Rebirth in 1960, My Industrial Age

Chapter 395 Discussing Retaliation Strategies
"Dad, over here."

At the Beijing Railway Station, Zhou Xianyang saw his father and immediately waved and called out to him.

His actions were very conspicuous at the train station, and coupled with his loud voice, Zhou Fengnian quickly walked towards him.

After his father approached, Zhou Xianyang asked with a smile, "Dad, how long will you be able to rest this time? And next time, it would be better if you took a plane, wouldn't it be faster to come back that way?"

"I'm back to work, not resting. It's just that things over there have entered the next phase, and I don't need to keep a close eye on the team for the time being."

Zhou Fengnian corrected him, saying that he came back not to rest, but because the project there had come to a temporary end and things here needed to get busy.

"There are too few flights, and the flight to Beijing takes a while. I'll wait until there are more flights later."

There are very few flights from Shanghai to Beijing now, and the seats are not comfortable. It's much more convenient to sleep in a soft sleeper.

After returning to Beijing, Zhou Fengnian felt inexplicably relieved. Even if he was busy, he could still go home, which was much better than in Shanghai.

The project over there is progressing very quickly, and Zhou Fengnian knows that the optimized chemical structure of the drug is the final result, and there will definitely be no problem with clinical trials. So he asked them to split into a group to develop new pharmaceutical projects.

The research and development team over there has more than 20 full-time researchers, plus 53 doctoral and graduate students who assist them.

Clinical practice doesn't require that many people, so Zhou Fengnian arranged for them to start a new project; this is a long-term project team, and it's impossible for them to disband after completing one project.

At this stage, there's not much need for Zhou Fengnian to be real, so he took a long leave and came back.

In Shanghai, he was really busy; in addition to the project team's own work, Zhou Fengnian often traveled to various places, and sometimes even went to Shandong to check on the construction progress of the nuclear power plant.

However, he suddenly returned this time. Zhou Weitian and Zhou Jia'an were still there, and knowing that Zhou Fengnian had returned to Beijing, they even returned the car belonging to the Shanghai Municipal Government.

They know better than most people when to advance and when to retreat. If their third brother is here, they can use him without any problem; but if their third brother leaves, it's better to be cautious.

Besides, it wasn't that they couldn't afford a car; they bought one that very day. Zhou Weitian planned to bring his wife over to open a branch of Yushantang and acquire property in Shanghai.

At that time, his son can temporarily oversee the Imperial Kitchen in Beijing, managing the procurement and daily finances.

It's not like they have no one to take care of them in Shanghai. Zhou Fengnian's former secretary, Wang Mingjie, who is now the head of East China Communications Business, lives in Shanghai. He has been based in Shanghai for almost a year and has some connections.

The communications business will become increasingly important in the future, especially since Wang Mingjie is not only responsible for the East China region, but also for Xiao Rizi's communications business.

When Zhou Fenglai came to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Wang Mingjie knew about it and made several special trips to visit him.

However, Zhou Fengnian was busy at that time, and after having a meal with Wang Mingjie, he went back.

After leaving the train station, Zhou Fengnian and his group got into a car and prepared to go back.

However, Zhou Xianyang didn't take his own car. He hitched a ride back with Zhou Fengnian, squeezing out Qian Zhi's seat. But he had his driver take Qian Zhi home.

"Qian Zhi, go home for today. You'll officially start work tomorrow."

Qian Zhi initially hesitated to agree, but after hearing Zhou Fengnian's words, he thanked Zhou Xianyang and got into his car to go home.

"dad"

After getting into the car, Zhou Xianyang was about to say something when he heard Zhou Fengnian's cell phone ring in his briefcase.

After Zhou Fengnian took out his phone and answered the call, he quickly heard Bai Kang's voice on the other end: "Fengnian? I heard you're back. When would you like to come over for a visit? I bet you're busy. Do you have time tonight? I'd like to go see my cousin's grand-nephew."

"Okay, come tonight, bring Sister Bai along, and I'll have Chef Yang make a couple more dishes."

Zhou Fengnian immediately agreed, "I heard Yuhao became a father. I'll have to prepare a nice gift for him when the baby is born..."

[Hehe, then thank you in advance. By the way, the Xianyang matter is settled. Old Li from the propaganda department didn't know what the newspapers below were doing. Now, they've repeatedly emphasized that there won't be so many reports praising Xianyang anymore.]

"Okay, thank you, Brother Bai. I'll have Xianyang toast you tonight."

Since they could meet that evening, Zhou Fengnian didn't say much on the phone, just chatted for a few minutes before hanging up.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Zhou Xianyang couldn't help but ask, "Dad, was it about that news report last time?"

