Chapter Fifty: The Inaugural Speech That Came with the Trend

  Thanks to Tuoba Shi and other brothers for their enthusiastic support, bowing in gratitude; something has come up the past few days, university classmates have arrived, will update again on Monday, is that okay?

  Shen Hua did not want to simply say a few words and disperse the workers. Today, the emotions of the workers have been mobilized, which is also the best opportunity to thoroughly mobilize for the rectification of the steel plant. It was also intentional to take advantage of the current situation as the best opportunity to deliver his inaugural speech.

  "I see that almost all the workers in the factory are here. Although I didn't prepare, and today's events aren't entirely pleasant, let's consider this as our initial meeting, and my welcome speech," Shen Hua pressed his hand down to signal everyone to quiet down, without a microphone, he raised his voice as much as possible so that all the workers present could hear his words.

  "I'm new here and don't know much about the steel factory, I believe every worker and cadre present has a deeper understanding of the factory than me. I also believe that everyone present understands that the factory must undergo thorough rectification to be saved. Mayor Gao representing the city and Secretary Du representing the town have also clearly expressed their firm support for the factory's rectification and production operations..."

  Du Jian's body shrunk into the shadow of the front hall, thinking in his heart: Nima, when did I ever say I'd support you in rectifying the steel factory? He muttered to himself, but didn't dare jump out. At this moment, Du Jian didn't have the courage to speak up, and he didn't even know how Shen Hua would deal with him after this matter.

  Xiong Wenbin and Zhao Dong, Yang Haipeng stood behind them, they have not seen Shen Hua's ability to manage a large-scale steel plant, but had to admit that Shen Hua's speech was very infectious; also knew that this is the basic quality of being a leader.

  As the saying goes: The superior must be able to hold down the scene.

  Shen Huai had him tied up and made him recite his welcome speech, while Gao Tianhe remained calm and expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

  Kuang Xuetao, however, looked at Shen Hua with some appreciation, who seemed a bit too young in the party members and cadres team. Although he still couldn't figure out what kind of background Shen had behind him, thinking that he dared to use such strong measures against Gao Tianhe and his son, it was indeed somewhat extraordinary.

  Kuang Xuetao thought to himself, he's so young, probably not married yet?

  Of course, before the situation in the city became clear, Quan Xuetao also just calmly looked at Shen Huai, without revealing a particularly appreciative gaze.

  "I have no experience in steel industry management, and I'm very young, with many aspects of insufficient experience," Shen Hua said without considering the feelings of those behind him. "But I believe that as long as we seriously listen to the opinions of the vast number of workers and cadres, and do our work carefully and thoroughly, and do every item of work and every link that we should and need to do, the steel plant will definitely be reborn in our hands. So I'm here to request everyone, to request each worker and cadre to think seriously about the future fate of the steel plant after returning: what are the problems and shortcomings of the steel plant that must be corrected immediately? What weak links must be strengthened immediately? All these opinions, please discuss them first in each class, then summarize and report to the factory office, and finally vote on them at the workers' congress. We will select the top 100 most urgent and pressing issues that need to be corrected as our overall goal for the next year. After a year, let's see what we can achieve..."

  "I'd like to say something here, my first dissatisfaction with the steel plant is," Shen Hua paused for a moment, pointing at a young worker in the audience who looked familiar, "I remember you, your name is Hu Zhigang, this afternoon, you led everyone to rush out of the factory gate and were stopped by Secretary Du. I'd like to ask you, how much was your total salary income last month..."

  "Two hundred and thirty-six yuan," Hu Zhigang stood up, also responding loudly to Shen Hua's question, "Not enough to buy a few clothes for my girlfriend. However, with this income, it is still the highest in our class..."

  Everyone laughed and cheered, when full of hope, did not feel that this salary was pitiful.

  Shen Hua knew that the Meixi Steel Factory had been paying half salaries for three months, and it seemed that Hu Zhi Gang was not only a credible and leading troublemaker, but also quite capable, otherwise, as a thorn in the side like him, it would be difficult to get a salary higher than most ordinary workers.

  "What I'm most dissatisfied with about this steel factory is right here. Most workers work so hard, but their monthly salary isn't even enough to buy a few clothes for their girlfriend or eat meat a few times a month; I also know that some workers' children need to go to school, and they have to borrow hundreds of yuan from relatives for tuition fees. I promise you one thing: before the factory-wide employees' meeting, I will first make sure to pay back the wages owed to everyone. In the future, when the factory becomes profitable, we will also increase everyone's income at the earliest opportunity..."

  The staff said that what they are most concerned about is still their income. Upon hearing Shen Hua's promise, there was a burst of thunderous applause.

  If it were someone else, the factory workers might have thought this was just some nice words, but Shen Hua's image of driving a heavy truck to block the sedan today has been deeply imprinted in the minds of the workers, and they didn't doubt for a moment that he would put his words into action, instead they responded with warm applause.

