Chapter 88: The Cement Factory's Storm (1)

  The rumbling sound of machinery attracted many villagers to gather and watch, but they couldn't enter the cement factory, only able to observe from outside. The cement factory had been closed for a long time, until recently when a construction team arrived and started working. Many villagers were curious, and later found out that the district government was planning to set up a cement factory here. As the district government was behind it, the villagers didn't dare say anything.

  Later, the cement factory's director, Zhao Deli, explained that after the factory starts production, they will recruit workers from nearby areas, and everyone can receive a monthly salary just like city dwellers. So, when the cement factory would start production became the focus of attention for the surrounding villagers.

  Rumors then spread that working at the cement factory could earn a monthly salary of over 100 yuan, which is more than 1,000 yuan per year. Upon hearing this news, some villagers couldn't sit still anymore. Such good things made them wonder if they, as farmers, would be hired to work at the cement factory. If one family member got a job at the cement factory, all their expenses would be solved.

  As a result, more and more villagers came to the cement factory every day, and when the machinery started roaring, the area outside the factory was packed with people.

  "Director Xu, Mayor Zhang, the cement factory can start work immediately. According to the current scale, we plan to implement a two-shift system, requiring a total of 180 workers, plus management personnel, with a total number controlled at around 200 people. Ma and I have discussed it, and the average salary is around 120 yuan. The annual salary expenditure is around 300,000 yuan. If the cement factory operates at full capacity, all the cement can be sold, and after deducting costs, the annual profit can exceed 1 million yuan."

  Upon hearing this figure, Zhang Shiqiu stood up involuntarily. If the district government could increase its funding by 1 million yuan every year, he knew exactly what that would mean.

  "Lao Zhao, are you telling the truth? Lao Tian, have you two colluded with each other?"

  "No problem, these have all been carefully calculated by Ma Ge."

  Zhang Shikui turned his head and spoke to Xu Shaojie.

  "Secretary Xu, I think we must transfer Ma Gong to work in Yudu District. We can't let such a talent go."

  "Haha, Old Zhang, you're probably thinking about that 1 million yuan, aren't you? With this money, as the district head, you'll be able to hold your head high and proud. What's there to worry about?"

  Everyone laughed, bitter days and poor days are hard, who doesn't know that? Being able to make money, who wouldn't be happy?

  "What you reported, I all believe, what is the main task of cementation at present?"

  "The main task is to recruit workers, but the difficulty of recruiting workers is too great. There are not many requirements for people to come in, but workers have technical requirements. After coming in, they also need to undergo training. The trial operation of the machine is half a month, and the factory's personnel are all here. They can be responsible for training, so recruitment must start immediately, the sooner the better."

  "Director Zhang, Secretary Tian and Old Zhao are in charge of recruiting workers. There are plenty of people who want to work for a salary, so who wouldn't want to do it? You should come up with a plan today that takes all aspects into consideration, don't create any conflicts."

  Xu Shaojie still underestimated the problems faced by the cement plant in recruiting workers.

  Zhao Deli and Song Tao were the first to be surrounded by district government officials, everyone knew that the cement plant was recruiting workers, the district government office was not large, soon, the salary treatment situation also spread, the district government officials, half of the households had families with children who were old enough, some officials' children did not have anything to do without background or connections, now the cement plant was about to start work, being able to work at the cement plant meant having a stable job.

  Next, some team members began to find Zhang Shiqiu and Tian Lixin, speaking for their own children and relatives, and also speaking for others, in short, with the goal of entering the cement factory as workers.

  Until Hu Dey found Xu Shaojie and said that his family had a close nephew who wanted to enter the cement factory as a worker, Xu Shaojie only knew that the recruitment of workers in the cement factory had caused quite a stir. Xu Shaojie quickly thought that on the surface, this was a good thing, but if it was not handled properly, it could easily lead to conflict. Just as Xu Shaojie was still considering how to handle it, Zhang Shiqi and others came in, their faces all showing signs of fatigue, apparently having dealt with too many people, and within a few hours, Xu Shaojie felt that it was necessary to convene a meeting to study the matter.

  "Secretary Xu, the cement plant recruitment issue, we can't handle it. There are too many people asking to get into the cement plant, and the district committee doesn't have a fixed procedure. Everyone has relatives and friends, if you agree with one person, you'll offend another, and it will not only affect relationships but also impact other work."

