My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 452 Industry and Commerce Are Inseparable

Wei Dong never imagined becoming a trendsetter in reform.

His dream is to develop stealthily and make money discreetly.

But things happened so fast that we ended up talking and dealing with things at the same time.

The purpose of going to Shangzhou was to do something to get Lao You out;
In Jiangzhou, there is an urgent need to establish an industrial base for themselves;
The purpose of going to Shanghai is to secure foreign trade channels, especially by relying on joint venture electronics factories to counter the unscrupulous practices of some individuals.

Arriving in Pyeongjin meant that he had promised to fix the factory's chaotic situation.

It was really just to streamline this car factory.

Thirty years from now, a car factory will likely require investments of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. It won't be up to an outsider like you to give advice.

But in 1985, when everything was just starting out, everything was in need of rebuilding.

That's exactly what we need—a vice president who can act as a buffer and mediator.

This is also perfect for a night market.

The previously fervent anti-American sentiment has completely subsided.

Everyone watched as the car factory transformed into a famously prosperous area in the eastern part of Beijing!
In the past, the most popular places to visit in Beijing were places like Dashilan, Liulichang, and even Tianqiao Market.

However, after the public-private partnership was established and private vendors were banned, the workplace became a place where employees would leave at a certain time.

Naturally, it lost its vitality.

In just over a week, citizens and students from all over Beijing have come to visit.

I heard there's a group of workers here who are really good at basketball, I want to come and check them out.

I've also heard that people come here to try all sorts of delicious food and snacks.

As soon as evening falls, people gather here from all directions, creating a bustling and lively scene.

At least Qin Yuye and her friends don't go to Western restaurants or foreign-related hotels and bars; they come here every day to show their support.

Lhamo diligently tinkered with a tin box to burn charcoal and sell highland lamb skewers!
But the most famous one is Mao.

He brought a dog, a monkey, and a myna bird with him.

Originally, I had no choice but to go on a business trip with my older brother and bring along the baby I was training and nurturing.

These days I've basically been sitting in the factory's guardhouse, engrossed in communicating with dogs, monkeys, and birds.

She was kicked out by her third sister to perform at the night market.

That caused quite a sensation!
Mao'er himself got excited too.

They don't charge money, they just show off their increasingly skilled dog-monkey coordination, the myna bird complained.

If it draws cheers and applause, then it's worth it.

A true江湖 (jianghu) kid is only happy living in the jianghu.

It's possible that anyone from outside would be refused and driven away by the factory security guards, but this is why the boss's younger brother was given the most central position.

But Mao'er obviously couldn't stay there for long, because Ai Jiayi keenly recognized its value after only two days of observation.

They brought along several dancers signed by an advertising company, who would occasionally put on a song and dance performance.

It's a simplified version of a song and dance tour.

It will definitely raise the overall professional level instantly.

Even the well-traveled people of Pyeongkyo would be captivated by this display of artistry that seemed to descend from heaven.

Qin Yuye was itching to try it out, but she remained calm and made an international call to Qin Zhiming to have a karaoke machine airlifted to her.

Then she asked Wei Dong's computer experts to assemble two speakers that were more than half a person tall for her!
Finally, she made a grand entrance at the night market, immediately singing "As You Wish," instantly drawing everyone's attention to her from the bustling market.

Even the basketball court where Wei Dong and his team were full of energy seemed to freeze, with everyone standing on tiptoe to look into the distance.

The principle behind karaoke machines is that they have built-in reverb and audio editing features.

Combined with Qin Yuye's trained singing style, the echo in the night sky would definitely be rich and resonant.

It irons into everyone's heart.

All the rough edges are gone.

When the song ended, applause erupted throughout the venue.

But when the song "I Once Dreamed of Traveling the World with a Sword" came on, it truly touched my soul!
If "Ru Yuan" is the ending theme song of a popular TV series, it has been sung throughout the country.

This song is definitely not a red song with a strong revolutionary background, but it is also different from the "decadent music" of Teresa Teng on the market, and is full of a leisurely spiritual call.

People unconsciously crowded towards the singing area, as if getting closer would allow them to hear it more clearly.

When people realized it was such a beautiful woman standing there, singing with such stage presence, the whole audience was in an uproar.

Qin Yuye was ultimately a stunning beauty born for acting, and at this moment she felt more excited than if she had earned any money.

After finishing her song, she sweetly introduced herself in Mandarin as being from Hong Kong, and how fortunate she was to work at a car manufacturing plant, so she was very happy to bring everyone another song, "Shanghai Beach"...

Clear and accurate Cantonese pronunciation...

They completely stole the show from the entire night market!
While eating and drinking, listening to songs like these, I wonder if I'll come back tomorrow?

They then dragged Wang Zhiwen over that very night to practice singing and had him go on stage to sing "As You Wish".

They didn't even need to wear Republic-era clothing; just their appearance and singing brought tears to the eyes of the entire audience. Even Wei Dong thought, "Forget basketball, this is practically a music festival!"

But now basketball teams from various units and universities in the city are all coming to challenge us with great enthusiasm, and the match list is so long it'll take forever to fill.

Now Collins and his team are enthusiastically organizing a "foreign basketball team," and they've even heard that teams are being organized in the diplomatic quarter a few blocks away to challenge them.

No wonder there are more and more foreign faces at the night market these days.

Naturally, cultural organizations started approaching them, asking if the city's cultural troupes could also perform for the public, given the thriving cultural performances at the automobile factory.

They're definitely all free.

