My career in the chemical industry: 1996–2009 (continued)

Thread Content

This post was last edited by thechrist on 2012-1-21 at 13:58. My career in the chemical industry: 1996–2009. Amidst the turmoil of the economic crisis, the progress of the projects I was in charge of slowed down. No matter how anxious or frustrated I felt, it didn’t help; so I decided to write something to reflect on the ups and downs I experienced over those thirteen years in the chemical industry. Perhaps these memories can be useful and inspiring for both me and others. Let’s start with graduation in 1996; after saying a heart-wrenching goodbye to classmates with whom I had spent four years together, I set out on my journey to start working, filled with hopes for a bright future. At that time, the school was also responsible for making arrangements; it would find jobs for those students who hadn’t managed to secure one before graduation. I know that one person from our department was assigned to Thirteenth Chemical Construction Company, and several others responded to the call for large-scale development and went to the western region wearing red armbands. A report on July 15th mentioned that work would start officially on September 1st; at that time I felt disheartened. The company where I was going to work was a large state-owned coal coking enterprise, and from the entrance to the office buildings and around the factory premises, everything was in darkness, with a pungent smell in the air from time to time. Seeing the workers covered in oil walking around the factory from time to time, it’s hard to imagine what I will be able to do in the future. With the mindset of making the most of the situation, I met with the head of the personnel department. On our first meeting, he seemed very friendly and welcoming; his gold-rimmed glasses gave him a refined appearance, reminiscent of the bespectacled character in Stephen Chow’s kung fu movies. After completing the registration procedures, he told me to start working on September 1st and to take a few days to rest at home. I felt a little touched inside at that time. Before starting work, I spent those days eating and drinking recklessly with some of my classmates who graduated around the same time. My weight increased from 148 pounds at the time of graduation to 178 pounds; it wasn’t until I was about to start working that I realized I couldn’t wear many of my old clothes. On my first day at work, I went there wearing newly bought clothes and new leather shoes, looking neat and tidy. I started by helping in the HR department with some paperwork related to professional title upgrades. Who would have thought that those engineers and senior technicians I had organized those files for would later become friends and brothers? As a recent graduate, I always felt that there was a big gap between me and those engineers, one that seemed insurmountable. Including me, there were five men and one woman who worked together. Over the following years, those men resigned one after another, while that woman faced the same fate as thousands of other women in China: to find a job that paid well, marry a man, have children, and become a good wife and mother. I saw her once last year; her husband also used to work at our former company. The whole family of three was still living in the company’s temporary housing, which was located next to the factory premises. It was a place where the windows couldn’t be opened, day or night – they had to be covered completely with plastic sheeting, otherwise a large amount of coal dust would fill the room quickly, and the smell generated would be very unpleasant. I still remember an incident that happened while I was helping out in the personnel department. The company used water from its own wells for drinking, and that water had been contaminated by industrial wastewater that had been discharged there over a long period of time without any control. Even plain boiled water had a strange taste to it. Seeing some tea in the office, I decided to put the tea leaves in a thermos in an attempt to change the taste of the water. When the department head found out about this, he severely criticized us fresh graduates, saying something that stuck with me: \"You college students really have low standards.\" This sentence is really hurtful. In 1996, there were very few college students working in this state-owned enterprise, and undergraduate students were even rarer. The so-called college students in the company were mainly those who graduated in 1988 and 1989 as part of training programs organized by the company. The previous general manager was an even more rough-around-the-edges man, with experience working in coke ovens. According to previous graduates, during his first meeting with them, he actually said that the meeting could be canceled because the glint from the glasses of those sitting there gave him a headache. The current general manager is a bit better – he graduated from a chemical engineering school, and he speaks in a straightforward manner when giving speeches to us. Undergraduates should first gain experience in the workshop; working in an office isn’t a good idea. If they go to the workshop without knowing what flanges or F-plates are, it’s easy for them to make a fool of themselves. Later, at work, I learned that this section chief had come back from military service. Having witnessed some of his actions, I can say that he is all pretense and certainly lacks any real qualities! Our assistance work in the personnel department came to an end quite quickly, and the few of us were assigned to a new project office. We had initially thought it to be an office staffed mainly by technical personnel, but upon arriving there we found that it was set up on the scale of a small manufacturing workshop or installation company – with staff available for electrical work, instrumentation, civil engineering, and warehousing. The person who brought us to work was a former university graduate, also the deputy director of the project office at that time and responsible for the equipment; he had gray hair and looked like an old scholar. There wasn’t much talk along the way. And that’s how it began: under the guidance of a senior colleague, I started my career as a technician. The starting point for working seems not to be those stacks of blueprints, but getting up early every day and starting work almost an hour earlier. The reason is that I live in the company’s single-person dormitory, where conditions are very poor; there is no heating. It’s an oil and chemical enterprise, yet the workers’ living quarters don’t even have gas. The place is located in the countryside – you can see vast fields of wheat as soon as you step outside, and there’s also a large manure pile nearby. In summer, mosquitoes buzz around and the air is filled with a foul smell; in winter, the wind is bitterly cold and piercing. During the first winter, a close classmate from college came to see me. He was a teacher at a chemical technology school at that time; now he has changed jobs and works as a technical supervisor in a foreign company. He also owns a small chemical factory, focusing on the production of fine chemical products in his field of expertise. I was staying in my dormitory; covered with three blankets, I stayed awake all night from the cold. The dormitory is far away from the city center and the roads there are difficult to navigate; although they are regularly repaired, they cannot withstand the weight of those overloaded trucks that transport coal in and out. With no other forms of entertainment, one can only go to bed early and get up early. When exercising early in the morning, one has to breathe in those unpleasant smells; it’s better to go to the office and clean it. I don’t have any other ideas either. The office has two floors, and I usually take care of all the cleaning tasks before everyone else arrives at work. It is said that single dormitories now have heating and gas. The accommodation conditions have improved greatly since I stayed there. Time passed by quickly as I became more familiar with my work. Thanks to my proactive approach to tasks and my outgoing personality, when a youth league branch was established in the project office, I served as its ** leader. I also represented the project office at the daily company production meetings, and would return afterward to report to the project director on what had been discussed during those meetings. A production schedule meeting is simply a session to report on yesterday’s production activities, provide statistics on production and consumption, and then discuss matters related to safety and discipline. The company’s leadership spoke again to make work arrangements for certain workshops and departments. Since there is very little related to our project, going there often doesn’t offer much in the way of new insights. Before starting the project construction, the five of us, under the guidance of the two Mr. Lius, conducted experiments in the pilot plant. There was a building without a roof, along with just a few simple storage tanks, heating kettles, and low-flow centrifugal pumps; the conditions there were rudimentary and air seeped in from all sides. The CNC instrument was installed only after we arrived. It was only later that we learned the roof had been burned down in an accident; after we left the pilot plant, another fire broke out along with an injury incident. Once autumn arrives, the weather in the north gets very cold quickly. The few of us who have just graduated would find a warm place to sit and listen to Engineer Liu and the other Engineer Liu chatting. In fact, both of these Engineers are a bit reserved and not good at talking; aside from matters related to production technology, most of the conversations revolved around the issue of college graduates not being given enough recognition or fair treatment in the company. No one took these things too seriously, feeling that they were too far removed from our own lives. The heating furnace used in the experiments was heated in a very primitive manner, by directly burning coal. The senior engineer in charge of this project was surnamed Yuan; he was also a former university student. He really liked to chat and laugh with us students, but would become quiet once he arrived at the office building. At that time, I wondered if all people who had attended school behaved like this at work – it was really strange! One day, it was so cold that even wearing thick cotton coats we couldn’t stand up straight from the cold. Worker Yuan said, \"Come on, let’s see who can raise the temperature of the heating tank the fastest; one person at a time.\" Saying that, he went to add coal first. How could we let someone who is almost sixty years old do this work? I burned the coal together with a graduate from East China University of Science and Technology; in less than half an hour, the temperature rose to over 300 degrees. Engineer Yuan was very happy and said, \"You college students are really capable. One needs both strength and perseverance – remember that in the future.