Chapter 488 Export Quotas (Bug Fix): There's Always a Condition for a Win-Win Situation

A leader's time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out.

Anyway, it was an hour and a half later when Wang Xiao left the provincial government building.

Because Secretary Fang was in a hurry to get to a meeting, it was Secretary Sun who personally saw Wang Xiao off.

When they got downstairs, he said half-jokingly, "Mr. Wang, I won't see you any further. If I do, I won't be able to come back."

Wang Xiao laughed and replied, "Even if I were a human trafficker, I wouldn't dare to kidnap you. You're Secretary Fang's right-hand man; if I kidnapped you, the secretary would immediately turn against me."

Before she could finish speaking, she looked up and, oh my god, saw a sea of ​​black heads!

What's wrong?

Wang Xiao even began to doubt himself: "It can't be this fast, everyone knows I've been causing trouble for everyone, and now they're coming after me, right?"

Secretary Sun chuckled.

He knew there was a Hong Kong star named Stephen Chow, the Stephen Chow from "Flirting Scholar," whose style was said to be called "mo lei tau" (nonsensical).

Sometimes, he genuinely felt that President Wang was a bit nonsensical.

“It’s not blocking you, it’s blocking us, the laid-off workers.” Secretary Sun sighed. “Last year, the central government held a meeting and decided to reduce spindles, resulting in massive layoffs of textile group workers, so we came here to demand an explanation.”

But what can be said? Whatever policy is given from above, that's how it's implemented below. It's impossible to send them back to their original workplaces.

Wang Xiao hadn't seen clearly before because the sun was blinding, but now she noticed that all she could see were women. These women were all wearing textile worker uniforms, and many of them were wearing textile hats.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but ask curiously, "So even though they're blocking the way, you don't go out? You have to get off work eventually, right?"

Living at the workplace 24 hours a day would be deadly.

Secretary Sun wasn't worried and waved her hand, "It's alright, they'll be going home to cook dinner tonight. Otherwise, what will their family eat? We'll leave after they do."

Wang Xiao was dumbfounded. Could this really be done?

Secretary Sun argued confidently, "Of course, otherwise why would I have dared to come out to pick you up at noon? It's because they went back to cook lunch and hadn't had time to come back yet."

Wang Xiao subconsciously wanted to facepalm. This, this, this is indeed the life of a woman who is held hostage by her family.

Even when laid off and seeking redress from the government, one cannot afford to miss the opportunity to go home and cook.

Winters in Jiangnan are notoriously cold and damp. Even in the middle of the afternoon, when the sun is shining, the cold wind still feels like a knife cutting into your skin, especially your exposed ears and face.

Wang Xiao was listening to Secretary Sun speak with a smile.

But when she saw clearly the faces reddened by the wind, the swollen ears, and even the obvious chilblains on the ears, she couldn't laugh anymore.

They stood silently, without arguing or making a fuss, quietly standing in the cold wind. The wind stole their warmth and vitality, turning them into withered trees in winter.

Secretary Sun also had a headache looking at these people.

There aren't that many job opportunities, and the government subsidies are barely enough to cover food expenses. If there are any significant expenses, such as children going to school or elderly relatives getting sick, the family will struggle to make ends meet.

The only jobs the government could provide them were water conservancy projects and river dredging.

Honestly, women are indeed not as strong as men.

But what can we do?

"The domestic market is only so big, and the amount of textiles needed is limited. As for exports, there are quota restrictions. If you exceed the quota, you can't export anymore, and you can only shut down your spindles and close down the business."

Even now, Secretary Sun still sighs with emotion when she talks about it.

The textile factory used to be so popular.

In the 1980s, the textile industry contributed more than 20% to the country's annual GDP growth rate.

Who would have thought that in just over ten years, the textile factory would have reached this point?

Wang Xiao remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How are these export quotas calculated? Do all countries have export quotas for textiles?"

