I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 214 The Arrogance of Going Solo

"Yes, yes, yes... Yes, that's right, it can reach 300 million. We just finished discussing it. Yesterday, water conservancy experts from Luzhou also came over. They said that by the end of the year, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Construction will introduce the 'Provisional Regulations on the Professional Qualification System for Construction Engineers.' Luzhou will produce 15 first-class registered construction engineers, and Jiangkou Province will also produce 15. Then, a hydropower construction and operation company will be established specifically for Mr. Zhang An, with net assets estimated at around 500 million. It's true, absolutely true. The comrades from Beijing who came to express their gratitude to Mr. Zhang An yesterday also attended the meeting."

"..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. It felt like listening to gibberish. The comrade from Guanzhong Province who had gone to Jiangning to express his gratitude called back to say that the original plan of Wenquxing was to build a "Mudihe Reservoir" in Panlong City, Yunnan Province. Now they were seeing what Guanzhong Province thought, and if they were willing, they would take on one as well.

One isn't enough, so we'll have two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

Ten is fine too.

Wenquxing is very powerful.

An elderly man from Shaanxi was worried that he might have been scammed, so he made a call to the Beijing and Shanghai offices. The Shanghai office responded quickly and confirmed the matter.

In short, he's rich.

They're incredibly wealthy.

The news leaked within a day.

Expecting so many people to keep the news from leaking out is less helpful than hoping that Shi Xiangdao will suddenly lose interest in money and start embracing his dreams.

The date of Shi Xiangdao's "suicide" has also been set; he will be "forced to commit suicide" around September. The person who delivered the message is a friend of Wang Yongzhi, who said that he wanted to ask the comrades in Wudu City and Chongzhou City to calm down...

That's the theory, but there's no definitive answer on how to actually do it.

The main problem is that Wang Yongzhi is now in a lot of trouble. He is the first local Jewish man to be "forced to commit suicide," and it is easy for the issue to be blown out of proportion.

The Jews are very fond of waging "information warfare" and "cognitive warfare." In this situation, they did not believe in evil and even planned to transfer funds from overseas to buy off some oddballs who were good at catching frisbees in China. Wang Yongzhi made a special trip to Singapore and Hong Kong to explain the advantages and disadvantages to different factions of Jewish capital.

It would be best to coexist peacefully with the "Zhang An faction"; directly confronting them head-on is simply unwise.

There are many factions among the Jews. The most warlike faction was supported by the Soviet Union for forty years and by the United States for nearly sixty years. In short, they were fearless and believed that they could replicate miracles in "a certain major Eastern country".

Unfortunately, at least some of them have brains. Shi Xiangdao, this "yellow-skinned Jew," is just cannon fodder in Tel Aviv, no different from the "yellow-skinned Mawari" in the eyes of the Arabs.

Or perhaps they are simply different paths leading to the same destination, both stemming from the same vine.

Zhang Da'an didn't care at all about the reactions of Wang Yongzhi and his father-in-law, Cha Jizu, and he didn't take these seemingly influential dignitaries seriously.

After discovering that they were only involved in entrepot trade in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Hong Kong and Singapore, and had zero influence in basic domestic livelihood sectors, Chief Instructor Zhang knew very well that the Cha family was nothing special; they followed the upper-class cultural route and were just a bunch of "filler-in-the-blank" types.

Even though Zhang Da'an's total assets are not as good as Cha Jizu's or even Wang Yongzhi's, his hard power now far exceeds the accumulation of three generations of the Cha family.

This is the characteristic of the upper-class cultural route: even when they are engaged in processing trade, their added value is very low. Workers can only be used as bargaining chips when the company is "too big to fail" or when "millions of workers depend on the company for their livelihood".

For those who genuinely pursue industrial development, or those who genuinely create added value, worker compensation already dictates a higher priority at every level.

Because the grassroots people have more support. What are the grassroots people?

