just as Banggeng was about to ask the question that had been on his mind these past few days, Aunt Zhou's voice came from the kitchen.
Although he didn't finish his question, Fu Zhidong already knew what he wanted to ask.
"What do you want to ask?" He glanced at Bang Geng and, seeing the panic in the other's eyes, said calmly, "I'm still young, I don't understand yet. I'll ask Uncle Wu for you later."
"No, it's nothing."
Banggeng knew that his curiosity was wrong; Aunt Zhou had warned him long ago not to go upstairs.
The literal meaning of this sentence is not to let him go upstairs, but the deeper meaning is not to pry into family matters.
He understood the surface meaning that day, but the deeper meaning was that he had been seeing Uncle Wu resting upstairs for the past few days, and thinking about his mother and that person at home, he was always very curious.
Of course, he also knew that this kind of curiosity was not liked by adults, so he quickly stopped Fu Zhidong.
Fu Zhidong glanced at him indifferently, got up and walked towards the study, and then his voice could be heard calling his uncle to eat.
Looking into his eyes and at his maturity beyond his years, Banggeng felt a little afraid of him for some reason.
Li Xuewu came out of the study, smiled, and put his arm around his godson's shoulder, saying, "Winter vacation wasn't easy either, was it?"
"Hehe—" In front of his godfather, Fu Zhidong had already put on a childlike smile, "I am a little lonely."
He pulled on his godfather's hand, which was resting on his shoulder, and said, "When I'm in school, I want to be on vacation; when I'm on vacation, I want to be in school. It's really a dilemma."
“Yes, I had the same problem when I was in school.” Li Xuewu nodded understandingly and said, “But it’s been a long time since I started school.”
He patted his godson on the shoulder and gestured to Banggeng, who was walking over from the sofa, saying, "If you want to solve this problem, you can consult your brother Banggeng. He has a lot of experience."
"Actually, it's not that plentiful—"
Banggeng felt a little embarrassed by Uncle Wu's praise and said with a slight upturn of his lips, "It's nothing more than escaping on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, choosing to escape on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and not letting the teacher call your parents on Sundays."
"See, I told you your brother Banggeng was experienced, this is real-world experience—" Li Xuewu said to his godson with a smile, "Don't think that this trick of skipping class is simple, you have to experiment with your butt to find out. And you have to experiment once every semester, you have to be willing to lose face and risk your butt."
"Can you teach my son something good?"
Zhou Yamei stood at the restaurant entrance, glaring at Li Xuewu, and said, "He's only in second grade, and you've already taught him to skip school?"
“And you, Jia Geng.” She then looked at Bang Geng and emphasized, “You are not allowed to teach your younger brother to skip school or classes; that is wrong.”
"Yes, that's not right." Bang Geng is now a fence-sitter; he sides with whoever is more serious, Aunt Zhou or Uncle Wu.
Seeing that Aunt Zhou was reminding him very seriously, he quickly nodded in agreement and said to Fu Zhidong, "Look at me now, I really regret skipping classes and school back then. I regret it so much—I'm green with envy."
"Really?" Fu Zhidong looked him up and down and said, "I don't see any regret on your face. You look more like you're regretting skipping school and class so late."
"You can see that?"
Banggeng stared wide-eyed at him in disbelief, as if he were looking at a little deity from "Journey to the West".
Zhou Yamei and Li Xuewu exchanged a glance and both twitched the corners of their mouths. Is this the effect of having another child in the family?
***
Banggeng's arrival at home did bring Zhou Yamei a lot of inconvenience. Not only did it mean she had to do more cooking and laundry, but it also meant she had to remind him to study hard and develop good habits twice as often.
She is a psychologist, and although she doesn't have the occupational diseases that some doctors do, she still has good lifestyle habits.
Let's not say that Qin Huairu doesn't know how to take care of children, let's not say that the two families are in very different financial situations, let's just say that Bang Geng, a boy who is only half a child, is at the age where he doesn't care about hygiene.
They don't know to change their clothes when they get dirty, and they can wear their underwear for several days. They only wash their face once, and they only fold the blankets by the four corners.
Take brushing his teeth for example. Zhou Yamei asked him to brush his teeth at night, but Bang Geng replied that he was too lazy to brush them in the morning.
Since Banggeng entered this family, Banggeng felt constrained, and Zhou Yamei also felt mentally exhausted. It would have been better if Fu Zhidong had raised her since she was a child, as her habits were already formed.
