Chapter 345 Fully Leveraging Advantages: Dual System Education

Wang Xiao, with her gossipy nature, went to the provincial government to watch the excitement—or rather, to visit Secretary Fang—on the morning of her second day in Jinning.

The Little New Year has passed, and the streets are filled with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. No words are needed; just standing there, you're enveloped in joy and celebration.

Even movie theaters have posters of "Rumble in the Bronx" on their doors.

In 1995, the concept of Lunar New Year films didn't seem to exist in China, but industry professionals clearly understood that martial arts films with comedic elements could attract more attention.

What? You're saying that fighting and killing aren't suitable for a family-friendly atmosphere?

Hey! You underestimate people from the 90s. People these days aren't that sensitive.

Can you imagine? Films like "The Nanjing Massacre" were organized for primary and secondary school students to watch in cinemas during this era.

Decades from now, in this situation, both the school and the production company would be absolutely sued to death.

Just then, the traffic light at the intersection ahead turned red, and the driver stopped the car. He saw the movie theater poster and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, finally a new movie is showing! All we see ahead are concerts."

He never imagined that Michael Jackson's concert film would be shown in Jinning City for several months.

The most amazing thing is that there were always audience members buying tickets to enter the venue, which is simply unbelievable.

Even at the beginning of January, the release of a concert film featuring a Hong Kong singer couldn't suppress the momentum of Michael Jackson, which had been playing for nearly two months.

Wang Xiao laughed: "That's normal. Jinning has many universities, so it naturally has a market for European and American rock music."

Maslow's hierarchy of needs clearly states that spiritual enjoyment always comes after survival needs.

University students of this era enjoy free education, receive government subsidies for their living expenses, and are guaranteed employment by the government after graduation. It can be said that they are the people who feel the least pressure in life.

Naturally, they also have the energy to pursue more spiritual enjoyment.

The earliest enthusiasts of cut-out cassette tapes and CDs in mainland China were mostly college students.

The driver didn't really understand, and he didn't know which Russian Maslow was, but he still nodded and said "Oh, oh" in a very cooperative manner, "No wonder."

Based on Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao's past personalities, they would definitely try their best to memorize and digest the boss's analysis right now.

But now they've given up.

You know perfectly well what's on your neck.

The fact that they were so easily tricked by Punoning has made them realize that they have no hope of becoming like their brother Tang.

It's better to just do your job properly.

Only the driver persistently provided emotional value to the boss: "No matter which tickets sell well, the cinema is happy. My cousin's cinema hadn't paid salaries for three months and told them to go home and wait for news. But now that the movie is showing, they've received their back pay and can go back to work. My aunt's white hair has even turned black again."

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao stared wide-eyed and blurted out, "You can still turn back on your word?"

The driver said seriously, "Of course. I was in a hurry before, but now that I'm not, my hair has naturally turned black."

Yura looked at her boss in confusion, her eyes conveying her question: Is this even allowed?

Wang Xiao was overjoyed: "I really didn't know that."

She had only heard of people turning gray overnight, and she had also seen it with her own eyes.

But I've never seen anyone's hair turn green overnight, as if they've become young again.

She tends to believe that all the weakening and damage to life leaves irreversible marks.

The light turned green, and the car continued driving forward, all the way to the provincial party committee compound.

This year, Jinning has truly had a warm winter.

Everyone says that the oxen freeze to death in the twelfth lunar month, but when Wang Xiao arrived at the provincial government, the peach trees in the courtyard were already in full bloom, as if spring had arrived early.

This made Wang Xiao particularly worried that she probably wouldn't be able to eat the peaches from the provincial party committee compound this summer.

"Yes, absolutely." Secretary Sun personally went to the gate of the provincial party committee compound to pick up the person. He pointed to the fruit trees in the yard, "Whether it's loquat or peach, if you, President Wang, want to eat any, I'll personally pick them for you this year with a ladder."

He also mentioned the grapevines nearby, "Oh, right, the grapes too. The grapes from this vine are quite sweet."

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "Then I'll reserve it! Don't come back later and say it's sold out, there aren't any left for you!"

Secretary Sun smiled and waved her hand, "That's impossible. We can't do without you, no matter who's missing. I'll make sure to save some for you."