Frontline industrial workers are an important part of the grassroots population.

The reason why the "Zhang'an Industrial Alliance" was able to gain a foothold in Jiangning City, or even in Jiangkou Province, in such a short time is because this is one of the few promotional materials that Jiangning City can present in a good way.

The number of workers is huge, but their living conditions are increasing in an orderly manner. This increase is very significant, high enough that frontline employees of the "Zhang An Industrial Alliance" can be more convincing on blind dates in their work clothes than in suits.

Guanzhong Province also promotes the "three-time champion," but they don't know that Wenquxing (the God of Literature) also controls wealth. Perhaps the "God of Wealth" is a close comrade-in-arms.

"...Last year, the average annual wage of urban employees nationwide was 10,870 yuan, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year. After deducting price factors, the actual increase was 15.2%."

"Among them, the average wage of employees in state-owned units is 11,178 yuan, that of employees in urban collective units is 6,867 yuan, and that of employees in other units is 12,000 yuan. The average wage of newly introduced enterprises in our Chengdong District is almost four times that of state-owned units and more than seven times that of urban collective units. The driving effect is very significant, and it has played an exemplary role in terms of labor treatment."

"It also plays a very positive and exemplary role in the development of the legal system."

This meeting was actually a pilot meeting for the wage guidance line in Jiangkou Province. The person who chaired the meeting said it was for Chengdong District of Jiangning City, but in reality, it included units at all levels of prefecture, city, county, and village.

In addition to Chengdong District, there are also units such as Shazhou City of Wudu City, Chenzhuang Town of Fengyi County of Pengcheng City, and Xilai Town of Mazhou City of Xiangtai City. In previous years, it was usually the "Number One Village in the World" and similar entities that spoke out, but this year the situation is a bit special, and some representatives with real per capita growth were brought out.

Whether it's the newly introduced investment enterprises in Chengdong District or Chenzhuang Town in Fengyi County, Pengcheng City... they are all intricately connected and have extremely high added value.

Therefore, this pilot meeting on wage guidelines is also a seminar on the implementation of the "Zhang An Group" industry.

According to the plan for the first half of the year, in the education sector, the province will add two new secondary vocational schools, one junior college, one "Zhang'an College", and more than a dozen vocational skills training schools, including driving schools.

In the secondary industry, "Zhang'an Health" will establish a new product production line in Mazhou, Xiangtai City; "Zhang'an Food" rice product production lines will be established in Huaiyin City and Sucheng City. One district in Sucheng City will also have a complete set of food machinery assembly production lines because it has a support relationship with Shazhou City; "Zhang'an Electronics" will have a riverside electronic industrial park in Chongzhou, which is a municipal-level development zone. Whether it can be upgraded to a provincial-level development zone depends on the scale of "Zhang'an Electronics'" business expansion in mobile communication equipment; "Zhang'an Real Estate", "Zhang'an Housing", and "Zhang'an Engineering" will invest in the construction of a special equipment industrial park and a logistics base in Pengcheng City.

Aside from the education industry, most of the tertiary industries are related to universities. Local governments mainly provide funding, while the specific planning is primarily the responsibility of enterprises and schools, with the government playing a supporting role. Therefore, the division of resources is still aimed at the dividends from shares listed next year, rather than competing for specific taxpayers to settle in the area.

These were all decided by the province. The meeting discussed formally anchoring the basic wage line for high value-added enterprises to the "Zhang An Group" and decoupling it from the national minimum wage standard.

Since it's a pilot program, the benchmark will definitely be the standard. Companies that can be grouped with the "Zhang An Group" should at least have a basic salary line that is on par with them. Even if there is a gap, there should be a range.

The scope of the meeting's discussion and the point of contention lay in whether the fluctuation should be 20% or 50%.

People from Guanzhong Province and Yunnan Province were completely confused and had no idea what the argument was about.

