Chapter 817 The First Boss to Go to Jail! Employees Also Punished? That's Ridiculous! Orange Supermarket Goes Global!
Zou Jianfeng is from Xijiang and worked as a firefighter in the country for two years in his early years.
Later, I heard from my comrades that Abyssinia was recruiting inspectors, regardless of nationality, only based on ability.
He had served in the military, had a college diploma, and two years of firefighting experience, but his only weakness was his language skills.
However, Leggeji has very lenient language requirements for inspectors; they only need to know one language, Chinese or English.
Therefore, Zou Jianfeng successfully joined the company and became a civil servant in Africa.
In his daily work, he speaks Chinese, and his Abyssinian colleagues can also speak fluent Chinese.
Some of his colleagues only knew English and Hamla, so over time, Zou Jianfeng's English level improved quite a bit, although eight out of ten sentences he uttered were swear words.
Perhaps human brain cells are naturally sensitive to profanity, making it exceptionally easy for them to learn.
The inspector's monthly salary is $1,200, and the bonuses and benefits are also very comprehensive.
Although East Africa has poor infrastructure, beef and mutton are very cheap. Zou Jianfeng has been here for half a year and has become much stronger.
The only downside is that vegetables are too expensive.
For example, water spinach costs 25 yuan per jin (500g), while beef only costs 12 yuan per jin.
Fortunately, not long after, Orange Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology opened several large-scale fruit and vegetable planting bases in the suburbs of Dumka, which brought down vegetable prices.
Although it's still not cheap, it's still two or three yuan cheaper than beef and mutton.
This afternoon, Zou Jianfeng received a tip-off.
A bread factory has problems with poor employee accommodation and failure to pay overtime.
Upon hearing this, he immediately perked up and led a team to conduct a surprise inspection.
While Abyssinia has low labor costs, this does not mean that labor laws can be ignored.
The Central Office has formulated clear regulations and requirements regarding hourly wage standards, rest periods, and accommodation conditions for various industries.
This bread factory called Babalong crammed 15 employees into one dormitory room, which is clearly illegal.
On such a hot day, there isn't even an air conditioner in the dormitory; there are only two industrial fans spinning wildly.
Zou Jianfeng had worked in a factory in China in his early years. He found even an eight-person dormitory unbearable. The crampedness of this 15-person dormitory was beyond the imagination of most people.
Aren't you hot?
Zou Jianfeng put down his phone and asked a Chinese employee.
"It's normal to suffer a bit when you're working."
The Chinese employee replied nonchalantly.
In China, similar jobs would only pay three or four thousand yuan a month, but in Dumka, working 14 hours a day and having only one day off a week, you can earn seven or eight thousand yuan a month, plus room and board.
After a year of hard work, you can save up 80,000 to 90,000 yuan, which was no small amount in 2015.
Zou Jianfeng looked around and his face darkened. He realized that the dozen or so workers in the room seemed to share the same idea.
"Hmph! Just wait until you get fined."
He said with a speechless expression.
It's worth noting that Chen Yansen was behind the drafting of Abyssinia's labor laws.
An eight-hour workday, including a two-hour break, with a maximum of four hours of overtime per day and eight hours of overtime on weekends. Overwork mechanisms like those of Babalong are absolutely not allowed.
Upon hearing this, the workers in the dormitory looked at each other in bewilderment.
They thought Zou Jianfeng was referring to punishing the factory owner, but they didn't know that in Abyssinia, employees who maliciously work overtime and don't report it are also considered accomplices and should be punished as well.
These "job-grabbing kings" and "scabs" can reduce the number of jobs from ten to six or seven, severely impacting the local employment rate.
Chen Yansen could temporarily accept Abyssinia's extremely low labor costs, but he would never tolerate the infighting among factories and employees.
Behaviors such as withholding wages and producing substandard products will be subject to severe penalties.
At this moment, Lei Shenglong, the owner of the Babalong Bread Factory, rushed over upon hearing the news. Before he even entered the door, his laughter drifted in first:
"Brother, what's your name? I'm Lei Shenglong, the owner of this factory. Let's go to the office and talk."
