Chapter 168 Don't drag others down: You must go to a concert at least once.

In a flash, at least six or seven people, no longer caring about the fate of the main character in the gossip news center, rushed outside in a hurry.

As they ran, they shouted, "How is that possible? This is a project that the government has approved!"

Yes, yes, the newspapers have raved about it, and leaders from relevant national departments have become salesmen, endorsing and promoting it all the way.

Hmm, are they stupid? Not necessarily. If they were really stupid, the reporters and officials wouldn't have accepted tens of thousands of yuan in service fees and expensive gifts without a second thought.

Of course, the most active reporter from Science and Technology Daily and the deputy director of the State Science and Technology Commission also paid a heavy price for this, receiving 7 years and 20 years in prison respectively.

Wang Xiao was particularly impressed by this incident because the university professor warned them to be careful with their words and actions in the future, and not to think that they could speak without taking responsibility.

If things go wrong, he could end up spending his life in jail.

Even if they pay a heavy price, where can ordinary people get their money back after being swindled?

Upon hearing the news, the factory manager rushed over and, seeing the scene, became so angry that he stood in the hospital lobby and started cursing: "Serves them right! I think we shouldn't have paid wages and bonuses in the first place. It would have been better if they hadn't swindled all the money out of them."

Everyone was so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

Back then, the factory's staff meeting specifically addressed this issue, forbidding everyone from buying Great Wall's bonds or participating in any kind of shady fundraising.

Some people brought up the fact that Mr. Fei endorsed the Great Wall Company, emphasizing that the Great Wall Company had invited many retired cadres to continue contributing their expertise, all of whom were retired cadres at the bureau or department level.

As expected of a big factory leader, he showed no mercy to the veteran cadre, and actually started cursing on the spot: "What do they know! Do they even know what production is? They don't know anything, so why are they spouting nonsense!"

It's fortunate that large factories in this era are like small societies, handling everything internally; otherwise, even without trending topics online, the factory manager would still be making headlines.

After scolding the troublesome employee, the factory manager asked a couple more questions about Meiqin's situation. He pursed his lips, but refrained from saying anything unpleasant in front of her family. He only said that the factory had contacted Lao Zhao and asked him to come back as soon as possible.

Meiqin's mother was completely distraught, clinging tightly to the factory manager's arm and pleading, "Manager, the factory can't just abandon our Meiqin."

The factory manager was startled and quickly backed away, saying, "Hey, hey, didn't the factory call? Who hasn't taken care of her? Look at our Factory Manager Wang, and our union chairman Chen, they both came here personally. They haven't even had a meal yet. I came over as soon as I heard the news. Alright, alright, the surgery is all done. Now we just wait for Comrade Meiqin to wake up. Don't cry, don't cry."

Chen Yanqiu quickly led several female comrades from the labor union and factory office to coax and persuade the factory director, finally managing to rescue him from his tears and snot.

One employee, unable to bear it any longer, rolled his eyes and muttered, "What were you thinking? This has been going on for a while now. If you had just kept a close eye on your daughter earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this."

Wang Tiejun immediately glared at the other party with a murderous look, as if to say, "Alright, you're afraid you haven't caused enough trouble, aren't you?"

The person who had been muttering reluctantly shut his mouth.

The factory manager went to see Meiqin, who was still unconscious, and expressed the factory's concern for her in front of her family. He instructed them to do everything they could to treat her, and then he finally managed to escape the fate of being held captive.

Looking at his complex expression, Wang Xiao felt a pang of sympathy for his leader.

If it weren't for his duty, he probably wouldn't have wanted to come at all.

However, she misunderstood her boss. The factory manager had originally planned to come over because he wanted to talk to her about work-related matters.

It's not about iron ore, that can't be rushed, but about semiconductors.

"Xiaoxiao, I heard you're going to get into semiconductors. Do you want to cooperate with our steel mill?"

Huh? The office director next to him was also hearing about this for the first time, and couldn't suppress his astonishment.

Wow, a steel mill making semiconductors? That's quite a leap.

However, Wang Xiao wasn't particularly surprised.

Although it may sound strange, it is now commonplace for steel companies to venture into the semiconductor industry.

Starting in the mid-to-late 1980s, major Japanese steel companies such as Nippon Steel, Kawasaki Steel, Kobe Steel, Sumitomo Metal, and Nippon Steel all invested in the semiconductor business.