She is now very afraid that the arrival of Bang Geng will cause Fu Zhidong to develop a rebellious mentality towards his previous life.
Even in the early stages of puberty, Bang Geng's personality already shows signs of rebellion, making him prone to leading other children astray.
The living and educational environment that Fu Zhidong was exposed to from childhood was carefully selected and maintained by Zhou Yamei.
Fu Zhidong wasn't unfamiliar with swearing, nor was he incapable of it. However, when Zhou Yamei heard him swear for the first time, she gave him a serious warning and taught him how to be an excellent person.
In the week since Bang Geng arrived, Zhou Yamei has heard him swear countless times.
Sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's muttering, but mostly it's not directed at people, it's just a catchphrase.
Zhou Yamei would remind him every time, or teach him when they did housework together in the evening, patiently and tirelessly giving him instructions.
She said she was tireless, but actually, she was annoyed by both the joke and the story.
There was no other way; Banggeng couldn't do without Li Xuewu, and Zhou Yamei couldn't tolerate his low character, so they had no choice but to confront him head-on.
Fortunately, with the great Li Xuewu around, Bang Geng didn't dare to be presumptuous, much less talk back to Zhou Yamei or give her a hard time.
Even when he was unhappy, he would just lower his head and remain silent, but he would still respond readily whenever Zhou Yamei called him.
However, Zhou Yamei was relieved that there was still hope for the child, and that he was not a bad child in essence.
If Bang Geng is truly the kind of spoiled, incorrigible bad boy, even if Li Xuewu is unwilling, she will still kick Bang Geng out. This family does not allow bad people, except for Li Xuewu.
The fact that Banggeng took the initiative to talk to her about reading today is a sign of progress and enlightenment. She also noticed that Banggeng swore less and less in front of her, which is also a sign of progress.
She wasn't a perfectionist, much less a moral saint. She knew that men should be more masculine, but masculinity didn't mean rudeness, and one shouldn't use vulgar language casually.
Even a man like Li Xuewu, who grew up as a hoodlum, wouldn't swear easily. What can't a bad guy teach?
The reason he hasn't been disciplined at this age is entirely due to a lack of family education; Qin Huairu has indeed failed in her duty.
In fact, Zhou Yamei treated Bang Geng and Fu Zhidong no differently in terms of lifestyle and behavior. It's just that Fu Zhidong, at only 8 years old, already knew how to protect himself without using foul language, while Bang Geng, at 13, still didn't understand, indicating that he lacked a sense of security.
Having another child brings not only inconveniences but also joy, fun, and a lively atmosphere.
No, it's not just a bit more lively, it's more like a dozen or even several dozen points more. That kid Banggeng is too good at creating a lively atmosphere.
It's not that he speaks loudly, jumps around, or makes a lot of noise, but rather the jokes and liveliness he brings.
At dinner time, at the round table in the restaurant, Bang Geng had finished his third bowl of rice when Li Xuewu and Zhou Yamei had already put down their chopsticks, leaving only Fu Zhidong with him.
Zhou Yamei opened her eyes as she watched Bang Geng go to get more rice, wondering if the food was good tonight.
Could it be that my skills have improved?
No way, Li Xuewu and Fu Zhidong are both the same as usual. Could it be that Bang Geng is hungry?
While she was pondering, Banggeng had already quickly finished his bowl of rice under Fu Zhidong's encouraging and admiring gaze.
"Jia Geng—" Seeing the child go to get more rice, Zhou Yamei said with some concern, "Are you very hungry?"
"Hmm, I'm still not full." Banggeng turned to look at her and said, "Can I have another bowl?"
"You can eat two more bowls, just don't overeat." Zhou Yamei got up and poured him a glass of warm water, reminding him, "There's no shortage of food at home, and we'll never restrict your eating, but you must not get an upset stomach, or you'll suffer the consequences."
"Then I'll have two more bowls."
When Banggeng saw that Aunt Zhou had agreed, he smiled and went to serve the rice. He thought that Aunt Zhou's rice was better than his own.
Fu Zhidong raised his eyebrows excitedly, though he dared not cheer out loud, he was still waiting for Bang Geng to break the record.
Li Xuewu and Zhou Yamei didn't know what had happened, but they were curious about Bang Geng's unusual behavior.
