The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 276 Verbal Promise vs. Contract
Jiang Cheng went to several construction sites, cold storages, factories, and shopping malls and supermarkets.

Because Jiangdonglai spent its own money to build it, it was much faster than other factories. And the quality was also different. Many other factories were built with single-story red brick buildings in order to be put into use as soon as possible.

Jiang Cheng wanted to tell her about these things when he returned to the hotel, but she went out for a walk. In Shenzhen, there is no signal receiving station for pagers, so even if you have a pager, you can't use it.

Fortunately, Shen Li came back after waiting for half an hour. She went to take pictures again. I don’t know where she bought a set of shabby clothes, and she was pretending to be a country girl in the photos.

"Yours, Miss Hua's." Jiang Cheng said with a smile when he saw the clothes Shen Li was wearing. If the Japanese entered the village and saw such a beautiful girl, they would not let her go.

"Madam Jiang, please let me go." Shen Li also cooperated in the acting.

"You can't do that. You've lost the dignity of our people. How can you beg for mercy from the Japanese?" Jiang Cheng said unhappily.

"You damn devil, I will never let you succeed even if I die." Shen Li immediately said angrily.

"If you want to die, it's not that easy." Jiang Cheng said while hugging Shen Li.

"Brother Cheng, you are crazy. You are really pulling down your pants in broad daylight."

Shen Li thought Jiang Cheng was just in a whim, seeing her wearing peasant clothes, and wanted to stage a Japanese invasion or something. But what the hell~~.

Fortunately, in the end they only made out for a while. Although it was a bit too sensitive, at least they didn't seek excitement during the day.

"We'll go to the guesthouse to see Director Hou later. Director Hou has taken a lot of care of me over the years. Don't mess up your performance when we go to dinner later. You're the chairman's wife, so just act as yourself. But I'm just your driver." Jiang Cheng said while lying on the bed hugging Shen Li.

"This is how you, a driver, hug the chairman's wife." Shen Li said with a smile.

After hearing this, Jiang Cheng looked at Shen Li. The private driver he hired in Hong Kong was a man in his forties who actually looked quite manly.

"When you go back, let Lao Chen report to the company. Then hire a new driver, a female driver." Jiang Cheng said.

"Brother Cheng, you are so funny." Shen Li couldn't help laughing, thinking Jiang Cheng was joking.

"I'm serious, you must remember this." Jiang Cheng said in a serious tone.

Shen Li didn't expect that her family's driver would be replaced just because of a joke. But this also shows that Jiang Cheng has a strong possessiveness, and only women who are valued will have such possessiveness.

Shen Li nodded and said she understood. Although the driver Lao Chen from Xiangjiang had met with misfortune, Shen Li was actually quite happy.

In the room, Jiang Cheng not only talked about Director Hou's situation, but also talked about the situation at the construction site.

Jiang Cheng wanted to give extra meals to the workers who helped them build factories and supermarkets, but the one-hour overtime was just a capitalist's excuse. If they were given extra meals for no reason, they would be uncomfortable.

However, there is a standard for this extra meal. The staple food is steamed buns and rice, which should be one pound at a price of two cents. As for vegetables, the construction site arranges people to cook a big pot of vegetables, and you can eat two vegetarian dishes for five cents, which is still a lot.

If you add another dime, you can get a meat dish.

That is to say, with both meat and vegetables, a worker can eat very well with a food standard of 35 cents. Only one lunch is subsidized, which is about 30 meals a month. In total, each worker is subsidized 10 yuan. During the peak period of a construction site, there are only a few hundred or a thousand people. When there are fewer people at the end of the construction, there are sometimes dozens of people.

All in all, the subsidies for thousands of workers at several construction sites only amounted to 10,000 or 20,000 yuan, which was not enough to cover the management fees he paid to the real estate agency in Hong Kong to help rent out the houses.

The only problem is that money is nothing to Jiang Cheng, but rice, flour and ingredients cannot be purchased in China without coupons. The construction party has to take the lead, and they only pay the money, and they buy ingredients according to the requirements to provide extra meals for the workers.

