Sail across the sea

Chapter 439 Various departments must give them the green light
Cangtang County Government.

County Magistrate Liu Tiancheng received Gao Fan, who had come to visit, in his office.

"Xiao Gao, don't be shy. Your dad and I are good friends. You can do whatever you want here with me."

After settling Gao Fan down on the sofa, Liu Tiancheng sat down opposite him and spoke in a friendly manner.

Where am I feeling restrained?
Gao Fan mentally cursed.

Old Liu was just putting on a show for himself. He always felt that as a dignified county magistrate, he would definitely be restrained in front of a child like Gao Fan, so he memorized his lines beforehand, wanting to show Gao Fan what it meant to have the demeanor of a great leader.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person. Gao Fan could chat and laugh in front of Zheng Linong and even dare to act cute and playful in front of Xu Ying. How could a mere county magistrate make Gao Fan feel restrained?

Thinking this to himself, Gao Fan quickly put on a somewhat restrained demeanor and said to Liu Tiancheng:

"Thank you, County Chief Liu. Actually, my father told me a long time ago that County Chief Liu is a very approachable leader and that I should ask him for help if I need anything. That's why I came to ask County Chief Liu for support as soon as our Canghua Company was separated from the fertilizer plant."

"Oh, have you encountered any difficulties? Tell me about them," Liu Tiancheng said.

Gao Fan said, "The main difficulty is that the company's foundation is too weak. County Chief Liu knows about our foundation. It is actually the labor service company of the original fertilizer plant. Therefore, the majority of employees are young people, and their education level is generally not high."

“In the past, with the fertilizer plant as a backer, many uncles and aunts in the plant could take care of our company, so there were not many problems with operation and management.”

“Now that the province has allowed us to separate and establish an independent company, it’s not appropriate to bother the uncles and aunts in the factory anymore. So, we want to establish our own management team as soon as possible, but the issue of management talent has become a bottleneck.”

“That’s true,” Liu Tiancheng nodded in agreement.

Canghai Chemical is a key enterprise in Cangtang County, enjoying unparalleled prominence, so Liu Tiancheng would naturally pay attention to its situation.

The biochemical company under Canghai Chemical has the foundation of two fertilizer plants, Yanxiu and Wuyuan, so there are no major problems in its operation and management.

However, the chemical cleaning company and the headquarters of Canghai Chemical were basically empty shells. Even if Liu Tiancheng hadn't cared about this in the past, now that Gao Fan brought it up, Liu Tiancheng could understand it immediately.

"So, Xiao Gao, what are your thoughts?" Liu Tiancheng asked.

Gao Fan said, "We plan to recruit a group of management talents to fill various positions, and we also need technical talents."

How do we recruit?

"We'll use various methods. The Chemical Industry Bureau system can help us find some people, and I also want to publish recruitment notices through the Maolin Daily, which I believe will attract some talented individuals. We'll also leverage our social connections to recruit talent; I've made quite a few acquaintances in various organizations across the country over the past few years."

“Not bad, not bad. Taking multiple approaches will definitely yield results. But what does this have to do with the county? Are you saying you hope the county will recommend some talented people to you?” Liu Tiancheng gave a perfunctory compliment, then he understood Gao Fan’s purpose.

“If the county can recommend some talented people, that would be the best. Cangtang’s location in the province is still too remote. It’s quite difficult to attract talent from other places, especially Ruizhang, to work in Cangtang,” Gao Fan said frankly.

"Where in the county can I recommend someone talented?" Liu Tiancheng frowned, his mind racing, trying to figure out where there were any untapped talents in the county.

Could it be that Gao Fan has some inside information, knowing that there are several oil paper packages under the county government's garage, containing a group of fresh and talented people?

"With so many commissions and bureaus in the county, as well as county-owned enterprises, if we squeeze in, can we find some capable cadres?" Gao Fan revealed his true intentions.

"You want to poach cadres from these county-level commissions and bureaus?" Liu Tiancheng asked in surprise, then shook his head. "That's a bit difficult. Xiao Gao, don't blame me for being blunt, but after the restructuring of Canghai Chemical, it is, after all, a private enterprise."

"Although the country is now strongly encouraging the development of private enterprises, the mindset of people in Cangtang is still relatively outdated. Most government officials would have reservations about giving up their secure jobs to work for your company."

“I heard that some units in the county have already implemented leave without pay. One of my classmates’ parents works in the Water Resources Bureau, and he took leave without pay and went to Shuainan. I heard he made a lot of money there.”

"This is possible, and it's permitted by the county. However, it mainly depends on the individual's choice. If the county were to appoint people to your company, it probably wouldn't be so easy. You have to understand that while taking a leave of absence without pay can retain your public office, you'll definitely have to give up your promotion opportunities. In government offices, if you're slow to act, you'll be slow to act at every step. Most people don't want to give up these opportunities."

“I didn’t say that the county should assign them. What I meant was, could the county allow cadres from its government offices to work at our company on a leave of absence without pay? All departments should give them the green light.”

"That's it..."

Liu Tiancheng scratched his head.

He understood Gao Fan's meaning. And it was precisely because he understood that he felt troubled.

Although leave without pay has become a legal practice, an employee within the system still needs their employer's approval to apply for it. If the employer doesn't approve, their position cannot be retained.

Who are the people who can get approval from their work unit? There are basically two types: one is those who are usually lazy and irresponsible, and whose work unit would love to kick them out as soon as possible. Incidentally, these people are actually quite successful outside the system, and in layman's terms, they "make a fortune through shady means".

The second type are those who, although capable, are not willing to be let go by their superiors, but have enough background or means to "settle" things with their superiors, such as finding a higher-ranking leader to intercede or being able to pay a price.

Under normal circumstances, capable cadres who want to apply for leave without pay often encounter various obstacles and ultimately fail to succeed.

Gao Fan wanted to recruit talent, and of course he was looking for capable people. Otherwise, why would he recruit a group of people to become Gao Yiping's older brothers?

Gao Fan hoped that the county would intervene and give instructions to various units, perhaps even through official documents, requiring them to give the green light to the talent going to Canghai Chemical. This would be poaching talent from various units, and consequently, poaching talent from Liu Tiancheng. How could he agree to that?
　Just to clarify, I rarely use the title "Secretary" because this keyword is easily censored. Readers shouldn't take it too seriously.

　　(End of this chapter)