Chapter 52 of Volume 1: There is a time for rejoicing together

  The meeting didn't end until eleven o'clock.

  Mei Creek Town Party Secretary Du Jian completely collapsed; Deputy Secretary and Mayor He Qingjiao was eager to try, with a willing-to-cooperate-with-Shen-Huai look; while other town leaders and the management of the steel plant also didn't show any signs of daring to make trouble again; the steel plant's production capacity release was insufficient, and no night shift was arranged, except for the necessary duty workers, all employees and cadres dispersed - looking at the situation, Ge Yongqiu also had no intention of staying in Mei Creek Town, and returned to the county overnight.

  Du Jian, He Qing She and other town leaders, as well as the heads of departments and deputy factory directors of the steel plant, all left one after another; Liu Weiguo from the municipal bureau also left his contact information before driving back to the city in a police car.

  Today was a long and winding day for Shen Hua, although he was very tired, his spirit was still excited.

  "Alright, alright, don't disturb the old bear's peaceful life," Shen Huai said with a smile, rubbing his hands together as he spoke to the three people who were still left behind - Xiong Wenbin, Zhao Dong and Yang Haipeng. "Facing Ge Yongqiu, I'm sure you haven't swallowed many mouthfuls of rice either. There should still be some restaurants in town that haven't closed yet, let's go find a place to fill our bellies!"

  Yang Haipeng followed Xiong Wenbin's side, pretending to be a municipal committee staff member, and was able to participate in subsequent events.

  Yang Haipeng asked Shen Huai, "So you're just going to let Wanhu Company off the hook? If we really want to dig up something from Meixi Steel Factory, we should be able to dig out Gao Tianhe and his son, lock, stock, and barrel..."

  Shen Huai shook his head and said, "Not necessarily, Wanhu Company has signed a sales contract with the steel mill after all. If we want to investigate, we must seal off Wanhu Company's accounts immediately, but we don't have that much time. Another thing is, if we want to directly investigate Gao Tianhe, we must get approval from the provincial government, it's not that easy. We'd better move forward, clinging to historical burdens won't necessarily bring benefits..."

  "Shen Hua is right," said Xiong Wenbin with a sigh, "the contradiction is too sharp, it's not always beneficial for the development of work, struggle still needs to be carried out with some roundabout art..."

  Xiong Wenbin still cannot fully determine Shen Huai's intention: is it to selflessly rescue Meixi Steel Plant, achieve results and make political achievements in order to have better development prospects; or to control Meixi Steel Plant for personal gain.

  Xiong Wenbin also didn't say too much, and the lessons of these years have made him understand that being too principled doesn't work.

  Four people left the steel mill and drove north along Xuetang Street.

  It was past eleven o'clock, and all the shops along the street had closed their doors, with only a few lanterns lit.

  There were no streetlights along the road, and although there was a faint starlight shining down, the road was still pitch black. However, the reception station unexpectedly had its lights on.

  The car drove past, and Chen Dan and others swarmed out of the reception station. Not only was Zhou Ming waiting for them, but also Zhao Dong's girlfriend Xiao Mingxia was at the reception station.

  Shen Huai rubbed his hands together and laughed: "You're all free to do as you like, just wait here for the night to pass!"

  "So many things happened today, even Mayor Gao was shocked. How can we sit still? " Zhou Ming hurried over and said, "Xiao Xiao came to wait for Zhao Dong, how about it? Has the deputy factory director of Zhao Dong been implemented? Xiao Xiao is waiting to celebrate."

  "It's not time to celebrate yet," Shen Huan didn't know Yang Haipeng's attitude when he went to find Xiong Wenbin for help, but he had long known his worldly ways. Even if it was just because of Xiong Wenbin's relationship, he wouldn't have neglected him. He smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Zhao Dong will help me sort out the steel factory's production first, and when the time is right, I'll take over as deputy factory head..." Seeing Chen Dan and Chen Tong standing behind, he asked Chen Tong, "Why didn't I see you at the steel factory today?" After asking this question, his gaze fell on Chen Dan's face.

