Chapter 62: The Rain Clears Up
When the first ray of sunlight in the morning had not yet pierced through the thin clouds, when the last trace of darkness at night had not yet left the quiet county town. But on the commercial street opposite Pingguo Aluminum Company's guest house, the shops on both sides of the street had already opened their shutters early, and men and women were busy setting up their stalls. Most of the shops sold various styles of clothing, and some stores also sold other things, such as delicate jewelry watches. Of course, there were also slightly larger stores that did a bigger business, they hired workers to constantly move new bicycles out of the store, one by one, parked neatly, with different paint jobs and different styles...
"Again, I saw bicycles..." Zhang Yu, who had seen everything from the window, paid special attention to those bicycles. Perhaps this case, which has caused many people to be heartbroken, was triggered by something as trivial as bicycles, cars, and wine.
"If that woman hadn't been riding her bike alone on the highway, if that damned drunk driver hadn't gotten behind the wheel, if this damned accident hadn't happened... perhaps no one would have disrupted the tranquility of reality, and no one would have known that behind this prosperity lay such filth and hypocrisy..."
From the beginning to now, everything has been revealed, but Zhang Yu's heart has always been in a mess. If he wasn't afraid of causing widespread chaos by handling certain people rashly, why would he have created an inspection team that goes around everywhere to help with the play? "What's the use of those who can't withstand the test?" After sighing, Zhang Yu quietly put on his clothes and estimated that Yan Ran was already waiting at the door.
"Commander, shall we return to Liuzhou or not?"
As soon as the door opened, just as Zhang Yu had expected, Yu Ran was already standing outside with a bag in one hand and Zhang Yu's breakfast in the other. It had always been Zhang Yu's habit to eat breakfast on the way to his destination, supposedly because it saved a lot of time.
"Go to Nanning and take a look!" Zhang Yu took over the paper-wrapped breakfast, meat buns and eggs. As he walked down the corridor, he picked up one bun after another and put them into his mouth, each of which was chewed for two mouthfuls before being swallowed. "Also, inform Wang Hanmin that I will find time to go see him. By the way, is there any water?"
When the golden sunlight enveloped the entire earth, Zhang Yu's car had already left Pingguo and embarked on a journey to Nanning. And here, Yu Youfu was still the general manager, at least before a certain production accident occurred he was still the general manager, the company was still that efficient company, everything was still in its original state.
There has been a popular saying in the autonomous region all along, which goes like this: "Above, there are Liu Zhou, Hezhou, Guilin, with heavy industry concentrated and forests standing everywhere; below, there are Nanning, Qinzhou, Beihai, with light industry spread out and commerce thriving. To the left, there are Xingyi, Baise, Pingguo, with major projects in electricity, metallurgy, and petrochemicals yielding abundant fruits. To the right, there are Yulin, Zhanjiang, Wuzhou, with shipping, shipbuilding, and power enjoying great fame."
In this tongue twister, the second sentence "Nanning Qinzhou Beihai, light industry is all over the commercial wind", is actually a reflection of the northern Gulf Economic Big Three Triangle. However, the top vertex of this triangle is Nanning, and the two base points are not the same as the proverb, which should be Fangchenggang and Beihai. Qinzhou is too close to Fangchenggang, so many places are the same, people get used to calling it by a shorter name - Qinzhou. Anyway, the comprehensive strength gap between the two cities is not big.
"The main factor that has been threatening the construction of port cities all along is the weather, unpredictable typhoons would come from time to time, and once encountered, many factories could only stop work, so most companies are willing to build their production plants in the Nanning area..."
"So you guys naturally developed several industrial zones?"
Zhang Yu smiled and asked Zhou Qin, this young mayor is only 33 years old this year, yesterday was actually his birthday, if he really knew that, Zhang Yu would not have chosen to stay overnight in Pingguo, after all, he should have gone south overnight to eat a big meal for good luck.
Zhang Yu's humorous remarks only made Zhou Qin smile, but the three places of Qinzhou, Beihai, and Fangchenggang have a convenient port and actually have a lot of development advantages. Products can be quickly cleared through customs and shipped directly overseas as soon as they leave the factory. However, due to the high environmental protection requirements for building factories around the entire northern Gulf, highly polluting and energy-intensive enterprises can hardly stay and can only move inland. Although the inland areas also have strict requirements, the land prices are relatively cheap. As long as you pay, there are professional wastewater and garbage treatment plants that will be responsible, and many industrial zones offer very good conditions to attract companies to settle in, which is a rare opportunity for small enterprises that have just started.