However, what truly moved the top leader of Jinning Steel Plant was that Shougang Group was venturing into semiconductors, shifting from the traditional steel industry to high-tech manufacturing.

Seeing this situation, the factory manager realized there was no reason for Jingang to fall behind. Shougang had its own capital and advanced metal material production technology, and Jingang wasn't far behind either.

So when the factory manager heard that Wang Xiao and his team were going to get into semiconductors (in the steel mill's small territory, there was nothing the factory manager wouldn't know if he wanted to), he thought it was an opportunity.

After all, judging from global trends, steelmaking is gradually becoming a sunset industry.

Semiconductors, that's the industry that's truly booming.

His years of life experience have taught him that, for people, choice is more important than effort.

only--

Wang Xiao said "Oh, oh" twice, and then immediately poured cold water on the factory manager: "Factory manager, the semiconductor industry is very fast-paced, completely different from the steel industry."

She had read the research materials written by her father, Comrade Wang Tiejun, which stated that the steel industry was a mass production method established in the second half of the 19th century.

More than a century has passed since then, and there have only been two major technological innovations in this industry.

This means that once the steel plant's production equipment is in place, it can be used for a long time without needing to be upgraded.

But the semiconductor industry is the complete opposite; its pace of innovation and replacement can only be described as ferocious.

"In 1958, the diameter of silicon single crystals produced was generally only 15 millimeters, but it became 50 millimeters in 1968. Then, almost ten years later, it became 150 millimeters. By 1986, it was 200 millimeters, and it is estimated that its diameter will increase again in a few years."

And every time its diameter increases, the production equipment has to be upgraded accordingly.

The factory manager's expression turned serious.

Once every ten years, that sounds like quite a long time.

But those who actually work in production know that a ten-year-old production line is still considered brand new equipment. Just when you've finally gotten used to it, you have to start all over again.

But Wang Xiao's words were even more brutal: "The speed of upgrading integrated circuit production equipment is faster than that of silicon wafers, and it's getting faster and faster. In the future, it will be upgraded every three years. As soon as a production line is built here, a production line will need to be planned and built there immediately. This is a normal phenomenon."

Without her saying it aloud, the factory manager understood her unspoken meaning: every new production line that was built required a huge investment of money.

"This is a road that never stops, like Sisyphus in Greek mythology who kept pushing the boulder uphill. Unless this industry is eliminated by the development of productivity, as long as you are in this line of work, you will always be on the road to building new factories."

Honestly, from a purely investment perspective, she doesn't think this line of work has any future. Look at any billionaire—who made their fortune doing this?

From a financial perspective, entering this industry was absolutely a mistake. For the sake of maximizing profits, projects that cannot generate revenue in the short term should be cut without hesitation.

It's more, well, somewhat like an atomic bomb.

You have to have it; otherwise, others can hold you hostage at any time.

When the People's Republic of China was first established, the Soviet Union, as China's big brother, was so opposed to China developing atomic bombs and even offered to protect its security. Why was this firmly rejected?

Because you want to be independent, you can't rely on others.

At least until a true communist society arrives, you can never, ever rely solely on the global division of labor within the international community.

After all, junior high school political textbooks have already stated that the relations of production can have a reverse effect on the development of productive forces.

The factory manager's expression turned serious after hearing what she said, and he remained silent for a long time.

Ivanov felt that his partner was truly an honest man.

She didn't swindle the sucker who came to her door—no, I mean her partner—instead made people think twice before acting.

Wang Xiao really didn't think Jinning Steel Plant was an excellent partner.

Because none of the outstanding chip companies she heard about thirty years later originated from steel mills.

Putting aside other factors, Japanese steel companies alone clearly have a geographical advantage compared to other regions.

They all failed collectively; it would have been even more difficult for steel mills elsewhere.

It is clear that the difficulty of making a living in this industry is no less than that of building an atomic bomb, and may even be more difficult.

After all, no matter how difficult the latter is, once it's built by overcoming obstacles, it's over; but the former is like running to the end of time.

The factory manager finally spoke, almost as if talking to himself: "This...we need to discuss it properly."

Wang Xiao didn't drag anyone into the water, just stood by and said "oh oh oh".

There was a commotion in the ward again, and everyone initially thought that Mikoto had woken up.

Surprisingly, someone came to her door demanding repayment of a debt. Mikoto had even recruited people to invest in Great Wall bonds. Now that they've heard she's in trouble, they're afraid their money will be wasted and are rushing over to collect.

