Chapter 62 Are you ready? (Bug fix): An army marches on its stomach.
After making the call to the Air Force, Wang Xiao immediately dialed the Xiaozhou Municipal Government to speak with Vice Mayor Sun about two matters.
First, she has already gotten her hands on the plane.
Secondly, she also has a pilot.
Honey, are you feeling the pressure? It's up to you now. How are you going to approve the flight routes?
I need air routes from Xiaozhou to Kyiv to Almaty to the Baltic Sea, to all the former Soviet republics.
You can take as much as you can; don't worry about not having enough planes to fly.
If we really don't have enough planes, I'll figure something out.
Vice Mayor Sun, who was specifically in charge of following up on this matter, was stunned.
From the moment he learned about Wang Xiao, he heard that she was particularly decisive and efficient.
But he never expected her to be this fast.
How long has it been? It hasn't even been a week since he asked someone to arrange his visit, and she's already prepared everything.
It makes it seem like he's doing a lot of administrative inaction.
And what exactly is Wang Xiao's background? Her family must have overseas connections, but they kept it a secret back then.
And this relationship is absolutely strong.
Ahem, this is a huge misunderstanding.
Wang Xiao, a history dunce, doesn't even know when the Soviet Union collapsed, so how could she possibly know about the August 19 Incident, let alone guess that the military high command would be selling off their assets in advance?
That's it, God wants her to make money, so what!
However, even if she is misunderstood as having a powerful background, she would never take the initiative to clarify unless asked directly to her.
The more impressive a person's background and the stronger their power appear to those who don't understand them, the less likely they are to be easily put on the defensive.
On the contrary, they are able to easily obtain opportunities that people outside the circle would never have the chance to encounter.
Because the way of humanity is to take from what is lacking and give to what is in excess, a principle that applies worldwide.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be anyone impersonating a tycoon and fooling the entire upper-class social circle.
Human nature is to admire the strong.
So Wang Xiao maintained his composure, feigning nonchalance, and said, "Oh dear, I didn't expect my friend in the Soviet Union to act so quickly. I was the one urging him before, but now he's urging me. The plane was bought with a loan, and the monthly interest alone is nearly a million US dollars. I'm very anxious now too."
It was only now that Vice Mayor Sun suddenly came to his senses: "Why isn't it Moscow? Shouldn't we be flying to Moscow?"
“Of course it can’t be Moscow.” Even over the phone, Wang Xiao’s face was serious. “A person should have feelings and a conscience. My little business is entirely due to the strong support of the Jiangdong Provincial Government and its leaders. It’s been built from scratch.”
The leaders of Xiaozhou have been incredibly hospitable, and I find it difficult to refuse their kindness. However, I can't simply abandon this place and move my business to Xiaozhou. How could I be so opportunistic? Therefore, I have no choice but to explore new sales markets.”
This made Vice Mayor Sun hesitate a bit.
Opening up new markets is not that simple. What if you fail to do so?
But Wang Xiao seemed completely oblivious to his hesitation and continued speaking to himself: "By the way, there are a few more things I need the government and leaders to help with."
Vice Mayor Sun perked up and took over the conversation: "What is it?"
"The first thing is the security issue."
The social order is not good now, and robberies happen frequently.
Foreign businessmen often carry large amounts of cash, making them easy targets for criminals. A robbery in such a case would have a very negative international impact and deter other foreign businesses from operating here.
We chose the Jiangzhimen area because it's military territory, constantly patrolled by soldiers, so no petty thieves would dare to covet it.
In Xiaozhou, we hope the government can help us resolve this issue.
She is very afraid of death; she has always been afraid of death.
Especially since she's so good at making money, if she dies before she's spent all her money, wouldn't her life have been wasted?
Vice Mayor Sun was able to agree to this on the spot.
They can't touch the stationed troops; they're not on the same side.
However, since the police are under the government's jurisdiction, there is still room for negotiation.
“There is a police station at the airport. We will increase the number of personnel and conduct 24-hour patrols.”
Okay, the security issue is initially guaranteed.
If the police force is insufficient, we should form our own security team composed of veterans.
Oh, they're called economic police.
Large companies nowadays all have their own economic police, and she needs one too.
The second question put Vice Mayor Sun in a difficult position.
Wang Xiao bluntly stated, "I've used all my funds to buy airplanes, so I'm currently experiencing cash flow problems. I need a loan from a bank in Xiaozhou to acquire that land."
This outrageous request left Vice Mayor Sun completely at a loss for what to do.
Where would you find something like that?
If even acquiring land requires a loan, how will they manage to build the commercial city afterwards?
Wang Xiao was also very understanding: "Mayor Sun, if your city is in a difficult position, it's alright, just tell me. I certainly can't let you be in a difficult position, I've thought of other solutions as well."
As a result of what she said, Vice Mayor Sun felt a chill run down his spine.
What method?
Are you planning to invest elsewhere?
Wouldn't that mean Xiaozhou City would lose hundreds of millions of US dollars every year?