"Go change your clothes. It's almost time. Arrange for someone to go to the guesthouse together. You just need to pretend to be there at night." Jiang Cheng said, stretching his hand out from inside Shen Li's clothes.

"Do you want to wear this dress when you come back tonight?" Shen Li said to Jiang Cheng with a teasing look.

"Let's talk about it tonight."

Jiang Cheng didn't know what his mentality was. If a rural woman really came in front of him, he would not be interested. But when Shen Li was dressed like a country girl, he really couldn't control himself.

The clothes were changed quickly, and Jiang Cheng also notified the people who came with him. Jiangdonglai also has a legal department. After all, as a well-known company in Hong Kong, personnel issues and some contract issues require professional legal personnel.

But the legal department of a company does not need to be highly skilled, as long as they are responsible for some contracts. For lawsuits, that is the lawyer team. Only some large companies that are often involved in disputes and lawsuits will form their own lawyer team.

The group quickly arrived at the guesthouse. The director at the guesthouse had no idea that the "leader" who was going to discuss cooperation with them was a woman, a very beautiful woman in her early twenties.

Director Hou originally wanted to sit in the guesthouse for a while and talk with the leaders of the company in Hong Kong, but he felt very embarrassed facing a woman like Shen Li.

We just introduced each other and arranged to go to a restaurant for dinner.

This time, in order to entertain the leaders from Hong Kong, Director Hou specifically inquired about the famous restaurants here and chose Xin'an Restaurant.

There were several big dishes arranged there, including dishes made with ingredients like bee pupae, and some of them were protected animals in later generations, all for the purpose of giving people from Hong Kong something new to eat.

When we arrived at the hotel, before the meal started, the legal department of Jiangdonglai took the letter of intent and explained the cooperation projects to Director Hou and his team. One was a fixed project, which was a stable product project that Director Hou could provide after arranging personnel to visit Hong Kong.

The other is the designated supporting project, which is also the real focus. How much land must be provided to plant what Jiangdonglai needs.

If Jiang Cheng wants to produce something himself in the future, he can just ask for it directly.

"Jiang Cheng, are you driving for that woman? Why didn't you tell me before?" Before all the dishes were served, Director Hou pulled Jiang Cheng aside and asked.

"What's wrong with women? In Hong Kong, women are the same as men. There are even women who drive." Jiang Cheng responded.

"I don't mean to look down on you. I'm just not used to discussing cooperation with a woman." Director Hou said with an embarrassed expression.

When discussing cooperation with women at the dinner table, Director Hou felt it was difficult to pass out cigarettes or toast them, as it was difficult to create an atmosphere at the dinner table.

"I am the one who is in charge of this contract matter, so you don't have to worry about so many things. The contract is already prepared. After dinner, if you don't think the contract makes sense to you, just sign it. After signing the contract, they will also give you an inspection invitation. When the time comes, take the invitation letter and apply to go to Hong Kong for inspection immediately." Jiang Cheng said.

The invitation from Jiangdonglai in Hong Kong is just a reasonable reason for going abroad to Hong Kong. China is worried that companies in Hong Kong will have a bad impression of China, considering the relationship between the two places and diplomatic issues. Generally, those who are invited from overseas will attach great importance to it.

Hearing Jiang Cheng say this, Director Hou felt that this was the only way to go. This was the first time he had entertained a female "leader". And she was such a pretty girl.

Because Shen Li was pretty and fair, Director Hou felt that she looked less than 20 years old. To put it more bluntly, some rural girls aged 16 or 17 would look older than Shen Li.

Now not only Director Hou was embarrassed, but also the people who came with him were a little embarrassed. When Director Hou ordered the banquet here this afternoon, the people around him said that they would definitely drink with the leader at dinner.

When Shen Li appeared, these men were too embarrassed to even look at her, she was too pretty. I have never seen such a beautiful girl in China, she was like a woman who walked out of a painting.