\" They burned coal and handled materials every day, ending up with blackened faces; there wasn’t even a place to take a shower nearby. Engineer Liu and his colleagues came up with a solution by connecting steam and water pipes to a small room next to the pilot plant to create a makeshift shower. Before long, the office manager discovered this and had the shower removed on the grounds of it violating labor regulations. Engineer Liu and his team were extremely angry, and all we could do was feel frustrated alongside them – we were just a group of poor students, unable to do much about it. In 1997, the project office began construction on what was then the 20,000-ton coal tar pitch needle coke project. The ambitions from graduation remain unchanged; the Japanese still hold a leading position in the field of coal tar pitch needle coke. At the beginning of the project, everything was unfamiliar to someone who had no prior experience with installation – it was like starting from scratch, as there was always a large gap between the drawings and the actual site conditions. Since I was responsible for the installation of certain processes in one of the work sections, there wasn’t much material available for learning. So I kept asking the process engineer from Party B, an elderly man who had retired from a state-owned enterprise; he was very kind and patient. He would explain to me every day how to speed up the project timeline and reduce costs, as well as the principles behind proper and aesthetically sound pipeline installation. By the time the work was completed, it was clear to see the differences in the process pipelines across different sections. Process installation is truly like a movie – beautiful, yet with its own shortcomings. When I do things with care, by studying and observing carefully, I can sometimes see the personality and professionalism of the installation workers reflected in each of those pipes that wind their way up and down; they are not merely cold pieces of metal, but rather possess their own vibrant life. It was the first half of 1998, when the first section was installed and tested. At work, one begins to realize that it’s not just about the tasks themselves; there are also various people to deal with. A large part of working involves interacting with others. At the beginning of my career, I loved my technical job and wanted to position myself as a pure technician, hoping that over the years I would become an authority in a certain field, just like Xu Gong. But that’s not the reality. During the trial operation phase, the company hired a large number of college and vocational school graduates to fill various production positions. I was also responsible for training these new employees; it was my first time working with valves and instruments on site, so I learned as I went along while teaching others at the same time. What impressed me most was the first time when the finished product was discharged. Since this was the first time the production line was operated, it was expected that the product could be discharged in the evening according to the production schedule, but the project office director insisted on discharging it in the morning and invited company leaders to come and see it. After all the leaders arrived, due to the asphalt’s temperature having dropped and its viscosity having increased as a result of being left there overnight, the director ordered that the pipeline connected to the discharge valve be disconnected in order to heat the valve itself. At first, steam was used for heating, but this did not achieve the desired effect and actually caused the temperature to drop further; eventually, acetylene gas from an oxy-acetylene torch was used for heating. After the asphalt melted at the outlet valve, it leaked out quickly. I was busy at the commissioning site for three days without going back to rest; I was constantly learning and working from the time of material feeding to the time of material discharge. Just as I returned to the office, I poured some water to have a short break. I saw thick smoke billowing from the workshop, so I rushed there with a fire extinguisher. When I arrived, I saw that the asphalt pouring out produced thick smoke first, followed by sparks; in an instant, the flames reached a height of over ten meters. Fire extinguishers were completely useless; I ordered a few workers to grab the fire hoses and rush forward. As the water started flowing, the hoses became like giant snakes that were difficult to control. My two colleagues and I rushed inside, holding the hoses while navigating through the thick smoke. As we got closer to the fire, someone, in a panic, turned off the power supply for the entire workshop. Once the water stopped flowing, the asphalt smoke immediately engulfed us. I stumbled and fell to my knees, then turned around and crawled backward toward the exit. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their recognition and support. All the challenges and difficulties over these past ten-odd years have weighed on my heart, but fortunately there is the Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum, a platform where those in the chemical industry can express their opinions freely. These days I watched a TV drama starring Xia Yu that depicts the lives of people in the chemical industry, titled \"Our 1980s\"; I recommend that everyone give it a watch. My post might face the issue of slow updates, mainly because of my work obligations; I will make sure to make use of my time effectively to update it more quickly. Thank you all again! The smoke from that fire was dozens of meters high; some employees were able to see the thick smoke rising in the direction of the company from home, and they rushed to the workplace without even having time to change clothes. Employees from other workshops also joined the firefighting effort, carrying fire extinguishers, but it was the employees from our own workshop who carried out the actual firefighting work. Dramatically, when the company’s fire truck arrived, it was found to have no water in it. Two fire trucks from 119 came, and I went to greet them. The leading firefighter first asks whether the fire could cause an explosion They quickly connected the fire hoses, but just as the water reached the edge of the fire, the flames continued to spread. I became anxious at once; I went over and shouted at a few workers, taking the fire hoses from their hands. At that moment, a second fire hose arrived as well – our workers were in front, with the firefighters coming behind them. The temperature of the fire-fighting water was still very high; the I-beams in the corridors had already become scorching hot, and white smoke would emerge as soon as our bodies made contact with them. The glass in the factory building was shattered by the heat wave. My heart also wept during the fire-fighting process. The two chief engineers were so scared that they couldn’t stand up and it was us young workers who cleaned up the scene. After the on-site meeting, the only conclusion was that it was an operational mistake! I couldn’t hide my anger; that night I drank too much with some technicians, and I said things at the table that I shouldn’t have said – basically that it was the manager who caused this accident in order to please the company’s executives. Fate took a turn from there. Back then, I was a promising, positive-minded young person who could still be shaped. After that night, people from top to bottom in the project office began to quote the head of the personnel department, saying that this person had very poor qualities! If it’s not worth nurturing. I actually understand very well that I inadvertently offended the manager; there are plenty of reasons why those in higher positions might want to get rid of you, especially in a company where the decisions of the top leader influence the entire workshop or even the whole company. The higher a person with problematic thoughts and behaviors climbs, the greater the harm they can cause. The middle manager also had an opportunity to try to win me over by asking me to tutor his child in English, but I refused without hesitation. Actually, from 1996 to 1998, I was quite well-known in the head office; my articles appeared in almost every issue of the company’s newspapers and magazines. I wrote the article about the first time our project team started operating the equipment. This setback also prompted many experienced technical professionals to come and offer their support, advising me not to worry and to manage my emotions so that I could continue working hard. I contacted a classmate who is pursuing a master’s degree in Beijing; after preparing the necessary books and materials for the postgraduate entrance exam, I decided to leave this place full of troubles. When the director found out that I wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam, he would mention, without calling me by name, that I wasn’t focused on my work every morning before starting work. Since that accident, the workshop organized everyone to go there for labor reform – cleaning, weeding, and planting grass. It’s funny how things work out – the company’s youth league asked me to go there, so I went without telling anyone. After I returned, everyone, from senior to junior staff, came to talk to me, and my attitude wasn’t very good. Eventually the manager arrived, and after just a few words exchanged, we started shouting at each other. It was the first time in my life since I entered the workplace that I had an argument with someone, and moreover with a supervisor. The next day I was assigned to work in the workshop as an assistant. There were many workers in the workshop who I had trained, and they treated me well; they never made me do any heavy or strenuous tasks. To my surprise, working in the workshop gave me more freedom and made me feel more relaxed than working in the office. I had no objection to going into the workshop alone, but in order to cover his tracks, the manager made three people go in together, with one person working per shift. Later I heard the manager, after drinking too much, say that those damned intellectuals are detestable; he didn’t want them to work in the workshop as a form of training, not knowing what they were supposed to do. The director has always been concerned about our work. When he learned that I didn’t have a specific task to carry out, he asked the workshop leaders to assign me one. The workshop leaders all have technical backgrounds, and I respect them very much; in private, I address them as brothers. Due to matters at the workplace, I discussed it with my team leader, and I was assigned the task of conducting inspections in a tank area – a job that was usually done by female employees in my previous company. The person who accompanied me on these inspections was a young woman who graduated from an art school. Once inside the tank area, the young girl started singing loudly. She is trained in folk music, and it was truly wonderful to hear a professional singer perform \"Red Lake Waves\" up close for the first time. Especially at night, when songs pierce the night sky, one is completely immersed in those loud and beautiful melodies. In 1998, many things happened, especially that major flood. Our company also took in and arranged for several students from the Three Gorges University, one of whom was assigned to my dormitory. A short and thin young man from Chongqing eventually resigned and left due to the difficulty of adapting. The profitability of chemical enterprises is declining overall. The headquarters was piled high with coke, creating a dilemma where coal couldn’t get in while coke couldn’t get out. A workshop also had to be established in the project office, and the former project director was promoted to manager. The two supervisors in