Chapter 139

Chunyan has already mentioned that once he has enough work experience and qualifications, it won't be a problem for him to become a section chief in the future.

If the steel rolling mill doesn't work, he will go to the Propaganda Department of the Friendship Food Factory, but it's more troublesome because it's not in the same unit system.

"It's you. I remember now."

Li Xinmin's face was still burning. The fat man had such a strong grip.

Xu Damao suddenly discovered finger marks on the factory director's face. Could it be that he was slapped in the face by someone?

"Director, what are you doing?"

"Xu Damao, come to my office."

Li Xinmin's face was uncertain. He had hit a wall today. It was also his fault that he had just arrived and didn't understand the situation in the factory.

If he had known that Li Zhiguo was so difficult to deal with, he would have said he would have brought a few more people to block him.

The man in front of me is in charge of projecting movies in the Propaganda Department, so he must be well aware of the situation in the factory.

Xu Damao followed him to the office and half-sat down on the sofa, a little confused about the situation.

"Xu Damao, do you know Li Zhiguo?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao swallowed his saliva. This was bad. Could this matter be related to that villain? Then there was nothing he could do.

"Director, why are you asking him? He, he's not easy to talk to."

Xu Damao didn't know whether to say something good or bad.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking about the situation."

Li Xinmin took out a mirror and looked at himself. Fortunately, his face was not too swollen, there were just fingerprints left. It shouldn't be a big problem!
"Well, Li Zhiguo, he is a man without moral principles." Xu Damao tried to test him.

"Go on." Li Xinmin sat behind his desk, knowing both yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

"Li Zhiguo and I live in the same courtyard, diagonally across from each other. Director, I'm telling you, it's best not to provoke him."

Xu Damao was in a panic. He had the confidence to deal with everyone in the factory and the hospital, but he didn't dare to take action against Li Zhiguo because the cost of failure was too high.

Apart from anything else, he had to consider his sister and mother! And his wife Chunyan.

"What's his background?" Li Xinmin said with resentment. Could it be that he was just going to let it go after being beaten?
"He doesn't have much of a background. He comes from a working-class family. But, Deputy Director Li, if you want to deal with him, just pretend I've never been here."

Looking around the yard, he saw Jia Dongxu riding a tricycle, and he was worried that one day he would follow in his footsteps.

"Xu Damao, you are so afraid of him, aren't you afraid of me?"

Li Xinmin was unhappy. Let's not talk about whether he could deal with him. Couldn't he just talk about it in private? Was Li Zhiguo really that capable?
"Deputy Director Li, my wife's second uncle is Deputy Director Tang of the Friendship Food Factory. My second uncle has no children, and my father-in-law only has one daughter, my wife."

Xu Damao straightened his back and said, "What? You still want to cause trouble for me? Do you think you are Li Zhiguo?"

"Oh, you are Tang Jingye's nephew-in-law. I have met Deputy Director Tang before. We had a chat at the meeting last month."

Li Xinmin was dumbfounded. There must be some hidden talents in this factory. He hadn’t even figured out Li Zhiguo yet, and now here comes another one with a background.

He is in charge of logistics, and Tang Jingye is from the Second Commercial Bureau. That unit is in charge of food. If they really offend them, it will block the purchase of food for the steel mill canteen and cause a big trouble.

"Director, it's good that you know my second uncle. If there's nothing else, I'll get busy."

Xu Damao didn't dare to confront him because he was just a projectionist and the other person was the deputy director.

"Wait, Damao, if you don't want to talk about Li Zhiguo, that's fine. But the fat guy who was with him can definitely talk about it, right?"

"Fatty? Director, you're not talking about Liu Haizhong, are you?"

Xu Damao was stunned. Why was there still the matter of Second Uncle? He couldn't afford to offend him. In the courtyard, he had to rely on Second Uncle's support. In case he and Sha Zhu fought one day, he could still protect him.

"His name is Liu Haizhong? What's his background?"

Li Xinmin remembered this name. He could finally take action against this person. He couldn't just sit there and do nothing after being beaten.

“I don’t have much of a background, and I come from a working-class family.

Director, you were not hit by Liu Haizhong, were you? "

Xu Damao reacted and realized that it must be Li Zhiguo who tricked the second uncle into beating Li Xinmin. This is something that anyone can do.

