Chapter 143

"Dongxu, sit down."

Li Jiandong sat on the sofa and pointed to the front door.

Jia Dongxu came over and sat down and asked, "Master, what do you want from me?"

Li Jiandong pondered and said, "Dongxu, someone from Beicheng called me today. I may have to go back next week."

"When the time comes, someone else will come to take over my job. You should cooperate with him. After returning to North City, you may have to work under him."

The person who comes next week may very well be the future director of the Department of Energy, and since Jia Dongxu's rank is not high enough, he will at most be promoted to deputy director after he returns.

However, the deputy director is also very capable. After all, Director Yang is only at this level.

"Master, if you leave, can I do it alone?"

When Jia Dongxu heard that Li Jiandong was leaving, he suddenly felt guilty.

Over the years, he has never been too far away from Li Jiandong and has developed the habit of working alongside his master.

When he suddenly heard that Li Jiandong was leaving, his first reaction was fear.

"Don't worry, I watched you grow up, so there is absolutely no problem with your ability. My departure this time is also a test for you. You will be transferred out to be a leader in the future, and you can't always stay by my side."

Li Jiandong was not kidding. Jia Dongxu's ability at work was obvious to all.

Although Li Jiandong left.

But there will be new leaders transferred here, and they are all from Beicheng, and they will also take care of Jia Dongxu at that time.

Before leaving, Li Jiandong also made arrangements for Zheng Juan.

Previously, she was responsible for taking care of Li Jiandong's daily life and was a temporary worker.

Before Li Jiandong left, he helped her get a permanent job as a street clerk. The reason why he did not arrange for her to work in the mine was that working in the street would make it more convenient for her to take care of her mother and blind brother.

Of course, Li Jiandong did not forget to make arrangements for Ding Qiunan.

It is not yet 68 and going to the countryside to work is voluntary.

Although once you leave, it's not easy to come back.

But Li Jiandong was the leader after all, and even if they were not from the same department, others would give him face, so it was done easily.

Originally, Li Jiandong planned to arrange Ding Qiunan to a place slightly farther away.

But Ding Qiunan insisted on going back to the steel mill to accompany him. She was happy even if she could only see him every day. She even thought of a pretext, saying that during her time in Jilin and Liaoning, she got married, got pregnant, and divorced.

Anyway, no one knows what's going on here, so you can make up whatever you want.

The time to return home is coming soon.

Li Jiandong first sent Ding Qiunan to the train, and then flew back himself.

In fact, Li Jiandong could get a plane ticket for Ding Qiunan, but she was pregnant and the planes were not stable nowadays. If she got airsick while flying, she couldn't get off the plane easily.

If something happens, it will not be worth it. It is relatively safer to take the train.

After several hours of turbulence, the plane landed at Beicheng Airport.

Xu Zhengyang had received the news long ago and was on standby at the airport. When he saw Li Jiandong getting off the plane, he ran over to help him carry his luggage.

The two drove to the Ministry of Industry. After getting off the car, Li Jiandong went to the second floor and knocked on the door of the big leader's office.

The door creaked open, and the big boss stood behind the door and said with a smile:

"Jiandong, welcome back. Come in and sit down first. Tell me what's going on over there."

Li Jiandong followed the leader into the house and briefly reported the situation there.

Although there are some flaws, the overall progress of the work there is still acceptable.

When the leader heard what he said, he found that the content was similar to the report he had received, so he nodded repeatedly and felt relieved.

“With this iron ore, we can focus on development in the future.

Jiandong, during the time you were away, I also considered your future appointment.

Indeed, you are more suitable to work in the steel mill, so you should take on more responsibilities when you come back this time, you know what I mean."

As a leader, you always say half of what you mean and hide the other half, but Li Jiandong still understood what the big leader meant.

It seems that in order to enable himself to perform better, the big boss is ready to make some changes to Director Yang.

To be honest, Director Yang has worked in the steel rolling mill for so many years, and his experience is incomparable to Li Jiandong.

But Li Jiandong also has his advantages.

His foresight and creativity are also what Director Yang does not possess.

If stability is required, then Director Yang is the most suitable candidate.

However, now that we have Asia's largest iron ore, we will have the best quantity of steel in the future, and there will be qualitative development in both steel rolling tasks and other aspects.

In this situation, it is not enough to seek stability alone. Drastic reforms are necessary to improve the efficiency of steel mills and new research and development.

And these are Li Jiandong's strengths.

"I see."

Li Jiandong nodded, talked to the leader for a few more words and then left.