Zhou Yamei glanced at him and reminded him with a smile, "You need to work hard and make money, otherwise I won't be able to keep going."
"Hehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Eat without worry, even ten more kids couldn't bankrupt me."
"I'll wear you out, but I'll exhaust myself—"
Zhou Yamei rolled her eyes at him and handed the warm water to Banggeng, who had returned with the rice, saying, "Drink some water first to soothe your stomach."
"Don't worry, Aunt Zhou, I have a big appetite."
Banggeng put down his rice bowl and gestured with his hand, saying, "These are huge buns, my grandma made them. I could eat 12 of them."
"Wow—" Before Zhou Yamei and Li Xuewu could even speak, Fu Zhidong exclaimed in surprise. He stood up from his stool, looked at the sticks, and said, "12! You mean these big ones?"
Seeing Banggeng nod proudly, he grinned and looked at his mother, saying, "Can I invite him to perform at our school? He can perform eating steamed buns; that will definitely scare them!"
"Eat your food properly and don't fool around."
Zhou Yamei widened her eyes and emphasized, "Eating is for health and physical needs, not for a talent show."
She seemed to have noticed something and turned to Banggeng, saying, "Eating too little is bad for your health, and eating too much is bad for your health too. You don't want to become a short, fat person because you overeat, do you?"
"Short-fat guy?"
Banggeng was startled and looked at Aunt Zhou, asking, "My grandma said that you need to eat a lot to grow tall, so how could you be short?"
"It's fine for someone your age to eat a little more, but eating too much will affect your development."
Zhou Yamei gestured to Li Xuewu beside her and said, "If you don't believe me, ask your Uncle Wu how he grew so tall."
"Uncle Wu—" Bang Geng and Fu Zhidong were both curious about this question and looked at Li Xuewu together.
Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Eating too much is indeed bad, but being tall still has something to do with your parents."
Fu Zhidong also had ambitions regarding his height. He turned to look at his mother, thinking about her height, because he had no father.
Unfortunately, Banggeng was the same; he could only remember his mother's height but couldn't recall how tall his father was.
As far back as he can remember, his father was just a photograph.
The two children fell silent, which darkened Zhou Yamei's expression; she could never make up for the lack of a father's love.
"Besides genetic factors, maintaining physical exercise can also promote healthy physical development."
Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Actually, my parents are not as tall as the three of us brothers, which has something to do with our love of exercise."
"Wow—" Fu Zhidong perked up again and looked at him expectantly, saying, "Then I need to exercise too."
"Me too—" Bang Geng looked at him eagerly, afraid that Fu Zhidong would grow taller and he would become shorter.
Whether they are eight or thirteen, they are still children, and a single word from an adult can change their mindset.
Zhou Yamei glanced at Li Xuewu, then got up to clean up the kitchen, leaving the three of them at the dinner table to discuss the group exercise that would begin the next morning.
***
What are your plans for him?
Zhou Yamei gathered her disheveled hair, came out of the bathroom, and looked at Li Xuewu, who was leaning against the headboard yawning, and asked.
"Who? Bang Geng?" Li Xuewu blinked, shifted his body to lie down, and said, "Let's see first."
“We need a goal, right?” Zhou Yamei took some hand cream from the dressing table and applied it to the back of her hands. As she did so, she sat down next to the bed and turned to look at Li Xuewu, saying, “It will also help me know how to lay a foundation for him. His training needs a direction.”
“With someone like him—” Li Xuewu grinned and said, “What kind of top student do you expect to train him to be?”
"That depends on what you need."
Zhou Yamei smiled and shook her head, saying proudly, "Didn't you notice that I helped him develop a reading habit in just one week?"
"Don't be too happy yet—"
Li Xuewu raised his hand and tapped her, saying with a smile, "This child is a notorious troublemaker. His interest is likely only in one book, and it might not work if you change to another one."
"That's okay. Good interests are cultivated, and good children are praised into being good."
Zhou Yamei finished applying hand cream, raised her eyebrows, and said to Li Xuewu, "Do you believe I can train him to be a successful person?"
"Use him as an experiment?" Li Xuewu had already seen through her thoughts and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Wouldn't it be a losing proposition?"
He sat up and said, "With this time and energy, you could train two capable people."
"That depends on who it is."
Zhou Yamei looked up at him and said, "Even if I mentor Zhou Changli, can you trust him?"
