Chapter 97

That afternoon, the Propaganda Department announced the details of the promotion.

A total of seven workers were promoted to cadres, including Liu Haizhong and Yan Jiecheng.

The workers were very envious of them for being able to have Li Jiandong as their teacher and as their neighbor. Moreover, Li Jiandong really got things done and would promote people when he said he would, without any ambiguity.

The key is that these two people are also very capable. Even though they know that Li Jiandong is definitely behind the scenes, no one can say anything.

"Lao Liu, congratulations. From today on, we are the relationship between leader and worker."

"Master, I knew you could do it."

"Master Liu, are you sure which workshop you're going to? No matter where you go, you must come back often to check on us."

The workers in the fitter workshop all congratulated Liu Haizhong, which greatly satisfied Liu Haizhong's vanity.

This is what it feels like to be an official. It's so wonderful.
Finally becoming the workshop director, Liu Haizhong had to show his appreciation. He went to the motorcade to find Yan Jiecheng, and the two of them discussed going back to set up a few tables and then inviting Li Jiandong to celebrate together.

Of course Yan Jiecheng agreed immediately, and then the two of them took leave to go back and prepare.

For such a big happy event, the two couldn't be too stingy. They each paid 20 yuan to prepare a big feast. They went to the market to buy meat and vegetables and then asked He Daqing to help them cook.

After school, Yan Bugui rode his bicycle back home and found that Liu Haizhong and Yan Jiecheng had returned earlier than him. He was surprised and asked:

"Jie Cheng, why did you come back earlier than me today? And why did you come to my place instead of going to your dormitory building? Do you want to eat for free?"

Since Yan Jiecheng moved to the dormitory building of the tavern, he went home less and less often for dinner.

Especially after meeting Yu Li, Yan Jiecheng often cooked in the dormitory to improve her and Yu Haitang's meals.

Yan Bugui also knew that his son was licking the little girl he hated all day long.

She had raised him up, but he had never cooked a few delicious dishes to honor her. As a result, he was completely bewitched by a little girl. How could Yan Bugui not be depressed?

Thinking that Yan Jiecheng might come back to eat for free, Yan Bugui became extremely angry.

You have delicious food and give it to others, and when they have finished eating it, you come to eat mine. How can you be a son like this?

When Yan Jiecheng realized he was misunderstood, he laughed and started to explain.

"Dad, what are you thinking? We only eat cornmeal porridge with pickles all day long. Even pigs wouldn't eat this. I can't get a free meal from you."

Yan Bugui glared at him and said, "You little bastard, even dogs know not to despise a poor family, but you, an ungrateful boy, are actually despising your own parents?"

As he said this, he raised his hand and prepared to teach this disappointing son a lesson.

Yan Jiecheng quickly covered his head and ran away, explaining with a smile: "Dad, that's not what I meant. In fact, I was planning to treat everyone in our hospital to a meal today. Uncle He is already busy over there, so I came back to call you to come over together."

Now, if there are two or three tables for a banquet in the compound, we can cook and eat directly in the compound. But if the whole compound is coming and there are more than ten tables, we have to go to the tavern dormitory building.

The yard over there is big and there is a special stove, which makes it convenient for cooking and eating.

Yan Bugui didn't expect that his son came back to invite him to a banquet.

But why have a feast for no reason?

Have money but nowhere to spend it?
"Did Lao Li give you a promotion?"

Yan Bugui thought for a long time and felt that only this happy event was worth setting up several tables.

Yan Jiecheng grinned and said, "Dad, you are indeed Yan Suanpan. Nothing can be hidden from you."

When Yan Bugui heard this name, he immediately felt a little unhappy, but it was okay for others to call him that.

As a son, do you ever call your father like this?

However, when he heard that Yan Jiecheng had indeed been promoted, he was pleasantly surprised and no longer cared about this disappearance.

"Well, your master is really great. He gave you a promotion as he said. From now on, we will have a cadre in our family."

Yan Bugui had tears in his eyes; he was truly happy.

Usually, he would be reluctant to set up a table, but today Yan Jiecheng wanted to treat the entire hospital to a meal and he expressed his support. This was indeed a big happy event and deserved a grand celebration.

