Sail across the sea

Chapter 496 Now he's just a punching bag.
Hearing Xiao Pei talk about himself, Gao Fan laughed and said, "No, no, one of you is a foreign businessman and the other is a government official, so please don't make fun of a small private business owner like me. When I go to the Foreign Trade Bureau to do business, I have to be very careful. If Section Chief Xiao coughs, I'll tremble for a long time."

Having worked at the Foreign Trade Department for six years, Xiao Pei was no longer a low-level clerk; she was now a deputy section chief with some power. Both being graduates of the class of '86, Hu Dongming was already a division-level official in the provincial department, while Xiao Pei was still striving for a section-level position. This illustrates the disparity between Peking University and Maolin University of Finance and Economics.

However, compared to her classmates who graduated from vocational school or junior college and returned to work in the county, Xiao Pei could feel proud. In the county, some people spend twenty or thirty years to become a deputy section chief, while Xiao Pei has been a deputy section chief for two years now.

Zhang Wei's attention was naturally not on these matters. He looked at Gao Fan and said, "By the way, Gao Fan, I remember when we graduated from university, your company had already separated from the fertilizer plant. When I was in the United States, I even heard that you exported Vitamin C to the US. How about it, your annual profit is at least over 100 million now, right?"

The next question carries a hint of flattery. When inquiring about someone's achievements, always strive to ask about the highest possible accomplishments. If you suspect they've earned 10 million, be sure to ask if they've already surpassed 100 million. Never naively ask the truth.

Otherwise, if the other person actually has more than 1000 million, and you still ask them if they have 1000 million, they will feel that you are looking down on them.

For example, when we were drinking earlier, some classmates actually wanted to ask Zhang Wei if he had obtained a US green card, but when they asked, they wanted to know if he had already become a US citizen. The inequality that citizenship is greater than a green card, and a green card is greater than not having a green card, is something that nobody understands.

Of course, not having a green card is better than finishing your studies and returning to your home country, and those who finish their studies and return to their home country are naturally better off than those who have never been abroad. This is the hierarchy of contempt in this era.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhang Wei's question, Gao Fan chuckled and said, "Old Zhang, you're flattering me too much. My small business is doing very well if it can make a gross profit of 20 to 30 million a year. I borrowed money from the American Hatch Group when I built the factory, and I haven't finished paying it back yet."

Xiao Pei curled her lip and gave Xu Dan a look, meaning that Gao Fan was really good at pretending.

Others might not know, but Xiao Pei worked at the Foreign Trade Bureau, so how could she not know the details of Canghai Chemical? Last year, Canghai Chemical exported 15,000 tons of Vitamin C, directly earning $150 million.

The Foreign Trade Department isn't the tax bureau and doesn't know Canghai Chemical's cost structure, but Xiao Pei heard from the older colleagues in the department that Canghai Chemical's profit was at least one-third, or no less than 5000 million US dollars. At the current exchange rate of 1 US dollar to 5.5 RMB, that's nearly 3 million RMB.

Besides Vitamin C, Canghai Chemical also exports chemical cleaning agents and surfactants, though the amount is less than that of Vitamin C, it is still in the tens of millions of US dollars.

Another major exporter in the province is the Zeshan Rare Earth Refinery in Zeshan City, which exports 1500 tons of refined rare earth annually, generating over US$100 million in foreign exchange. Canghai Chemical owns half of the shares in Zeshan Refinery, so its profits are naturally considerable.

This was only what Xiao Pei, as a cadre of the Foreign Trade Department, knew. Canghai Chemical also had a large domestic business, the scale of which Xiao Pei did not know. However, she did know one thing: the best-selling "Camellia" brand household dishwashing liquid in Maolin's stores was a product of Canghai Chemical.

Thanks to the development of Canghai Chemical, the three counties of Cangtang, Yanxiu, and Wuyuan in Luping City have formed a chemical industry base, which is now well-known in the province. If Zhang Wei were to take a trip back to Cangtang and see the new factory area that extends from the old fertilizer plant, he would know how outrageous the tens of millions of yuan in annual profit that Gao Fan mentioned was.

Of course, Xiao Pei couldn't reveal this. It's an ancient saying that wealth shouldn't be flaunted, and Gao Fan wanted to keep a low profile, so how could Xiao Pei expose him? Right now, she was just whispering with Xu Dan, sharing secrets among female classmates.

"Profits of tens of millions, definitely more than that." Zhang Wei, being somewhat experienced, heard Gao Fan, even in his modesty, admit to profits of tens of millions, and mentally magnified the figure several times over. He said:

“Gao Fan, among our classmates, you are the one I admire the most. Your vision is far ahead of all of us. Back then, when you came back from Peking University to take over the labor service company of your factory, everyone said you were out of your mind, giving up such a bright future to come back and become a small business owner.”

"Am I just a small business owner?" Gao Fan laughed.

Zhang Wei said, "Now it seems that you are the most clear-headed, and you have seen the development trend of our country's policies. In this day and age, politics and academia are not very meaningful. Only doing business is the right path."

Mo Xiaobo, standing to the side, felt somewhat awkward. When he graduated, he used connections to get a job at a state-owned enterprise, and later managed to transfer to the Provincial Department of Finance. Now, like Xiao Pei, he is also a deputy section chief, and every time he returns to Cangtang, he receives a lot of envious and jealous comments.

But now Zhang Wei claims that there's not much point in politics, which is quite disheartening.

Zhang Wei noticed Mo Xiaobo's change in mood and quickly corrected himself: "I was talking about those who work in the county administration. People like Xiao Pei and Xiaobo who are developing in the provincial department definitely have a bright future."

Mo Xiaobo waved his hand: "Old Zhang, you're right. Actually, there's really no point in being in politics these days. The country keeps talking about streamlining administration and delegating power, and working in government agencies is getting harder and harder. Xiao Pei and her department in the Foreign Trade Bureau are doing alright, since foreign trade is a monopoly, and that won't change anytime soon. But we in the Finance Department are having a really tough time; we're just punching bags now."

"Let me give you a figure. The proportion of our country's fiscal revenue to national income was 31% in 1978, and now it's 13%, exactly reversed. You can imagine how difficult things are for us. Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. If the treasury is empty, what future can our Finance Department have?"

Mo Xiaobo's words were not untrue; within the Finance Department, people often said the same thing when they were grumbling.

In reality, everyone in this world smoothly switches between pride and complaint. Mo Xiaobo's daily life involves feeling proud of his position as a finance department cadre, yet also frustrated by the difficulties of the work there. As for which emotion to express in front of friends, that varies from time to time.

(End of this chapter)