Chapter 79: Promotion Announcement

In this era, apart from certain specialized technical workers such as chefs, drivers, and welders—who had their own grading systems, like the well-known eight-level welder—there were mainly two primary routes for advancement.

The first was the administrative series, consisting of thirty grades. Beyond the eighth grade was rarely mentioned; from grades eight to twelve were positions like chief of department or office director at ministry or provincial government level. Grades eleven to fourteen corresponded to section chief level, fifteen to eighteen to department chief, seventeen to twenty-one to regular staff, and twenty-two to thirty to clerical staff. These levels often overlapped and were determined according to specific circumstances.

The lowest, grade thirty, came with a salary of only twenty-three yuan. Normally, after three years, one would be officially confirmed, advancing from grade thirty. But now, being directly assigned to grade twenty-six meant skipping five years of slow progress.

The second was the technical series, which had eighteen levels. Grades one to three were for chief engineers, professors, researchers, academicians, or chief physicians. Grades four to six were deputy positions for the above. Seven to nine were for engineers; ten to thirteen for technicians; fourteen to fifteen for assistant technicians; and sixteen to eighteen for interns. The lowest, grade eighteen, had a salary of twenty-seven and a half yuan.

These thoughts passed quickly through Xiao Weiguo’s mind. Realizing the director was waiting for his answer, he hurriedly stood up and said, "Thank you to the organization, thank you, Director. I am very satisfied and will work even harder in the future."

Shi Changzai nodded slowly and motioned for Xiao Weiguo to sit down again, then turned to Shi Guanglin beside him and said, "This time, you’ve benefited from Weiguo’s good fortune. You must treat him to a nice meal later.

“You were already at the eighteenth-grade deputy section chief level, but since there hadn’t been an actual deputy position for you, you’ve been acting as group three leader. Now, you’re directly promoted to deputy section chief of the Procurement Section, raised to grade seventeen. I hope you’ll work even harder from now on, and stop being so careless and unserious.”

Shi Guanglin responded with a broad smile, readily agreeing.

At that, Shi Changzai lifted his teacup and took a sip, then said to the two of them, “All right, that’s all I have for now. You can go back. The Organization Department will come to your office shortly to announce the decision, and the notice will be posted on the public board as well. Make sure nothing goes wrong during the public display period.”

Typically, new appointments would be posted for a public notification period, so all plant employees would have the right to know and supervise. It usually lasted a week, and if during that time anyone reported an issue that proved true, the appointment would be invalid—sometimes even leading to lawsuits.

Because of this, officials took the public notification period very seriously.

The two of them left the director’s office with a smile. Xiao Weiguo felt as though he were walking on air, everything seeming unreal, while Shi Guanglin maintained a steady composure.

Recalling the familiar tone the director used with Shi Guanglin and the fact that both shared the same surname, Xiao Weiguo asked, “Brother Lin, what’s your relationship with the director? You both have the surname Shi.”

“Oh, you noticed that? Was it so obvious? Looks like I’ll need to be more careful in the future.”

“That’s my seventh uncle—the least successful one of his generation in our family. Don’t tell anyone else,” Shi Guanglin lowered his voice more and more as he spoke.

No wonder, Xiao Weiguo thought. So that was his seventh uncle, and even then, supposedly the least successful of the family—yet still a director with real power in such a large factory. Xiao Weiguo couldn’t help rolling his eyes inwardly at Shi Guanglin’s humblebrag.

It seemed he’d have to keep an even better relationship with Shi Guanglin; his family’s influence was clearly greater than he’d imagined.

The two hurried back to the office to await the Organization Department’s announcement and to help Sister Ling handle some follow-up matters.

Through this practical experience, Xiao Weiguo finally understood the standard procurement process of the Procurement Section.

Typically, after the weekly meeting on Monday, once the procurement plan for the week was set, each buyer would take their approved note to the Finance Section to get the necessary funds and receipts for rural purchases. The following week, they would reconcile their accounts based on actual goods bought, settling any differences.

If the amount was large, a bank transfer between the factory and the supplier was required—usually for sums over thirty yuan. Of course, this wasn’t a hard rule; adjustments were made as needed, a skill every buyer had to master. After all, rural suppliers didn’t deal in formal transfers.

In the past two weeks, all the fish had been paid by bank transfer, so Xiao Weiguo hadn’t needed to collect funds in advance. That would change from now on.

Holding the note that Sister Ling had prepared—with amounts for wild hares and other game he’d supplied, as well as the big boar—the total came to two hundred sixty-seven yuan. The boar alone, even after deducting the two hind legs, weighed three hundred jin, and at eighty cents per jin, came to two hundred forty yuan. Add the rest, and the sum was correct.

Later, Li Daniu would pay him for the two hind legs separately. Altogether, Xiao Weiguo now had over four hundred yuan on paper—a veritable fortune.

Before long, Wang from the Organization Department came by with documents, exchanged a few pleasantries, and publicly read out the announcement. He informed them that notices would soon be posted around the factory, announcing Xiao Weiguo’s early confirmation, his reward, and Shi Guanglin’s promotion, so they should be prepared.

At lunchtime, the posting of these two announcements was like a drop of water in hot oil, sparking heated discussion among all the textile factory employees.

Few paid much attention to Shi Guanglin’s promotion—it felt too distant from their lives. But Xiao Weiguo’s early confirmation caused a sensation among the newly hired temporary workers, who all wanted to know who he was and whether they could get to know him, hoping to learn how to achieve early confirmation themselves.

While Cui Juan was eating, she overheard the female workers at the next table discussing how one of their cohort had already become a full employee. After her meal, she immediately pulled Liu Yanran and Hou Xiaoshuang over to the public notice board. There, they saw:

"Notice of Proposed Promotion… Procurement Section Group Three Buyer, Comrade Xiao Weiguo, has demonstrated dedication, teamwork, and exceeded procurement targets… According to the ‘Promotion Plan for Cadres of the First Textile Factory’ and other relevant documents… upon review by the Party Committee, it has been decided to confirm Comrade Xiao Weiguo as a full employee at grade twenty-six, effective immediately..."

Signed, Organization Department, Party Committee of the First Textile Factory.

Well then—after reading it, Cui Juan and her friends confirmed it was indeed the Xiao Weiguo they knew.

While they were still enduring three years as temporary workers, someone had already been confirmed early—and not even at the lowest grade of thirty.

Liu Yanran’s beautiful eyes widened in astonishment. She’d always had a good impression of the handsome buyer, but hadn’t expected he was now a bona fide city resident, while they still faced three more years of anxious uncertainty.

At that point, Hou Xiaoshuang said, “Do you think they remember our agreement from last time? We definitely need to ask Xiao Weiguo how he managed early confirmation. I won’t be at ease even a day until I’m confirmed myself.”

Cui Juan replied, “I know where their office is. I’ll make a point of hanging around there until I catch them.”

Liu Yanran, meanwhile, walked silently back to the workshop. What belonged to others was theirs; what was hers was hers. If she worked hard, one day she would be confirmed as well.