the workshop were in a fierce dispute over who should be the chief supervisor. One is a college graduate from East China University of Science and Technology, trained by the company in 1988; the other is an experienced worker with a background in electrical work, but he has a brother who is involved in criminal activities. This person was also the direct responsible party for the fire that broke out in the pilot plant. Since they are all graduating students, everyone tends to prefer those with academic qualifications. People who come from school generally have high moral standards, are shy, not malicious, and have a sense of pride; they don’t want to cause trouble. As soon as the old worker realized he had a chance of becoming the supervisor, he became arrogant and domineering, using various tactics such as intimidation to get his way. Eventually, he managed to take on the role of acting supervisor. When workers asked him to sign documents, he couldn’t even write his own name properly; one can only imagine how chaotic the workshop must have been. Since it’s a new workshop, the working conditions are much better than those in the benzene, naphthalene, *** tar workshops. Some old workers gradually came to this workshop; rather than being true old workers, they were more like old ruffians – aggressive women and tough men. This makes it increasingly resemble a real workshop. Naive young boys and girls are fascinated by them. In the class, people smoke, drink, leave their posts, and switch positions; even the young girls learn to flirt. Back then, such workshops really needed to be managed by a tough guy. For college graduates with a formal education to take on leadership roles, they truly need some special skills; many experiences and approaches can only be acquired through working at the grassroots level and facing various challenges. During that time in the workshop, I realized that I was more like an outsider, going to work every day as if watching a play, observing various people coming on stage to compete and struggle. From time to time, there are some disturbances in the workshop: sometimes someone opens a dry powder fire extinguisher, causing chaos in the workshop, or workers accidentally turn on the steam valves, resulting in noise all over the workshop. The director from back then, who is now the manager, still likes to go to the workshop in person to give instructions. During the process of feeding material into the distillation tank, he wouldn’t allow the pump to be turned off; instead, the material was discharged directly from a higher-level tank. The valves weren’t closed in time, and the material spilled out of the tank, covering everything around with sticky residue. I stood at the entrance to the control room on the second floor, watching as the manager downstairs directed the workers to cover the black, smelly material that had already settled on the ground. He turned to look at me, and I met his gaze coldly. I knew my days working in the workshop were numbered. In the turbulent year 1998, with floods, the Indonesian financial crisis, and a sharp drop in stock markets, chemical companies faced great difficulties. Xiao Sichuan left, and my friend who graduated from East China University of Science and Technology along with me and worked in the General Engineering Office encountered a similar situation – he had a serious conflict with the head of the Technical Department. In 1996 we graduated and, by scrimping and saving, we jointly bought a 586 in 1997. Pentium 100. We would take it apart and put it back together over and over again when we had nothing to do; that small computer was subjected to such handling many times a day. At that time, there were few computers in the entire company; the technical department had only one computer used for handling the company’s daily tasks. Since I knew that person well, I helped the information officer in charge of the computers with tasks related to Word and Excel. I felt very frustrated at that time, so I would make excuses to wander around the company during regular working hours, often going to the technical department to borrow some monthly magazines to read. That day, I saw with my own eyes the section chief rush into the office along with some higher-ups, and question my friend for fiddling with the computer during working hours. My friend also persisted, pointing at the computer and saying angrily, \"Explain clearly how you messed around like that! Come and take a look!\" After saying that, he flung the computer chair far away. I looked at the manager’s face; behind him seemed to be the chief engineer or the manager in charge. The manager said, \"You can see from this attitude that action needs to be taken,\" and he wouldn’t even let the higher-ups speak. My friend still said arrogantly, \"I’ve never seen a leader like you; it’s almost as if you’re calling yourself some kind of worthless leader.\" In the second half of 1998, he was the first to choose to leave, and I then also submitted an application to take a leave of absence with pay. Faced with those self-important leaders, we students have no way to resist; we can be mistreated at any time. Even some older workers don’t treat these college students from other places very well. Fights often occur in the single-person dormitories, and many of these incidents are caused by senior workers who go to the dormitories to cause trouble. In the most serious case, two workers who had finished their shifts rushed into a dormitory; to their surprise, the residents there were interns working at the company’s thermal power plant. One of the interns grabbed a kitchen knife and seriously injured one of those workers. I and Xiao Sichuan encountered the same thing: two drunk workers from the coke oven plant came in and caused trouble. My friend and I held them down, and then we picked up the empty wine bottles on the table with the intention of hitting those drunkards. The woman who watched over the place was from a nearby village; she heard the noise, scolded those two men and drove them away, At the same time advising us that if we really hit them with those bottles, would we still be able to work in the future. That senior colleague’s surname is Han; she took great care of me until I left the company. What’s even more annoying is that the chief of the personnel department’s eldest uncle also lives in a temporary housing unit behind the single-student dormitories. His nickname is Zhang Niubi; during meal times, he would carry a large bowl around each room in the single-student dormitories, boasting about himself. Many people treated him with great respect, but when he came to our room, he acted indifferently toward us. He then said, “I haven’t seen you before.” I replied that it’s normal not to have met someone, given that the company has over 3,000 employees. He said no, I haven’t seen you at my brother-in-law’s house. I asked who your brother-in-law is. He then said proudly, the head of the personnel department—is so-and-so. None of these graduating students will not go to his house. I said, right? I don’t know him. Zhang Niubei stormed out of the room, furious, carrying his big bowl with him. His son, Xiao Zhang Niubei, was even worse – whenever he entered the dormitory, he would rummage through anyone’s room without permission. Because of this, I had to beat him up. That brat also started shouting at me, demanding that my uncle fire me! Some people experience huge changes in their mindset after working for a year or two. When I see those in their thirties or forties at those companies with gray hair, I feel fear as well – is this really the place where I’ll have to work for the rest of my life? Summary of thoughts on changing jobs for the first time. Out of the five male classmates who worked together, I was the third to leave. The first two left to pursue postgraduate studies, while the other one got a job at a telecommunications company; both of them have changed careers and are now in Beijing. The other two of us are still working in our respective fields. There are essentially two reasons for changing jobs: one is not being able to adapt to the environment, either the working environment or the living environment. Those who have worked in the coal chemical industry know that in the early days, there was no DCS used in chemical processing; everything relied on physical labor, with people running around on site, along with a rudimentary management style. The workers in the workshop have a relatively low level of education; they often tell vulgar jokes and engage in crude and obscene behavior. Generally, fresh graduates will start to have other ideas after staying there for a few days. II. Low income. This is something that many newly graduated college students cannot accept. In 1996, I started working with a monthly salary of 298 yuan, 10 yuan more than that of someone with an associate degree. After becoming a full-time employee, the salary was less than 400 yuan; it remained around 500 yuan until I left my previous employer. None of us who graduated together paid the company’s fundraising contribution, so we don’t get any part of the annual salary increases. There are only about ten of my college classmates who are still working in the chemical industry. There are less than five people who work purely in technical fields; among them, some are involved in foreign trade, teaching, shipping, as well as working as clerks or in administrative roles. The most common occupation is sales. What about those who didn’t change jobs? Some of the students I taught at my previous employer are now in leadership positions. Whether it’s the production manager or the workshop supervisor, their salaries have seen a significant increase compared to previous years; they no longer have to wait anxiously for a few hundred yuan per month. An overtime shift can earn them several hundred yuan, and the quarterly safety award can amount to several thousand yuan as well. Some thoughts on those who want to get promoted. To survive in a company, one must first learn to protect oneself, enhance their professional knowledge, and wait for opportunities. Under no circumstances should one get involved actively in struggles over rights or gangs during their youth; once something goes wrong, it becomes difficult to hold one’s ground, and it is also detrimental to the development of one’s character. Let me tell you a little joke. There was a college graduate who was trained by the company in the 1980s or 1990s; he worked at the coke ovens for ten years, constantly alternating between being the chief operator and an assistant operator. Why? When he was the chief operator, he would supervise the assistant operators, and once those assistants became chief operators, he would take on the role of assistant operator again. When someone else became chief operator, he would return to that position and supervise the new chief operator. It wasn’t until ten years later, when his classmates gradually rose to leadership positions within the company, that he was able to step away from the front-line work and become a workshop technician – which was quite a remarkable achievement. Chemical production follows certain patterns; with careful effort, it’s not difficult to identify key points and tips. However, many people stay on the surface and don’t want to delve deeper into the subject – they just want to muddle through, and it’s hard for them to achieve anything meaningful. Some people are