"Da Mao, I can't be considered as being hit. I was just careless and didn't dodge, so I got hit by that guy in the bangs."

Li Xinmin wanted to hide, but Li Zhiguo was holding him by the collar and he couldn't move.

"Director, Liu Haizhong is from the same courtyard as me, and lives next door to me. He is the opposite of Li Zhiguo. I will not get involved in this matter."

Xu Damao didn't want to cause trouble. If he touched Liu Haizhong, he would have trouble getting along in the hospital. Besides, Li Zhiguo would be involved.

"He is also from your compound. What kind of compound is yours? How come there are so many people like him?"

Li Xinmin's face twitched and he grimaced in pain. He tasted something salty and discovered that his teeth were bleeding.

"Director, take a rest. I'm leaving now."

Xu Damao stood up and left the office in a flash. He really didn't want to get involved in this matter, but he could inform Li Zhiguo and let people know that Deputy Director Li was going to deal with him. Maybe the two sides would start fighting. This would be good.

"Li Zhiguo, did you get the money?"

"Deputy Director Li didn't make things difficult for you, did he? He was transferred from another factory, how could he control you?"

When the workers saw Li Zhiguo coming out of the building, they asked him one after another. If everyone in the factory didn't know Li Zhiguo, then they would have been working in vain.

Sister Hua said casually, "Li Zhiguo's salary was collected by Qin Huairu. She has received the money. Deputy Director Li did not say anything and has already left."

She didn't mention the beating because she was afraid it would have a bad impact if it got out.

Li Zhiguo nodded, "No one can owe me a penny of salary, not even the deputy director."

Without much boasting, he pushed his bicycle and went back to the workshop with his wife.

After walking for a while, a worker who had received his salary came out from the other side of the corridor and was immediately surrounded by people.

"Tang Rude, what happened just now? So many of you went up there, but Deputy Director Li didn't say anything?"

"Has Li Zhiguo left?" Tang Rude looked around. Since the person was here, he couldn't say anything.

"He has already left with his wife. Tell me, what's going on?"

These workers don't believe that it is so easy to get their wages. Besides, Li Zhiguo is not an honest man and has no moral principles. He has brought people up there, so why not give it a hard fight?
"What else could it be? The deputy director was beaten up by Li Zhiguo and his men. Guess what? He didn't dare to say a word and just walked away.

Accountant Kang and Cashier Liu didn't even dare to say anything, and they just paid the wages without hesitation."

Tang Rude boasted that he was also in the team, but he didn't do anything so that others would not hold a grudge against him.

"Are you really going to fight him? He's the deputy factory director. Isn't Li Zhiguo afraid of getting in trouble?"

"You are stupid. Li Zhiguo doesn't work, but he has a job. Even the factory director can't do anything to him. Even if he changes his job, his salary won't decrease."

"Tang Rude, can you tell me in detail how Li Zhiguo beat people?"

Tang Rude smiled and said, "Just like that, I grabbed my collar and slapped him hard. My face was swollen."

"Ah! So fierce? He got slapped in the face."

"Hiss, it seems that the new deputy director is not good enough. I thought I was so capable before, but after all this trouble, he is still a coward."

"Li Zhiguo is really good. He just goes up and slaps people in the face."

Liu Haizhong happened to come out of the corridor and was stunned when he heard this. It was clearly him who beat up the person, so how did it become Li Zhiguo?

"No, you can't spread rumors. I was the one who beat Deputy Director Li. He didn't even dare to resist."

Liu Haizhong must clear his name and let the workers know how capable he is. Maybe this will help him become a leader.

"Oh!"

"understood."

The workers reacted indifferently, just you?

He is just fat. He always pretends to be a grandson when he sees his boss. How dare he hit the deputy director? Stop stealing Li Zhiguo's reputation.

……

Li Zhiguo didn't care about the deputy factory director at this time. He returned to the workshop and gathered people to start working. Not only welders, but other types of workers were also used.

It just so happened that today was the day the salaries were paid and there wasn't much work in the factory, so it was convenient for him to recruit more people.

More than twenty people gathered to work on creating a new invention. The old rules still apply: he wants to see the finished product today because he won't come to work tomorrow.

"Li Zhiguo, do you think I can help you?"

Jia Zhang came over. She was already a skilled screw worker and would be able to get a permanent job if she continued working.