This is precious foreign exchange; it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could save all the businesses in the city.
How important are orders?
During World War II, Japan was devastated and only managed to rebuild and even take off thanks to orders from the United States.
Honestly, when he went to Jiangdong this time and saw that many factories there had resumed production, he was extremely envious.
From the time he took charge of industry three years ago until now, he has truly experienced what it means to be in heaven and hell, and it has almost driven the entire city leadership team crazy.
If factories don't operate, it could really be fatal.
Their Xiaozhou is also a provincial capital city, with a well-developed light industry and a wide variety of famous small commodities.
They're no worse than anyone else, so why can't they seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
Vice Mayor Sun gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "This amount is a bit large, and it must be discussed at a meeting before a decision can be made. I will submit it today and get back to you as soon as possible."
Wang Xiao said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you, leader. Actually, none of that matters. The key is the flight routes. If the flight routes aren't approved, then all our efforts will be in vain. We need a lot of flight routes, the more the better."
She didn't give the city leaders any chance to take chances: "Moscow is an important international transportation hub, capable of radiating influence throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Russia alone has a population three times that of Ukraine."
Therefore, the sheer number of foodies in Kyiv cannot compare to that in Moscow.
To achieve the same business volume as Zhimen, the only way is to win by increasing the number of flight routes.
This shows that she was not speaking without reason, and she specifically emphasized: "Ukraine was the second largest country in the Soviet Union, so its position is self-evident. They have a population of 50 million, so we must capture this market."
As for Almaty, it is the largest city in Central Asia and connects the entire Central Asian region.
Currently, there are domestic air routes from Urumqi to Almaty. Applying for an air route from Xiaozhou to Almaty should be relatively simple.
Moreover, Urumqi's local light industry is not very developed. If it wants to export light industrial products, it has to get the goods from inland cities, transport them by train, and then transfer them to air freight.
Theoretically speaking, taking the train is definitely cheaper than flying.
But firstly, train travel takes a long time, and secondly, the train carriages these days are really unsafe; far too many boxes of goods being transported have been emptied during transit.
Speaking of this, Wang Xiao even doubted that she was actually the female lead, rather than a cannon fodder supporting character, otherwise where would her shining halo come from?
Can you believe it?
She had shipped her goods for almost half a year, and they were never lost even once!
So now she's full of confidence and speaks with particular conviction: "When profits are high enough, foreign businesses prefer air transport to ensure a supply of goods. If we don't act quickly, other cities will react swiftly and take over this business."
Vice Mayor Sun immediately became nervous and repeatedly assured him, "Don't worry, Xiaozhou City, no, Jiangbei Province, is doing everything we can to get this done."
Wang Xiao was still worried and immediately asked, "Can the school open on September 1st? I need to notify the clients."
Vice Mayor Sun was instantly at his wit's end.
September 1st!
Are you kidding me?
What date is it now? It's August 26th.
Even if you hold all those stamps in your hand and keep stamping them nonstop, it will still take until the sky darkens.
Moreover, the departments that stamp these documents are not even in the same place.
In less than a week, my legs will be so thin from running around.
But what else could he say besides emphasizing, "We will definitely do our best and go all out"?
He couldn't complain at all; on the contrary, he had to do his best to make this happen at the city government meeting.
His reasoning was: Wang Xiao's eagerness to acquire the land showed her considerable sincerity. Once the land was in her hands, she couldn't just leave it idle. She definitely had to develop it. With the International Trade City, how could she possibly ignore it? She had to cultivate the market deeply in Xiaozhou.
It can only be said that although the leaders of this era have dealt with private business owners, they have never met a real capitalist.
They had no concept of covering the ground at all, otherwise they would never have dared to say such a thing.
The deputy mayor continued speaking at length to his colleagues: "Moreover, Wang Xiao is very anxious about the flight route and keeps urging us to act quickly. From this, it seems that she is definitely not trying to get something for nothing, but is just temporarily experiencing cash flow problems."
Seeing that his colleagues had not expressed their opinions, Vice Mayor Sun became anxious: "Personally, I think this is a test for Xiaozhou City, to see our sincerity. To put it bluntly, with her company and commercial city, it would be a piece of cake for her to get a loan of ten million in Jiangdong. There are plenty of banks begging her to lend them money."
The tightening of lending policies is less a government requirement and more specifically a result of banks' fear of not being able to recover loans.
The hardest hit by triangular debt is the major banks.
But who would be afraid that Wang Xiao wouldn't repay the loan to the company that lent her the money?
This summer, so far, she has ordered more than 30 million US dollars worth of goods from Jiangbei.
It's real money, not the kind with IOUs.
Based on this alone, she could confidently ask for a loan of 100 million, let alone 10 million.
The fact that they asked for ten million makes it clear that it's not about the money, but about their attitude. The key is their attitude.
If they, Xiaozhou, had hesitated and backed down, they would have simply turned around and left.
Orders worth 30 million US dollars a month—which city in the whole country wouldn't treat that like a bodhisattva?
