Courtyard House: Starting as an engineer, crushing a yard full of poultry

Page 199

"I only asked for a few days of sick leave. Couldn't you just find someone to cover for me for a few days? Why did you replace me like that?"

"Xu Damao, stop making trouble! Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill isn't just for you. You've taken so much leave and we're already being kind by not firing you. And you're still arguing with me? Let me tell you, if you still want to work here, you'd better wait patiently for your assignment. If you don't want to work here, get out of here now!"

The leader's words finally silenced Xu Damao. He didn't dare to argue loudly anymore and sat down to wait for the transfer order.

"Everyone's here. How have you been resting these past two days?"

"If everyone's rested enough, let's get ready and begin our next battle!"

Li Xiangdong stood in the center of the workshop, holding blueprints in his hand, and shouted to the workers.

"You've had enough rest, you've had enough rest!"

"Ugh, I've been sleeping at home for two days, and now I'm too tired to even rest!"

"I'm full of energy right now, so you can rest assured, Section Chief Li!"

The workers unanimously gave positive feedback, expressing their strong approval of Li Xiangdong's leadership style and direction.

Chapter 272 Director Yang's Trick

"Our assembly equipment is different from the previous parts production equipment. We just need to work in pairs according to the drawings. Anyway, since everyone made these parts by hand, the work should be a little easier than before."

"But don't worry, everyone. The overtime and commission system remains unchanged. As long as you work hard, you'll get paid every day!"

Seeing that the workers were in good spirits and had a high level of enthusiasm for their work, Li Xiangdong distributed the blueprints and prepared to assign tasks related to the assembly of the machinery and equipment.

"Section Chief Li..."

Standing behind Li Xiangdong, Factory Director Yang had been looking hesitant to speak until Li Xiangdong started handing out the blueprints, at which point he finally couldn't help but speak up.

"What's wrong, Director Yang? Do you have any criticisms or suggestions for our workshop's work?"

Li Xiangdong smiled.

"Oh, no, no... You're far more professional than me in this area, how could I possibly be qualified to criticize or correct you..."

Li Xiangdong's treacherous smile truly made Director Yang tremble.

"It's okay, let's talk straight at 26."

"I...I think...we might not have enough manpower right now?"

After stammering for a while, Director Yang finally got started on his little scheme with Li Xiangdong's encouragement.

"Not enough manpower? Why do you think that, Director Yang?"

Li Xiangdong immediately saw through Director Yang's ulterior motives. Ever since he saw Yi Zhonghai at the factory gate that day, he had guessed that Director Yang would pull this stunt.

Li Xiangdong had thought that Director Yang would come up with some clever tricks after careful consideration, but he didn't expect it to be nothing special.

"We don't have many people in our workshop to begin with... We just fired Zhang Feng a while ago... and now there's someone else on wedding leave..."

"Furthermore, while assembling equipment isn't as delicate as machining parts, it's still physically demanding work, requiring a lot of effort. If we don't have enough manpower, I'm afraid we won't be able to complete our task..."

"We were already working overtime every day last week. If we keep doing this this week, I don't think the workers' health will be able to take it..."

Director Yang blurted out everything, unaware that Li Xiangdong had already seen through his scheme.

"Hmm... Director Yang, what you said makes sense. However... I haven't been at the factory for very long, and I'm only familiar with the people in our workshop. You'll have to handle the personnel matters."

Li Xiangdong smiled and deliberately left the opportunity to Director Yang.

"This...this...Section Chief Li, you trust me too much..."

"Let me think... I actually think He Yuzhu would be a good choice?"

“He has worked in our workshop before. He may not be good at parts processing, but he should have no problem assembling equipment according to the blueprints.”

Director Yang's acting was so bad that he didn't even give himself a moment to think before recommending He Yuzhu to Li Xiangdong.

“That makes sense, that makes sense. Let He Yuzhu do it then.”

Li Xiangdong readily agreed, much to the surprise of Factory Director Yang.

“Okay, I’ll go and tell him at noon today and have him come to work this afternoon.”

"But... there's still one problem..."

Just as Director Yang was struggling to contain his excitement, Li Xiangdong suddenly frowned and spoke.

"Um, what's the problem?"

"Currently, the number of people in our workshop is exactly an even number, so we can split them into pairs. If He Yuzhu comes... who will he be paired with?"

"Well... just find him a group to fit in, three people per group is fine too!"

"It's not fair to the other groups if there are three people in a group. Wouldn't that give He Yuzhu a chance to slack off?"

"this......"

The question raised by Li Xiangdong put Director Yang in a dilemma. He frowned, remained silent for a few minutes, and then suddenly perked up again.