  The most miserable one is Song Tao. Song Tao was young, so some leaders found him and spoke to him in a very casual manner. As the deputy factory director, he didn't dare to express his opinions freely, so he listened to many unpleasant words, not only from the district leaders but also from the district government officials who spoke to him in a rather condescending tone.

  "Old Zhang, Old Tian, I have a consideration. The cement plant recruitment is not a trivial matter and cannot be simply dealt with, otherwise it may really affect the progress of work. A total of 180 people are being recruited, and the management personnel in the factory are already in place. The district committee and government must come up with specific measures, and there should be rules to follow in the recruitment process. Members of the team and cadres and workers should take advantage of the situation and walk a clear path. The cement plant is run by the district government, and it can also be said that it is a district-level unit. Now let's study this and come up with an initial plan. Tonight, we will hold a district committee meeting and a team meeting. Song Tao, go notify Hu Secretary, Yi Secretary, and Sun Secretary to come to my office immediately. We will discuss this right away. Old Zhao and Song Tao will attend as non-voting delegates."

  "Secretary Xu, this method is good, but we need to have a basic charter. What methods should be taken out? If the discussion is opened up, it may not lead to a good outcome."

  "Old Zhang, you go first, what's on your mind?"

  "The district office has many cadres and staff, it is impossible to take care of every single person. For the villagers near the cement factory, each household must have one person working in the cement factory. In my opinion, we can consider members of the team, besides, there are also township government cadres and staff, district-level unit cadres and staff, if all are considered, I'm afraid the quota will be far from enough."

  "Hmm, Old Tian, what's your idea?"

  "I have no other opinions and agree with Director Zhang's opinion."

  Zhao Deli shook his head at Xu Shaojie, indicating that he had no opinion. At this time, Xu Shaojie already had a plan in mind and knew how to handle it.

  "Lao Zhang, as the two of us are main leaders, so on the issue of recruitment, we will treat everyone equally. Later when we hold the secretary's office meeting, I will put forward the general idea of recruitment and you can study it."

  Han Wei, holding a meeting record book, came in first. After Xu Shaojie took office, he standardized the recording requirements for relevant meetings. The secretary's office meeting was recorded by the organizational committee member, and the district committee meeting was recorded by Huang He, the director of the office. Of course, this also includes the class meeting. Generally, Xu Shaojie would not specially convene a district committee meeting, so the class meeting replaced it. Soon after, Hu Deyong, Sun Jianbo, and Yi Xiangyang came in.

  Here is the translation:

  "Today, we held a secretary's office meeting to discuss the cement factory recruitment. The cement factory machine debugging work is in progress, and the technical personnel of the factory are here to train our newly recruited workers. Therefore, the recruitment matter is urgent and time-sensitive. I mentioned that the cement factory plans to recruit 180 people with an average monthly salary of 120 yuan, implementing a two-shift system, which means working 12 hours a day. Don't underestimate it, the labor intensity is not small. The cement factory has just been established and can only overcome this for now. When conditions improve in the future, we will implement a three-shift system.

  Now, the recruitment matter has encountered difficulties, as too many people want to enter the cement factory. This is no longer a simple matter, and if not handled properly, it may lead to conflicts. There are not a few cadres and workers from Yudu District, and we cannot accommodate everyone. So, I have a consideration regarding the cement factory recruitment. We will hold a district committee meeting to form a unified opinion on recruitment matters.

  Of course, this matter does not require issuing a document. As long as the specific person in charge executes the recruitment according to this requirement, it can be done. Does anyone have any opinions?"

  Everyone expressed their views one by one, all of which indicated agreement.

  "Alright, let's be frank and open. The cement factory is a project initiated by the district government, equivalent to a district-level unit. It's unrealistic to say that our district leaders can't benefit from it at all. Currently, we have 17 members in our team. I'm thinking this way: Director Zhang and I won't take up any quotas, leaving 15 members with two recruitment quotas each. The quotas for Director Zhang and me will be given to Comrades Zhao De-li and Song Tao, who also get two quotas each. Whether you give them to others or use them for your own family members is up to you. This way, we've used up 34 quotas, leaving 146 quotas remaining. The cement factory will reserve 20 flexible quotas, with 6 town governments getting 10 quotas each. Each town government can arrange for 2 people, and the rest are farmers. We'll allocate 30 quotas to households near the cement factory, 20 quotas to take care of district government staff, and the remaining 16 quotas will be used to appropriately take care of district-level units. The overall requirements for recruitment are: good physical health, hardworking, and at least a middle school education level."