Soon, people in the courtyard came back one after another.

All the people from Yard 40 gathered here, eating and drinking in a lively atmosphere.

The atmosphere at Li Jiandong's table was the most lively. He Daqing, the drunkard, refused to listen to advice to drink and spoke the loudest.

"Lao Xu, now that Lao Liu has been promoted, you are the only one left among us. When do you plan to be promoted?"

After three rounds of drinking, He Daqing started to make fun of Xu Fugui.

Xu Fugui was really a bit depressed. Originally, everyone was a worker and no one could laugh at anyone else, but before they knew it, the cadres in the hospital were promoted one after another.

Now, not only He Daqing and Liu Haizhong are cadres, but even the two younger generations, Jia Dongxu and Yan Jiecheng, have been promoted.

Not to mention Li Jiandong, the director of the Political Affairs Department, who is a section-level cadre.

"Who said I'm the only one left? Didn't Old Yan mention it?"

Xu Fugui said sourly.

But people who understand know that he is just trying to save face. Yan Bugui is not from the steel mill, and he is just trying to deceive people.

"Although I didn't get the promotion, my son did." Yan Bugui smiled proudly and made Xu Fugui lose his temper with just one sentence.

Today's dinner was not only because of Liu Haizhong's promotion, but also because of Yan Jiecheng. The two of them treated him to the meal together, and he couldn't eat someone else's food and squeeze them.

Seeing that Xu Fugui was feeling a little embarrassed, Li Jiandong came out to smooth things over.

"Old Yan, if you are talking about your son, Damao is no worse than Jiecheng. Even though Jiecheng is a cadre now, Damao is still just a student.

But Damao’s future achievements will probably be much higher than anyone else in our hospital.”

What Li Jiandong said was true. Xu Damao chose the agricultural route, and what the country lacks most now is food.

Compared with other people in the institute, if Xu Damao can make achievements in agriculture, he will not be a small cadre in the steel mill and can be compared with others.

Of course, the everyone Li Jiandong mentioned does not include himself.

There is also Liu Haizhong's son Liu Guangqi. If he can excel in the field of electricity, his achievements will not be worse than Xu Damao.

After hearing what Li Jiandong said, Xu Fugui finally stood up.

He said with great joy, "Did you hear me? Even though I am not as good as you now, my son will definitely be better than your son in the future. This is what Old Li said."

With just one sentence, "This is what Lao Li said," no one else could refute it.

So we changed the topic and continued eating and drinking.

The atmosphere in the yard was very harmonious, but there was another family in the courtyard who did not participate, and that was Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady.

Ever since the old lady framed Li Jiandong last time, although Li Jiandong did not retaliate against her, everyone in the hospital spontaneously distanced themselves from her and did not even say hello to her when they met. Even Yi Zhonghai was affected by the deaf old lady.

This time, Yan Jiecheng and Liu Haizhong celebrated their promotions and invited all the residents in the courtyard.

Only these two people never thought of inviting them.

Now, apart from still living in this courtyard, no one treats Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady as part of it.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai was drinking wine with mixed cucumbers at home.

When Yi Zhonghai heard the news that Yan Jiecheng and Liu Haizhong were promoted, he felt very uncomfortable. As a level 7 fitter, he was much more powerful than Liu Haizhong and others. In the hospital, only Li Jiandong, who was a level 8 fitter at that time, could surpass him.

But now.

Not only He Daqing and Liu Haizhong successively became canteen director and workshop director.

Even juniors like Jia Dongxu and Yan Jiecheng were promoted by Li Jiandong.

Looking at myself, I used to be a big shot in the hospital, but now I have ended up as a rag picker.

The more Yi Zhonghai thought about it, the more depressed he became. He didn't know where he had failed, so he could only drink more.

"Drink, drink, drink until you die. A bottle of wine is so expensive, why not exchange it for meat? Sooner or later, you will drink yourself to death."

The deaf old lady cursed viciously beside him, and she felt very aggrieved. If the frame-up was successful last time, Li Jiandong might have been arrested by now, and he would not be as powerful as he is now.

