Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

After seeing Li Huaide off, He Yuzhu sat in his office with a barely perceptible smile on his face. He couldn't help but sigh that the words he said unintentionally back then had now become a reality. As long as Li Huaide was transferred from the Red Star Steel Plant, he would eliminate a potential destabilizing factor and add a layer of security for himself in the next ten years. Next, he only had to focus on dealing with Director Yang's problems. So He Yuzhu lowered his head again and continued to deal with the pile of documents on his desk.

Five days later, a transfer notice from the First Industrial Machinery Department was delivered to the Red Star Steel Plant. Secretary Gao personally read out the notice, which clearly stated: "Comrade Li Huaide is now dismissed from his post as Director of the Logistics Department of the Red Star Steel Plant and appointed as Director of the Sijiucheng Shunyi Machinery Repair Plant."

After reading it, Secretary Gao smiled and congratulated Li Huaide: "Congratulations, Director Li, oh no, now I should call you Director Li, congratulations on your promotion."

"Secretary Gao, I feel a little ashamed by what you said!" Li Huaide said modestly. He knew that his achievements today were inseparable from the trust and support of Secretary Gao.

"Haha, Director Li, don't be so modest. I felt you were a talent from the first time we met. It's been more than a year, and you have moved to a more important position. No matter where Director Li goes, remember to come back to Red Star Steel Plant when you have time. This will always be your home." Secretary Gao said with a smile. His words revealed his admiration and expectations for Li Huaide, and also expressed his deep feelings for Red Star Steel Plant.

Li Huaide said with emotion: "Thanks to Secretary Gao for your training over the years, I, Li Huaide, am where I am today." He knew that without Secretary Gao's help and guidance, it would be difficult for him to thrive in the position of Director of the Logistics Department.

Afterwards, Secretary Gao said to Su Daqiang, the director of the Personnel Department who was standing nearby: "Director Su, please hurry up and complete the handover work for Director Li's departure, and do not delay Director Li's appointment to his new position." He hoped that Li Huaide could adapt to the new environment as soon as possible and play a greater role.

"Please rest assured, Secretary Gao, I will personally participate in the handover of Director Li and will definitely not delay Director Li's appointment." Su Daqiang replied seriously. He understood the importance of this task and would go all out to ensure the smooth progress of the handover.

Under the personal supervision of Su Daqiang, Director of the Personnel Department, Li Huaide's resignation procedures were handled very quickly. Because Li Huaide's transfer was too sudden, the position of Director of the Logistics Department became vacant. In order to fill this position as soon as possible, Secretary Gao urgently summoned the three deputy directors of the Red Star Steel Plant to discuss the candidate for the new Director of the Logistics Department and held a farewell ceremony for Li Huaide.

After Li Huaide left, Secretary Gao got straight to the point and said, "I will not say any more useless words. Now that the position of Director of the Logistics Department is vacant, we must hurry up and select a suitable person to take up the position and report to the department. Do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Deputy Director Zhang spoke first: "Secretary Gao, you know me well. I have never been involved in the field of logistics and am not familiar with the personnel situation in the logistics department. Therefore, I don't have much opinion on the selection of the new director of the logistics department."

Then, another deputy director echoed: "Secretary Gao, I agree with Deputy Director Zhang."

Secretary Gao turned his gaze towards He Yuzhu, his eyes revealing a hint of expectation: "Deputy Director He, you were promoted from the position of Director of the Logistics Department. I believe you already have a suitable candidate in mind for the new Director of the Logistics Department, right?"

He Yuzhu nodded slightly and answered firmly: "Secretary Gao, if you want me to recommend someone, I think the current Deputy Director of the Logistics Department, Comrade Yang Zili, is very suitable for this position. During my tenure as Director of the Logistics Department, his work attitude and ability were extremely outstanding. In fact, when I was transferred to the position of Deputy Factory Director, I considered recommending him to take over my position, but the superiors directly appointed Director Li who had just resigned."

Hearing this, Gao Hongwei nodded with satisfaction. He knew Yang Zili and knew that he was a young and promising cadre. So he turned to Director Yang and asked, "Director Yang, what do you think of Yang Zili as the new director of the logistics department?"

After thinking for a moment, Director Yang expressed his support for Gao Hongwei's suggestion: "Since Secretary Gao thinks Yang Zili is suitable, then I also agree that he should take this position."

"Okay, if you don't have any other suggestions, then it's settled. Director Su, I'll trouble you to handle Yang Zili's appointment procedures later. Director Yang, do you have anything else to say?"

Director Yang shook his head, indicating that he had nothing more to say, and Gao Hongwei immediately adjourned the meeting.