Secretary Sun was taken aback by her question and hesitated before replying, "I think so."

Wang Xiao frowned slightly: "Then not all countries can use up their export quotas, right? Every country has its own industrial weaknesses."

Secretary Sun could answer this question: "There's more than enough; many countries have more than they can use. Some countries even have to rely on imports, so where would they export anything?"

Wang Xiao clapped his hands, an idea forming in his mind: "Then let's cooperate. We have excess production capacity, while they're wasting their quotas. Why don't we share them? By the way, what's Russia's export quota?"

Secretary Sun was taken aback. He didn't know, but he was clear that Russia had more than enough export quotas for textiles.

Realizing this, he immediately became excited: "Let me ask."

If we could get our hands on the export quota for Russian textiles, my goodness, that would be such a huge market!

Wang Xiao couldn't stand it any longer and turned to walk into the provincial government building: "Then let me borrow your phone to ask. I don't know much about this area, so I'll need to ask you for details later."

Who did she call? Of course, she called Ivan.

What's with the fuss? Use whatever channel solves the problem the fastest.

Because it was a phone call from the Jiangdong Province government, it changed hands twice before Ivanov actually answered.

Since Wang Xiao left Moscow, he has returned to a state of being stationed at the White House 24 hours a day, with frequent business trips.

He was quite happy to receive Wang Xiao's call. He had just had a heated argument in a meeting that hadn't reached a conclusion, so he could finally get some comfort from her.

But Wang Xiao skipped the whining and got straight to work: "Ivan, I've found a way to revitalize Russia's textile industry!"

While the Soviet Union's light industry was indeed light, Russia's light industry is even lighter than the Soviet Union's. Take the textile and garment industry as an example: after the collapse of the Soviet Union, related industries in Russia experienced a dramatic decline.

As the First Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the real economy, Ivan was naturally well aware of this, and he couldn't help but wonder: "What method is it?"

Russia is sparsely populated, with a severe shortage of light industry workers. The natural conditions are harsh and transportation is inconvenient. To be honest, he didn't know what competitive advantage a textile factory could have here.

Even the raw materials—good heavens, Russia doesn't grow cotton; Russia has to import all its cotton.

That's why they can only maintain agricultural enterprises, at least preserving some industrial sparks in small textile factories. Otherwise, if this continues, Russia will completely lose its textile industry.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Export quotas. I only found out today that Russia's textile export quotas have most likely been wasted and never reached the full quota. With them, we can attract investment."

In business, for cooperation to be successful, both parties must benefit.

China's textile industry has production capacity and equipment, while Russia has market gaps and quota space. Based on this, in-depth cooperation is entirely possible.

Ivanov became interested: "Does China have any policies supporting this?"

Secretary Sun had found the person she was looking for, pulled them over, and began explaining the policies over the international long-distance call: "Yes, the country is now encouraging overseas processing and assembly with supplied materials. There are supporting policies in this regard, such as financial support, export credit insurance, and simplified approval for going abroad."

Ivanov indicated that he understood, and the microphone was returned to Wang Xiao, who said only one sentence: "I will tell you the results after the meeting."

The phone call ended, and Nemtsov, who was standing next to him, had his neck stretched out and a wicked grin on his face: "Oh, Ivan, my dear friend, I really envy you. Your king is thinking of you all the time."

Ivanov punched him without hesitation: "Stop talking nonsense. You heard it yourself. This is an opportunity."

Russia's light industry base is too weak, and it needs to attract foreign investment to develop. However, Russia's objective conditions are such that its attractiveness to foreign investment in the light industry is extremely limited.

Although Nemtsov was talkative and cheerful, he put in a lot of effort after becoming Minister of Industry: "China's textile industry is facing a downturn. It has so many textile workers and really needs to open up new markets. We now want to revive the textile industry. If everyone has a need, we can sit down and talk."

Ivanov didn't hesitate to rally his allies: "So you'll have to speak up for me later. China already has policies to support this, and we need to have corresponding policies to support it, such as preferential loans."

