The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 272 Secretary Li's Incident

"What are all these documents? Why are there so many?"

After Zhou Zhiqiang sat down in his office chair, he began to look through them one by one.

Reports on the construction of supporting branch factories, applications for funding, production arrangements, and scheduling arrangements.
Zhang Yaoguo said from the side, "Most of them are from the branch factories. Recently, Deputy Factory Director Liu has been paying more attention to the production arrangements at the branch factories. Their two factories were just built, and it seems they've encountered quite a few problems."

"I can see that. Their production plan doesn't even have a quantitative target. I think their factory director and party secretary have problems."

After reviewing several documents, Zhou Zhiqiang found no problems and quickly signed them, placing them on another stack of documents.

"Tell Deputy Factory Director Liu to notify the cadres of the supporting branch factories to come to the main factory for a meeting, where they can finalize the boundaries of production tasks."

"It's already so chaotic right after we moved in. Who picked these officials? They seem like complete novices."

Just by looking at two different production planning reports, Zhou Zhiqiang could tell that these two supporting factories were failing.

The Party Secretary and the Factory Director each sent a production plan to their head office. Although there were some differences in the details, the plans were indeed sent to the head office in their own names.

Those who don't know the situation might think this is a show of force from the supporting branch factory to their main factory.

But Zhou Zhiqiang could tell at a glance that this was a conflict between the factory director and the party secretary; the factory director relied on the rules and regulations to arrange production in the factory, while the party secretary relied on his power to forcibly interfere in production.

Zhang Yaoguo reminded him from the side, "It seems that the Party Secretary and a deputy factory director were sent from Henan Province, while the factory director was sent from the Ministry."

Zhou Zhiqiang shook his head and said, "It's rare for a factory director and secretary to be at odds, but our factory has encountered two at once. No, before I came to the Second Machine Tool Factory, the factory director at that time seemed to be at odds with Secretary Li."

Zhang Yaoguo thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Yes, the old factory director back then wanted to manage everything, but I don't know the specifics. I had only been working at the factory for a short time at that time."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "I don't think it's Secretary Li's fault. He's so old, what's the point of him fighting for power? Even if I gave him the piston, he wouldn't really want to manage it."

Zhang Yaoguo smiled and continued, "By the way, factory director, Hongqi Village sent a batch of bamboo mats and baskets a while ago. The logistics department has already put them in the warehouse. I'll put a couple in your car later so you can take them back and use them."

"Okay, two beds will do. The rest can be distributed to the workers in each workshop by logistics, according to their working hours."

Just as Zhou Zhiqiang was talking to Zhang Yaoguo about things at the factory, his office door was suddenly knocked on a few times and then pushed open.

The person who pushed open the door was Secretary Li's assistant. Li Younian is now a senior cadre and has been assigned a car and a full-time assistant at the factory.

When Zhou Zhiqiang saw that the person who came was Lu Xiaojian, he asked, "Little Lu, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

"Director Zhou, something terrible has happened! Secretary Li has fainted in his office."

"Ok?"

Zhou Zhiqiang was taken aback upon hearing this, then quickly stood up and asked, "What happened? Where is he? How is he now?"

"He's still in the office, slumped over his desk. I've called him for ages but he hasn't responded."

"Yaoguo, come with me. Xiaojian, go and call the driver. Tell him to wait downstairs immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang immediately spoke up and then rushed to Li Younian's office.

Upon entering the room, Zhou Zhiqiang found Li Younian slumped on the table, looking distressed. He called out to him twice but received no response, as if he had fainted.

"Yaoguo, lend a hand and carry him down to the hospital."

There was no time to waste. Zhou Zhiqiang was strong and could carry things weighing several hundred kilograms. So after he had Zhang Yaoguo help him put Li Younian on his back, he immediately ran downstairs.

As they were going downstairs, Zhou Zhiqiang told Zhang Yaoguo not to follow them anymore and to call the ministry to report on Secretary Li's situation.

The fact that a high-ranking official at the 13th level (equivalent to a department director) fainted is something that must be reported immediately.

Zhou Zhiqiang and Li Younian's assistant, Lu Xiaojian, got into the car and drove the person directly to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the driver helped take Li Younian directly into the emergency room.

I don't know if it will arrive in time, but for now I can only wait for news outside.

Zhou Zhiqiang sighed, then turned to ask, "Assistant Lu, what happened? Wasn't Secretary Li perfectly fine a while ago?"

"Factory manager, I don't know, I really don't know."

