Thomas Sherman looked at Henry Sullivan, who was deep in thought, and smiled as he prompted, “Old Sullivan, you’re confused. Someone like that—I have one right by my side.”

“You have one by your side? Do you mean Little John?” Henry Sullivan asked tentatively. The Little John he referred to was Thomas Sherman’s secretary, John Woods, since only he fit the definition of “by your side.” John Woods was indeed quite capable and clever, but he was a bit too young and didn’t meet the “experienced” requirement.

Thomas Sherman burst out laughing, pointing at Henry Sullivan and saying, “Old Sullivan, aren’t you right by my side now?”

“Me?” Henry Sullivan was taken aback. He never expected that the bureau leader’s plan was actually for him to serve as both the director and party secretary of Lin Yi Machine Tool Factory—a possibility he had never even considered.

“Lin Yi Machine Tool Factory is at the bureau level, right? I’m not at that level, am I?” Henry Sullivan’s first thought was this issue.

Chinese state-owned enterprises also have administrative ranks. Linhe First Machine Tool Factory was directly under the Ministry of Machinery, and its director was at the bureau level, the same as Thomas Sherman. Strictly speaking, the Second Bureau wasn’t really Lin Yi Machine’s superior, but merely exercised leadership over it on behalf of the Ministry of Machinery.

However, the ranking system for enterprises and government agencies differs. When agency cadres are transferred to enterprises, it’s customary to promote them by half a rank; conversely, when enterprise cadres move to agencies, they’re demoted by half a rank. Henry Sullivan was at the division level, so if he were transferred to Lin Yi Machine as a deputy director, there’d be no problem. But to be promoted directly to director would be a leap in rank, which is why Henry Sullivan raised the question.

Thomas Sherman shook his head and said, “That’s not important. Now that we’re developing a market economy, enterprises will eventually abolish administrative ranks. Many enterprises under ministries and commissions have already been handed over directly to local governments. For example, Yueting Mining Machinery Factory used to be under the Ministry of Metallurgy at the vice-ministerial level, but now it’s been handed over to Yueting City, whose Economic Commission is only at the division level. So what rank do you think Yueting Mining Machinery is now?”

“That’s true,” Henry Sullivan nodded, accepting the explanation. In the early 1990s, the central government proposed developing a market economy, and many of the old management models underwent huge changes. The Ministry of Aerospace became the Aerospace Corporation, the Ministry of Textiles became an industry association, and many enterprises that used to be under ministries were handed over to local governments. The old administrative ranks simply couldn’t be maintained.

Lin Yi Machine had indeed been at the bureau level, but if it continued to lose money, it might eventually be handed over to Linhe City in Dongye Province. Linhe City itself was only at the bureau level—could Lin Yi Machine still act like a bureau-level unit?

“But why send me?” Henry Sullivan set aside the issue of rank and raised a new question. “Director, you know my abilities are limited, and I’m not young anymore. Isn’t the bureau party committee afraid I’ll mess things up by putting such a big factory in my hands?”

Thomas Sherman said, “Old Sullivan, you’re just being modest. In the entire Ministry of Machinery, who doesn’t know that you, Old Sullivan, are a living encyclopedia of the machine tool industry? You understand technology, you understand the market, you know the most people, and more importantly, you’re responsible and willing to take charge. At this critical moment for Lin Yi Machine, you’re the best person to take the helm.”

“But my personality tends to offend people.”

“So what if you offend people?” Thomas Sherman said. “To be honest, your personality is exactly why the bureau leadership chose you to take charge at Lin Yi Machine. Everyone thinks that Lin Yi Machine is seriously ill and needs a strong dose of medicine.”

“Heh, so the bureau leadership is treating me like Zhong Kui, sending me to exorcise ghosts.” Henry Sullivan chuckled, a hint of irony in his expression.

“In troubled times, you need heavy-handed measures,” Thomas Sherman replied, following Henry Sullivan’s lead.

In fact, during the bureau party committee’s discussion of this issue, several leaders held exactly this view: Lin Yi Machine had been thrown into chaos by its previous leaders—“in a small temple, the evil winds are strong; in a shallow pond, there are many turtles.” They needed to send someone with a strong presence to clean up the mess.

Henry Sullivan fell silent, beginning to weigh in his mind whether he should accept this task, and if he did, how he should proceed.

He was very familiar with Lin Yi Machine and knew exactly what problems existed. He also knew that the factory’s severe losses were closely related to the abilities and character of its leaders. But after so many years, the problems were deeply entrenched. If he, Henry Sullivan, took over, what were his chances of turning things around?

Thomas Sherman saw Henry Sullivan’s hesitation and said, “Old Sullivan, you don’t need to carry any mental burden. Once you go down there, just go all out—the bureau will back you up. Your task isn’t heavy: if you can turn Lin Yi Machine around, or even just reduce the losses a bit and keep the factory from going bankrupt, keeping nearly 7,000 workers employed, that’s enough. The bureau will look for someone else to replace you in the future, and when you come back, you’ll be guaranteed a deputy bureau-level position. While you’re in Linhe, you won’t lose a single cent of your benefits from the bureau.”