Restarting life by going to the countryside to support medical work

Chapter 674 Asking for help
Li Yancheng and that Deputy Leader Yang didn't care about their concerns.

In their view, these incompetent people should step down and let capable people take their place.

"Director Li, what are your thoughts on this case?"

After walking a few steps in silence, Deputy Leader Yang from the municipal government spoke up and asked.

Despite being seventeen years older than Li Yancheng, almost a generation apart, this deputy leader never treated our Director Li as a junior and showed no intention of taking advantage of his seniority.

"I know what you want to hear, Leader Yang, but I really can't draw any conclusions right now. Judging from the current situation, the person who stole the gun is very likely after the 'small caliber' weapon."

But what is his purpose in wanting a 'small caliber'? I dare not say anything more than that he must be planning something bad.

Regardless of his intentions, our Public Security Bureau will solve this case as soon as possible and bring him to justice.

"Director Duan said that with Director Li overseeing things at our municipal bureau, we can rest assured."

"Thank you for the compliment, Director Duan."

"This is not a compliment. Director Duan is stating the facts. Director Li, your achievements as the Executive Deputy Director of the Municipal Bureau and the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department are evident to all. Although there are no specific figures, everyone can feel that since you were transferred to the Public Security Bureau in 1980, the social security environment in Beijing has indeed been continuously improving."

In particular, the joint operation you presided over at the beginning of 1981 deterred many criminals and effectively reversed the somewhat chaotic social situation at the time, which was caused by a large number of educated youth returning to the city and the government not making preparations for receiving them in advance. As a result, those people had no jobs after returning and wandered around the streets all day, which led to the situation.

Other provinces and cities followed suit and received very positive feedback as well. You really brought honor to Beijing that time.

What Deputy Leader Yang said is indeed true. The joint operation that year achieved good results, not only improving the social security environment but also rooting out many "parasites".

In response, the newspaper published a special editorial that focused entirely on the positive aspects of this joint action.

However, the editorial concluded by saying that such actions should not be occasional but rather become the norm.

Although the editorial did not specify who the overall commander of the operation was, nor who proposed it, those who needed to know knew that the success of this joint operation had earned Li Yancheng another very positive reputation in the eyes of his superiors.

This year, at the age of 42, he was able to smoothly take over such an important position as the director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the success of that joint operation was very important.

Faced with the praise from Deputy Leader Yang of the Municipal Government, Li Yancheng simply smiled faintly and did not respond. Sometimes there is no need to be too modest. In addition, he was also wondering what this person wanted to talk to him about.

As the deputy leader of the Beijing Municipal Government, this person's work is extremely busy. He is responsible for more than just liaising with the Municipal Public Security Bureau; he also has a whole host of other responsibilities. If he wanted, he could work around the clock.

Therefore, he did not believe that this person had contacted him just to chat and to praise him in person.

He had known Deputy Leader Yang for quite some time. Before taking up the post, Yang had been working in the Chengdong District, and his family lived within Yang's jurisdiction. They had dealt with each other many years ago.

Based on this long-standing relationship, Li Yancheng hesitated for a moment before asking directly, "Leader Yang..."

He had barely opened his mouth when Deputy Leader Yang waved his hand, interrupting him.

"Director Li, today is just the two of us having a private chat. You can call me by my name or just call me Lao Yang, it doesn't have to be so formal."

"I noticed that you kept calling me Director Li, so I didn't dare to be too casual."

"Haha, okay, Yancheng, we're both busy with work, so I won't beat around the bush. I mainly wanted to talk to you about the Cheng family today."

That's it!

Li Yancheng suddenly realized that he had forgotten that after the meeting in March this year, the responsibilities of this Deputy Leader Yang had been adjusted, one of which was to be in charge of investment promotion.

Speaking of attracting investment, we must mention the landmark event that is about to take place. After six years of meticulous negotiations, Shanghai will establish a joint venture automobile manufacturing company. The signing ceremony will be held in October in the famous Great Hall of Beijing. It is Shanghai's gift to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Actually, this joint venture car company is not the first in China. As early as last year, Beijing Automobile Manufacturing Plant and Chrysler of the United States established my country's first joint venture car company, Beijing Jeep.

