Chapter 291: A Good Grandfather Who Gets Things Done
Director Tian leaned back on the sofa. “This is exactly what I mean by my ability. If I had been born during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang wouldn’t have stood a chance! This is what you call mapping out strategies from within a command tent and securing a decisive victory a thousand miles away!”
On one hand, this stemmed from his blind trust in Su He; on the other hand, he noticed that although Director Hu looked a bit haggard, his morale was still quite high.
If things were truly hopeless, he would have withered like an eggplant struck by frost long ago!
Director Hu gave him a big thumbs-up. “Old Tian, no matter what, you really do have some skills! You guessed right. Little Su gave me an idea, and the top leadership has gone to the province to mediate.”
Director Feng’s eyes nearly popped out of his head!
“What kind of idea did Little Su give you that could actually move the top leadership to action?”
Director Hu smiled. “It was nothing major, really. I primarily made two points. One was that those people at the provincial machinery factory aren’t individuals who do genuine work, and the An County Machinery Factory would be ruined in their hands.
The other point was a pledge that our machinery factory could bring in foreign trade orders at the Guangzhou Fair.
Coupled with the fact that the top leadership was already against the merger to begin with, he went to the province to mediate.”
Director Tian’s eyes flickered. There’s bound to be more to it than just that!
If you won’t say it, you won’t say it. I’ll just ask Little Su myself!
The two of you are outsiders, but Little Su and I are family!
Director Feng was also somewhat suspicious, but they were all sensible people who knew their boundaries, so he didn’t press further. Instead, he asked about the foreign trade orders.
“Old Hu, not to pour cold water on you, but it probably won’t be easy for your simple seed drills to export and earn foreign exchange. Western countries all use massive agricultural machinery; they won’t buy this thing at all!
Those underdeveloped countries do need them, but don’t forget—they don’t have any money!
Even if they place orders, the volume likely won’t be very large.
Fortunately, you didn’t pledge a specific quantity, otherwise, it would truly be difficult to wrap things up.”
Director Hu smiled bitterly in his heart. Not only did I pledge a quantity, I even said ten thousand units!
However, there was no need to mention that now.
Right at this moment, Su He knocked on the door and walked in.
She had been waiting in the secretary’s office all along. It was just that she was highly discerning and had deliberately left enough time for the three of them to talk before knocking.
Seeing her enter, Director Hu said with a smile, “Little Su, the top leadership has gone to the province to mediate. This merger project is highly likely to fall through.”
Su He feigned a sigh of relief. “Then I can rest easy!”
She thought to herself, Even if the top leadership can’t handle it, this project still has to fall through!
If Old Master Gu didn’t even possess this much ability, he would be unworthy of the buckwheat hull pillow her grandmother had made!
After a brief exchange of words, Director Tian acted as if his pants were on fire and said, “Oh, right, Little Su. There’s an urgent matter at the factory requiring you. Hurry back with me!”
Upon leaving the machinery factory, Su He drove the sedan ahead, feeling utterly blissful, while Director Tian pedaled the heavy bicycle from behind, chasing after her so hard that sparks were nearly flying from the pedals!
Yet the old man didn’t harbor a single complaint!
Right now, he only wanted to find out as quickly as possible what kind of rotten idea Su He had actually given Director Hu!
Once they arrived at the food factory, Director Tian asked before he could even drink a sip of water, “Little Su, quick, tell me. What exactly did you say to Old Hu?”
Su He didn’t hide it either, recounting everything to him down to the last detail.
Director Tian silently gave her a thumbs-up. In terms of manipulating people’s minds, this girl was only a tiny fraction inferior to him.
“By the way, Little Su, back on the train, Shen Ruyi mentioned that the dog dad of that Qi fellow was in the provincial machinery department. This whole business couldn’t have been his doing, could it?”
Su He: “…”
Should I say it or not, Director Tian truly is a cultured man!
“I also feel this matter was instigated by Shen Ruyi. Therefore, I also presented Qi Yuansheng’s father, Qi Dazhi, with a magnificent gift…”
Su He then recounted the matter of her phone call to Old Master Gu.
Director Tian laughed so hard he repeatedly slapped his thigh. “Excellent! Splendid! This backhanded complaint is just pure genius! This time, the dog dad of that Qi fellow is going to suffer wretchedly!”
The two shared a few laughs before Director Tian said, “Little Su, credit where credit is due, this connection with the Gu family is truly useful. But you must remember that no matter the personal favor, it cannot be used too frequently, and you must maintain a mutual give-and-take.
Otherwise, even with the closest of kin, a day will bound to come when they grow weary and annoyed.”
Su He nodded. “Yes, I’ve taken it to heart.”
In reality, even if Director Tian hadn’t said it, Su He understood, but she had to show her appreciation.
Director Tian only said these words because he truly viewed her as his own junior.
That very afternoon, the top leadership gave Director Hu a reassuring guarantee—the merger was off!
Barely three days later, the document from the Ministry of Agriculture vigorously promoting the simple seed drills was officially distributed!
Simultaneously, during a meeting of the provincial leadership, the top provincial leader singled out the provincial machinery department for criticism, framing the charge heavily as obstructing the modernization process of agriculture!
Tang Biao, the top leader of the provincial machinery department, was scolded so harshly he couldn’t lift his head, and he directly pinned all the blame onto the second-in-command, Qi Dazhi.
In truth, this wasn’t really shifting the blame, as the matter had originally been proposed by Qi Dazhi to begin with!
Tang Biao had merely gone along with the current to grant a favor to the Shen family.
Who would have thought it would poke such a massive hornets’ nest!
He didn’t think the An County Machinery Factory possessed any special background; he simply assumed the simple seed drills had received heavy attention from the higher-ups.
That was why this merger project had pulled down such a severe reaction.
Everyone else thought along the same lines. Even if they genuinely connected it to some background, they would only assume the top leadership of An County had pulled some strings.
Under no circumstances could they ever imagine that An County harbored a Su He who could lodge a covert complaint from across a vast distance.
In the end, Qi Dazhi was stripped of his position entirely, demoted from a deputy department head to an ordinary clerk.
This was only achieved because the Shen family had exerted some effort, otherwise, he wouldn’t even have been able to keep his public service post.
Su He very quickly received the news from Director Hu. She thought to herself, Old Master Gu truly is a good grandfather who gets things done!
Suddenly, the System Broker popped out: “Host, do you feel a bit guilty?”
Su He was bewildered: “What do you mean?”
“Old Master Gu is neither kith nor kin to you. Although you and the Wealthy Fish are a couple, you aren’t married yet, after all!
From a legal perspective, you share absolutely no relation with Old Master Gu.
Under these circumstances of being neither kith nor kin, Old Master Gu dragged his elderly body around to run errands and get things done for you, yet you merely sent him a single buckwheat hull pillow. Shouldn’t you feel guilty?
Host, I have all kinds of gifts here specifically suited for the elderly—a dazzling array, featuring everything you could possibly want!
Hurry up and pick a few items for Old Master Gu to express the gratitude of a future granddaughter-in-law!”
Su He: “…”