This time he went straight home. Qin Huairu had just returned from picking up her sons from school, and the two met at the entrance of the alley.

Li Jiandong jumped out of the car and picked up his two little sons.

"dad."

"Dad is back."

"My dear son, I haven't seen you this heavy in a few months. Do you miss your dad?"

"I think about it, every day."

Qin Huairu was also very happy to see Li Jiandong come back. She had received a telegram from Li Jiandong saying he was coming back a few days ago, and she was so excited that she couldn't sleep well for several days.

"Brother Jiandong."

"Huai Ru, thank you for your hard work during this period."

Li Jiandong put his son down and went forward to hug Qin Huairu.

Although the family has no worries about food and clothing, it is still very tiring for a woman to take care of four children at home.

Returning to the second courtyard and looking at the familiar room, Li Jiandong still felt more at ease here.

Although my second courtyard is a little simpler than the Western-style buildings in Jilin and Liaoning, it is my territory after all.

"Master, are you back?"

Sha Zhu's rough voice came from outside the yard.

When he saw Li Jiandong's car parked outside the yard, he knew that it must be Li Jiandong who had returned.

"Zhu Zi, I haven't seen you for a few months. You have become stronger again."

Li Jiandong went out, pinched Sha Zhu's arm and said, I don't know how this kid trained, these two arms are thicker than many women's calves, and they are full of big muscles.

Sha Zhu grinned and said:
"Master, you have lost weight. Is it because the chefs in Jilin and Liaoyang don't cook to your taste?

A few days ago, I heard that you were coming back, so I asked Sister Chen to prepare some dishes. I will cook for you tonight."

Sha Zhu and Chen Xueru have been married for almost three years, but the address has never been changed, and they still call Chen Xueru "Sister Chen".

"Okay, thank you for the hard work."

Li Jiandong patted Sha Zhu's shoulder and asked him to go cook first.

After a while, Sha Zhu came back with the dishes, and Chen Xueru also came in holding her and Sha Zhu's son He Xiao, and behind her was her and her ex-husband's son Hou Kui.

"Uncle, you're back."

Chen Xueru now also follows the people in Yard 40 and calls Li Jiandong "Uncle".

Although Li Jiandong is no longer in Yard 40, he is still the uncle of Yard 40.

This was a unanimous decision made by Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui after research.

There is no need to talk about Liu Haizhong. He is Li Jiandong's most loyal bootlicker. Even if Li Jiandong is gone, he dare not succeed this big boss.

Yan Bugui is more shrewd. He thinks that Li Jiandong should continue to be the boss so that he can ask Li Jiandong for help if he encounters any problems in the future.

The same goes for everyone in the hospital. Some of them respect Li Jiandong, while others think that Li Jiandong is very capable and that having such an old man would benefit the entire hospital.

In short, since Li Jiandong left, no other boss has been elected.

"Xue Ru is here too. He Xiao has grown so big now."

Li Jiandong looked at He Xiao. He was indeed Sha Zhu's son. He was one year younger than his daughter, but much bigger in size.

"Yeah, after the Chinese New Year he will be four years old, and I can hardly hold him anymore."

The four years old that Chen Xueru mentioned refers to He Xiao’s age in lunar years. In fact, He Xiao had just celebrated his second birthday.

The two families sat together and chatted, and soon Sha Zhu prepared the dishes and brought them over.

Qin Huairu took a small table and placed it next to the living room. Li Jiandong, Sha Zhu, Qin Huairu and Chen Xueru sat at the big table to eat, while Li Xunfu, his five younger brothers and one younger sister sat at the small table to eat.

Li Jiandong tasted the dish and gave a thumbs up:
"When it comes to cooking, it still has to be Zhuzi. There are only a few people in the whole North City who have this skill."

Sha Zhu was very happy to get the recognition from his master and smiled.

Ever since he married Chen Xueru, his cooking skills have improved by leaps and bounds.

He is not a chef, but he cooks three meals a day by himself and is now a first-class chef.

Although Li Jiandong's unique skills are better than Sha Zhu's, his cooking level cannot be compared with Sha Zhu's. He can't even do a simple flipping of the wok. This is the only skill that he is not as good as his apprentice.

After the meal, Sha Zhu wanted to chat more with Li Jiandong, but was pulled away by Chen Xueru.

"You silly guy, they are looking forward to going home to spend some time together, but you keep nagging me. Don't you know that you are annoying?"

Chen Xueru pulled Shazhu back home and then lectured him in the same tone as his father.

the next day.