Xiaozhou was genuinely lucky; it just so happens that the two provinces are adjacent, and Xiaozhou also has an airport, which is why it was temporarily chosen as a substitute.
Otherwise, how could they possibly have the chance to enjoy such a windfall?
Therefore, now is the best time for them to show their sincerity.
It's only ten million, just ten million.
They don't want to lend money, which means the banks do want to.
Whether Vice Mayor Sun is right or wrong regarding other matters is hard to say.
But there were indeed people who were chasing after Wang Xiao, offering to lend her money.
Who is it? The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, of course.
The local Industrial and Commercial Bank of China regretted missing out on the deposit business of the commercial city as soon as it was a step too slow, and has been actively trying to get closer to them.
They were very good at digging for information and knew about the company's major moves and the purchase of a large number of aircraft, which is why their accounts were short of funds.
These incredibly wealthy customers, whose cash flow problems are only temporary due to business expansion, are practically every bank's dream.
Compared to the current practice of the authorities forcing banks to provide loans and capital injections to enterprises with severely outdated and backward production structures and huge backlogs in order to maintain stability, this is the kind of business that can make money.
If we can't secure this loan, it would be a real shame for all the hard work the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has put in for so long.
Does Postal Savings Bank not want to do this? No, it doesn't have the capability. Right now, it can only accept deposits; it can't make loans.
Wang Xiao was genuinely a little surprised when the manager of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China came to her door.
The main reason is that before she transmigrated into the book, she had never worked in the real economy. Her business dealings with banks were basically limited to two things: money coming in and money going out. Banks were just a conduit, never the actual business counterparties.
Now that the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is offering her a loan, she's asking with great interest, "What do I need a loan for?"
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was even more proactive: "Building houses, paying workers' wages, buying materials—don't worry, this loan is for you, and how you use it is entirely up to you."
Wang Xiao tried out what it meant to have a tea-like aroma, and said with a completely innocent look, "But I don't need it."
The director of the Postal Savings Bank's credit department, fearing the loss of such a valuable client, quickly emphasized: "Please don't misunderstand, we're not saying there's a problem with your funds. It's just that you may not know that it's normal to use mortgages to finance the sale of apartments off-plan; big bosses in Hong Kong all do it this way."
Wang Xiao thought to himself: How could I not know?
Hong Kong stopped using this tactic itself, but it was inherited by the mainland, which then developed it further, resulting in countless unfinished buildings.
Countless homebuyers have lost both their money and their properties, and the government, developers, and banks all claim no responsibility, as if the homebuyers themselves have lost their minds and are eager to throw their hard-earned money down the drain.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "I built this house but I'm not selling it, how could I possibly sell it as a pre-sale apartment?"
The head of the credit department emphasized, "I was just saying, what I meant was that it's normal to take out a loan to build a house. Even if you don't sell the house, you still need money to buy materials and pay salaries."
Wang Xiao shook his head again: "The materials can be paid at the end of the year, and the salary is the same."
This kind of operation is nothing unusual; it's quite normal in the construction industry.
Developers who can pay their bills by the end of the year are truly exceptional.
There's a lot of procrastination going on.
The head of the credit department hesitated, stammering, "That...that's not good, why bother? It's better to take out a loan first and pay the money. That way, everyone won't feel uneasy."
"There's nothing to be uneasy about," Wang Xiao said, puzzled. "Everyone knows I just bought a plane. I promised to give everyone red envelopes at the end of the year."
The head of the credit department quickly stopped him: "No, no, no, instead of spending money on red envelopes, let's settle the accounts first."
He relentlessly pursued Wang Xiao with the motto "Never give up."
So the people in the commercial city saw that wherever their boss, Mr. Wang, went, a tail followed him.
Many Russians found it strange; they had only ever seen people chasing after debtors, never someone begging to borrow their money.
Even Tang Yicheng was impressed.
What does it mean to have different fates despite being the same person?
The fact that banks are eager to lend to them is enough to make over 99% of factories envious and shed tears of envy.
Wang Xiao, however, was overwhelmed by the trouble and finally reluctantly decided to take out a loan of ten million yuan to pay summer bonuses to construction workers on the construction site and employees of the commercial city and airport.
This is to thank everyone for their hard work and effort this summer.
When the factory representatives at the International Trade City heard about this, they really didn't know what to say.
Ten million dollars, just to pay out the so-called summer bonus?
They've already received a lot of money; they get several hundred yuan in bonuses every month.
Isn't that enough?
Wang Xiao didn't care. She even called Vice Mayor Sun and earnestly emphasized that it didn't matter if the banks in Xiaozhou were having difficulties, as she had already obtained a loan in Jiangdong.
If the funds don't arrive, she can use the loan money first. The employees are still very noble and upright.
Vice Mayor Sun immediately emphasized, "No need, no need. We've already gone through the process here, and I'll personally oversee the signing off."
He then eagerly took credit, saying, "The route issue is already progressing well; we have connections within the civil aviation system."