Lu Xiaojian quickly said, "The secretary felt a little unwell half a month ago, and his complexion was a bit off. I advised him to rest well."

But the factory was quite busy at that time. Deputy Factory Director Liu was overseeing the branch factory, and Factory Director Zhou, you weren't there either, so Secretary Li was busy every day too.”

Zhou Zhiqiang thought for a moment and asked, "Last time he went for a physical examination, the doctor advised him to rest. What illness does Secretary Li have?"

Lu Xiaojian shook his head vigorously and said, "Factory Director, you're putting me in a difficult position. I can't read the Party Secretary's medical report, but it seems he has some heart problems. I often see him clutching his chest."

"Never mind, let's wait for the doctor's notification."

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't know anything about medicine, but when he saw Li Younian's face just now, he felt that something was wrong.

"Go and inform Secretary Li's family. I'll use the hospital's phone to notify the ministry."

Li Younian estimated that he would not be able to return to work at the factory for a while, but the factory's party officials were at a standstill, and he would definitely have to report to his superiors.

After finding the hospital office and explaining his situation with his ID card, Zhou Zhiqiang borrowed a phone and then dialed Director Ren's number.

"Hello, Director Ren? This is Zhou Zhiqiang."

Director Ren on the other end of the phone immediately said, "Zhiqiang, I've heard everything from your assistant. How is Secretary Li doing now?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "It's hard to say. It might be a heart problem. I haven't seen his medical report. It's probably because he's been too busy lately."

There's been a lot going on at the factory lately. Deputy Factory Director Liu is busy with the supporting branch factory, and I'm at the CNC branch factory. Only Deputy Factory Directors Sun and Hou, and Secretary Li are left in the factory. Secretary Li is probably handling most of my work.

"If he's overworked, that's a bit troublesome. Zhiqiang, how long do you think it will take for Secretary Li to return to his post?"

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Director Ren, I really can't say. The person is still in the emergency room. I'll let you know when I have any news."

Director Ren on the other end of the phone said, "Okay, then I'll go and report to the leaders first. If Comrade Li Younian needs to take a long break, your factory can't be without a secretary."
Zhiqiang, be prepared then. The leadership and I will try our best to help you secure the concurrent position. But it would be best if Comrade Li Younian could recover quickly.

The fact that Zhou Zhiqiang was appointed as the secretary concurrently, and that the bureau chief also knew about it.

But what they hope for is not now, but two or three years later, when Zhou Zhiqiang leads Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory to achieve several great results, and after his performance leaves others speechless, he will be appointed as both the Party Secretary and the Factory Director.

The situation is a bit sudden. Although Zhou Zhiqiang has achieved remarkable results, the factory's administrative level has just been upgraded, and he is also busy with other major research and development work. His busy schedule is also a point of attack used by others to prevent him from becoming the Party Secretary; they say, "He's already so busy, how can he possibly manage as Party Secretary?"
If it were still the small factory that Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant was before, the Ministry of Machine Building could have made the decision on its own. But now Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant is at the level of a department-level unit, and the appointment of cadres cannot bypass the central government.

Moreover, without raising the administrative level of Jiuzhou Machine Tool Plant, it would have been impossible to obtain so much investment support.

They also built a supporting branch factory and decisively approved the project funding for composite machining CNC machine tools.

If the Autumn Canton Fair in October yields another good result, the State Planning Commission may approve the expansion request of Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory.

The better the results, the more support, the larger the scale, and then the better the results, creating a virtuous cycle.

Ren Licheng's idea now is that even if the higher-ups don't agree to let Zhou Zhiqiang hold both the positions of Party Secretary and Factory Director, they still want to make Zhou Zhiqiang a Party official in the factory and also serve as the chief engineer.

The factory manager should be selected from within the factory, preferably someone who gets along well with Zhou Zhiqiang, so that Jiuzhou Machine Tool Factory can maintain its current status.

After a short conversation, Director Ren hung up the phone.

Zhou Zhiqiang originally came back to the factory today to handle some matters, but now that Li Younian is in this situation, he has to stay and keep an eye on things for a while to find out the latest news.

So he called Zhang Yaoguo and told him to contact him if there was anything urgent.

After waiting outside the emergency room for a short while, Secretary Li's family members arrived.

His wife and daughter-in-law came. Zhou Zhiqiang remembered that Li Younian had told him that his son was a train driver and his return home was unpredictable, and his daughter-in-law worked at a supply and marketing cooperative.