Li Jiandong came to the steel rolling mill, and the workers in the factory were whispering when they saw him coming back.

Entering the office building, Li Jiandong came to the second floor.

On the first day of work, of course I went to meet Director Yang first.

I knocked on the door, and soon it was opened from the inside.

Director Yang was sitting behind his desk, and Deputy Directors Dai and Cao were also there.

When Director Yang saw Li Jiandong, he burst into laughter:

"What do you think? I knew that Li Jiandong would come to our factory as soon as he got back. It's only eight o'clock now. Who said he couldn't come in the morning?"

Director Yang, Deputy Director Dai and Deputy Director Cao were just betting on what time Li Jiandong would be able to report.

Deputy Director Dai said before ten o'clock, but Cao Dazhuang said he couldn't come in the morning and could only come in the afternoon at the earliest. After all, he had not slept well at night, so he had to make up for it in the morning.

Only Director Yang believed that Li Jiandong could arrive on time before work.

Facts have proved that Director Yang understands Li Jiandong best.

Although he did sleep very late last night, it did not affect Li Jiandong from getting up early this morning.

"You guys, what can I say?"

Li Jiandong shook his head speechlessly. These people were too boring.

After finding a place to sit down and chatting for a few minutes, Director Yang began to talk about the next work. Outsiders did not know the arrangements of the top leaders, but Director Yang had known about it for a long time.

It happened that the other two deputy factory directors were also there, so Director Yang told them about this matter.

"Lao Dai, Da Zhuang, there is still more than a month left until the Chinese New Year."

"As for me, apart from the year-end summary, I will not be in charge of any other work.

If you have any work-related matters, please report directly to Jiandong, and Jiandong, please try to pay more attention to it. "Li Jiandong nodded: "Okay."

"Okay, the main reason I asked you to come here today is for this matter. At noon, the four of us will go to the guesthouse to welcome Jiandong and congratulate him on his upcoming promotion."

Director Yang said with a smile.

Actually speaking, Li Jiandong's promotion was not that high.

After all, his position as chairman of the Society of Mechanical Engineers is at the deputy department level, the same level as the director of the steel mill. The one who was actually promoted was Director Yang, who was transferred from the steel mill to the Ministry of Industry as director of the Energy Department, which was definitely a half-level promotion.

However, in terms of power, Li Jiandong's promotion was indeed greater. After all, the number of people managed by the steel rolling mill was much larger than the number of people in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

"Jiandong, congratulations, you will soon be able to take a step further."

Deputy Director Dai bowed and said that he had seen with his own eyes how Li Jiandong climbed up step by step from a worker to his current position.

Twelve years have passed in the blink of an eye.

When Li Jiandong was promoted, he had just been the director of the Political Affairs Office for a short time. Now Li Jiandong is about to be promoted to factory director, but he is only a deputy factory director.

In the same twelve years, Li Jiandong was promoted six times, from workshop director, deputy director of production, member of the logistics director team, director of the political office, to deputy factory director. Including the upcoming promotion to factory director, he has advanced seven steps.

And he had only taken one step forward.

The same goes for Cao Dazhuang. He has only made two steps from being the director of the raw materials department to his current position.

He smiled and congratulated, "Congratulations, Director Li. From now on, we will work under your leadership."

“Everyone is working together for the steel mill.”

Li Jiandong said politely and sat with Director Yang for a while, and then the three deputy directors left.

After returning to the office, Secretary Cui knocked on the door shortly afterwards.

However, Li Jiandong has not been officially appointed yet.

However, in order to allow him to take over the work better, Director Yang has stepped back to the second line.

All the work in the factory falls on Li Jiandong's shoulders.

Secretary Cui then began to serve Li Jiandong.

Li Jiandong spent the entire morning reviewing the operating data of the steel mill over the past six months.

It was almost noon when I went to the guesthouse to have lunch, and then continued my research in the afternoon.

It was not until the music for the end of get off work sounded that Li Jiandong put down the document and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Deputy Director Li, it's time to rest and take care of yourself."

Secretary Cui knocked on the door and walked in and said.

The end of the year is already very busy with work, including dinners, work summaries, selection of outstanding employees, reports on the work status of cadres, etc. Li Jiandong had to take over so many things just after he came back, and he really didn't even have any time to rest throughout the day.

"Okay, I'll take a rest now."

Li Jiandong closed his eyes and relaxed for a while before he stood up, locked the door and left.

As a result, as soon as I went downstairs, I saw He Daqing and others guarding the door of the office building.