  Chen Dan's bright and sparkling eyes, with the light from the reception station door behind her, were deep and enchanting, but also revealed a concerned expression in her eyes, which made Shen Huai feel warm and fuzzy inside.

  Chen Tong briefly told Yang Haipeng about how he had failed to intercept the message and then rushed to Xinjiayuan for help.

  Shen Huai burst out laughing and said, "Thanks to you guys for getting familiar with Hai Peng quickly, finding Lao Xiong to bail me out. Otherwise, I would have really been locked up at the police station overnight..."

  "How could this be? Can all the workers in the factory agree that you were taken away by the Municipal Public Security Bureau?" Chen Tong said.

  Shen Hua smiled and didn't explain much: mass incidents are a double-edged sword. If it really comes to the point where steel plant workers clash with municipal police, even if he is stopped, it will not be beneficial for his future career development.

  Again, he did not want the steel plant workers to cause trouble, which would only make the situation worse and out of control.

  "What about Little Li?" Shen Huan was still most concerned about Little Li, afraid that everyone would focus on his affairs and neglect Little Li. Was he still at the old mansion? He walked to the reception station door and asked Chen Dan.

  "I was supposed to go to the old house this afternoon to help you tidy up the bed, but I didn't expect so many things to happen," Chen Dan dared not look into Shen Hua's eyes again, feeling that his gaze was especially scorching hot. She lowered her head slightly and said, "Xiao Li went to school after class and brought Jinzi to live in the town. Tomorrow is still a school day, and she must have gone to bed early by now. The old house isn't ready yet either, so Secretary Shen can just sleep in the guest room at the reception station tonight..."

  "It doesn't matter," Shen Hua said, seeing the manager of the reception station, He Yuelian, standing behind the counter and bowing slightly to greet him.

  Shen Hua has been reflecting seriously on his unsuccessful first half of life, summarizing the world's affairs into the phrase "water is clear but no fish, people are too cautious and have no friends". His first half of life was too principled, somewhat arrogant and proud of his talents. It was also because he had it too easy in the early days that led to a series of setbacks later on. Upon further reflection, some principles cannot be abandoned, but sometimes one cannot be too principled either.

  There's still so much work to be done in town, and relationships and nerves can't always be that tense.

  Taking Yang Haipeng as an example, he has been running errands for some time now, and at the end of the day, he has his own thoughts. He wants to do steel sales, which is not a particularly pure intention. But it's not bad either, steel sales always need someone to do them, and it won't necessarily harm the interests of the steel plant.

  He Mo Lian wasn't very clear about what exactly happened in the factory's conference room, and Du Jian also had a sullen face and didn't dare say another word. But this matter was ultimately resolved by the mayor himself. She may be foolish, but she knew that her small arm could twist Shen Hua's thigh.

  He Mu Lian had an inexplicable sense of guilt, her face didn't look good either. She forced a smile and said: "Thinking that Secretary Shen works late into the night, his stomach must be hungry, the reception station should take responsibility for its duties. As for what's next, I'll leave it to Little Chen..." After saying a few words, she slipped away with her tail between her legs.

  Shen Huai stood at the entrance of the reception station, waiting for Yang Haipeng to walk over. He put his arm around Yang's shoulder and said: "I know you've always wanted to do steel trading. Mei Xi Steel Factory's steel exports, if you want to participate, I can give you some convenience. However, Mei Xi Steel Factory's steel exports, I plan to only do cash transactions with distributors. The current problem of triangular debt is very troublesome, and the steel industry doesn't have that kind of capital strength, so it can't afford to drag on. How big a scale you can do depends on how much funding you can raise. Of course, Mei Xi Steel Factory's steel exports, you don't need to worry about Wanhu Company daring to suppress the market too much..."

  Yang Haipeng was both happy and worried, he had only been in the building materials business for two years, how much savings could he have accumulated? Even if he mortgaged his house, he would only be able to raise tens of millions or at most a few hundred thousand yuan.