really not suited for this profession, while others do very well by changing careers. After all, working in a chemical company relies on technical skills, but interpersonal relationships are equally important; therefore, it is difficult to be a leader, and even more difficult to be a good one. To enable graduates to make the best use of their strengths, in addition to their personal qualifications, it also requires enterprises to have a high standard in terms of management, system implementation, and corporate culture development. Incidentally, from my perspective, for Chinese companies at present, corporate culture essentially means the culture of the boss, that is, the culture of the top leader. As for those discussions in various forums about teamwork, unity, and innovation, most of them are just theoretical notions that are neither practical nor applicable in reality. It is still the top management that determines a company’s survival and development; at least for now, there won’t be any major changes. These past few days I’ve been working hard at the construction site under the scorching sun. Yesterday at noon I felt dizzy and had symptoms of heat stroke; today, when I started working, I felt a bit better and continued to head to the site. Looking at the workers busy on site, what are our hardships compared to theirs? Let me continue to talk about my own trivial matters. In the second half of 1998, amid the wave of small-scale job changes, I was successfully approved for leave of absence without pay. At that time, it wasn’t like now when employees could leave their jobs freely; resigning was still considered something new, let alone being laid off. There are two possibilities when changing jobs: either taking a leave of absence with pay, or being transferred to another position. The three people who went out together were all technical staff from their previous workplaces; they were all in their thirty-five or thirty-six years old, roughly the same age as me. In short, I started a computer company. Before 2000, the computer industry was a highly profitable sector. Within three months of opening, the company received two large orders, both involving nearly a hundred computers each. The two senior colleagues started arguing over profits; as a young person, I didn’t know what to do. In the end, the company split up, and I chose to leave as well. During that time, my former company also called me and asked me to return to work in marketing, as the company was going through restructuring and the new manager wanted to stabilize the staff’s morale. But I refuse to go back. This split was a big blow to me. I thought that leaving the company and working for myself to make a living would be more satisfying, allowing me to express my personality freely; but I was completely wrong – people have changed. In the face of interests, there are no brothers or friendships. Entrepreneurs can share hardships, but not joys. Under the pressure of life, I went back to my former employer’s general manager and asked to resume working there. Although my colleagues showed great enthusiasm in welcoming my return, a gap had already formed, and it was difficult for me to integrate into the team. Undergoing tremendous psychological pressure. Technology and engineering were separated; I went to the technology department, while the engineering department remained under the responsibility of the original project manager, so it basically had nothing to do with my work. In 2000, the company began to operate on a self-financing basis after undergoing restructuring; the startup of the delayed coking unit was postponed. I took some students and key staff members to a **large-scale oil refinery for training*. College graduates who graduated in the year 2000 clearly exhibit impatience; work seems to them to be merely a stepping stone, and they are unwilling to do the dirty or hard tasks. They leave as soon as they see others working, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of people resigning. Only one college student came with me to Shi*, the rest were from technical schools. They were all selected from among the workers. Some college graduates who graduated after 00 have almost become a problem in the workshops. It is worth mentioning that another purpose of this practical training is to ensure that workers are not only familiar with the key aspects of the production process but also with DCS. Many new chemical technologies were first applied in the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, and general chemical plants usually choose similar petrochemical companies. The manager of the engineering department always refused to go on the DCS, while the manager of the technical department insisted on doing so. After returning, the technical staff held a special meeting; it was the first time they heard the former director explain technical aspects, covering everything from field instruments to electrical systems in great detail. To my surprise, the other engineers didn’t give him any respect at all; they talked extensively about the use of new technologies in chemical enterprises, with DCS being just one part of that. After the meeting, a few senior engineers invited me to go out for drinks to celebrate this small victory, clearly feeling very pleased with themselves. After that meeting, this manager basically stopped interfering in technical matters. The new company struggled to get off the ground in terms of sales, and the marketing department requested that some college students with relevant expertise be added to the sales team. For my own reasons, I was transferred to the marketing department. Prior to this, the head of the marketing department had asked me to join them on several occasions, as I was familiar with the company’s products; I was actually responsible for the initial testing of those products at Tianjin University. I also went there to conduct industrial tests at a carbon plant, and I stayed for over two months. Just to mention again, that carbon factory was a labor reform camp; I worked on site along with a group of people who were there as part of their labor reform sentence. Those who didn’t know might have thought I was also a prisoner. I didn’t work in the marketing department for very long; from the time I returned to the company until I left again, it wasn’t even a year. After all, I was someone who had previously left the company, and many people spoke ill of me. I also saw that my future there seemed bleak. My dislike for some of the company’s practices also accelerated my second departure. I was the one who sold the first batch of products. The general manager once said at a meeting that whoever sells the product first would be rewarded at a rate of 0.5 percent, and by the time I settled the payment, I wouldn’t get even one penny in reward. It’s one thing if they don’t give me the money, but the other veteran salespeople mock me and go to their supervisors to take credit, saying that it’s because of the foundation they laid that I was able to benefit. What they don’t know is that I conducted extensive technical exchanges with the manufacturer’s technical director, and also provided them with a lot of data and ideas. Old salespeople only choose those from the manufacturers to make sales pitches; technical issues are never addressed, let alone discussions about selling new products. The general manager is in charge of sales; his approach is good, but the results are not satisfactory. He took the lead in selling some calcined coke, yet the payment for it has not been received yet. This task was assigned to me. After I settled 80% of the payment amount, let me add that when the manufacturer paid me, the first time it was by acceptance, while on the second and third occasions, since I had a good relationship with the owner of this private company, the payments were made in cash, which I then handed over in full to the company’s finance department. Due to the company’s poor performance, I was included in the first list of employees to be sent on leave, with a monthly living allowance of 300 yuan. It wasn’t even a month; when I was told to return to work, I submitted my resignation letter. II. The time spent with private and foreign-owned companies This time, my departure was irreversible and without any hesitation; I once again became the focus of attention. I would be the first person to resign since the establishment of the new company. When I went to ask the general manager for his signature, his expression was grim – he was the same classmate who had worked as an operator at the coke ovens for ten years, and he was reluctant to sign. I said firmly that they should not keep me any longer; I have no intention of working if I stay. After leaving this time, I don’t want to look back. Although the general manager told me a lot about my work, emphasizing that he really cares only about two people in this company: Chief Engineer Li and me. I never expected that I wouldn’t be able to bear such hardship and would just leave without saying anything. I stuck to my position, and in the end the general manager signed it. Life is like a play; a few years later, Engineer Li retired quietly, and the general manager became a migrant in Beijing. Fate always plays its various tricks. There is a mix of joy and sorrow on and off stage. Tired of the laziness in state-owned enterprises and fearing the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, I pursued my dreams as a child with the aim of achieving the Four Modernizations by the year 2000. In 2000, at the age of 27, I found myself once again at a crossroads in life, feeling lost. After several attempts to stay in state-owned enterprises, I had missed the optimal time to pursue further studies. I wondered what path to take next, and whether my skills and strengths could be utilized in private or foreign companies. With great confidence in myself, I joined what was then considered China’s largest alcohol manufacturing company. In the year 2000, only one of my classmates decided to continue with his studies; he even called me this afternoon to say that he had resigned again. The feelings associated with this are indescribable. Another good classmate, when his career was on the rise, saw his company go bankrupt, so he went to Japan to pursue further education. Who would have thought that this choice would allow me to gain a new understanding of the current situation of the companies around me. Life is like a movie, even more wonderful than one. Much like that brief venture, this time too I resigned and went together with a 36-year-old engineer, though I only found out on the day of the report. Leaving the previous workplace silently, and then going to a new workplace in silence as well. My salary is several times what it used to be, but the workload is far beyond what I had imagined. It’s a new company with new departments; the staff comes from all over and their skills vary greatly, with a mix of high-quality and low-quality individuals. On my first day at work, after the chief engineer explained the production process, what surprised me wasn’t the scale of the company, but rather the chaotic state of the actual manufacturing process. Hehe, some people doubt whether this article is original. I can assure you with certainty that it is based on my own experiences. There may be slight discrepancies in the timing of certain events, but everything is absolutely true. I originally wanted to write about