"Lao Li, you're really back. When we were having lunch, they told me you were back but I didn't believe it. Why didn't you contact us when you came back?"

He Daqing walked over with a laugh and put his arm around Li Jiandong's shoulders.

Yan Jiecheng and Liu Haizhong also said:
"Yes, Master, you didn't even tell us that you were back. If Uncle He hadn't told us that you were back, I wouldn't have known about this."

"We have to understand Deputy Director Li. He must be very busy with work after just returning, right?"

Liu Haizhong said with lowered eyebrows.

"Old Liu is right. I really have too much to do today. I haven't been home for such a long time that I am a little rusty at work. Except for lunch, I haven't left the office."

"Come on, I'll go find you guys at the hospital this weekend and we can have a good time together."

When Li Jiandong saw these old friends, he felt relieved. They made an appointment to have a drink together on the weekend and then went their separate ways.

The news quickly spread throughout the courtyard. Everyone missed Li Jiandong a little after not seeing him for such a long time.

Knowing that Li Jiandong would return to the Siheyuan on the weekend, He Daqing and others started preparing early.

On the way back, Liu Haizhong and He Daqing discussed together and decided to go to the vegetable market to buy some ingredients.

Although, the difficulties caused by the three-year disaster have been offset by high-yield rice due to the early arrival of hybrid rice in the past two years.

Both grain and meat are slowly returning to their previous production levels.

But sometimes, due to coincidence, you may not be able to buy good meat.

The two of them took a walk around the vegetable market, and when they returned to the courtyard with meat and vegetables, the people in the courtyard had already finished their dinner.

Yan Bugui was fetching water in the middle courtyard to take home. Jia Zhangshi and Ye Xiaoning were also washing dishes nearby. When they saw He Daqing and Liu Haizhong coming back with two net bags of vegetables and meat, they were all very puzzled.

"Lao He, Lao Liu, why did you two buy so many vegetables? And you cut so much meat, what's the happy event recently?"

Jia Zhang stared at the meat and asked.

Ever since Jia Dongxu left, her life has obviously not been as good as before.

Although Jia Dongxu also sent money and tickets home every month, you have to know that when Jia Dongxu was at home, in addition to the money he earned, there were also gifts from others.

Now Jia Dongxu has been transferred to Jilin and Liaoning, which is tens of thousands of miles away from Beicheng. It is not known whether he can be transferred back, and many people have stopped communicating with him.

When people leave, the tea gets cold. That's all. Jia Zhang has to buy everything she eats now, and she feels reluctant to spend her own money.

"Yes, Lao Liu, what big thing are you and Lao He planning to do? You bought such a big bag of things so quietly. Are you afraid that we will go to your house and eat for free?"

Yan Bugui also said with a smile that he really wanted to go and have a free meal.

With so many vegetables and meat, it would definitely be a big meal.

He Daqing parked his bicycle aside and said, "You don't know? Didn't Jie Cheng tell you?"

Yan Bugui was stunned: "What? He hasn't come back yet. He's usually in the dormitory building of the tavern. What's going on? Is this related to my Jie Cheng?"

At this time, Hu Haodang suddenly walked out of the house.

He asked, "Daqing, is this about Deputy Director Li coming back?"

As the head of the security department, Hu Haodang was of course one of the first people to know that Li Jiandong had returned.

He took advantage of the lunch break to say hello to Li Jiandong.

However, Li Jiandong was having dinner with Director Yang and two other deputy directors at the time, so Hu Haodang just said a few words and left.

He Daqing has a good relationship with Hu Haodang.

Hearing this, he smiled and said:

"The security department is well-informed. It seems you know it too. Yes, Lao Li is back today and will come to the hospital to visit on the weekend. Lao Liu and I thought that in case we can't buy meat on that day, we went to the vegetable market in advance to prepare some. Anyway, it's cold now and we are not afraid of spoiling."

Liu Haizhong also said:

"Deputy Director Li has been away for so long, and now he is finally back, he must have something good to eat.

Daqing and I spent seven or eight yuan on groceries today. Old Yan, how about you also contribute to show your appreciation?"

He deliberately made fun of Yan Bugui. Everyone knows that Yan Bugui is stingy. Asking him to pay would be like asking for his life.

But this time it was different, Yan Bugui actually agreed.

"This is my duty. I should also show some appreciation for treating Lao Li to a meal. However, I don't make as much money as you do. How about I just give him one dollar?"

Yan Bugui's performance this time surprised everyone.

However, when he finished his last sentence, everyone started laughing.