That's why they say President Wang is savvy; she immediately showered him with compliments.
“I knew that the leaders of Xiaozhou were very supportive of the work of our trade city. So I didn’t hesitate at all to advertise and promote our trade city abroad. Because I knew that our leaders would not let our foreign businessmen make a wasted trip.”
Vice Mayor Sun was terrified: "The advertisement has already been put out?"
“Yes.” Wang Xiao rattled off the names of the countries one by one, a dozen or so in a row, making the leader dizzy.
She added, as if afraid that people weren't excited enough: "Now everyone knows about this large-scale international trade city. We already have more than 300 potential customers, and I believe everyone will be able to achieve their goals in September."
Wang Xiao wasn't exaggerating when he said that.
She not only had train attendants sell flyers on the K3 line, but also on the two daily trains from Moscow to Budapest, which were also covered by flyers.
She spends tens of thousands of yuan each time just to produce beautifully designed flyers.
After hanging up the phone, Vice Mayor Sun immediately rushed off to urge his colleagues.
See? The banks in Jiangdong were practically begging her, afraid she wouldn't lend money to pay bonuses to her employees.
Bonuses? These days, it's a miracle if salaries can even be paid out, let alone bonuses!
More than 300 foreign businessmen.
He saw these foreign businessmen; each of them carried large and small bags, enough to fill an entire cargo plane by themselves!
A single day's delay means a loss of over 10 million US dollars.
Wang Xiao got caught up in the mess with the boss, then put down the phone and downed a cup of milk tea.
This time, the milk tea was filled with soft, cooked red beans, which were fragrant and sweet, and tasted really good.
Truly, never underestimate the imagination and creativity of the general public when it comes to food.
Following the taro ball milk tea trend, the milk tea stalls in Zhimen have now spontaneously created taro paste milk tea, chocolate milk tea, and mung bean paste milk tea. The reason they haven't started making pumpkin milk tea yet is because pumpkins are sweeter after being frosted, and the owners are waiting for the right time.
Oh, right, they also sell jelly milk tea at the stalls now. It's the kind of cold jelly that's served chilled, cut into small pieces and put in milk tea. It tastes a bit like grass jelly.
Hehehe, in the 90s, a fit physique was all the rage, so it was normal for female celebrities to have a little belly. She had no qualms about drinking milk tea like that.
Tang Yicheng returned with the car to get a drink of water. He overheard a phone call and, after carefully recalling what had happened, suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked at Wang Xiao hesitantly.
The person being stared at suddenly lost their appetite for milk tea and said irritably, "What? Say what you want!"
"Um—" Tang Yicheng struggled to find the right words, regretting that he hated Chinese and politics classes back then, so he didn't even know how to choose the right vocabulary. Finally, he managed to squeeze out a word, "Why do I feel like you're manipulating Xiao Zhou?"
Such questioning seems extremely disrespectful, especially since that person is a municipal leader.
But as for Wang Xiao, he wouldn't be surprised by anything she did.
Wow, Wang Xiao was surprised. Tang Yicheng is quite perceptive. Is this some kind of beastly intuition?
Bah! What a terrible metaphor.
She said seriously, "How can you say it's about controlling it? It's about adjusting and letting each other adapt to the relationship."
From a theoretical perspective, the normal relationship between local governments and investors is one of mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence.
But even a family can be dominated by either the East Wind or the West Wind, let alone the government and businesses.
That's the invincible Nanshan team.
Tragically, that means only Zhuzhou Prince Milk.
Moreover, as the saying goes, "a new emperor brings a new court," and too many promises made by the previous leadership are not kept by the next.
Forget about having a contract as proof; if contracts were strictly enforced, there wouldn't be so much love and hate.
Wang Xiao doesn't consider herself to have much of a vision; she always believes that money is only money when it's in her own pocket. Everything else is just empty promises and meaningless.
So, it's right to adopt a higher stance first.
Is it crazy?
Yes, somewhat.
If she were to transmigrate into the book 30 years from now, she would probably be more cautious.
But every era has its own characteristics. In this era, entrepreneurs who are good at making money are somewhat arrogant, and they are not just lackeys following behind officials.
They can even slam their fists on the table in front of provincial and municipal leaders during meetings.
Compared to them, she was very reserved.
Wang Xiao glanced at Tang Yicheng and said succinctly, "Sunk costs: the more you invest, the more you care and the more willing you are to continue investing. This is a universal human trait."
What does that mean?
Tang Yicheng felt like he understood, but also like he didn't quite understand.
Fortunately, Wang Xiao wasn't the kind of leader who loved to make her subordinates understand the spirit of her speeches, even when she herself didn't understand what she was saying. She just wanted her subordinates to do the work she assigned them diligently.
"Make arrangements to send half of the transport team to Xiaozhou. From now on, goods from Jiangbei will be transported from there."
She said this through gritted teeth.
Xiaozhou is really too slow.
If her family had told her earlier to come and build the International Trade City, she would definitely have imported more trucks from the Soviet Union.