She asked bluntly, "And another thing, if I mentor others, can you still trust me?"
"Hehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Be careful not to say anything that could affect unity."
-
What is there to say?
Yes, as Mr. Lu Xun said, hard work may not be seen, but rest will definitely be seen.
Bang Geng had already forgotten his lofty ambitions from last night, and he was still in a daze when Fu Zhidong came to wake him up.
"To exercise! To grow taller!"
Fu Zhidong had already changed his clothes. Seeing Bang Geng's expression, he pretended to run to remind him.
"Huh?" Bang Geng was still in a daze, looking at Fu Zhidong with a confused expression.
"Short and chubby boy—"
Although Fu Zhidong didn't have a biological father to be a role model, he had a godfather, but his godfather didn't teach him anything good.
His sharp tongue and the ability to read people's minds that he inherited from his mother are quite formidable.
Seeing that Banggeng was sitting there motionless, he ignited the little fat boy's enthusiasm with just one sentence.
However, this enthusiasm was somewhat impulsive. The thirteen-year-old boy had little regard for consequences, and a single sentence almost led to someone's death.
What's up with this guy Banggeng?
He's so young, yet he looks so sleepy, even more exhausted than he did last night working overtime.
"Do you want to go back and get some more sleep?"
Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, looked at the big-faced cat, and said, "I'm afraid you'll fall asleep halfway there."
“No, please don’t—” Zhou Yamei came out of the kitchen carrying a thermos and said with a laugh, “I’m also afraid he’ll fall asleep in bed and die, then my house will be in trouble.”
"Aunt Zhou—" Banggeng called out in a slightly dissatisfied voice.
Yes, puberty is also the time when his voice changes, and this kid's voice is changing from a little boy's to a hoarse voice.
“You really should get some exercise,” Zhou Yamei said with a smile. “You get out of breath after just one walk around the dock; people call you a little piggy.”
"I understand—" Bang Geng reluctantly followed Uncle Wu and the enthusiastic Fu Zhidong out the door to go for a run.
It's really strange. These days, there's no shortage of elderly people going to the park to practice Tai Chi or do gymnastics, but it's rare to see young people getting up early to run. Today, there were three of them on this main road.
Just as Zhou Yamei said, Banggeng started complaining of being tired and panting after running for less than five minutes.
"Should I call a stretcher for you?"
Li Xuewu stopped in his tracks, amused, and turned to Banggeng, saying, "You're always like this when you fight at school?"
"Who—who's fighting—running—" Bang Geng was already out of breath, and his answer to Uncle Wu was barely audible.
Li Xuewu asked with amusement, "What if you can beat them? That's fine, but what if you can't?"
"Hard—hard-on—" Bang Geng leaned on his knees, panting heavily and sweating profusely.
This is the second month of the lunar calendar! What's that saying about the second month of the lunar calendar?
I said you are the February day in the human world; your laughter lights up the four winds... No, this is talking about the April day.
Oh, right, it should be this sentence:
February's spring breeze is like scissors; even with a haircut, you're still as alluring as ever.
"I'll be walking the lead dog back from the security office tomorrow," Li Xuewu said to Banggeng with a wicked grin. "If you run a little slow, you might lose a chunk of flesh from your butt."
"Ah—" Bang Geng wailed in pain, "Uncle, are you walking the dog or me—"
***
When Zhang Enyuan and Yu Zhe came to pick up Li Xuewu for work, they noticed that the new kid at the company was a bit unusual.
Well, I'm so tired I can't even stick my tongue out.
Perhaps it was because he had exercised too hard in the morning, but Banggeng was very uncomfortable with his first long-distance run.
I ate less for breakfast than usual, and I felt a bit weak, like I was about to go on strike.
Zhou Yamei and Li Xuewu ignored him, but Fu Zhidong seemed to have found a playmate, muttering that he would continue tomorrow.
"Good morning, leader."
Zhang Enyuan knocked on the door and entered the house. The first person he saw in the entryway was Li Xuewu. He then nodded and greeted Zhou Yamei, saying, "Good morning, Ms. Zhou."
"Good morning, Secretary Zhang." Zhou Yamei smiled and nodded. "Have you had breakfast?"
"I've already eaten, thank you."
Zhang Enyuan would say this almost every day when he came to Zhou Yamei's house, and he was very polite to her.