He even brought up his apprentices, who didn't even invite him when they had a meal together. He has no respect for the elderly at all. They should all be put in jail and not be able to eat good food. All the good food should be given to himself.

The deaf old lady became more and more angry as she thought about it. Suddenly, she swung her walking stick and smashed the wine bottle in front of Yi Zhonghai with a snap.

Wine and glass shards were scattered all over the floor, and some splashed on Yi Zhonghai's face and body.

Yi Zhonghai was already depressed, and after hearing what the deaf old lady said, he immediately got furious. He slammed the table and started fighting.

"Old deaf man, what on earth do you want to do?"

Yi Zhonghai has been pretending to be the Lord of Morality for so many years and has never scolded an old man, but today he finally couldn't help it.

"What did you call me? Yi Zhonghai, you are so rebellious. How dare you talk to me, your ancestor, like that?"

The deaf old lady spoke even louder, and she was not afraid of Yi Zhonghai at all.

"Bah, whose ancestor are you? You are so shameless. Do you really think you are someone else's ancestor?"

Yi Zhonghai spat fiercely. He was the first one to bring up the title of "ancestor" for the deaf old lady. At that time, it was to make everyone in the courtyard respect the elderly and to enhance the prestige of the deaf old lady in the courtyard so as to help him compete for the position of manager.

At the beginning, there were indeed some people who, out of respect for the elderly and love for the young, were particularly concerned about and accommodating to this old ancestor, but this old ancestor was too greedy and would do anything to please others when they showed them respect for her.

Now no one in the hospital takes her seriously, and instead they act like an ancestor in front of him. How can Yi Zhonghai indulge her?

"Yi Zhonghai, you know best who my ancestor is. I am where I am today thanks to you.

If it wasn't for helping you, would I have ended up like this?

At least when Li Jiandong and his friends organized a dinner, there must be a seat for me. Now that they didn’t invite me because of your situation, you have to accompany me to a table of delicious food.”

Faced with the deaf old lady's unreasonable demands, Yi Zhonghai had no idea what to do.

The deaf old lady thought this method was effective, so she was unreasonable every time.

Yi Zhonghai will compromise in the end anyway, so why bother talking to him nicely? It would be more satisfying to just scold him.

Yi Zhonghai had long been fed up with the old lady. He had even thought about selling the house and moving out several times, but he was very unwilling to do so.

There is no real estate trading now. If you want to sell a property, you can only sell it to the street, and once it is sold, it is completely impossible to buy it again.

Because now there is only renting, no buying or selling of houses, and even dormitory buildings have to be built in the name of a collective, which shows the extent of the state's control over housing.

Otherwise, based on Yi Zhonghai's grudge against Li Jiandong, it would be impossible for him to stay in the Siheyuan for such a long time.

Isn't all he wants a house of his own?

Especially the last time when the deaf old lady was almost voted out by Li Jiandong and everyone in the hospital, it made Yi Zhonghai realize the importance of having a house deed.

Otherwise, if one day someone dislikes him and drives him out of the compound, he will have no choice but to sleep on the street.

Because it is easy to leave this courtyard, but it is difficult to find the next one, as there are simply no extra houses on the street.

He doesn't have a job now so he can live in a dormitory. Hotels are expensive and require a letter of introduction. Where do you think he can live?
But he felt really cramped living in this house because the deaf old lady had taken over his home. Every time he came back it felt like being tortured, and he really couldn't stand it anymore.

"Should I sell the house and move out, or should I give in to Li Jiandong?"

Yi Zhonghai was caught in a dilemma. Now he wanted to get rid of the deaf old lady, and he only had these two options.

But Yi Zhonghai absolutely did not want to consider these two paths. But now the deaf old lady was going too far and Yi Zhonghai had to make a choice.

the next day.

In the morning, the workers all went to work, and Yi Zhonghai also left with his torn sack.

The choice between the two last night was too difficult, and he still hasn't made a decision.

Li Jiandong left home a little later than Yi Zhonghai.

After arriving at the steel mill, Secretary Cui found him.

"Director Li, there is a meeting in the Ministry of Industry today. The directors of the political and economic departments of various units will attend. The time is 2 pm. Here is the detailed meeting notice."