"Our industrial zone has material forming and processing, light textile industry... actually it's the concentration of many downstream factories. Pingguo has a constant supply of aluminum materials coming out, these factories are responsible for processing them into various products, furniture decoration, building property and so on, of course there are also some food processing enterprises..."
"I already know all this, and of course you've done a great job. I didn't come here to do some kind of research, so there's no need for you to introduce me to all these things. The person who needs to listen to your introduction will probably arrive in two days, so just save your energy." Zhang Yu said as he took out his cigarette box and handed one to Zhou Qin.
He took the cigarette, and after staring at Zhang Yu for a moment, he smiled awkwardly and sat down next to him. He lit his own cigarette with a lighter before lighting Zhang Yu's. Looking around the exhibition hall, there were various display boards, models, and the huge inclined glass of the ellipsoidal exhibition hall, through which sunlight was shining in. His eyes scanned the room once more before returning to Zhang Yu's body, and he smiled calmly before asking: "Director, when did you start smoking? Didn't you say that smoking is bad for your health?"
"If I said what I'm smoking isn't tobacco, would you believe me?"
Zhang Yu leaned on the chair, looking at the two cars parked outside the exhibition hall, and the three people of Yu Ran who were whispering to each other, including Zhou Qin's driver. In the distance, cars came and went on the highway, with all kinds of vehicles such as trucks, buses, and sedans. At the bus stop, people came and went, dispersing and gathering again, as buses arrived and left, taking away batch after batch of passengers...
Zhou Qin didn't smile at Zhang Yu's words, nor did he ask impulsively, but after a while, Zhang Yu turned around and looked at Zhou Qin, looking him up and down for over ten seconds before saying: "There's a wedding banquet tomorrow, I want you to go with me. And how many years have you been the mayor?"
"Director, I will definitely attend the wedding banquet. Of course, up until today, I have only held the position of mayor for 103 days..."
Zhou Qin is not like other city leaders, and until now there has been no major change. The former mayor of Nanning City took office in Chengdu 103 days ago, and Zhou Qin also stepped into the post of mayor on that day.
"Then I don't need to ask you why you've only been the mayor for 203 days, let me share with you some of my insights on government management!" Zhang Yu said, habitually extinguishing his cigarette before continuing: "In a rigid hierarchical system, everyone tends to rise to a position they are not capable of handling. Some officials perform exceptionally well in their daily work, but when critical issues arise, they become utterly incompetent and unable to handle the responsibilities of their position."
These words hit Zhou Qin's heart, and the beads of sweat on his forehead gradually grew larger. Zhang Yu still refused to shut up, continuing: "Whether it's teachers or principals in schools, or mayors or governors in government, they basically don't know what their job is, so they can't fulfill their responsibilities." What Zhang Yu was talking about was Lawrence Peter's classic Peter Principle, but it was clear that the person sitting next to him had no idea.
"I'll explain it to you with a real example! In 1914, the British Empire's Royal Navy had 146,000 sailors and 3,249 administrative personnel. This configuration made the German Navy very comfortable for a long time. But up until now, their administrative personnel do not exceed three thousand people, and the number of soldiers is more than before the war, but the combat effectiveness has actually increased. Do you know why?"
"This is a very simple incompetence problem, before the war, there was a popular British proverb that said 'too many cooks will spoil the broth', this proverb was used by a British writer to describe the British Navy, chaotic management system, bloated staff institutions, large decision-making leadership and so on, all these problems are manifestations of incompetence."
"In any organization, every position will eventually be occupied by someone who is not qualified for it. When promoted to a new position, the person will often continue to use the management experience and methods they have already mastered in their previous lower-level positions. As a result, the overall management level of the organization declines, and efficiency gradually decreases. Anyone in business, industry, politics, administration, military, education, and other fields will encounter the problem of adapting to their position."
Here is the translation:
"Speaking of this, Zhang Yu lit up the cigarette that was extinguished earlier and took a few puffs before continuing: "We can simply divide people into two categories. One type of person can handle their current job well, but has basically reached a fixed state and lacks the quality to improve themselves. They will always only be able to do their current job well, and if they are promoted one level higher, it would be a mistake. The second type of person is not capable of handling their current job, but has the quality and ability to learn from themselves, summarize for themselves, and improve themselves, and can therefore handle higher positions. There's a lecture in the Industrial University's Business School that talks about these issues, you should go listen if you have time!"