Director Hou didn't have much time to chat with Jiang Cheng, because the dishes were about to be served and he had to accompany them. When the dishes were served, Director Hou even asked the hotel staff to explain the dishes. Some dishes are so good that you don't know what they are without explanation.

For example, bee pupae. It is not easy to make a dish of this thing, and some of them have thorns and armor.

Shen Li also had the courage to eat it, after all, she was not from a pampered family.

There was no need for polite conversation at the table, and everyone just enjoyed the food. Shen Li didn't drink, so no one else did either.

However, in the second half of the banquet, Director Hou's eyelids started twitching wildly because he saw something he shouldn't have seen.

It's okay for the driver to pick up food for the leader, but Jiang Cheng's leader is a woman. Although it was just a polite act of picking up food for his leader to taste, this behavior seemed a bit excessive to outsiders.

Jiang Cheng is a married man. He once brought Zhou Lingying to the reclamation farm. Director Hou had also seen her. She was also a very pretty girl. Director Hou also knew that Jiang Cheng had several daughters. He hoped that Jiang Cheng would not make a mistake. It was not wrong to flatter the leader, but the leader was a young woman.

After dinner, we will start to sign the letter of intent, which is just a letter of intent. Similar to a credit guarantee, although there is no responsibility for breach of contract, it will give people a feeling of going back on their word.

Therefore, even if it is a letter of intent, once it is signed, it will generally be fulfilled due to impact considerations.

Although Jiangdonglai's intention contract has many clauses, they are all fair and just to both parties. Most of them are about quality and quality assurance. The purchase price follows the domestic market price, and neither party has a price gouging situation.

Director Hou discussed with the people who came with him for a while and felt that there was really no problem. In addition, Jiang Cheng was the leader, so he signed his name and stamped the official seal he brought with him.

As soon as the contract was signed, the accompanying personnel of Jiangdonglai also sent an invitation letter for the project inspection. It stated that Jiangdonglai would be responsible for receiving the inspection personnel, and the number of people was set at 6 to 8.

As for the reception fee, it was set according to the economic level of Hong Kong. The reception fee was 200 Hong Kong dollars per person per day, and the inspection period was five days. That is, 1,000 Hong Kong dollars per person, which is less than 150 US dollars when converted into US dollars.

But for people in China, it is several months' salary for an ordinary worker.

Finally, I gave Director Hou eight shopping coupons worth 1,000 yuan and briefly told him how to use them. As for accommodation, I may not be able to arrange a hotel for the time being, but I will temporarily arrange a house for the personnel who come to inspect. For consumption and meals, "Jiangdonglai" supermarket has everything.

If you want to spend money somewhere other than Jiangdonglai, Jiangdonglai will not provide additional hospitality funds. Anyway, these 8,000 yuan shopping coupons are given for free, so you can go to Hong Kong to play. In fact, there is no need to inspect for five days.

Director Hou was also very happy when he first received the invitation letter for the inspection, but he was really confused when he received eight shopping coupons worth one thousand yuan.

I was a little skeptical whether this thing could be used as money, but Jiang Cheng said that this roll is very useful and can be used to buy TVs, refrigerators, electric fans, etc. at the mall. Milk powder, candy, and cakes can all be used as money, but the consumption places are restricted.

This is just like buying rationed food in China, which also requires going to designated places to buy. Except that you can’t go shopping everywhere, Jiang Cheng said that shopping in shopping malls and supermarkets is no different from using Hong Kong dollars.

Moreover, when we get to Hong Kong, the 1,000-yuan note can be exchanged for smaller notes. That’s why Director Hou put it in his briefcase very carefully.

After Director Hou had taken care of the situation, Jiang Cheng drove Shen Li back to the hotel. When Jiang Cheng was leaving, Director Hou wanted to give him some advice, telling him to be careful about his gender when facing a female leader.

But thinking about the years I've spent with Jiang Cheng, I know that he is a steady person and he won't make any mistakes.

