Chapter 171 Two Wishes
At this time, the auditorium was brightly lit, and the stage was already filled with leaders.

In addition to familiar faces such as Liu Biao, Li Cunzhu and Xie Changjiang, there were also several middle-aged men in military uniforms. One of them sat in the middle of the leadership seat, and even Liu Biao could only sit next to him.

Seeing this scene, Xu Qiang immediately realized that those people in military uniforms should be senior leaders, but he didn't know what their specific positions were.

While Xu Qiang was thinking, the seats in the hall were almost all occupied.

When the officer on the stage saw that everyone had arrived, he immediately announced the official start of the meeting.

"Everyone stand up and sing the national anthem!!"

As soon as the host on the stage finished speaking, everyone stood up.

The loud national anthem rang out throughout the auditorium. Everyone sang along with the song. Almost everyone's face was filled with pride, and the atmosphere on the scene instantly reached a climax.

After the national anthem was sung and everyone was seated, Factory Director Liu Biao was the first to take the microphone and give his opening remarks.

Liu Biao looked a little reserved today. He picked up the prepared speech and read:
"As the National Day is approaching, we are holding a commendation meeting for model workers in the whole factory to vigorously promote the spirit of model workers and the spirit of labor, and further encourage all employees in the factory to learn from model workers, catch up with the advanced, unite and forge ahead, and work hard..."

After Liu Biao finished speaking, he handed the microphone to the deputy factory director Xie Changjiang next to him. Xie Changjiang just said some superficial words without much substance, and the microphone was then handed back to Liu Biao.

Xu Qiang listened with little interest in the audience, but soon the highlight of the conference, the award ceremony for model workers, came.

"Now I will read out the list of model workers selected this year. Comrades whose names are read will come to the stage to receive their awards..." At this time, the factory director Liu Biao stood up, holding a list in his hand and read out: "Comrade Xu Qiang from the Chemical Workshop..."

Xu Qiang never expected that his name would be the first one called out. This was obviously a deliberate arrangement.

Then, Xu Qiang adjusted the big red flower on his chest with his hand and walked onto the stage with a smile on his face.

"it is good!!"

The moment Xu Qiang came on stage, there was a sudden cheer from the back row. Wang Yongsheng, Xiao Gangbi and others were the first to clap their hands vigorously, and then there was warm applause from the audience.

All these events that had taken place over the past two months had already made Xu Qiang a prominent figure in the factory. Furthermore, since he had made great contributions to the factory one after another, no one else could find any reason to object to a newcomer who had only been in the factory for two months being awarded the title of Model Worker.

With the passionate music, Xu Qiang and several other model workers walked onto the stage.

"Comrade Xu Qiang, come this way."

As soon as Xu Qiang stepped onto the stage, he saw the man in military uniform in the middle of the podium waving at him with a smile.

"This is Luo Tao, the director of our provincial National Defense Science and Technology Office..." the staff member reminded Xu Qiang.

"Ah." It was not until this time that Xu Qiang reacted.

When Xu Qiang went to the provincial capital with the factory director Liu Biao, the director Luo Tao was attending a meeting out of town. They were received by the deputy director, so when Luo Tao sat on the podium, Xu Qiang didn't recognize him at all.

"You are Xu Qiang, you are really young." Seeing Xu Qiang coming, Luo Tao immediately smiled and handed him the honorary certificate of model worker: "You must work hard in the future and live up to the honor you received today."

"Thank you, leader." Xu Qiang immediately smiled and extended his hand.

Then, amid warm applause, Xu Qiang walked off the stage with the certificate.

Soon after, the second and third batches of model workers in the freight yard also stepped onto the stage and received their certificates of honor.

The entire award ceremony lasted half an hour, after which the union officer in charge took up the microphone again.

"Next, it is the award ceremony for our factory's military-to-civilian product technology collection activity this year. Please invite the third prize winners, Zhou Weimin, Yang Xudong, Li Xiu'e, and He Dongming to the stage to receive the awards..."

At today's National Day meeting, two award ceremonies were held simultaneously. In addition to the model workers, there was also an award ceremony for the last military-to-civilian product technology solicitation activity.

Holding the military-to-civilian award ceremony after the model worker award ceremony shows the importance the factory attaches to this military-to-civilian technology solicitation activity. In fact, the contribution of Xu Qiang's winning technical proposal alone has exceeded that of an ordinary model worker.

The first to come on stage were the ten third prize winners, followed by the five second prize winners who also came on stage to receive their awards, including Liang Baoguo from the Chemical Workshop.

But Liang Baoguo didn't seem very happy today.

