Chapter 2: The Path to Prominence 41. Diao Youhua's Confession

My appointment as a factory leader elicited all sorts of reactions throughout the plant. While some believed that although I was young, my competence and achievements justified my promotion, I was well aware that there were many section chiefs in the factory with far more seniority than mine. It was only natural for some to harbor resentment. Therefore, upon taking office, I chose to maintain a low profile, striving not to project the image of someone intoxicated by sudden success or youthful arrogance.

In the sales department, upon my recommendation, Zhu Lishan smoothly succeeded me as section chief. It was entirely natural for a deputy chief to step up when a chief was promoted, and moreover, Zhu Lishan’s demonstrated competence and performance during her tenure as deputy chief were beyond dispute. Consequently, the factory’s Party committee passed her appointment without a hitch, and the cadres and workers alike considered it a matter of course.

About ten days after I was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Factory Party Committee and head of the labor union, I was reviewing a document in my new office on the fifth floor when I suddenly heard a knock at the door. I looked up to see, much to my surprise, Diao Youhua. This reminded me that it had been many years since we had last spoken face-to-face.

Seeing him standing at the door with a timid nervousness I had never witnessed in him before, I suddenly remembered that Diao Youhua was currently the head of the political work section under the Party-masses work department. If our professional paths had barely crossed before, he was now working directly in a department under my jurisdiction as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee in charge of Party-masses work—a reality he could not possibly avoid. I was curious to see why he had come to find me and how he would behave. With a rather indifferent tone, I simply said, "Come in."

Diao Youhua walked in with light, hesitant steps and approached my desk. Fixing my gaze upon him, I noticed that he had completely lost the exuberant ambition he once possessed when serving as Gao Huqiang’s secretary. Instead, he looked somewhat world-weary, and whether it was an illusion or not, I even spotted threads of gray hair at his temples.

Deliberately refraining from offering Diao Youhua a seat to observe his reaction, I noticed he did not seem to consider it an issue at all.

"Secretary... Secretary Wang," Diao Youhua stammered, trembling slightly. I remained silent, continuing to stare at him until he appeared even more flustered.

"Secretary Wang, I'm sorry to disturb you, but there is something I would like to report to you." Diao Youhua finally regained a semblance of composure.

"Oh, reporting to me? Shouldn't you be reporting matters to Section Chief Zhang?" With that, I stopped looking at him, picked up a document, and pretended to resume reading.

Anxious now, Diao Youhua hurriedly blurted out, "Secretary Wang, actually... actually, I came to apologize and ask for your forgiveness." His head dropped even lower as he spoke.

"Anologize? What brings this on?" I kept my eyes fixed on the official document, speaking in a measured and unhurried tone.

Judging by my attitude, Diao Youhua must have felt his heart sink by half, yet he spoke clearly, as if having made a firm resolution, "In the past, I did many things that wronged Secretary Wang, and I sincerely beg for your forgiveness."

"Is that so? Why was I unaware of it?" I continued calmly, though I raised my head to fixate on Diao Youhua once more.

"It's true. I have come to repent from the bottom of my heart." To my astonishment, Diao Youhua actually bowed to me. As he straightened up, the corners of his eyes were faintly glistening with tears. "I was young and ignorant back then, and I caused you a great deal of trouble, Secretary Wang. I have regretted it ever since, and recently, I finally figured out where I went wrong."

I sneered inwardly. If I hadn't become a factory leader and hadn't been put in direct charge of your department, leaving your fate in my hands—forcing you to bow your head while under someone else's roof—would you have come to make amends?! Would you have come to "repent"?!

Despite these thoughts, since he had already bowed and shed tears, genuine or false, I could not afford to be overly harsh. I had to maintain a decent facade; otherwise, word would spread that I was narrow-minded and still harbored grudges after all these years.

Therefore, I motioned for Diao Youhua to take a seat and said, "It's not that serious. We must all look forward, shouldn't we? As for me, I care only about work; everything else is secondary."