He went up the steps, and Wang Xiao followed beside him, asking with concern, "Secretary Fang is busy right now, isn't he?"

"It's alright, I've already reported to my supervisor, and he wants you to come right in." Secretary Sun turned her head away from the side as she spoke, walked to the door of her supervisor's office, and knocked.

After two "tap taps," Secretary Fang's voice came from inside the door: "Please come in."

After Wang Xiao went inside, he saw someone sitting in front of the leader's desk—a familiar face.

Don't get me wrong, it's not Wu Haoyu.

Unless the provincial party committee leader has lost his mind, he would never do something so pointless.

The so-called "acquaintance" concept meant that Wang Xiao had met her before, in Secretary Fang's office.

Last summer, Zhao Muyang was parachuted into Nanshan City to serve as its vice mayor.

Back then, Wang Xiao even gave her a bad idea, suggesting that she arrange for the top official of Nanshan City to eat pufferfish with investors.

It's a pity it's only January, not yet the time when the spring river warms up and pufferfish are about to swim upstream. Otherwise, Wang Xiao would have to ask Vice Mayor Zhao how effective the pufferfish festival was in attracting investment.

So when she sees someone, she can only smile at them as a greeting.

Zhao Muyang's reaction was much warmer than hers; he immediately gave up his seat and went to sit on the sofa next to him.

Wang Xiao quickly stopped him: "Hey, no, no, no, it was my recklessness that affected the leader's work."

Secretary Fang laughed and said, "It's nothing, there's no urgent work. We just talked about Nanshan City's plan to set up a German industrial park and how to attract investment."

Wang Xiao readily agreed and sat down on the sofa with Zhao Muyang. He smiled at Secretary Fang and said, "Oh, I heard my mom talking about this yesterday. So it's in Nanshan City."

She turned to the side and gave Zhao Muyang a thumbs up, "Amazing! Our leader has such good taste! He spotted Germany at a glance. Germany is great, with a strong economy and great potential."

Secretary Fang also turned slightly to the side, adjusting the position of his chair so that he was facing the two women on the sofa, and nodded with a smile: "You also have a positive outlook on Germany's economic prospects."

She said this because these days, attracting investment, especially foreign investment, has a characteristic—it generally falls under the "processing trade" model.

Simply put, investors need your cheap industrial land and labor to reduce their own production costs, nothing more.

As for subsequent product sales, the investors are responsible for that; they don't even care about your consumer market.

This creates an implicit requirement for investors: you must guarantee that orders and products manufactured here can be sold continuously.

Otherwise, if the local government gives you land at a price that's practically free, and you build a factory and start production, but then stop production due to poor sales, then that land that the government gave you for use is essentially wasted.

If they want to get the land back later, the question of who owns the land use rights alone will be enough to cause a lot of trouble.

This means that all local governments are keen to attract large, powerful companies, or more specifically, they look at whether the parent company behind the company has the ability to support the newly invested company.

Wang Xiao nodded: "Of course. Germany is a long-established industrial powerhouse. It was able to start World War II, sweep across Europe, and almost wipe out a generation of Soviet elites."

Without the industrial capacity, how could we manufacture so many weapons to deploy on the battlefield?

Secretary Fang laughed: "German technology is indeed unparalleled."

Secretary Sun came in and ordered Wang Xiao to bring him a cup of jujube and goji berry tea. The steam filled the office with a sweet aroma.

Wang Xiao thanked him, holding the teacup in his hand and smiling: "Besides, one whale can bring forth all things. The Soviet Union has collapsed, East and West Germany have reunited, and there is no longer any ideological conflict between Eastern and Western Europe. Even if Russia, which inherited the Soviet Union's legacy, wanted to go to war and wanted to fight in Germany, it would have to cross so many countries. Germany has truly stabilized and can now focus on economic development."

Zhao Muyang, holding his teacup to warm his hands, laughed upon hearing this, "Germany is supposed to be good at developing its economy, huh? Look how fast it's developed!"

“It wasn’t nearly enough before,” Wang Xiao said with a smile, shaking his head. “It’s not like now. Russia’s shock therapy hasn’t been successful yet, and now it mainly relies on exporting minerals and energy to make money. This way, Germany can obtain a cheap and continuous supply of energy from Russia.”

She removed her left hand from the teacup, raising her index and middle fingers. "Energy and raw materials, and labor, are the two major constraints on the development of German industry."