some interesting things I’ve seen in order to make the article more engaging, and not to make the memories too heavy. But time always plays tricks on us: when we don’t want to write, there’s plenty of time; yet when we do want to write, we have to find time for it. There are people pressing me every day regarding the project, which is frustrating, and when the payment isn’t made on time, the workers aren’t as motivated to work, so I have to urge them to hurry up. It’s so hard! I once read an article criticizing people from Beijing; it was quite amusing. It said that what’s most intolerable about them is their arrogance, rudeness, and lack of courtesy. Even those who handle manure are incredibly arrogant, to the extreme. Beijingers never look at people directly; instead, they stare at you through those narrow eyes of theirs, making you feel extremely uncomfortable and stripping you of all your confidence. Beijingers usually shake their heads and move their bodies while staring, with their calves trembling. No wonder some people say that municipal party committees from other places feel insecure even in front of garbage collectors in Beijing – there’s truth to that claim. When I was still working at my previous employer, I went to the Beijing Coking Plant to fetch medium-temperature asphalt. I met one of the loading workers there; the first time they tried to load the asphalt, it wasn’t enough, and the driver didn’t want to accept that. He insisted on loading more, but the worker refused to do so. The driver asked me to go and talk to them, and I asked if there was any smoke The driver gave me one option: Kyushu or 7X, I can’t remember now; either way, it’s not a good cigarette. I took the cigarette from before and handed it to the loader; at that time, that guy was still acting tough. Seeing Wu Dalang’s physique and his contemptuous attitude made me angry. I didn’t expect this guy to take out a pack of cigarettes on his own, light one and put it in his mouth. I thought to myself, \"Oh, I can still deal with you.\" I picked up that cigarette, turned around and walked away, then threw it to the driver and said to wait for me; I’d load it onto the vehicle in a moment. I headed straight for the workshop office. Upon entering the workshop, there was a bulletin board managed by the workshop itself, which contained information about workshop management. To my surprise, the supervisor turned out to be related to me; using this as an opportunity, I met with the supervisor and after exchanging a few words, got straight to the point. The supervisor immediately called the workshop and asked the shift leader to come over. When I was leaving, the supervisor escorted me to the gate; when I arrived at the workshop, Wu Dalang went up to the top of the tank truck by himself to open the valves and secure the pipes. See me go politely to start the pump and load the truck. Fortunately, I didn’t tell the director about smoking; not allowing him to smoke would really get this kid into trouble. A small side note: as for my time working in private and foreign companies over the next few years, I really don’t know where to start. I have always been involved in technology work; over the past few years, in addition to doing technical tasks, I have spent more time examining the development paths of these companies and reflecting on what the relationship between people and companies really is. After a whole day of exhaustion, it feels unbearably painful to see the workers on the construction site working day and night without rest; it’s not easy for anyone these days. It’s rare to receive such generous support from Hai Chuan’s friends; I thank everyone for their support and understanding. I also want to wrap up my long speech as soon as possible. For the friends at HaiChuan, I’ll explain in detail what I’ve seen and heard over the years in the chemical industry, so that everyone can have a comprehensive understanding. It might not be what you think; it could just be my personal opinions, for reference only. It was my first time entering a private enterprise; having spent a long time in state-owned enterprises, I maintained a skeptical attitude toward all the exaggerated claims and promotions. The shocking construction site makes one think that such a company will not survive for long. There are no process engineers or safety officers at the construction site. Personnel from Party A and Party B work together in a cross-functional manner. Here, the workers from Party A and the construction workers from Party B work together, doing the same tasks; the rough and strenuous jobs are usually done by the workers from Party A. There is severe waste on site; any scraps, regardless of size, as long as they spoil the appearance of the area, are taken by the client’s workers to the waste dump. The waste dump is filled with bundles of pipes and large pieces of steel plate that have been cut only once. There are piles of pipes in that waste pile, and many of them could still be used if sorted out. It is said that in the later stages of the company, these waste materials were used as scrap iron to settle debts, and one supplier not only didn’t suffer any losses but even made a small profit. What’s more, once a supervisor came for an inspection; one of the factory managers saw that the pipes and cables that had just been unloaded by the side of the road were in the way, so he ordered excavators and bulldozers to be used to bury them. These pipes and cables were worth at least several million, and there were also many stainless steel pipes among them. That area was later planted with trees, and when the company went bankrupt, it’s unclear whether those items buried underground would be dug up by cats. It’s difficult for such a situation to occur in state-owned enterprises, as most leaders start out at the grassroots level and value their current jobs, knowing how hard-won they are. The leaders of private enterprises often rise to positions quickly, making it difficult to understand their previous work experience; it is therefore normal for them to resort to unscrupulous methods in pursuit of profit. Around 2,000 years ago, people in the north still did not understand what economic development zones were; by that time, such zones were thriving in the south. In 1998 I visited Kunshan, where Taiwanese, Japanese, and European and American companies were everywhere. The employment prospects and working conditions there were far superior to those in the north. In 2000, wages in the north were generally not high; in my city, the average wage was around seven or eight hundred. The workers at this company in the development zone earn 1,500 to 1,600 per month, which is twice the average salary at that time; people did everything they could to get jobs at this alcohol manufacturing company. Driven by interests, people tend to forget who they are; sometimes they even forget that they are alone. Fake diplomas, fake educational credentials, and fake records are rampant in that company; this is not an isolated case, and it will become clear in the future that many enterprises in development zones suffer from this problem as well. People from all walks of life flocked to businesses in search of fortune. Restaurant owners, taxi drivers, and other people who work as escorts put on work uniforms and pretend to be workers. Such things do not happen in state-owned enterprises, where strict checks are carried out when hiring employees; even those who meet the requirements are required to pay a deposit before they can start working there, and this has been the case since the year 2000. It is 1,000 for undergraduate programs, 2,000 for junior college programs, and even more for vocational schools and technical colleges; these figures change every year. Such a low standard of personnel competence is the reason why safety accidents occur frequently in this company. Take a typical accident as an example: there was welding work being carried out in a grain storage facility, with two workers overseeing the process. One worker was sitting on the conveyor belt, and someone upstairs started the conveyor belt, which pulled that worker into it. The second worker rushed upstairs to ask that person to stop it, but they refused to do so. After the last person came out of the conveyor belt, his spine was broken and he could no longer move; he was only 19 years old and had just returned home from military service. A handsome young man standing at 1.85 meters tall would now have to spend the rest of his life in bed. The person who pressed the start button was a **; before joining the company, he worked as a farmer in the fields. It was also at this company that I truly started working as a front-line worker. Before joining this company, I applied for the position of professional engineer, and the salary offered was higher than what I had expected. Once I started working there, the chief engineer told me to first get familiar with the production process in the workshop before taking on a role related to scheduling. The first place visited was the DDG workshop; its production process is simple and the level of automation is not high. Those in charge of this area had no knowledge at all about production and manufacturing processes after coming into contact with them. But the workshop workers regarded him as a god; most of them were from state-owned enterprises and went to great lengths to flatter him. This is when I began to realize the significant impact that companies have on people; those who come from state-owned enterprises tend to prefer to engage in networking and power struggles, in other words, to form factions. Laa pulls in those who are useful to him; those who cannot be utilized are punished. Such pranks happen every day in the workshop, and the workers from a township enterprise can only endure them without daring to speak out. Since the identity of those who started going there was different, this is also a feature of this company. Different job positions are distinguished by the color of the work uniforms: leaders wear brown ones while workers wear earthy-colored ones. Since my clothes were also brown, the workers initially gave me some leeway. That company has a term for those who do work on behalf of other parties, called “outsourcing.” It is a supervisor from that state-owned enterprise who assigns tasks every day; the heavy and tough jobs are given to those honest people, while the easier tasks go to the company’s own employees. Sometimes, if someone doesn’t meet their standards, they will say something about them. Later, I went there with a group of workers to help Party B carry the cables, and first had an argument in the warehouse with a so-called leader. It seems the reason is that there aren’t enough people to push the cable reel. After that person left, he got very angry because he thought we were working too slowly; one of the workers said that using a forklift would make things faster. As a result, they were unwilling and spoke in an offensive manner; hearing that made me angry as well, and we started arguing. Seeing that I didn’t dress well and wasn’t like the workers, this guy left dejectedly. I was told to go up on the bridge frame to pull cables, with the chief engineer directing operations below. Seeing the chaotic situation there, I immediately told the chief engineer that I have acrophobia and can’t go up. Later on, I found out that this chief engineer was also an uneducated and petty person who was