The unfortunate victim of the Great Wall bonds was furious and shouted, "I don't care about you! It was Fang Meiqin who said that I would get my five thousand yuan back, plus an extra twelve hundred. Now I don't want the twelve hundred yuan anymore, your family just give me back my five thousand yuan right now!"

The commotion made the entrance to the ward more lively than a market, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

Some people scoffed, "Oh dear, what's so great about investing in Great Wall bonds? If they were really good, why would they need to hire nightclub hostesses to solicit investment? If you were investing in a startup, you wouldn't have all this trouble."

As a result, he became too complacent and was caught red-handed by the disgruntled factory director.

The factory manager was instantly furious: "Fine, fine, I see you're just short of money! You don't need to take your bonus this year either. Xiao Han, remember this."

The man wasn't afraid at all: "I'm not from your steel factory."

"Okay, which unit are you from?"

Wang Xiao wanted to watch, but a hand reached out from behind, grabbed her, and dragged her backward.

She was startled, turned around, and saw her mother killing a chicken and slitting its throat, winking at her: "Go, go, go home right now, what are you standing here for?"

Wang Xiao whispered, "Mom, let's go back together then."

"How can I leave?" Chen Yanqiu was at her wit's end. "Look at me, how can I possibly walk?"

What does a trade union do? Don't be fooled by what the job description says. In reality, within a workplace, it generally acts as a neighborhood committee.

Now that people are coming to the factory to demand payment, other departments in the factory can withdraw, but the union is the only one that absolutely cannot leave.

"Mom, be careful. Let them do whatever they want, but you and Dad must not get involved."

To be honest, did she sympathize with the victims of these Great Wall bonds? Yes, but her sympathy was limited.

It's hard to say about other places, but in big factories, the factory leaders have repeatedly warned employees not to believe in free lunches.

Yet people still keep going, one after another. What can you say?

It's like the government has long warned people not to believe in the get-rich-quick myths of northern Myanmar, but it still can't stop people from actively crossing the border.

In the words of the police officer who was there to prevent telecom fraud, they knew what was going on, but they thought they were particularly clever and capable, able to take advantage of others. They forgot that they themselves were the easy targets.

These kinds of people, even if the country saves them, they end up hating the country for shattering their dreams of getting rich.

"I know what I'm doing." Chen Yanqiu pushed her daughter away. "Let's go home quickly."

Wang Xiao was still worried, so he left most of his bodyguards behind to at least hold them off in a critical moment, and left with Ivanov.

She waited until it was completely dark when her parents finally came in, looking exhausted.

She immediately craned her neck and asked curiously, "How was it?"

Chen Yanqiu was exhausted and said irritably, "What else can we do but coax and persuade them? Honestly, none of them are easy to deal with."

Before she became a cadre, she worked as a factory doctor and considered herself to have seen the vicissitudes of life.

It wasn't until she became a cadre that she truly realized she was living under the same sky as so many oddballs.

Wang Xiao was amused by her calling her "Mom" and chuckled, "Don't worry about them, you can't stop them. We've done everything we should and could do."

"Ah, how can we not stop them? If they get swindled out of all their money, will the factory just abandon them and let them live or die?"

Sigh, she had heard the police officer say that before she transmigrated into the book.

Even knowing that those who spontaneously went to northern Myanmar later had ulterior motives, the government still had to bring them back. Because every day they stayed there, more victims would be created (including genuine victims who were either isolated from the information or simply relatives and friends).

Moreover, when these disabled and sick people return to China, can the government really just abandon them?

So, even if we have to hold our noses, we have to get them back first.

It's really giving me a headache.

Wang Tiejun's face was also ashen: "They're living too well. If we can't pay their wages, I'd like to see if they still have any money to burn."

Wang Xiao touched her nose, ignored the couple's nagging, and took the milk back to her room.

She leaned against the headboard for a long time, pondering, before finally unable to resist dialing the number: "Hey, Wu Haoyu, does your family have connections with the anti-corruption bureau, or the discipline inspection commission? The level has to be high enough."

The person on the other end of the phone paused for several seconds before speaking: "What?"

"I want to report this. I don't want my report to end up on the desk of the person I'm reporting the moment I hand it in."

She could certainly ask Deputy Secretary Cao for help with this, but there was no need. Deng Bin was also outside Deputy Secretary Cao's jurisdiction.

