Chapter 231 Notice from the Superior
That afternoon, the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building organized an investigation team and went to Jiangxi overnight.

At the same time, Xu Qiang knew nothing about this. He still conducted the second round of inspections and feedback in several third-tier enterprises in Jiangxi with Liu Siying and He Jie.

What makes Xu Qiang happy is that after one year, many factories have strictly implemented the civilian product design plan in accordance with Xu Qiang's requirements and made improvements to the workshops and some equipment.

According to the established plan, Xu Qiang will probably return to the factory at the end of February, and then report to Jiangxi TV University with Liu Siying.

A few days later, the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building began to send notices to the companies in various provinces that were shortlisted for the military products foreign trade exhibition, requiring them to send two to three manufacturer representatives before the end of February to be responsible for introducing their own products and contacting customers. They were required to know foreign languages. If there were no translators, the ministry would arrange one, but they would need to contact the person in charge of translation in advance so that he could understand the various performance parameters of the products.

On Monday morning, just after work, the factory secretary received the notice and then placed it on the desk of the factory director Liu Biao.

After opening the letter and seeing the contents, Liu Biao immediately smiled and asked his secretary to call Li Cunzhu.

"What's the matter, Director Liu?" Li Cunzhu asked immediately after entering the office.

"Congratulations! The department has sent a letter stating that the products developed by your project team will participate in this year's foreign trade military products exhibition. At that time, you can select two people from the department as the manufacturer representatives of our factory and go to BJ to participate in the event before the end of the month." Liu Biao said with a smile.

"Okay, but Xu Qiang probably can't go, right? Doesn't he have to report to the university?" Li Cunzhu asked.

"But this notice doesn't mention Xu Qiang's project." When he said this, Liu Biao looked puzzled, and then said, "Could it be that the superior forgot to notify us?"

"Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible. The department has to go through several procedures to ensure the accuracy of the letter." Li Cunzhu thought for a moment and then said, "I don't think the department chose his product, right?"

"Huh?" Liu Biao's expression suddenly turned serious when he heard that.

"I remember Director Luo said last time when he came to our factory that the products participating in the foreign trade exhibition are screened through layers of screening. Even if the products are submitted by the provincial bureau, if they do not meet the requirements of the ministry, they will also be screened out." Li Cunzhu paused and continued, "The bulletproof vest product developed by Xu Qiang is a good product and has been accepted by the provincial bureau. However, the ministry should have other considerations, so it is possible that the product was screened out. This is all very likely."

"That makes sense." Liu Biao nodded, and then said, "At first I also felt that it was not appropriate for our factory to develop bulletproof vests. There is little demand for this kind of thing in China, and there are only a few manufacturers in the Northeast that have been producing it. But if it is used for export, there should be no problem..."

"Then we can only wait. Besides, Xu Qiang is not in the factory now. He won't be back for a week. If he doesn't get the notice by then, there will be no hope." Li Cunzhu said.

"Well, that's all it can do."

"Comrade Xu Qiang is an excellent technical talent, but he did not understand the demand for military products at home and abroad, so he made such a mistake in research and development direction. Moreover, he spent a lot of money of the factory to develop this bulletproof vest. I think it is necessary to wait for him to come back and seriously review his mistakes at the factory representative meeting. At least it should be explained to all the employees of our factory..." Li Cunzhu said seriously.

"What is there to review? It was indeed he who proposed this project, but I was the one who approved it! If anyone is to review, it should be me!" Liu Biao's eyes widened immediately when he heard this.

"Director Liu, that's not what I meant..."

"I don't care what you mean. Comrade Xu Qiang is still young and is a talent that our factory needs to protect! If we ask him to review his mistakes because of this incident, will he still be able to do his job in the future?" Liu Biao calmed down and continued, "I will explain the situation to the employees of our factory later, but Xu Qiang must not be implicated. There is no problem with his work and the project was completed on time. As for not being selected by the department, it was also caused by our lack of experience in developing military products for foreign trade. I, as the factory director, am also responsible..."

"Then let's forget about this matter. I also think that Comrade Xu Qiang should be given special protection. Some time ago, Comrade Xu Qiang has been working overtime for this project. He is indeed very hard-working. His merits and demerits offset each other, so there is no need to pursue it." Li Cunzhu said quickly.

Li Cunzhu did not expect that the factory director Liu Biao would be so protective of Xu Qiang that he would even turn against him for him. This was somewhat unbelievable. After all, our product project had just obtained the exhibition qualification from the department. He wanted to take advantage of his power and suppress Xu Qiang.

"Old Li..." Liu Biao's expression softened at this time, and he said calmly: "You have been engaged in product research and development in the factory for more than ten years. Your technical ability is obvious to all. However, due to the objective conditions of our factory and some other external factors, there have been cases of research and development failures..."