With a broad smile, he quickly stepped forward and grasped Zou Jianfeng's right hand.
Just as Zou Jianfeng was about to speak, he felt a foreign object in his palm.
He felt a chill and immediately spread his hands.
A small roll of US dollars lay in his palm, about twenty bills thick, totaling more than 2,000 US dollars, which was roughly two months' salary for him.
"Write it down and use it to bribe the inspectors."
Zou Jianfeng turned to his colleague beside him and gave him some instructions.
Lei Shenglong was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that his fellow villager would show no mercy whatsoever.
It's not that Zou Jianfeng doesn't love money, but Abyssinia has strict legal restrictions on inspectors accepting bribes.
First, law enforcement recorders must be carried when going on missions;
Second, major cases require joint investigations by multiple departments, and a single inspector cannot independently lead key aspects, thus forming a cross-departmental check and balance.
Third, improve the internal and external reporting mechanisms, with rewards for public reports and promotions and salary increases for internal reports;
Fourth, the punishment mechanism is extremely severe, ranging from warnings, fines, and suspension to dismissal, imprisonment, and even execution.
The reason for such strictness is that Abyssinia is not wealthy to begin with, and Leggegi offers salaries several times higher than the average person in order to attract talent and create a healthy business environment.
If the money spent doesn't achieve the desired effect, this "East African Mahatma" wouldn't mind switching back to his identity as the leader of the Omoro Armed Front and using iron-fisted methods to reorganize the situation.
Moreover, Zou Jianfeng looked down on people like Lei Shenglong. He even exploited his own compatriots. What difference was there between him and a beast?
"Arrest them!"
Zou Jianfeng decisively issued the order.
It is important to know that the trade union in Senlian Industrial Zone regularly holds legal education lectures to popularize labor law knowledge among business owners and employees, so no one can use "ignorance of the law" as an excuse to shirk responsibility anymore.
The city of Dumka is extremely efficient; in less than an hour, all the factory's top executives were apprehended.
As night fell, foreign businessmen and company employees having dinner on the food street in the industrial zone learned of the news.
"They really dare to arrest people?"
“That Lei Shenglong is just clueless. I advised him when we had dinner together last time that the land here isn’t expensive, there’s no need to be so stingy.”
“I asked around, and Lei Shenglong is completely finished now. According to Abyssinia’s labor laws, the little money he earns isn’t even enough to pay the fine.”
"A fine is a minor matter; he'll at least have to serve three years in jail."
"What a complete idiot! Hiring an Abyssinian employee would only cost a little over $200 a month, and hiring someone from China would only cost a little over $1,000. Now look what happened, we didn't save any money, and we've lost the factory."
"Sigh, I saw it on Mimo this evening. It's a disgrace to the Chinese community."
"I heard that workers will also be fined?"
"Of course! The minimum penalty is three months' salary."
Several Chinese business owners sat at a table, drinking beer and discussing something with varying expressions.
To be honest, they had considered extending overtime hours and reducing dormitory infrastructure before, but seeing that Abyssinia was serious, they immediately abandoned their little schemes.
In the following days, the name "Barbaron" became famous throughout East Africa.
The factory was ordered to close for rectification, and the owner, Lei Shenglong, was fined 8 million yuan and sentenced to three years in prison.
This time in jail won't be wasted; he'll be sent to a labor camp in the northern mining area.
Of course, this job isn't done for free; you get a monthly salary of $100.
Of the more than 400 workers in the factory, all but two Chinese workers who voluntarily reported the incident and received a reward of $10,000 each received fines.
Each person is required to pay a fine equal to three months' salary based on their average income over the previous 12 months.
Abyssinia's strict labor laws have shocked the entire African continent!
After paying the fine, Lei Shenglong was unable to continue operating the factory and had to transfer it to other Chinese businessmen.
The new boss immediately initiated reforms after taking over: building new employee dormitories, improving the working and living environment, and strictly regulating overtime and rest time.
To put it bluntly, the factory itself is profitable. Adding a dormitory building, a few air conditioners, and paying reasonable overtime pay will not cause the boss to lose money, let alone lead to the factory's closure.
After all, Abyssinia's overall tax rate is only about 25%, making it an ultra-low tax country.
