Sail across the sea

Chapter 508 What's there to be ashamed of?

Gao Fan stayed at Rui Zhang's house for two more days before setting off for Cangtang, which was his base of operations.

Back at the company headquarters located at the aging fertilizer plant, I had just sat down in my office when the company's general manager, Gu Kunquan, and executive vice president, Fu Yiming, came over together.

In the past few years, Canghai Chemical has recruited many recent college graduates and also recruited some cadres from government agencies and enterprises from several counties such as Cangtang, Yanxiu, and Wuyuan. The size of the management team and the technical team has expanded considerably.

The newly recruited college graduates are not yet capable of working independently. They are mainly assigned to various departments as deputies to develop their abilities and accumulate experience through their work.

The cadres recruited from various units were experienced, but few were truly outstanding, and most were older, limiting their potential for advancement. Gao Fan placed them in various positions, hoping they would serve as a transitional bridge between the past and the future.

For these people, the salary they receive at Canghai Chemical is several times higher than what they earned at their previous jobs, which is already very satisfying. The work at the company is busier, but the advantage is that there is no backstabbing or infighting, and performance is the sole measure of success, so it is relatively comfortable.

They also know that they have wasted their time in their original companies, and their vigor cannot compare with that of young people. It is unrealistic for them to become senior executives in the company, so cherishing their current positions is the wisest thing to do.

With this in mind, these people spare no effort in cultivating the younger generation, hoping that their apprentices will hold high positions in the future and take care of them, making their later years very exciting.

Fu Yiming is one of the few recruits who has been promoted to a senior management position in the company.

Gao Fan initially gave Fu Yiming the position of Human Resources Manager because of his Peking University background. As it turned out, Fu Yiming did not disappoint Gao Fan. Not only did he do his human resources work very well, but he also took the initiative to participate in other company work. He was the kind of person who was observant and consistently did a great job.

Gu Kunquan and Fu Yiming were about the same age and both had experience working in government agencies, so they quickly became close friends. Gao Fan was a hands-off manager, leaving the company's daily affairs to Gu Kunquan. When Gu Kunquan was too busy, he would ask Fu Yiming for help.

After a while, Gu Kunquan realized that Fu Yiming's problem-solving abilities were superior to his own, so he suggested to Gao Fan that Fu Yiming be promoted to the company's executive vice president, and said that he would step down after Fu Yiming became familiar with the business.

"Old Gu, Senior Brother Fu, please have a seat. Has anything major happened at the company lately?"

Upon seeing the two enter, Gao Fan quickly stood up to greet them, inviting them to sit on the sofa while personally making tea for them.

When Fu Yiming first joined the company, he came to Gao Fan's office to discuss work. He was somewhat apprehensive when Gao Fan made him tea. However, over the years, he became familiar with Gao Fan and learned about Gao Fan's style and character. He no longer engaged in empty formalities with Gao Fan and was able to accept Gao Fan's hospitality quite readily.

As for Gu Kunquan, he never treated Gao Fan as an outsider from the beginning. When Gao Fan personally made tea for him, he accepted it calmly. Conversely, if Gao Fan was busy with something and couldn't make tea for him, he would take a cup and make it himself, without blaming Gao Fan for being negligent.

Gao Fan placed the tea on the coffee table in front of the two men, then sat down beside them and began to listen to their reports.

The company is operating smoothly, and nothing unusual has happened.

In a large company with thousands of employees, there are bound to be daily conflicts and disputes, but these are things that Gao Fan doesn't need to be informed of; Gu Kunquan and the others handle them themselves. Gao Fan is good at technical work, but when it comes to dealing with those trivial, mundane matters, his ability is far inferior to that of Gu Kunquan and the others.

Regarding production and operations, Gao Fan maintains close telephone contact with relevant personnel in the company and is aware of all necessary information.

Gu Kunquan and Fu Yiming came to report, mainly as a formality, and secondly to exchange views on certain matters in order to understand Gao Fan's management intentions and implement them in future work. "You've worked hard. I've spent too little time in Cangtang and haven't done anything, I really feel ashamed."

After listening to their reports, Gao Fan said apologetically.

Fu Yiming waved his hand and said, "General Manager Gao is in Beijing, where he understands national policies and keeps abreast of cutting-edge technological developments, so he plays a greater role. We just do some routine management work, which is nothing to complain about."

Gu Kunquan laughed and said, "Isn't this what we agreed on long ago? You're in charge of pointing the way, and we're in charge of organizing the team to charge forward. Everyone has their own role, so what's there to be ashamed of?"

Gao Fan said, "That's true, but seeing how well you manage the company and how well you handle every detail, you can imagine how much effort you put in."

Gu Kunquan said, "The young people have already taken the lead, and they are doing a lot of the work. Lao Fu and I are just doing some principled management. Well, that's not quite right. I do less specific work, while Lao Fu is always on the front lines."

"If I have to say I feel ashamed, I really do. Lao Fu is a few years older than me, but he's more motivated than me. He even managed to win a prize in the company's sports meet."

Fu Yiming said, "I'm not trying to criticize you, but Lao Gu, you should really get some exercise. Don't just sit in the office all day. Tell me, how many pluses did you get during the last company physical exam?"

"How could I not exercise? I've been practicing Qigong."

"Is that qigong? That's pseudoscience, okay?"

"How is it pseudoscience? I've been practicing Qi perception for several years now, and I'll be able to retrieve objects from a distance very soon."

"Why are you practicing telekinesis? Are you going to steal wallets on the street?"

"This is science. You, a history major, what do you know about science..."

Realizing the building was tilting too far off course, Fu Yiming gave Gu Kunquan a disdainful look, then returned to the main topic and asked Gao Fan:
"Mr. Gao, have there been any new developments in Beijing recently?"

Gao Fan nodded and said, "Yes, I came back this time to talk to you about this matter."

Upon hearing Gao Fan's words, Gu Kunquan dropped his pretentious expression, sat up straight, and waited to hear what Gao Fan had to say.

"In the past few years, the country's policies were somewhat uncertain, and the market was in a wait-and-see state. It was not convenient for us to expand excessively, so our strategy at that time was to strengthen our internal capabilities."

"After the President's Southern Tour speech in the first half of this year, the country's policy orientation has become clear. I've heard some people say that at next year's National Congress, the country will formally propose the goal of building a market economy, which will be a very big step. This means that many obstacles that previously hindered development will be cleared away, and the country will usher in a new round of high-speed growth."

(End of this chapter)