Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The atmosphere in the conference room of the Ministry of Metallurgy was exceptionally cheerful at this moment.

The leaders were all laughing; they didn't take the steel rolling mill's actions to heart at all.

Corruption is normal; it's just petty squabbles between secretaries. Of course, this matter needs to be rectified and dealt with seriously.

The fact that the leaders don't take it seriously doesn't mean they won't deal with it; this is a matter of principle.

Old Master Li looked at Yang Ligong's father-in-law, Old Wang, with a smile, and then slowly spoke:

"Old Wang, look at your son-in-law. He's been tricked by his secretary twice already. How come he falls into the same trap twice? He really doesn't learn his lesson."

"Of course, I am not criticizing Comrade Ligong. The main reason lies with his secretary, Wu Changhai."

"Forming cliques and factions, even creating a secretaries clique, I've never heard of such a thing in my life."

"I've discussed it with the minister and a few others. You decide how to deal with Yang Ligong; the decision rests with you."

Old Wang frowned after hearing what Old Li said, but he didn't take the joke to heart.

His statement implies that his team has already decided how to deal with Yang Ligong.

But here's the problem: if you're too ruthless, you'll feel bad; if you're too lenient, you'll give them a handle to use against you, and these old guys will curse you out.

Therefore, this choice is difficult, and a compromise must be found.

But after thinking it over and over, I couldn't come up with a solution. At this level, it's not easy for someone to plead for a subordinate who has made a mistake.

Old Wang was also in a difficult position, mainly because Yang Ligong had been tricked by his secretary twice, which made him very angry.

Just like Old Li said, he's lived most of his life and has never seen anyone fall into the same trap twice.

Oh! You saw me today!

After hesitating for a long time, Old Wang sighed deeply, and then slowly spoke:

"Comrade Ligong has failed twice in the same way. Let's just treat him the same way as last time: give him a demerit and demote him by half a rank."

After hearing what Old Wang said, the other leaders exchanged glances, their eyes smiling, revealing that they had known all along that Old Wang would say this.

We are all ministerial-level leaders, and we have spent a lot of time together, so we have some understanding of each other's thoughts.

At that time, many generals who came from the military started their political careers at the vice-ministerial level or above. Li Huaide's father-in-law was a lieutenant general and served as his deputy in the Ministry of Metallurgy, while also holding a ministerial-level leadership position.

There was no other way; there were just too many generals at that time. To be able to get a ministerial-level leadership position in politics was already considered very good.

Because the country was newly established, local areas were under military control, and the military control has been gradually withdrawn in recent years.

However, the commanding officer was still a general who came from the military.

Yang Ligong's father-in-law is a bit less qualified; he's a major general and deputy ministerial-level officer, with room for promotion, but it's too difficult. Without achievements, the only way to get promoted is to wait until retirement and get the treatment of a ministerial-level officer.

At this moment, Minister Wang gently tapped the table. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear him clearly:

"Old Wang, don't downgrade the case so easily. This incident is different from the last one; it's not nearly as serious as the last one."

"Comrade Ligong is capable; everyone here knows that." At this point, Minister Wang changed the subject:

"But having ability doesn't mean you can act recklessly. Comrade Ligong's eyesight isn't quite what it used to be."

"His ability to manage subordinates is absolutely terrible."

"This time, I won't demote him. Go back and tell him, if he's capable, he can do it; if he's not, I'll let Comrade Li Huaide take over."

"Tell him my exact words: I criticized him because I care about him, and if it happens again, I'll send him back to his hometown to farm."

"We don't need such incompetent cadres."

What could Old Wang say? He could only nod.

Minister Wang hadn't finished speaking when he continued:

"I propose that we give Comrade Huai De more responsibilities, promote him from deputy director to director, and promote him to deputy secretary of the steel rolling mill, while he continues to be in charge of his current affairs."

Minister Wang wore a relaxed smile on his face:

"Look at Comrade Huai De, he's doing a great job. His secretary asks a lot of questions. What does that show? It shows that he's good at managing his subordinates."

"Who's in favor, and who's opposed?"

No one will object, of course. This is the minister himself saying he wants to promote a cadre. You try to object.

Old Wang was somewhat frustrated. He naturally saw that it was true that Minister Chu had promoted Li Huaide, and it was also true that he had warned Yang Ligong and Nie Wuji.

Originally, Yang Ligong was to succeed Nie Wuji as the top leader.

But so many things happened in between that it deviated from the original plan.

Yang Ligong reeked of filth; although he still had merits, he had also made many mistakes.

In contrast, Li Huaide has only had merits and no demerits since he entered politics. Of course, his taking some bribes at the steel rolling mill doesn't count, and they all know that.

Because we also receive subsidies from the Ministry of Metallurgy, so what's wrong? Is there a problem?

If your boss really wants to investigate you, how clean do you think you are?

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish." People at their level have long since come to terms with this. As long as they don't make any fundamental mistakes, there won't be any major problems.

After all, we are all human, and no one can guarantee that they will not make mistakes.

If you are perfect, your boss may not necessarily like you. That's true. You have to have some flaws, and these flaws can be small and negligible.

Now that the minister has promoted Li Huaide, it's clear he's no longer satisfied with Yang Ligong.

This means that after Nie Wuji retires, it will be uncertain who will take over as the top secretary.

Previously, Yang Ligong naturally had the best chance. He was a director-general level official and the factory director. Although he did not concurrently serve as the deputy secretary, it was an indisputable fact that he was the second-in-command of the steel rolling mill.

In contrast, Li Huaide, a deputy director-level official, wasn't even considered the third-in-command.

But things are different now. He has been promoted to the rank of director-general and concurrently serves as deputy secretary, making him the de facto third-in-command.

After the Party Secretary steps down, it won't just be Yang Ligong, who is at the level of a full-fledged department head, who can be promoted; there's also Li Huaide, who is at the same level as a deputy Party Secretary.

Even the security department of the steel rolling mill was still under Li Huaide's control, just like the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, who controlled violent institutions and wielded terrifying power.

The Security Department was ostensibly neutral, but everyone present knew that the only one truly in command was Li Huaide.

Not to mention half of the security personnel, all the team leaders and above were soldiers that Li Huaide led back then. So, whose orders do you think we should listen to?

Many of the soldiers who didn't become captains or leaders were also Li Huaide's soldiers.

The head of the security department was also an iron-willed figure.

Yang Ligong had tried to win them over, but these scoundrels accepted his offer, only paying lip service to him while secretly defying him.

Of course, this refers to winning them over; they will still do what Director Yang Ligong asks them to do.

There's no way around it. Who would dare to be won over by you, Yang Ligong? The security department is full of former comrades from the regiment. Anyone who dares to defect to you would be courting death.

Moreover, they were all brothers who had risked their lives for each other, and they were all excellent in everything they did under the old commander.

After several attempts, Yang Ligong gave up and decided to just destroy it.

Old Li sat there with a smile on his face, looking completely nonchalant. He didn't even want to be modest today.

Normally, he would say that Comrade Huai De was not qualified enough and needed to be given more time to reflect.

But saying this might upset Old Wang and make him sick. There's no harm without comparison; his son-in-law, Li Huaide, is far superior to Yang Ligong.