She beckoned with her finger, “The former can rely on Russian exports, while the latter can absorb a large number of high-quality laborers from Eastern Europe, who are well-educated and whose wages are much lower than those in Western Europe.”

She exclaimed, "If Germany capitalizes on this wave of benefits, it would be strange if it didn't take off."

Zhao Muyang was astonished: "This has something to do with the Soviet Union?"

She is optimistic about Germany, simply because of its current economic development; the German mark is a highly recognized foreign exchange in the international community.

The status of currency reflects a country's economic status.

Wang Xiao nodded with a smile: "That's right. The collapse of the Soviet Union affected the entire world order. Europe was the most directly affected."

Zhao Muyang nodded, then sighed, "I see. I also have high hopes for Germany and was hoping they would invest in Nanshan, but Jiangbei Province is trying to steal our investment."

Wang Xiao thought to himself: Here it comes, here comes the main event.

Secretary Fang kept Zhao Muyang in his office and wanted to see her; wasn't he just waiting for something to happen?

She smiled and said, "What does it matter? Germany's target is at least suppliers across Europe; there are plenty of companies. One company is investing in Nanshan, another in Jiangbei—everyone has a bright future."

Zhao Muyang couldn't remain calm. The reason why Deshang was interested in Nanshan City was because of the provincial government, or more specifically, because of Secretary Fang's recommendation.

If, under these circumstances, Deshang is snatched away by Jiangbei again, how will Zhao Muyang maintain her foothold in Nanshan? She'll be unable to continue and will have to slink back to the provincial government, destined to be sidelined from then on.

Because there are simply too many ambitious officials, the organization can't keep giving you opportunities one after another.

So Zhao Muyang directly begged Wang Xiao: "President Wang, you are a brilliant strategist, a female Zhuge Liang, you have to give me some advice. It's not that Nanshan can't compete with Jiangbei, but we can't keep escalating our efforts. Otherwise, if we whet the Germans' appetites, we won't be able to carry out our work in the future."

This isn't her complaining.

The overdevelopment of private enterprises in Jiangbei has led to a drawback: they lack a broad perspective, focusing only on their own local development and lacking the capacity for macro-level thinking.

Wang Xiao listened and laughed, offering no comment.

It wasn't until later that Zhao Muyang realized that the person sitting on the same sofa as him was also a private entrepreneur.

She quickly spun her tongue, grabbed Wang Xiao's hand, and adopted a heartfelt posture: "After all, Mr. Wang, entrepreneurs with a sense of national responsibility and a broad perspective like you are truly rare."

Secretary Fang also stepped in to smooth things over for her: "Indeed. Last month, at the provincial brainstorming session, many people were saying that if there were more entrepreneurs like you, we wouldn't have to worry about a lack of leaders in economic reform and development."

Wang Xiao quickly waved his hand, firmly denying it: "Sailing the sea depends on the helmsman, and economic reform and development are all things that leaders take the lead in. I just follow behind. The Party is in my heart, and I will obey all commands."

"You're too modest," Secretary Fang said with a smile. "Don't underestimate yourself. Give Xiao Zhao some advice. It's not easy for a woman to manage the local economy. Many people are waiting to see her fail."

Zhao Muyang was someone she pushed to Nanshan City; if Zhao Muyang didn't do a good job, she would lose face.

If Wang Xiao continues to shirk responsibility after the leader has already made his position clear, he will be suspected of being pretentious.

Her career in Jiangdong requires the support of her superiors.

Wang Xiao took a sip of jujube tea, savoring the sweet aroma of the jujubes on his tongue, and smiled: "Actually, Jiangdong and Jiangbei each have their own strengths. Jiangdong has a long history of state-owned enterprises and a well-developed precision manufacturing industry, which Jiangbei cannot match."

Zhao Muyang said anxiously, "I also emphasized this to the Germans, but in their eyes, our technology is already outdated, and they don't need our technology at all."

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "But the manufacturing industry needs talent. We're not in the era of robot offices yet. Even machines need people to operate them."

Zhao Muyang blinked twice, feeling that what she said was absolutely correct, but meaningless, because it was all common knowledge nonsense.

