That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1302 Who should be tricked? Who shouldn't be tricked?

In mid-September, Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang, along with several professionals from the First Branch Factory, began to investigate units that "had the intention to merge" with the First Branch Factory.

The first one was the Eighth Machinery Factory, located in the west of Beijing.

According to the information provided by the other party, the Eighth Machinery Plant has more than 1,000 employees and has provided spare parts supporting services to many manufacturing enterprises for many years, including well-known units such as Beijing Automobile and Motorcycle and Jilin Provincial Automobile Plant. Its machining capabilities are outstanding.

But how did such a capable company end up having to merge with someone else?

Don't tell me the market is bad. Just explain to me what "outstanding" means. What the hell does "outstanding" even mean?

Therefore, it is up to Li Ye and the others to investigate this intriguing inside story themselves.

Because the distance wasn't particularly far, the factory had arranged to go there at 10 a.m., but Li Ye intentionally or unintentionally arrived a little earlier, at 9:40 a.m.

However, when Li Ye and his group saw the gate of the Eighth Machinery Factory from afar, they found that a large red banner that read "Welcome to Visit" had already been hung up, and there were also people waiting to greet them at the gate.

Li Ye asked curiously, "Oh, did we leak the news?"

Lu Zhizhang shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be. They might have sent someone to stake out our factory gate, or they might have simply arrived at the gate early to greet us. I did the same thing when I was the director of the main factory."

Recalling the scenes of the light vehicle company welcoming visits from ministries on several occasions, Li Ye couldn't help but laugh and said, "They treated us like leaders! Wasn't that a bit too formal?"

Lu Zhizhang smiled and said, "Li Ye, I know you hate this kind of formalism, but it's an old tradition passed down for many years, and you can't be too harsh on them."

"No, no, really not,"

Li Ye quickly denied it, saying, "Our branch factory doesn't engage in formalism, firstly because we have the strength and confidence, and secondly because our factory is currently in a stage of focused development."

In a few more days, we'll have to really discuss this and make sure we take the reception arrangements more seriously.

Lu Zhizhang looked at Li Ye with surprise and said with a smile, "Are you telling the truth or not? I thought you didn't do those kinds of things!"

"Sigh~, it's all so confusing, how can anyone tell the difference between truth and falsehood?"

When Li Ye was a beast of burden in his previous life, he really hated all that empty talk and superficiality. But as he gradually took on a management role, his views on many things changed.

For example, the fact that the No. 1 Factory has developed to its current state is certainly due to Li Ye's "emphasis on technology" and "sufficient funds," but it is also inseparable from Lu Zhizhang's "public relations" work with all parties involved.

Whether you admit it or not, as long as you run a business on this planet, the consumption beyond production will be inevitable everywhere.

Decades later, Huawei is quite impressive, isn't it? It has both technology and scale, but its hospitality services are absolutely top-notch.

From national-level guests to ordinary business partners, everyone who visits Huawi Company will receive comfortable, pleasant, and meticulous hospitality without violating any regulations, allowing you to experience what it means to be "deserving of respect."

To put it bluntly, the expenses in this area far exceed those of any major song and dance troupe.
How much does it cost to hire a dancer? The receptionists at Huawei Hospital are all top-notch, and the guzheng player in the restaurant is on a completely different level.

Can you call them extravagant and wasteful?

However, Mr. Ren, the person in charge of the company, is known for being stingy. While others were driving Mercedes-Benz W14s, his car was a beat-up Santana.

But as the saying goes, existence is its own justification.

Since this phenomenon exists, there must be a reason for it.

The level of hospitality may seem like just eating, drinking, and socializing, but to reach the level of Huawi Company, it requires not only astonishing financial support but also strong management and organizational capabilities.

You can't play the game if you're missing any one of them.

The latter is even rarer than the former.

When Li Ye first started working, he didn't have a clear understanding of what "organizational ability" meant.

However, after years of struggling in the factory, he had experienced countless headaches and troubles. If it weren't for Lu Zhizhang, that old hand, supporting him, he would have made a fool of himself long ago.