Nemtsov reached out and pushed him: "I know, I know, God, your argument gives me a headache."

The person being complained against turned around in dissatisfaction and protested, "Am I not fighting for funding for your industrial reforms?"

Seriously, all these guys combined are no match for the king.

If the king were here, he would surely praise him.

Only by combining quota sharing, industrial investment, and policy support can a win-win cooperation be achieved.

Nemtsov was at his wit's end, so he quickly took the initiative to make peace: "Alright, alright, I suggest that if we want to cooperate, we should start with a pilot project in the Ivanovo region, where there are many textile companies."

In fact, the Ivanovo region accounts for 70% of Russia's textile production capacity. Although that's not a huge amount when combined.

The two reached an agreement, turned around simultaneously, each took another sip of water, rolled up their sleeves, and continued arguing.

If we don't make a scene, how can the money be credited to their account as they expect?

While Ivanov was arguing, Wang Xiao hung up the phone and could only tell Secretary Sun, "I'll let you know as soon as I receive the news."

Secretary Sun grinned from ear to ear, repeatedly saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing, thank you for your trouble."

Tsk tsk, look at this, no, this is the benefit of being able to directly reach the ears of the heavens.

Without Mr. Ivan's connections, even if both China and Russia had considered cooperating in this area, just getting in touch with the higher-ups and requesting policies would have required tremendous effort and would have taken an unknown amount of time.

So, when it comes to getting things done, connections are often the most important factor.

Secretary Sun now looks at Wang Xiao as if she were a mountain of gold; she's incredibly charming no matter how you look at her.

Even after Wang Xiao had walked quite a distance, his eyes were glued to the back of the other person's head, and he still couldn't look back.

His young subordinate asked curiously, "Hey, Director Sun, do you think President Wang might actually become the First Lady of Russia someday?"

Secretary Sun glared at him: "You can't say things like that. You can't interfere in other countries' internal affairs."

He didn't really think Mr. Ivanov could advance further in politics.

It's not that he had a bad impression of the other person; quite the opposite, it was because they were too good to him that he felt it was inappropriate.

Given the complex situation in Russia, many people need to be capable, even ruthless, otherwise they really can't control the situation.

The example of the first and last president of the Soviet Union is right there in front of us.

If Gorbachev had been a little more ruthless and cunning, the Soviet Union wouldn't have ended up like this.

Secretary Sun thought Ivan was a good person and really didn't want him to have a miserable old age.

The sky was clear, and large patches of pink and purple clouds appeared on the horizon. Wang Xiao walked home in the sunset glow.

The music store on the street was playing the lyrics, "When the mountains have no edges, when the rivers no longer flow..."

As soon as she entered the residential area, the song that lingered in the air had become, "Even if love breaks your heart, don't blame anyone, it's just because the encounter was too beautiful..."

Good heavens! "My Fair Princess" truly lives up to its reputation as a phenomenal hit that swept across Asia; it's incredibly popular now.

She hummed a little tune as she stepped into the house, when suddenly she sensed something was amiss; the hairs on the back of her neck seemed to stand on end.

Chen Yanqiu sat on the sofa, beckoned to her daughter with a smile, and said, "Xiaoxiao, are you done with work? Come here and sit with Mom for a while. We'll eat in a bit."

When Ms. Chen put her arm around Wang Xiao's shoulder and pulled her into her arms, Wang Xiao felt a jolt and almost jumped up, her mind racing with alarm bells.

As expected, Comrade Chen Yanqiu patted her daughter's head twice and began to coax her gently: "Xiaoxiao, Mom knows that you are amazing and you are not afraid of others leaving."

She whispered to her daughter, "Even if Ivan wants a child, can't stand living with you anymore, and leaves, it doesn't matter. You can just find another young and handsome guy, right?"

To be honest, Wang Xiao really admired Chen Yanqiu's open-mindedness.

