Zhang Kai was punished for this and was transferred to a district-level Communist Youth League committee as deputy secretary.

You should know that he used to be a full-fledged office director at the division level, and a confidant of the Party Secretary. He was demoted because of that idiot Zhou Ping'an.

This unexpected disaster left him feeling helpless, since his rank as deputy secretary was the same as that of secretary, but his authority was far less.

That day, Zhang Long and Hu Xinxin went to Zhang Long's father-in-law's house for a meal as usual. Hu's mother was overjoyed and cooked different delicious dishes for her daughter every day.

The group was enjoying their meal when Mr. Hu suddenly returned, looking rather unhappy.

Zhang Long grinned and teased, "Uncle Hu, you've made so much progress, why do you still look so worried?"

"How high a rank does one have to be to be considered a high-ranking official?"

Mr. Hu was taken aback at first, then he was amused and pointed at Zhang Long with his finger: "Only you brat have no respect for me at all."

Hu's mother also stepped forward, putting her hands on her hips and blocking Zhang Long's way, interrupting Hu's father's spellcasting: "Go away, go away, if you want to act like an official, go to your municipal government building. No one will tolerate you at home."

When Hu's mother saw the admiring look from her daughter and son-in-law, and even gave them two thumbs up, she was extremely proud.

Mr. Hu shook his head with a wry smile, thinking, "What kind of mess is this?"

He took off his executive jacket, handed it to the nanny, and sat down at the dining table.

He had already eaten, but since he had someone with him, it wouldn't hurt to eat a little more, especially since his daughter liked his food.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Long didn't rush to leave. He sat in the living room with his father-in-law, smoking and drinking tea.

After some conversation, I learned that the recent downturn in the manufacturing sector and the continuous wave of layoffs were causing Uncle Hu a lot of headaches.

The old Party Secretary is about to be promoted, and all these responsibilities have fallen on his shoulders.

Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but it happened to coincide with a change of leadership, and the fact that he was the acting mayor made things complicated.

Mr. Hu wanted to hear his son-in-law's opinion, since Zhang Long's business was quite large.

Although his business is not closely related to his industry, "one can learn from others' experiences," so it wouldn't hurt to listen first.

"Uncle Hu, could you tell me first which industries are in trouble?"

Mr. Hu took a document out of his bag and handed it to Zhang Long, saying, "It's all here. Take a look for yourself!"

After receiving the document, Zhang Long carefully read it.

Then I pondered for a while.

He compared his memories with those of his later life and put forward his own views.

"Uncle Hu, it's the 21st century now. Information technology is highly widespread, and the internet has permeated every industry."

“If you choose to start a business, you’d be embarrassed to even try to convince investors if you didn’t mention ‘Internet Plus’.”

"Doing business is not as easy as it used to be. The information gap between industries is clearly visible under the 'transparent glass' of the Internet."

"If the real economy does not upgrade and transform, bankruptcy and closure will be the final outcome."

These words startled Mr. Hu: "Ah Long, is it really that exaggerated?"

Zhang Long lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke. His face appeared and disappeared in the swirling smoke, giving him a mysterious air.

Hehe, is that an exaggeration?

It's not an exaggeration at all!

The pandemic will likely deliver a severe blow to the real economy, causing countless small and medium-sized enterprises to go bankrupt.

"Uncle Hu, in today's internet age, its greatest advantage is its wide reach, but its biggest disadvantage is that a large number of inferior products flow into the market, squeezing out the space for good products to survive."

"Of course, this is mainly a concern for small and medium-sized enterprises; leading enterprises don't have much of a problem."

"Small and medium-sized enterprises mostly produce common products that are readily available on the market. In today's transparent information environment, many people buy things simply because they are cheap, and they compare prices online for everything they want to buy."

"There are only so many consumers. To be competitive, you either need to rely on quality or compete on low prices."

"In this situation, if you don't roll up your sleeves, you'll be the first one eliminated."

"Even if you survive, you won't be a winner, because the next wave of even more 'unethical' competitors will arrive. They will directly reduce costs, which is the so-called 'bad money' approach, attracting consumers with ultra-low prices. At this point, should you follow suit or not?"

"If you follow along, it's like 'if you can't beat them, join them,' meaning you lose your conscience and make money."

"If we don't follow, we'll all die!"

That's just how reality is!

As the mayor listened, Mr. Hu couldn't help but shudder and subconsciously swallowed. He knew in his heart that what Zhang Long said was true.

The overall industrial output of Shanghai grew quite rapidly this quarter, but the small factories that were eliminated were exactly as Zhang Long described. Among them were some long-established local brands that were previously very popular with local residents.

Even so, they still couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated.

The closure and bankruptcy of these factories led to a large number of people losing their jobs. Mr. Hu felt a terrible headache. He picked up a cigarette from the table and silently lit one.

"Ah Long, you sound very reasonable, do you have any good ideas?"

Zhang Long shrugged: "The physical industry is not easy to run. It's not only mentally and physically exhausting, but sales are also a headache."

Mr. Hu was clearly dissatisfied with the answer; he didn't say anything, but just stared at him quietly.

The two remained deadlocked until Hu Xinxin intervened, at which point Zhang Long finally backed down.

He picked up the list of companies that his father had placed on the coffee table and quickly browsed through it. Then, he picked up a pen and circled the factories that produced car sound insulation cotton and those that could produce medical supplies.

"Uncle Hu, public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. I can help, but there are conditions."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Hu breathed a sigh of relief and said irritably, "You're trying to negotiate with me? Just tell me!"

"Haha, you're the one who told me to say that."

"First, I will not assume the debts of these companies; I will only accept laid-off workers for re-employment."

"Second, the government should provide certain tax incentives."

"Third, the government must grant me a piece of industrial land to build a factory. This land doesn't have to be cheap, but it must be large."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Hu smiled happily. These conditions were not difficult, and he didn't need to worry about being accused of abusing his power to help Zhang Long embezzle state-owned assets.

Zhang Long also has his own plans, and now is the perfect opportunity to make arrangements in advance.

What was most lacking during the pandemic?

It must be medical supplies.

There are high-quality assets here. Those companies lack funds for transformation and upgrading, but he doesn't. Banks almost begged him to lend them money.

With a solution in hand, Mr. Hu sent Zhang Long and Hu Xinxin home.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to tell him: "Ah Long, in the next few days, you should arrange for your team to communicate and negotiate with the government to resolve this as soon as possible."

On the way back, Hu Xinxin clung to her boyfriend's arm like a little bird, staring at him intently.

Zhang Long turned his head and pinched her high, straight nose: "What are you looking at?"

"Hehe, it's nothing, my boyfriend is really handsome!"

Zhang Long said smugly, "Hehehe, you just realized that?"

Zhang Zhen, sitting motionless in the passenger seat, seemed oblivious to his surroundings, but his stomach was unusually bloated.