Describing him as having a "sharp mind" is not appropriate, because in all his years of working at the company, no one has ever said that about him, and he has never shown any particularly clever side.
If he were smart enough and ruthless enough, he wouldn't have spent half his life sitting in an office.
His ability to quickly adapt to his current position after being appointed by Li Xuewu is entirely due to his years of experience.
Zhang Enyuan firmly believes in the saying, "Diligence can make up for lack of talent."
As long as he is diligent enough, even if he is a little slow or clumsy, his boss will not blame him.
So every morning he would first go to the office to clean and prepare hot tea before coming here with Yu Zhe.
Unlike Yu Zhe, who waited for his superiors in the car, he opened the car door as soon as the car stopped, rang the doorbell, and then followed his superiors' instructions to open the gate and enter the courtyard.
His boss had told him that he could come to his house to pick him up, so he followed his boss's instructions and stopped at the entrance.
"I have a lot of work to do today, so I might be back a little late." Li Xuewu glanced at his watch, put on his coat with Zhou Yamei's help, and instructed, "You take them to eat."
"If I finish work early, I can call home so I can prepare dinner."
Zhou Yamei gave him the same advice, and quickly smoothed out the wrinkles on his coat.
Zhang Enyuan stood respectfully to the side until he received the briefcase from Ms. Zhou, then turned around, opened the door, and waited.
Yu Zhe, being a heavy-handed person, wouldn't easily get out to open the car door. He would have to jog a few steps and arrive at the right time to open the door before Li Xuewu, inviting the leader to get in.
Good morning, boss!
Yu Zhe turned around and greeted Li Xuewu as he got into the car, before starting the car after Zhang Enyuan got in.
The Volga M24 traveled along the fairly wide road, as usual, heading straight for the metallurgical plant.
Like other secretaries, Zhang Enyuan also likes to discuss the day's itinerary and yesterday's work summary with his superiors in the car.
This was something Han Zhan, the head of the security department, taught him privately. Han Zhan was also the only person he could contact who had worked with the leader.
Han Zhan told him a lot about the work and habits of the leader's first secretary, who is now the head of the International Business Department of the Group's Sales Corporation. This gave him a better understanding of the situation and allowed him to make adjustments based on his own circumstances.
Li Xuewu never made things difficult for his secretary. He approved of the itinerary and summaries, whether they were presented as briefings or reports, the only difference being the timing.
The higher one's position in the group, the less freedom one has in terms of time, and the greater the influence one is under the secretary's influence.
The main reason I chose Zhang Enyuan as my secretary when I came to work in Gangcheng was because he was older and more composed.
Just as he had predicted, Zhang Enyuan, the secretary, was indeed composed and very experienced in his work.
"The work meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m.." Zhang Enyuan put the most important task last and asked Li Xuewu, "Do you have any special requirements?"
“It’s just a normal meeting, there’s no need to be so tense.” Li Xuewu put down the documents in his hand, looked up at him and instructed, “Contact Director Xiao of Fengcheng Machinery for me.”
Seeing Zhang Enyuan take out his notebook, he slowed his speech slightly and said, "On the evening of the 5th, I went to Fengcheng and asked him to contact Director Hu Ke of Liaodong Industry. On the 6th, I will visit Director Lu."
"I'll adjust your schedule for the 5th and 6th." Zhang Enyuan quickly made notes, while asking, "Should the schedule for the 7th also be postponed appropriately?"
"Hmm, we'll see how it goes—"
Li Xuewu nodded slowly, looked out the car window and said, "I should be able to get back on the night of the 6th."
This statement is also quite vague, because travel was very inconvenient due to the limited transportation conditions of that era.
There aren't that many expressways. The road from Fengcheng to Gangcheng was originally a dirt-based gravel road, built during the early days of the Cultural Revolution. Later, due to insufficient maintenance, it developed frost heave problems and was rebuilt into a gravel-based pavement in 50.
It's manageable for large trucks, but for Li Xuewu's luxury sedan, a round trip of over 200 kilometers is a test for both the vehicle and the driver.
If you're talking about taking the train, there are even more restrictions. Back then, there weren't nearly as many train services as in later years.
There are many freight trains, and the route from Fengcheng to Gangcheng is still the main railway transportation route in Northeast China.
But Li Xuewu can't exactly take his secretary back and forth in a truck, can he? It's not that he can't endure hardship, it's just that it's not that he has to.