However, the importance of their participation lies in the fact that if the new reservoir is indeed solely invested in, constructed, and operated by Wenquxing, and the construction period is calculated to be three to eight years, it could support at least tens of thousands of people.

If all of them were to start work at the same time, that would indeed require tens of thousands of people.

Normally, people with sound minds wouldn't work simultaneously, but the people of Jiangkou Province know very well that Wenquxing's mind is still not quite normal. In order to show off and save time and effort, he might very well work simultaneously.

If that's the case, it's not impossible for the total project budget of two or three hundred million to increase tenfold.

"Director Gu, why did the pilot meeting on the wage guidelines get so heated over a 25% fluctuation?"

Zhang Deli was a little curious, so he asked a fellow villager from Jiangning Institute of Technology who worked in the water conservancy department.

"A difference of more than 400 yuan is bound to cause a dispute. If the minimum wage line in Pengcheng is set at 20%, there will be far fewer companies that can keep up with the 'Zhang An Group'. If the minimum wage line is set at 50%, then the minimum pilot basic wage line can be set at 900 yuan, and there are still some companies in Pengcheng that can keep up."

"The basic wage line... nine hundred yuan?!"

"It has nothing to do with the city's basic wage line. It's a pilot program for wage guidelines. Originally, it was for collective wage bargaining, but the Chengdong District is a bit special, so it was opened separately."

"Nine hundred yuan... So, the standard reference is the 'Zhang An system'?"

"Correct."

"How much? One thousand eight?"

"Fifty percent, that's indeed 1,800. That's why I said it's a separate opening, because in the East District, apart from the 'Zhang An Group,' it's rare to find a starting salary of 1,000. 'Zhang An Group,' after the probation period, offers starting salaries of 1,800 for regular employees, making it a high-paying company. Even with piecework, the basic salary is still 1,800. So at companies like 'Zhang An Electronics,' hardworking ordinary workers can earn 7,000 to 8,000 a month working on the 'Top Scholar Star' product, with the highest record being 9,800 a month. I estimate that by the second half of the year, some will be earning over 10,000."

"Seven or eight thousand a month?! For a regular worker?!"

"A regular worker, really."

Seeing Zhang Deli's shock, Director Gu didn't show any smugness. Instead, he gave a wry smile. "It's too high, really. It's because the wages are so high that Jiangning City is in a very passive position and doesn't dare to publicize it. The same situation applies to Comrade Zhang An's hometown, Shazhou City. The factory in Shazhou City's bonded zone offers good benefits, but because 'Zhang An Foods' has a candy factory there, the one that makes the 'Little Champion Series' candy, there was a conflict in Shazhou City a long time ago."

"Oh my God……"

Upon hearing this news, Zhang Deli realized just how formidable this Wenquxing was. If he were to raise his arm and call out, wouldn't it be easy for countless people to respond?

Not to mention responding, Zhang Deli thought that if he had that kind of power, all the children in every village in Panlong City would recognize him as their godfather.

He has many sworn brothers in the Miao village. People value his talent as a "scholar," so every year when they make wine, they let him drink to his heart's content.

In some villages, there were coming-of-age ceremonies where guns were fired, and he was one of the few who could command the guns.

In the city, Bai people would invite their sworn brothers to sell tea and sign contracts. When many of these brothers opened tea cake shops, he was always the one to cut the ribbon.

With his status, he could easily gather a thousand or so people in Panlong City to open up mountains, build roads, dig ditches, and build canals.

But he's nowhere near Zhang Da'an; he could easily buy his life.

When the average monthly wage is only a few hundred yuan, the idea that someone can earn 9,800 yuan a month in an electronics factory seems like a fantasy to anyone.

It's too outrageous!

However, this is a true story. Director Gu also whispered to him about some past events that happened in Shazhou City and Chengdong District.

Dozens or even hundreds of people went in, and a bunch of "township Brahmins" fell into poverty.

