Chapter 2721
Enthusiastic Old Li
Chapter 2721 Enthusiastic Old Li
As New Year's Day approaches, the people from the nine departments who went out to work are starting to return one after another.
Not long after Li Hongfeng returned, Shen Rong, who had gone north for internal auditing, led his team back first.
When I came back and talked to Yang Xiaotao and the others about the internal audit, at first, some people were reluctant and made excuses, which caused a lot of inconvenience to their internal audit work.
However, following the outbreak of the Liuzhou incident, the various factories subsequently became very proactive in cooperating.
Moreover, whenever a problem is raised, he admits his mistakes without hesitation, and then corrects what he can on the spot. For what he cannot correct on the spot, he issues a non-compliance notice, willingly allowing his superiors to supervise and correct the issues.
That's why their journey was much faster; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to return before New Year's Day.
Yang Xiaotao, Li Hongfeng, and the others did not expect that this act of making an example of someone would be so effective.
After welcoming Shen Rong and his group, Yang Youning and the others returned to the Ninth Division the following day.
They are in charge of streamlining personnel, which sounds complicated, but is actually simple to do.
The plan will be distributed, and each factory will handle it on its own first. If they can't handle it, they will then resolve the issue themselves.
The same incident in Liuzhou meant they rarely had the opportunity to go to the scene to resolve the issue.
Finally, Liu Huaimin led the team back.
Of course, they came back by train.
Liang Zuoxin had originally planned to have them ride back in the armored vehicle together, but Liu Huaimin refused.
Then they returned by train, but Liang Zuoxin and his group were still on their way.
The journey there took three days and two nights, but the return trip didn't require such a rush; we simply marched back as normal.
Yang Xiaotao simply reports in every day to explain the situation, and he's not in a hurry.
"Old Yang, come and help quickly."
Inside the workshop, Yang Xiaotao was shouting at Yang Youning.
Upon hearing the noise, the latter rushed out of the office and saw Yang Xiaotao and several workers carrying a photocopier upstairs.
"Hey, couldn't you have called a few more people?"
Yang Youning quickly stepped forward to lend a hand, and Lao Hong, who had heard the commotion, also ran out. The group of people moved the photocopier into the conference room next door.
Yang Xiaotao clapped his hands. He wasn't bothered by carrying it up from downstairs, but Wang Guodong and the others couldn't stand it.
"Uncle Wang said to move it up and use it first, so we discussed it and moved it up together."
As Yang Xiaotao spoke, Wang Guodong rubbed his back and shook his head, saying, "I didn't think it was heavy, but this thing, though it doesn't look big, is actually quite heavy."
Yang Youning felt the weight was too heavy to lift, and now he complained, "Do you still think you're in your early twenties?"
"Yes, you can't deny that you're getting old."
Wang Guodong sighed, when Liu Huaimin, who was adjusting the photocopier nearby, suddenly asked, "I remember, we keep a limited number of photocopiers here. Where did you two get these?"
Wang Guodong, who was speaking, raised an eyebrow and quickly turned to look at the window next to him. "It's so hot that I'm sweating all over. Let's open the window and cool off."
As she spoke, she walked to the window and opened it, and then a flurry of snowflakes drifted in from outside.
"Turn it off right now, don't you know how to turn on the heating?"
Old Yang quickly spoke, and Wang Guodong immediately closed the window.
Liu Huaimin turned his gaze to Yang Xiaotao.
Yang Xiaotao scratched his head and touched the spiky hair he had just gotten after a haircut. "Well, a few of these machines were just made in the workshop. We've got a lot of office documents lately, and we need them urgently, so we brought them up to use for now."
"Just right?"
Liu Huaimin looked at Yang Xiaotao suspiciously, "You didn't bring up that machine from the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, did you?"
Then, judging from Yang Xiaotao's expression, he knew he hadn't guessed wrong.
The production tasks in the workshop are fixed.
Now, ten photocopiers can be assembled every three days, and this is only small-scale production by the research institute.
As for the nine workshops for large-scale production, they are currently under renovation and will begin large-scale production after the New Year.
Currently, production focuses on emergency response and training skilled workers.
However, almost all the photocopiers produced each day were pre-ordered by various departments.
Especially in foreign trade, they deal with documents every day. In the past, they needed to prepare three or four copies of a single document, and nearly half of them were clerks who were dedicated to writing documents.
With photocopiers now available, not only has the time spent preparing documents been reduced, but more importantly, many errors have been avoided, greatly improving work efficiency.
However, the advent of photocopiers also forced former clerks to take other jobs, which inadvertently increased the difficulty of finding employment.
When Li Rong came last time, she ordered ten photocopiers, but when they actually started using them, they found that ten were not enough.
Only two units were left at the headquarters in Beijing for foreign trade, and the remaining units were distributed among various foreign trade outlets all over the country, which was simply not enough.