  Of course, the steel trade in Donghua region has been monopolized by a few trading companies such as Wanhao, with extremely high profits. Now that Meixi Steel Factory has opened up an opportunity, it is a rare chance for many people.

  More importantly, other steel mills that want to bypass the Wanhu company's sales also need to consider whether they can afford to offend the mayor's company. After today's commotion, the Wanhu company will not openly strike at Meixi Steel Factory's steel sales in the market - this is currently the most crucial favorable condition for distributors who sell Meixi Steel Factory products in the Donghua region.

  "To be honest, there are many small bosses along the Mei Creek River who want to do steel trade, but none of them have the guts to go to the Wanhu Company to fight for food," said Yang Haipeng. "Today's commotion, I think it may be possible to unite some of them and take the sales rights of Mei Creek Steel Factory..."

  "In what specific way are you considering, if there's a need for me and Zhao Dong to help, just say so. However, you can't just think about taking advantage of the steel factory." Shen Huan said with a smile, knowing that Yang Haipeng used to be a key member of the municipal steel factory and had also worked in building materials for two years, so he should have a better understanding of the inner workings than they did. The key was to provide some support when necessary.

  Zhou Ming saw Yang Haipeng running around in front of and behind the horse, and immediately got visible benefits. He was also envious beyond words, but he was also puzzled:

  Shen Hua used to follow Chen Mingde from the province to Donghua, even if he knew Tan Qiping in the province, their relationship shouldn't be particularly close, at least not as close as with Chen Mingde. Why does Tan Qiping trust him so much? Or did Tan Qiping think that since Shen Hua was new to Donghua and couldn't find a more suitable person to help him open up the situation?

  Zhou Ming thought so too, Shen Huai didn't even have the face to put up the sign of the Song family, who would know he was a descendant of the Song family?

  He was indeed the one who came to Donghua to handle Chen Mingde's aftermath, and only then did he formally come into contact with Tan Qiping. The reason why he could quickly gain Tan Qiping's trust was not only because he helped Tan Qiping smoothly resolve the dispute over Chen Mingde's death, but more importantly, it was because of his identity as a member of the Song family.

  It's actually quite funny to say that he was abandoned by the Song family and sent to Huaihai Province, but the influence of the Song family still provides him with benefits that ordinary people can't enjoy.

  Looking at Chen Tong's expectant face, walking into the reception station, Shen Hua and Xiong Wenbin sat around the table, asking Chen Tong to sit next to him, saying:

  "I can immediately transfer you to work by my side, but I think carefully, this is not good for you. I still hope that you temporarily stay in the workshop, participate in the production and rectification of the steel plant from the most basic level, so that you have the possibility to learn something solidly. Like Hai Peng, Zhao Dong, they graduated from university and entered the steel plant, were thrown into the workshop by Old Bear for a year or even longer, so they have today's ability. If you don't believe me, just ask Old Bear if I'm deceiving you..."

  Xiong Wenbin only thought of these things when Yang Haipeng or Zhao Dong mentioned them to Shen Hua, saying: "Mentioning this, Haiwen was the one who spent the most time learning patiently in the workshop years ago, and also grasped the technology of the steel plant the most thoroughly. If I could stay at the steel plant all along, if I had to choose a successor, Haiwen would be my first choice, Zhao Dong second, Haipeng and Zhou Ming would have to wait..."

  Shen Hua attaches great importance to Chen Dan's younger brother, Chen Tong. Xiong Wenbin also teaches him as an elder, "What Shen Hua said makes sense, and it's not just about learning technology. If you can be patient and work as a ordinary worker in the workshop for a year, you will learn many things that you cannot learn in your future life."

  Chen Tong was slightly disappointed, but still nodded in agreement and said: "Okay, Zhao Dong and the others also started from the grassroots level, I should also start from the grassroots level..."

  Shen Hua smiled and said: "Then you go back to the dormitory immediately, and tomorrow come to work with spirit..."

  "Hmm..." Chen Tong was also very trusting of Shen Huai, and didn't mind not having a midnight snack to eat. He immediately went back to the dormitory to sleep.