  "Of course, there are some ugly words that I have already said before. I advocate for widening the income gap between workers, and allowing those with talent, skills, management expertise, and a strong work ethic to earn higher incomes," Shen Hua continued after the applause died down. "Many people will wonder if this isn't openly supporting giving management personnel a raise? There's no need to avoid this topic - the big pot of rice has long been calling for its destruction, so why can't excellent workers earn higher incomes? As long as it helps increase the overall efficiency of the steel factory, we should be bold enough to try. I also know that many workers have opinions about some of the factory's cadres, thinking their management and technical abilities are lacking, yet they occupy high positions - if we give them a raise again, wouldn't that be unjust? Here, I make a promise to everyone, with the support of the city and town governments. At the upcoming workers' conference, every member of the management team and department heads must stand up and make statements related to their positions, and publicly accept questioning from all factory workers about their abilities. Those who are unqualified will be demoted to ordinary worker status. If you're a capable worker who thinks you have management skills, technical expertise, and can do better than current management personnel, I support you standing up at the conference and challenging them..."

  "Shen Hua pointed at Hu Zhigang below the stairs and said, 'I have a deep impression of you. You also boasted that your salary is the highest in the team, so I suppose you are a talented person with skills and management abilities. At the upcoming factory-wide staff meeting, I'm looking forward to seeing your performance. Of course, if you think you're more qualified to be the factory director than me, I hope you can tell me two or three days in advance, so I can make some preparations...' "

  The staff burst into loud laughter.

  Hu Zhigang publicly pointed at Shen Hua, his heart was boiling with excitement, his face flushed red with agitation, and he, who was usually bold and daring, was so excited that he couldn't speak.

  "My opinion is right here, incompetent and irresponsible management personnel must be removed from their positions. Lazy and undisciplined employees who do not follow work discipline must also undergo strict education and correction. That's all for today, everyone has dragged on too late and delayed dinner time, let's disperse now..."

  Shen Hua finished his speech, and the workers applauded for a long time, surrounding the administration building of the factory, unwilling to leave.

  Shen Hua turned around and said to Gao Tianhe, Kan Xuetao, Xiong Wenbin and others behind him: "The words I just spoke must have made Mayor Gao, Director Kan and Director Xiong laugh..."

  Xiong Wenbin saw that Shen Huai had a good grasp of the workers' mentality and the problems in the steel plant, and he was well-prepared. He also said that with such a good start today, the next step would be to make major changes to the steel plant, and there would be no resistance. Only then did he deeply realize that Tan Qiping had used Shen Huai as a pioneer in Donghua for a reason.

  Xiong Wenbin guessed that Shen Hua might not have had a strong background, but was purely talented and impressed Tan Qiping, who knows, it's just strange that he didn't make any particularly outstanding performances with Chen Mingde at Donghua University for half a year.

  Gao Tianhe's face was unpredictable, Shen Huai's performance was getting better and better, which only meant that he would encounter even more trouble in the future, it was really impossible to have a good mood.

  Gao Tianhe just nodded, showing a approving attitude, but in his heart he didn't bother to say another word to Shen Huai: Isn't it just about taking away the control of Mei Xi Steel Factory? Give it to you then.

  Of course, Shen Huai's previous words made the management team feel hopeless. Unexpectedly, at the upcoming staff meeting, Shen Huai was going to directly put them on the charcoal fire for roasting, and they didn't even dare to struggle or oppose it.

  Shen Huai nodded and said, "Zhao Dong, you also need to prepare well. Although I appointed you as my special assistant at the meeting earlier, you still have to pass the test at the staff conference. If you can't make it, I'll lose face..."

  Zhao Dong knew that Shen Hua's words were a warning to the other managers of the steel plant, and said: "If there really is someone in the steel plant who is more suitable for the position of production technical assistant than me, I am willing to go down to the workshop and be a worker."

  Shen Hua smiled and turned to Du Jian and He Qing Shuo, saying: "Although I am also the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, it seems that for a period of time, I will have to put my main energy on the steel plant. The work I'm in charge of will need Mayor He to take on more responsibility..."

  Du Jian cursed in his heart: "Damn it, you don't even have a job to take care of in the town, do you? And Shen Huai said that just to promote He Qing's position."

  He Qingci didn't feel completely at ease until Shen Huai said this.

  Although he didn't know who was behind Shen Hua, perhaps because he was too young and lacked experience, he couldn't directly take the top spot in the town government, so he had to settle for being a deputy secretary at the department level. From now on, Du Jian wouldn't dare confront Shen Hua head-on again - looking around at the town officials who were all silent as cicadas in winter, they were probably thinking deeply about how to improve their relationship with Deputy Secretary Shen.

  At this point, He Qing also had a feeling of raising his eyebrows and sighing, thinking: Positioning is really too important. If he was slightly weaker today and let Du Jian lead him by the nose, the outcome would not be much better than Du Jian's.

  The workers had almost all left the factory when Ge Yongqiu, representing the county committee and government, finally arrived.

  Gao Tianhe also scolded Ge Yongqiu, finally instructing: "Although this time's mistake was caused by the Wanhu Company and the Municipal Public Security Bureau, you Xiapu County Party Committee and Government must also reflect on it..." He didn't want to stay any longer to be humiliated, thinking of leaving the subsequent mess for Ge Yongqiu to deal with, and also to put people at ease, so he invited Quan Xuetao to return to the city first.

  After all, Meixi Town belongs to Xiapu. Since Ge Yongqiu rushed over, the city's withdrawal is natural. However, the incident also involves the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the municipal party secretary has clear instructions, so Xiong Wenbin and Liu Chengguo stayed behind to assist with follow-up matters...