Wang Xiao tapped the teacup gently with his fingers as he continued speaking at his own pace: "So for German companies, when they enter any new region or country to set up a factory, they can build the factory directly, and they can bring the machines and production lines directly over. The only thing they can't do is to transfer workers, employees, and laborers from Germany. They have to train them themselves."

She emphasized, "It's not feasible to use them directly because our existing workforce doesn't meet their production needs. Everyone's training methods and standards are different."

She explained, "Germany trains skilled workers using a dual system. The Vocational Education Act came into effect in 1969, and the dual system training system of West Germany was formed and developed, and it is now quite mature. Students receive practical skills training in companies while also receiving theoretical training in schools."

Zhao Muyang clapped his hands: "Isn't this our technical school?"

Every era has its own characteristics. Many of China's technical schools were established during special periods when factories lacked enough qualified skilled workers. Out of necessity, they trained technical personnel on their own in the form of night schools for workers, which was known as the "July 21 Workers' University".

After the college entrance examination was reinstated, a significant portion of these 721 Workers' Universities were transformed into technical schools, providing technical personnel for the companies that ran them.

Wang Xiao nodded: "That's pretty much the idea, and that's also our advantage in Jiangdong compared to Jiangbei."

Where does this advantage come from?

For a long time, technical education was not purely privately run; it was undertaken by enterprises. Undoubtedly, these enterprises were state-owned enterprises.

The state-owned enterprises in Jiangbei Province are not doing well; their education in this area is lagging behind, and they don't have ready-made cooking utensils.

“Jiangdong is different; we have a large number of existing vocational and technical schools. The government can talk to German companies, and we can select students with excellent middle school entrance exam scores who also perform well after entering the school. We will then train them strictly according to the dual-system education required by German companies, providing them with a stable talent pool.”

Wang Xiao emphasized, "The biggest concern for any company that wants to survive in the long run is that its talent pool will not keep up and there will be a talent gap."

Zhao Muyang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

When it comes to attracting investment, local governments have always focused on policies, such as offering preferential treatment in terms of taxation and land use; this was the first time she had heard of starting with training workers.

Secretary Fang clapped his hands and exclaimed, "You really are knowledgeable and quick-witted. This is good, let's discuss it this way."

This is killing two birds with one stone.

On the one hand, it can attract German companies to settle in the area, and on the other hand, it can promote the development of local vocational education.

Times have changed. In the late 1970s and 1980s, technical schools were still quite popular.

Because these programs are run by the major factories themselves, these students can go directly to work in the factories after graduation.

But now the country is forced to protect the large and let go of the small, allowing a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises to go bankrupt, workers are laid off, and large enterprises are already struggling to absorb their own original employees. How many enterprises are still able to recruit new people?

Vocational school graduates either don't go to university or can't guarantee employment. What meaning does vocational education still have for ordinary people?

Without tangible benefits, no one is willing to attend vocational schools. And the lack of students further hinders the development of vocational schools, creating a vicious cycle.

Secretary Fang became more and more pleased as he spoke, and praised him again: "You're really amazing."

Then she spoke up, urging him to leave, "Mayor Zhao, what are you still sitting there for? Get back to work. Our General Manager Wang has already given you directions."

Zhao Muyang stood up with a big smile: "Yes, yes, I'm so happy I'm almost confused."

She waved to Wang Xiao, "Well then, Mr. Wang, you can continue your conversation with your boss. I'll take my leave now."

Then, half-coquettishly, she smiled at Secretary Fang and said, "Don't worry, Secretary, I'll be leaving right away."

Secretary Fang laughed and shook his head: "Don't forget to close the door when you go out."

Wang Xiao smiled but remained silent.

This is the kind of treatment only the leader's closest confidants can enjoy.

At this very moment, countless people in the provincial government building are incredibly envious of Zhao Muyang.

The office door closed, and Secretary Fang leaned back in his office chair, adopting a more relaxed posture to express his intimate attitude.

She smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. I was just about to ask you, what's the situation in Russia right now? How's the fighting going in Chechnya?"

Strictly speaking, the Russian federal government's military operations in Chechnya should be considered an internal affair and should not have attracted so much attention from the international community.

But that's Russia, the successor to the Soviet Union. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, any military action it takes will attract global attention.

