I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

After the door closed, the man quickly moved closer to the director and lowered his voice, saying, "Director, what I mean is, should we start with Old Hu from the Metallurgical Bureau? Old Hu is a confidant of our minister; he always personally accompanies him on his inspection tours. Moreover, he used to be the mine manager of our mine. During the period when we were criticizing him, he secretly went to Beijing under the pretext of seeking medical treatment to see the minister. After returning, he went directly from being a prisoner to the deputy director of the Provincial Metallurgical Bureau! It's obvious he's one of the minister's men."

"What you said is as good as saying nothing at all." The director frowned and glared at him. "Old Hu used to be the mine manager of our mine, do you think I didn't know that? I was the one who led the rebellion, and I was the one who started the criticism sessions! Would he help us? It's good enough if he didn't kick us when we're down!"

"Director, don't worry. As the saying goes, it's better to resolve a feud than to let it fester. I used to be a middle manager in the factory, and I know what kind of person Lao Hu used to be. He likes to take shortcuts and is good at cultivating personal relationships. I think we should offer him some gifts and have him cover for us with the minister."

"Will he accept it? I think he'll just laugh at me!" The director took two deep drags on his cigarette. "Besides, what should we give him? Alcohol, cigarettes, or some apples and seafood? He wouldn't even look at that."

"Director..." the man lowered his voice even further, speaking meaningfully, "I mean, send some of what we produce ourselves."

"Produced? What? You...you wouldn't say it's...?!" The director finally reacted, staring wide-eyed at the audacious guy in front of him.

"Yes, Director. People like Lao Hu are utterly corrupt. How did he manage all those social connections? With his meager salary, it's impossible. Think about it, if we offer enough, even a blood feud or a wife-stealing grudge can be resolved! Plus, we can easily climb the social ladder to the minister's position—a win-win situation!"

"No... I need to think about it." The director looked around, unable to make up his mind, and lit another cigarette to relieve his anxiety.

"Director, time is running out. The convoy will be here soon. If we don't make a decision now, we'll miss our chance," the man continued to persuade.

"Then who should deliver it? You or me? Will he even accept it?" the director asked doubtfully.

"Hehe, Director, have you forgotten that we still have a former deputy mine manager, Lao Lü, in our Revolutionary Committee? He used to be very close to Mine Manager Hu. We can send him. After all, he's been able to stay in the Revolutionary Committee peacefully as a veteran cadre these past few years, and he has to repay your kindness."

The director took a couple of puffs of his cigarette, thought for a moment, and then slapped his thigh: "Alright! That's how it'll be done! You go find Committee Member Lü, I'll call the warehouse manager, and you can just pick up the stuff then!"

……

On the production line.

Vice President Wang stared grimly at the equipment and workers before him. The workers clumsily fiddled with the equipment; the rust on the machines hadn't been completely removed, clearly indicating they'd been sitting idle for a long time and had been hastily pulled out. While the work was still underway, the conveyor belt stopped again—this was the second time it had stopped since Vice President Wang and his team entered the workshop.

"Jing'an, it seems the factory's production equipment and conditions have reached this point," Vice President Wang lamented. "Such a large enterprise, so many production lines, only one or two look decent; the rest are clearly just starting up for show. Even the two that are working properly have problems from time to time. A perfectly good enterprise has been wasted like this! These employees and equipment were all built up with a lot of national investment!"

"Sigh!" Li Jing'an sighed as well, saying with empathy, "There's nothing we can do about it. We haven't prioritized production in the past few years, which has led to this situation. Moreover, the person in charge of this factory was sent from the grassroots level and lacks management experience; he only knows how to launch aggressive campaigns, which has indeed resulted in a huge waste of resources. But don't worry, apart from these large enterprises, the remaining small and medium-sized mines all have the necessary production conditions, and exceeding this year's targets is a piece of cake. With this time, we'll conduct an immediate assessment, and take advantage of this period to replace equipment and train employees. I believe we'll definitely be back to normal by next year or the year after."