I finally managed to be generous for once, but not completely generous. I could get a meal for one dollar, which was no different from eating in a restaurant. Even with He Daqing's cooking skills, the meal still cost more than one dollar.

However, it was good enough that Yan Bugui could pay, so no one blamed him for being stingy.

The weekend is quickly approaching.

After getting off work in the evening, Li Jiandong went directly to the courtyard.

The place for eating is still Li Jiandong's room.

Hu Haodang is living there now.

He Daqing, Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, Jia Zhangshi, Xu Fugui, Hu Haodang and others all gathered around the table. Other residents also came over to say hello, but there was not enough space for so many people, so they all went back after saying hello.

"Old Li, welcome back to your hometown. Let me toast you first."

He Daqing came up and toasted him with a full glass of wine. He hadn't drunk with Li Jiandong for such a long time, and now it was finally time for them to meet again. He was in a very good mood today.

After a glass of wine, everyone shouted "good".

Li Jiandong also laughed and said, "It seems that Daqing's drinking capacity has improved after not seeing him for half a year. Did he learn it from Lao Hu?"

Hu Haodang laughed: "As for him, even though he seems to drink heartily, his alcohol tolerance is really not good. He can only drink one pound of alcohol, which is no match for you, Deputy Director Li."

Li Jiandong's alcohol tolerance a long time ago was about three or four kilograms. After a trip to Jilin and Liaoning, he had a few drinks with some people there. Now he can probably drink almost five kilograms.

After drinking the wine offered by He Daqing in one gulp, the atmosphere became lively.

Liu Haizhong and Xu Fugui also toasted Li Jiandong one after another.

Hu Haodang even toasted three times. Although he was the last one to arrive at the hospital, his gratitude to Li Jiandong was no less than that of others.

A few years ago, I borrowed tickets from Li Jiandong, and I haven’t paid them back yet.

Of course, Li Jiandong had no intention of taking his tickets. To him, those tickets were just waste paper if he couldn’t use them.

After three rounds of drinking, Ye Xiaoning suddenly asked:
"Li Jiandong, I heard that you are going to be a regular employee this time? Is that true?"

Her father is a senior leader of the same level as Mr. Bi, so of course he cannot be avoided for such a big matter.

In fact, if it weren't for the vote from Leader Ye, Li Jiandong might not have been able to successfully inherit the position of Director Yang.

Although the order has not been issued yet, it is actually a done deal.

Ye Xiaoning asked this question suddenly, actually he wanted to make everyone happy.

This sentence confused everyone present.

Li Jiandong is going to be converted to a regular employee?

Become a full-time factory manager?
I haven't heard of this news before. If he becomes the factory director, where will Director Yang go?

Li Jiandong had a calm expression and said with a smile: "There is such a plan, but it has not been confirmed yet. Maybe there will be a transfer after the new year."

After hearing what Li Jiandong said, everyone knew that this matter was almost certain, and they all became excited.

"Old Li, you are amazing. I never thought that our hospital could produce a great figure like you."

Yan Buguile's mouth was cracked from ear to ear. Before, when Jia Dongxu went to Jilin and Liaoning with Li Jiandong, he had wondered why Yan Jiecheng was not brought along. Now that Li Jiandong became the director of the steel rolling mill, his son should be the next person to be arranged.

"Before Deputy Director Li was assigned to Jilin and Liaoning, some people said he was going to be promoted, but no one expected him to be promoted to director. Many people speculated that he was going to the ministry."

Hu Haodang also sighed.

He is the head of the security department and a member of the team.

When Li Jiandong was transferred to Jilin and Liaoning, the team members speculated that he might be intended to replace the director of the Energy Department who was about to retire.

This time Li Jiandong came back suddenly, and returned to the steel rolling mill. Everyone thought that he might have made a mistake, so he was transferred back early, and there was probably no chance of promotion.

Unexpectedly, he was not going to the Energy Department at all, but was directly promoted to the director of the steel rolling mill.

Although the level of the Energy Department is half a level higher than that of the steel rolling mill.

But the director of a steel mill is often more powerful than the director of the Department of Energy.

Being in charge of so many people and things, his social status is no worse than that of the energy director.

Liu Haizhong quickly poured himself a glass of wine.

Then he stood up and raised his glass to say:
"Congratulations to Director Li on his upcoming promotion. I, Liu Haizhong, will definitely be even more closely united with Director Li in the future and help him solve his problems with all my heart. I will drink this cup first as a token of my respect."

(End of this chapter)