Zhou Zhiqiang briefly explained the situation to Li Younian's family.

After learning that Zhou Zhiqiang had brought Li Younian over, Li's family members thanked him repeatedly, then looked at the emergency operating room with worried expressions.

After staying for a while, Zhou Zhiqiang, worried about things at the factory, instructed Lu Xiaojian: "Xiao Lu, if Secretary Li is alright, call the factory immediately using the hospital's phone number. I need to go back to the factory to handle some matters."

"Don't go back. Your orders for today are to stay here and help out. I'll have the driver drop me off for a bit; he'll be back soon."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaojian quickly agreed: "Okay, factory manager, I understand."

After giving instructions at the hospital, Zhou Zhiqiang asked the driver to take him back to the factory.

------

"Comrade Wenzhou, what we need is not their infighting. Production is the most important thing right now. You can tell them that if they can't guarantee production, I will fire them all."

After listening to Liu Wenzhou's words, Zhou Zhiqiang said to him very seriously, "Why were they able to build a branch factory? It's all thanks to the investment we applied for from the Planning Commission."

These guys have no sense at all. Do they really think their factory is doing so well? I hate people like that the most. The country needs to produce, and so does our factory. Anyone who hinders production will be kicked out.”

Under his management, anyone who delayed production due to power struggles would be fired as soon as possible; Zhou Zhiqiang even stated this at a large meeting.

Only by making contributions can the country gradually become richer; only fools and bad people fight for power and profit.

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenzhou nodded and said, "I understand, factory manager. I'll give them another call later and give them some instructions."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Give them a heads-up on this. The supporting branch in Changping is doing a great job. Let them learn from it."

Also, please keep an eye on the factory's recent production and scheduling matters. Secretary Li needs to rest recently and may not be able to return to his post for a while.

"Factory manager, is Secretary Li really...?"

After hearing Zhou Zhiqiang's words, Liu Wenzhou asked with some concern, "When I came back this afternoon, I heard a lot of people talking about something, saying that Secretary Li had gotten into trouble."

Zhou Zhiqiang carried Li Younian downstairs, followed by a nervous Zhang Yaoguo. They were seen by many people in the factory office building.

Then, not seeing Secretary Li all day naturally led to much speculation and discussion.

"It's true that I'm sick. I told Lu Xiaojian to wait at the hospital; I'll let you know if I have any news."

Ring ring ring!
Before Zhou Zhiqiang could finish speaking, the phone rang suddenly. He picked it up and said, "This is Zhou Zhiqiang."

"You're awake? Okay, I'll be right there. You should also call the Ministry and inform the Machine Tool Administration Bureau of the First Ministry of Machine Building to find Director Ren Licheng."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Zhiqiang stood up and said, "Comrade Wenzhou, I need to go to the hospital first. You can continue later."

"Factory manager, I'll go with you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenzhou immediately stood up and said, "Since the Party Secretary is sick and hospitalized, it is only right that I go and visit him."

"Okay, let's go together."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he left the office and asked Zhang Yaoguo to notify the driver. Then he and Liu Wenzhou went downstairs.

After waiting downstairs for the driver to arrive, the two got into the car and headed to the hospital.

This hospital is specifically for medical checkups and treatment for senior officials, and its medical resources are relatively good. Although the higher authorities have emphasized the need to transfer medical resources to rural areas, some hospitals that specifically serve senior officials have been preserved.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly found out Liu Wenzhou's ward and headed there.

After arriving at the ward door, Zhou Zhiqiang knocked, and then he and Liu Wenzhou went inside.

Upon entering, one sees Li Younian lying on the hospital bed, looking weak, with his wife and daughter-in-law beside him.

"Zhiqiang, you're here!"

When Li Younian saw Zhou Zhiqiang come in, he was somewhat happy and tried to sit up, but after struggling for a moment, he lay back down. Having just undergone surgery, he had no strength left.

"You can just lie down, Secretary Li."

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly asked, "How are you feeling? What did the doctor say?"

Li Younian was about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, his wife on the other side of the hospital bed sighed and said, "Comrade Zhou, my husband has been saved, but he just needs to rest and recuperate."

"Don't listen to her. I'm fine. I'm just exhausted this time."

Zhou Zhiqiang ignored Li Younian's words and waved his hand, saying, "Don't lie to me. I'll go ask the doctor in a bit, and I'll know how you are soon."

Director Ren probably knows by now. I wonder if he's busy; if he's not busy, he might come over.

(End of this chapter)