He Yuzhu picked up his notebook and was about to walk out of the meeting room when Yang Zixing suddenly said, "Deputy Director He, please come to my office later. I have something to tell you."

"Okay, Director Yang." After saying that, He Yuzhu followed Yang Zixing and walked towards Yang Zixing's office.

Arriving at Yang Zixing's office, Yang Zixing, with a friendly smile on his face, warmly invited He Yuzhu to sit down and handed him a cup of hot tea. After He Yuzhu sat down, Yang Zixing smiled and said, "Deputy Director He, I invited you here today. Actually, there is nothing important. I just want to chat with you casually. The first quarter of this year is about to end. Our factory has successfully completed the production tasks assigned by the superiors. So, what do you think about the future development direction of the factory?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment, then answered seriously: "At present, the main business of our factory can be divided into two parts, one of which is of course steelmaking. As far as I know, the total capacity of our blast furnace is about 4200 cubic meters. If the necessary inspection and maintenance time is deducted, it can produce about 240 million tons of steel per year. However, judging from the current domestic situation, it is almost impossible to build several new blast furnaces before the disaster is over. Therefore, relying on expanding scale to increase production capacity is obviously not feasible. In this case, our factory must take the path of technological innovation, but according to the current situation, it may take a long time to see the results of expanding production capacity through technological innovation."

"So I suggest that we not give up on the innovation of production technology, but also increase investment in the research and development of new products, and strive to produce steel with better performance, such as high-strength steel, cold-rolled steel, special steel, etc. In this way, even if our factory's production capacity cannot be the largest in the country, we can still occupy an important position in the steel industry by relying on the performance of our products."

He Yuzhu continued, "After talking about the steel sector, let's talk about the machinery manufacturing plant under our factory. From the current situation, the machinery manufacturing plant mainly produces automobiles and diesel heating stoves, and also sells some spare parts such as engines. Diesel heating stoves are mainly exported to the bear market, so the production capacity is basically fixed, and there is no need to consider expanding the capacity. Automobile production has been expanding its production capacity in an orderly manner, but at present, it is already the largest passenger car factory in China in terms of passenger cars. Therefore, if the Red Star Machinery Manufacturing Plant does not have new products in a short period of time, it will not be able to increase the influence of our factory. Therefore, we need to increase our research and development efforts and launch competitive new products as soon as possible to meet market demand and further expand the influence of our factory."

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, Yang Zixing showed a satisfied smile on his face. He slowly said: "Deputy Director He, your thinking is very clear, which shows that you have put a lot of effort into the future development plan of the factory. However, you seem to only focus on the domestic market and ignore the international market. At present, some of our products have been exported to foreign countries through your father-in-law Mr. Lou in Hong Kong. Although Mr. Lou is in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is only a small place after all, and the market is limited. Therefore, I think we should actively participate in the export commodity fair of Lingnan Province, and strive to promote the cars produced by our factory to more countries and win more foreign exchange for the country. Doing so will not only enhance the popularity and influence of our factory, but also make greater contributions to the country's economic construction."

"Director Yang, I think your suggestion is very good. I didn't pay much attention to it before because my father-in-law was the only foreign trade client. I was indeed negligent in this regard." He Yuzhu reflected seriously. He knew his shortcomings in his work, and neglecting foreign trade business might bring potential losses to the factory.

Director Yang looked at He Yuzhu with a smile and said earnestly, "Deputy Director He, please stop self-criticizing. In fact, I only learned about the Export Commodities Fair when I attended a meeting in the department a few days ago. The first session of this fair was held in the spring of 1957. Before that, 13 professional foreign trade companies were in charge. It was only this year that some large factories were allowed to participate."

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he immediately understood Director Yang's intention. He said excitedly, "So, our factory also has the opportunity to participate in international market competition?"

Director Yang nodded and continued, "That's right, but when signing contracts with foreign companies, a special foreign trade company is needed. So I want you to take our three models of cars to Lingnan Province to participate in this spring's export commodity fair. I believe that with our factory's product quality and technical level, coupled with Deputy Director He's eloquence, we will definitely attract a lot of attention from foreign companies. I have a feeling that Deputy Director He will definitely bring back a considerable order."

He Yuzhu patted his chest confidently and assured: "Director Yang, don't worry! I will definitely go all out to bring back more orders and make greater contributions to the development of our factory."

Director Yang nodded with satisfaction and encouraged: "Okay, then I'll leave it to you. I hope our factory can achieve excellent results in this export commodities trade fair." He Yuzhu nodded firmly, his heart full of expectations.