The matter of First Branch Factory's technical personnel going to Hong Kong Island in batches for "inspection tours" caused quite a stir within the factory.
Because Li Ye had said that as long as their skills were good enough, benefits would be guaranteed in abundance, and the Hong Kong side would provide similar visiting opportunities from time to time in the future.
That set many hearts stirring. They began calculating how they could "stand out" enough to visit Hong Kong Island, then come back and brag about it for two years.
Especially the newly assigned university graduates. After only a few days at First Branch Factory, they had determined that "technology came first" here, so they felt they were closest to achieving this "outstanding performance."
Wasn't it just a contest of technical skill? I'd studied for so many years—could I lose to him? I even dreamed about technical problems at night, turning them over until flowers bloomed from them.
But where there was joy, there was jealousy. Some people went to Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang to express their dissatisfaction.
At First Branch Factory's weekly meeting, Lai Jiayi, who had not caused a stir in a long while, voiced fierce objections on behalf of the management personnel who had not qualified for this trip to Hong Kong Island.
"Director Lu, Director Li, I object to the selection of the inspection team. Why are only the technicians from the Technical Department allowed to visit Hong Kong Island? Why are the other workers and cadres not qualified?
"Could it be that First Branch Factory's achievements over the years had nothing to do with the other workers and cadres? Two or three hundred people from the Technical Department alone cannot keep our First Branch Factory, with its eight thousand people, running normally!"
After