The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 38 The Leader Poached People Again
When Zhou Zhiqiang saw a group of people enter from the conference room door, he knew that the leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy had arrived.

This morning, he was suddenly told not to do any work, but at least not to get his clothes dirty. Zhou Zhiqiang knew that a big leader was coming and that he had to pay attention to his appearance.

He didn't go out of his way to get himself all dirty to look like a laborer.

I waited in the conference room early with Bai Shaokang, Zhang Deli and a few others. While waiting for them to arrive, we chatted about technical matters for a while.

Originally, Director Chen intended for Zhou Zhiqiang to wait as well, but Zhang Deli was too old, and it wouldn't be good to leave an old man standing outside in this cold weather.

Furthermore, Zhang Deli wanted to discuss the technical aspects of the process with Zhou Zhiqiang, but Secretary Kang waved his hand and told them to go to the conference room first.

"Professor Zhang, you've really worked hard this time, once again contributing to the development of our country's steel industry."

After Director Han entered, he noticed Professor Zhang Deli and went up to shake his hand.

In many projects previously led by the Iron and Steel Bureau, the Sijiucheng Industrial University was a key player, and he had several conversations with Zhang Deli.

After shaking hands, Zhang Deli smiled and said, "Director Han, I didn't have to work so hard this time. Zhiqiang did most of the work. If I were to take credit for this, I would be truly ashamed."

"Comrade Zhou Zhiqiang, I've been hearing Comrade Hanpeng mention your name a lot lately. I should have come to the project team to offer my condolences long ago, but I've been too busy to find the time."

Director Han turned to Zhou Zhiqiang and extended his hand, then said with a smile, "Leader Wang was also planning to come today, but something came up and he had to cancel."

But he also told me to ask the project team if there was anything the ministry could do, and that I should just let him know, Comrade Zhou.

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "It's already very good, Director Han. The project team has everything it needs now, and even has plenty of free time after the smelting is finished."

Therefore, we started smelting another type of steel a few days ago, which can also meet some of the needs of our country's heavy industry development.”

Director Han listened attentively, nodding as he listened, and showed no impatience whatsoever, despite Zhou Zhiqiang's relatively low rank and status as a technician who had only been working for a year.

So he quickly understood what Zhou Zhiqiang was saying: the last time they smelted alloy steel, it had the best performance and the highest cost, making it suitable for national defense projects and various advanced military equipment.

The cost of the alloy steel smelted this time was much lower. Although its performance was not as good as the alloy steel smelted last time, it was still far superior to the steel used in China's heavy industry.

This new alloy steel has many uses; it can be used in many types of machinery to extend the service life of the machinery, thereby saving the country a lot of financial expenditure.

"Comrade Zhou, you did a great job."

Director Han smiled and reached out to shake hands again, this time using a bit more force.

"These two types of alloy steel alone have saved the country a lot of financial expenditure, which is of great help to our development. You have done a great job."

Zhou Zhiqiang humbly declined, saying, "This is what I should do, Director Han. Building a country requires the strength of everyone."

Besides, I didn't complete the project alone. Without the help of the other members of the project team, and without the assistance of the steel rolling mill and the machinery factory, I couldn't have done it."

He never hesitates to say nice things, and he almost never suffers a loss for saying nice things. Besides, his superiors wouldn't really think he's highly conscious just because he said a few nice things and wouldn't give him a reward.

That's impossible!

"Good, well said. This is the kind of awareness we should advocate. The young people today have a high level of ideological awareness."

Director Han nodded in praise, his face showing nothing but satisfaction.

However, he suddenly remembered that Zhou Zhiqiang seemed to work at the machinery factory, which was a subordinate unit of the Industrial Bureau of the Ministry of Machinery.

Such an outstanding person, and it seems he doesn't even belong to their Ministry of Metallurgy. So Director Han asked with a smile, "Comrade Zhou, would you be interested in joining our Iron and Steel Bureau's Technical Department? We welcome talent like you. If you come, I'll assign you to the Fifth Technical Section; this section was established less than two years ago."

The implication is that since it's newly established, there's a great opportunity for improvement.

Zhou Zhiqiang was a little surprised to hear this, but at the same time very tempted. If he went there with this merit, he might be promoted to a substantive cadre position soon.

College graduates should theoretically be given cadre status, but status is one thing, and if there are no vacant positions, then one only has that status.

Zhou Zhiqiang understood the implication of Director Han's words: he was likely to be given a cadre position soon.

It's very likely that he's a section chief or deputy section chief.

However, Dafeng Machinery Factory promised to resolve the issue for him, and Zhou Zhiqiang had also recently planned the path he would take over the next twenty years.

Unless there are any major changes, he still wants to continue down the path of mechanical equipment research and development.

While metallurgical processes are equally important, the development of heavy machinery is more suitable for him.

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly replied, "Director Han, I've already been officially appointed."

"Becoming a permanent employee is nothing. If you want to come, I'll arrange for someone to retrieve your personnel file."

Director Han waved his hand and said that for someone of his rank, appointing a factory director for a large factory might be a bit troublesome, but for a section chief or deputy section chief, it was basically just a matter of making a suggestion.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiqiang fully meets the requirements: he graduated from university and was promoted to a permanent position, and he has made such great contributions.

This will shut everyone up, so even if Leader Wang asks, Director Han will have something to say.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said to Director Han, "Thank you for your kind offer, Director Han, but I still want to develop my career in the heavy machinery industry. I've been studying it for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Director Han said with some regret, "Alright, in your words, it's all about development, and wherever you are, you're serving the country's construction."

Since you've made up your mind, I won't force you.

The others felt it was a pity after hearing these words, but Zhao Guangzheng and Liu Fuhua breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Zhou Zhiqiang did not agree, otherwise their factory's greatest honor would have been taken away.

After exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Zhiqiang, Director Han took his seat at the head of the table and began the meeting.

Accompanying Director Han were other people from the Steel Bureau; they were there today to arrange production reforms within the factory.

The second steel rolling mill has more than 4,000 employees. Production cannot be delayed now, since the quality of the steel produced before was only average.

However, the low cost allows it to meet the industrial needs of many underdeveloped regions, making it impossible to completely halt production.

Therefore, the only option is to expand recruitment. Director Han also revealed this information at today's meeting, instructing the people at the Second Steel Rolling Mill to prepare accordingly.

The number of people is expected to at least double, given the large demand for new alloy steel, and could even expand to tens of thousands.

The newly added production line mainly produces new alloy steel, which requires the project team to lead the factory's process and technology improvement work.

This also involves Dafeng Machinery Factory, since the core equipment needed for the new process was produced by a group of senior workers that Zhou Zhiqiang gathered at Dafeng Machinery Factory.

(End of this chapter)