"Okay, I'll call you when I need to drill screw holes."

What he cares about here is making the best use of people. Everyone has value, and at the very least, you can at least give them a shoulder massage.

"Everyone, work harder. If we succeed this time, I will go to Director Yang to commend everyone. Everyone who participates will receive a bonus." After Li Zhiguo encouraged everyone, he slipped out to smoke a cigarette. He needed to recharge himself as he was ill and had to work.

"Li Zhiguo, are you working on a new invention?"

Director Yang arrived and started shouting while still in the car.

"Uh, I'm busy with new inventions today. Director, have you just come back from outside?"

He said that there was so much commotion in the factory but this person didn't come out.

"I went upstairs for a meeting."

Director Yang got out of the car, followed by his secretary. As for the driver, he drove back to the fleet.

"Li Zhiguo, you've been talking about your big plan since the year before last, but there's been no progress until now."

"Ahem, it took a little while, but good things come to those who wait. I've figured it out. I'll take you to see it after I finish smoking."

He thought to himself, I've only been waiting for more than a year, which is not that long. Haven't you heard that it takes ten years to sharpen a sword?

"Don't worry, just take your time." Director Yang and his secretary were waiting by the side.

A worker passing by was dumbfounded when he saw the scene. He thought, no wonder Li Zhiguo was so arrogant. He had the support of Director Yang. Look at his attitude. Those who didn't understand thought Li Zhiguo was the director.

"Okay, go in."

Li Zhiguo put the cigarettes in an iron box, and this became a temporary smoking area.

After a while, when Director Yang saw the frame of the large piece, he couldn't help but gesture with his hands and said in surprise: "Li Zhiguo, is this the large piece you mentioned? How much bigger can it be than a winter melon?"

"Director Yang, this is an excavator. You've heard of it, right?"

That's right, what Li Zhiguo wants to make is an excavator. He has the title of Geng the Craftsman. Once inspiration comes, countless things always pop up in his mind. Most of them cannot be made at present, and a few of them are really useless.

After eliminating these, he originally wanted to make a treadmill because there were too many people abroad who had nothing to do and needed to run.

But this thing is too easy to copy, and not many people abroad can afford to run it at home, so let's put it aside for now.

Then they wanted to make a stunning mechanical exoskeleton, just an empty shell to fool people, but this thing was too sci-fi and might not be sold. It was also too troublesome to process and lacked core technology.

Finally, I had an idea and targeted the excavator, which is highly maneuverable and has high practical value.

"Excavator? I've heard of it. Last year, the Fushun Excavator Factory produced my country's first excavator, and it was even reported in the newspapers.

But that excavator is not small. It is as big as a truck and even longer than the truck.

Your excavator is only slightly bigger than a winter melon, it’s only suitable for children to play with.”

Director Yang was stunned. Is this a winter melon excavator?

"Director, you are right. This is a toy for preschoolers. I estimate the price to be 28 dollars. I mean US dollars.

According to the current exchange rate, the selling price is 68.88 yuan. As for the cost, if we become skilled in making it and mass-produce it, we should be able to reduce the price to less than 10 yuan per car."

The excavators he designed come in two sizes, large and small. The small toy model can be produced quickly to earn foreign exchange, but the large model is not so easy to complete and requires a lot of manpower and resources. It should be possible to complete it before next year's National Day ceremony.

“Can an excavator toy be so expensive?”

Director Yang was dumbfounded. Are you really not lying?

Li Zhiguo nodded, "I'm just talking about the regular version, there's also a hardcover version, it's normal for the price to double.

You will understand when you get the finished product after get off work, people abroad are different from us, they are willing to spend money on their children."

"Okay, okay, I'll go make a phone call and wait here when I come back."

Director Yang immediately ran to call the Ministry of Metallurgy.

"Director Bi, it's me, Old Yang. Yes, it's about Li Zhiguo. He's finally inventing something again.

This time it’s an excavator. Don’t get excited. Well, he made a toy version of the excavator, not much bigger than a winter melon.

He said it was designed for preschool children abroad and is expected to sell for $28 per unit, with the hardcover version costing double that.

The finished product hasn't come out yet, but he said it with great confidence, so I will wait for it to come out.