  Xu Shaojie finished expressing his thoughts in one breath, and the remaining meaning was naturally expressed by everyone.

  "I agree, I am the district head and also the person in charge of this recruitment, I resolutely support this opinion."

  "I have an idea, I am the deputy secretary in charge of industrial enterprises. Recently, I've been busy with the preparation work for the cement plant. Secretary Xu and Director Zhang are the main leaders, I don't dare to compare myself with them, but as a person in charge, I don't want any indicators, let's vacate some indicators and take care of other aspects."

  Xu Shaojie didn't know why Tian Lixin would say such a thing, it's simply absurd. You bring it up and don't want it, how can other deputy secretaries be willing to take the indicator? The deputy secretary doesn't want it, the district committee members don't want it, next, all the team members won't want it either. At that time, everyone will hate only you. What kind of hero are you being at this time? Xu Shaojie didn't wait for others to speak and spoke directly: whatever you do, don't listen to Tian Lixin.

  "The indicators of the team members will not be adjusted, I've said it before. Each team member has two indicators, you handle it yourself, and the district committee won't ask."

  Tian Li Xing probably also thought he had misspoken and immediately stopped talking.

  No one expressed opposition, in fact, there are still many loopholes in this allocation plan, such as the 20 motor vehicle indicators for the cement plant, who is responsible, the 20 indicators for the district government officials, and the 16 indicators for the district units. How to allocate them all has operability, but it's already very good that we can consider this plan in a short time. Seeing that everyone had no opinion, Xu Shaojie stated his request.

  "All matters related to recruitment will be handled by Director Zhang, and all members of our team must take the lead in this matter. Do not interfere with the recruitment work, but assist and cooperate with Director Zhang to do a good job. Time is tight and the task is heavy. Starting from tomorrow, within three days, except for 20 mobile indicators, the remaining 160 people must be recruited. This matter cannot be delayed, and absolutely cannot affect the formal production of the cement plant due to recruitment issues."

  The secretary's office meeting will end soon, and before the class meeting is held, Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shiqiu discuss in advance. All the requirements and indicator allocation methods are announced by Zhang Shiqiu, and Xu Shaojie announces at the meeting that Zhang Shiqiu is responsible for recruitment work.

  The meeting was very effective, and each member of the team had two indicators. They didn't think that having indicators would be good enough. After the meeting, many members who lived nearby or not too far away rushed back home overnight. The time requirement was very tight, and they couldn't afford to delay. Zhang Shikui emphasized at the meeting that if they delayed, regardless of who it was, the indicators would be invalid.

  After the meeting, Xu Shaojie immediately prepared to leave the district office and temporarily avoid it. In fact, when allocating indicators, Xu Shaojie knew that it was impossible to be average, and there would always be unfair phenomena. This is inevitable, as nothing in the world is absolutely fair. For example, in rural governments, some are large and some are small. If you calculate the size of the rural government to allocate indicators, it will be chaotic. Therefore, Xu Shaojie knew that the secretary or mayor of the rural government would come to ask for more indicators to be solved. The next two days would definitely not be easy to pass. Since Zhang Shiwei was in charge, he wanted to avoid this matter and go back home to sleep with Zhang Xiaoyu, rest, and eat the food made by Zhang Xiaoyu. However, Zhang Shiwei is not stupid, and when Xu Shaojie was about to leave, he found Xu Shaojie.

  "Secretary Xu, you've given me a big headache! I reckon I won't be able to get through these three days. Several of the indicators are vague and I have no idea what to do. Secretary Xu, if we really encounter practical difficulties, what should we do?"

  "Old Zhang, just go ahead and do it. Aren't there 20 mobile indicators? For those with special difficulties, record the situation, ask the township government to investigate, grasp the situation after that, and discuss collectively with everyone."

  "Alright, I'll stake this old life of mine and do it well, anyway it's just three days."

  "Old Zhang, I didn't ask you to work to death, but this matter can't be delayed. It must be done at the fastest speed possible. The recruited workers will be trained immediately. I've checked and it'll take at least a few days to get the uniforms ready. Once we start working, we'll go all out without any breaks or time for coordination."