However, perhaps because the joint venture car company in Shanghai was personally approved by that person seven or eight years ago, even though Jeep in Beijing was the first joint venture car company to successfully sign a contract, it received much less attention than the one in Shanghai.

As the political and cultural center of China, Beijing is naturally unwilling to lag behind and wants to make some big moves in attracting investment as a gift to the Republic.

But it's already May, less than five months until National Day. It's impossible to make a big splash and find a large foreign company to cooperate with. This kind of investment negotiation can't be completed in a day or two.

Therefore, their attention fell on the Cheng Group, which had already purchased land and was preparing to build its headquarters in Beijing.

In their view, only the Cheng family could secure such a high-quality investment in such a short time, given that the eldest son of the current head of the Cheng family held a high-ranking position in Beijing.

The relationship between Li Yancheng and the Cheng family is no secret among the higher-ups.

Because of this relationship, the Cheng family has avoided investing in and building factories in Beijing in recent years, for fear that someone might use this relationship to make a fuss and say that there was some kind of transfer of benefits involved.

Ultimately, the decision to establish the Huaxia headquarters in Beijing was made by higher authorities.

But for Beijing, they want the headquarters, but they want the factory even more.

But this time Li Yancheng was wrong. The deputy leader Yang was not talking to him about just wanting the Cheng family to invest in building a factory in Beijing, but about something else entirely.

"Yan Cheng, the Cheng family owns a steel company, I think it's a listed company. I don't know much about it, but that's not the key point. The key point is that this steel company under the Cheng family can produce steel used in the manufacture of automobiles, ships, and airplanes, and it's also a major supplier to many large companies..."

Li Yancheng understood now: they wanted technology and production lines.

At the same time, he was also a little confused. This should be the work of Jinggang, or rather, the metallurgical industry department above Jinggang. Why did this person come to talk to him?

Perhaps noticing the doubt in Li Yancheng's eyes, Deputy Leader Yang took the initiative to explain: "To be honest, Yancheng, I'm here today on someone's behalf to talk to you first. The person from the metallurgical industry department was just transferred from the Northeast Steel Plant. He's not familiar with you, so he asked me to introduce you. He'll explain to you what to discuss, how to discuss it, and what conditions we can offer."

That's it!
Li Yancheng nodded. "I knew it. This Deputy Leader Yang's responsibilities do not include industry. Moreover, before the restructuring, Jinggang was directly managed by the metallurgical department. Why would the Beijing Municipal Government interfere?"

Not to mention that even if they wanted to get involved, the Beijing Iron and Steel Group and the metallurgical sector might not agree.

If it turns out he was just acting as a go-between, then that makes sense.

"Talking is no problem, but I would also appreciate it if you could pass on a message to Leader Dong first, Lao Yang. I know he wants to introduce advanced manufacturing technology and production lines, but whether it can be successful is not something that the Cheng family can decide with a nod. I believe Leader Dong is very clear about the reasons behind this."

Old Yang also understands why it's not something that can be decided simply by the Cheng family's approval.

Although relations between China and the United States were good during this period, not all technologies could be transferred, especially those that were related to national defense.

"I understand." Deputy Leader Yang nodded, then stopped and took out a cigarette from his pocket to offer one to Li Yancheng.

"Old Dong understands this, so he's eyeing the technology and production line for producing steel for automobiles. Of course, the specifics still need to be discussed with the Cheng family. He hopes you can help him in the future."

"That's easy. If I can help, I definitely will."

If he can help in this regard, Li Yancheng will definitely do his best.

"Alright, now that we've finished discussing this matter, let's talk about whether the Cheng family can invest in and build a factory in Beijing."

"Haha, I knew you were going to bring this up." Li Yancheng laughed and pointed at Comrade Lao Yang, who was smiling.

