That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1277 It's a pity I ran into him.

After Li Ye, Xiao Zhu, and the others left the airport, Wen Leyu got into the Audi 100 that had picked her up. She greeted Li Ye through the window and then drove off in a flash.

The two were just passing by on a trip, so they needed to take care of their business first before "stopping by".

Seeing that Wen Leyu had left, Xiao Zhu urged the driver Qu Qingyou to drive: "Hurry up, hurry up! Lao Niu didn't bring a car. If we leave late, he might have to hitch a ride with us!"

Li Ye asked in surprise, "How did you know that Lao Niu didn't bring a cart?"

Xiao Zhu pursed her lips and said, "Of course not. They've always considered themselves public servants, so how could they possibly spend a single penny of public funds?"
He was just lecturing us, saying we should have driven from Beijing to Shanghai with you, that four people in one car would have been the cheapest option. He even bragged to us that he could have taken a soft sleeper, but he took a hard sleeper to save money.”

Li Ye will never be able to understand Niu Hongzhang's "frugality".

In the 1990s, when fuel cost was ten yuan per hundred kilometers, it would only cost one or two hundred yuan for four people to drive from Beijing. This was indeed cheaper than taking a bus, not to mention that Li Ye also took a plane.
But if you could have taken a soft sleeper, why would you choose to save a few dollars by taking a hard sleeper instead? How useful is that to a company?

Perhaps it's only of great use when proclaiming that one is "selfless in serving the public good"?
However, after confirming that Niu Hongzhang hadn't brought a car, Li Ye didn't urge Qu Qingyou to drive away.

"Let's not rush off, let's wait a bit."

"What? Factory manager, you're not really going to put aside past grievances and let him ride in our car, are you? Let me tell you, Lao Niu just wants to transfer a car from our sales and after-sales department. Nobody cares about him. You don't need to give him face."

Li Ye sneered, "Give him face? I'm giving him face!"

A short while later, Niu Hongzhang, Su Gang, and Su Gang's companions walked out of the terminal.

When Su Gang saw Niu Hongzhang leading him toward a taxi, he couldn't help but ask, "Old Niu, you've reached this level, can you stop being so pretentious? What's wrong with having the company send a car?"

Niu Hongzhang said calmly, "Su Gang, the difference between you and me is that we don't forget our roots. Every penny we spend is the blood and sweat of the company's employees."

"Alright, alright, I'm not going to argue with you anymore. Your factory is doing so well, and you're still so stingy. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

"Hmph, only those selfish parasites would laugh at me."

Niu Hongzhang approached a taxi with a cold smile, but before he could even get in, he saw a Santana in front of him open its door and Li Ye stride over.

Niu Hongzhang was somewhat stunned.

Is he offering me a ride? Has the sun risen in the west?

As it turns out, unless the world ends, the sun will always rise in the east.

Li Ye walked up to him and asked abruptly, "Comrade Niu Hongzhang, do you want to take a taxi? And who will pay for the taxi fare, you or him?"

Niu Hongzhang looked at Su Gang in the direction Li Ye was pointing, then said coldly, "Is it any of your business?"

Wen Leyu had just said that, and Niu Hongzhang thought he was quite clever.

But the next moment Li Ye said, "If you're paying for the taxi fare, then you absolutely mustn't let anyone else ride with you, otherwise you'll be using the authority the government gave you to do favors for others."

"."

Niu Hongzhang's face turned red instantly, flushed from the resentment simmering in his chest.

He had just scolded Li Ye for using his power to buy Wen Leyu plane tickets for a trip, and now, less than ten minutes later, the boomerang had come back to haunt him.

Don't talk about whether it's on your way or not. The benefits the government gives you are only for you. If you share them with others, I'll make you look bad.

Only now did Niu Hongzhang understand what Li Ye had said earlier.

If you're always focusing on others, others will start focusing on you.

When Niu Hongzhang is always nitpicking and finding fault with others, he feels that he is in the right. However, when others nitpick at him, he feels uncomfortable.

Su Gang quickly stepped forward and said to Li Ye with a smile, "Hehehe, I'm the one who wanted to take the taxi, so of course I'll pay for it. Otherwise, if Secretary Niu wants to take the bus, it'll be a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding between us."

Li Ye couldn't adapt.