Especially with the deepening of trade with neighboring countries, the demand for photocopiers has increased even more.
Mr. Chen also issued the approval document, prioritizing the needs of foreign trade.
As for other departments, the pace can be appropriately slowed down.
So the Ninth Department devised a plan: of the ten photocopiers each time, six would be allocated to foreign trade, and the remaining four to other departments.
This time, two of the four units are for General Peng, and the remaining two are intended for the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry.
Liu Huaimin knew that Yang Xiaotao and his group wouldn't dare to "smear" General Peng, but it was hard to say about the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry.
"Aren't you afraid that Old Wang will come looking for you?"
As soon as Liu Huaimin finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao immediately chuckled, "I just wanted him to come and find him."
"You have no idea, Old Wang always tries to take advantage of everything!"
"The Fifth Ministry of Machine Building transferred the money a long time ago, but when it came to the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building, they didn't even mention money, let alone transfer it."
“This time it won’t work. If he doesn’t come and doesn’t bring the money, we absolutely will not give him the photocopier.”
“It costs 300,000 yuan a unit. Giving it a 90% discount is fair.”
As Yang Xiaotao spoke, he turned on the power, and a buzzing sound came from the photocopier.
"Alright, you decide this. In the end, we'll just have to come to you anyway."
Liu Huaimin didn't want to get involved anymore; if this got out of hand, it could drag on for days.
But that doesn't stop them from using the photocopier.
"This photocopier is specifically for our office use, so we don't have to fight with the departments downstairs for it anymore."
After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, the secretaries in the offices outside immediately cheered. Now they wouldn't have to climb the stairs to photocopy documents anymore, and they wouldn't have to worry about queuing.
Now, there are eight photocopiers in total, which is equivalent to nine other photocopiers.
There's one in the research institute, one in the headquarters office building, and now another one has been moved up, making a total of three units at the headquarters alone.
In addition, the Ninth People's Hospital has installed two machines, mainly to facilitate the photocopying of patients' medical records.
Dean Ji Xiang spent half a day drinking tea in her office just to get these two photocopiers.
Finally, Yang Xiaotao, worn down by the constant nagging, had no choice but to agree.
Then, he spent a long time apologizing to Elder Zhang of the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry.
Finally, one unit each was allocated to the chemical plant, pharmaceutical plant, and steel plant.
As for the calculator factory, machinery factory, electromechanical factory, and so on that followed, there would be more.
You just need to wait in line.
"Let's go, it's settled then."
Yang Xiaotao didn't care what the Seventh Ministry of Machinery Industry thought; as long as they didn't bring money, they wouldn't get anything.
The group left the meeting room one after another, and then prepared to return to their offices to continue their work.
Just as Yang Xiaotao entered the office, he saw Chen Mingli from the security department walk in with a serious expression.
"Minister Yang, something's happened."
Yang Xiaotao knew something was wrong when he saw Chen Mingli come in, and his heart clenched immediately when he heard what the other man said.
"Old Chen, what's up?"
"Commander Yang, we've lost contact with Captain Liang and the others."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Yang Xiaotao suddenly stood up from his seat. "Didn't we talk about Jinan yesterday?"
"Aren't you coming back tomorrow?"
"Why haven't we heard anything?" Yang Xiaotao asked three times in a row, and Chen Mingli's expression was complicated.
“I don’t know either. When we contacted them yesterday, they said they would stay in Jinan for one night, but when we tried to contact them at noon, we couldn’t get through on their satellite phone.”
"Can't get through? Could the satellite phone be malfunctioning?"
Chen Mingli shook his head. "No, we also tried contacting them by radio, but there's still no news."
"We also contacted people in Jinan and found out that they didn't go to the designated rest location at all last night."
"Moreover, our people have not found any trace of them leaving Jinan."
Yang Xiaotao frowned as he sat down in the chair. "What's Old Liang up to?"
Chen Mingli was speechless. Everything was fine when he went there, but on the way back, when he was almost home, a problem suddenly occurred. Who could have imagined that?
"Didn't you contact the internal affairs department?"
Yang Xiaotao asked tentatively, and Chen Mingli shook his head, "After discovering that I couldn't contact the other party, I searched in many ways, but there was no news from the internal affairs department either."
"But they will keep an eye on it and let us know if there is any news."
Yang Xiaotao crossed his arms, making a cracking sound, as he pondered various possibilities.
"Now we need to find out where Lao Liang and the others stayed last night."
"I have already arranged for someone to investigate."
As Chen Mingli was speaking, footsteps came from outside the door, and then a person came to Chen Mingli and handed him a report.
Chen Mingli glanced at it, then immediately went to Yang Xiaotao. "Minister Yang, this is news from the internal affairs department. Last night, Captain Liang and his team didn't rest in Quancheng, but went to Ande City."
"Ander? What are they going to Ander for?"
"Did you go to buy roast chicken?"