We need at least two hundred vehicles.
Now look what happened; they have to split one hundred trucks in two.
Forget it, let Ivanov bring over another hundred.
Fifty cars on each side are definitely not enough.
Wang Xiao explained the selection criteria: "Follow the principle of voluntariness. Ideally, the applicant should be from Jiangbei Province or be able to speak the local dialect. If not, organize people to start learning immediately."
The Chinese language is profound and complex, especially the southern dialects. Hehe, it's already quite subtle to make you think it's a foreign language. It wouldn't be surprising if you suspected that you were communicating with intelligent beings from another planet!
"Bring the latest maps and have everyone study them together. Don't neglect combat skills training on a daily basis."
Otherwise, if the goods are stolen on the way, not only will the loss be at least six figures per trip, but it will also delay delivery; even the richest family will run out of grain.
Tang Yicheng didn't have time to ponder her cryptic words anymore. He quickly grabbed a glass of water and headed out to make arrangements. Just before leaving, he turned back and asked, "When is the new team setting off?"
"About a week." Wang Xiao had already started going through the materials. She was going to send a complete team out, and she had a lot to do.
She looked up again and found that Tang Yicheng hadn't moved yet, so she frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"
"No—" Tang Yicheng snapped out of his daze, "A week isn't enough time, then... even building a warehouse wouldn't be enough time..."
“We have inflatable tents.”
If it weren't for the fact that construction had fully commenced in the Zhimen area and there wasn't enough open space, she would have already brought her large tent back out of the mountains.
The tent is a full 100 acres in size! Seriously, you could set up so many stalls and sell so much stuff inside.
When Xiao Zhou promised her 150 acres of land, one of the reasons she was so excited was that her big tent would finally have a use!
Hey! As soon as the plane arrives and the tents are set up, the sales will be booming!
Tang Yicheng still found it unbelievable: "It's too late, flight routes aren't that easy to get approved."
When they wanted to get approval for the air route from Zhimen to Moscow, the troops went through a lot of trouble and spent a lot of time.
"That's because no one had done this before, and the various departments weren't clear on who was in charge. Now that we have experience, we can just stamp it according to the rules."
Wang Xiao urged him, "You should go quickly, I still need to notify the others."
What is the content of the notification?
Family, we're going to open a branch in Xiaozhou. Anyone interested in opening a branch? Ahem, I mean, a founding member of the company? Raise your hand and sign up now, or you'll miss out!
The first thing to do is to notify the construction company and prepare for fieldwork.
She needs a complete team, ready to depart at any time.
This time, the scale of the house construction will be larger than that of the straight gate, and the construction period will be longer.
Why?
Because she rented the land in Zhimen.
They actually built skyscrapers, but then the national policy changed, and lo and behold, the house and the land were all taken back. Where could she go to cry?
Therefore, this can only meet business needs in the short term.
The area next to Xiaozhou Airport is a different story; the land acquired for ten million yuan has great potential.
Secondly, it's time to choose a new leader.
A new team is needed in Xiaozhou.
Comrades Xiang Dong and Feng Zhonglin, which of you two plans to go?
The two exchanged a glance, and Feng Zhonglin spoke up: "I'll go."
Although Wang Xiao hadn't explicitly asked them to make a choice beforehand, they listened carefully to what he meant.
When Vice Mayor Sun came over and offered 150 mu of land, Wang Xiao accepted; they both knew this day would come sooner or later.
To my shame, the reason Feng Zhonglin volunteered was because Xiang Dong was not yet capable of building something from scratch.
This summer he studied under Feng Zhonglin, and his current ability is only enough to barely keep Jiangzhimen afloat.
He was not up to the task of reclaiming the land. Therefore, even if it meant losing face, he would not try to force himself, lest he cause trouble for the company.
Wang Xiao nodded, giving him face: "You can stay at Jiangzhimen and keep an eye on the clothing self-service supermarket in Dachang."
Instead of feeling comforted by her words, Xiang Dong became even more frustrated.
Oh no!
The self-service clothing supermarket opened first, in March, but its branches are nowhere to be seen yet, while the International Clothing Trade City has expanded from Jiangdong to Jiangbei.
Don't talk about the difference between the men's and women's clothing departments; that's trivial. They're still selling clothes in the same place.
No, he has to arrange for the shoes to be selected by himself this year.
Having successfully tricked his employees into joining the scheme, the boss nodded to Feng Zhonglin: "Alright, Mr. Feng, you'll be in charge of selecting the new team. Whoever you like, just take them with you. If they go to Jiangbei, everyone will get double their monthly salary."
Social mobility was extremely low in the early 1990s. Even city dwellers, unless forced to, were generally unwilling to seek a living in other places.
Leaving one's original social circle is something that many people fear.
Moreover, their work in Jiangzhimen is now on a regular basis, and their income is not low.
A month's salary plus bonuses is at least three or four hundred yuan, not to mention the tips that the middlemen and dealers give when they're in a good mood.