very skilled at political maneuvering. He cared a lot about face in crowded situations; if someone was rude to him in public, he would hold it against them. My familiarity with the production processes in various workshops was put on hold; after being notified, I started working at DDG. Fortunately, my salary wasn’t reduced, so I still had the means to confront those despicable people. A small group tried to recruit me, but I quickly became close friends with the ordinary workers there. There, I met many friends, who are all the most honest farmers in China – enthusiastic, dedicated, hardworking, and conscientious. This is my first time, since leaving the state-owned enterprise and stopping to work with workers who had vocational school qualifications, interacting freely with such simple and unpretentious workers. After I left the company, I needed money to buy a house, so I reached out to an old friend of mine, who immediately sent me the money without any hesitation. It was such a workshop, with so many good workers, yet accidents kept happening there both while I was working there and after I left. Pre-job training is perfunctory, and the skill level of workers is generally low. The equipment in the DDG workshop mainly consists of centrifuges and dryers. The dryer is simple to operate, while the centrifuge is equipped with a control panel; anyone familiar with chemical production can get to know this control panel after looking at it a few times. For those who have no experience in chemical production, it might be quite difficult. The team leader from that state-owned enterprise and his group took control of the centrifuges, preventing others from learning how to use them. At that time, I dismissed their behavior as unacceptable. Later, when I worked for a foreign company, I encountered people from that same state-owned enterprise again, and their actions were strikingly similar. Out of the hundreds of people who had contact with that state-owned enterprise, there was only one person whom I really admired. An instrument technician who graduated from a technical school is just as skilled as any college graduate I know; he’s highly proficient in his work but only knows how to focus on tasks without knowing how to handle situations. During the trial operation, accidents kept occurring in the centrifuge dryer; workshop technicians worked round the clock. During one of the operations to remove material from the dryer, a worker used a shovel to cut off a piece of flesh from my finger, and I still have a scar from it. The young worker fell into the auger a year later, resulting in a gruesome separation of his body from his head; he was only 22 years old. Soon after, I was transferred to the distillation workshop; it was said that I was being groomed as a future talent for the company. I just laughed it off. This workshop is even more special, as its staff are mainly from a certain winery. These same people engage in constant verbal battles, never stopping their confrontations; the only thing they do together is kowtow and fawn over the workshop supervisor from the Northeast. The young director from the Northeast keeps mentioning MLGB over and over again; these guys are calm and smile all the time. Many people say that people from the Northeast are good at boasting; the vulgarity in their speech is on par with that of Beijingers, and whether male or female, every sentence they speak seems to contain vulgar language. People from the Northeast are all chameleons; they change their attitude a hundred times faster than flipping through a book. I have no intention of belittling people from the Northeast here; I have many friends from that region, and I have even visited their homes before. I really like the stewed dishes from the Northeast—diced pickled vegetables with vermicelli! I say this is particularly fitting for this young supervisor – ‘young’ refers to his age, but he is extremely sophisticated in handling matters; he was very wary of my arrival and wouldn’t let me approach the control room. The bunch of lackeys in the workshop were also aggressive. It’s funny that as soon as I go to the control room, someone follows to keep an eye on me. Not long after, during a night shift, there was a disagreement between the control operator and the shift leader in the control room; as a result, they did not return to the main control room that entire night. The shift leader had some family problems those days, which prevented him from getting enough rest during the day, and he was so sleepy while sitting in the control room that he could barely stay upright. Out of a sense of responsibility, I worked there all night; it was a relatively smooth night during the testing phase. In the morning, the supervisor called to ask who was on duty, and I said it was me. Many people were very surprised – this company never stops its pranks, and this time too, there were plans to deal with that team leader. Later, there was another unexpected power outage. The junior supervisor was eager to start the machine; I suggested that it would be best to close all the valves on site before starting the machine, and to avoid operating the valves too quickly. But he didn’t listen and insisted on starting it right away, which led to an accident soon after. The hot and cold media came into contact instantly, causing boiling, and one of the feed pipes of the distillation tower was damaged as a result. They organized people to carry out emergency repairs, working all through the night. The junior manager also had a very unfriendly expression on his face when looking at me. DCS seems incredibly complex to those who have never seen it; in their words, using a computer to control production is truly amazing! This isn’t something an ordinary person can do! On top of that, some people deliberately exaggerate things, which keeps many people away from even trying it. My memories of working at that company are mostly about my own struggles – fighting against gangs and individuals – in a filthy and unsanitary environment; I was like Don Quixote, except that I seized the opportunity to find another path and joined a foreign company. When the junior manager saw me off, he took my hand and whispered things like asking me to take better care of myself in the future. I smiled and said, \"You’re too kind; I can’t treat you like an ordinary person.\" I thought I was leaving in a stylish manner, believing that by joining a foreign company I could live without worries and move forward steadily from then on. Wrong! This is yet another wrong start, a start to struggle! As the saying goes, in the world of life, one has no control over their own fate. I say that in a company, struggles never cease! Private enterprises are not the sun, and foreign companies are not heaven. Around the year 2000, economic development zones sprang up across the country – cities, counties, and even towns established them. Some slogans are more straightforward; some counties and towns use slogans like this: Whoever causes trouble for investors, we will make sure they face difficulties! A company specializing in biotransaminases planned to set up operations in the city’s development zone. When officials in the city suspected fraud, they abandoned this project. When county officials learned of this, they were overjoyed and allowed them to establish their operations in the county’s development zone. They use the blueprints to carry out fraud under the pretext of issuing tenders. Overheating in the development zone will inevitably lead to greater negative impacts. This foreign company is no exception; its chairman is a Chinese-American, and the company is registered on a small island in the UK. The media often publishes articles about returnees investing in their home country to serve it. Among the returnees I know, there are certainly those who aim to contribute to their hometowns, but most of them come back to take advantage of loopholes in domestic policies in order to make huge profits. For example, with three years of exemption from income tax or reduced income tax rates, they can re-register a foreign-funded enterprise after those three years and continue to benefit from **or local policies in order to earn more profits. The wave of investment in capital operations that was popular back then now has various problems: large areas of arable land lie fallow, and a significant amount of bank funds have turned into debts. Among white cats and black cats, the fat ones are just a handful of bold and opportunistic snobs. Who will take on these responsibilities! ! ? ? Chinese intellectuals, especially those in the technical field, are very much like German Shepherds; we currently have a German Shepherd that is over a year old. Confident and bold, willing to accept assignments; capable of handling any type of work. The biggest drawback is a lack of communication skills, which inevitably leads to difficulties in one’s career. Under the glory of that foreign company, I was once confused; titles such as academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a doctor from abroad, and inclusion in the Fortune Global 500 turned this company into almost a myth in that development zone. A myth heard once is considered superstitious, but heard repeatedly it becomes nothing but nonsense. I believe that by working hard and diligently, I can make a difference in this company. Thanks to my extensive experience in on-site construction, I spent every day at the construction site to supervise the work. They never complain, even when working overtime. From construction to purging and pressure testing, to the joint commissioning test, one puts in hard work. In a company, those who are good at handling matters always outperform those who just focus on doing the work. While one is working hard, others are already paving the way to claim credit for it. When I went there, I was the only one who was familiar with the installation process as well as driving. After the successful operation, all the glory was taken away by people from that state-owned company I had mentioned earlier. On the eve of the drive, this guy wouldn’t let me or anyone else enter the control room for three days; it was filled with his own loyal followers. Three days later, the company’s management talked to him and ordered him to resume working normally within a week, otherwise he would have to leave! He begged me again to help him, and it took me just one night to get the entire system running smoothly. Once they connected it back, the system became chaotic once more. He became furious and said that someone was hiding technical details; he wanted to report them to the company so that they could take action against them! This time, I admit that I lost without any regrets; dealing with people isn’t my strength, and I’ve never thought about living in humility! But I didn’t intend to harm anyone either; doing my job well is what satisfies my conscience, and I shouldn’t regret the path I have chosen! This was probably the company where I worked for the longest time, from 2002 to the second half of 2007; there I was responsible for the ISO9001:2000 quality certification in the workshop, and I also engaged in technical exchanges with PPG Company. Implement 5S workplace management in the production workshop. I was essentially the only one responsible for establishing all the rules and regulations related to safety and production in the workshop. Over the past few years, I have invested a