Vice President Wang nodded with a gloomy face and continued walking forward.

Just as Li Jing'an was about to follow, someone tugged at his sleeve. He turned around and saw it was Old Hu. Old Hu had disappeared as soon as he entered the workshop; he didn't know where he'd gone.

"Minister..." Old Hu pulled Li Jing'an behind a pillar and gestured for him to come closer.

Li Jing'an had no idea what Old Hu was up to, so he could only do as he was told. Old Hu whispered something in his ear for a while, and Li Jing'an's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and the corners of his mouth curled up higher and higher.

"Really? Haha, they actually handed the knife over themselves, how stupid!" Li Jing'an laughed with interest. "Alright, go ahead and bring it over. Since they gave it to us, we have to use it."

Watching Lao Hu's retreating figure quickly walk out of the workshop, Li Jing'an also hurriedly followed the group, squeezing next to Vice President Wang to continue making a show of it.

"Bang!"

A bag was slammed onto the open floor of the workshop, scattering yellow, sand-like material everywhere. Those around stared in disbelief.

"Vice President Wang, look!" Li Jing'an pointed to the bags on the ground and said loudly, "These were just given to Deputy Director Hu of the Provincial Metallurgical Bureau. Three of them were given; it seems like quite a generous gesture!"

Vice President Wang glanced at the scattered gold dust at his feet, his face turning ashen. He roared, "Corrupt officials! Corrupt officials! How could such despicable behavior happen right under my nose! It's utterly outrageous!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, and suddenly waved his hand: "Go! Detain all the members of the mine's Revolutionary Committee! Investigate them one by one! See just how much grain these rats in the gutter have ruined!"

Behind the crowd, the mine's Revolutionary Committee Director had collapsed to the ground. Old Hu, standing behind him, watched him, inwardly gloating: "So, you've finally met your match? I've been watching you, but I haven't had a good reason. You've really asked for it! You thought you could get close to Minister Li through me? You're delusional! Do you think the Minister accepts gifts from just anyone? Who do you think you are? You think you're worthy? A bunch of peasants, brainless and laughable!"

……

It was evening in the small building.

In the small living room of the suite, Li Jing'an and Lao Hu were smoking.

"Old Hu, that's about it for today. The entire Revolutionary Committee of the mine has been wiped out." Li Jing'an exhaled a smoke ring. "Vice President Wang and I jointly decided that you will guide the formation of the new leadership team. You know how to do it."

"Minister, I understand. I will select a group of reliable and loyal people to place in the new positions," Lao Hu quickly stated.

"Good, well said. They must be loyal to the country and reliable themselves. Only then can the selected cadres stand firm," Li Jing'an immediately added to Lao Hu.

"Yes, yes, the minister is right."

"Oh, and there are a few other mines that aren't following orders. You need to select suitable candidates for those as well. Judging from Vice President Wang's attitude, he's going to purge a bunch of them. Make sure to follow the standards we just discussed!"

"Rest assured, I will certainly not let the leadership down. I plan to transfer a few reliable people from the small and medium-sized mines that have always been obedient to me. They are familiar with the mine's situation and can start working and get into production immediately."

"Alright, you need to keep that in mind." Li Jing'an nodded. "This survey isn't just about assessing the situation; it's also about preparing for the next step of adding equipment. The engineers I brought today, including Engineer Luo, only had a cursory look at the core machinery; they didn't get a clear picture. You'll all need to participate and help with the statistics."

"Minister, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, replace them if you can. Make minor problems seem major, and scrap them entirely if they're major. Take this opportunity to replace them all. These outdated production lines should be eliminated; they're inefficient and constantly disrupting production. Submit your reports, and I'll report to Vice President Wang."

"Understood, understood! We will definitely review it carefully according to your instructions." Old Hu nodded repeatedly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Minister, now the entire gold mining system in Shandong Province is under our control. Rest assured, when I report to you at the end of the year, I will definitely have results to show!"

"Alright, it's good that you have the intention. It's not for nothing that I've always valued you so much." Li Jing'an smiled slightly and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.