My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 970: Only by giving up can you gain something

The reform is a genuine attempt to use the market economy to adjust the rigid state-owned enterprises.

At best, Wei Dong knew the direction of reform and dared to make bold attempts, but he couldn't even be considered innovative.

He learned and grew entirely through battles.

Three or four years ago, he would never have dared to take on a shipbuilding job.

The shipyard now has a total of three to four hundred people, including automotive mechanics, sales representatives, financial auditors, and later, insurance and banking personnel.

Hundreds or even thousands of people were transferred from various shipyards to work in electronics factories, garment factories, and construction sites.

Each factory regularly posts job openings from Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Jiangzhou, giving young and middle-aged people who want to venture out and explore opportunities in the outside world.

It mainly depends on the shipyard itself; only when the core shipbuilding business can it be established can it be successfully launched.

What can this Xiajiang factory do?

Wei Dong spent forty years as a lazy, unambitious security guard, and then went from Xishan Factory to Pingqi and the Investment and Trade Bureau, coming into contact with all sorts of organizations. He even started more than ten factories on his own.

The more you see and know, the more skilled you become.

I firmly believe that an organization has its own character and soul.

Just like everyone has their own unique characteristics.

The Hongguang Factory, which produced titanium ingots back then, was lazy and lamented its situation. It was unwilling to improve the work it was already familiar with, and once it had enough to eat and wear, it was content with its modest wealth.

The Xishan factory, on the other hand, had a strong desire to struggle. The entire factory actually had a bit of Zhang Lanzhi's mentality of wanting to go out and see the outside world.

This Xiajiang factory, I don't know if it's because of the types of products it produces, is always in a state of being half-hearted and constantly changing its mind.

The workers are all incredibly slick; everything they do is the same old thing in a new guise, they're always dragging their feet, trying to squeeze out every last penny.

This factory is not actually a third-line factory that started in the 1960s. It was established in the 1930s or 1940s and has accumulated a large number of retirees over the decades.

This is very different from the characteristic of many third-tier factories where the oldest workers are in their forties or fifties.

In addition, being far from urban areas or even rural areas, they must form their own society and rely entirely on external support.

If the system cuts off funding, are we just going to wait for more than 10,000 people to starve to death?

When Lao Cheng talked about this back then, he couldn't sleep at night. That's why he desperately led the Xishan Factory, which had three or four thousand employees including their families, to seize this last straw for Weidong.

The Xiajiang Factory, with its more than 10,000 employees, couldn't let go of its pride. They were also strangely confident that the country wouldn't let so many people starve to death. Despite their complaints, they had no ambition.

How to do?
During the more than one month he spent in the sanatorium, Wei Dong actually visited the factory many times.

Therefore, the final prescription was a drastic measure: either complete relocation or bankruptcy liquidation.

Many netizens have seen short videos of the former, showing empty factories and dormitories resembling ghost towns, which is a result of such desperate measures.

The latter... was the first bankrupt enterprise since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1986, and it received nationwide media attention.

Even though several companies later announced bankruptcy and closure, a large factory like the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry with more than 10,000 employees could not afford to lose face.

We tried our best to save them.

Even after Wei Dong went to Shanghai, he was still thinking about how to fight this battle.

In fact, his subordinates were all keeping an eye on his movements.

Long Zhenwei visited Qingcheng Mountain and witnessed the true Taoist sects, becoming completely captivated.

He gave himself the Daoist name Yuan Zhenzi and became a junior disciple of Qingcheng, starting his foundational cultivation from scratch.

When they came out with a group of senior uncles and brothers, their attitude towards addressing the mountain lord changed noticeably.

If he didn't have to return to Hong Kong to succeed the previous leader, he would love to cultivate immortality on the mountain.

It might be that the Long family's consistent emphasis on male martial arts training made it easy for even a rare dark arts prodigy like him to become addicted.

Wei Dong never believed in this. He thought that practicing the Dragon Tiger Heart Method could be somewhat effective. He would practice it regularly to loosen his muscles and bones. Even Kemp and his basketball teammates practiced it.

Forget about the rest; they were all just deceptions and tricks, things that couldn't boost productivity, so Wei Dong didn't believe them.

The film and television industry can at least provide some stimulus.

Within a month or so, the Hong Kong film crew, working in a highly efficient, assembly-line fashion, had finished shooting all the scenes in Shangzhou. Leung Ka-fai took them on a boat tour of the Three Gorges and the Lesser Three Gorges, from Echang to Pengzhen to film the final part of the frenzied commodity market scenes, hoping to convey the energetic, almost manic, atmosphere of the Pengzhen Special Economic Zone to the film. However, Sister Qing followed Yu Xiaoqiu to Jiangzhou, intending to go to Shanghai with Rang Weidong.

It must have been the secretary who leaked the news. Qingjie, who was keen on making money and doing business, knew that Weidong was going to Shanghai specifically to cut the ribbon for the multi-million dollar Citibank Motors line, so she offered to go and take a look, saying she could make an appearance and do some advertising.

Her scheming and manipulative nature is exactly the same as Sister Su's.

They are all very adept at using the identity of actors—someone who can rise to high positions in the imperial court and others who can connect with ordinary people—to form a familiar network.

But her skills and demeanor far surpassed those of Aunt Yu Xiaoqiu.