Now you should know why car failure rates are so high these days. Car quality is one aspect, but the roads are also a problem.
Li Xuewu has already set the tone for the group's Liaodong industry, and today he can also set the rules for the metallurgical plant.
The next step is to contact local authorities, quickly open up new opportunities, get this stagnant water flowing, and stimulate economic development.
Who says industrial enterprises don't need to develop the economy? On the contrary, it is precisely these industrial enterprises that should pay the most attention to economic work.
Li Xuewu emphasized in the industrial development plan that all industrial enterprises of the group in Liaodong should actively contact the group's sales headquarters, engineering and construction headquarters and other enterprises to provide new ideas in the process of local development and construction.
To put it simply, it's about helping each other expand their business scope. The factory has a unique geographical advantage in the local area, while the sales headquarters and engineering and construction headquarters have group resources that the factory doesn't have. Cooperation between the two is the most reasonable work arrangement.
Conversely, the sales headquarters and other companies will also help the factory achieve its greater profit goals.
Li Xuewu already said at yesterday's meeting that he would not collect the accounting books of the various industrial enterprises, but he would take care of how they lived. If anyone failed to manage their subordinates well, they should not blame him for overstepping his bounds and having to help them manage their affairs.
Previously, Dong Wenxue didn't care how he viewed the business collaboration between industrial enterprises and the group's sales headquarters. Starting with him, an integrated and coordinated cooperation system needed to be built and normalized. Only by achieving market coverage throughout Northeast China could they pursue their ambitions and expansion into the Northeast Asian market.
Indeed, he has not forgotten the Northeast Asian market, which is the only way for the Northeast to maintain its rise and rapid development. Under the premise that a breakthrough in foreign relations cannot be achieved, the development of the economy and trade can be given priority.
This suggestion was not made by Li Xuewu, but by Mr. Zhou during a meeting with the trade delegation from the Tarim Basin in Beijing.
Developing industry, technology, and the economy, Hongxing Steel Group is fully in line with policy requirements. The economic part of its first Three-Year Plan has been completed ahead of schedule, and its first Five-Year Plan is also progressing steadily and in an orderly manner.
The second draft of the Three-Year Plan has been approved by the Group's Management Committee, and the next step is for experts to discuss it.
The second three-year plan will be announced in the second half of this year, and those three years will be crucial for the group's take-off and development.
Over the past three years, the company has completed its transformation into a group, continuously revised its development path, and actively accumulated strength in order to achieve steady improvement and rapid progress in the next three years.
For Hongxing Steel Group to achieve continuous industrial and economic growth, the first challenge it must overcome is industrial enterprise management.
Although the group has established professional sales and construction companies, it is fundamentally still a cluster of light and heavy industrial enterprises.
The group's roots are in Liaodong, in the steel city. If Li Xuewu wants to achieve the rapid development of industrial enterprises within the next three years, he must communicate well with the local government, develop together, and make progress in synergy.
Zhang Enyuan believes that today's metallurgical plant work conference is more important, but Li Xuewu believes that the metallurgical plant's problems are not important; the development of the entire group's Liaodong industry is more important.
The metallurgical plant has only a handful of staff—it's not that Li Xuewu looks down on them, but his status dictates his long-term vision.
***
The first working meeting of the new year of the Metallurgical Plant Management Committee was held in a small conference room. Attendees included group leaders, the leader of the Liaodong Industrial Leading Group, the director of the Metallurgical Plant Management Committee, and the plant director, Li Xuewu.
Yang Zongfang, Deputy Director in charge of fire protection, security, and inspection;
Yang Shuxing, Deputy Director in charge of services, engineering, and logistics;
Yin Zhongyao, Deputy Director in charge of organization, personnel, and publicity;
Liu Yongnian, the deputy director in charge of technology and production;
Wang Shuqiong, Deputy Director in charge of scheduling, sales, and sales work;
Dou Changfang, the union chief in charge of the workers' federation.
Liao Jinhui, Director of the Management Committee Office, attended the meeting and took minutes.
Li Xuewu was more disciplined and magnanimous than Li Huaide; he didn't let Dou Changfang "get sick" and be hospitalized.
The management committee consists of seven people, each with their own duties and responsibilities. However, Li Xuewu's special status has completely disrupted the original balance, resulting in a situation where one person holds absolute power.