In the hotel, after Jiang Cheng sent Shen Li back, the two of them rested for a while and then took a shower.

After taking a shower, Shen Li returned to the room first, without wearing any underwear, and put on rural women's clothes.

This is humiliating rural girls. Which rural girl doesn't wear a breast wrap?

Jiang Cheng must educate Shen Li, who has damaged the image of rural girls. If all people are like her, the crime rate among rural bachelors will be very high.

The next morning, the village girl outfit Shen Li bought for the photo shoot was no longer wearable. It was made of cotton and was not solid. Jiang Cheng tore off the buttons of her top, and her pants became crotchless.

Shen Li had never seen such a violent side of Jiang Cheng. It was too cruel and violent.

~~
The weather in Shenzhen is hot, and many construction sites have started work.

Yesterday, several construction site managers at Jiangdonglai received notices asking them to extend their working hours and add extra meals at noon.

This is a good thing for the workers and the construction company. After all, the construction workers are all employees of the company, and the construction company is happy to see that they can have a meal at noon.

But on the first day of implementation, there was no standard. If we didn’t do it, we were afraid that the driver of the foreign investor would come to inspect yesterday. So today the construction party made a simple arrangement, everyone received five steamed buns at noon, and the extension of working hours was also announced.

That morning, several workers from Jiangdonglai learned that if they worked an extra half hour in the morning and afternoon, they could have a meal on the construction site. Each person had five steamed buns at noon today, and everyone felt more energetic to work.

At the hotel, a leader from the construction site also came over. Naturally, he also met Shen Li and others, and assured them that there would be no problem with extending the working hours and giving the workers extra meals.

It might be troublesome for Shen Li and her team to come from Hong Kong to purchase ingredients. But the construction company will come forward and ensure that they can arrange it immediately as long as the money is in place.

When Shen Li proposed the food standard for lunch at 35 cents per meal, it shocked the leaders of the construction party.

A meal costs 35 cents, which is 10 yuan a month. In some families, 10 yuan can feed the whole family for a month.

Now, even if you eat three meals a day for 35 cents, it is considered good in this era. How many people are willing to spend 10 yuan on food in a month?

But after seeing the standards proposed by Shen Li, the staple food is directly fine grain rice or white flour buns. The dishes must also include meat and vegetables. Seeing this, the leaders of the construction party want to go to the construction site every day for lunch.

After Jiang Cheng paid 10,000 yuan in foreign exchange coupons for food expenses, the construction company promised on the spot that every penny would be used for food for the workers on the construction site. Then he took the money and went back to the company immediately.

This foreign exchange coupon means that it is obtained by exchanging foreign exchange, which is equivalent to generating foreign exchange income. The people above are eager for those who have exchanged foreign exchange coupons to use up all the foreign exchange coupons, because only when they have used up all the foreign exchange coupons will they continue to exchange them.

This is also the reason why you can buy a lot of good things in some Overseas Chinese Stores and Friendship Stores. Canned food, milk powder, watches, bicycles, etc. can all be purchased directly with foreign exchange coupons. Isn't it just hoping that those who have foreign exchange coupons will spend them?

The leaders of the construction party had to report back to the unit and report to the higher-level leaders. They had to immediately organize a group of people to cook for the big pot and go to the construction site. Then they had to ask other units to cooperate first. The grain station had to directly get grain, and the meat processing plant had to supply pork. They gave grain and meat first, and then reviewed the procedures.

"Jiang Cheng, that person took the money without signing a contract or writing a note. Is that okay?" Shen Li asked.

"There shouldn't be any problem. In China now, verbal promises are actually more effective than contracts." Jiang Cheng responded with a smile.

Jiang Cheng was not joking. Nowadays, many people still value their promises. Especially in towns and villages, some town cadres will do what they promised. In rural areas, farmers can directly criticize what some cadres said.

Many cadres will not pretend that they did not say something, as the consequences of doing so will be serious.

Therefore, in this era, many leading cadres generally do not promise anything easily, but once they say something, they will basically do it.

(End of this chapter)