Just entering the Dongsheng factory area attracted tens of thousands of employees who cheered and swarmed around, their excited star-chasing behavior no different from that of fans decades later.

Sister Qing was extremely skilled, walking and looking around in the gentle spring breeze, shaking hands to encourage, and finally singing two songs with great emotion on the basketball court, which boosted the entire production energy to full capacity!

Tell Wei Dong to teach Yu Xiaoqiu to take an envelope containing two thousand yuan and send it over.

They chatted after boarding: "We've invited the president of Chrysler, and city leaders will definitely be there too. It would be excellent if you could be the emcee."

Even the biggest celebrities and tycoons don't have first class or business class seats on flights from Jiangzhou to Shanghai right now.

They were all treated equally, with three seats in a row, but Wei Dong was seated with Sister Qing on his left and Yu Xiaoqiu on his right, giving him an imperial treatment.

The secretary is now used to listening quietly with her head down and eyes downcast, and there are no more intimate gestures. In any case, she takes care of all the details that Wei Dong has to deal with.

He brought back Li Erfeng's family letter and gifts for the children when he returned from Shangzhou.

Sister Qing had already skillfully broken character: "Is this real estate business really that powerful?"

Wei Dong clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking, "Look at all these people."

The original theme of this play was the frenzy surrounding the newly established stock market in Shanghai. The actress who played the role never heard of stock trading; it was purely for the purpose of acting.

Sister Qing was able to grasp the information revealed in this.

Wei Dong also regarded her as one of the various warlords who fought on the battlefield: "What are your thoughts and opinions?"

The synopsis was proposed by Wei Dong, the details were put together by Hong Kong filmmakers, and the script was finalized by the screenwriters brought by Sister Qing to combine the mainland style, but the filming and directing were all done by Hong Kong people.

Therefore, the details about the real estate are very realistic.

"When I first heard the term 'housing reform,' it was said to have been initiated in Shangzhou, which is also my hometown. Of course, I would take a look around, but that was all. It wasn't until you were working on housing reform at the Pingjing Automobile Factory that I went to sing in the square where you were. You weren't there, but I heard some leaders say that you were very bold, but every step you took was precise and without any mistakes. There were no problems with the policies. You were steady, accurate, and ruthless!"

It's truly impressive that someone can speak so eloquently, even while hosting the Spring Festival Gala, and can still communicate with a local accent.

I feel elated even without seeing that famous face.

There are no romantic elements involved; it's all about the genuine aura of top-tier celebrities.

Wei Dong remained silent, leaning back in his chair and humming in agreement.

Before he knew it, he had adopted the demeanor of someone in a superior position.

Sister Qing was clearly used to this kind of interaction: "I've been to Pengzhen many times. All kinds of buildings are springing up, but the feeling I get is completely different from Shangzhou and the car factory building. There's a restless frenzy everywhere there, but Shangzhou is very orderly and rigorous. All the construction, factories, markets, and even the city's personnel are steadily progressing step by step. Even compared to the night market at the Pingjing car factory, it has a seemingly lively but actually strictly managed feel. The cleaners and factory security guards you can see everywhere know what they're doing."

Wei Dong squinted and replied, "Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. This applies to everything from an individual or a market to national laws and economic structures. Your vision has surpassed that of almost all actors."

It seems that squinting allows for a purer analysis and perception of speech.

In Qingjie's straightforward words, typical of Sichuan girls, there was clearly no smugness from being flattered. She continued to press on with focused questions: "I've heard some people say that you must have made a lot of money in the housing reform, while others say they can't see where you made your money. But the general consensus is that each building costs tens of millions of yuan. You can't possibly not make money from it. Otherwise, such a large project would be stalled if something went wrong. You need to make a profit to handle things calmly, right?"

Let Wei Dong think about it, and then remind him: "The reason why actors can easily monetize their careers is because of the focus created by their profession. Millions of people know you, and if each person pays you a penny, you can become a millionaire. But this contradicts the propaganda and education we have been promoting for the past few decades."

As expected, Sister Qing understood: "Are you talking about me?"

Wei Dong didn't mince words: "Anyway, I don't want to be this kind of typical example, whether it's being praised or criticized."

Sister Qing is an oddball. She has experienced many ups and downs over the decades, but she is an indomitable cockroach. In fact, it's just that the halo left from the 1980s is too dazzling, and she has a thick health bar.

Her vision is beyond that of ordinary people, but her perspective is still limited: "What is this? Everyone says it's nothing. This is all reasonable and legal compensation for my work, it's what I deserve!"

Even if later netizens don't know about Sister Qing's experiences, they can probably still skillfully dig out that universal trick: "Legitimate and legal? Did you pay taxes? Did you pay personal income tax on every cash you received according to the current tax law? Do you have complete financial statements and transaction records? Do you dare to say that every income you receive is impeccable and from a clean source? I can, all of us can. Ask Xiao Yu how she pays taxes on her advertising income."

Yu Xiaoqiu was indeed familiar with the situation: "We pay corporate income tax, which is currently 7%, and then it is distributed in installments each month. Otherwise, the tax rate would rise to a maximum of 60%, which is the tax rate for individual businesses with a monthly income of more than 60."

Wei Dong finally turned to look at Sister Qing, and asked somewhat teasingly, "Are you willing to do that?"

(End of this chapter)