Wang Xiao shook his head, deflecting the question: "I don't understand either. The government has one version of events, and the news media has another. But overall, the people of Moscow haven't reacted too much. The Snow Festival has a large number of visitors every day, and everyone is still going about their lives as usual."

That's as good as saying nothing at all.

Because Russians are definitely a nation of warriors.

In 1993, the Kremlin bombarded the Parliament building with both aircraft and artillery, terrifying the world, especially Europe, who thought Moscow had become a living hell.

And what happened? The people of Moscow continued living their lives as usual.

So the fact that Muscovites are not reacting at all proves nothing.

Wang Xiao downplayed it: "It's just a crackdown on organized crime and gangs."

Secretary Fang smiled as he watched her evasive answer and changed the subject: "I think Russia's crackdown on organized crime is very effective; their attitude towards the United Nations is different now."

Indeed, after inheriting the Soviet Union's five permanent seats in the United Nations, Russia completely became a yes-man of the United States.

In early January, they got a new diplomat, and the style changed instantly. He became completely unceremonious when speaking to the Americans.

The US representative emphasized human rights issues in Chechnya, to which the Russian representative countered by saying they were cracking down on gangsters and criminals, and then added a sarcastic remark that Russia was more concerned with the human rights of ordinary people than those of gangsters.

The US representative was criticized, and it was also said that Russia's anti-gang operation in Chechnya was suspected of having ulterior motives, that it was obviously unnecessarily expanded in scale, had limited effectiveness in combating gangs, and instead harmed many innocent people.

Then the Russian representative started criticizing again, saying that Russia had been peaceful for many years with little crime. In recent years, however, significant social changes have led to a rise in crime, and the Russian government needs more time to adapt to these changes.

After all, they are not like the United States, where gangs have been rampant for hundreds of years. The US government has accumulated over a hundred years of experience in dealing with gangs, and that experience is becoming increasingly rich.

These events at the United Nations are rarely reported by domestic media.

Secretary Fang also had access to information due to his special status.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw the information, and she still laughs now as she talks about it: "They say Russians are taciturn, but I think they're quite the talkers!"

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "I must say, this diplomat is indeed a man of few words."

How did she know? Because this person was also a friend of Ivanov and his group, a classmate of Punonin, and they had a very good relationship.

According to Ivanov and Yura, this man might not speak a single word all day, so taciturn that one might suspect he was mute.

But once he opens his mouth, he can make people question their existence.

Secretary Fang laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Is that so? Then he really has found a good position."

As for whether his presence at the United Nations will anger the Americans?

So what if you piss them off? Russia is indeed no match for the United States right now, in every aspect, whether it's the economy or the military.

But does the US really dare to attack Russia? You're kidding.

Even though the Soviet Union was the ultimate loser in this decades-long conflict, the United States also suffered considerable damage.

Otherwise, how would the two defeated nations of World War II—Germany and Japan—have had the opportunity to develop?

The United States needs to recuperate and rebuild its economy; engaging in large-scale warfare is not in its best interest.

As for angering the United States, the US will continue to hold Russia by the throat.

Hey! That's as if the US hasn't held Russia by the throat since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Aside from using loans as a carrot dangling in front of a donkey to lure CIS countries into disarming themselves, what other tangible benefits has the US ever given Russia?

What real deterrent effect does it have to threaten not to give something that has never been given before?

The more Secretary Fang thought about it, the funnier it became, and he laughed until tears streamed down his face.

This is what Russia should be like.

Like father, like son; at the very least, Russia shouldn't be America's lapdog.

She wiped her eyes with a tissue, barely managing to stop laughing: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I just want to ask you, what did you come here for today?"

She joked, "It's not going to be used to sell rails to the Kuznetsk Steel Plant, is it?"

Wang Xiao immediately realized: "The subway plan has been approved?"

Secretary Fang nodded: "It's finally approved."

Sometimes, she agrees with what the businessmen say: getting things done is really difficult. Even with the local government raising its own funds, the approval process for a subway line has been dragging on until now.

Wang Xiao's eyes darted around, and he smiled as he made a request: "Is the bidding process over yet? If it's not over yet, I'd like to recommend someone to participate in the bidding."

Since we're already here, just the railway tracks aren't enough. She needs to get more out of it.

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[Made] Good morning, keep it up! The first thing I do every morning is to encourage myself and try my best to finish writing this.