Yang Xiaotao was a little confused, and Chen Mingli also frowned. Quancheng was still more than 200 miles away from Ande.
"Contact them immediately."
Just as Yang Xiaotao asked Chen Mingli to contact Ande City, the phone on the table suddenly rang.
Yang Xiaotao then answered the call.
"Hello, this is Yang Xiaotao from the Ninth Department. Who is this?"
"Minister Yang, this is Lao Liang."
Liang Zuoxin's voice came from the other end of the phone. Yang Xiaotao jumped up and stood up. Chen Mingli on the other end also stepped forward excitedly, wanting to ask what was going on.
"Old Liang, what exactly happened to you?"
"Why is everything suddenly silent? Why can't I get through on the satellite phone?"
"And where are you now?"
Yang Xiaotao asked anxiously, but there was only silence on the other end.
After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, a voice came through, but it sounded a little unfamiliar.
"Hey, hey, is that Comrade Yang Xiaotao from the Ninth Department on the other end?"
"Yes, who are you?"
Yang Xiaotao frowned, his tone curt.
"Hello, Comrade Yang Xiaotao, I am Liang Zuoxin's former regimental commander."
The voice on the other end was very loud, and Chen Mingli could hear it.
Old Commander?
Yang Xiaotao looked at Chen Mingli with a questioning gaze. Who was this old regimental commander?
The latter shook his head. There were too many regimental commanders back then. Who knows which one it was?
Then they heard the other person continue, "Don't worry, Liang Zuoxin is fine."
"I haven't seen them for a long time, and I really miss them."
"We talked for a while and had some drinks when we met."
"You know, this longing between comrades—no, the bond between them is the strongest and most easily forged."
Yang Xiaotao moved the microphone further away and heard the other party start rambling on the phone.
Then he tried to establish a connection with Yang Xiaotao, saying, "Xiao Yang, is it okay for me to call you that?"
"To be honest, my wife's surname is also Yang, so we're practically family."
"Don't be so polite, just call me Old Li."
Yang Xiaotao's eyelids twitched as he listened. If they all had the surname Yang, he could understand if they said they were from the same family 500 years ago.
But you, with just a piece of luggage, started trying to claim kinship just because your wife's surname is Yang. How shameless can you be?
Since the other party was being so shameless, Yang Xiaotao could only respond with "uh-huhs," wanting to see what the other party was up to.
"Although we've never met, I've long admired you from afar."
"I heard that you've set up a rapid response team here, and I was originally planning to go to your Ninth Division to meet with you."
"But this job is too busy, I really can't leave, I'm so busy."
Yang Xiaotao began to be wary; after all, they had been talking for almost half an hour, and it was time to get to the main topic.
Sure enough, the other party had their sights set on Liang Zuoxin and his group.
"It just so happens that this young man Liang Zuoxin is here, so I'm also getting to know him indirectly, you know, so we've met in a roundabout way."
Yang Xiaotao sat down in the chair, completely speechless at Old Li.
To even use the term "indirect meeting" is truly something else.
"Oh, all I've said is to let you know that I've asked Xiao Liang to stay a few more days. Is that alright with you?"
"Don't worry, it's not forced at all. Xiao Liang agreed to this."
"He's just shy and afraid to tell you, so I'm the one who's telling you."
"What do you think?"
Yang Xiaotao rubbed his temples. "Not very good."
"What? The phone signal is bad, can you tell me again?"
Shouts came from the other side.
"Old Li, I'd like to speak with Comrade Liang Zuoxin. Could I give him a phone call?"
Yang Xiaotao didn't want to say another word to the 'enthusiastic' Lao Li.
"Okay, okay, you tell me, I'll go out."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps could be heard. Liang Zuoxin looked at the old regimental commander who was standing still and cursed under his breath.
"Minister Yang!"
"Old Liang, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Xiaotao said irritably. Liang Zuoxin glanced at the guy eavesdropping beside him, sighed, and then said, "Don't worry, Director Yang, it's probably just that he'll be going back a few days later."
"Can he really come back?"
"can!"
Liang Zuoxin answered without hesitation.
Although the old commander is often unreliable, he is unambiguous on matters of principle.
"That's fine."
“I don’t care about your business. I’ll give you a week. After a week, bring back every single member of the rapid response squadron.”
"know."
"Also, you know, Old Li, be careful. This guy might be after our equipment. Don't get scammed."
Liang Zuoxin shifted his body a little further away from the ear next to him before saying, "Don't worry, I'll bring back all the equipment."
"Alright, remember to keep in touch every day and report back."
"Also, be careful!"
After saying that, Yang Xiaotao immediately hung up the phone.
"Old Chen, go and investigate who this Old Li is."
"Also, send someone to Ander City; let's prepare for both possibilities."
Chen Mingli nodded and ran out.
Yang Xiaotao went out to find Lao Hong, hoping he might know about this.