Things that would never be seen in the newspapers were being quietly revealed at such an important meeting, sending chills down Zhang Deli's spine. "So, when they build the reservoir..."

"You guys should try to get him to lower his wages, otherwise you'll definitely beat him senseless."

Director Gu sighed. At this time, most salaries don't have a basic salary of 1,800 yuan. They are paid according to how much they do, and then settled at the end of the year.

Whether it will be fully settled is unclear. Some might give 80%, while others might give 20%, with the rest to be discussed next year or the year after.

Of course, it would be best if the foreman paid for it out of his own pocket.

The key point is that these models, which work in other engineering projects, may not be able to work in Zhang Da'an's case.

"Hanlinyuan" is a typical example. It is a high-end residential building, but it can also be described as a welfare housing unit, depending on the perspective and description.

From the perspective of the government and schools, this is welfare housing, only it is for senior intellectuals, and specifically for senior intellectuals in the "Zhang An faction"; from the perspective of the market and urban residents, this is high-end housing.

If a large, single-level apartment isn't a high-end residence, then what is?
Although not all of them are large single-level apartments, the kindergarten inside speaks volumes.

During the construction of "Hanlinyuan", the same model of fixed salary + position salary + bonus was used. Many technical jobs were settled at the end of the year, which was the position salary. The fixed salary was also 1,800 yuan, which was paid every month.

This operation almost resulted in deaths, as it directly led to strikes at several nearby real estate construction sites, involving approximately three to four thousand construction workers and over a hundred "civil engineering dogs".

For civil engineers' salaries to rise, it will have to wait until the end of the year when the "Provisional Regulations on the Professional Qualification System for Construction Engineers" are introduced, and standards are established so that salaries can be generally linked to job levels, project scale, and so on.

Before there are standards, I'm sorry, it mainly depends on the client's "my opinion" and the contractor's "let's do it first".

If he had a different boss, all the vibrant social groups in Jiangning City would want to learn from Master Zhang; unfortunately, this boss is a genius, who caused a huge scene in Puzikou and even created the ultimate local cuckold king, Zhao Chunsheng, who went all out.

Now that Zhao Chunsheng has divorced Hou Xiaojun, he's quite ruthless. He went to "Zhang An Health" and applied for a sales position, and has already become the manager of the Puzikou Market Development Department.

After all, his ex-wife Hou Xiaojun's family was a "county-level Brahman" family in Puzikou, and they had many connections with the Hu family.

Now, it's like making use of waste. Although the Hou family's former life partners are not very willing to talk to Zhao Chunsheng, this damn cuckold is now, strictly speaking, working for Wenquxing.

So with all sorts of situations mixed up, Jiangning City doesn't care whether you're a second-generation or eighth-generation member. These are dynamic social groups that aren't idiots. How could they possibly go against someone who dares to feed them to turtles?

Something that doesn't exist.

As a result, the construction site of the "Hanlinyuan" project was extremely stable, and apart from drawing circles to curse it, nothing else, whether overt or covert, worked.

Even for routine material delivery issues, no underworld boss dares to play tricks, because they are genuinely afraid of being used as a "pawn." Others might not dare, but Wenquxing is a god, what is he afraid of?
All the open and covert struggles are bullshit in the face of absolute power.

The influence of the "Zhang An faction" on the basic wage line is no different from that of an aircraft carrier battle group in the "Gulf War"—it's completely overwhelming, and they are not products of the same era.

Of course, if someone skilled in abstract thinking were to analyze the situation at this point and focus on the "allocation problem" for discussion, then all sorts of answers would be available.

Unfortunately, they can't be arrested.

Anything could be a problem, but it certainly can't be an allocation issue.

Since that's not the case, there's no need to discuss it further.

Reasonable.

As for Zhang Deli's current shock, Director Gu actually advised him not to be shocked yet, because there would definitely be something even more shocking to come.