To paraphrase a worker from a large factory, "You little brat, your parents have worked our whole lives, and today our salaries are less than yours, a newbie who just started working."
It's estimated that even if current employees from Zhimen were willing to try their luck there, their parents wouldn't be happy about it.
So Wang Xiao made another promise: "Go to Xiaozhou, and all the cadres will be re-elected."
With a guaranteed future and financial prospects, if you're interested, go for it!
If none of you are interested, that's fine, we can just hire someone else.
Three months ago, when this place was just starting out, weren't you all completely clueless?
Although they are called senior employees, they only have three months more experience than others.
Feng Zhonglin nodded: "I've also gone to the night school to recruit people. In the last few times I've been there, I feel there are quite a few promising talents."
Honestly, he felt that the children of employees from large factories generally had excellent overall qualities. As long as they were willing to work diligently, their academic performance would be good.
It makes sense. Families with good financial conditions and a secure life tend to raise children who, as long as they don't go astray, are more intelligent, knowledgeable, and decisive than their peers.
Wang Xiao had no objection: "Okay, you have full authority to make this decision."
Unexpectedly, when Feng Zhonglin went to the night school in Dachang to select students, the night school teacher actually recommended students from other night schools in the city to him.
The composition of night schools is quite complex at present.
There are schools run by district and county governments or even street organizations, large-scale factories that provide vocational training for their employees, and some privately run schools.
Teachers include both permanent and part-time teachers. Most of the part-time teachers are college or university teachers who come out in the evenings to earn extra money.
The person who recommended Feng Zhonglin was a part-time university teacher.
He also attended two classes at the Party School's night school every week. He felt that there were several students there who were very smart and studied very hard. The key point was that they envied the employees of the International Trade City and had been trying to find jobs but had no way of getting in.
Feng Zhonglin emphasized: "This is not working in our local area. We will be staying in another place for a long time. We will be stationed in Xiaozhou, north of the Yangtze River."
"Hey, what's wrong with that?" the teacher laughed. "Young people these days are still willing to venture out to other places. This is such a good job, and it's in Xiaozhou. It's not like we're going to Yunnan or the Great Northern Wilderness to be sent to the countryside. What's there to be unhappy about?"
Feng Zhonglin nodded and said, "Okay, then you should call your people over too, and we can interview them together."
Of course, he will still give priority to the children of employees from large companies.
It's not about discriminating against outsiders; it's simply about making management easier. When you're out in unfamiliar territory, the ease with which you manage your team is crucial for success.
The parents of children working for large factories are all employees of those factories, so they know each other very well.
Most people's behavioral patterns are basically bound by their family background.
Therefore, unless the student from another school has exceptionally good qualifications, if the two are roughly equal, the child of the big factory worker will naturally be selected.
This is standard procedure.
Because now everyone is making arrangements for their own children first.
Wang Xiao came to check on the night school's situation but didn't undermine Feng Zhonglin.
All she cares about is that the team works well.
These people need to be put into vocational training as soon as possible so that they can be readily deployed to Xiaozhou for use.
Wang Xiao wanted to say a few more words to Feng Zhonglin, but someone tugged at her arm first: "Sister, why aren't you home yet?"
Wang Xiao turned around and was quite surprised to see Chen Jingjing: "Hey, aren't you going to register at school tomorrow?"
To be honest, it's quite inappropriate for her to act as a cousin.
This summer, Chen Jingjing first attended a month of make-up classes at school because she would be a junior high student when school started, so she needed to catch up on lessons.
After the floodwaters receded, Chen Jingjing was given a holiday and came to the provincial capital to play, but Wang Xiao still hadn't seen the girl much.
Even though she frequently went to the International Trade City, she could only stay with her mother, Qian Xuemei. Wang Xiao was constantly running around, so it was really difficult for her to see anyone.
Chen Jingjing looked at her sister, speechless: "Sis, it's your birthday today, so I'll definitely celebrate your birthday before I go back."
Ah, it's her birthday. She knows that, after all, she's a person with an ID card.
But that doesn't matter.
Anyway, she forgot.
Wang Xiao nodded: "Okay, okay, let's go home then."
Autumn has indeed arrived; it gets dark much earlier than before.
Just as the two sisters were about to leave the night school, they ran into an acquaintance at the school gate.
Wang Xiao took the initiative to greet people: "Teacher Zhang, are you here to teach?"
This is a Mongolian language teacher she specially invited.
Unexpectedly, when Master Zhang saw her, his eyes lit up like light bulbs, and he even made a gesture as if to stop her: "Wang Xiao, I have something I want to ask you. Do you hire Mongolian translators?"
I didn't know about this, cough, Wang Xiao got stuck.
That's a little awkward.
So far, Jiangzhimen has never come to Mongolia to trade goods.
Actually, it makes sense when you think about it. First of all, Mongolia isn't that big, and its population isn't that large either. It borders China, and there are direct trains between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing.
Most importantly, Mongolia's economy is not as good as the Soviet Union's; their purchasing power is not on the same level.