"Discovering and cultivating the second type of person is the way for enterprises to use people, and it is also the way for government personnel administration. We must pay attention to the possibility of growth of management personnel and motivate their potential by providing a larger development space. Do not easily conduct selections and promotions, temporary or informal selection methods to observe his ability and performance, try to avoid the negative effects brought about by demotion. Assistant, agent and other positions are the products of these methods. When promoting, pay more attention to potential rather than temporary performance. The benign mechanism of 'the capable rise and the incapable fall'."
After finishing, Zhang Yu took a closer look at Zhou Qin and nodded before saying: "People's desire for power and the organization's promotion of this desire are the main reasons why what I said earlier works. As long as an incompetent leader occupies a leadership position, a large institution and too many redundant personnel cannot be avoided, and the entire administrative management system will form a vicious inflation, falling into a quagmire that is difficult to get out of on its own. Since everyone is working for the people, benefiting the people, and has a good foundation for treatment, those who do not climb up to strive for higher honors can only be fools, not talents! What do you think?
An incompetent official can only have three possible outcomes. The first is to apply for resignation, giving up his position to a truly capable person, but it's clear that this is an absolutely impossible path, and the final outcome will be the loss of many benefits. The second is to let a capable person assist with one's work, but this would make the competent person become one's competitor, threatening one's own position.
The third is to use two assistants who are even lower than themselves, which is a common choice for many officials. Two mediocre assistants share their work, while they themselves are high above issuing orders. These assistants will also encounter these problems. In this way, the vicious cycle goes on and eventually becomes an overlapping, redundant, and top-heavy administrative management system, which is the reason why "three monks have no water to drink".
"Before the former mayor left, you were a good assistant to him and he was also a good mayor. Both of you are capable and have ambitions for promotion. But what the autonomous region needs is an open, fair and just government institution. Letting a cumbersome institution bury countless talents is a loss for both the government and the people."
Zhang Yu finished his last puff of smoke, threw the cigarette on the bright and clean floor, and then asked Zhou Qin, who was standing by like a wooden chicken. "Tell me, what impact will my behavior just now have? The clean and tidy floor with white glazed tiles is so beautiful, but this one cigarette butt makes the whole environment lose its original beauty. It's just like when a rat turd suddenly appears in a bowl of vegetable soup, it's nauseating."
"Director, actually I..." Zhou Qin finally spoke up, but didn't have the guts to continue.
"You've been the mayor for 203 days, but you still have a strong deputy mayor flavor. You must know about the case that happened in Pingguo during the Spring Festival, and everything that happened afterwards, but you just don't dare to report it upwards. You're afraid of your neighbor's power being too great, which would make the people above ignore you, and instead make yourself lose face. I reckon you'll soon lose your newly acquired mayor position.
In this way, you haven't done anything, but it's still a kind of tacit protection among officials. Can you live up to the public servant uniform on your body? Don't give me any nonsense about identity or oaths. You're taking people's salaries but hiding the truth, which is equivalent to deceiving the people. Everything is just for the sake of keeping your pitiful position."
"Aren't you especially afraid that I'll let you off the hook right now and have you leave?" Zhang Yu suddenly laughed, looking at the slender Zhou Qin and those bulletproof glasses lenses, a comical feeling arose. "Our laws haven't yet stipulated that not saving someone in distress is a crime or that knowing but not reporting is an offense. You can continue to stay in the mayor's position, but I hope you won't remain silent from now on, take out your own true thoughts and put them into practice, don't always be mired in the old routine of stability. Many of our companies, whether private or public, are promoting innovation, I hope you'll also innovate."
"Of course, those who bend the law for personal gain will not come to a good end. Whether it is the perpetrator or the person covering up and hiding the truth, by the end of the month, an ad hoc investigation team composed of representatives from various departments such as the military, public security, procuratorate, and party representatives will be established to conduct a detailed investigation into the whole incident. They also have the right to initiate public prosecution. The Party Representative Meeting's working group will give the most appropriate treatment result, and of course, the Supreme People's Court will definitely give the best result."
"When the time comes, I will definitely tell the investigation team the truth, no matter when and where. But I hope not to be suspended from my job, as there are many important projects in the city that need to be handled recently..."
"Suspension? I've already said that I won't let you go, now we're almost in a society ruled by law, no matter what time it is, everything must be done according to the law."
When Zhang Yu said this, he was actually very uncertain in his heart. The government and the military had both made mistakes, and this incident had a relatively large impact. In order to give the people an explanation and establish the autonomous region chairman Zhang Yusheng's advocated rule of law society, the investigation team would definitely not show mercy, and would thoroughly investigate the truth of the matter, then follow the law and execute it impartially. However, the result of this was also unimaginable, and all Zhang Yu could do was to prepare for prevention, and try to minimize the negative impact brought by the great storm.
