My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 377: All they draw are empty promises, all they take the blame for.

Let's start with the packaging.

Wei Dong pushed the funnel-shaped box of cold noodles and jelly: "Last year and the year before, when we were on business trips on the train, we would either eat in the dining car or be served boxed meals by the train attendants, the silver-white kind."

These days, everyone has life experience: "It's made of aluminum, I think it's an aluminum-magnesium alloy, and it's a bit soft."

Wei Dong then shifted the topic to overseas inspections: "But in many cases, such as tourist attractions and cultural and entertainment venues like today, disposable catering supplies popular abroad are more convenient. These folding bowls and cups cost less than two cents, and are mainly given to the workers on the folding production line."

Then he picked up the bamboo chopsticks: "Foreigners use knives and forks, which I see are mostly made of molded plastic, which is not environmentally friendly... I heard they are also resisting them, but we can use simple bamboo and wooden chopsticks. The key point is that these things are produced by the rural communes in Shangzhou, costing about one cent, which can greatly supplement income during the off-season."

Jiangzhou truly lives up to its reputation as a city that champions a commodity economy.

The implication is clear: "Organizing such activities can greatly enhance the circulation of goods and the operation of the economy?"

Wei Dong quickly clapped: "That's right. In the past, large-scale gatherings of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people not only did not make money, but also required manpower and material support from all parties. Now, the purpose of organizing them is not only to allow everyone to relax after work, but more importantly, to stimulate consumption and drive the operation of various industries."

Pointing to Bird Mountain in the distance: "That large tent-like woven net is a new product from the bakelite factory. They sell T-shirts, jeans, cameras, and every single item. The newly renovated gate and the zoo dormitory built behind it are all aimed at driving the operation of various industries."

Some people still focused on the key point: "But real estate will bring about a huge difference in privatization, and the consequences of this step are too serious."

Wei Dong stopped observing everyone's reactions: "I am also exploring and learning by following the situation. When I first started dealing with Shangzhou City two years ago, the old leader's attitude was, why make it so complicated? Everyone should just produce what society needs step by step. Commerce is just a porter, moving products from manufacturers to users. Why should commerce make a profit from the price difference? Well, if we don't let the commercial operation make a profit from the price difference, why should we be motivated to do this increasingly complicated portering work?"

Someone nodded: "Yes, this is typical planned economy thinking. It assumes that every link operates according to plan, but once any link in the plan stops, the whole scale will become rigid and lose its vitality, such as our current economic predicament."

Some people even connected it to Rang Weidong: "That's why you were pessimistic about the Industrial Products Trading Center last year. Its operation this year has indeed shown the drawback of insufficient vitality. It's still relying on the old system."

Wei Dong used an analogy that later generations are very familiar with: "Electricity, something that can be transmitted even when it is close to metal, needs voltage to facilitate transmission. If it is a transmission over a long distance across provinces, it even needs ultra-high voltage. How much more so for people? Without pressure and motivation, everyone will just lie down and eat from the same pot. So, isn't promoting participation in a better life, having a better living environment, and owning their own family property a kind of incentive?"

Some people frowned: "Welfare housing allocation can also stimulate and promote development, so why must we use a private ownership model?"

Wei Dong then debated: "But the construction costs and economic pressure all fall on the country. After decades of operation, won't it become unsustainable? Is it better for tens of millions or hundreds of millions of families to be burdened by the huge burden of housing, making the country struggle, or for tens of millions or hundreds of millions of families to work hard and enthusiastically to own a home?"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but point to the surrounding situation: "Today, the zoo's revenue should be one million, but in reality, the wages of more than a thousand employees are less than twenty thousand. After deducting the cost of goods, the animals' food, water, and waste, and the cost of the zoo's construction and operation, there is definitely still a profit. Greedy capitalists pocket it, while those with a long-term perspective will share more with the employees. These employees are the main force driving the purchase of houses, and they further boost the income of construction companies and real estate companies. This process is pushed down layer by layer, enriching the market economy."

A perceptive person immediately noticed the key point: "But how the capitalists choose in this process is very uncontrollable."

The young capitalist laughed: "And if the same capitalist is in charge of commodity production, zoo operation, and real estate development, then that kind of monopoly is the most dangerous."

He also pointed to himself, fearing that he might not fit the description.

Everyone in the city laughed: "Little Rang is always engaging in criticism and self-criticism, not bad, not bad, this ideological awareness is very high."

"No wonder you didn't want shares in the city construction company. You were hoping to only participate in the work and avoid becoming a monopoly capitalist."

Wei Dong said sincerely: "I come from a product sales background. In this stage of economic transformation, it is naturally easy for me to seize opportunities to make money. But I can't keep adding burdens just because I can make some money, and then end up killing myself. That would be like using someone as a consumable after fulfilling my role in promoting the social economy. So I can do my job, but I should avoid pitfalls that involve huge temptations."

He was well aware of the consequences: "In real estate, I only assist in development and do not participate in profit sharing. It's like this zoo contract; I only act as the manager. The ownership still belongs to the state. I try my best to ensure profitability and distribute the profits to each link. It can be considered a reform demonstration. My own profession is still the production and sales of goods. Everything else is my exploration work in assisting reform. A one-dollar annual salary is not something to be taken lightly."