“I’ve got it! That projectionist Xu Damao took a break for a while, and he just started work today but doesn’t have a post yet. Why don’t we transfer him to our workshop? He can team up with He Yuzhu.”

"And I heard that they live in the same courtyard and have a lot of contact with each other, so they'll definitely work together more smoothly!"

　When Li Xiangdong heard Director Yang say that He Yuzhu and Xu Damao had a good understanding, he almost burst out laughing.

"Okay, Director Yang, you can make the arrangements."

Li Xiangdong said, feigning composure.

He had thought that Director Yang had toned down his ambitions, but this incident with Yi Zhonghai had reignited his thirst for power. Since that was the case, Li Xiangdong decided to take this opportunity to deal with Director Yang and He Yuzhu together. As for Xu Damao, he was likely to suffer the same fate as well.

Upon receiving the blueprints, the workers automatically split into pairs and immediately resumed their efficient work. Meanwhile, Factory Director Yang was eager to return home and couldn't wait to rush to Yi Zhonghai's house to tell him the good news.

"Alright, your transfer order has come down, you have a new place to go."

At the same time, Xu Damao also received the notification.

"What? To the workshop?"

"Aren't you deliberately messing with me? I used to do arts and culture work, how could you suddenly assign me to such a physically demanding job?"

Chapter 273 Failed Flattery

Upon hearing that he was to be transferred to the workshop to do manual labor, Xu Damao immediately became furious.

"This has nothing to do with me. It's all a decision made by the higher-ups. If you don't want to do it, go find the factory manager. Don't stay here with me."

"you......"

Xu Damao looked fierce, but he still had some sense and didn't dare to cause trouble in the factory. So he went to the workshop to find out what was going on.

The workers in the workshop were working hard at the time. Xu Damao tiptoed in and spotted Li Xiangdong among the workers.

"Section Chief Li!"

Xu Damao ran towards Li Xiangdong with a fawning smile on his face.

"Wait a moment, I'm busy with something."

Unexpectedly, Li Xiangdong wasn't having any of it and continued to instruct the other workers. Rejected, Xu Damao bit his lip and could only stand aside and wait quietly.

"Work in the workshop is not difficult, but it is not easy either. Study the blueprints carefully and maintain a positive work attitude. If you can't meet my standards, I will have to send you back to continue being unemployed."

After finishing his work, Li Xiangdong finally had a moment to talk to Xu Damao.

However, his attitude towards Xu Damao was different from that towards the other workers. He didn't give Xu Damao a kind look and only punished him without rewarding him.

"Hey Section Chief Li, don't be so serious. We're all neighbors in the same compound!"

"I've always thought you were far more capable than that Factory Director Yang. It was only a matter of time before you replaced him!"

"I'm not really familiar with the work in this workshop... so I'll have to ask Section Chief Li to be understanding if I encounter any problems in the future!"

Although Xu Damao was not happy with Li Xiangdong's words, he still shamelessly went up to Li Xiangdong and flattered him.

"I'm not joking with you. If you're not familiar with the work in the workshop, try to get familiar with it as soon as possible. I can't take responsibility for work-related problems. It doesn't just affect me, but the entire steel rolling mill. So please take your work seriously."

"As for Director Yang... if Director Yang hadn't transferred you to the workshop, you might have been unemployed for a long time."

Li Xiangdong maintained a stern and unsmiling demeanor when facing Xu Damao. He even went so far as to use his own rhetoric to try and get Xu Damao to side with Director Yang.

"hold head high......"

Even someone as thick-skinned as Xu Damao felt a little embarrassed when facing Li Xiangdong.

"By the way, the workshop is currently assembling machinery and equipment, in pairs. Your partner should arrive around this afternoon. If you're free now, you can observe how others work and study my blueprints."

After saying that, Li Xiangdong tossed the blueprints to Xu Damao and continued working.

"Tch, what's so great about you? You think you're so capable just because you're a lowly section chief? If you were the factory manager, I'd be cleaning up your messes!"

After Li Xiangdong left, Xu Damao muttered resentfully to himself. But since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it; doing manual labor in the workshop was better than sitting at home without earning a penny.

As lunch break approached, everyone rushed from the workshop toward the canteen, except for Director Yang, who quietly slipped out of the factory.

Is Lao Yi home?

Factory Director Yang found Yi Zhonghai's house based on his memory.

"Oh! Director Yang! Come in, come in, you're a rare guest!"

"Honey! Hurry up and prepare some good dishes. I'm going to have a couple of drinks with Director Yang at noon today!"

Yi Zhonghai, who was lying in bed leisurely listening to the radio, saw Director Yang arrive and hurriedly got up to greet him.