The logic is simple: don't assume that you've secured your livelihood just because the project is ahead of schedule; you need to get the local government to accept it.

No worker who's gotten used to 1,800 yuan can accept 380 yuan.

Unless you've never seen or experienced it.

Why does the government need to establish wage guidelines?

That's because it's a very serious issue.

Unfortunately, Wenquxing himself doesn't care about your seriousness or not; he does whatever he wants.

You need to order him to do this or that...

Then sorry, he'll have to resort to real-name reporting and online sarcastic tactics, and target whoever he wants.

Its value in united front work is undeniable.

If we can't deal with the Wenquxing (a legendary figure associated with literature), can't we at least deal with you?

Tomorrow's "Enterprise Wage System Reform Seminar" will be the only one truly open to the public. Today's meeting, as Director Gu told Zhang Deli, is a separate event for the "Zhang An faction."

Tomorrow's discussion will focus on the pilot program for wage guidance pricing in the labor market in 88 large and medium-sized cities across the country, and the pilot program for annual salary systems for business operators in approximately 7,400 enterprises.

It is still a significant step forward, but don't compare it to the "Zhang An Group." The reason is simple: the annual take-home pay of a top-level lecturer at "Zhang An Education" is already higher than that of most company CEOs.

If you become the head of the subject group for the subject you are in charge of examining that year, then without a doubt, you'll earn a million-dollar annual salary.

Therefore, regardless of the level, the "Zhang An faction" is not just good at fighting, but very good at fighting, and their combat power is extremely strong.

Of course, the scale of corruption is also larger and the level is higher. However, unlike other companies that talk about the law, Wenquxing doesn't really follow the law. In addition, a considerable part of the supervision system is "outsourced" to the public. After all, there are state-owned investment companies in twelve cities. Local governments are also afraid that Wenquxing will embezzle their money.

Therefore, they pay more attention to supervision.

The more attention was paid to supervision, the more arrogant Wenquxing became. The reason for this was explained to Zhang Deli, an old educated youth, by Director Gu after the meeting.

Anyway, this old educated youth had a general understanding of the key issues. Wenquxing didn't mind spending money, but he never accepted anyone teaching him how to spend it.

So here's the question: if people from Panlong City work on the construction site after this project is completed, will they be able to adapt to the labor environment in Panlong City?
What should be done next?
In an instant, Zhang Deli, the old educated youth, also understood why Director Gu had said that he would beat the dog's brains out sooner or later.

So Zhang Deli made a phone call back to Panlong City and Jincheng County. After much deliberation, the main issue he reported back to his hometown was the issue of employee compensation.

"Old Zhang, the salary is something we can discuss. A lower salary is fine, as long as someone can do the work and make a living, that's good enough."

"It's not a matter of being a little lower..."

Zhang Deli hesitated and stammered, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "It's too high."

"How low...too high?"

"Yes, that's too high. The minimum wage here is 1,800."

"A year or a lot?"

"One month."

"..."

The person on the other end of the phone clearly didn't intend to believe him, but also knew very well that Zhang Deli wasn't one to talk nonsense, so after a long silence, he said, "Could you... lower the price a bit and hire more people?"

"Let me ask."

"Make sure you ask carefully, Lao Zhang, 1,800... that's too high."

"I know, I'll ask and see if we can discuss it."

"Please, Lao Zhang."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Deli breathed a sigh of relief. He was really having a headache; it was the first time he had ever felt a headache because someone else was offering a high salary.

If you say seven or eight hundred, then this matter is settled, no big problem.

He was worried that something might happen in Chuncheng, which would be very troublesome.

I arranged a time to have a detailed talk with Zhang Da'an, but after only five minutes, Zhang Deli started feeling unwell all over...

"Zhang, you've caught a lucky break. Next year, the basic salary for all the companies under my management will be increased by two hundred yuan."

"..."

Looking at the smug Zhang Da'an, the old educated youth Zhang Deli was completely dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)