great deal of effort in my work; many excellent operators were trained under my guidance. I have also established comprehensive rules and regulations to enhance employees’ awareness of safe operating practices. I’ve also done my best. In September 2007, I submitted my resignation letter once again; with unwavering confidence in myself and an endless desire for success, I set out on the journey of entrepreneurship once more. It was a day of continuous rain; it was the day I had just spent my 34th birthday by myself. That night, aside from those on duty, dozens of people gathered in a large room to see me off. Seeing all those familiar faces and my good friends who had been with me for so many years, I burst into tears! I’m choked up and can’t speak! I went to Beijing to sign a contract to act as an agent for a new type of cutting machine, with the aim of entering the local market. Going to construction sites every day was different from before; this time it was about selling to the contractors, whereas before it was about supervision and guidance. I visited several sites each day, but couldn’t make any sales. The salespeople I worked with faced the same problems. In the bitter cold of winter, braving the north wind, I carried a cutting machine to a remote place where even taxis refused to go, in order to demonstrate the product. I had to travel back and forth along dirt roads for miles; when I got home, my feet were frostbitten, and they still hurt terribly even after soaking them in hot water. The Spring Festival is approaching in no time, yet there has been no progress in business. Seeing no hope of the salesman staying, I began to stare at the cutting machine in the warehouse by myself! True friendship is revealed in times of crisis; my classmates, aware of my situation, bought all my cutting machines at once so that I could plan something else. The Spring Festival in 2008 was a miserable and difficult one for me; my family’s lack of understanding made me doubt my own abilities. I need to redefine my place in life; time is of the essence, as the most precious years of one’s life may be wasted on making confused choices. Three days after the Spring Festival, I left home and began to work with classmates on finding chemical processing projects in order to invest in building a factory. In early March 2008, a 50-acre plot of land equipped with water, electricity, and steam facilities was found, and the terms for cooperation between the two parties were more or less agreed upon; however, funding issues arose. Since I had guaranteed someone else’s loan, it had a significant impact on my own loan application. Here’s a piece of advice: never easily act as a guarantor for someone else’s loan – the risks are extremely high. I was utterly despondent at that time; I lay in bed for three days without moving, as everything in my future seemed to become uncertain and painfully vague all of a sudden. Life is like a play. On the third day, my classmate knocked on my door again, inviting me to start a business together. After having a bowl of beef ramen each, and listening to Xu Wei’s favorite song \"The One Who Was Once There,\" I packed my things and left the city where I had lived for so many years to pursue my career in the chemical industry. I once dreamed of traveling the world with a sword in hand, to see the splendor of the world. In youth, one’s heart is often reckless. Now you consider the whole world your home; the girl who once made your heart ache is now gone without a trace. Love always makes us yearn for it yet also causes us distress; it has left us wounded. On the path forward, there are both hardships and joys. Whenever I feel sad, I look at the sea alone, thinking of my friends who are also on this journey – how many of them are healing from their wounds? I don’t know how many lonely nights there have been. After waking up from last night’s drunkenness, whenever I feel sad, I look at the sea alone, thinking of my friends who are slowly coming back to reality. Let’s drink this glass together. A true man has a heart as vast as the sea, having experienced all the ups and downs of life. His smile is warm and innocent. Whenever I feel sad, I look at the sea alone, thinking of my friends who are slowly coming back to reality. Let’s drink this glass together. A true man has a heart as vast as the sea, having experienced all the ups and downs of life; his smile is warm and innocent. The days by the sea are peaceful yet fulfilling; time passes in the slightly salty sea breeze. The economic crisis makes time seem to pass more slowly, and human connections become all the more precious. Learn to be tolerant, to cherish, and to be grateful; learn to grow slowly through adversity. One must never lose one’s ideals and beliefs, no matter when. Someone once said that it is because of dreams that humanity becomes great; I strive for those dreams and work hard toward them. I am proud to be a chemical engineer. I am grateful for the years of experience I’ve gained in the chemical industry; it has given me confidence, motivation, and hope. In the days to come, I will cherish them even more. Keep in mind one’s principles as a person, work diligently, and live an honest life. Moving forward together with fellow sailors! Thank you all for your support! On the first day of 2010, I had never felt so relaxed and comfortable; I was with my pregnant wife, wandering among the crowded crowds, strolling through shopping malls and enjoying the food stalls. Enjoy the leisure and joy that New Year’s Day brings. Last year, due to work and other commitments, this article was only written up to the year 2008. I read the replies from fellow readers, and some asked why there were more entries related to state-owned enterprises, while there were fewer writings about private and foreign companies. At first I didn’t notice this issue, but later I thought that one’s first job is somewhat like a person’s first love – innocent and pure, or like a blank sheet of paper on which a single stroke has been made; such impressions are the most profound and hardest to forget. After more than a decade at work, it are still those friends with whom I worked in state-owned enterprises that I keep in regular contact with. Over these years, we have become as close as brothers; they are truly good friends who stand by each other through thick and thin. It’s difficult for me to find such a sense of closeness in private companies or foreign companies. Last Spring Festival, I was dining with a former colleague when we happened to meet an ex-member of the Youth League committee. We sat together and reflected on the past; that once quiet and uncommunicative member of the Youth League committee is now the general manager of a subsidiary company under our group. And the phrase we agreed on the most is: I dedicated the best years of my youth to our state-owned enterprise; I cherish everyone from those days, and I will do my utmost if needed! All three of them were in tears at that moment! At the beginning of 2008, after going through many changes and setbacks, I boarded a train once again for a long journey. During this trip, an idea suddenly came to me: perhaps I really should leave the city where I had lived for so many years, say a final goodbye to my ignorant and dark past, and go to a strange place to start a new life – maybe there someone who is waiting for me there. The moment I boarded the train, listening to its rhythmic movement forward, I longed for it to speed up, eager to realize my ambitions. But this is quite similar to what the fairy Zixia said in A Chinese Odyssey – I guessed the beginning but not the end. In fact, before starting work at my new company, I had traveled throughout most of China – first for job hunting, and second as a way to relax. Relaxing was merely a form of comfort for myself amidst the pursuit of jobs and making a living; I experienced the hustle and humidity of the south, as well as the desolation and tranquility of the northwestern regions. My complex emotions left me unsure of where to go or what my true home was, and with all that rushing around, I simply didn’t have the time to appreciate the differences between the north and south, nor their local customs and traditions. At the beginning of March 2008, not long after the Spring Festival, I became a project manager at a chemical company, with an annual salary that was quite substantial, approaching six figures. When I started working there, I settled the matter with my classmate over just a bowl of ramen; thinking back, that bowl of ramen was truly special in my life. I was working on petrochemical projects that I was familiar with, and I had pleasant conversations with the company’s senior executives; it felt like everything was heading down the fast track in my life. The company’s chairman pointed emphatically at the vast coastal land and said, \"We will build our business here; we aim to become the best in the world, a top-tier enterprise on a global scale.\" At that moment, we were all filled with enthusiasm, driven by a passion that burned within us like **. During the design briefing, it was the director of a certain design institute who was in contact with us; only later did we find out that he was the head of an architectural design firm. During those initial days, I was surrounded by the construction party and the design institute almost every day, engaged in various social interactions and drinks, living in an illusionary world filled with luxury and fantasy. I almost forgot where I was, who I was, and what I did. Within a few days, I realized there were problems. The director took my technical specifications and sketches and quickly turned them into a blueprint without any official stamps. Before I even had a chance to review it, news came from the construction site that the civil work had already begun. At that moment, I felt as though I had fallen into an ice cave, with a sense of extreme cold throughout my body. I need a vehicle to get to the site; excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks are all moving about there, creating a busy scene. I approached the relevant person in charge and asked them to stop work, but no one paid any attention. I went back to the company and approached its management, but they didn’t give me any response; I was shocked and my thoughts became chaotic. Gradually calm down and analyze the causes and consequences of this project, as well as all the abnormal things that occurred. The project is part of the high-tech industry sector; I was present at the project’s groundbreaking ceremony. Leaders at the provincial and municipal levels attached great importance to it. However, when construction began, the work related to providing access to water, electricity, and gas, as promised by the municipal authorities, had not yet been completed. The factory site was still in the process of being leveled, so there was no way to provide these essential services. There is an assistant to the chairman in the area who is responsible for coordinating relations with **the relevant authorities; he is almost always drunk. It took a lot of effort to obtain electricity for construction, and only then were one 15-kilowatt and one 10-kilowatt transformer installed. For this project, the basic construction work carried out in the initial stage is just sufficient to make it functional. In the days that followed, I finally had a confrontation with this assistant to the chairman; he threatened