"Yes, you should thank Uncle Bai properly tonight. If Yuhao needs any help in the future, you should lend a hand."

Zhou Fengnian nodded and said that Zhou Xianyang could not help Bai Kang anymore, so the burden could only be passed on to the next generation.

"Of course I'll lend a hand. Even if this hadn't happened, if Brother Yuhao came to me, how could I not help?"

Zhou Xianyang scratched his head and said, "I just wanted to handle it myself; I'd already found the right people."

"Stop talking nonsense. The people you found are good at handling small matters, but you can't rely on such deep connections for this. Go have a drink with the people you found."

Zhou Fengnian chuckled and said, "You're not qualified yet. Earning over 100 million a year seems impressive, but it's already good enough to get the deputy director of the Industry Bureau to come forward. Only if you can earn over 1 billion a year within three years will you be able to face me face-to-face."

In the 1980s, an annual income of over a billion yuan was enough to get provincial leaders to intervene. It was roughly one-thousandth of the national GDP, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it reached the highest levels of government. After all, there are hardly any large enterprises like that nowadays.

The whole country is now calling for economic development, which has elevated the status of entrepreneurs to an unprecedented level. With annual incomes of over a billion, the total assets of their factories must be at least tens of billions.

The last time we had a small investment, we made over a billion yuan in the first year. At that time, we even sent a deputy governor of Jiang Province to Beijing to pull strings.

Zhou Xianyang's businesses in Beijing, even if combined, are worth at most a billion or so. That would be considered quite good at the city level, and the mayor would have to treat him with a smile, but it's still a bit lacking at the provincial level.

"Making over a billion yuan in three years? That's too difficult, how is it possible?"

After a pause, Zhou Xianyang added, "Unless Feiyang Electric Factory undergoes a shareholding reform, I will take more than half of the shares."

He now only takes a little over a third of the net profit, using the rest to invest in research and development and improve worker welfare.

However, he didn't need that much for research and development, and he also greatly improved the workers' welfare; in just a few years, the workers' welfare at Feiyang Electric Factory was almost catching up with that of Shenzhou Computer Factory.

Because they earned so much, three more welfare buildings were added to the already planned housing, and their salaries were also raised by two levels.

In a few years, it's uncertain which factory will have better worker benefits; after all, the Shenzhou Computer Factory has too many people, so any change in one would have far-reaching consequences.

There weren't many people at Feiyang Electric Factory, so Zhou Fengnian, the deputy factory director, had all the power, and the distribution of welfare was a contractual obligation.

"Forget about it. Who would let you take the gold nugget? You'd be lucky to get 40%. This is only because you're good at business and we're afraid you'll just leave."

Zhou Fengnian shook his head and said, "The better Feiyang Electric Factory develops, the more the Industrial Bureau will want to take the lion's share when the contract expires and the shareholding reform is implemented. It's already quite generous of the individual business owners to have taken the lion's share for so many years; if they want to take the lion's share, the Industrial Bureau will not agree to it."

Zhou Fengnian said, "You can leave your department store to professionals. One is service, and the other is product quality. If you control these two things well, you can't go wrong."

"Focus more on the electronics factory from now on. Consumer electronics will definitely be the mainstay in the future, and your factory only produces two products."

Zhou Xianyang immediately retorted, "Who said that? We're already developing a new one. It's just that video playback is a bit difficult, but there's definitely potential."

------

Once home, Zhou Fengnian relaxed, and soon after, his parents came over with their grandchildren.

However, as soon as they entered, they scolded Zhou Fengnian, saying that he had been away for so long and had been busy even after returning to Beijing. They hadn't seen him for more than half a year.

Zhou Fengnian chuckled but didn't retort. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but there was no need to argue with the seventy-year-old man. Let him talk.

Since he was back home, Zhou Fengnian decided to cook for himself, so he asked the nanny to buy more groceries.

In November, China officially joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Prior to that, the country had already abolished the ration coupon system. Now, you don't need coupons to buy anything; you can just pay with money.

It was several years earlier than Zhou Fengnian remembered; he thought grain coupons were abolished in the 1990s.

It is also related to development. The economy has developed too fast in recent years, and the fertilizer industry has increased significantly, which has also boosted grain production.

At least there won't be a food shortage.

If China hadn't developed in all aspects, and developed exceptionally well, it wouldn't have been targeted so closely by the US, even to the point of being prioritized over Russia.

After the nanny brought back the groceries, Zhou Fengnian got to work. However, he didn't want to do everything himself; he just wanted to make a few of the final dishes, leaving the rest to Chef Yang.