Li Xuewu didn't give them any room for discussion at all, and he was quite domineering and uncompromising in his work.
Some personnel appointments were only briefly discussed with Yin Zhongyao before being passed on. This was done by him calling Yin Zhongyao to his office for a talk, without going to the other party's office to discuss them.
Yin Zhongyao felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do. Although Dong Xuewen was already the deputy director of the group's management committee when he left, he had made his way up in the steel city, so everyone had face to save, and the hierarchy between them wasn't so clearly distinguishable. They could also discuss their work together.
But Li Xuewu was completely different. He even told his subordinates that he had no face in front of his superiors.
He has no face whatsoever. The metallurgical plant isn't even enough for him to handle by himself. Everyone else has become a mere decoration, just there to obey his orders.
You dare disagree? Punishment!
What do you think of Yang Zongfang? He wanted to use his father-in-law's death to gain the sympathy of the group's leaders, and then turn around and retaliate against Li Xuewu. But what was the result?
Li Xuewu not only easily defused the situation, but also slapped him across the face, and he obediently returned to work.
If Yang Zongfang, whose father-in-law had truly died, was like this, then Yang Shuxing, who was just putting on an act, was even more so.
Although the capital city is far from the steel city, information travels very quickly, and the steel city knew about what was happening in the hospital.
Yang Shuxing lost face quite a bit this time. When he returned, his voice was even weaker, and he was very insecure.
In other words, Li Xuewu was unwilling to pay him any attention; otherwise, he would have to settle scores with him, which would have been like skinning him alive.
Just because Li Xuewu doesn't say it, does that mean others won't say it either?
Yang Shuxing has to figure this out himself. Will he dare to cause trouble again? Will Li Xuewu still be so polite next time?
Both of them were so shrewd that Dou Changfang, who used to complain about being old and arrogant after Li Xuewu came to the steel city, also shut up.
Dou Changfang is indeed a senior figure; he was already a leader when Li Xuewu came to Gangcheng to handle the Luojiaping case.
But what does seniority have to do with work? Li Xuewu can be polite to veteran cadres, even though they haven't retired yet.
It was only because Dou Changfang was quick-witted and restrained his attitude in time that he was able to show concern, and instead, as the class monitor, he would have offered to resign on the other party's behalf to the group's management committee and arrange for the other party to retire voluntarily.
Unlike Dong Wenxue's amiable demeanor during the meeting, Li Xuewu got straight to the point from the very beginning.
"The first thing is to start the organizational restructuring of the metallurgical plant in March, in accordance with the requirements and plans of the group company."
He tapped the table with his finger, looking at the documents beside him, and said, "The group requires that, in principle, the management committee structure should only be retained at the group management level, and all other branch factories and subsidiaries should be transformed and adjusted in accordance with modern enterprise practices."
"In other words, my term as director of the metallurgical plant management committee has come to an end." When he said this, Li Xuewu glanced at everyone and emphasized, "Including everyone here, the deputy director will be renamed deputy plant manager, and related business operations will be adjusted."
Seeing that everyone was mentally prepared and had no objections, he looked at the document and continued, "The second thing is that, in accordance with the group's unified requirements for the organizational restructuring of industrial enterprises, the deputy factory director will, in principle, only retain the scope of business management."
"lead--"
"Let me finish."
Li Xuewu knew someone would hear this and speak, but he didn't want to give them the chance.
During the process of the overall restructuring of Hongxing Plant into a group, the metallurgical plant went through a transitional period of management by the management committee. This was a historical issue and there was some conflict with modern management.
However, whether the transformation of the metallurgical plant is thorough has already affected the progress of organizational restructuring in other companies with similar situations, such as Yingcheng Shipbuilding.
Therefore, Li Xuewu, while working at the metallurgical plant, took the lead in reforming his own organization and spearheaded the organizational restructuring.
As for the dissenting voices at the meeting, he was confident that he could suppress them, and if they felt it was unfair, they could report it to the group.
However, he emphasized in his speech that this was a unified plan of the group, so who were they going to express their objections to?
What is the fundamental contradiction in organizational restructuring?
It is the subservience of vested interests in the process of industrial enterprises moving towards modernization and specialization in management.
Li Xuewu wants to cut some of their supervisory duties and readjust their division of labor. Would they be willing to do that?
(End of this chapter)