Whether or not everyone here realizes it, there are actually various overt or covert benefits to working in the real estate industry, given its enormous scale.

At least it has established Wei Dong's image as a virtuous and upright non-stick pan owner who distanced himself from the situation.

Regardless of who has various ideas about this massive real estate development project, no one is more suitable to lead it than him.

Moreover, Wei Dong is not only in Jiangzhou: "The May Day holiday is a phase report for the zoo. It was a bit burnt, but I thank all sectors of Jiangzhou for their support. After the holiday, we need to focus on the corn bioengineering in Shangzhou. This is the more long-term commodity production and sales work, and I am very patient in doing it well." He is determined not to be swept away by the torrent of reform.

No matter how eager Jiangzhou is to achieve results and how much it wants to work hard, it won't turn into a complete mess even if it's put under intense pressure.

The city officials jokingly feigned anger: "You little rascal, isn't Jiangzhou's support enough? This corn bioengineering project was also endorsed by Jiangzhou, you can't just put it all in Shangzhou, can you?"

"Of course, I don't have hundreds of millions to invest, and I don't want to take out loans and incur debt, so I can only build it slowly, brick by brick." Wei Dong was indeed unhurried.

"It mainly involves two steps. In the first step, we will use Jiangda's technical expertise to assist Shangzhou in separating SOD from pig blood at a laboratory scale, and then provide it to health product factories to start production and make a profit. Then we will invest in corn bioengineering. Once SOD can be separated from corn and supplied in large quantities at low cost, and the health product factories are mature and stable, it will have a great poverty alleviation effect on corn planting in rural areas of Shangzhou and Jiangzhou. Wouldn't that be considered giving back to Jiangzhou?"

"It's a good thing, but you won't see results anytime soon. How long will it take?" Some people were still anxious.

Wei Dong had to be a slowpoke: "The laboratory technology is mature. This year, the corn bioengineering process will involve planting and purchasing. It will take five years or more, at least ten years. It's better to do one thing every five years than to do five things in one year."

So that's the difference between private and government-run.

Ten years have passed, and it's uncertain where everyone here is now, but private business owners have been able to focus on pushing things forward.

Everyone understands that this principle is correct. Throughout history, many businessmen, guided by officials, have engaged in reckless and uncontrolled expansion, unintentionally becoming stepping stones for political achievements.

So I can only put the non-stick pan under the stove.

At 8:00 AM sharp, twenty fireworks were set off to celebrate May Day.

Tens of thousands of citizens who were still at the zoo, along with these few people from the city, looked up and admired the dazzling display of lights in the sky.

Oh, and there were thousands of creatures of various kinds together. The noise wasn't as loud that night, but it got much better as you got used to it.

Wei Dong didn't even report the agreement he reached with the Citibank businessman to the city.

Why bother making empty promises and then having to keep an eye on the oven?

They sent Steve back to the business jet that had been parked for more than a week overnight and officially obtained the contract manufacturing training agreement approved by Apple's board of directors.

Because in just about ten days, the total sales volume of Macintosh computers in the Citibank area, which was originally 320,000 pre-ordered by distributors in various regions, was officially finalized to 570,000 units as consumers actively rushed to buy them, completely resolving Steve's major crisis.

They are the assets that he has been neglecting, begging him to come back and regain control and leadership.

The capital market has already predicted that Apple can sell nearly a million more Macintosh computers in the remaining months of this fiscal year, and Demimore's advertising has already expanded beyond North America to Europe.

Steve also revealed the background to Rang Weidong: "In 1980, we opened our first contract manufacturing plant in Ireland, and to this day, it is still the only contract manufacturing plant. All the parts are produced in Silicon Valley. This plant only serves to assemble the products for export to Europe. Therefore, before the Macintosh computer was launched, we invested a lot of money to expand the Irish factory into a fully modern future factory, which cost more than 200 million US dollars. This is the direct burden that caused the Macintosh computer to be huge and financially loss-making."

Wei Dong quickly clarified: "We won't ask for such a large investment. Let's start with some accessories, like mice and keyboards. I'm very confident."

Steve nodded: "You've always been helping me in a down-to-earth way, just like how I see you working hard to make changes here. I'll go back and combine your share of the sales from this launch event with the investment in this contract manufacturer. But I still suggest that you build an assembly plant in Shanghai, as close to the coast as possible, to ensure maximum timeliness."

With the Shanghai branch manager gone, Wei Dong realized he no longer needed to avoid the situation there: "Okay, I'll take professional advice. We'll have the components and raw materials produced in Jiangzhou, and the assembly plant located on the coast. I'll compile the plan and send it to you as soon as possible."

Steve patted him on the shoulder: "You have a very strong vision that is ahead of its time. It is great that you can drive change here, but don't waste your precious energy. Participate more in cooperating with me. We have a lot of future to build together."

He's a master at making empty promises; he told Wei Dong to hurry up and see him off before he got on the plane, lest he end up being fooled.

(End of this chapter)