They found the factory manager of the car manufacturing plant.

From the moment he appointed Rang Weidong as vice president, placing him at the same level as him in the joint venture factory, this factory manager had virtually no interaction with his colleagues.

Wei Dong never visited the other party.

This time, we finally "bumped into" each other by the basketball court.

Wei Donggang came off the field drenched in sweat, his whole body seemingly steaming. Zhuoma quickly handed him a towel and a mug of boiled water.

The factory manager slammed on the brakes as if he were rushing through a traffic jam: "Xiao Rang is here! No wonder they said they couldn't find you. The radio rap group wants to come and perform a couple of crosstalk routines for the people. What do you think?"

Wei Dong, a seasoned veteran within the system, was extremely humble: "Director Zhu, this will definitely depend on your opinion. Speaking of which, this night market is actually located on the premises of the automobile manufacturing plant. Thank you very much for your full support."

Even with loudspeaker announcements, the place would still be a mess by the end of the night.

It's safe to say that there are no disposable chopsticks, lunch boxes, paper cups, or tissues available right now, but cigarette butts, melon rinds, and fruit scraps are still plentiful.

Even if Wei Dong pays to organize a cleaning team, it still attracts a bunch of people to sign up and earn labor fees.

After hearing this, Director Zhu asked, "So what are your considerations for doing this? Leaders from the city, the Ministry of Machine Building, and all levels are asking me about it."

Wei Dong understood perfectly: "It was because when we parted ways at this wall that day, a colleague from the car manufacturing plant asked, 'The products have all been taken by the joint venture, what can they do?'"

It took Wei Dong more than ten days of involvement to finally understand the whole story.

The joint venture project was discussed as early as 79, but it was only barely finalized in 83. The Chinese side insisted on using the 212 off-road vehicle to cooperate with the foreign side for improvement.

Simply put, they believe that modifying a 212 makes it a Wrangler.

The foreign side naturally scoffed at it, looking down on this outdated model that was decades behind.

That's why there were those modified and assembled Jeep CJ models. This is the model that Weidong bought, a hybrid of the CJ and 212 used in the joint venture's trial production.

Back then, we stubbornly insisted that we also had the technology and that we could cooperate on a completely equal footing.

Later, when you could see various imported cars on the streets, the Santana in Shanghai was also taking shape.

Only then did we realize how different they really were, and in the end we chose the Cherokee for assembly and production.

However, 212 has been incorporated as part of the joint venture. Although many people in the old factory are said to be producing parts, most of them actually have no work to do.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the factory is under a huge burden with its 8,000 employees and their families, and everyone is living a very difficult life.

As the saying goes, a bad leader breeds a bad family. No matter how difficult it is to get to this position, the fact that it turned out like this from the very beginning is also related to this person.

"So my reasoning for doing this boils down to those five words: serving the people."

This flag is being carried upright.

Factory Director Zhu was speechless: "You mean you just keep doing this?"

Wei Dong shook his head: "This is just the beginning. I can't stay in Pingjing for long. In fact, I have no vested interest in Pingjing Automobile Factory. I was just temporarily transferred here to help. It cost me two million US dollars, and I got some shares that I don't know if they're useful or not. It's purely helping the country. But Pingjing Automobile Factory can seize this opportunity to transform itself..."

As he spoke, Wei Dong pointed to the massive crowd, which probably numbered in the tens of thousands who had flooded into the factory area, along with thousands of shopkeepers and merchants busy at work.

Even Director Zhu couldn't see what this vibrant life contained, and he frowned deeply.

Wei Dong kept me in suspense: "Someone asked me, with so many people coming in every day, should we charge an entrance fee? Even just one cent could bring in thousands of yuan a day. And with so many stalls, should we charge them too?"

These days, people are still simple and honest: "How could that be? We're serving the people!"

Let Wei Dong smile and instill some business sense: "But to continue providing this kind of service, there will be operating costs. I'm just throwing out a brick to get things started. I've kept track of every penny I spend. For example, each set of work clothes in the joint venture factory costs 29 yuan. Doing things costs money."

Factory Director Zhu stared at Rang Weidong with wide, shocked eyes, as if he were looking at some kind of capitalist spy who had infiltrated the area.

Rang Weidong explained: "My role as a buffer between the car factory and the foreign management is to level the playing field in terms of business mentality. A company is a business entity. Every decision it makes and every penny it spends is to make the products better and sell them better. Only by doing our job well can we truly serve the people, instead of just shouting slogans and having everyone eat from the same pot."

These days, it's hard to correct this kind of thinking. Factories are all about contributing to the country, and working is all about contributing to the factory. There's no such thing as a business mindset.

This is still a special period when the supply of vehicles cannot meet the demand, so there is no need to worry about sales. Once the competition is opened up, we will have to do the sales ourselves.

That would be the end of it all.

Director Zhu must have found it very difficult to understand.

Let Wei Dong be blunt: "From what I've observed, this old factory area doesn't have much productivity, but it's so popular now that it's already famous throughout the city. I suggest you apply to the Bureau of Commerce, the Ministry of Machinery Industry, or something like that, to see if this factory area can be transformed into a commercial center. After all, industry and commerce have always been intertwined."

This was something Wei Dong had never tried before in Shangzhou and Jiangzhou.

Now that the hype has already built up, we might as well try modifying this part.

Factory Director Zhu felt his brain was boiling. This was a factory, a working-class factory, how did it become a commercial department?

This is what rigid thinking refers to.

(End of this chapter)