In 1999, she neither demanded that her daughter remain faithful to one man (many parents felt ashamed of their daughters getting divorced), nor did she demand that her daughter get married (it is estimated that not many parents will have this awareness in 2029).

Unfortunately, her only request was that Wang Xiao have a child.

Moreover, she had a good reason: "You can't cut off your path to 50 when you're only 30. Time doesn't go backwards, and life can't be relived. You have to leave yourself with hope."

Wang Xiao really wanted to complain: if the child is born annoying and bothersome, you can't just put him back in the womb.

But right now she's being held in her mother's arms, and she's afraid she'll get a beating—Dr. Chen's beatings really hurt!

So she changed the subject directly: "Mom, have you gone through menopause?"

Chen Yanqiu was talking about how she would be retiring at the end of this year, and Wang Tiejun wouldn't be around for another two years either. She said that the two of them could take care of her children after that.

Upon suddenly hearing the word "menopause," she was stunned: "How did you know?"

She herself is a doctor, so there's no need for her to go to the hospital for any tests after menopause, and she hasn't told anyone about it.

She even suspected that Wang Tiejun might not know.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but feel smug: "Because you didn't urge me when I went to Moscow last year, but suddenly brought it up this year, there must be a reason."

Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Ivan's identity intimidated Comrade Chen Yanqiu.

Ivan didn't resign or leave this year either.

Her situation and Ivan's situation haven't changed; the only thing that can change is Comrade Chen Yanqiu herself.

As for what happened to Comrade Chen? Excluding other factors, focusing on her emphasis on the difference between 30 and 50 years old, from a woman's perspective, the most likely thing to be discussed is menstruation.

Menopause means that a woman no longer ovulates and is no longer fertile.

She was thinking about her daughter when she thought about herself, and that's why she was so anxious.

Chen Yanqiu looked at her for a long time before finally saying, "You're so smart, how come you can't understand this? Why do you insist on doing things that you might regret in the future?"

Wang Xiao didn't insist that she would never regret it, but instead told the truth: "Mom, in this life, no matter what you do, you may regret it."

One should always allow oneself to regret, even though regret cannot solve the problem.

Chen Yanqiu was truly exasperated by her daughter's stubbornness. She hugged her daughter tightly, gently patting her back, as if coaxing a child: "Look, when I hold you, I feel like my world is complete, I'm so happy. Nothing can replace this happiness. Mom hopes you can experience this kind of happiness too, so that everything will be complete."

Wang Xiao was forced to become a cat, purring her mother over and over again.

She wasn't exactly upset, but she was an honest person, and she had to tell the truth: "Mom, a person can only be whole when they are alone."

Human beings are social beings, and we must wear a mask no matter who we are with. Only when we face ourselves can we be truly open and honest.

Of course, many people don't even dare to openly face themselves.

Chen Yanqiu's mask was about to fall off, and she gritted her teeth: "You little brat!"

At a critical moment, Lyuba saved her boss.

After all, when Comrade Chen Yanqiu was teaching her daughter, Comrade Wang Tiejun was very perceptive and stayed in the kitchen working the whole time, not daring to even peek out.

Lyuba was the most considerate one, coming over to greet the boss: "It's Mr. Ivanov on the phone."

Oh, did you win or lose this argument?

Wang Xiao immediately perked up, slipping out of her mother's arms like an eel, and not forgetting to scoop up a kitten from the ground, then hugging the cat as she answered the phone.

Ivan won the argument and stood there proudly and arrogantly.

Of course, it's also possible that it wasn't that he was good at arguing, but that everyone was hungry after arguing until noon, so they had to let him win for now.

“I will arrange meetings with different kings and send them to discuss the issue of textile export quotas.”

In fact, if a meeting were to take place, the two sides would discuss not only textile export quotas, but also issues related to farming. He would have to bring representatives from both the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture.

