The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 29: Talking about benefits to poach talent

"Comrade Zhiqiang, we'll be working together from now on. Let me take you to get your meal tickets and employee ID."

After factory directors Liu Fuhua and Zhao Guangzheng left, Bai Shaokang, the deputy leader of the project team, approached Zhou Zhiqiang and said with a smile...
"The workshop for the project experiment is being cleaned up. It should be ready by tomorrow according to your requirements, Team Leader Zhou, and then the experiment can begin."

"However, starting tomorrow, Team Leader Zhou, you'll be staying at our factory for quite some time. Let me show you around first."

Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Director Bai. To be honest, I've heard that your factory has excellent benefits and treatment. Among all the major heavy industry factories in Beijing, it's one of the best. I'm in for a treat tomorrow."

"That's right. Putting everything else aside, the benefits at our factory are unbeatable."

When Bai Shaokang spoke about this, his tone was somewhat boastful: "Steelworkers consume a lot of energy. If they don't have enough to eat, they can't produce good steel."

So we don't say we have meat every day, but we do have it every day or two, making sure the workers eat well. At the very least, it's usually cabbage stewed with pork cracklings.

At that time, being able to eat fried food was already considered good. Moreover, the Second Steel Rolling Mill had several thousand employees. Even if each person only had an ounce of meat, a meal would require two pigs.

Any major event becomes a minor event when averaged out by thousands of people; any minor event becomes a major event when brought together by thousands of people.

As Bai Shaokang led Zhou Zhiqiang toward the Labor and Wages Department, he introduced him, "Our factory has another hidden benefit, Team Leader Zhou."

"What hidden benefits?"

"The Logistics Procurement Department has three groups. One group liaises with government agencies, but the second and third groups frequently travel to various places to collect unplanned supplies. Some of them even travel to other cities with the transport team."

Bai Shaokang smiled and then lowered his voice to say, "The unplanned supplies that the purchasing department buys are factory benefits."

Factory leaders and outstanding workers could all enjoy special meals, without needing ration coupons; they only needed to pay cost price.

No tickets were given, the price was at cost, and there was no need to give the chef a red envelope. All things considered, it was already quite a rare deal.

If you hire a chef from outside, you not only have to spend time and effort to get money and tickets, but you also have to find a chef yourself.

However, half of those who ate at the Second Steel Rolling Mill were leaders and cadres, and some were workers as well. But workers only ate at the factory canteen once a year, during their wedding banquets, so it wasn't very frequent.

Moreover, cooking in the kitchen is considered overtime, and the reason for the overtime cannot be explicitly stated, but overtime pay is indeed given.

Bai Shaokang introduced Zhou Zhiqiang to many of the benefits of the Second Steel Rolling Mill, some of which were not unique to them, such as the special kitchen facilities, which other mills also had.

After all, we are still in the stage of joint public-private ownership. Although the private sector basically no longer manages things, the customs they brought with them have still been passed down.

After receiving his meal tickets and temporary work badge, Zhou Zhiqiang looked at the things in his hand and knew that he would be working temporarily at the Second Steel Plant starting tomorrow.

"Team Leader Zhou, Factory Director Chen and Factory Director Xie both think highly of you. Why don't you come work for our factory?"

After showing Zhou Zhiqiang around the factory, Bai Shaokang finally tried to win him over, saying:

"I heard you haven't been officially hired yet. If you come to our factory, Director Chen said he'll take care of getting you officially hired. As long as you agree, he'll also help you with the job transfer."

"It's not very convenient, Director Bai."

Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Your factory is indeed very good, with good benefits, and it's a large factory directly under a ministry. Although I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, I also have some knowledge of steel materials."

However, my father-in-law helped me get this job, and he even planned out my route. I can't bypass him and change jobs on my own.

At this point, the only option was to use Guo Linhua as a shield, so as not to offend either side.

Bai Shaokang was taken aback upon hearing this, and then asked curiously, "Team Leader Zhou, who is your father-in-law?" "Guo Linhua, he used to be a professor at the Industrial University. He went to support the construction in the Northwest last month. He is also my teacher."

Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "My father-in-law is friends with Deputy Director Liu of Dafeng Machinery Factory. He arranged it for me before he left, so regarding the job transfer, Director Bai, I'm really sorry, I can't leave out my father-in-law."

"Oh, it's Professor Guo. Well, there's really nothing we can do, Team Leader Zhou."

Bai Shaokang felt a little regretful, thinking to himself that it seemed the factory director's idea was not going to be realized.

The arrangements were made by the father-in-law before he left, so he must have had some plans for the future. Moreover, he had a good relationship with the deputy director of Dafeng Machinery Factory, so they couldn't possibly persuade him to stay.

Soon, Bai Shaokang led Zhou Zhiqiang to the workshop where the new alloy process was being tested.

Excess equipment is being cleared out here, and many workers are moving and cleaning the workshop.

After showing Zhou Zhiqiang around, Bai Shaokang turned to Zhou and asked, "Team Leader Zhou, should we have a meeting with the team members?"

"Okay, let's meet. This time we're developing a new smelting furnace, and we need to explain it to the others."

Zhou Zhiqiang said to Bai Shaokang, "Director Bai, I seem to remember the blueprints I prepared."

"It's in our factory. I'll go get it later."

After Bai Shaokang finished speaking, he laughed and joked, "Team Leader Zhou, you're really carefree. I heard you designed the blueprints right here in the factory office? Luckily, no one was watching you, otherwise the blueprints would have been stolen, and that would have been a real problem."

However, as mentioned above, all future blueprints entering and leaving the warehouse will be under the supervision of designated personnel, and the factory's security department will also patrol the area.

Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "At the time, I didn't expect anyone to pay attention to a small technician like me. Later, I submitted the drawings."

Bai Shaokang smiled after hearing this, and then went to call for help.

Zhou Zhiqiang was the only one from Dafeng Machinery Factory; the others from Dafeng Machinery Factory couldn't provide any support.

The supplies were not as plentiful as those allocated by the Second Steel Rolling Mill, and Zhou Zhiqiang was the only technical talent they had.

The University of Technology in Beijing has provided quite a few people; Professor Zhang and another professor from the materials science department will be coming tomorrow with several students to help.

The second steel rolling mill contributed both manpower and resources, with a total of 37 intermediate and senior workers transferred over, plus 5 from the technical department, bringing together most of the factory's elite.

Some people were definitely not convinced. After Bai Shaokang called the people over, Zhou Zhiqiang saw several people with unpleasant expressions and unfriendly looks in their eyes.

This is normal. Even after Zhou Zhiqiang became a full-fledged technician, he was only a level 13 technician, while two of the technicians who came today were at a higher level than him.

They also found out that it was a professor from the Beijing Institute of Technology who strongly recommended Zhou Zhiqiang to become the group leader, and they immediately became dissatisfied.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang didn't care about them. He had already thoroughly understood the equipment and production process required for the new alloy. What he needed now was an obedient helper.

Having one or two more technicians would only help him complete the experiment and implement the project as soon as possible; having one or two fewer technicians wouldn't matter either, he could just work overtime.

In this kind of situation, if you can do it, you can; if you can't, you should just obediently follow others' instructions.

After almost everyone had arrived, Bai Shaokang gave Zhou Zhiqiang a signal.

Zhou Zhiqiang then clapped his hands twice to attract everyone's attention before saying, "Everyone, I am Zhou Zhiqiang from Dafeng Machinery Factory."

(End of this chapter)