"Director Liu, I..."

"You don't have to say anything, I understand." Liu Biao interrupted Li Cunzhu and continued, "In fact, although we are all leading cadres in the factory, we also have division of labor. You who are engaged in R&D are like the troops charging in the front. Just keep going forward and achieve the goal. As for other things, you don't have to worry about it. If the superiors question me, I will deal with it. What do you think I am the factory director for? To put it bluntly, I am here to take the blame!"

"I understand." Hearing this, Li Cunzhu nodded.

"What's more, Comrade Xu Qiang has made a lot of contributions to our factory before. Even if he is not selected for this project, his merits outweigh his faults. You should be aware of this." "I will remember this." Li Cunzhu replied.

At this point, Li Cunzhu realized that Xu Qiang had become a big shot in the factory and was no longer someone he could easily manipulate.

Especially during this period, Li Cunzhu has discovered that the leaders of various departments in the factory have a very good reputation for Xu Qiang. Even when they were having dinner together, some people praised Xu Qiang in front of him as the best technical talent in the factory. This was obviously beyond Li Cunzhu's expectations. After all, two months ago, these leaders of the agency were not so fond of Xu Qiang.

In fact, what Li Cunzhu didn’t know was that Xu Qiang was not idle during the Chinese New Year and was always busy with social events.

If Li Cunzhu thought Xu Qiang was a young boy who was ignorant of the world, he was obviously wrong.

In order to keep his position as the head of the chemical laboratory, Xu Qiang spared no expense. After all, although this position may seem insignificant, the actual power he possessed was crucial to Xu Qiang's future prospects in the factory and his career outside. On the one hand, with advanced instruments, he could produce cutting-edge chemical products. On the other hand, with this position, Xu Qiang could also purchase many chemical raw materials in the country that could not be purchased through conventional channels. These things were simply inaccessible to people outside the system.

So now that Xu Qiang has taken this position, he will definitely not move away easily.
Considering that the replacement of important persons in charge in the factory needs to be voted on and approved by the factory leadership team and heads of various departments, Xu Qiang started to make "out-of-the-box moves" early in the morning.

Compared to Li Cunzhu who visited relatives and friends and gave gifts during festivals, Xu Qiang was much richer and more generous. Whether it was gifts or entertaining guests, the level was quite high. Cigarettes and alcohol could be sent in boxes and bundles. Xu Qiang only made one request, openly or secretly, that is, even if he was studying in Shanghai, the position of the head of the chemical laboratory must be his!

"Old Li, go back and prepare. Report the list of representatives participating in the exhibition to me in the next two days." Liu Biao said.

"Okay." Li Cunzhu said, turned and left.

Seeing Li Cunzhu leave, Liu Biao took another look at the notice and couldn't help but sigh...

……

At the same time, Xu Qiang and Liu Siying have basically completed the assigned tasks for this time. After inspecting two more manufacturers, they can return to the factory.

In addition to the previous chemical plant, the civilian product solutions provided by Xu Qiang and Liu Siying to several other manufacturers were also quickly implemented. Without exception, these factories organized workers to work overtime during the Spring Festival and made preparations in advance.

Compared with general state-owned enterprises, military-industrial enterprises are obviously better in execution. This is actually a continuation of the spirit of the early troops and militia. Hard work, vigorous and resolute action, these slogans have been deeply engraved in their bones, which makes Xu Qiang somewhat emotional.

During the day, Xu Qiang and two other people directed the workers on site. At night, the three of them began to organize materials and draw drawings. Their work efficiency was still quite high.

Although He Jie would find ways to get free food, drinks and snacks every time she arrived at a factory, her skills were good and she was particularly good at drawing. She was not much inferior to Liu Siying and was much better than Xu Qiang.

Occasionally, the three of them have some free time, so they will go out for a walk together after dinner.

Among the three, Liu Siying is definitely the most eye-catching one. Her appearance, temperament and figure all give people a very stunning feeling, so much so that when she walks in any factory area, she has a very high rate of turning heads.

The public security in many factories these days is not very good, but with the factory security department and Xu Qiang's company, nothing happened.

"Sister, after we go back this time, you and Brother Qiang will go to Shanghai to study, right?" He Jie asked Liu Siying on the way.

"Well, but you have to report to the provincial university first, and then listen to the specific arrangements of the factory." Liu Siying said.

"Will you still work and travel in the factory in the future?" He Jie asked again.

These days, He Jie followed Xu Qiang and Liu Siying around to eat and drink, and her life was quite comfortable. Moreover, through this period of time, the friendship between the three of them has deepened a lot. He Jie naturally hopes that she can continue to go on business trips with the two of them in the future. After all, compared to the dull working environment in the factory, the current life is simply like heaven...

(End of this chapter)