What? You're coming over soon. OK, I'll ask the canteen to prepare... Hey, Director Bi, you're hanging up now!"

Director Yang put down the phone and thought that Director Bi must have been waiting for a long time and was even more excited than him.

"Tuk-tuk!"

"Come in, the door is open."

As the door opened, Li Xinmin walked in. Half of his face was swollen, looking extremely uncoordinated.

"It's Deputy Director Li. Were you beaten by your wife?"

Director Yang joked that everyone knew that this man's wife was a tigress.

"Director Yang, I was beaten by the workers. The workers in our steel mill are very restless!"

Li Xinmin was still angry. The news of him being beaten had spread, and everyone in the factory knew about it. How could he carry out his work in the future?

"Being beaten by the workers? Who beat him?"

Director Yang was surprised. There were a few troublemakers among the workers in the factory, but they were not so aggressive because the most aggressive one was not at work.

"It was Li Zhiguo. He brought people to beat me up. What do you think we should do about this?"

Li Xinmin passed the blame on to others and beat his leader for no reason. Although he couldn't fire the person, he had to be punished at least.

"Who, you mean Li Zhiguo?"

Director Yang was stunned and frowned and said, "He only comes to the factory one day a month, and sometimes he is not seen for two or three months. He just came today and beat you for no reason?"

Li Xinmin explained: "Director Yang, I was recently checking the workers' salaries and found that Li Zhiguo was absent from work for a long time because he was on sick leave.

When I paid my salary today, I temporarily deducted his allowance and asked his wife to notify him to inquire about the matter.

Who knew he would bring dozens of workers over and beat me up.

I didn't have time to ask anything, but he had already taken his salary. What do you think, should he be punished?"

"You deserve it, you deserve it!"

Director Yang was furious. "Deputy Director Li, who gave you the right to investigate Li Zhiguo's allowance? That was a direct order from the Ministry of Metallurgy.

The Ministry of Agriculture gives him a monthly allowance, why don't you go to the Ministry of Agriculture to ask whether he should be given the allowance?"

Li Xinmin's face was uncertain, and he said, "Director Yang, he is on sick leave. I looked at the records and it started in December 1952, and it has been 1955 now.

I see he is full of energy and vitality. Does he look like a sick person? I suspect he is faking illness!"

"enough!"

Director Yang slammed the table and said, "He is just pretending to be sick, can you still fire him?

At worst, he can quit and go to the Ministry of Agriculture for a higher salary. The positions there pay him 42.5 yuan.

Li Zhiguo has a medical record issued by a doctor. What you said about faking illness is pure groundless speculation. Just because of this, you will deduct his salary?
Well, I am too lazy to say more to you. Director Bi will come to the factory later. You can ask why Li Zhiguo is given an allowance. "

Director Yang left with an angry look on his face. Li Xinmin relied on his father-in-law's background and wanted to seize power as soon as he arrived at the steel mill. This time he has hit a wall.

As long as the toy excavator made by Li Zhiguo this time can generate foreign exchange, you, Li Xinmin, can just wait for bad luck.

……

"Li Zhiguo, come out for a moment!"

"Da Mao, what's going on? It's not time for dinner yet."

Li Zhiguo followed him out of the workshop. This was the bad thing about getting up early. He waited and waited, but it was not yet noon. He was not hungry, but he felt hungry.

"Something serious has happened."

Xu Damao lowered his voice and said, "I met Deputy Director Li in the office building. He knew that you and I were from the same factory, so he insisted on asking me about you and even asked the second uncle.

We are brothers, of course I can't say anything bad about you. I didn't give him face and just left.

But looking at his look, he seems to be up to no good and wants to deal with you.

So, did you really beat him up?"

"Da Mao, do you really care about me so much? Have you ever thought of taking advantage of the opportunity to make trouble for me?"

Li Zhiguo was a little bit unconvinced. Xu Damao was a villain. When the opportunity came right in front of him, he would rush to join forces with Li Xinmin to make trouble for others.

"How can that be possible? We are brothers! I would rather offend Deputy Director Li than betray my brother. But you really have to be careful. Deputy Director Li is a villain."

Xu Damao took the opportunity to put on a show. Although he didn't dare to deal with Li Zhiguo, he hoped that his brother could fight with Li Xinmin. Maybe both would suffer losses, and he would win in disguise.

(End of this chapter)