She briefly described the shady practices of the emerging company, emphasizing one point: "This Wuxi company keeps claiming they sell arms, which is why they can offer such high interest rates. That's nonsense! Russia and Ukraine, those countries, have so many arms they can't even fit them all in their armories; they're just sitting there in the open. They're practically worthless, being sold as scrap metal. If they really needed arms, wouldn't they just buy them from there?"

Their baseless accusations have seriously damaged our country's image.

We are engaged in reform and opening up; I have stopped exporting revolution.

According to her, we're still secretly selling weapons. What on earth are we doing?

Wang Xiao emphasized with great seriousness, "Some clients have already come to me with concerns that we might return to a revolutionary state. They are worried that if they invest here, their assets will be confiscated."

Wu Haoyu had been listening the whole time, when suddenly he blurted out, "You just want to report it (or maybe it's her?)?"

“Sigh.” Wang Xiao said seriously, “This emerging company’s fundraising scale is in no way inferior to that of Great Wall Company. However, because its fundraising targets are relatively special, and the money is deposited in rural credit cooperatives instead of being withdrawn from state banks on a large scale, it is difficult to arouse the banks’ vigilance.”

She said this because her university professor analyzed in class why emerging companies could raise funds from the late 1980s until 1994 before they were considered to have collapsed; while Great Wall Company, despite having a bunch of big names backing it, issued bonds that never lasted a year.

The key point isn't that Shen Taifu was too high-profile; in fact, Deng Bin was even more high-profile.

Instead, most of the victims of Great Wall bonds were people who withdrew their bank deposits to buy the bonds.

Consider the context: after the Southern Tour speeches in 1992, banks began to loosen monetary policy, or rather, relax lending restrictions.

In order to make money, banks not only rely on the interest they receive from loans, but also invest externally. For example, many banks are involved in real estate speculation in Hainan.

A bank that operates in the public sector does not create its own money. Its money comes from depositors' savings.

Your Great Wall Company has taken all the bank deposits, which means you've taken away my interests.

That's why they united and took a tough stance to expose the Great Wall Company's true nature, publicly stating that the company's bonds were unreliable, which even alarmed the central leadership.

Only then did the higher-ups speak up, and the Great Wall Company was shut down.

Emerging companies do not have such conflicts with state-owned banks, so the latter naturally have no incentive to actively cause trouble for them.

That's why it was able to survive for five years.

Now Wang Xiao wants to pop the inflated balloon ahead of time.

“Even if you didn’t say all that, I would still submit a report to you.” Wu Haoyu interrupted her again. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

They haven't been in contact since their unpleasant New Year's Eve breakup.

He waited so long for this phone call, and this is all he got?

"Yeah, right." Wang Xiao was quite considerate. "It's getting late there, go to sleep early, bye."

Wu Haoyu was on the verge of a breakdown. He gritted his teeth and blurted out, "I'm planning to resign. I'll apply for a job with you. Will you hire me?"

“Sure,” Wang Xiao readily agreed. “Welcome, new colleague. Someone as talented as you is exactly what we need.”

"Then I think..."

"Don't even think about it." Wang Xiao immediately extinguished his fantasy. "I keep my personal and professional life separate. I never have any relationship with my colleagues that goes beyond that of colleagues."

She's gone mad, bringing men with whom she has ambiguous relationships into the team for no reason?

Is she complaining that she's lived too long and is having too good a life?

The slogan of gender equality has been chanted for centuries, but in reality, it is unequal.

To put it simply, if a male leader's woman wants to direct the team, probably no one will pay any attention to her.

However, if the genders are reversed, people will assume that the woman's husband is the real person in charge, and team members will subconsciously obey his orders.

Many of the female internet celebrities she knows are in this situation, and quite a few of them have suffered misfortune as a result.

Those who were less unfortunate were inexplicably sidelined, then became vassals or even kicked out of the team.

But that's not the worst part. What's worse is losing both money and life.

It's actually very difficult for an individual to fight against the unspoken rules of society. If you want to live a comfortable life, you have to be careful in everything you do and never step on a landmine.

Therefore, she would only be Wu Zetian, not Catherine.

However, she wasn't very interested in discussing these things with Wu Haoyu. Their relationship hadn't reached that point yet, so there was no need to.

Wu Haoyu suddenly felt wronged: "I really don't understand why you are so resistant to marriage?"

"NO! I want to correct one point. I neither resist nor hate it. I respect all those who choose marriage, and I offer them my sincere blessings."