In late June, the Babarong incident continued to escalate overseas.
However, after learning the whole story, many Chinese businesspeople felt that Abyssinia had a very good business environment.
The local central authority can protect the rights and interests of employees as well as safeguard the legitimate interests of entrepreneurs.
In a short time, more and more people went to East Africa to pan for gold.
Meanwhile, many global bloggers began sharing Abyssinian customs and culture. To the surprise of Chinese netizens, many locals can speak fluent Chinese, making it a good choice for tourism.
Moreover, guns are not prohibited in Abyssinia; you can experience various firearms for a fee, and even ride in a pickup truck to hunt hyenas and rabbits in the Gobi Desert.
If you're willing to spend the money, you can even drive a tank and fire a powerful shot!
Over time, these have become Abyssinia's signature tourist attractions.
But astute businessmen had already discovered Abyssinia's market potential.
Thanks to years of civil war, the elderly and physically weak in the area have long been eliminated.
In the current population structure, young people under the age of 20 account for 57%, and those between 20 and 30 years old account for 24%.
In other words, more than 80% of the country's population is under 30 years old.
With low labor costs and developed mining and agricultural industries, although it does not have its own ports, it has leased dock warehouses in Eritrea and Djibouti, allowing its goods to be easily sold to Europe, Asia and North America.
One of the characteristics of young people is that they dare to spend money. Even if their monthly income is only a little over 200 US dollars, they dare to spend it all every month.
The first group of Chinese businessmen to come to Abyssinia to do business have already made a fortune.
For example, Liu Hanbin, the owner of Qiangsheng Company, which provides packaging materials for Sebena Milk, was originally just a barbecue restaurant owner. Riding the wave of opportunity, he went from being in debt of over 100,000 yuan to becoming a multi-millionaire in just two years.
They own an apartment in downtown Dumka and a three-story detached villa in the suburbs. They have a nanny, a cook, and a private driver.
There are quite a few people like Liu Hanbin who have become "rich overnight" in Abyssinia.
The aftermath of the Babarong incident is still unfolding, and in the Senlian Industrial Zone of Dumka, the Orange Agriculture and Livestock Technology planting base is bustling with activity.
Several container trucks were parked in the fields, and workers were packing freshly picked water spinach and romaine lettuce into boxes. These vegetables will be transported via cold chain to the Orange Supermarket stores and Kuai Pao Canteen in the industrial zone.
In late June, the first batch of Orange Supermarkets and Orange Convenience Stores in Abyssinia officially opened in major cities.
Inside the store, local employees, dressed in matching orange uniforms, serve customers in fluent Mandarin and English.
Most of these employees are graduates majoring in Business English.
At the same time, Orange Supermarket has also entered Southeast Asian countries, followed closely by Mixue Ice Cream and Lucky Coffee.
Chen Yansen not only recruited extensively in the country, but also continuously sent employees abroad.
Of course, they will also hire locals and even bring in local capital in exchange for the other party's network and connections.
For Chen Yansen, having a controlling stake is enough; there's no need to be a greedy glutton and monopolize all the profits.
In this way, everyone can make money, and Senlian Group's external expansion can proceed more smoothly.
Just like Pinduoduo and KuaiPao's international platform, after more than a year of development, although they are not as good as Amazon, they have still occupied a part of the market share. The core reason is that they are willing to share profits.
On June 29, the entertainment industry was rocked by the "yin-yang contract" unspoken rule, causing a major shock to the industry.
Baofeng Technology hit its 29th consecutive daily limit up, sending tech stocks into a frenzy.
Mixue Ice Cream has over 4,000 stores across the country.
As the weather gets hotter, China's economy continues to rise.
That afternoon, Tiangong Technology announced that it would hold a new product launch conference on July 1.
Many people understood it instantly!
According to Orange Technology's new product release schedule, Tiangong Technology usually releases the processor first, and then Orange Technology launches the new model.
Netizens were thrilled and eagerly prepared to buy Orange Technology's new products.
Although the phone was bought last year and is less than a year old, in the context of an economic upswing, no one thinks there's anything wrong with changing a phone every year.
(End of this chapter)
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