While cooking, Zhou Fengnian asked Chef Yang if he had ever thought about venturing out into the world, noting that many skilled chefs had been hired away.

Food is the most important thing for people. In the past, people's meals were restricted by food coupons and meat coupons, and few people could afford to eat out. But now, as long as you spend some money, you can eat out, and it can't stop the rich from doing so.

A master chef with such good skills as Master Yang would definitely be popular in restaurants. Zhou Weitian had invited Master Yang three years ago, but he refused at the time.

Master Yang still doesn't have that idea. His son is also a chef and has about 80% of his skills. They already have enough to eat and even have some savings, so he doesn't have that idea.

After a while, as darkness fell, Zhou Fengnian, who was cooking in the kitchen, suddenly heard Bai Kang's voice: "Uncle Zhou, you're taking my cousin out for a stroll again? You're getting younger and younger since you retired, you even look better than my uncle."

Besides Bai Kang's voice, Bai Yujie also came.

Zhou Fengnian's dishes were almost finished, so the rest was handed over to Chef Yang.

"Brother Bai, Sister Bai, you've come at just the right time. I've just finished cooking, and we can eat right away."

Upon hearing this, Bai Kang immediately laughed and said, "We're in for a treat today. Feng Nian, your cooking skills are truly something we rarely get to taste."

"Then you can eat as much as you want today, I made all the main dishes."

Zhou Fengnian said with a smile, and then invited everyone to sit down at the table to prepare for the meal.

Everyone was all smiles during the meal. Eighth-level cooking skills are already considered top-notch human skills. There may be chefs with similar skills to Zhou Fengnian, but there is absolutely no one who is better than him.

After dinner, the nanny, Zhou Yan, and Bai Yujie helped clear the table. After resting for a while, Bai Kang said to Zhou Fengnian, "Fengnian, why don't you sit in your study?"

"Alright, let me show you some of my treasured tea."

Zhou Fengnian stood up and said, but before he left the room, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Zhou Xianyang and said, "Xianyang, go and make tea for me and your Uncle Bai."

"Hey?"

Zhou Xianyang was taken aback, then immediately said, "Okay, I understand." After saying that, he got up and walked towards the study, rushing ahead of Zhou Fengnian and Bai Kang to get tea leaves to make tea.

When the dishes were served, Zhou Fengnian and Bai Kang had just sat down.

Bai Kang knew that Zhou Fengnian wanted his son to hear as well, so he said without hesitation, "Fengnian, although Lao Li from the propaganda department has given instructions, there's no guarantee that You Lijun won't have other tricks up his sleeve."
This person seems cheerful on the surface, but he's actually incredibly cunning and will set traps for us at any time; especially since he didn't come back after my uncle stepped down two years ago, he has no chance of getting promoted again, so he really hates us.”

After Mr. Bai Yongkang stepped down, another person took his place, and he was about the same age as You Lijun.

This has shattered his dream of becoming a minister. If he doesn't consider working in local government or other departments, he probably won't get the chance in his lifetime.

However, You Lijun's biggest hope was his political achievements a few years ago, but they were ruined by Zhou Fengnian, and he has not had any outstanding performance recently.

That collaboration was thanks to Bai Kang; You Lijun only got a small share of the profits.

I estimate that I can fulfill his wish to be promoted before he retires, but by then he will be semi-retired.

"I didn't really intend to pay him any attention, but it's not good for him to keep causing trouble. Brother Bai, could you check with his comrades recently to see if they've reached any agreements regarding bilateral scientific and technological cooperation?"

Zhou Fengnian paused for a moment before continuing, "If there is any, I need to examine it carefully."

If he can cause trouble for himself, then Zhou Fengnian will cause trouble for himself in return.

"That will definitely alarm Leader Yu Hai. Although You Lijun is in charge of that area, Leader Yu Hai also oversees this matter."

Bai Kang reminded him with some concern that if Yu Hai didn't show up, it would be fine, but if Yu Hai did, he was afraid it would affect Zhou Fengnian.

"It would be best if he stepped forward. I really want to talk to Comrade Yu Hai. What's going on with his deputy causing me trouble all the time?"

Besides, I'm not acting arbitrarily; of course I have to stop those who don't meet the standards—it's my duty.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences is in charge of implementing research projects. They can do it without going through the Academy, but then there will be no domestic researchers to support them.

Almost all famous researchers are affiliated with the Academy of Sciences.

After pouring the tea, Zhou Xianyang didn't leave. He listened with great interest and now he knew who was targeting him behind his back.

It turns out that bastard held a higher position than Uncle Bai Kang. Luckily, he called Ren Zheng and his gang to clarify things, otherwise it would have been a real laughing stock.

(End of this chapter)