The power of the law is boundless and merciless, and all along Zhang Yu did not want its power to wreak havoc on his comrades who had been fighting with him for many years. Especially since they are now in important positions and have a significant impact, if they collapse, it will inevitably lead to severe consequences. Informing Yu Youfu and Wang Leiping in advance, letting them do their own work to reduce the impact, they know better how to minimize the influence of their own guilt. This approach has some favoritism, but Zhang Yu still believes that what he did was right even when he is old.
He sat there, thinking carefully for a moment, and before long, Zhang Yu stood up to leave. However, when he saw the cigarette butt on the ground, he bent down to pick it up. Zhou Qin, who was standing beside him, quickly got up as well, but his expression had already improved greatly. "You're not incapable, you're just too timid! You have what it takes to be a provincial governor, but you've always been stuck in the position of mayor, diligently following in others' footsteps. Those who walk the stable and old path are suited to pioneering and laying a solid foundation, and when they get promoted, they move on to other provinces. But you're different - given a decent platform, it's meant for you to showcase your talents, to take it further, not just maintain stability. This way, you'll be unable to realize your own value..."
"Director, thank you!" Seeing Zhang Yu turn to leave, Zhou Qin's face finally regained its rosiness and he spoke out two words, but didn't end there. "I will find an opportunity to visit your home and apologize, I hope the deceased's family can forgive my foolishness..."
"No need, you just get ready, we still have a wedding banquet to attend tomorrow! Because of this matter, Xie Yi's wedding has been delayed for so long, I really feel guilty about not going. Let's invite the highest-ranking official from the bride's hometown to be a witness at his home, as a kind of apology! Of course, you can also see that your stability sometimes still has its good points, Qinzhou and Fangcheng two cities blindly pursued high speed and efficiency, but now after the environmental regulations have been revised, they are tasting the bitter fruit of developing first and then managing..."
Of course, what Zhang Yu actually wanted to say was: "If you also encouraged entrepreneurship like other cities, and everywhere there were large and small private entrepreneurs, my brother's capable wife would have probably gone into business too, how could she just wait quietly at home for a good husband?" But these words definitely couldn't be spoken out loud, or else Zhou Qin would know where he was lagging behind, and would surely innovate in the future.
"When will I meet you again?" Zhang Yu was about to leave the hall when Zhou Qin suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to ask, and hastily stood up to ask Zhang Yu. He had also heard before that the wealthy Ai family in this city was going to marry off their daughter, but he didn't expect it to be a good thing between Nanning Ai's family and Fangcheng Port Shie's family.
"You can leave anytime today, go to the Qinzhou Municipal Party Committee Guest House first and wait for me. After I finish my business, I will definitely come to find you to drink beer at night. We still have a lot of things to talk about! Rest overnight, and tomorrow morning we'll set off together, straight to the Fangchenggang wedding banquet!" Zhang Yu turned around with a forced smile before answering Zhou Qin's question. After all, it was because of Zhou Qin's cold calculation that this matter had developed so complicatedly, and until now, Zhang Yu still felt a bit unhappy in his heart.
After Zhang Yu's car left, Zhou Qin also left the exhibition hall in his dedicated vehicle. Two cars of the same model drove away from each other, but there were different people inside, and they had different emotions at this time. Of course, Zhou Qin's mood was naturally sunny after the rain, and he had swept away the previous gloom and cowardice. After estimating his own ability, he was even more confident in the future. However, this incident of inaction also gave him a wake-up call, and he would never be so silent again. On the other hand, Zhang Yu's face was covered with tears. The people involved in this matter had not yet fully dealt with it, and the investigation team would eventually let this matter erupt into what kind of power, and what kind of result would be produced. As someone who didn't know beforehand, he naturally had no bottom line, especially when his older brother was not around.
"Go find Wang Hanmin, it's been so long since I've heard from him, I really miss him!"
It's been a long time since things have been going badly, so Zhang Yu has to find something pleasant to lift his spirits, otherwise how can he attend the wedding banquet tomorrow. He went to the Logistics Equipment Department's Jungle Test Range, where all the People's Army's weapons and equipment had to undergo testing in subtropical climates, sweltering heat and humidity, etc. This time, he could go and listen to what kind of military research and development miracles Wang Handong and his team have achieved again, which is certainly a pleasant thing, especially the improvement work on the mediocre 18 series firearms, there must be a result that will lift his mood, he believes it will definitely be a good result!