Wang Xiao defended himself, saying, "It's just not what I wanted."

"Why?"

“Because I believe that the institution of marriage will definitely disappear.” Wang Xiao analyzed to him very seriously, “The institution of marriage did not exist from the beginning of humankind. It is a manifestation of production relations, and it only appeared when the productive forces developed to a certain level. Its existence, objectively speaking, promoted the development of productive forces for a long period of time.”

However, just like slave societies and feudal societies in history, when productive forces develop to a certain stage, the existing relations of production hinder the development of productive forces.

It will be broken down and then replaced by new relations of production.

Her tone was extremely sincere: "Think about it, when both parties are financially independent and at most hope to gain emotional value from each other, do they still need marriage?"

What do I need? Isn't being free and unrestrained good enough?

She doesn't expect her sexual partner to provide her with resources, so why would she want to tie herself down in marriage and create problems for herself?

Wu Haoyu felt like they were from different dimensions. He had countless things he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say them. In the end, he could only say dejectedly, "I should have gone to a Michael Jackson concert with you."

If they attend a concert together, could their relationship take a step further?

Wang Xiao also sighed loudly, as she too regretted missing Michael Jackson's "Dangerous Journey" concert.

The scale and impact of the event held in Bucharest last October were no less than that of Taylor Swift's concert.

Just imagine, tens of thousands of foreign fans flocked to Bucharest back then, and if properly planned, they would have been ready-made customers and promoters for the container wholesale market.

This was such a great opportunity to expand the influence of Chinese goods throughout Europe and America, but unfortunately she missed it by a twist of fate.

Because of her life experiences, Ruan Xiaomei was completely unaware of the true impact of a large-scale concert, so she had no idea to take advantage of the opportunity.

Who knew that the ruble was constantly falling at that time, and Wang Xiao didn't dare to leave Moscow, so she had no idea that there was a great concert in Bucharest, exuding the alluring fragrance of money.

She only found out about this incident by chance when she read a magazine long after the concert ended.

Ah, even now, thinking about it still makes her chest ache.

If you miss a good opportunity, you'll have to wait patiently to find the next one.

Wu Haoyu once again felt deeply that they were not in the same dimension. Even while watching a concert, she was still thinking about making money.

“It’s not contradictory.” Wang Xiao said, puzzled. “These two things can coexist perfectly well and don’t contradict each other at all. Hey, we can have a wonderful night together. I’ll probably miss this night, but that’s all. Ever since I’ve been able to support myself, I’ve never thought about changing my mind for anyone.”

She reminded him again, "You can stop anytime. If it makes you unhappy or burdened, let's just end it. We can still be friends, right?"

Wu Haoyu said in a childish sullen tone, "No, I don't want to."

Wang Xiao smiled tolerantly: "OK, get some rest. Um, I'll leave the matter of Xinxing Company to you."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao stretched, yawned, finished a glass of milk, quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, and went to bed.

As fate would have it, she dreamt of a Michael Jackson concert. She partied all night in her dream, and even took Wu Haoyu to the hotel owner's house, introducing him with a smile as "her son."

When Wang Xiao opened her eyes in the morning, she was smiling, then she pounded the bed board and made up her mind.

No, she absolutely had to see a Michael Jackson concert, otherwise her time travel would have been for nothing.

————————

Well, switching to a computer for typing has indeed improved efficiency by a tiny bit. But only a tiny bit ⊙﹏⊙. I really can't imagine how I managed to type 17,000 words a day at my peak.

In addition, after typing on a mobile phone for a long time, typing on a computer also requires reading aloud, which is quite strange.

Here's some information:

Most of Beijing's semiconductor giants eventually divested their semiconductor R&D businesses and turned to real estate development. Of these giants, only BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., which has repeatedly failed but never ventured into real estate, has survived and become a world-class semiconductor giant. From a financial perspective, BOE is not a successful company. Shareholders who bought BOE stock were constantly critical of the company back then. It had plenty of opportunities to develop real estate, but instead went against the grain and focused on technology. Without BOE's persistence, there would be no Chinese LCD panel industry as we know it today.

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 07:13:10 and 22:14:50 on March 4, 2024!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Anxin 80 bottles; Xiaozhoufu 68 bottles; xuexue 35 bottles; Xiaoye 15 bottles; Tuanzi, Biemowoweiba, and Wucaifengye 10 bottles; Qiaoqiaoshixinbiandexiaoxiao and Xiangzhanggao de keai 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!