Wang Xiao could only shake her head: "No for now, but I'll definitely let you know if I have any news later."
She asked curiously, "You want to be a translator? But translation probably requires a full-time job, and you won't have enough time to travel between two places."
Mr. Zhang awkwardly hummed in agreement twice, then made an excuse, saying, "I have to go to class," and hurriedly left.
Wang Xiao and Chen Jingjing looked at each other, shrugged, and spread their hands.
Middle-aged people seem a bit strange to teenagers.
The two returned home, and Wang Xiao saw that Chen Yidong had also come over, guessing that he would pick up Chen Jingjing and take her home tomorrow.
She subconsciously spoke up and added, "Uncle, let's save money and buy a house together."
Actually, Qian Xuemei had said this before, when she started selling clothes in Jiangzhimen, but she was rejected.
Qian Xuemei couldn't understand why she wanted to buy a house in the provincial capital, since her family lived in Zhouzhen and had already built a multi-story house.
This is also the mentality of most Chinese people now. Even those who went to Shenzhen early on rarely buy houses. Everyone is thinking about making money and building big houses back in their hometowns.
This is probably a mindset brought about by the strict household registration system.
Wang Xiao was criticized by her mother, Chen Yanqiu, for that suggestion.
How can they be so heartless?
When you go to your uncle's house, no matter how long you stay, will your aunt give you less food or drink?
Are you heartless now, looking down on your relatives for staying at your house?
Wang Xiao was truly wronged at the time; her good intentions were completely misunderstood.
So this time, as soon as she made the suggestion, she immediately emphasized: "Uncle, you and Aunt have to think about Jingjing. There's nothing wrong with Zhouzhen, and I'm quite happy living there, but the teaching level of the schools in Zhouzhen is what it is. Jingjing is very smart, and it wouldn't be good if she were held back."
Chen Yidong and Qian Xuemei were stunned; they had never thought of this before.
This was also a characteristic of the times; in the early 1990s, people had virtually no awareness of school selection.
Learning depends on yourself, right? If you don't learn well, can you blame the school?
But Chen Yidong was, after all, a sent-down youth, and he understood all too well the gap between urban and rural education.
Upon hearing his niece's suggestion, he was immediately intrigued and pulled his wife to the balcony to discuss it.
Chen Jingjing, a teenage girl, had no idea about this and just followed her cousin with great interest to look at the dining table.
Hey! Auntie made lots of delicious food today.
It has sweet and sour pork, the kind without cream, and it has a strong sweet aroma.
There was a clay pot of fish, a pot full of soup, with several fish lined up in the broth. When the lid was opened, a fragrant aroma wafted out.
There was stewed beef with potatoes, so tender and soft, it looked so appealing that you'd want to serve yourself a bowl of rice and mix it in.
She looked up and exclaimed, "Auntie, your cooking is so delicious!"
The doorbell rang, and my cousin opened the front door. My uncle brought back a pot of pork tripe and chicken soup. She had no choice but to silently take back what she had said.
Oh, so it was bought from the market.
Wang Xiao put the dishes on the table and saw her mother carrying out the only dish she had made herself—tofu and preserved egg salad—from the kitchen. She casually asked, "Mom, why does Chef Zhang want to become a translator? Is he having trouble at work?"
Chen Yanqiu put down the preserved egg and tofu salad, looking puzzled: "He's going to be a translator? Didn't he listen in class?"
Wang Tiejun, who never liked to pry into other people's affairs, chimed in: "It's not him, it's his Mongolian mother who's sick and there's no reimbursement. It costs several hundred yuan a month. His brothers and sisters in Inner Mongolia are also living a simple life, so he just wants to earn more money to send back home for his mother's medical treatment."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yanqiu immediately asked her daughter, "Do you need a Mongolian translator on your end? If so, we'll help you out if we can."
Goodness, she saw it for herself; those Russians are very willing to spend money on translators.
Xiaoxiao's former Russian teacher now earns over a thousand yuan a month, which is equivalent to what someone else did in a year.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "There are no Mongolian traders coming to my area."
"Then why are you making them learn Mongolian?" Chen Yanqiu said anxiously. "They'll come after you later, and you'll have wasted your time."
Wang Xiao said aggrievedly, "Who said I learned it all in vain? Not a single piece of knowledge is learned in vain! I'm going downstairs to make a phone call."
"Hey, hey, hey, come after you've eaten. The food's already on the table."
"Very quickly, just a few minutes."
Hmph ╯^╰, whose fault is it? She wanted to install a telephone at home, but Dr. Chen absolutely refused, insisting that there was a telephone downstairs.
Don't they realize how troublesome it is to have to go downstairs just to make or receive a phone call?
If it weren't for the terrible signal of mobile phones these days, she would have bought one long ago.
Wang Xiao called Feng Zhonglin at the night school to ask about Erenhot: "Are there many middlemen there?"
"There are lots of people on the streets; the market has already started to pick up."