When the first branch factory had a few hundred employees, it faced its own challenges. Just as Li Ye was beginning to manage things with ease, the factory grew to several thousand employees, bringing with it a host of new problems to solve. If he didn't handle them well, various negative consequences would arise. To put it bluntly, even an ordinary person would struggle to please everyone if they were asked to organize a team-building activity for a few dozen people.

This person wants to see the sunrise, that person is too tired from climbing mountains, this person wants to eat Western food, that person wants to eat Chinese cuisine. Everyone is making demands of you, the organizer. Who should you listen to?

Having solved the food problem, what about transportation, accommodation, and what should you do in case of emergencies?

If a simple team-building activity goes smoothly without any problems, and everyone goes out happily and comes back safely, then that can be considered as demonstrating a certain level of organizational ability.

How much more complex are the problems a company faces than team building?
. . . . . . . . . . .

"Oh dear, Director Lu, Director Li, you've arrived so early. We're not fully prepared yet, the conditions are basic, please forgive us for the inconvenience."

After Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang arrived, Director Kong of the Eighth Machinery Factory warmly shook hands with them and repeatedly apologized for the lack of preparation and the slight to their distinguished guests.

But Li Ye didn't feel "neglected" at all.

This factory director, Kong, not only organized about a hundred employees to greet them at the gate, but the employees' work clothes were also quite clean, obviously having been washed in advance, just like welcoming XXXX with great ceremony.

Director Kong even arranged for someone to clean up the area. Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang walked from the entrance to the office building and didn't see any dirt or disorder along the way. Even the windows on the office building were cleaned.

Anyone who has ever done cleaning knows that when it comes to cleaning windows, everyone is bound to be unhappy. So, this shows that Director Kong has a strong ability to organize and mobilize people within the company.

This ability to organize and mobilize is linked to many factors. If you don't pay wages for three months, do you think the workers will still listen to your commands?

So after a brief greeting with Director Kong, Li Ye and Lu Zhizhang suggested taking a "tour" of the various departments and workshops.

This implies "verifying the inside story".

Director Kong readily agreed, acting as if to say, "I have no problem with this, I'm not afraid of being investigated."

Even when everyone arrived at the finance department, Director Kong openly revealed the financial "holes" in the Eighth Machinery Factory.

"Since the system reform, we have encountered a series of difficulties. The factory is not doing well, and people blame me, Old Kong, for not being capable enough. But with more than 2,000 employees and more than 2,000 families waiting to put food on the table, I can only try to find solutions from all sides."

Li Ye pursed his lips, not knowing what to say, because Director Kong's "finding ways in all aspects" was just robbing Peter to pay Paul.

He tried every possible way to raise money to keep the factory afloat, whether it was through loans, credit, or even defaulting on payments, as long as the workers could be paid and fed.

Food will not be a problem decades later; I have never heard of anyone starving to death.

But in those days, getting food was no small matter. There was even a period when government agencies and public institutions couldn't pay salaries. Those who experienced that time all have a lot of bitter tears to shed when they talk about it.

However, because Director Kong has resorted to all sorts of unscrupulous means, the hole he has created is also quite large, and it is estimated to be even more serious than the original light vehicle company.

Before Li Ye's branch factory was established, the light vehicle company's cash flow was already on the verge of collapse. Banks were no longer willing to provide loans, and the loan interest alone was already suffocating the company.

To be honest, it was only because the number of employees at the branch factory surged from three hundred to nearly ten thousand in a short period of time, and the resulting increase in dividends to the main factory, that the light truck company was able to survive.
After Ma Zhaoxian took over, the new products of the light vehicle company were incorporated into the national sales network of the No. 1 factory, and only then did it turn a profit and begin a healthy development.

Given its current state, the Eighth Machinery Factory could not possibly establish its own "Branch Factory." They were merely trying to extend their own existence by using Li Ye's Branch Factory.

Is it worth extending their lives?

Li Ye hesitated.

This factory director Kong is clearly a daring man; he can make money, but he can also cause trouble!
However, the next moment, the other person said something that shocked Li Ye.

"However, please rest assured, both factory managers, we can be flexible during the merger by establishing a department to remain and assume part of the debt."

Wow, this guy is a master at figuring out who to scam and who not to scam.

(End of this chapter)