Secretary Cui handed Li Jiandong a meeting notice, which stated the time and place, as well as notes for the meeting organizers and participants.

Li Jiandong took a look. This was his first time attending a meeting organized by the Ministry of Industry, and the initiator was Ye Da, the leader of the Ministry of Industry, who was also Ye Xiaoning's father.

I didn't expect that my first meeting with Ye Xiaoning's father would be in this way. I wonder if he will come to thank me, or will target me because of Li Huaide?
Putting the meeting notice in his pocket, Li Jiandong said, "Okay, I got it."

"Then I'll go first."

Secretary Cui nodded and turned to leave.
in the afternoon.

Li Jiandong arrived at the Ministry of Industry early, but he didn't expect that there were people who came earlier than him. Seven or eight directors of the political and economic departments of various units gathered together and chatted about this and that.

Li Jiandong looked a little out of place standing among them.

The main reason was that Li Jiandong was too young, so other people didn't think of him as the director of the Political Affairs Office, but as a clerk of the Ministry of Industry who was responsible for entertaining them.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the door of the office building was pushed open.

A clerk in his 30s came out of the building and said, "Leaders, let's go to the conference room and wait."

At this time, there were nearly 20 people waiting, and when they heard the call, they all walked towards the meeting room.

Li Jiandong also followed the crowd in. When he passed the door, the clerk suddenly reached out to stop him.

"Hey, hello comrade, what are you doing here?"

Others also noticed Li Jiandong at this time and thought he had come to the wrong place.

Although there is no shortage of young people who become high-ranking officials in this era, those people are rare after all and cannot be found everywhere. What's more, the Ministry of Industry often convenes political affairs department meetings, sometimes once every two or three months. People here know each other, and Li Jiandong is the only newcomer.

It was for these two reasons that the clerk stopped Li Jiandong to ask questions. After all, the Political Affairs Office meeting was considered a high-level meeting and no one could be allowed in casually.

"Oh, hello, I'm the newly appointed director of the Political Affairs Department of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. My name is Li Jiandong."

When they heard that it was Li Jiandong, several political directors of other factories immediately showed understandable expressions.

"So it's him. He's the Li Jiandong?"

"I heard that he was the one who decided on Leader Ye's son-in-law. At the beginning, the director of the Political Affairs Department of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill was originally named Li Huaide."

"Maybe you remembered the name wrong. Leader Ye's son-in-law is called Li Jiandong, right?"

"Do you think I'm old and confused, that I can even remember a person's name wrong? This Li Jiandong was promoted by Yang Jianye from the steel mill. It is said that he has very strong professional ability and is not only an eighth-level fitter.

Moreover, he developed the independent steel rolling mill equipment together with the engineers of Nangang. If it were not for this contribution, how could he have won over Leader Ye's son-in-law?"

"So it's him you're talking about. I know him. He was the one who built the hydroelectric power station that Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict and Red Star Steel Mill jointly built. He also invented something called a solar generator, which was even reported in the newspapers."

"This young man is quite impressive."

"I thought he was a second-generation, but he turned out to be a real talent. Unfortunately, Leader Ye is presiding over the meeting today. I'm afraid this young man will be in trouble."

Not only women like gossip, the directors of the political offices in front of them also have their own curiosities.

The only difference is that what they talked about was not family matters, but the interpersonal relationships among senior leaders.

The clerk in charge of reception also reacted at this time. It turned out that the director of the political department of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill had just been replaced.

I just didn't expect that Li Jiandong is so young. He is probably about the same age as me. I am just a clerk now, but he is already a leader at the section level. It's really frustrating to compare myself with him.

"I'm sorry, boss. This is your first time here. I didn't recognize you at first."

The clerk apologized repeatedly.

Li Jiandong smiled and replied, "It doesn't matter. The first time is new, the second time is familiar. I'll go in first."

"Okay, please."

The clerk stepped aside, Li Jiandong nodded to him, and then walked into the office building.

The meeting room was on the east side of the third floor. When passing the second floor, the door of a room next to it suddenly opened. A gray-haired but energetic man stood at the door and said to Li Jiandong, "Are you Li Jiandong?"

(End of this chapter)