"That just shows your breadth of mind, Secretary Wang. Back then, I schemed and plotted to climb the ladder, only to find that it was all a mistake." Diao Youhua began to speak of his family background during his childhood—details I had never heard him mention before.

As it turned out, Diao Youhua’s hometown was a small county. Both his parents were ordinary workers. Initially, their family managed to get by, but his father was lazy, gluttonous, and addicted to alcohol and gambling. Eventually, his father was fired from the factory because of an alcohol-related accident, after which his heavy drinking escalated even further. Diao Youhua’s mother, originally from the countryside, was reasonably attractive but deeply vain. To elevate her status from a rural resident to a city dweller, she had chosen to marry his father. Seeing his father's ruin, she abandoned Diao Youhua and his young sister, running away with another businessman.

Diao Youhua was only seven or eight years old at the time, and his sister merely three or four. He was forced to scavenge for garbage and beg for food everywhere just to keep himself and his sister alive, surviving solely on the occasional charity of relatives. As he grew older, he went to construction sites to carry bricks to earn money for his tuition. Back then, he vowed to make something of himself, studying furiously to get into university. After entering the workforce, he became obsessed with climbing higher, believing that any means justified his ends in order to achieve his goals.

Recalling that period of his past, Diao Youhua could no longer hold back his tears. He awkwardly wiped them away and continued, "At first, things seemed to go smoothly for me. But later, when I saw how you achieved continuous success through down-to-earth hard work, relying on your own competence and performance, while I fell flat on my face through trickery and could never get back up, I finally realized how wrong I was—profoundly wrong. Your experience taught me a profound truth: only by living an upright life and working diligently like you is the right path. Unfortunately, I realized this far too late."

Hearing these words, I was deeply shocked, never imagining that he harbored such a poignant past. *A pitiful person indeed,* I thought to himself.

"It is not late, not late at all. A prodigal who returns is more precious than gold; it is never too late to turn over a new leaf and reform. Since you have recognized your faults, I hope you will truly and steadfastly apply your heart to your work from now on," I said to Diao Youhua, softening my tone.

"I will. I certainly will," Diao Youhua said, seemingly on the verge of tears again. "Secretary Wang, thank you for giving me a chance to correct my mistakes. Please rest assured that I will not let down your expectations. I will dedicate myself wholeheartedly to my work. Please judge me by my future actions."

"Very well, I believe you," I said, intentionally raising my voice slightly.

From then on, whenever Diao Youhua ran into me, he would greet me very politely and respectfully stand aside. According to the feedback I received from Zhang Zhengliang, Diao Youhua had truly applied himself to his work. He frequently worked overtime, performed exceptionally well, generated many bright ideas, and offered Zhang Zhengliang numerous sound suggestions—all of which brought me immense gratification.

A few months later, the factory prepared to promote Diao Youhua to the position of Deputy Director of the Factory Office. Prior to this, Factory Director Shi specifically sought my opinion. He mentioned that Diao Youhua’s father-in-law had recently been promoted to Deputy Director of the Provincial Local Taxation Bureau, and as a factory leader, one had to consider managing relationships with all parties relevant to the factory’s development. This was something I could completely understand.

Director Shi specifically added that the primary consideration was still Diao Youhua’s work capability, which was entirely sufficient for the role of Deputy Office Director, coupled with his recent commendable work attitude and performance. Of course, this was merely the official narrative; sometimes, when promoting someone—even when backend connections were taken into account—a respectable surface justification was still necessary.

Since Director Shi personally consulted my opinion and put the matter so transparently, and given my belief that Diao Youhua had genuinely changed—following the principle of leaving room for maneuver rather than driving someone to total ruin—I agreed. Consequently, Diao Youhua was promoted to Deputy Director of the Factory Office.

What I never anticipated was that my momentary softness of heart would plant the seeds of future disaster. A person's character is exceedingly difficult to alter, and by the time I realized this harsh truth, I had already paid a heavy and painful price for it.