Feng Zhonglin had a friend who was sent to work in the countryside in Inner Mongolia in his early years. Later, he couldn't be transferred back no matter what, so he simply stayed there.
Erenhot does business with people from Outer Mongolia, and his friend is doing quite well now because he can understand both languages.
"Seriously, those who came back earlier are now incredibly envious of him."
"Okay." Wang Xiao finished taking notes of the information she wanted while holding the receiver, put down his pen, closed his notebook, and made a decision. "I'm thinking of setting up a branch in Erenhot, a front shop and back factory model, to act as an agent for our light industrial products. If the Mongolian traders need goods later, we can ship them directly to them. Could your friend help us make the connection?"
Feng Zhonglin was startled and quickly emphasized, "President Wang, you can't rush things. You're too busy with three fronts, and something bad might happen."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "You've misunderstood. It's not me, it's someone from our factory. I'll tell you the details after we've discussed it. Don't worry, he can speak Mongolian too, he's lived in Inner Mongolia for decades. He's Teacher Zhang from the night school, he teaches Mongolian. Hey, if you see him, please pass on a message for me and ask him to come to my house after class."
Feng Zhonglin laughed: "You're trying to poach someone from your steel mill, huh? Fine, fine, I'll go talk to him."
Wang Xiao hung up the phone and ran back upstairs. Chen Yidong and Qian Xuemei were already at the dinner table.
The couple were asking Chen Yanqiu about school selection, hoping to transfer Chen Jingjing to their school as well.
Chen Yanqiu frowned slightly and thought carefully: "It shouldn't be difficult to transfer to another school, but the high school entrance exam... I guess I'll have to go back to take it."
Chen Yidong has made up his mind: "I see that the books we use are all the same. At worst, I can continue to study in the provincial capital after I get into high school, and then go back to take the college entrance examination."
Although vocational high schools are currently more popular than high schools, he wants his daughter to go to university, so he's not interested in vocational high schools.
Wang Xiao immediately interjected, "Then you'd better hurry up and buy the house, otherwise it will be very inconvenient for Jingjing to go to school."
The couple hesitated slightly, unsure how much the tuition would be. Their priority was ensuring their child's education.
Chen Yanqiu said, "It's alright, it's alright. Principal Tong from the junior high school is very familiar with your brother-in-law. We'll go over there after dinner and ask someone for help. Old Wang, where's the ginseng?"
Speaking of which, Tang Yicheng brought this ginseng along when he went to Northeast China to transport trucks—no, to haul relief supplies.
Northeast ginseng has become very popular in the past two years, but its price is not high locally. It is now the perfect gift.
Chen Yidong and Qian Xuemei declined twice, but in the end they accepted their sister and brother-in-law's kindness.
"Let's eat, let's eat, then we'll go over."
The group of people at the table were all serving drinks, first celebrating the birthday of the person in charge.
Wang Xiao had just finished her drink; there was nothing she could do—in the eyes of adults, she was still a child; then there was another knock on the door.
She was quite surprised. Could it be that Master Zhang's class ended so quickly?
When the door opened, she was stunned: "Secretary Cao... what brings you here?"
Deputy Secretary Cao walked rather hurriedly, and when he came up the stairs, he was panting as he spoke: "Wang... Wang Xiao, are you going to Xiaozhou in Jiangbei? Are you planning to develop your career in Xiaozhou?"
"ah?"
Chen Yanqiu was initially surprised that the deputy secretary of the province would personally come to her house so late at night.
Now they are shocked: When did that brat decide to go to Xiaozhou to develop her career? How come she and her father didn't know anything about it?
Uh, Wang Xiao was also stunned.
She was planning to tell him about this when she got home today.
But wasn't it her family celebrating her birthday? And then there was Master Zhang's business to attend to, and there was so much delicious food on the table.
She, she, she... she just forgot about it.
————————
Chen Yanqiu: You brat, I don't think you're going to get any better!
Deputy Secretary Cao: That's right!
Wang Xiao: Please look at my sincere and innocent big, bright eyes.
...
In addition, the government and enterprises were often intertwined back then; the separation of government and enterprises came later.
The separation of government and enterprise is an important measure in economic system reform. It changes the situation where, under the planned economy, government agencies at all levels directly managed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) without the SOEs having autonomy in their management. Instead, government agencies primarily assume the function of macroeconomic control over the overall economy, while SOEs become independent economic entities operating autonomously and responsible for their own profits and losses. There is no longer an administrative subordination between enterprises and government agencies; each performs its own duties and assumes its own responsibilities. This is a crucial step in enhancing enterprise vitality.
The separation of government and enterprise was proposed in October 1992. In October 1992, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China established the socialist market economy system and proposed "implementing the separation of government and enterprise, and gradually expanding the autonomy of enterprises in production and operation." Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Light Industry was abolished in 1993, and the China National Light Industry Council was established.
However, as you may have seen in the news, this issue has been raised again in recent years and is an important part of the reform of state-owned enterprises.
So many of the actions taken by the government and businesses back then seem incredible to us now, but they were quite normal at the time.
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