"There's nothing I can do!" Old Yang said with a helpless expression, spreading his hands. "As you know, one of my responsibilities now is attracting investment. Given your relationship with the Cheng family, I'm bound to try and take advantage of you."

Yan Cheng, on the other hand, I know your concerns, but the ancients said that when recommending someone, one should not avoid relatives. Just because you work here, we can't stop the Cheng family from investing here, can we?
The higher-ups have already approved their headquarters construction here, which means the Cheng family has already invested in Beijing. I heard their planned headquarters building is a skyscraper, this…”

"Alright, alright," Li Yancheng interrupted Lao Yang with a smile.

“I understand what you mean. There’s no need to beat around the bush. They chose to build their factories in the south because of the geographical location. It has to be admitted that the special economic zone does have advantages over us in terms of geographical location and various policies.”

"You're right." Old Yang nodded with a serious expression.

"Therefore, it is easier for them to attract investment than we are, and foreign investors are willing to invest and build factories there."

Seeing that Lao Yang's expression was getting more and more serious, Li Yancheng stopped teasing him and decided to stop.

"Alright, I'm not kidding anymore. Go talk to Cheng Jianwen, the person in charge of Cheng's in China."

???

Li Yancheng's sudden change of direction left the deputy leader, Yang, somewhat bewildered, and it took him a while to realize what he meant.

His expression instantly changed from serious to beaming with joy, a speed comparable to the face-changing act in Sichuan opera.

However, Li Yancheng had no interest in seeing an old man's smiling face and quickly poured cold water on it.

"Old Yang, don't be too happy yet. The Cheng family is planning to invest in building another factory, but their preferred location is still in the south. Whether you can bring them here depends on your abilities. I can't help with the rest of the work."

The Cheng family operates on a business-oriented basis, and the Cheng Corporation isn't solely determined by them. Investment decisions definitely require board approval, uh…

Li Yancheng noticed a hint of confusion in Lao Yang's eyes when he mentioned the board meeting, and realized that Lao Yang didn't know what was going on, so he explained.

"You can think of it as our city wanting to launch a big project that requires a lot of money. This project is definitely not something that one person can decide on their own. It needs to be voted on at a meeting of the leadership team. If the majority of people disagree at the meeting, then the project cannot be launched."

In reality, the situation he described is unlikely to exist; it's just an analogy.

His analogy immediately made Old Yang understand. He exclaimed "Oh!" in realization, and then gave Li Yancheng a deep look. Clearly, he also knew that if there were really too much disagreement on a certain matter, it would never be possible to reach the meeting, and it would be shelved at the "small meeting".

"Now that you put it that way, I understand. Yan Cheng, you mean that although the Cheng Group is under the name of the Cheng family, the stakeholders within it are actually quite different."

If the Cheng family wants to push forward a large project, such as investing in and building a factory in Beijing, then they need the consent of other senior executives in their company, or at least the consent of a majority.

“That’s right, that’s exactly what I mean.” Li Yancheng nodded: “The factories that Cheng’s family built in the south have started to make money, and it is very convenient to go to Hong Kong Island, Southeast Asia, and other countries by sea through there. The support from various policies is also very strong.”

So, if we were to build another factory there, continuing in that location would obviously be a much better option. Now, suddenly having to move to a different place, especially inland, would mean facing different policies, transportation issues, and problems with upstream and downstream supporting industries. The opposition would definitely be much stronger.

So… Old Yang, don’t be too happy yet. Keeping Cheng’s next investment in Beijing is a long and arduous task.”

"call……"

After hearing Li Yancheng's words, the joy on Old Yang's face completely disappeared, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Yan Cheng..."

"Hey, stop! Don't you dare say that." Before Lao Yang could finish speaking, Li Yancheng immediately interrupted him.

"Whether it's the Cheng family or the Cheng Corporation, I won't get involved in their affairs. Where they want to build the factory is their own business, and I will resolutely not interfere or offer any advice."

(End of this chapter)