But this is also an obvious thing. When the factory first awarded the prize, he was awarded the first prize, and the workshop leader also notified him immediately.

However, what everyone didn't expect was that Xu Qiang suddenly emerged. Not only did his project get approved by the provincial government, but he also won the first prize. This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Liang Baoguo. He originally wanted to use the money for his youngest son's wedding. Moreover, compared to the first prize, the second prize was pitifully small, only 50 yuan, plus an honorary certificate and an enamel water cup, which was almost equal to a month's salary for an old worker in the factory.

However, for Liang Baoguo, he suffered a huge loss this time.

You know, for this matter, he made a set of sofas for the workshop director and the team leader respectively, and also treated them to a meal. If you calculate it all, he paid at least more than ten yuan in compensation.

"... Now, please invite Comrade Xu Qiang, the first prize winner of this military-to-civilian product technology collection activity, to come on stage to receive the award."

As soon as the Propaganda Department officer finished speaking, warm applause broke out again.

Xu Qiang is the only person who has received both the title of Model Worker and the award for the military-to-civilian recruitment activity.

So much so that everyone online cast envious glances at Xu Qiang at this moment.

This time, it was the factory director Liu Biao himself who presented the award to Xu Qiang.

"Thank you, Director Liu."

After receiving the certificate of honor and a thick stack of 800 yuan in cash from Liu Biao, Xu Qiang's face immediately broke into a smile.

Even for Xu Qiang now, 800 yuan is a good income. He happened to have bought a machine for producing dyes some time ago, and his cash is running out. With this money, the daily financial operations of the peat factory will be easier.

The next moment, when Xu Qiang turned around, several cameras in the audience started ringing, and the dazzling flash lights made Xu Qiang unable to open his eyes.

"Xu Qiang, you have won two awards today. Please say a few words on behalf of our factory's model workers and the winners of this military-to-civilian recruitment campaign."

After the photo session, factory manager Liu Biao handed him the microphone and signaled him to speak on the stage.

In fact, long before this, the factory director Liu Biao had specifically informed him that he would speak on behalf of the winners at today's award ceremony.

To this end, Xu Qiang also made some preparations.

At first, Xu Qiang wanted to write a speech, but later on, he felt that he didn't need one at all. After all, he had experienced this kind of award-winning scene many times in his previous life, and with his eloquence, he was more than capable of handling such occasions.

"Hello, leaders and colleagues! I am honored to have this opportunity today to speak on behalf of the factory's model workers and winners of the military-to-civilian product collection activity..."

For a moment, everyone's eyes on and off the stage were focused on Xu Qiang.

Liu Siying and Lin Yueying, who were sitting in the middle below, were also looking at Xu Qiang on the stage nervously. After all, in such an occasion, if they said something wrong, it would definitely cause a considerable impact, especially when there were leaders from the province on the stage.

But obviously, the two of them still greatly underestimated Xu Qiang's psychological quality and eloquence.

"...I believe many people know some of my stories. When I first joined this factory, I took over the business from my father. Unfortunately, my father died while transporting goods in order to complete the factory's tasks. This was a huge blow to me and my family."

When Xu Qiang said this, there was a hint of sadness on his face.

The main reason why Xu Qiang brought up this matter was to gain sympathy, because he also knew that he was too popular now and many people were jealous and dissatisfied with him. Xu Qiang mentioned his father's sacrifice at this time just to make some people feel more balanced. This is a very subtle thing, and only people with rich life experience will think of this.

"…My father had two wishes. The first wish was to be able to work as a regular employee. I have realized this wish for him. I am very grateful to the leaders of the factory for their care and help. This has given me an opportunity to make more contributions to the factory and a stage to display my talents."

Xu Qiang pondered for a moment, then continued, "Another wish of my father before his death was to join the party and become an outstanding party member. In the days to come, I will continue to work hard to help him realize this wish!"

"Wow!"

After Xu Qiang finished speaking, warm applause broke out at the scene, including the leaders sitting on the rostrum, all of whom had expressions of approval on their faces.

At this time, the factory director Liu Biao and Luo Tao next to him seemed to be whispering something to each other, and then Luo Tao nodded repeatedly.

The reason why Xu Qiang said this is obvious, that is, he himself also wants to join the party.

If you want to become a senior executive in the factory, first of all, there is an educational requirement, and secondly, you must be a party member.

In fact, Xu Qiang had already joined the party in his previous life, and he also knew what party membership meant. When he spoke these words in public today, it was actually equivalent to submitting an application to join the party to the factory...

(End of this chapter)