By August, with Hong Kong capital entering the picture, the group merger process, which had seemed stalled, began advancing again at a feverish pace. The two key issues that needed resolving finally surfaced.
One was the issue of First Branch Factory's profits and administrative jurisdiction. The other was how the senior managers of the two units would be promoted after the merger.
For years, First Branch Factory had been funneling profits to the main factory. The main factory had grown used to receiving a reliable sum every month, come rain or shine, to keep things turning over. There was no way it would share that household allowance with Southwest Heavy Truck.
But Southwest Heavy Truck said it also had several profitable branch factories that could be added to the "communal pot." Unfortunately, that suggestion met fierce resistance from multiple sides.
It was not only Ma Zhaoxian who disagreed. The Hong Kong investors disagreed, and several bigwigs in The Department disagreed as well.
First Branch Factory's strong momentum had to be preserved. They absolutely could not invite trouble by doing something extra.
It seemed the bigwigs understood this clearly as well. Southwest Heavy Truck's performance over the past few years had been such an eyesore that, if it got its hands on First Branch Factory's management, it would most likely drag this star enterprise straight into the ditch.
The specific arrangements for management personnel were another fiercely contested matter.
Since the two units would be upgraded after merging, everyone should naturally rise with the tide. If you had been a deputy general manager at Southwest Heavy Truck or Light Vehicle Company before, then after the merger, you could become a deputy general manager of the new group.
But Southwest Heavy Truck had seven deputy-division-level Deputy General Managers, while Light Vehicle Company