He said excitedly, "I'll push this forward at full speed and try to get to Beijing this month. You'll come, right? You'll definitely come to Beijing to see me, won't you?"

Wang Xiao tried to appease him: "You must have important business in Beijing. I'll go to Moscow during the Spring Festival, okay?"

“There’s no conflict,” Ivanov argued. “Besides, aren’t you going to inspect the industries in Beijing? It’s almost the New Year.”

Wang Xiao couldn't argue with him; he was too good at playing the victim—look how hard I work, flying around in the freezing cold, and arguing with so many people.

Yes! Negotiation is just like arguing; the only difference is whether it's a verbal argument or a physical one.

Wang Xiao had no choice but to nod in agreement: "Okay, okay, I'll go to Beijing as soon as I finish what I'm doing."

She really should go and see. At least she needs to know whether her money, buried in Beijing, has grown weeds or flowers.

But this means she will have to speed up her work in Liangjiang Province.

Fortunately, Zhang Rujing was also decisive and efficient. He returned to Taiwan, quickly arranged his work, and immediately booked a flight to Xiaozhou.

Mayor Huang accompanied Wang Xiao to the airport to personally pick up the person. In fact, he was not quite sure of Zhang Rujing's importance, but he believed that someone who could be valued so highly by President Wang must be a great person with real talent and ability.

We met up at the airport, not even having time to appreciate the red maple leaves on the distant mountains or the men and women dressed in their finery on the streets—things really change too fast.

In 1991, when Wang Xiao first came to investigate the market, the pedestrians on the street were generally dressed in drab, gray clothes. But now, looking around, who isn't fashionable?

The car drove all the way to the chip factory, where the factory manager and a few others were waiting at the entrance.

Everyone shook hands and hugged. The factory manager even pulled out the young men behind him and introduced them to Zhang Rujing with a smile: "Dr. Zhang, these young men still have to call you teacher. They listened to your lectures when you were running the factory and giving training in Singapore."

As an industry insider, he had a deeper understanding of Zhang Rujing and admired him even more.

When Texas Instruments built the Dechi factory in Taiwan, Dr. Zhang tried his best to recruit mainland engineers to participate in training in Taiwan in order to accumulate talent for the mainland's semiconductor industry.

But the Taiwanese authorities wouldn't allow it, and the deal fell through.

Later, he was tasked with building a factory in Singapore. Once again, he actively spearheaded the training of mainland engineers. The Singapore government agreed, and he organized the recruitment of nearly 300 people to work at the factory in Singapore.

The 1997 financial crisis also impacted Singapore's semiconductor industry. Coupled with the industry being in a downturn, layoffs were inevitable, and some of these layoffs were rehired by chip manufacturers from Five Continents with high salaries.

Zhang Rujing was surprised to run into one of the young men he had mentored before, and he was quite moved.

Then something shocking happened: after asking the young people their names, he quickly recalled their details and started chatting with them.

Oh my god!

Everyone present was stunned. Had the brains of these chipmakers also become chips? This memory is truly terrifying.

The factory manager had done his homework beforehand and quietly reported to the boss: "This Dr. Zhang is known for his excellent memory and his special care for employees. No matter how big the company is or how many people there are, he can accurately call out their names when he sees them."

That was an amazing move.

Wang Xiao had to admit that if she were an employee and treated like that, she would also feel quite pleased.

Who wouldn't want to be remembered by the top leader?

Unfortunately, she couldn't do that; all she could do was give everyone more money.

Accompanied by a group of people, Zhang Rujing toured the entire factory and didn't utter a single negative comment from beginning to end.

Back in his office, he praised, "Your employees are in great spirit and are very meticulous in their work."

The factory manager smiled and replied, "We produce civilian products, but we treat them all according to military standards, and that's how our rules and regulations are structured."

The reason for this is that they originally used Soviet technology, and Soviet chips were produced for military purposes.