He had a conflict with Su Gang on the plane before, and Su Gang probably still has redness and swelling on his shoulder left by Li Ye. In addition, he was with Niu Hongzhang, so how could he possibly be smiling at him?

Li Ye turned and left, completely bewildered. He'd already driven Niu Hongzhang to the brink of a breakdown, so he'd achieved his goal. But then Niu Hongzhang suddenly realized what was happening and shouted at Li Ye's retreating figure, "I'll pay for this myself! I'll pay with my own money!"

"."

Li Ye got into his car, drove through the rain, and left the terminal.

Little Zhu, ever the gossip, asked, "What did Old Niu say to you? Why are you frowning?"

Li Ye shook his head and said, "Old Niu is fine, but his friend is acting strangely. We had a bit of a conflict on the plane. Why did he smile at me? And say it was a misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstand?"

Xiao Zhu paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Factory manager, in the two days since we arrived, several groups of people have come to me and said some strange things."

"Strange things? What things?"

Xiao Zhu curled the corners of her lips into a smirk and said with a grin, "They said they wanted to invite me to work at their company, and they even said they'd give me a promotion."

"I'll promote you my ass!"

Li Ye grabbed Xiao Zhu by the collar: "If you dare to transfer and become a traitor, I'll strangle you!"

Xiao Zhu used to be a technician at the main factory. Later, when the branch factory was being built, he volunteered to come with Li Ye to "pioneering" the area.

Although the technical department later had a group of technical experts such as Wu Yan and Lao Jie, which made Xiao Zhu, a vocational school graduate, seem less outstanding, Li Ye still firmly appointed him as the deputy section chief.

Because Wu Yan has a bad temper and Lao Jie is a taciturn person, someone has to act as the head housekeeper to solve all sorts of messy things.

So Li Ye has been quite good to Xiao Zhu. Among so many college students in the technical department, Li Ye still cares about Xiao Zhu, this old man. If he dares to be ungrateful and jump ship now, Li Ye will really feel like he was blind.

"Brother, I was wrong, I was wrong, I was just talking nonsense."

Xiao Zhu begged for forgiveness repeatedly, then said, "Those people came to me to try and get information out of me. Although they didn't say it explicitly, they kept asking about the situation at the Zhucheng branch factory. I guess they saw that the Zhucheng vehicle factory was doing well, so they all wanted to come and take advantage of it."

"Ok?"

Li Ye released Xiao Zhu's collar and said softly, "You heard the news so quickly?"

When Li Ye visited Wen Qingsheng on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he was asked, "How many people can your factory absorb through mergers?" Now, three or four months have passed, and the necessary procedures are almost complete.

Xiao Zhu, quick-witted as ever, asked, "Brother, what's the rumor? Are we going to add another branch factory?"

Li Ye smiled faintly and said, "Not necessarily! How would I know?"

Xiao Zhu said excitedly, "Not necessarily, then it's possible? Brother, if we merge with another factory this time, will we get promoted again?"

Li Ye laughed and scolded, "You wish! All you ever talk about is promotion, promotion, promotion. It's not that easy to get promoted."

Xiao Zhu said with a grin, "You can only live a beautiful life if you dream big! We rise with the tide of our company. Only when the company level goes up can I get promoted!"

"As the tide rises, so does every boat; that saying is certainly true."

When the first branch factory was first established, no one could have imagined that those few dilapidated factory buildings could develop to where they are today.

But Li Ye knew that as long as he seized the opportunity in this era, he could ride the wave of the mainland's rapid development and expand into a world-class enterprise.

Otherwise, look at Huawei now, how many people does it have?
"Brother, but if we upgrade again, a lot of people at the main factory might get upset."

Xiao Zhu suddenly said, "In the two years since Lao Niu came, he hasn't done anything else but has kept everyone's ranks firmly in check. For two whole years, our branch factory has expanded its cadre ranks considerably, but the head office hasn't added a single one. In fact, some positions have even become vacant due to retirements, but Lao Niu just keeps them all down."

"To be honest, Lao Niu is capable, but our unit is currently a reform pilot unit, and the economy comes first, so he can't touch us. If we were in a government agency, we might really be forced out by him."

After pondering for a long time, Li Ye couldn't help but chuckle and said, "That's right, Old Niu is capable, it's just a pity he met me."

In a private company, Li Ye could solve most problems with money, but in a government agency, he might not even survive three episodes.

(End of this chapter)