to use his life as a threat – all of this was an inevitable consequence of the conflict of interests! After consultation, the relevant personnel from the Technical Department plan to report to the company’s management about the abnormal conditions in the construction work, and they also intend to put forward various construction standards and recommendations. However, things are not as simple as we had thought; the situation is gradually becoming chaotic. First, the vice president in charge of civil engineering suggested that the municipal authorities withdraw from the site, with our construction unit taking over the task of land leveling. It was only later that we found out that all civil engineering work for the entire company was actually entrusted to this vice president’s brother. The promised water pipes failed to arrive at the factory site on time, so the company started drilling its own wells. The budget for land leveling was quickly calculated, and it turned out to be a substantial amount of two million. Chaos began to emerge within the project; the conflicts between some members of the technical and engineering departments and the vice president shifted from being private to public. On a stormy night, several people handed over documents related to the vice president to the company’s directors, detailing issues such as abuse of power for personal gain, subcontracting practices, using inferior materials, and cutting corners in work quality. Soon, a decision was reached: the directors cleared the vice president’s name, while the several vice presidents and technicians involved in these actions were punished. Those who led the complaints within the engineering department had no place left to stay and were forced to resign. The vice president in charge of the project became even more insane and started exercising his powers even more aggressively; as a result, the quality of the project deteriorated while the costs kept rising. The civil engineering budget for the tank farm was over two million; the vice president hired someone else to prepare a budget, which resulted in an additional cost of over one million. Construction began, and in the end the total cost rose to five million. That poor guy in charge of budgeting was also forced to leave the company and find another job after a while. The people in the technical department were also notified that, without approval from company management, no one was allowed to enter the construction site. There were also significant changes among the staff in the engineering department, and the contractors from Party B began to act as representatives of Party A on site. It was already May or June 2008, and as the Olympics approached, companies received notices requiring power restrictions; construction work could not take place during the day, only at night. We have even less time to go to the construction site and watch people mess around. **The leaders also started coming to visit us from time to time, advising us not to rush things and to wait until after the Olympics to get back to work. At that time, they would invite us to basketball games almost every afternoon; the summer climate by the sea was pleasant, and after the activities there was always food and drinks, so life was quite relaxed. In private, I told several project managers to become more familiar with the construction standards and requirements; in situations like this, we must stick to our own opinions and not let them dictate everything to us. For those that are not suitable from an engineering perspective, we can simply reject them on the grounds that they do not meet the process or technical requirements. However, things are not as simple as we think; in project construction, there is a tendency for the technical department to have to serve the needs of the project department entirely. There are technical requirements that they may not understand or be unable to implement, so we need to find alternatives so that they can carry out the work successfully. I prepared rough sketches for the tank area construction, and they proceeded with the construction based on those drawings without making any changes to the data. In the end, the contractors actually built the tank foundations in an octagonal shape – it almost made me vomit. A dramatic scene unfolded on the day of inspection: the construction representative from Party B suddenly stepped forward during the on-site meeting and angrily rebuked the vice president of Party A, saying that despite having completed so many projects, they had never encountered such a terrible one. The deputy manager was full of excuses; I’ll just do it my way. I also want to build a few pillars – is that any of your business? This upright representative of Party B soon became the head of the engineering department at Party A. From then on, I had to deal with him more and more often, and the work remained in a state of chaos. The Olympics have passed, and the company’s management is at a loss as to how to deal with the chaos in management. Although a on-site coordination meeting was held at my suggestion, it didn’t last long and was abandoned; the person responsible for coordinating the meeting also suffered consequences. In the company, anyone who tries to get involved in matters related to the construction site faces retaliation. The members of our technical department increasingly have no say in anything, and I am the only one who persists in using a camera to document the progress of the construction work. The tanks in the tank farm haven’t been lifted yet, and yet the civil engineering workers want to finish laying the cement floor. I can no longer tolerate this; I spoke to them on the phone in a very firm tone and told them to stop those works. Some people from the company tried to intercede, but I rejected their requests as well. Yet they managed to get paid for their work despite bypassing the technical department. What fills me with sadness is that. With that vice president’s ego extremely inflated, he finally aspired to take over as the head of the company; he began to engage frequently with the shareholders in preparation for taking over the position. The shareholders noticed some negative signs in the company and stopped investing, causing the project to come to a standstill at the end of 2008. Heaven watches what people do; what has happened between this vice president and the company’s executives as well as the construction workers cannot even be described as despicable behavior. It’s like a joke: a woman and ten men end up on a deserted island, engaged in vulgar, stupid, and ugly actions – the worst aspects of human nature are on display, which is truly disgusting. As a result of the struggle between the top management and the vice president, the vice president left the company, while his lackeys remained in key positions within the company, continuing their greed and shamelessness. The top management broke completely with the shareholders, the cash flow was severed, and everyone in the company had nothing to do and spent their time idly. Time passed quickly while we waited; **dozens of small companies, including those funded by foreign investors and private funds, came to visit the company. The company’s chairman was also eager to find partners, but all these efforts failed due to the company’s inherent shortcomings. In the second half of 2009, difficulties began to mount, and I could no longer see any direction or future for this company. My wife and I decided to go back home! I would like to thank my classmates here; they and I now work at a petrochemical company. During those difficult times in my life, facing the sea with hopes for better days to come, when the north wind blew, my wife and I felt utterly helpless. The vast ocean, an uncertain future, a bleak outlook for life, and a company that was once so prosperous but now seemed lifeless after going through so much hardship – it was all overwhelming. My wife was carrying our future child, and we suffered greatly! After seeing no trace of hope left for the company, I called my college classmate to ask about his current situation and whether the company needed anyone. My classmate asked me to wait for a while; about ten minutes later, they told me to go for an interview, as there was a position available for a equipment engineer. That day, my wife and I packed up all our belongings, and the next day we left the company, leaving behind the land that held so many hopes for us; all our dreams and ambitions vanished in an instant! In middle age, following the normal course of life, this stage represents the best period of one’s life. The experience and knowledge we have gained enable us in our generation to handle tasks independently, provided that we can stay at the same workplace steadily. Last summer, I returned to my former state-owned enterprise to visit those colleagues. My former supervisor from the production technology department, who used to work in the same office as me, is now the vice president and chief engineer of the group company, responsible for the planning and construction of a coal chemical project. Even the students I trained have become key members of the company, holding middle-management positions or serving as department heads! After all, I chose a path that was different from the usual one. Although I have no regrets, when it comes to my family and familial bonds, I’m at a loss for words – I really can’t take any more stress; I can no longer afford to risk losing anything! ! ! At the end of 2009, my wife and I packed up everything at home. Despite the bitter north wind outside, we left behind all the chaos and noise in search of some peace. Holding each other, we experienced happiness and warmth that we had not felt in ages. It had been so long since I could spend time with my family; all I could think about were the problems related to my work and how to solve them Now I can finally stop worrying about those trivial matters, spend time with my family, and go out on New Year’s Day to experience the warmth that family brings! I hugged my wife and said, “Trust me!” I definitely won’t let you down! I will definitely work twice as hard for you! ”Her eyes, filled with tears, brimmed with trust, as well as a determination to stick together through thick and thin in times of crisis! It is indeed this kind of trust that motivates me to work hard! ! I’ll do my utmost for my wife, for my family, and for those who believe in me! ! After New Year’s Day in 2010, I resumed my work, working on equipment engineering at a petrochemical company and assisting with an engineering expansion project. The project isn’t very large; the total investment is around 10 million. It took very little time to get started and become familiar with how to work on it. I have many years of experience in managing projects, and after three months, almost all aspects of the project’s construction were under my responsibility. On my return, I lost touch with almost everyone; all I had in mind was to spend time with my family and work in peace by myself. All that noise and chaos, all that materialism – it has nothing to do with me. If I do have any hobbies, it’s riding a bike alone along the roads, occasionally humming a song I like; songs by Xu Wei, Jiaju, Dick Cowboy How many times can love be repeated? When singing this song, tears also flow gently down my face. How many lives can one have to start over, how many youth periods can one have again!