Zhang Rujing reviewed the EDA company's materials and relevant documents from LG Electronics' chip division, and began to ponder his next steps.

They were in the small conference room next to the factory director's office, and someone came over with a report to get the factory director's signature.

Zhang Rujing happened to glance at it and asked, puzzled, "Are you building a factory? Where will it be located? What standards will it meet?"

The contents of the report were clearly about building materials.

The factory manager shook his head: "No, no, no, we're building apartments for our new colleagues. The old apartments are almost full, so we need to build new ones quickly."

Zhang Rujing became interested: "You're building apartments for every employee?"

"Of course, the canteen, accommodation, children's school, and hospital are all provided."

The factory manager laughed and said, "The chip factory is located far from the city center. If the living facilities are not well-maintained, people will worry about their families and won't be able to concentrate on their work."

These words were to Zhang Rujing's liking: "Indeed, we must ensure that everything is in order. Only when there are no worries can everyone work with peace of mind."

He felt he had made the right decision to take on this consulting role.

Making chips requires long-term planning. You can't focus on making money in the shortest amount of time and then exploit your employees to the extreme. You can cut costs in other areas, but you can't cut costs on your employees, because they are the soul of a chip factory.

Having a generous and magnanimous boss is a good thing for any senior manager.

One person signs and leaves, and then another person comes over and asks the leader what to do.

The equipment I bought from the United States is stuck; they won't allow it to be exported to China.

The factory manager was also at a loss, not knowing what was going on. Things were fine a while ago, but now it seems like the US has tightened its control again.

Zhang Rujing remained silent. In fact, he knew that the control over this equipment was not that strict, and if he thought of a way, he could still get his hands on it indirectly.

But he was hired as a consultant, and since the boss didn't ask him for help, he naturally couldn't ask for it on his own initiative.

Moreover, he wanted to take this opportunity to see what approach others would take to solve the problem.

Wang Xiao's method was simple and direct: "See if the same equipment or core components are sold in Europe. If they are, buy them in Romania and then donate them to Jiangbei University's laboratory in the name of the church for use as teaching materials. The regulations are more lenient in Europe, and even more lenient in the area of ​​teaching materials."

Zhang Rujing was stunned. He never expected that this Boss Wang, who was not a believer, would directly use the church for his own purposes.

Wang Xiao turned to him and sighed, "Dr. Zhang, look how difficult our situation is. We can't even buy things from other places even with money in hand, so we have to take a roundabout approach."

Romania has recovered from the political upheaval of the past few years, and its economy has continued to develop, overcoming the shortages of resources it once faced.

Because it officially became an EU Associated Country in 1995, it became an important transportation hub in Wang Xiao's plan.

European technology and equipment can be processed in Romania first, and then a way can be found to transfer them to China.

Meanwhile, the Romanian contract manufacturers are able to continuously ship goods to Western Europe for sale through orders from Western Europe.

As for the church, they're constantly asking Ruan Xiaomei to preach. Since they've come knocking, how can we let them go to waste? We have to use them all.

Zhang Rujing smiled and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way; there are always more problems than difficulties."

He's determined to be this consultant; a boss with flexible methods suits his taste too.

Wang Xiao glanced at the time and offered, "Let's eat first. After we eat, you'll have to run around a lot more. We have to go to the factory a lot more times later."

Zhang Rujing was taken aback: "Boss Wang, how many factories do you actually own?"

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "It's not my factory, it's our supplier's factory. We'll have to see if it meets your standards and if we can continue doing business together in the future."

If that doesn't work, then let's pass on it.

For an industry to develop, it needs to be ruthless when necessary; otherwise, the fat will be dragged down and the thin will be dragged to death.

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Regarding the feasibility of textile cooperation between China and Russia, the relevant reference is an article titled "China's Textile Exports May Find a Way Out Through Russia" published in the January 21, 2005 edition of *First Financial Daily*. The article mentioned that China's export quotas were insufficient, while Russia's quotas were completely wasted.